Chapter IX: Made Dishes (9)

Two wine-glasses of port, and two of walnut pickle, four of mushroom catchup, half a dozen anchovies, pounded, the like number of eschalots sliced and pounded, a table-spoonful of soy, and half a drachm of Cayenne pepper; let them simmer gently for ten minutes; strain it, and when cold, put it into bottles; well corked, and sealed over, it will keep for a considerable time.

_Obs._--This is commonly called Quin's sauce, and was given to me by a very sagacious sauce-maker.

_Keeping Mustard._--(No. 427.)

Dissolve three ounces of salt in a quart of boiling water, or rather vinegar, and pour it hot upon two ounces of scraped horseradish; closely cover down the jar, and let it stand twenty-four hours: strain, and mix it by degrees with the best Durham flour of mustard, beat well together till quite smooth, and of the proper thickness; put into a wide-mouthed bottle, and stop it closely. For the various ways to flavour mustard, see No. 370.

_Sauce Superlative._[278-*]--(No. 429.)

Claret, or port wine, and mushroom catchup (see No. 439), a pint of each.
Half a pint of walnut or other pickle liquor.
Pounded anchovies, four ounces.
Fresh lemon-peel, pared very thin, an ounce.
Peeled and sliced eschalots, the same.
Scraped horseradish, ditto.
Allspice, and
Black pepper powdered, half an ounce each.
Cayenne, one drachm, or curry-powder, three drachms.
Celery-seed bruised, a drachm. All avoirdupois weight.

Put these into a wide-mouthed bottle, stop it close, shake it up every day for a fortnight, and strain it (when some think it improved by the addition of a quarter of a pint of soy, or thick browning, see No. 322), and you will have a "delicious double relish."

*.* This composition is one of the "chefs d'oeuvre" of many experiments I have made, for the purpose of enabling the good housewives of Great Britain to prepare their own sauces: it is equally agreeable with fish, game, poultry, or ragoûts, &c., and as a fair lady may make it herself, its relish will be not a little augmented, by the certainty that all the ingredients are good and wholesome.

_Obs._--Under an infinity of circumstances, a cook may be in want of the substances necessary to make sauce: the above composition of the several articles from which the various gravies derive their flavour, will be found a very admirable extemporaneous substitute. By mixing a large table-spoonful with a quarter of a pint of thickened melted butter, broth, or No. 252, five minutes will finish a boat of very relishing sauce, nearly equal to drawn gravy, and as likely to put your lingual nerves into good humour as any thing I know.

To make a boat of sauce for poultry, &c. put a piece of butter about as big as an egg into a stew-pan, set it on the fire; when it is melted, put to it a table-spoonful of flour; stir it thoroughly together, and add to it two table-spoonfuls of sauce, and by degrees about half a pint of broth, or boiling water, let it simmer gently over a slow fire for a few minutes, skim it and strain it through a sieve, and it is ready.

_Quintessence of Anchovy._--(No. 433.)

The goodness of this preparation depends almost entirely on having fine mellow fish, that have been in pickle long enough (_i. e._ about twelve months) to dissolve easily, yet are not at all rusty.

Choose those that are in the state they come over in, not such as have been put into fresh pickle, mixed with red paint,[280-*] which some add to improve the complexion of the fish; it has been said, that others have a trick of putting anchovy liquor on pickled sprats;[280-+] you will easily discover this by washing one of them, and tasting the flesh of it, which in the fine anchovy is mellow, red, and high-flavoured, and the bone moist and oily. Make only as much as will soon be used, the fresher it is the better.

Put ten or twelve anchovies into a mortar, and pound them to a pulp; put this into a very clean iron, or silver, or very well tinned saucepan; then put a large table-spoonful of cold spring-water (we prefer good vinegar) into the mortar; shake it round, and pour it to the pounded anchovies, set them by the side of a slow fire, very frequently stirring them together till they are melted, which they will be in the course of five minutes. Now stir in a quarter of a drachm of good Cayenne pepper (No. 404). and let it remain by the side of the fire for a few minutes longer; then, while it is warm, rub it through a hair-sieve,[280-++] with the back of a wooden spoon.

The essence of anchovy, which is prepared for the committee of taste, is made with double the above quantity of water, as they are of opinion that it ought to be so thin as not to hang about the sides of the bottle; when it does, the large surface of it is soon acted upon by the air, and becomes rancid and spoils all the rest of it.

A roll of thin-cut lemon-peel infused with the anchovy, imparts a fine, fresh, delicate, aromatic flavour, which is very grateful; this is only recommended when you make sauce for immediate use; it will keep much better without: if you wish to acidulate it, instead of water make it with artificial lemon-juice (No. 407*), or add a little of Coxwell's concrete acid to it.

_Obs._--The above is the proper way to perfectly dissolve anchovy,[281-*] and to incorporate it with the water; which, if completely saturated, will continue suspended.

To prevent the separation of essence of anchovy, and give it the appearance of being fully saturated with fish, various other expedients have been tried, such as dissolving the fish in thin water gruel, or barley-water, or thickening it with mucilage, flour, &c.: when any of these things are added, it does not keep half so well as it does without them; and to preserve it, they overload it with Cayenne pepper.

MEM.--You cannot make essence of anchovy half so cheap as you can buy it. Thirty prime fish, weighing a pound and a quarter, and costing 4_s._ 6_d._, and two table-spoonfuls of water, made me only half a pint of essence; you may commonly buy that quantity ready-made for 2_s._, and we have seen an advertisement offering it for sale as low as 2_s._ 6_d._ per quart.

It must be kept very closely stopped; when you tap a bottle of sauce, throw away the old perforated cork, and put in a new taper velvet cork; if the air gets to it, the fish takes the rust,[281-+] and it is spoiled directly.

