Breakfast. — The beverage served at breakfast must be deter¬ mined by the taste of the members of the family. Tea and coffee are the most popular, although cocoa and chocolate are now very extensively taken also. Almost every housekeeper believes that she understands thoroughly how to make these simple beverages, and, doubtless, the majority are right in this belief ; nevertheless, a few simple rules on the best way of making each may be useful. Tea. — A very important item in the preparation of tea is the tea¬ pot. It is very commonly said that an earthenware tea-pot is to be preferred to a metal one; but let any housekeeper try the two and compare the infusions, and she will not long retain this opinion. The only reason why an earthenware tea-pot is to be recommended is that it is easily kept clean ; and if a little pains is taken to keep the metal tea-pot clean, very much better tea can be made out of the latter than out of the former, with an equal quantity of the dried leaf. A tea-pot should be rinsed out with clean boiling water, and after¬ wards dried thoroughly each time it is used, and the inside should be as bright as the outside. Two or three minutes before the tea is made a little boiling "water should be poured into the pot to heat the metal, then drained off before the tea is put in. By this means less heat will be abstracted from the infusion. As to the quantity of tea* to be used, perhaps no better rule can be given than the old-fashioned one of allowing “ a spoonful of tea for each person and one for the pot.” Another good old rule, known to every one, is that the wrater must be boiling — “ Unless the kettle boiling be, filling the tea-pot spoils the tea.” It is not so generally known, however, that this water should be freshly boiled. If the kettle has been steaming away for ever so long, the water in it is not fit for making tea ; and in order to extract the full aroma from the leaf the water should not have boiled more than one minute. Good tea cannot be made with hard water. When soft water cannot be obtained, a very tiny pinch of soda may be dropped into the tea-pot after the water is poured on the leaves. Soda should, however, be most sparingly used ; if too much is put into the tea-pot the tea will be entirely spoilt. Boiling water should be poured very gently upon the dried ieaves, and in A YEAR'S COOKERY. 9 quantity sufficient to half fill the tea-pot. The lid should at once be shut down, and a “ cosy ” put over the vessel, and after this the tea is left to “ draw.” The length of time given to this process must vary with the quality of the tea. Tea of superior quality may stand for ten minutes before the tea-pot is filled up ; for the coarser kinds of tea five minutes will be enough ; and if a longer time is given it is likely that the infusion will be bitter rather than fragrant. Fine tea can very rarely be purchased at a cheap rate ; and it is so frequently adulterated that it is only safe to buy the article of a respectable dealer. Black tea is generally supposed to be purer than green tea, although a mixture of the two is frequently preferred. When the quantity of tea provided is not sufficient, and it is necessary to make fresh tea, the old leaves should be turned quite out, the tea-pot rinsed with boiling water, and the whole process commenced anew.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Breakfast. — The beverage served at breakfast must be deter¬ mined by the taste of the members of the family. Tea and coffee are the most popular, although cocoa and chocolate are now very extensively taken also. Almost every housekeeper believes that she understands thoroughly how to make these simple beverages, and, doubtless, the majority are right in this belief ; nevertheless, a few simple rules on the best way of making each may be useful. Tea. — A very important item in the preparation of tea is the tea¬ pot. It is very commonly said that an earthenware tea-pot is to be preferred to a metal one; but let any housekeeper try the two and compare the infusions, and she will not long retain this opinion. The only reason why an earthenware tea-pot is to be recommended is that it is easily kept clean ; and if a little pains is taken to keep the metal tea-pot clean, very much better tea can be made out of the latter than out of the former, with an equal quantity of the dried leaf. A tea-pot should be rinsed out with clean boiling water, and after¬ wards dried thoroughly each time it is used, and the inside should be as bright as the outside. Two or three minutes before the tea is made a little boiling "water should be poured into the pot to heat the metal, then drained off before the tea is put in. By this means less heat will be abstracted from the infusion. As to the quantity of tea* to be used, perhaps no better rule can be given than the old-fashioned one of allowing “ a spoonful of tea for each person and one for the pot.” Another good old rule, known to every one, is that the wrater must be boiling — “ Unless the kettle boiling be, filling the tea-pot spoils the tea.” It is not so generally known, however, that this water should be freshly boiled. If the kettle has been steaming away for ever so long, the water in it is not fit for making tea ; and in order to extract the full aroma from the leaf the water should not have boiled more than one minute. Good tea cannot be made with hard water. When soft water cannot be obtained, a very tiny pinch of soda may be dropped into the tea-pot after the water is poured on the leaves. Soda should, however, be most sparingly used ; if too much is put into the tea-pot the tea will be entirely spoilt. Boiling water should be poured very gently upon the dried leaves, and in quantity sufficient to half fill the tea-pot. The lid should at once be shut down, and a “ cosy ” put over the vessel, and after this the tea is left to “ draw.” The length of time given to this process must vary with the quality of the tea. Tea of superior quality may stand for ten minutes before the tea-pot is filled up ; for the coarser kinds of tea five minutes will be enough ; and if a longer time is given it is likely that the infusion will be bitter rather than fragrant. Fine tea can very rarely be purchased at a cheap rate ; and it is so frequently adulterated that it is only safe to buy the article of a respectable dealer. Black tea is generally supposed to be purer than green tea, although a mixture of the two is frequently preferred. When the quantity of tea provided is not sufficient, and it is necessary to make fresh tea, the old leaves should be turned quite out, the tea-pot rinsed with boiling water, and the whole process commenced anew.

A year's cookery