A guide to modern cookery

Thus the word Purée is most suitably applied to any preparation with a vegetable base. The term Cullis is best fitted to preparations having either poultry, game, or fish for base, while bisque, in spite of the fact that in former days it was applied indiscriminately to purées of shell-fish, poultry, pigeons, &c., distinctly denotes a purée of shell-fish (either lobster, crayfish, or shrimp, &c.). In short, it is imperative to avoid all ambiguities and to give everything its proper name, or, at least, that name which identifies it most correctly. 239—PUREES Farinaceous vegetables, such as haricot-beans and lentils, and the floury ones, such as the potato, need no additional thickening ingredient, since the flour or fecula which they contain amply suffices for the leason of their purées. On the other hand, aqueous vegetables like carrots, pumpkins, turnips, celery, and herbs cannot dispense with a thickening ingredient, as their purées of themselves do not cohere in the least. Cohering or Thickening Elements; their Quantities.—In order to effect the coherence of vegetable purées, either rice, potato, or bread-crumb cut into dice and fried in butter may be used. The proportion of these per pound of vegetables should be respectively three oz., ten oz., and ten oz. Bread-crumb dice, prepared as described above, were greatly used in old cookery, and they lend a mellowness to a purée which is quite peculiar to them. The Dilution of Purées.—Generally this is done by means of ordinary white consommé, though in certain cases, as, for in. stance, if the soup is a Lenten one, milk is used. The Finishing.—When the purées have been strained and brought to the required consistence they should be boiled and stirred. Then they are placed on the side of the fire to simmer H 2 for twenty-five or thirty minutes. It is at this stage that they are purified by means of the careful removal of all the scum that forms on their surface. When dishing up complete them, away from the fire, with three oz. of butter per quart of soup, and pass them once more through a strainer. Purée Garnishes.—These are usually either small fried crusts, small dice of potato fried in butter, a chiffonade, some kind of little brunoise, or, more generally, chervil pluches. 240—CULLISES Cullises have for their base either poultry, game, or fish. The thickening ingredients used are :— For fowl, two or three oz. of rice, or three-quarters pint of poultry velouté per lb. of fowl. For game, three or four oz. of lentils, or three-quarters pint of game Espagnole per lb. of game. For fish, a clear panada made up of French bread soaked in boiling salted milk. Use five oz. of bread and one good pint of milk per lb. of fish. Having strained and made up the Cullises, boil them while stirring (except in the case of fish cullises, which must not boil, and must be served as soon as they are made), then place them in a bain-marie and butter their surfaces lest a skin should form. At the last moment complete them with two or three oz. of butter per quart. The garnish of poultry or game cullises consists of either small dice of game or fowl-fillets, which should be kept aside for the purpose; a fine julienne of these fillets, or small quenelles made from the latter, raw. The garnish of fish cullis is generally fish-fillets poached in butter and cut up into small dice or in julienne-fashion. 241—BISQUES The invariable base of Bisques is shell-fish cooked in mirepoix. ) Their thickening ingredients are, or may be, rice, fish velouté, or crusts of bread fried in butter, the proportion being three oz. of rice, ten oz. of bread-crusts, or three-quarters pint — of fish velouté per lb. of shell-fish cooked in mirepoix (No. 228). — When the soup is strained, treat it in precisely the same — way as the cullises. ; |