Essence of anchovy is sometimes coloured[281-++] with bole armeniac, Venice red, &c.; but all these additions deteriorate the flavour of the sauce, and the palate and stomach suffer for the gratification of the eye, which, in culinary concerns, will never be indulged by the sagacious gourmand at the expense of these two _primum mobiles_ of his pursuits.

*.* Essence of anchovy is sometimes made with sherry or Madeira wine, or good mushroom catchup (No. 439), instead of water. If you like the acid flavour, add a little citric acid, or dissolve them in good vinegar.

N.B. This is infinitely the most convenient way of using anchovy, as each guest may mix sauce for himself, and make it strong or weak, according to his own taste.

It is also much more economical, as plain melted butter (No. 256) serves for other purposes at table.

_Anchovy Paste, or le Beurre d'Anchois._--(No. 434.)

Pound them in a mortar; then rub it through a fine sieve; pot it, cover it with clarified butter, and keep it in a cool place.

N.B. If you have essence of anchovy, you may make anchovy paste extempore, by rubbing the essence with as much flour as will make a paste. _Mem._--This is merely mentioned as the means of making it immediately; it will not keep.

_Obs._--This is sometimes made stiffer and hotter by the addition of a little flour of mustard, a pickled walnut, spice (No. 460), curry powder (No. 455), or Cayenne; and it then becomes a rival to "_la véritable sauce d'enfer_" (No. 528), or _pâté à la diable_ for deviling biscuits (No. 574), grills (No. 538), &c. It is an excellent garnish for fish, put in pats round the edge of the dish, or will make anchovy toast (No. 573), or devil a biscuit (No. 574), &c. in high style.

_Anchovy Powder._--(No. 435.)

Pound the fish in a mortar, rub them through a sieve, and make them into a paste with dried flour, roll it into thin cakes, and dry them in a Dutch oven before a slow fire; pounded to a fine powder, and put into a well-stopped bottle, it will keep for years; it is a very savoury relish, sprinkled on bread and butter for a sandwich, &c. See Oyster Powder (No. 280).

_Obs._--To this may be added a small portion of Cayenne pepper, grated lemon-peel, and citric acid.

_Walnut Catchup._--(No. 438.)

Take six half-sieves of green walnut-shells, put them into a tub, mix them up well with common salt, (from two to three pounds,) let them stand for six days, frequently beating and mashing them; by this time the shells become soft and pulpy; then by banking it up on one side of the tub, and at the same time by raising the tub on that side, the liquor will drain clear off to the other; then take that liquor out: the mashing and banking-up may be repeated as often as liquor is found. The quantity will be about six quarts. When done, let it be simmered in an iron boiler as long as any scum arises; then bruise a quarter of a pound of ginger, a quarter of a pound of allspice, two ounces of long pepper, two ounces of cloves, with the above ingredients; let it slowly boil for half an hour; when bottled, let an equal quantity of the spice go into each bottle; when corked, let the bottles be filled quite up: cork them tight, seal them over, and put them into a cool and dry place for one year before they are used.

N.B. For the above we are indebted to a respectable oilman, who has many years proved the receipt.

_Mushroom Catchup._--(No. 439.)

If you love good catchup, gentle reader, make it yourself,[283-*] after the following directions, and you will have a delicious relish for made-dishes, ragoûts, soups, sauces, or hashes.

Mushroom gravy approaches the nature and flavour of meat gravy, more than any vegetable juice, and is the superlative substitute for it: in meagre soups and extempore gravies, the chemistry of the kitchen has yet contrived to agreeably awaken the palate, and encourage the appetite.

A couple of quarts of double catchup, made according to the following receipt, will save you some score pounds of meat, besides a vast deal of time and trouble; as it will furnish, in a few minutes, as good sauce as can be made for either fish, flesh, or fowl. See No. 307.

I believe the following is the best way of extracting and preparing the essence of mushrooms, so as to procure and preserve their flavour for a considerable length of time.

Look out for mushrooms from the beginning of September.

Take care they are the right sort, and fresh gathered. Full-grown flaps are to be preferred: put a layer of these at the bottom of a deep earthen pan, and sprinkle them with salt; then another layer of mushrooms, and some more salt on them; and so on alternately, salt and mushrooms: let them remain two or three hours, by which time the salt will have penetrated the mushrooms, and rendered them easy to break; then pound them in a mortar, or mash them well with your hands, and let them remain for a couple of days, not longer, stirring them up and mashing them well each day; then pour them into a stone jar, and to each quart add an ounce and a half of whole black pepper, and half an ounce of allspice; stop the jar very close, and set it in a stew-pan of boiling water, and keep it boiling for two hours at least. Take out the jar, and pour the juice clear from the settlings through a hair-sieve (without squeezing[284-*] the mushrooms) into a clean stew-pan; let it boil very gently for half an hour: those who are for superlative catchup, will continue the boiling till the mushroom-juice is reduced to half the quantity; it may then be called double cat-sup or dog-sup.

There are several advantages attending this concentration; it will keep much better, and only half the quantity be required; so you can flavour sauce, &c. without thinning it: neither is this an extravagant way of making it, for merely the aqueous part is evaporated; skim it well, and pour it into a clean dry jar, or jug; cover it close, and let it stand in a cool place till next day; then pour it off as gently as possible (so as not to disturb the settlings at the bottom of the jug,) through a tamis, or thick flannel bag, till it is perfectly clear; add a table-spoonful of good brandy to each pint of catchup, and let it stand as before; a fresh sediment will be deposited, from which the catchup is to be quietly poured off, and bottled in pints or half pints (which have been washed with brandy or spirit): it is best to keep it in such quantities as are soon used.

Take especial care that it is closely corked, and sealed down, or dipped in bottle cement.

If kept in a cool, dry place, it may be preserved for a long time; but if it be badly corked, and kept in a damp place, it will soon spoil.

