The Book of Household Management - The Original Classic Edition. Beeton Mrs

blades of mace, a little horseradish. This proportion of pepper, spices, &c., for 1 quart of vinegar. Mode.--Let the gherkins remain in salt and water for 3 or 4 days, when take them out, wipe perfectly dry, and put them into a stone jar. Boil sufficient vinegar to cover them, with spices and pepper, &c., in the above proportion, for 10 minutes; pour it, quite boiling, over the gherkins, cover the jar with vine-leaves, and put over them a plate, setting them near the fire, where they must remain all night. Next day drain off the vinegar, boil it up again, and pour it hot over them. Cover up with fresh leaves, and let the whole remain till quite cold. Now tie down closely with bladder to exclude the air, and in a month or two, they will be fit for use. Time.--4 days. Seasonable from the middle of July to the end of August. [Illustration: GHERKINS.] GHERKINS.--Gherkins are young cucumbers; and the only way in which they are used for cooking purposes is pickling them, as by the recipe here given. Not having arrived at maturity, they have not, of course, so strongly a developed flavour as cucumbers, and, as a pickle, they are very general favourites. GOOSEBERRY SAUCE FOR BOILED MACKEREL. 429. INGREDIENTS.--1 pint of green gooseberries, 3 tablespoonfuls of Bechamel, No. 367 (veal gravy may be substituted for this), 2 oz. of fresh butter; seasoning to taste of salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg. Mode.--Boil the gooseberries in water until quite tender; strain them, and rub them through a sieve. Put into a saucepan the Bechamel or gravy, with the butter and seasoning; add the pulp from the gooseberries, mix all well together, and heat gradually through. A little pounded sugar added to this sauce is by many persons considered an improvement, as the saccharine matter takes off the extreme acidity of the unripe fruit. Time.--Boil the gooseberries from 20 minutes to 1/2 hour. Sufficient, this quantity, for a large dish of mackerel. Seasonable from May to July. [Illustration: THE GOOSEBERRY.] THE GOOSEBERRY.--This useful and wholesome fruit (Ribes grossularia) is thought to be indigenous to the British Isles, and may be occasionally found in a wild state in some of the eastern counties, although, when uncultivated, it is but a very small and inferior berry. The high state of perfection to which it has been here brought, is due to the skill of the English gardeners; for in no other country does it attain the same size and flavour. The humidity of the British climate, however, has doubtless something to do with the result; and it is said that gooseberries produced in Scotland as far north as Inverness, are of a very superior character. Malic and citric acid blended with sugar, produce the pleasant flavour of the gooseberry; and upon the proper development of these properties depends the success of all cooking operations with which they are connected. 209 GLAZE FOR COVERING COLD HAMS, TONGUES, &c. 430. INGREDIENTS.--Stock No. 104 or 107, doubling the quantity of meat in each. Mode.--We may remark at the outset, that unless glaze is wanted in very large quantities, it is seldom made expressly. Either of the stocks mentioned above, boiled down and reduced very considerably, will be found to produce a very good glaze. Put the stock into a stewpan, over a nice clear fire; let it boil till it becomes somewhat stiff, when keep stirring, to prevent its burning. The moment it is sufficiently reduced, and comes to a glaze, turn it out into the glaze-pot, of which we have here given an engraving. As, however, this is not to be found in every establishment, a white earthenware jar would answer the purpose; and this may be placed in a vessel of boiling water, to melt the glaze when required. It should never be warmed in a saucepan, except on the principle of the bain marie, lest it should reduce too much, and become black and bitter. If the glaze is wanted of a pale colour, more veal than beef should be used in making the stock; and it is as well to omit turnips and celery, as these impart a disagreeable bitter flavour. TO GLAZE COLD JOINTS, &c.--Melt the glaze by placing the vessel which contains it, into the bain marie or saucepan of boiling water; brush it over the meat with a paste-brush, and if in places it is not quite covered, repeat the operation. The glaze should not be too dark a colour. (See Coloured Cut of Glazed Ham, P.) [Illustration: GLAZE-KETTLE.] [Illustration: THE BAIN MARIE.] GLAZE-KETTLE.--This is a kettle used for keeping the strong stock boiled down to a jelly, which is known by the name of glaze. It is composed of two tin vessels, as shown in the cut, one of which, the upper,--containing the glaze, is inserted into one of larger diameter and containing boiling water. A brush is put in the small hole at the top of the lid, and is employed for putting the glaze on anything that may require it. THE BAIN MARIE.