The encyclopaedia of practical cookery

Herbs — continued. necessary. Put them into an oven in flat baskets, or lay them in a Dutch oven in front of the fire, leave them until they are quite dry and crisped, but in no way browned. Take off the leaves, rub them between the hands, then through a coarse sieve, and bottle. Or they may be tied together in bunches, put in paper bags to keep away the dust, and hung up until dry, using as required. But this latter plan should not be adopted when it is possible to dry them more expeditiously by heat. Fig. 950. Herb-tray. In every kitcben there should be a tray for Herbs (see Fig. 950), which can be carried about according to the requirements of the cook. Some five or six compartments will be ample, and in these should be kept always handy and ready for use — powdered dried thyme, mint, parsley, marjoram, rosemary, tarragon, and chervil, or any other Herb, according to taste. The following receipts are a few of those which apply generally to Herbs, but for special receipts it will be necessary to refer to special headings: Pried Herbs. — Wash in plenty of water a large bunch of spinach, with about one-third its quantity of parsley picked from the stalks. Chop the parsley, also 1 handful of green onions, and mix all together with the spinach. Put loz. of butter in a stewpan, and when it has melted put in the Herb mixture, and season with salt. Toss the pan over the fire until the contents are hot, then stand it at the side, put the lid on, and stew until the Herbs are tender. When cooked, turn the Herbs on to a hot dish, put some fried rashers of bacon on the top with a fried egg on each rasher, Fig. 951. Fried Herbs with Bacon and Eggs. and serve very hot (see Fig. 951). This is delicious served with broiled calf’s-liver. Herb Beer. — Take a small bunch of all or part of the following : Sweet fern, sarsaparilla, winter-green, sassafras, prince’spine, and spice-wood. Boil them with 2oz. or 3oz. of hops to 3galls. or 4galls. of water, and two or three raw potatoes, pared and cut in slices. The strength of the roots and hops is obtained more thoroughly by boiling them in two waters, for when the liquor is strongly saturated with the hops, it will tend to bind up the roots rather than extract their juices. The Herb-roots should be boiled for five or six hours, the liquor strained, and lqt. of molasses put to 3galls. of For details respecting Culinary Processes, Utensils, Sauces, <£c., referred to, see under their special heads. Herbs — continued. the beer. If the beer is required to be vei'y rich, brown ^lb. of bread before the fire, and put it into the liquor. If the liquor is too thick, dilute it with cold water. When just lukewarm, put in 1 pint of fresh yeast, or jib. of dissolved German yeast. Keep it in a moderately-warmed place covered over, but not so closely as to exclude the air entirely. When fermented, keep it in a tightly- corked cask or bottles. Herb Flavouring for Sauces, Soups, and Stews. — (1) Remove all the stalks from loz. each of dried thyme, marjoram, sweet basil, and bay-leaves, and pound them in a mortar with loz. each of grated nutmeg, ground mace, cloves, and white pepper. Rub the whole through a fine sieve, and bottle.