Examine it from time to time, by placing a strong light behind the neck of the bottle, and if any pellicle appears about it, boil it up again with a few peppercorns.

We have ordered no more spice, &c. than is absolutely necessary to feed the catchup, and keep it from fermenting, &c.

The compound, commonly called catchup, is generally an injudicious combination of so many different tastes, that the flavour of the mushroom is overpowered by a farrago of garlic, eschalot, anchovy, mustard, horseradish, lemon-peel, beer, wine, spice, &c.

_Obs._--A table-spoonful of double catchup will impregnate half a pint of sauce with the full flavour of mushroom, in much greater perfection than either pickled or powder of mushrooms.

_Quintessence of Mushrooms._--(No. 440.)

This delicate relish is made by sprinkling a little salt over either flap or button mushrooms; three hours after, mash them; next day, strain off the liquor that will flow from them; put it into a stew-pan, and boil it till it is reduced to half.

It will not keep long, but is preferable to any of the catchups, which, in order to preserve them, must have spice, &c., which overpowers the flavour of the mushrooms.

An artificial mushroom bed will supply this all the year round.

To make sauce with this, see No. 307.

_Oyster Catchup._--(No. 441.)

Take fine fresh Milton oysters; wash them in their own liquor; skim it; pound them in a marble mortar; to a pint of oysters add a pint of sherry; boil them up, and add an ounce of salt, two drachms of pounded mace, and one of Cayenne; let it just boil up again; skim it, and rub it through a sieve, and when cold, bottle it, cork it well, and seal it down.

_Obs._--See also No. 280, and Obs. to No. 278.

N.B. It is the best way to pound the salt and spices, &c. with the oysters.

_Obs._--This composition very agreeably heightens the flavour of white sauces, and white made-dishes; and if you add a glass of brandy to it, it will keep good for a considerable time longer than oysters are out of season in England.

_Cockle and Muscle Catchup_,--(No. 442.)

May be made by treating them in the same way as the oysters in the preceding receipt.

_Pudding Catchup._--(No. 446.)

Half a pint of brandy, "essence of punch" (No. 479), or "Curaçoa" (No. 474), or "Noyeau," a pint of sherry, an ounce of thin-pared lemon-peel, half an ounce of mace, and steep them for fourteen days, then strain it, and add a quarter of a pint of capillaire, or No. 476. This will keep for years, and, mixed with melted butter, is a delicious relish to puddings and sweet dishes. See Pudding Sauce, No. 269, and the Justice's Orange Syrup, No. 392.

_Potato[286-*] Starch._--(No. 448.)

Peel and wash a pound of full-grown potatoes, grate them on a bread-grater into a deep dish, containing a quart of clear water; stir it well up, and then pour it through a hair-sieve, and leave it ten minutes to settle, till the water is quite clear: then pour off the water, and put a quart of fresh water to it; stir it up, let it settle, and repeat this till the water is quite clear; you will at last find a fine white powder at the bottom of the vessel. (The criterion of this process being completed, is the purity of the water that comes from it after stirring it up.) Lay this on a sheet of paper in a hair-sieve to dry, either in the sun or before the fire, and it is ready for use, and in a well-stopped bottle will keep good for many months.

If this be well made, half an ounce (_i. e._ a table-spoonful) of it mixed with two table-spoonfuls of cold water, and stirred into a soup or sauce, just before you take it up, will thicken a pint of it to the consistence of cream.

_Obs._--This preparation much resembles the "Indian arrow root," and is a good substitute for it; it gives a fulness on the palate to gravies and sauces at hardly any expense, and by some is used to thicken melted butter instead of flour.

As it is perfectly tasteless, it will not alter the flavour of the most delicate broth, &c.

_Of the Flour of Potatoes._

"A patent has been recently obtained at Paris, a gold medal bestowed, and other honorary distinctions granted, for the discovery and practice, on a large scale, of preparing from potatoes a fine flour; a sago, a flour equal to ground rice; and a semolina or paste, of which 1_lb._ is equal to 1-1/2_lbs._ of rice, 1-3/4_lbs._ of vermicelli, or, it is asserted, 8_lbs._ of raw potatoes.

"These preparations are found valuable to mix with wheaten flour for bread, to make biscuits, pastry, pie-crusts, and for all soups, gruels, and panada.

"Large engagements have been made for these preparations with the French marine, and military and other hospitals, with the approbation of the faculty.

"An excellent bread, it is said, can be made of this flour, at half the cost of wheaten bread.

"Heat having been applied in these preparations, the articles will keep unchanged for years, and on board ship, to China and back; rats, mice, worms, and insects do not infect or destroy this flour.

"Simply mixed with cold water, they are in ten minutes fit for food, when fire and all other resource may be wanted; and twelve ounces are sufficient for a day's sustenance, in case of necessity.

"The physicians and surgeons in the hospitals, in cases of great debility of the stomach, have employed these preparations with advantage.

"The point of this discovery is, the cheapness of preparation, and the conversion of a surplus growth of potatoes into a keeping stock, in an elegant, portable, and salubrious form."

_Salad or piquante Sauce for cold Meat, Fish, &c._--(No. 453.) See also No. 372.

Pound together

An ounce of scraped horseradish,
Half an ounce of salt,
A table-spoonful of made mustard, No. 370,
Four drachms of minced eschalots, No. 409,
Half a drachm of celery-seed, No. 409,
And half ditto of Cayenne, No. 404,

Adding gradually a pint of burnet (No. 399), or tarragon vinegar (No. 396), and let it stand in a jar a week, and then pass it through a sieve.

_Curry Powder._--(No. 455.)

Put the following ingredients in a cool oven all night, and the next morning pound them in a marble mortar, and rub them through a fine sieve.

