Chapter M: E. James: ‘How to Decorate our Ceilings, Walls, and Floors.’ (12)

(_d_) Take about 3 lb. shin of beef, seeing that the butcher does not send it all bone; put this into the stockpot with 2 large onions well fried, 2 raw onions, 2 large carrots cut down the centre, a head of celery, and a few sprigs of sweet herbs; add to this 3-4 qt. cold water, and set it on the fire to boil; let it remain boiling for 3-4 hours, draw it to the side, and let it simmer for the rest of the day; in the evening strain the liquor through a sieve into a large basin, put the rest on a dish, set both in the larder, and have the stockpot well washed out before putting away for the night. The next morning take the meat from the bones to use for potted meat, put the bones and vegetables into the stockpot, together with any bones, whether large or small, left from the previous day, trimmings of meat, cooked or uncooked, gristle, skin, &c.: bones from poultry and game of any kind should be used with the rest, and a ham or bacon bone, or trimmings from a tongue, all help to improve the flavour of the stock. Carefully skim the fat from the stock made yesterday, measure off as much as may be required for soup, gravies, &c., during the day, and pour the remainder into the stockpot, filling it up with cold water (one which holds about 4 qt. is a useful size for a moderate-sized family); freshly fried onion, well browned, must be added every day, and every second or third day the vegetables must be changed for fresh ones. Every morning the bones, &c., must be looked over, taking away those in which no goodness remains as others are added; and every now and then, when there happens to be a good supply of fresh bones, such as perhaps a ham bone and those from a sirloin of beef (which will be none the worse for having been previously broiled for breakfast), it will be as well to get rid of all which have been already used, and start afresh as before. The water in which rice has been boiled, or in which bread has been soaked for puddings, should all go into the stockpot, and of course that which has been used in boiling fresh meat or poultry. Rabbit bones do not improve stock, and those from a hare should be used by themselves.

_Clear Stock (Consommé)._--Put 2 lb. lean beef cut in small pieces, and a fowl half roasted, and also cut in pieces, bones and all, into a saucepan, which fill up with common stock or broth (cold). Set the saucepan on the fire, and when the contents get hot skim the liquor carefully, then add salt to taste, and the following vegetables cut up in small pieces; 2 or 3 carrots, 2 onions, a head of celery (a pinch of celery seed will do as well if no celery is procurable), one tomato (fresh or dried), and a handful of parsley. Also add in due proportions, and according to taste, chervil, marjoram, thyme, cloves allspice, whole pepper, mace, and bay leaf. This done, set the saucepan by the side of the fire to simmer very gently for at least 4 hours; then strain the liquor through a cloth, free it absolutely from fat, and clarify with white of egg or raw meat.

_Fish Stock._--(_a_) Take 2 lb. any kind of fish, such as skate, plaice, flounders, small eels, or the trimmings of soles that have been filleted, pack them into a saucepan with a head of parsley including the root, a head of celery, 2 blades of mace, a few cloves, some white pepper, salt to taste, and a bay leaf; put in as much cold water as will cover the contents of the saucepan, and set it to simmer gently for 2 hours, then strain off the liquor and it is ready. A small onion may be put in with the other vegetables. (The G. C.)

(_b_) Put the bones, trimmings, and skin of any fish you may have into the liquor in which fish has boiled, with a suitable assortment of vegetables and flavouring herbs, a few peppercorns, a little spice, and boil the whole for 2 hours. Strain it off, add to each quart 1 oz. boiled rice, a teacupful of milk, and half a teaspoonful of finely chopped parsley. Serve at once. Small pieces of cooked fish improve the soup. If it is intended to make this soup, the liquor must not be made very salt, nor acid with vinegar. This is a slight drawback, for these expedients both have the effect of making the flesh firm and flaky. It is said that fish is never so good as when boiled in sea water, and whether that be true or not, it certainly is a good plan to make the water decidedly brackish to boil white fish like cod.

_Gravy Stock._--Place a layer of slices of onion in a saucepan, holding a gallon, over this a layer of fat bacon, and over all about 2 lb. shin of beef chopped up in small pieces; 1 pint common stock, or even water, being poured on the whole, set the saucepan on the fire for 1 hour, or until the liquor is almost evaporated--what is called reduced to a “glaze”--then add sufficient cold common stock or cold water to cover the contents of the saucepan, and 2 or 3 carrots cut in slices, a leek, a head of celery (when in season), or some celery seed, a handful of parsley, half a clove of garlic, a sprig of marjoram and thyme, a bay leaf, 4 or 5 cloves, white pepper and salt to taste. After boiling about 3 hours, strain off the liquor, and, being absolutely freed from fat, it is ready for use.

_Veal or White Stock._--Toss 2 onions sliced and 1 lb. lean veal cut in small pieces in a saucepan with some butter until they assume a light colour, then add ½ lb. ham chopped up small, and moisten with a pint of common stock cold and perfectly free from fat. Let the liquor reduce almost to a glaze, but not quite; then add 2 qt. cold common stock, a knuckle of veal or 2 calves’ feet chopped up, 2 carrots, a head of celery, parsley, bay leaf, thyme, mace, pepper, and salt, all in due proportions. After 2-3 hours’ boiling, strain free from fat, and it is ready.