--So long ago as the time when emperors ruled in Rome, and the yellow Tiber passed through a populous and wealthy city, this utensil was extensively employed; and it is frequently mentioned by that profound culinary chemist of the ancients, Apicius. It is an open kind of vessel (as shown in the engraving and explained in our paragraph No. 87, on the French terms used in modern cookery), filled with boiling or nearly boiling water; and into this water should be put all the stewpans containing those ingredients which it is desired to keep hot. The quantity and quality of the contents of these vessels are not at all affected; and if the hour of dinner is uncertain in any establishment, by reason of the nature of the master's business, nothing is so certain a means of preserving the flavour of all dishes as the employment of the bain marie. GREEN SAUCE FOR GREEN GEESE OR DUCKLINGS. 431. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 pint of sorrel-juice, 1 glass of sherry, 1/2 pint of green gooseberries, 1 teaspoonful of pounded sugar, 1 oz. of fresh butter. Mode.--Boil the gooseberries in water until they are quite tender; mash them and press them through a sieve; put the pulp into a saucepan with the above ingredients; simmer for 3 or 4 minutes, and serve very hot. Time.--3 or 4 minutes. Note.--We have given this recipe as a sauce for green geese, thinking that some of our readers might sometimes require it; but, at the generality of fashionable tables, it is now seldom or never served. [Illustration: SORREL.] SORREL.--We gather from the pages of Pliny and Apicius, that sorrel was cultivated by the Romans in order to give it more strength and flavour, and that they also partook of it sometimes stewed with mustard, being seasoned with a little oil and vinegar. At the present day, English cookery is not much indebted to this plant (Rumex Acetosa), although the French make use of it to a considerable extent. It is found in most parts of Great Britain, and also on the continent, growing wild in the grass meadows, and, in a few gardens, it is cultivated. The acid of sorrel is very prononce, and is what chemists term a binoxalate of potash; that is, a combination of oxalic acid with potash. GENERAL STOCK FOR GRAVIES. 210 432. Either of the stocks, Nos. 104, 105, or 107, will be found to answer very well for the basis of many gravies, unless these are wanted very rich indeed. By the addition of various store sauces, thickening and flavouring, the stocks here referred to may be converted into very good gravies. It should be borne in mind, however, that the goodness and strength of spices, wines, flavourings, &c., evaporate, and that they lose a great deal of their fragrance, if added to the gravy a long time before they are wanted. If this point is attended to, a saving of one half the quantity of these ingredients will be effected, as, with long boiling, the flavour almost entirely passes away. The shank-bones of mutton, previously well soaked, will be found a great assistance in enriching gravies; a kidney or melt, beef skirt, trimmings of meat, &c. &c., answer very well when only a small quantity is wanted, and, as we have before observed, a good gravy need not necessarily be so very expensive; for economically-prepared dishes are oftentimes found as savoury and wholesome as dearer ones. The cook should also remember that the fragrance of gravies should not be overpowered by too much spice, or any strong essences, and that they should always be warmed in a bain marie, after they are flavoured, or else in a jar or jug placed in a saucepan full of boiling water. The remains of roast-meat gravy should always be saved; as, when no meat is at hand, a very nice gravy in haste may be made from it, and when added to hashes, ragouts, &c., is a great improvement. [Illustration: GRAVY-KETTLE.] GRAVY-KETTLE.--This is a utensil which will not be found in every kitchen; but it is a useful one where it is necessary to keep gravies hot for the purpose of pouring over various dishes as they are cooking. It is made of copper, and should, consequently, be heated over the hot plate, if there be one, or a charcoal stove. The price at which it can be purchased is set down by Messrs. Slack at 14s. GRAVY FOR ROAST MEAT. 433. INGREDIENTS.--Gravy, salt. Mode.--Put a common dish with a small quantity of salt in it under the meat, about a quarter of an hour before it is removed from the fire. When the dish is full, take it away, baste the meat, and pour the gravy into the dish on which the joint is to be served. SAUCES AND GRAVIES IN THE MIDDLE AGES.--Neither poultry, butcher's meat, nor roast game were eaten dry in the mid-dle ages, any more than fried fish is now. Different sauces, each having its own peculiar flavour, were served with all these dishes, and even with the various parts of each animal. Strange and grotesque sauces, as, for example, "eggs cooked on the spit," "butter fried and roasted," were invented by the cooks of those days; but these preparations had hardly any other merit than