_d._
Coriander-seed, three ounces 3
Turmeric, three ounces 6
Black pepper, mustard, and ginger, one ounce of each 8
Allspice and less cardamoms, half an ounce of each 5
Cumin-seed, a quarter of an ounce 1

Thoroughly pound and mix together, and keep them in a well-stopped bottle.

Those who are fond of curry sauces, may steep three ounces of the powder in a quart of vinegar or white wine for ten days, and will get a liquor impregnated with all the flavour of the powder.

_Obs._--This receipt was an attempt to imitate some of the best Indian curry powder, selected for me by a friend at the India house: the flavour approximates to the Indian powder so exactly, the most profound palaticians have pronounced it a perfect copy of the original curry stuff.

The following remark was sent to the editor by an East Indian friend.

"The ingredients which you have selected to form the curry powder, are the same as are used in India, with this difference only, that some of them are in a raw green state, and are mashed together, and afterward dried, powdered, and sifted." For Curry Sauce, see No. 348.

N.B. Chickens, rabbits, sweetbreads, breasts of veal, veal cutlets, mutton, lamb, or pork chops, lobster, turbot, soles, eels, oysters, &c. are dressed curry fashion, see No. 497; or stew them in No. 329 or No. 348, and flavour with No. 455.

_Obs._--The common fault of curry powder is the too great proportion of Cayenne (to the milder aromatics from which its agreeable flavour is derived), preventing a sufficient quantity of the curry powder being used.

_Savoury ragoût Powder._--(No. 457.)

Salt, an ounce,
Mustard, half an ounce,
Allspice,[288-*] a quarter of an ounce,
Black pepper ground, and lemon-peel grated, or of No. 407, pounded
and sifted fine, half an ounce each,
Ginger, and
Nutmeg grated, a quarter of an ounce each,
Cayenne pepper, two drachms.

Pound them patiently, and pass them through a fine hair-sieve; bottle them for use. The above articles will pound easier and finer, if they are dried first in a Dutch oven[288-+] before a very gentle fire, at a good distance from it; if you give them much heat, the fine flavour of them will be presently evaporated, and they will soon get a strong, rank, empyreumatic taste.

N.B. Infused in a quart of vinegar or wine, they make a savoury relish for soups, sauces, &c.

_Obs._ The spices in a ragoût are indispensable to give it a flavour, but not a predominant one; their presence should be rather supposed than perceived; they are the invisible spirit of good cookery: indeed, a cook without spice would be as much at a loss as a confectioner without sugar: a happy mixture of them, and proportion to each other and the other ingredients, is the "chef-d'oeuvre" of a first-rate cook.

The art of combining spices, &c., which may be termed the "harmony of flavours," no one hitherto has attempted to teach: and "the rule of thumb" is the only guide that experienced cooks have heretofore given for the assistance of the novice in the (till now, in these pages explained, and rendered, we hope, perfectly intelligible to the humblest capacity) occult art of cookery. This is the first time receipts in cookery have been given accurately by weight or measure!!!

(See _Obs._ on "the education of a cook's tongue," pages 52 and 53.)

_Pease Powder._--(No. 458.)

Pound together in a marble mortar half an ounce each of dried mint and sage, a drachm of celery-seed, and a quarter of a drachm of Cayenne pepper; rub them through a fine sieve. This gives a very savoury relish to pease soup, and to water gruel, which, by its help, if the eater of it has not the most lively imagination, he may fancy he is sipping good pease soup.

_Obs._--A drachm of allspice, or black pepper, may be pounded with the above as an addition, or instead of, the Cayenne.

_Horseradish Powder._--(No. 458*.)

The time to make this is during November and December; slice it the thickness of a shilling, and lay it to dry very gradually in a Dutch oven (a strong heat soon evaporates its flavour); when dry enough, pound it and bottle it.

_Obs._ See Horseradish Vinegar (No. 399*).

_Soup-herb Powder, or Vegetable Relish._--(No. 459.)

Dried parsley,
Winter savoury,
Sweet marjoram,
Lemon-thyme, of each two ounces;
Lemon-peel, cut very thin, and dried, and
Sweet basil, an ounce of each.

*.* Some add to the above bay-leaves and celery-seed, a drachm each.

Dry them in a warm, but not too hot Dutch oven: when quite dried, pound them in a mortar, and pass them through a double hair-sieve; put them in a bottle closely stopped, they will retain their fragrance and flavour for several months.

N.B. These herbs are in full perfection in July and August (see No. 461*). An infusion of the above in vinegar or wine makes a good relishing sauce, but the flavour is best when made with fresh-gathered herbs, as directed in No. 397.

_Obs._ This composition of the fine aromatic herbs is an invaluable acquisition to the cook in those seasons or situations when fresh herbs cannot be had; and we prefer it to the ragoût powder, No. 457: it impregnates sauce, soup, &c. with as much relish, and renders it agreeable to the palate, and refreshes the gustatory nerves, without so much risk of offending the stomach, &c.

_Soup-herb and Savoury Powder, or Quintessence of Ragoût._--(No. 460.)

Take three parts of soup-herb powder (No. 459) to one part of savoury powder, No. 457.

_Obs._ This agreeable combination of the aromatic spices and herbs should be kept ready prepared: it will save a great deal of time in cooking ragoûts, stuffings, forcemeat-balls, soups, sauces, &c.; kept dry, and tightly corked down, its fragrance and strength may be preserved undiminished for some time.

N.B. Three ounces of the above will impregnate a quart of vinegar or wine with a very agreeable relish.

_To Dry sweet and savoury Herbs._--(No. 461.)

For the following accurate and valuable information, the reader is indebted to Mr. BUTLER, herbalist and seedsman (opposite Henrietta Street), Covent Garden market.

"It is very important to those who are not in the constant habit of attending the markets to know when the various seasons commence for purchasing sweet herbs.

"All vegetables are in the highest state of perfection, and fullest of juice and flavour, just before they begin to flower: the first and last crop have neither the fine flavour, nor the perfume of those which are gathered in the height of the season; that is, when the greater part of the crop of each species is ripe.