_Vegetable Stock._--Take some carrots, turnips, onions, leeks, and celery, in equal quantities; cut them up into small pieces, and toss them in plenty of butter for ½ hour; then add 2 heads of lettuce shred fine, some parsley, and chervil, a little thyme, marjoram, and tarragon, in judicious proportions; toss them a little longer, and then add as much water as you want stock; pepper, salt, cloves, mace to taste, and a pinch of sugar; let the whole stew gently for some hours, then strain the liquor through a cloth. A couple of tomatoes (either from a tin or fresh), or 2 or 3 spoonfuls of _conserve de tomates_, is a great improvement.

_White Stock._--See Veal Stock.

_Clarifying Stock._--(_a_) For 1 qt. take the white of an egg, beat it up with a cupful of soup (cold), then add the rest, and beat it on the fire with an egg whisk; when it boils, strain through a piece of tammy.

(_b_) For same quantity, mince, not too finely, 1 oz. lean raw beef, add it to the liquor and set it on the fire in a saucepan; when it boils, strain it as above. Liver may be used instead of beef, and the white of egg may be used in addition to either. If the soup does not turn out clear enough, the operation of clarifying must be repeated.

With stock as a basis, a great variety of soups are made, and generally named from the particular vegetable or dainty employed to give the desired flavour. Following are some recipes.

_Apple Soup._--Boil apples with their cores until quite soft with slices of bread and some lemon peel in sufficient water. Strain through a sieve, add sugar, a glass of wine and some powdered cinnamon or nutmeg. Stir in yolks of eggs or cream, if approved.

_Apple and Currant Soup._--Proceed with apples, bread, and the lemon peel as in last recipe. After straining, boil again with currants, a cup of milk, and the requisite sugar, with a small teaspoonful of aniseeds, if approved. A few cloves with the first boiling is an improvement. Another way is to leave out the spice, and when the soup is ready for serving, stir in some pounded sweet and bitter almonds.

_Artichoke Soup (d’artichauts)._--Boil 3 lb. Jerusalem artichokes in 1 qt. milk, adding to it about a teacupful of water. When the artichokes have become very soft, rub them through a sieve, and add a little pepper and salt and a few grains of cayenne. Just before serving, stir in ¼ pint cream; if not thick enough, add a little flour and butter. Serve with bread cut in small dice and fried in butter, to be handed round with the soup.

_Asparagus Soup (d’asperges)._--Take 50 asparagus heads (called sprue asparagus), boil it in a saucepan with 3 pints stock free from fat. When done, remove the asparagus, pound in a mortar, and pass through a hair sieve. Melt about 1½ oz. butter in a saucepan on the fire, and mix with it 2 tablespoonfuls flour; add a little sugar, pepper, and salt, the asparagus pulp, and all the stock in which the asparagus was boiled. Let the whole boil up, adding as much more stock as will make the soup of the right consistency. Then put in a little spinach greening, and lastly a small pat of fresh butter, or stir in ½ gill cream. Serve over small dice of bread fried in butter.

_Barley Soup (d’orge)._--Cut up in small pieces carrots, turnips, onions, leeks, and celery in equal quantities; toss them in plenty of butter for ½ hour; add 2 heads of lettuce finely shredded, parsley, chervil, a sprig of marjoram; put in 2 qt. boiling water, pepper, salt, a few cloves, and a pinch of sugar; let the whole simmer for 2 hours, then strain the liquor through a cloth. Boil 1 pint pearl barley in 1 qt. of this stock till it is reduced to a pulp, pass it through a hair sieve, and add as much more stock as will be required to make the purée of the consistency of cream; put the soup on the fire, when it boils stir into it, off the fire, the yolk of an egg beaten up with a gill of cream; add ½ pat of fresh butter, and serve with small dice of bread fried in butter.

_Batter-cream Soup._--Mix 2-3 tablespoonfuls flour with water enough to make as thick a batter as you can stir, then add as many eggs as there are spoonfuls of flour, and stir well. Have ready some boiling broth which has been seasoned and strained; pour it into the batter, stirring all the while; set it over the fire to boil a few minutes, and serve.

_Bean Soup._--See Haricot.

_Beer Soup._--Simmer together 2 qt. beer, not bitter, a stick of cinnamon, a few cloves, the thin rind of a lemon, and sugar to taste. Beat in a tureen or bowl the yolks of 6 eggs and ½ pint cream. Strain on these the scalding beer, stirring all to a foam with the wire whisk. Serve hot, with toast.

_Birds’-nests Soup._--One bird’s nest is needed for each person; soak for 12 hours in fresh water; drain and wipe, separating the fibres, and carefully removing all feathers &c., by washing through several waters, until the nests are perfectly clean. Put them in a saucepan, cover with chicken broth, place the saucepan in a bain-marie, and cook very gently for 2 hours in the broth. At the moment of serving, place the nests in a soup dish, and cover with enough very rich, clear, hot chicken broth for the number of guests. Add pepper and salt to taste, and serve at once.

_Bone Soup._--Take a good quantity of bones of any kind, cover with water, add carrots, celery, a bunch of all kinds of herbs, a little parsley, onions, a blade or two of mace, and a few cloves, according to the quantity. Make it boil up quick, then pour in a little cold water to make the scum rise, and skim just as you would clear soup. Boil for several hours, then strain off and let it stand till next day. Take off the grease, whip up the whites of 2 eggs in a little cold water, add the shells, and beat all well together in the soup; set it on the fire to boil for ½ hour, till it looks clear, and strain off. Do not let it boil too fast.

