as colourless as possible, and very slightly salted, for, what-
_ ever the use may be for which it is intended, it has to undergo
a process of concentration.
2—THE PREPARATION OF CLARIFIED
CONSOMME FOR CLEAR SOUPS
Quantities for making four quarts.—Five quarts of ordinary
consommé, one and one-half lbs. of very lean beef, the white
of an egg, one fowl’s carcase (roasted if possible)✪ Clarified Consommé for Clear Soups. First,
mince the beef and pound it in a mortar with the fowl’s carcase
and the white of egg, adding a little cold white consommé.
Put the whole into a tall, narrow, and thick-bottomed stewpan;
then gradually add the cold, white broth, from which all grease
has been removed, that the whole may be well mixed.
Then the stewpan may be put on the fire, and its contents
thoroughly stirred, for fear of their burning at the bottom.
When boiling-point is reached, move the stewpan to a corner
of the fire, so that the soup may only simmer, for anything
approaching the boil would disturb the contents. A good hour
should be enough to properly finish the consommé, and any
longer time on the fire would be rather prejudicial than the
reverse, as it would probably impair the flavour of the prepara-
tion. Now carefully remove what little grease may have col-
lected on the surface of the consommé, and strain the latter
through muslin into another clean stewpan. It is now ready
for the addition of the garnishes that are to form part of it,
which I shall enumerate in due course.
REMARKS UPON CLARIFICATIONS
For clarified consommés, even more than for the ordinary
kind, it is eminently advisable that the meat should be that
of old animals. Indeed, it is safe to say that one lb. of meat
coming from an animal of eight years will yield much better
consommé than two lbs. would, coming from a fattened
animal of about three or four years. The consommé will be
stronger, mellower, and certainly more tasty, as the flesh of
young animals has absolutely no richness of flavour.
It will be seen that I do not refer to any vegetable for the
clarification. If the white consommé has been well carried out,
it should be able to dispense with all supplementary flavouring,
and, the customary error of cooks being rather to overdo the
quantity of vegetables—even to the extent of disguising the
natural aroma of the consommé—-I preferred to entirely abandon
6 GUIDE TO MODERN COOKERY
the idea of vegetable garnishes in _larifications, and thus avoid
a common stumhling-block.
3—CHICKEN CONSOMME
White chicken consommé is prepared in exactly the same
way as ordinary white consommé. There need only be added
to the meat, the quantity of which may be lessened, an old hen
or a cock✪ Chicken Consommé, slightly coloured on the spit or in the oven.
For the clarification, the quantity of roast fowl-carcases
used may be increased, provided the latter be not too fat. The
process, however, is the same as in the clarification of ordinary
consommeés.
The colour of chicken consommé should be lighter than that
of the ordinary kind—namely, a light, amber yellow, limpid
and warm.
4—FISH CONSOMME
These consommés are rarely used, for Lenten soups with a
fish basis are generally thick soups, for the preparation of
which the fish fuwmet whereof I shall give the formula later
(Formula No. 11) should avail. Whenever there is no definite
reason for the use of an absolutely Lenten consommé, it would
be advisable to resort to one of the ordinary kind, and to finish
off the same by means of a good fish essence extracted from
the bones of a sole or whiting. An excellent consommé is thus
obtained, more palatable and less flat than the plain fish con-
sommé.
If, however, one were obliged to make a plain fish con-
sommé, the following procedure should be adopted :—
CLARIFICATION OF FISH CONSOMME
Page 9 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1909. 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
as colourless as possible, and very slightly salted, for, what- _ ever the use may be for which it is intended, it has to undergo a process of concentration.
2—THE PREPARATION OF CLARIFIED CONSOMME FOR CLEAR SOUPS
Quantities for making four quarts.—Five quarts of ordinary consommé, one and one-half lbs. of very lean beef, the white of an egg, one fowl’s carcase (roasted if possible). First, mince the beef and pound it in a mortar with the fowl’s carcase and the white of egg, adding a little cold white consommé. Put the whole into a tall, narrow, and thick-bottomed stewpan; then gradually add the cold, white broth, from which all grease has been removed, that the whole may be well mixed. Then the stewpan may be put on the fire, and its contents thoroughly stirred, for fear of their burning at the bottom. When boiling-point is reached, move the stewpan to a corner of the fire, so that the soup may only simmer, for anything approaching the boil would disturb the contents. A good hour should be enough to properly finish the consommé, and any longer time on the fire would be rather prejudicial than the reverse, as it would probably impair the flavour of the preparation. Now carefully remove what little grease may have collected on the surface of the consommé, and strain the latter through muslin into another clean stewpan. It is now ready for the addition of the garnishes that are to form part of it, which I shall enumerate in due course.
REMARKS UPON CLARIFICATIONS
For clarified consommés, even more than for the ordinary kind, it is eminently advisable that the meat should be that of old animals. Indeed, it is safe to say that one lb. of meat coming from an animal of eight years will yield much better consommé than two lbs. would, coming from a fattened animal of about three or four years. The consommé will be stronger, mellower, and certainly more tasty, as the flesh of young animals has absolutely no richness of flavour.
It will be seen that I do not refer to any vegetable for the clarification. If the white consommé has been well carried out, it should be able to dispense with all supplementary flavouring, and, the customary error of cooks being rather to overdo the quantity of vegetables—even to the extent of disguising the natural aroma of the consommé—-I preferred to entirely abandon
the idea of vegetable garnishes in clarifications, and thus avoid a common stumbling-block.
3—CHICKEN CONSOMME
White chicken consommé is prepared in exactly the same way as ordinary white consommé. There need only be added to the meat, the quantity of which may be lessened, an old hen or a cock, slightly coloured on the spit or in the oven.
For the clarification, the quantity of roast fowl-carcases used may be increased, provided the latter be not too fat. The process, however, is the same as in the clarification of ordinary consommeés.
The colour of chicken consommé should be lighter than that of the ordinary kind—namely, a light, amber yellow, limpid and warm.
4—FISH CONSOMME
These consommés are rarely used, for Lenten soups with a fish basis are generally thick soups, for the preparation of which the fish fuwmet whereof I shall give the formula later (Formula No. 11) should avail. Whenever there is no definite reason for the use of an absolutely Lenten consommé, it would be advisable to resort to one of the ordinary kind, and to finish off the same by means of a good fish essence extracted from the bones of a sole or whiting. An excellent consommé is thus obtained, more palatable and less flat than the plain fish consommé.
If, however, one were obliged to make a plain fish consommé, the following procedure should be adopted :—
CLARIFICATION OF FISH CONSOMME
Records on this page
Clarified Consommé for Clear SoupsChicken Consommé