The encyclopaedia of practical cookery

Potted Liver. — Put the Liver (any kind), with a little highly- seasoned stock, into a stewpan and braise it. When done and quite tender, cut it up very fine and put it into' a mortar and pound to a paste, adding sufficient of the stock to moisten. Take Jib. of butter, melt, strain, add it to the paste, season with salt, pepper, ground allspice and mace, and rub the whole through a fine hair sieve ; then put it into jars, cover with melted butter, and put the jars in a cool place till wanted. Poultry Livers may be treated in the same way ; if truffles or mushrooms are added, they are very good imitations of foies gras. LIVERNAISE SAUCE— See Sauces. LOACH. — A small fish (see Fig. 1081) ( Nemacheilus Fig. 1081. Stone Loach. barbatula) found in our rivers, and used as food I when caught in sufficient numbers. Cooked as Smelts For details respecting Culinary Processes, Utensils , Sauces, &c., referred to, see under their special heads. Loach — continued. or other small fish, the flesh is very sweet but abounds in bones. LOAF CAKES. — See Cakes. LOAF SUGAR. — See Sugar. LOAVES. — See Bread. LOBSTERS (Fr. Homards; Ger. Hummer; Ital- Gamberi Marini; Sp. Laugostas). — These epicurean shell-fish (. Homarus vulgaris) need little or no description, being sufficiently well known to even the most lowly. They are caught along rocky shores, and some of the very finest are caught around Jersey, and amongst the islands north of Scotland. Imported Lobsters are brought by steam from Norway, being delivered into the London fish-markets nearly, if not quite, alive, which accounts for the display made by fishmongers of the strange-looking blue- black creatures. As soon as the Lobster is boiled, the shell turns scarlet, which will happen whether the fish was alive or dead before being put into the water. The amount of life left in a blue Lobster can be shown by the amount of claw-motion following the pressing of the eye with the finger. It is not always easy to discover whether a Lobster has been freshly boiled or not, because some fishmongers have a trick of putting a little wooden skewer in the tail, so that when springiness of that extremity is tested it cannot be straightened, which might deceive the unwary. Lobsters are generally best from April to the end of October, and should then weigh heavy and feel solid to the sense. The cock, or male Lobster, is better for boiling than the hen, or female, as the flesh is firmer, and more tasty; he can be distinguished by the brightness of the shell, and the narrowness of the tail. The hen Lobster is much broader and generally loaded with coral (or eggs) under the hinder parts, and is generally preferred, on that account, for making artistic dishes ; a large variety of these being hereunder described. Aspic of Lobster. — (1) Cut some boiled Lobster-tails in slices, put them in a basin, sprinkle with pepper and salt, and squeeze lemon-juice over them. Put a thin layer of aspic jelly in a plain cylinder-mould, ornament it with some hard-boiled eggs anil Lobster spawn, and leave till set, then pour in another layer of aspic jelly, Jin. thick. Spread a layer of montpellier butter Jin. thick on a bakingsheet, and on another baking-sheet spread a layer of Lobster butter Jin. thick, and stand them both on ice.