_Bonne Femme Soup._--Cut up a good-sized onion into very thin rounds, and place these in a saucepan with a good allowance of butter. Take care not to let the onion get brown, and when it is half done throw in 2-3 handfuls of sorrel, 1 lettuce, and a small quantity of chervil, all finely cut; add pepper, salt, a little nutmeg, and keep stirring until the vegetables are nearly done. Then put in 1 tablespoonful pounded loaf sugar, and half a cupful of stock or broth free from fat. Let the mixture reduce nearly to a glaze, when about 1 qt. of stock or broth of the same kind as that used before should be added, and, after the soup has given one boil, it can be put aside until the time of serving. Meanwhile prepare about 18 very thin slices of bread, about 1 in. wide and 2 in. long, taking care that they have a crust along one of their sides. Dry these slices in the oven. When it is time to send up the soup, first remove the superfluous fat from it, then set it to boil, and when it boils take it off the fire and stir into it the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs beaten up with ¼ pint of cream or milk. Pour the soup over the slices of bread, and serve in 3 minutes. (The G. C.)

_Brunoise Soup._--Take equal parts of carrots, turnips, onions, and celery; cut them all in the shape of very small dice. Put a good piece of butter in a saucepan, with a little pepper and salt, and a teaspoonful of powdered lump sugar. Toss the carrots in this till they begin to take colour; then put in the celery, after a little time the turnips, and then the onions. When all the vegetables are equally coloured, add as much stock as you want soup, and set the saucepan by the side of the fire to simmer gently for 2 hours. Then skim, and serve. (The G. C.)

_Calf’s Head Soup._--Having well washed and soaked the head, put it on the fire in cold water, and simmer it 2½ hours from the time of its coming to a scalding heat. When quite done, take it out. Cut the meat off in neat slices; slice the tongue also, and take out the brains. Throw back the bones into the soup. Dry a pinch of saffron, rub it to powder, put it in the soup, with a small wineglassful of pale vinegar, a tablespoonful of sugar, a little nutmeg, and salt to taste. Shred parsley may be added if approved. The brains, divided into small pieces, must be put into the tureen, with 3 or 4 yolks of eggs beaten, and the scalding soup poured on them. Dip the slices of meat in egg and breadcrumbs, fry them a delicate brown in butter, and serve them after the soup, with any white vegetable.

_Carrot Soup (Crécy, Nivernaise)._--Fry a large onion a nice brown colour without burning it, scrape, wash, and well dry 2 or 3 large carrots, cutting out all specks; cut them into thin slices and put them into a stewpan with about 3 pints of stock, let them cook gently over the fire until quite tender, then strain them from the soup, rub them through a tammy with the fried onion back into the soup, warm it again, and season with a very little pepper and salt. Serve with fried croutons on a napkin in a plate to hand round with it. This soup should be made the day before or early in the day on which it is to be used; this gives the fat in which the onions have been fried time to rise to the top, and it can easily be removed when cold. If a very nice colour is wished, only the red parts of the carrots should be used, of course more carrots will then be required; it should be of about the consistency of pea soup. Almost any other vegetable suitable for a purée may be used in the same way, such as turnip, parsnip, vegetable marrow, or potato; or if the stock chance not to be particularly good, it may be thickened either with semolina, tapioca, or sago in the proportion of about three ounces to a quart of stock. For semolina, drop it into the stock when boiling, keep stirring it, and let it simmer gently for about ½ hour. Sago should be washed in boiling water, and added gradually to the boiling stock, stirring and simmering until perfectly soft and transparent. Tapioca must be put into the stock while cold, and must be allowed to boil gradually, it must then be simmered gently till quite soft as for sago; but even greater care will be necessary to keep stirring, or the tapioca will cling together and be lumpy. Should there not be likely to be any sufficiently good stock for next day’s dinner, an excellent soup, as well as a most useful cold dish for family use, may be made by stewing a piece of the thick brisket of beef the day before the soup is wanted. To 6 lb. of beef allow 3 large onions, 2 medium-sized carrots, 12 cloves, a sprig or two of parsley, and a tiny bunch of sweet herbs tied in muslin. Fry one of the onions a dark brown, without burning it, slice up one of the carrots and the remaining onions into a large stewpan, adding the second carrot, merely cut into 2 or 3 pieces, add a small piece of sweet dripping, and set the stewpan on the fire, stirring the vegetables until they are about half cooked, and are slightly browned; then take out half the vegetables; to those remaining in the stewpan add half the fried onion, 6 of the cloves, the bunch of herbs, and the parsley; slightly rub the beef with a small quantity of salt, place it above the vegetables, adding those that were taken from the stewpan, the other half of the fried onion, and 6 cloves, to rest on the top of the beef. Pour in as much of any stock you may happen to have as will well cover the beef, or, if you have no stock, use cold water; set it on the fire, which should not be a very fierce one, and let it remain till it begins to bubble; then remove it to the side, and let it remain simmering for 4-5 hours, or until done enough to be able to draw out the bones; it will require watching to ascertain this, as, when once tender enough for this, it should not cook any more. When the bones are removed, set the beef in a cool place between 2 dishes, with a heavy weight on the top; the next day it will be ready to trim and glaze, and serve as pressed beef. The soup and vegetables should be poured into a basin to stand all night; in the morning remove the fat which has risen to the top, warm the soup, and strain the vegetables from it. Trim off the outer discoloured parts of the larger pieces of carrot and cut them into thin slips, putting them back into the soup to be served in it; the rest of the vegetables may go into the stockpot, as there will still be much goodness in them. A slight shake of pepper will complete the soup, which should be a dark brown gravy soup of excellent flavour. If preferred to the carrots, a small quantity of Naples macaroni may be served in it; boil it in water till tender, then strain it and cut it into fine rings and add it to the soup.

