The encyclopædia of practical cookery

CASSINA. — The leaves of a. North American plant (Ilex Cassine ), mingled with some others of the same species, form the basis of a famous “ black drink,” which is used by the Indians as a medicine, and as a state drink at some of their religious festivals. It is said to have something of the same effect upon them that opium would have. The leaves are dried and prepared for use as tea, and the beverage brewed from them not only resembles tea in flavour, but contains a fair proportion of the active principle (caffeine) of coffee. One use to which this “tea” is applied — the cure of drunkenness— renders it worthy of consideration ; but the quantity introduced into England, except as an adulteration of tea, is very small indeed, and it is but little known. CASSIRI. — A famous drink by this name is brewed in British Guiana from the sweet potato, or, perhaps, more often from the root of the sweet cassava. Prof. Simmonds states that the drink is prepared by soaking in water the farina obtained from one of these sources, and then boiling it, stirring freely all the time the vessel is on the stove, to prevent burning. When the boiling has continued long enough to have evaporated the water to one-half, “a pellicle forms upon the surface; the liquor is then poured off, without disturbing the pellicle, into another vessel, and allowed to ferment.” Dr. Schomburg describes a drink of the same name prepared from maize, sweet potatoes, and sugar-cane juice. The maize is crushed in a vessel, which has the form of a mortar, and then boiled into a pap. The same is done with the sweet potatoes, and this is then mixed with the juice of the sugar-cane. So far the process is quite unobjectionable ; but the next step is not so inviting. A quantity of maize is chewed by the natives in order to convert its starch into sugar by the action of the saliva, and it is then, when fully saturated with this human ferment, spat into gourds, and added with plenty of water to the other ingredients, which would be already in a state of busy fermentation. The flavour of this drink is described as being by no means disagreeable. In South America it is called Kiebla, and the spirit distilled from it is familiar as Puichin. CASSIS. — A liqueur made in France from blackcurrant skins. To prepare this it is necessary to squeeze out the pulp from the fruit, and this is usually done by women, who have the patience to squeeze between the finger and thumb one berry at a time. See Cuerants. For details respecting Culinary Processes, Utensils, Sauces, &c., referred, to, see under their special heads. CASSOLETTES. — A sort of scented sweetmeats, such as pastilles, much esteemed on the Continent, where they are principally manufactured. Culinary art has, however, extended the signification to a sweet-smelling dish, described hereunder. Cassolette of Castelnaudary. — Take lib. of dry haricot beans, let them steep in water for a few hours, then put them into a stewpan with a little water, and place the pan on the fire. When this begins to boil, take it off the fire, cover over the pan, and let it remain for an hour. Strain