"Take care they are gathered on a dry day, by which means they will have a better colour when dried. Cleanse your herbs well from dirt and dust;[291-*] cut off the roots; separate the bunches into smaller ones, and dry them by the heat of a stove, or in a Dutch oven before a common fire, in such quantities at a time, that the process may be speedily finished; _i. e._ 'Kill 'em quick,' says a great botanist; by this means their flavour will be best preserved: there can be no doubt of the propriety of drying herbs, &c. hastily by the aid of artificial heat, rather than by the heat of the sun. In the application of artificial heat, the only caution requisite is to avoid burning; and of this a sufficient test is afforded by the preservation of the colour." The common custom is, when they are perfectly dried to put them in bags, and lay them in a dry place; but the best way to preserve the flavour of aromatic plants is to pick off the leaves as soon as they are dried, and to pound them, and put them through a hair-sieve, and keep them in well-stopped bottles.[291-+] See No. 459.

Basil is in the best state for drying from the middle of August, and
three weeks after, see No. 397.

Knotted marjoram, from the beginning of July, and during the same.

Winter savoury, the latter end of July, and throughout August, see
_Obs._ to No. 397.

Summer savoury, the latter end of July, and throughout August.

Thyme, lemon-thyme, orange-thyme,[291-++] during June and July.

Mint, latter end of June, and during July, see No. 398.

Sage, August and September.

Tarragon, June, July, and August, see No. 396.

Chervil, May, June, and July, see No. 264.

Burnet, June, July, and August, see No. 399.

Parsley, May, June, and July, see N.B. to No. 261.

Fennel, May, June, and July.

Elder flowers, May, June, and July.

Orange flowers, May, June, and July.

N.B. Herbs nicely dried are a very acceptable substitute when fresh ones cannot be got; but, however carefully dried, the flavour and fragrance of the fresh herbs are incomparably finer.

THE MAGAZINE OF TASTE.--(No. 462.)

This is a convenient auxiliary to the cook: it may be arranged as a pyramidical _epergne_ for a dormant in the centre of the table, or as a travelling store-chest.

The following sketch will enable any one to fit up an assortment of flavouring materials according to their own fancy and palate; and, we presume, will furnish sufficient variety for the amusement of the gustatory nerves of a thorough-bred _grand gourmand_ of the first magnitude (if Cayenne and garlic have not completely consumed the sensibility of his palate), and consists of a "SAUCE-BOX," containing four eight-ounce bottles,[292-*] sixteen four ounce, and eight two-ounce bottles:--

1. Pickles.
2. Brandy.
3. Curaçoa (No. 474).
4. Syrup (No. 475).
5. Salad sauce (Nos. 372 and 453).
6. Pudding catchup (No. 446).
7. Sauce superlative, or double relish (No. 429).
8. Walnut pickle.
9. Mushroom catchup (No. 439).
10. Vinegar.
11. Oil.
12. Mustard (see Nos. 370 and 427).
13. Salt (see No. 371).
14. Curry powder (No. 455).
15. Soy (No. 436).
16. Lemon-juice.
17. Essence of anchovy (No. 433).
18. Pepper.
19. Cayenne (No. 405, or No. 406).
20. Soup-herb powder (No. 459).
21. Ragoût powder (No. 457).
22. Pease powder (No. 458).
23. Zest (No. 255).
24. Essence of celery (No. 409).
25. Sweet herbs (No. 419).
26. Lemon-peel (No. 408).
27. Eschalot wine (No. 402).
28. Powdered mint.

_In a drawer under._

Half a dozen one ounce bottles.
Weights and scales.
A graduated glass measure, divided into tea- and table-spoons.
Corkscrew.
Nutmeg-grater.
Table and tea-spoon.
Knife and fork.
A steel, and a
Small mortar.

+-----+---+----+----+
| | 5 | 13 | 21 |
| 1 +---+----+----+
| | 6 | 14 | 22 |
+-----+---+----+----+
| | 7 | 15 | 23 |
| 2 +---+----+----+
| | 8 | 16 | 24 |
+-----+---+----+----+
| | 9 | 17 | 25 |
| 3 +---+----+----+
| |10 | 18 | 26 |
+-----+---+----+----+
| |11 | 19 | 27 |
| 4 +---+----+----+
| |12 | 20 | 28 |
+-----+---+----+----+

N.B. The portable magazine of taste, alluded to in page 44, may be furnished with a four-ounce bottle for Cognac (No. 471), a ditto for Curaçoa (No. 474), an ounce bottle for essence of anchovy (No. 433), and one of like size for mushroom catchup.

_Toast and Water._--(No. 463.)

Cut a crust of bread off a stale loaf, about twice the thickness toast is usually cut: toast it carefully until it be completely browned all over, but not at all blackened or burnt; pour as much boiling water as you wish to make into drink, into the jug; put the toast into it, and let it stand till it is quite cold: the fresher it is the better.

_Obs._--A roll of thin fresh-cut lemon, or dried orange-peel, or some currant-jelly (No. 475*), apples sliced or roasted, &c. infused with the bread, are grateful additions. N.B. If the boiling water be poured on the bread it will break it, and make the drink grouty.

N.B. This is a refreshing summer drink; and when the proportion of the fluids is destroyed by profuse perspiration, may be drunk plentifully. Let a large jug be made early in the day, it will then become warmed by the heat of the air, and may be drunk without danger; which water, cold as it comes from the well, cannot in hot weather. _Or_,

To make it more expeditiously, put the bread into a mug, and just cover it with boiling water; let it stand till cold, then fill it up with cold spring-water, and pour it through a fine sieve.

_Obs._--The above is a pleasant and excellent beverage, grateful to the stomach, and deserves a constant place by the bed-side.