_Cauliflower Soup._--Make a clear white soup of mutton, or veal, properly seasoned with salt and white pepper. Mix 2 or 3 spoonfuls of flour in milk to thicken the soup to the consistence of cream. Break up a cauliflower into small tufts; boil them in salted water; drain carefully, and add them unbroken to the soup when about to serve. If extra richness is desired, add the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs, with a little cream beaten up.

_Celery Soup._--Put into a saucepan the carcase and other remnants of a roast fowl, with a piece of ham or bacon, and a couple of heads of celery (reserving a few of the best pieces to be sliced finely, boiled in stock, and served in the soup). Fill up with stock and let it simmer 2-3 hours, then strain, clarify with white of egg or a little raw meat, and serve with celery.

_Cheap Soups._--These are given more especially for the benefit of those who have charge of soup kitchens for the poor in winter. Many hints, however, may be gained from them, and some are well adapted for households with small means.

(_a_) Take the liquor of meat boiled the day before, with the bones of leg and shin of beef, add to the liquor as much water as will make it 130 qt. and also the meat of 10 stone of leg and shin of beef and 2 ox heads cut into pieces, add 2 bunches of carrots, 4 bunches of turnips, 2 bunches of leeks, ½ peck of onions, a bunch of celery, ½ lb. pepper, and some salt. To be boiled for 6 hours. Either oatmeal, barley, or peas may be put in to thicken it if necessary.

(_b_) Wash 1 qt. Scotch barley or split peas, put them into a large saucepan or fish-kettle with 3 gal. water, add 3 large Portugal or Spanish onions cut into quarters, 6 large carrots, 6 or 8 turnips, herbs, pepper, salt, and allspice according to taste, one ox heel well divided, 7 lb. shin of beef; boil all together for 8-10 hours. It can be made cheaper and equally good by substituting for the shin of beef a 4 lb. tin of Australian beef or mutton, but this must be added only so as to mix in at the last with the other ingredients. Being thoroughly cooked in Australia, and free from bone, skin, and gristle, it is spoiled if it is cooked more than enough to make it hot for use. This beef or mutton is enveloped in its own jelly.

(_c_) Be most particular that the kitchen maid keeps every drop of water in which any meat is boiled; put this in the boiler, and fill up with water. When this boils, put in a few pieces of meat, 10 lb. to the 20 gal. (get 30 lb. of neck and shoulder pieces of beef once a week for it, and slightly salt them), some salt, and either pearl barley, groats, or oatmeal; whilst these are boiling, cut up some turnips and carrots in small pieces, say ½ in. square, cabbage and leeks, not cut too fine. These add to the soup, and boil all for 2 hours. The outer stalks of celery, if kept, make a great addition. Then take out the meat, and cut it up into small portions, putting one or two pieces into the can with the soup, when given to the poor.

(_d_) Put 2 oz. dripping into a saucepan capable of holding 2 gal. water, with ¼ lb. leg of beef, without bones, cut into square pieces about ½ in., and two middling-sized onions peeled and sliced; set the saucepan on the fire, and stir the contents round for a few minutes until fried lightly brown; then add (ready washed) the peelings of 2 turnips, 15 green leaves or tops of celery, and the green part of 2 leeks--the whole of which are usually thrown away; cut the above vegetables in small pieces and throw them into the saucepan with the other ingredients, stirring them occasionally; then add ½ lb. common flour (any farinaceous substance would do), ½ lb. pearl or Scotch barley, mixing all well together; then add 2 gal. water seasoned with 3 oz. salt and ¼ oz. brown sugar; stir it occasionally until boiling, and then allow it to simmer for 3 hours gently. You may use all kinds of vegetables cut aslant.

_Cherry Soup._--Use black cherries, and proceed as for plum soup. Put a few cloves in at first; 1 lb. cherries to 1 qt. water will be found very good. After straining, break some of the stones, and put the kernels into the soup. Add also a few whole cherries towards the last, only long enough to soften them.

_Chestnut Soup (de marrons)._--Boil ½-1 lb. chestnuts until they will peel easily. Put them in a stewpan, sprinkle with salt, and leave to steam soft and mealy. Work through a wire sieve; put butter half the size of an egg in a stewpan, and when it is melted add a small finely minced onion and a few mushrooms. Dredge in a tablespoonful of flour, put in the chestnuts, and stir in enough white or brown soup to give it the consistency of a creamy batter; let it boil up. Serve with sippets of toast or any other soup accompaniment. As a thickening or purée for any kind of good white soup, chestnuts are very delicate. They take less time to cook if the outer rind is peeled off first, and when they have had a scald scrape off the inner peel, boil, and steam them dry; then pass them through a sieve. About a pint will thicken a soup for a small pastry.

