When anything is fried which has to be egg-and-bread-
crumbed it should be done about two hours before, and
fried meat should be constantly turned and shaken during
the process. When parsley is fried, it should be quite
dry; in frying rissoles, croquettes, etc., a wire basket should
be used, and everything fried should be drained directly
it is taken out of the fat on a wire sieve, or what is still
better, blotting paper; but except in very large families, that
is considered too expensive to use daily. All frying drip-
ping and butter should be clarified before they are used : this
may be done by placing the dripping in a saucepan on the
fire, and when it boils pouring it into a basin in which half a
pint of cold water has been previously placed, and stir up well
together for a few minutes. When cold, cut round the edge
with a knife and remove the cake of dripping, scrape off all
PLAIN COOKING
79
sediment adhering to the bottom of the cake and wipe it dry
with a clean cloth. To clarify butter, put it in a saucepan
on the fire, and when boiling remove the scum from the top
and pour the clear butter gently into the pan which is
required for use.
Stewing, the most economical style of all cooking and,
if properly managed, one of the most delicious, is much
favoured by foreign cooks. The advantage of this mode is
that pieces of meat which in any other form would be
tough and tasteless become tender and nutritious. The
French are perfect past-masters of the use of the stew-
pan ; and it has been observed that as all cookery is but an
aid to digestion, the operations of the stewpan resemble the
action of the stomach very closely. " The stomach is a
close jar in which solids and fluids are mixed together,
macerated in the gastric juices, and dissolved by the aid of
heat and motion occasioned by the continual contraction
and relaxation of the coats of the stomach during the
action of digestion. This is more closely resembled by the
fche process of stewing than by any other of our culinary
methods." The plan is to put the meat to be stewed into
cold water and to set it on a good fire till it simmers. It
must never get beyond simmering or it will spoil. In all
good stewing none of the water should be thrown away, as
it contains as much nourishment as the meat itself. In
stewing there should be only just enough water to cover the
meat : the lid should fit very tight, and if possible should
never be removed. It is a sure but slow process and
extends to many hours and even to days. I have read of
an old-fashioned French country way of stewing and think it
must be perfect. They put what is to be stewed in an
earthenware jar with a tight -fitting lid and very little
water, they then place it in the hot ashes of a wood fire,
where it can be left for hours.
The loss of meat in stewing is twenty per cent., chiefly
water, and the meat being cut up and constantly moistened
with its own juices, makes it a very economical way of
cooking. Buckmaster, the great authority on cooking, says
stewing is a gradual simmering, and he says, " Bring the
water to the boil, remove all scum and let the contents
simmer till the flavour of the meat is absorbed in the liquor.
80
THE housewife's REFEREE
Page 53
Presented as published in 1898. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
When anything is fried which has to be egg-and-breadcrumbed it should be done about two hours before, and fried meat should be constantly turned and shaken during the process. When parsley is fried, it should be quite dry; in frying rissoles, croquettes, etc., a wire basket should be used, and everything fried should be drained directly it is taken out of the fat on a wire sieve, or what is still better, blotting paper; but except in very large families, that is considered too expensive to use daily. All frying dripping and butter should be clarified before they are used : this may be done by placing the dripping in a saucepan on the fire, and when it boils pouring it into a basin in which half a pint of cold water has been previously placed, and stir up well together for a few minutes. When cold, cut round the edge with a knife and remove the cake of dripping, scrape off all
sediment adhering to the bottom of the cake and wipe it dry with a clean cloth. To clarify butter, put it in a saucepan on the fire, and when boiling remove the scum from the top and pour the clear butter gently into the pan which is required for use.
Stewing, the most economical style of all cooking and, if properly managed, one of the most delicious, is much favoured by foreign cooks. The advantage of this mode is that pieces of meat which in any other form would be tough and tasteless become tender and nutritious. The French are perfect past-masters of the use of the stewpan ; and it has been observed that as all cookery is but an aid to digestion, the operations of the stewpan resemble the action of the stomach very closely. " The stomach is a close jar in which solids and fluids are mixed together, macerated in the gastric juices, and dissolved by the aid of heat and motion occasioned by the continual contraction and relaxation of the coats of the stomach during the action of digestion. This is more closely resembled by the fche process of stewing than by any other of our culinary methods." The plan is to put the meat to be stewed into cold water and to set it on a good fire till it simmers. It must never get beyond simmering or it will spoil. In all good stewing none of the water should be thrown away, as it contains as much nourishment as the meat itself. In stewing there should be only just enough water to cover the meat : the lid should fit very tight, and if possible should never be removed. It is a sure but slow process and extends to many hours and even to days. I have read of an old-fashioned French country way of stewing and think it must be perfect. They put what is to be stewed in an earthenware jar with a tight-fitting lid and very little water, they then place it in the hot ashes of a wood fire, where it can be left for hours.
The loss of meat in stewing is twenty per cent., chiefly water, and the meat being cut up and constantly moistened with its own juices, makes it a very economical way of cooking. Buckmaster, the great authority on cooking, says stewing is a gradual simmering, and he says, " Bring the water to the boil, remove all scum and let the contents simmer till the flavour of the meat is absorbed in the liquor.
THE housewife's REFEREE