_Cool Tankard, or Beer Cup._--(No. 464.)

A quart of mild ale, a glass of white wine, one of brandy, one of capillaire, the juice of a lemon, a roll of the peel pared thin, nutmeg grated at the top (a sprig of borrage[294-*] or balm), and a bit of toasted bread.

_Cider Cup_,--(No. 465.)

Is the same, only substituting cider for beer.

_Flip._--(No. 466.)

Keep grated ginger and nutmeg with a little fine dried lemon-peel, rubbed together in a mortar.

To make a quart of flip:--Put the ale on the fire to warm, and beat up three or four eggs, with four ounces of moist sugar, a tea-spoonful of grated nutmeg or ginger, and a quartern of good old rum or brandy. When the ale is near to boil, put it into one pitcher, and the rum and eggs, &c. into another; turn it from one pitcher to another till it is as smooth as cream.

N.B. This quantity I styled _one yard of flannel_.

_Obs._--The above is set down in the words of the publican who gave us the receipt.

_Tewahdiddle._--(No. 467.)

A pint of table beer (or ale, if you intend it for a supplement to your "night cap"), a table-spoonful of brandy, and a tea-spoonful of brown sugar, or clarified syrup (No. 475); a little grated nutmeg or ginger may be added, and a roll of very thin-cut lemon-peel.

_Obs._--Before our readers make any remarks on this composition, we beg of them to taste it: if the materials are good, and their palate vibrates in unison with our own, they will find it one of the pleasantest beverages they ever put to their lips; and, as Lord Ruthven says, "this is a right gossip's cup that far exceeds all the ale that ever Mother Bunch made in her life-time." See his Lordship's _Experiments in Cookery_, &c. 18mo. London, 1654, p. 215.

_Sir Fleetwood Shepherd's Sack Posset._--(No. 467*.)

"From famed Barbadoes, on the western main,
Fetch sugar, ounces four--fetch sack from Spain,
A pint,--and from the eastern Indian coast
Nutmeg, the glory of our northern toast;
O'er flaming coals let them together heat,
Till the all-conquering sack dissolve the sweet;
O'er such another fire put eggs just ten,
New-born from tread of cock and rump of hen:
Stir them with steady hand and conscience pricking
To see the untimely end of ten fine chicken:
From shining shelf take down the brazen skillet,--
A quart of milk from gentle cow will fill it.
When boiled and cold, put milk and sack to eggs,
Unite them firmly like the triple league,
And on the fire let them together dwell
Till Miss sing twice--you must not kiss and tell--
Each lad and lass take up a silver spoon,
And fall on fiercely like a starved dragoon."

_To bottle Beer._--(No. 468.)

When the briskness and liveliness of malt liquors in the cask fail, and they become dead and vapid, which they generally do soon after they are tilted; let them be bottled.

Be careful to use clean and dried bottles; leave them unstopped for twelve hours, and then cork them as closely as possible with good and sound new corks; put a bit of lump sugar as big as a nutmeg into each bottle: the beer will be ripe, _i. e._ fine and sparkling, in about four or five weeks: if the weather is cold, to put it up the day before it is drunk, place it in a room where there is a fire.

Remember there is a sediment, &c. at the bottom of the bottles, which you must carefully avoid disturbing; so pour it off at once, leaving a wine-glassful at the bottom.

*.* If beer becomes hard or stale, a few grains of carbonate of potash added to it at the time it is drunk will correct it, and make draught beer as brisk as bottled ale.

_Rich Raspberry Wine or Brandy._--(No. 469.)

Bruise the finest ripe raspberries with the back of a spoon; strain them through a flannel bag into a stone jar, allowing a pound of fine powdered loaf sugar to each quart of juice; stir it well together, and cover it down; let it stand for three days, stirring it up each day; pour off the clear, and put two quarts of sherry, or one of Cognac brandy, to each quart of juice; bottle it off: it will be fit for the glass in a fortnight.

N.B. Or make it with the jelly, No. 479.

_Liqueurs._--(No. 471.)

We have very little to tell from our own experience, and refer our reader to "_Nouvelle Chimie du Goût et de l'Odorat, ou l'Art du Distillateur, du Confiseur, et du Parfumeur, mis à la portée de tout le Monde_." Paris, 2 tom. 8vo. 1819.

Next to teaching how to make good things at home, is the information where those things may be procured ready made of the best quality.

It is in vain to attempt to imitate the best foreign liqueurs, unless we can obtain the pure vinous spirit with which they are made.

Johnson and Co., foreign liqueur and brandy merchants to his majesty and the royal family, No. 2, Colonnade, Pall Mall, are justly famous for importing of the best quality, and selling in a genuine state, seventy-one varieties of foreign liqueurs, &c.

_Curaçoa._--(No. 474.)

Put five ounces of thin-cut Seville orange-peel, that has been dried and pounded, or, which is still better, of the fresh peel of a fresh shaddock, which may be bought at the orange and lemon shops in the beginning of March, into a quart of the finest and cleanest rectified spirit; after it has been infused a fortnight, strain it, and add a quart of syrup (No. 475), and filter. See the following receipt:

_To make a Quart of Curaçoa._

To a pint of the cleanest and strongest rectified spirit, add two drachms and a half of the sweet oil of orange-peel; shake it up: dissolve a pound of good lump sugar in a pint of cold water; make this into a clarified syrup (No. 475): which add to the spirit: shake it up, and let it stand till the following day: then line a funnel with a piece of muslin, and that with filtering-paper, and filter it two or three times till it is quite bright. This liqueur is an admirable cordial; and a tea-spoonful in a tumbler of water is a very refreshing summer drink, and a great improvement to punch.

_Clarified Syrup._--(No. 475.)