_Chicken Soup (Sévigné, de volaille, à la reine)._--(_a_) Cut some carrots in slices, and with a column cut out of these a number of discs ¼ in. diameter. Cut similar discs out of some leeks, celery, and sorrel leaves; make an equal quantity (about a wineglassful) of each, and parboil them separately in salted water, leaving the leeks and sorrel discs in the water until wanted. Take 3 pints white stock made with poultry and quite free from grease; when boiling hot put the vegetables into it, then a few tarragon leaves cut small, and a little chervil picked out leaf by leaf. Beat up the strained yolks of 4 eggs with ½ gill cream, stir into them a little of the soup, and then quickly stir in the whole into the soup off the fire, and serve.

(_b_) See Poultry Soup.

_Clear Soup (Consommé)._--Order in 7 lb. shin of beef (the bones must be broken), and 2 lb. veal, prepare about 8 large onions, 6 carrots, thyme, parsley, cloves, and bay leaves, head or stick of celery, 6 peppercorns. Order your meat, &c., the day before, so that you have it in the house early. First cut up the meat, dividing it from the bones, and casting away all gristle, veins, and fat, then well wash the whole in a basin of cold water. Put aside 1 lb. of the best of the beef, and the whole of the veal; keep them for clearing the soup. Put a little butter, size of a walnut, into a large saucepan to fry the onions in, cutting up and casting in, when the butter has melted, 8 small or 1 large onion. Let them fry till quite brown. While this is doing take out the meat from the basin of water (which beforehand must be washed well with the hand, so as to remove all grease and impurity), take a clean cloth and dry the meat carefully piece by piece; separate it from the bones. First, put the bits of meat (without any water) in, and let them stew for ½ hour, then add to them the bones, and let them stew for ½ hour; remember every few minutes to stir with a wooden spoon, or it will burn at the bottom of the saucepan. Then put the water, 16 tumblers, 1 pint water to 1 lb. meat. This for the best soup, for a dinner party, or for strengthening an invalid. Skim as long as the scum rises; do not keep the lid on. After it is thoroughly skimmed, put in a bunch made of a little thyme, parsley, and bay leaves, a stick of celery (or, if out of season, a muslin bag of seed), also throw in 4 good-sized onions, one of which stick with 4 cloves; then for eleven hours let it simmer, then take it off the fire (a good bright fire must be kept up all day), and strain it through a hair sieve, letting it remain all night. Next morning remove all fat from the surface with a spoon; if, as sometimes happens in hot weather, small bits of fat stick to the surface, take kitchen paper and quickly press it on the places; the fat in this way is easily removed. After this take a clean cloth dipped in boiling water, and wipe the top of the stock over, and the sides of the basin. When all the fat is removed put it into a saucepan (there is always a dark sediment at the bottom of the basin, which must be cast away; care must therefore be taken when spooning out the stock not to disturb this). Put the saucepan on the fire and let it get nearly to a boil; it must never boil till the very last; then put in the raw beef and veal, which must be prepared carefully, as much depends on how this is done. In hot weather keep the clearing meat till wanted in a cool place in salt and water, so as to keep fresh overnight. Take 3 eggs and break them (putting away the yolks, of which soup custard can be made afterwards), and mix the whites in a basin with the shells, and if possible collect beforehand other eggshells. Wash the shells in hot water, mash them, and put them into the basin. Chop up finely 1 large onion, 2 carrots, and with a tablespoonful of water mix all these together in the basin with the hands till all are well mixed; when it comes to a froth move the soup close to the fire, and when just on the boil watch it carefully, so that it does not boil too rapidly; take a whisk, and gradually pour in all that is in the basin with one hand, while whisking the soup briskly with the other, as if not whisked all the time the whites of egg set, and it does not clear. Remove it again, so as only to simmer. Put in 2 drops of colouring; go on whisking till it just comes to the boil after putting in the raw beef, &c.; remove it now off the fire, and let it simmer gently for an hour. Take the soup now off the fire altogether, and bring in a large basin. Take a clean napkin (the finer the better; it is always better than a tammy, as it is much finer), and be careful before using to wash it well in hot water, thereby removing all starch and soap, as often a small neglect in these details, after no end of previous trouble, is the cause of the soup not being perfectly clear. Lay the napkin over the top of the basin, and bring the saucepan to its side, and ladle out with a cup the soup into the basin, keeping the napkin from sinking; some one must hold it while the soup is being put in. Take care not to ladle out too fast, as it then does not give full time to strain gradually. When all is strained through, raise the napkin--in which, of course, there is still a quantity of stock--tie the ends on a hook, placing the basin below, and for several hours, till all is removed, let it drop in.--Hints: Time for making, 24 hours. First, say, begin at 11 A.M., and remove at 10 at night; strain all night. Next day at 11 put on soup, preparing beforehand the raw beef and veal, &c.; take it off at 1 o’clock. No salt or turnip while making; turnips always turn the stock sour. Put salt in just before serving, and so also macaroni and vegetables. They must be boiled by themselves in a small saucepan; when done plunge them into cold water to remove all scum, and have ready a basin of clear boiling water in which to put them again; after which, the last thing, take them out and lay them at the bottom of the tureen, pouring the soup on the top and adding the salt. From the meat and bones of the first day’s straining, excellent thin soup can be made called seconds, and, though not half so strong, it is very good. With the yolks of the eggs before mentioned, soup custard can be made as follows: Take the yolks of 3 eggs, mix them with a little stock, pepper and salt, and put the whole into a mould, cover it over with a piece of paper, and let it steam for about five minutes; then take it out and let it cool. Then cut it into small squares evenly, and, the last thing after the soup is hotted, drop them in.

_Clear Soup with Custard (Royale)._--Mix the yolks of 6 eggs with rather less than 1 gill cold water and a pinch of salt; strain the mixture, and divide it into 3 equal parts; colour one with some cochineal, the other with spinach greening, and leave the third plain. Put them into 3 small plain moulds, previously buttered, and set these in a pan of hot water, which place on the fire to boil just long enough to set the mixture. When the water in the saucepan has become quite cold, turn out the contents of each mould on to a wet napkin, and you will have 3 small cakes of firm custard, respectively green, red, and yellow. Cut them into small dice, and, handling them in the gentlest possible manner, spread them out on a plate to be kept till wanted. At the time of serving put a clear and well-flavoured consommé into the soup tureen; slip in carefully the custard dice, and serve at once.

_Clear Soup with Poached Eggs (aux œufs pochés)._--Cut up in small pieces 1 lb. lean veal, put it into a saucepan with a couple of onions, 2 or 3 carrots, a head of celery, all cut in small pieces, and a large piece of butter. Shake the saucepan on the fire until the contents have taken a colour, moisten with ½ pint common stock (hot) and keep on stirring over the fire for some time longer, adding during the process ½ lb. of ham cut up small. Then take the saucepan off the fire, and when the contents are cold pile up on them a small knuckle of veal chopped up, bones and all, into small pieces; fill up the saucepan with common stock (cold), and add parsley, sweet herbs, spices, pepper and salt, in due proportions. Set the saucepan to simmer gently by the side of the fire for about 3 hours, then strain the liquor. When cold free it absolutely from fat, and to every quart of liquor add the white of an egg whisked to froth, keep on beating the liquor on the fire at intervals, and as soon as it boils strain it through a fine tammy or a napkin. Put into a shallow sauté pan some water salted to taste, a little vinegar, a few peppercorns, and a few leaves of parsley. As soon as the water approaches boiling point (it should never be allowed to boil), poach some eggs (one for each person and one over) in it, just long enough to set the yolk slightly. Take out each egg with a slice, brush it clean with a paste brush, and cut it with a round fluted paste cutter, about 2 in. in diameter, so as to get all the eggs a uniform shape, and leave neither too much nor too little white round them. Turn the egg over carefully, brush it clean, and lay it in the soup tureen ready filled with boiling-hot clear soup. Add a few leaves of tarragon and chervil, and serve.

_Clear Soup with Quenelles._--Put into a saucepan 1 gill water, a pinch of salt, and a small piece of butter; when the water boils stir in as much flour as will form a paste, put the mixture away to get cold. Take ½ lb. lean veal, cut it into small pieces, and pound it in a mortar; add 3 oz. butter and 2 oz. the paste, and thoroughly mix the whole in the mortar, adding during the process the yolks of 2 and the white of 1 egg, salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg to taste; pass the mixture through a sieve, work a little cream into it, and, by means of 2 teaspoons, shape it in pieces the size of pigeons’ eggs; lay these carefully in a saucepan, pour in at the side sufficient boiling stock to cover them, and let them cook gently for a few minutes. Have the tureen ready filled with well-flavoured clear stock, boiling hot; slip the quenelles into it (with or without the stock they are boiled in), and serve.

_Cock-a-Leekie Soup._--Wash well 2 or 3 bunches of leeks (if old scald them in boiling water), take off the roots and part of the heads, and cut them into lengths of about 1 in. Put half the quantity into a pot with 5 qt. stock, and a fowl trussed for boiling, and allow them to simmer gently. In ½ hour add the remaining leeks, and let all simmer for 3 or 4 hours longer. It must be carefully skimmed and seasoned to taste. To serve the fowl carve neatly, placing the pieces in the tureen, and pouring over them the soup. This is sufficient for 10 persons.

_Cockle Soup (de clovisses)._--Cockles require a good deal of care in cleansing. They must be well scrubbed in 2 or 3 waters until the shells are quite clean, and must then soak for some hours in salt and water. After this put a little hot water at the bottom of a large saucepan, place the cockles in it, and cover them over with a clean cloth; set it on a moderate fire, or rather, hold the saucepan over the fire, for it must be kept moving constantly or the cockles will burn. Keep looking at them, and as each shell opens remove it from the pan. When all are open, remove the fish from the shells, straining the liquor from them. Having trimmed the cockles, put the delicate parts into the soup tureen. Put the trimmings into the liquor. Put into another stewpan a ¼ lb. butter, let it melt over the fire, add 6 oz. flour, stirring it in, still holding it over the fire, but taking care to keep the mixture quite white; let this stand until cool, then add the liquor and trimmings of the cockles, 1 qt. milk, and 2 qt. white stock. Stir this over the fire until it boils, then add a tablespoonful of Harvey sauce, a dessertspoonful of essence of anchovy, a blade of mace, 6 peppercorns, and a teaspoonful of salt. Let this boil quickly for 10 minutes, skim well, and just before serving add 1 gill cream; strain through a hair sieve over the cockles, and serve. About 4 dozen cockles will be required or 6 if very small.