Break into bits two pounds (avoirdupois) of double refined lump sugar, and put it into a clean stew-pan (that is well tinned), with a pint of cold spring-water; when the sugar is dissolved, set it over a moderate fire: beat about half the white of an egg, put it to the sugar before it gets warm, and stir it well together. Watch it; and when it boils take off the scum; keep it boiling till no scum rises, and it is perfectly clear; then run it through a clean napkin: put it into a close stopped bottle; it will keep for months, and is an elegant article on the sideboard for sweetening.

_Obs._--The proportion of sugar ordered in the above syrup is a quarter pound more than that directed in the Pharmacopoeia of the London College of Physicians. The quantity of sugar must be as much as the liquor is capable of keeping dissolved when cold, or it will ferment, and quickly spoil: if kept in a temperate degree of heat, the above proportion of sugar may be considered the basis of all syrups.

_Capillaire._--(No. 476.)

To a pint of clarified syrup add a wine-glass of Curaçoa (No. 474); or dissolve a drachm of oil of Neroli in two ounces of rectified spirit, and add a few drops of it to clarified syrup.

_Lemonade in a Minute._--(No. 477.)

Pound a quarter of an ounce (avoirdupois) of citric, _i. e._ crystallized lemon acid,[297-*] with a few drops of quintessence of lemon-peel (No. 408), and mix it by degrees with a pint of clarified syrup (No. 475), or capillaire.

For superlative syrup of lemons, see No. 391.

_Obs._--The proportion of acid to the syrup, was that selected (from several specimens) by the committee of taste. We advise those who are disposed to verify our receipt, to mix only three quarters of a pint of syrup first, and add the other quarter if they find it too acid.

If you have none of No. 408, flavour your syrup with thin-cut lemon-peel, or use syrup of lemon-peel (No. 393).

A table-spoonful of this in a pint of water will immediately produce a very agreeable sherbet; the addition of rum or brandy will convert this into

_Punch directly._--(No. 478.)

_Shrub, or Essence of Punch._--(No. 479.)

Brandy or rum, flavoured with No. 477, will give you very good extempore "essence of punch."

_Obs._--The addition of a quart of Sherry or Madeira makes "punch royal;" if, instead of wine, the above quantity of water be added, it will make "punch for chambermaids," according to SALMON'S _Cookery_, 8vo. London, 1710. See page 405; and No. 268 in NOTT'S _Cook's Dictionary_, 8vo. 1724.

_White, Red, or Black Currant, Grape, Raspberry, &c. Jelly._[298-*]--(No. 479*.)

Are all made precisely in the same manner. When the fruit is full ripe, gather it on a dry day: as soon as it is nicely picked, put it into a jar, and cover it down very close.

Set the jar in a saucepan about three parts filled with cold water; put it on a gentle fire, and let it simmer for about half an hour. Take the pan from the fire, and pour the contents of the jar into a jelly-bag: pass the juice through a second time; do not squeeze the bag.

To each pint of juice add a pound and a half of very good lump sugar pounded; when it is dissolved, put it into a preserving-pan; set it on the fire, and boil gently; stirring and skimming it the whole time (about thirty or forty minutes), _i. e._ till no more scum rises, and it is perfectly clear and fine: pour it while warm into pots; and when cold, cover them with paper wetted in brandy.

Half a pint of this jelly, dissolved in a pint of brandy or vinegar, will give you excellent currant or raspberry brandy or vinegar. To make sweet sauce, see No. 346.

_Obs._--Jellies from other fruits are made in the same way, and cannot be preserved in perfection without plenty of good sugar.

Those who wish jelly to turn out very stiff, dissolve isinglass in a little water, strain through a sieve, and add it in the proportion of half an ounce to a pint of juice, and put it in with the sugar.

The best way is the cheapest. Jellies made with too small a proportion of sugar, require boiling so long; there is much more waste of juice and flavour by evaporation than the due quantity of sugar costs; and they neither look nor taste half so delicate, as when made with a proper proportion of sugar, and moderate boiling.

_Mock Arrack._--(No. 480.)

Dissolve two scruples of flowers of benjamin in a quart of good rum, and it will immediately impart to it the inviting fragrance of "Vauxhall nectar."

_Calves'-Feet Jelly._--(No. 481.)

Take four calves' feet (not those which are sold at tripe-shops, which have been boiled till almost all the gelatine is extracted; but buy them at the butcher's), slit them in two, take away the fat from between the claws, wash them well in lukewarm water; then put them in a large stew-pan, and cover them with water: when the liquor boils, skim it well, and let it boil gently six or seven hours, that it may be reduced to about two quarts; then strain it through a sieve, and skim off all the oily substance which is on the surface of the liquor.

If you are not in a hurry, it is better to boil the calves' feet the day before you make the jelly; as when the liquor is cold, the oily part being at the top, and the other being firm, with pieces of kitchen paper applied to it, you may remove every particle of the oily substance, without wasting any of the liquor.

Put the liquor in a stew-pan to melt, with a pound of lump sugar, the peel of two lemons, the juice of six, six whites and shells of eggs beat together, and a bottle of sherry or Madeira; whisk the whole together until it is on the boil; then put it by the side of the stove, and let it simmer a quarter of an hour; strain it through a jelly-bag: what is strained first must be poured into the bag again, until it is as bright and as clear as rock-water; then put the jelly in moulds, to be cold and firm: if the weather is too warm, it requires some ice.

_Obs._--When it is wished to be very stiff, half an ounce of isinglass may be added when the wine is put in.

It may be flavoured by the juice of various fruits, and spices, &c. and coloured with saffron, cochineal, red beet juice, spinage juice, claret, &c.; and it is sometimes made with cherry brandy, or noyeau rouge, or Curaçoa (No. 474), or essence of punch (No. 479), instead of wine.

N.B. Ten shank bones of mutton, which may be bought for 2-1/2_d._, will give as much jelly as a calf's foot, which costs a shilling. See pages 225, 226 of this work.