_Coconut Soup._--This is a favourite soup in India, and might be more frequently tasted in England than it is, especially by vegetarians. It is made thus: Scrape or grate fine the inside of 2 well-ripened coconuts, put the scrapings into a saucepan with 2 qt. milk, add a blade of mace; let it simmer very gently for about ½ hour, then strain it through a fine sieve; have ready beaten the yolks of 4 eggs with a little milk and sufficient ground rice to thicken the soup; mix into a very smooth batter, which add by degrees to the soup; allow to simmer, and stir carefully until ready; season with salt and white pepper. Do not allow to boil, or it will curdle and be spoilt. If eggs are scarce, cream (½ pint) can be used instead. This soup is made in India with white stock instead of milk, but is equally good as a white soup if made as above. Boiled rice, the grains dry and quite distinct, should be served with it. (Eliot-James.)

_Crayfish Soup (d’écrevisses)._--20-50 crayfish, according to the quantity of soup required, should be thrown into boiling water and left to boil ¼ hour. Pick out the tails and rest of the fish, cover the meat, and set it aside. Pound the shells and small claws, adding, by degrees, 3 or 4 oz. butter. Put this mass into a small stewpan, and stir over the fire until the butter is red. Add then 1 pint clear white soup and let it stew slowly ½ hour; then strain it off and add to it sufficient well-seasoned white soup, which, however, must have no strong or prominent flavour. Put in the tails and the pickings of the fish, make the soup quite hot; beat up the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs in the tureen, pour in the scalding soup, and serve with toasted roll.

_Conger-eel Soup._--Boil 2 lb. conger-eel in 3 pints water, with a little salt, for 1 hour over a slow fire. Then strain it, and put again upon a slow fire with ½ pint young peas. When they have boiled a short time add some parsley, thyme, borage, leek, and chives chopped fine, and marigold flowers (the petals of the flower). Let it boil again for 5 minutes; then mix together 2 spoonfuls flour, and 1 tablespoonful butter, with a little of the broth. When well mixed add 1 pint new milk, doing it with care so as not to curdle it. Let boil 5 minutes, and serve it up with a slice or two of bread cut very thin, in the tureen. When peas are not in season, cabbage shred very fine, or vegetable marrow chopped small, or asparagus heads, are each good as a substitute. It can be greatly enriched by increasing the quantity of butter and milk.

_Crust Soup (Croûte au pot)._--Cut off the bottom crust of a quartern loaf, leaving the same thickness of crumb as there is crust. Cut it out in rounds the size of a sixpence. Soak the rounds in broth; put them (in a tin with some butter) into the oven, and let them be until they are quite dried up (_gratinés_). Then lay them in the soup tureen with rounds of carrots, turnips, leeks, or cabbages boiled in stock, and cut the same size, pour some well-flavoured clear stock over, and after the lapse of 3 or 4 minutes serve. (The G. C.)

_Custard Soup._--See Clear soup with custard.

_Flemish Soup._--Boil equal parts of potatoes and turnips in water, with one onion and a head of celery, adding pepper and salt to taste. When the vegetables are quite done, pass the whole through a hair sieve. Put the soup in a saucepan on the fire, and as soon as it boils, add a pat of fresh butter, and plenty of chervil, a pinch of parsley, and a few tarragon leaves, all finely minced; then pour it over slices of toast, and serve.

_French Soup._--Take one sheep’s head, remove the brains, and steep it. Put it into a saucepan with 3 qt. water, one teacupful pearl barley, 6 onions, 1 turnip, 1 carrot, a bunch of sweet herbs, and a few cloves. Let it simmer gently for about 5 hours, then remove the head; strain and rub the vegetables through a sieve, or leave them whole, according to taste. Let it stand all night, and when cold take off every particle of fat; cut up the meat from the head into small pieces, and warm it up in the soup. Season to taste, add a wineglass of white wine, a little mushroom ketchup, and thicken with butter and flour. Very little inferior to mock turtle soup.

_Fried Soup._--3 potatoes, 3 turnips, 3 parsnips, 3 onions, 3 heads of celery, thinly sliced and fried; stew for some hours in weak stock. When quite tender, keep some pieces of each vegetable to put in the soup; pass all the rest through the sieve, and add a good cupful of pea soup, or soaked and boiled peas, to thicken the purée. Season to taste; warm it up; add the fried pieces to it at the last.

_Game Soup (de Gibier)._--Take the remnants of any kind of game not high, put them in a saucepan with an onion or carrot, 2 or 3 cloves, a small piece of mace, a bay leaf, some parsley, whole pepper and salt to taste. Cover the whole with veal or poultry stock, and set the saucepan to boil gently for 2 hours. Strain off the soup and set it to boil again, then throw in 1 oz. raw beef or liver coarsely chopped, let it give one boil, and strain the soup through a napkin. If not quite clear, the clarifying process must be repeated. A very small quantity of sherry may be put in before clarifying.