FOOTNOTES:

[228-*] This may be easily accomplished by the aid of that whip and spur, which students of long standing in the school of good living are generally so fond of enlivening their palates with, _i. e._ Cayenne and garlic.

Parsley (No. 261), chervil (No. 264), celery (No. 289), cress (No. 397*), tarragon (No. 396), burnet (No. 399), basil (No. 397), eschalot (Nos. 295 and 403), caper (Nos. 274 and 295), fennel (No. 265), liver (Nos. 287 and 288), curry (Nos. 348 and 455), egg, (No. 267,) mushroom (No. 403), anchovy (Nos. 270 and 433), ragoût (Nos. 421 and 457), shrimp (No. 283), bonne bouche (No. 341,) superlative (No. 429), and various flavouring essences. See from No. 396 to 463.

Any of the above vegetables, &c. may be minced very finely, and sent to table on a little plate, and those who like their flavour may mix them with melted butter, &c. This is a hint for economists, which will save them many pounds of butter, &c. See MEM. to No. 256.

[228-+] A silver saucepan is infinitely the best: you may have one big enough to melt butter for a moderate family, for four or five pounds.

[234-*] Oysters which come to the New-York market, are too large and fine to be mangled according to this receipt. They are generally cooked by being fried or stewed. When they are intended to be kept a length of time, they are pickled in vinegar, with spices. A.

[236-*] You must have a hen lobster, on account of the live spawn. Some fishmongers have a cruel custom of tearing this from the fish before they are boiled. Lift up the tail of the lobster, and see that it has not been robbed of its eggs: the goodness of your sauce depends upon its having a full share of the spawn in it, to which it owes not merely its brilliant red colour, but the finest part of its flavour.

[238-*] So much depends upon the age of the celery, that we cannot give any precise time for this, young, fresh-gathered celery will be done enough in three-quarters of an hour; old will sometimes take twice as long.

[240-*] If you wish to have them _very_ mild, cut them in quarters, boil them for five minutes in plenty of water, and then drain them, and cook them in fresh water.

[244-*] Composer and Director of the Music of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and the Italian Opera.

[246-*] "By the best accounts I can find, soy is a preparation from the seeds of a species of the _Dolichos_, prepared by a fermentation of the farina of this seed in a strong lixivium of common salt."--CULLEN'S _Mat. Med._ vol. i. p. 430.

[250-*] One of "_les bonnes hommes de bouche de France_" orders the following addition for game gravy:--"For a pint, par-roast a partridge or a pigeon; cut off the meat of it, pound it in a mortar, and put it into the stew-pan when you _thicken_ the sauce." We do not recommend either soup or sauce to be _thickened_, because it requires (to give it the same quickness on the palate it had before it was thickened) double the quantity of _piquante_ materials; which are thus smuggled down the red lane, without affording any amusement to the mouth, and at the risk of highly offending the stomach.

[251-*] To this some add a table-spoonful of mushroom catchup (No. 439), and instead of the salt-spoonful of salt, a tea-spoonful of essence of anchovy (No. 433). If the above articles are rubbed together in a mortar, and put into a close-stopped bottle, they will keep for some time.

[251-+] Thus far the above is from Dr. HUNTER'S "_Culina_," who says it is a secret worth knowing: we agree with him, and so tell it here, with a little addition, which we think renders it a still more gratifying communication.

[252-*] See Basil Wine (No. 397).

[260-*] These are sold at the glass-shops under the name of INCORPORATORS: we recommend the sauce to be mixed in these, and the company can then take it or leave it, as they like.

[263-*] If you have no suet, the best substitute for it is about one-third part the quantity of butter.

[267-*] A _baine-marie_. See note to No. 485.

[275-*] The fragrant _aroma_ of ginger is so extremely volatile, that it evaporates almost as soon as it is powdered; and the fine lemon-peel _goût_ flies off presently.

[275-+] Tinctures are much finer flavoured than essences.

[277-*] For the season, &c. when these herbs, &c. come in perfection, and how to dry them, see No. 461.

[278-*] We hope this title will not offend those who may quote against it the old adage, "that good appetite is the best sauce."--Allowing this to be generally true (which is a more candid confession than could be expected from a cook), we dare say, the majority of our readers will vote with us, that there are many good things (fish especially) that would be rather insipid without a little sauce of another kind.

"Wherefore did Nature pour her bounties forth,
With such a full and unwithdrawing hand,
Covering the earth with odours, fruits, and flocks,
Thronging the sea with spawn innumerable;
But all to please and sate the curious taste?"

MILTON.

[280-*] "Several samples which we examined of this fish sauce, have been found contaminated with lead."--See ACCUM _on Adulteration_, page 328.

[280-+] They may do very well for common palates; but to imitate the fine flavour of the Gorgona fish, so as to impose upon a well-educated _gourmand_, still remains in the catalogue of the sauce-maker's desiderata.

[280-++] The economist may take the thick remains that wont pass through the sieve, and pound it with some flour, and make anchovy paste, or powder. See Nos. 434 and 435.

[281-*] Epicure QUIN used to say, "Of all the banns of marriage I ever heard, none gave me half such pleasure as the union of delicate ANN-CHOVY with good JOHN-DORY."

[281-+] "Rust in anchovies, if I'm not mistaken,
Is as bad as rust in steel, or rust in bacon."

YOUNG'S _Epicure_, page 14.

[281-++] If you are not contented with the natural colour, break some lobsters' eggs into it, and you will not only heighten the complexion of your sauce, but improve its flavour. This is the only _rouge_ we can recommend. See note to No. 284.

[283-*] "The mushrooms employed for preparing ready-made catchup, are generally those which are in a putrefactive state. In a few days after those _fungi_ have been gathered, they become the habitations of myriads of insects."--ACCUM _on Culinary Poisons_, 12mo. 1820, p. 350.