_Giblet Soup (gibelette)._--This is generally a favourite soup, is very nutritious, and if flavoured simply, need not be unwholesome. Prepare the giblets as usual. Brown a slice of lean ham in a pan, adding a little water occasionally to collect the brown gravy from it; put this with the ham, giblets, and a teaspoonful of pearl barley, into a stewpan with enough cold water to cover them well; simmer gently until the gizzards are perfectly tender. Take them out, and stew the remainder of the giblets, with a clove or two, celery leaves, and any flavourings considered suitable, until the meat is quite done to rags. If necessary, add a little hot water now and then to keep the giblets covered. Strain off the stock, and allow it to become cold, when every particle of fat must be removed. To ensure this, not only skim, but wipe the surface with a soft cloth dipped into hot water. Mix with this an equal quantity of stock; flavour with a little wine and mushroom ketchup, or the latter only; cut up the gizzards into convenient pieces, and simmer them in the soup for a few minutes. Serve with this a slice of French roll or whole-meal bread as preferred. If salt meat be objected to, brown the soup with a little Liebig instead of the ham. To avoid richness, the gizzards are the only part of the giblets that should be served in the soup, and these are said to be particularly nourishing.

_Gniocchi Soup._--Put 1 oz. butter into a saucepan with 1 pint water and a pinch of salt; when the water boils, stir with a spoon (and throw in gradually with the other hand) as much flour as will make a stiff paste that will not stick to the spoon; then add 2 oz. grated Parmesan cheese, mix well, and, removing the saucepan from the fire, work into it 2 or 3 eggs. Next put the paste into a biscuit forcer, and as it is forced out cut it off in even lengths of 1 in., letting them drop into some well-flavoured stock boiling on the fire. A few minutes’ poaching will cook the gniocchi, but expedition is necessary, so that the first that is cut off may not be overdone by the time the last is cut off. The knife used should be dipped now and then in hot water, else the paste will stick to it.

_Gravy Soup (Consommé)._--Place a layer of slices of onions in a saucepan holding a gallon, over this a layer of fat bacon, and over all about 2 lb. shin of beef chopped up in small pieces; 1 pint common stock, or even water, being poured on the whole, set the saucepan on the fire for 1 hour, or until the liquor is almost evaporated--what is called reduced to a “glaze”; then add sufficient cold common stock or cold water to cover the contents of the saucepan, and 2 or 3 carrots cut in slices, 1 leek, a head of celery (when in season), or some celery seed, a handful of parsley, have a clove of garlic, a sprig of marjoram and one of thyme, a bay leaf, 4 or 5 cloves, white pepper and salt to taste. After boiling about 3 hours strain off the liquor, and, being absolutely freed from fat, it is ready for use.

_Green Corn Soup._--Boil unripe green corn in broth or water till quite soft; pass it through a sieve, in the manner of peas. Add it to some good broth, in which celery or parsley-roots have been boiled, or any flavouring herbs. Give a quick boil, and serve with sippets of toast. The broth or soup should be clear and colourless, not to alter the green tint of the corn. A few spinach leaves may be boiled with it, to give a deeper green.

_Green-pea Soup (de pois verts)._--(_a_) Take 1½ pint green peas, boil them in salt and water with a little mint; when thoroughly cooked pound them and pass them through a hair sieve. Put a piece of butter into a stewpan; when melted put in an onion and a carrot cut in thin slices, fry until they begin to colour; add 1 qt. stock, a little salt, pepper, and a pinch of white sugar. Leave it to boil for ¼ hour, stir in the purée of peas, let it come to the boil, strain, and serve with small dice of bread fried in butter.

(_b_) When shelling the peas, divide the youngest from the oldest ones; 1 pint of young peas, and 3 pints of the oldest ones will be required. In 2 qt. water boil, until the whole will mash through a sieve, 3 pints old peas, a lettuce, a faggot of thyme and knotted marjoram, 2 blades of mace, 8 cloves, and 4 cayenne pods. After being mashed and rubbed through a sieve, put it in a china-lined saucepan, add the heart of a large lettuce shred, and ¼ lb. butter rolled in about 3 tablespoonfuls of flour; set the saucepan on the stove and stir till it boils, then add the young peas; when these are nearly boiled enough, add a very little green mint, finely chopped, a tablespoonful of juice of spinach, and salt to taste.

_Grouse Soup._--Chop up the remains of 2 roast grouse; put them into a saucepan with an onion and a carrot cut in pieces, a faggot of sweet herbs, and pepper and salt to taste. Fill up the saucepan with sufficient common stock to cover the contents; let the whole boil till the meat comes off easily from the bones; strain off the liquor; pick all the meat from the bones; pound it in a mortar, pass through a wire sieve, and add the liquor. Amalgamate in a saucepan a piece of butter with a tablespoonful of flour, add the soup to it, let it come to boiling point, then stir in (off the fire) the yolks of a couple of eggs with or without lemon juice, according to taste. Serve on very small dice of bread fried in butter.

_Hare Soup (de levraut)._--Take a hare, skin, draw, and reserve the blood: cut it up and put it into a saucepan with an onion, 2 cloves, a faggot of herbs (parsley, thyme and basil), pepper, salt, and mace, 2 qt. stock and half bottle of red wine; simmer gently till the meat be quite tender; strain it from the soup, soak the crumb of some bread in the soup, and, removing the meat from the bones, chop it up with the soaked bread, and pound it quite smooth in a mortar; add the soup gradually to it, pass through a tammy, hot it up, but do not let it boil. Just before serving add the blood, very gradually stirring it in off the fire, pour the soup into the soup tureen over small dice of fried bread.