Hints for making Soups. — The best and most whole¬ some soup is obtained from the freshest meat, those parts of it being selected which are generally con¬ sidered the most rich and juicy. Soups in general are better if made the day before they are wanted, for by that means all fat can be taken off ; and as long boiling is necessary to give the full flavour of all ingredients, they may thus have the requisite advantage. What¬ ever has vegetables in it, is apt to ferment or turn sour sooner than without. It should be particularly re¬ membered that in all soups and broths the meat and bones must be put into cold water to extract the juices of the meats; the taste of one ingredient should not predominate over that of another; the taste should be equal, and the whole should have a fine, agreeable flavour, according to what it is designed for. Spices should be put whole into soups; allspice is certainly one of the best. Seville orange juice has a finer and milder acid than lemon juice. Sweet herbs for soups and broths consist of knotted marjoram, thyme and parsley — a sprig of each tied together. The older and dried onions are the stronger in flavour; thus the quantity should be proportioned accordingly. When celery is not ob¬ tainable, dried celery seed is an excellent substitute, it is so strongly flavoured that a drachm of whole seed will enrich half a gallon of soup as much as will two heads of celery. * When mushrooms cannot be obtained, fresh mush¬ room catsup will answer the purpose, but must be 24 THE HOUSEHOLD used sparingly, as nothing is more difficult to remove than the over-flavouring with catsup. A piece of butter in proportion to the liquid, mixed wdth flour and added to the soup when boiling, will enrich and thicken it. Over-seasoning soup with pepper, salt, spices, or herbs is a fault that can seldom be remedied. A tea¬ spoonful of sugar is a good addition in flavouring soups. The Stock Pot forms the basis of all soups, purees, and sauces — it is the juice of the meat and bones, extracted by long and gentle simmering — not boiling. It should never contain any vegetables or flavourings — with the exception of salt — the stock will then keep much longer, especially in summer time. When soup is required to be made, stock should be drawn from the stock pot. This vessel should consist of a copper pot tinned inside, and with a tap at the base. Beef and veal meat and bones make excellent stock. After drawing the liquor from the stock pot, it should be allowed to stand until it gets cold, when the fat can be readily removed, and the stock pot should again be filled up with cold water, and any bones or meat that have had all their juices extracted should be removed and fresh ones put in their place. Most excellent stock is made from bones and trim¬ mings of meat; it is quite unnecessary to make stock from meat alone. Poultry and veal bones, roast beef bones, all help to make most excellent stock, provided it has been allowed plenty of time to simmer. Stock removed from the stock pot, and required to be clarified, may be done by w’hisking the wffiite of an egg with a gill of wrater, and when the stock is warm, stir it into it, let it gently boil up, and remove all the scum as it rises; let it continue to simmer until no more scum rises, then let it settle, and strain through a cloth.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Hints for making Soups. — The best and most whole¬ some soup is obtained from the freshest meat, those parts of it being selected which are generally con¬ sidered the most rich and juicy. Soups in general are better if made the day before they are wanted, for by that means all fat can be taken off ; and as long boiling is necessary to give the full flavour of all ingredients, they may thus have the requisite advantage. What¬ ever has vegetables in it, is apt to ferment or turn sour sooner than without. It should be particularly re¬ membered that in all soups and broths the meat and bones must be put into cold water to extract the juices of the meats; the taste of one ingredient should not predominate over that of another; the taste should be equal, and the whole should have a fine, agreeable flavour, according to what it is designed for. Spices should be put whole into soups; allspice is certainly one of the best. Seville orange juice has a finer and milder acid than lemon juice. Sweet herbs for soups and broths consist of knotted marjoram, thyme and parsley — a sprig of each tied together. The older and dried onions are the stronger in flavour; thus the quantity should be proportioned accordingly. When celery is not ob¬ tainable, dried celery seed is an excellent substitute, it is so strongly flavoured that a drachm of whole seed will enrich half a gallon of soup as much as will two heads of celery. * When mushrooms cannot be obtained, fresh mush¬ room catsup will answer the purpose, but must be used sparingly, as nothing is more difficult to remove than the over-flavouring with catsup. A piece of butter in proportion to the liquid, mixed with flour and added to the soup when boiling, will enrich and thicken it. Over-seasoning soup with pepper, salt, spices, or herbs is a fault that can seldom be remedied. A tea¬ spoonful of sugar is a good addition in flavouring soups. The Stock Pot forms the basis of all soups, purees, and sauces — it is the juice of the meat and bones, extracted by long and gentle simmering — not boiling. It should never contain any vegetables or flavourings — with the exception of salt — the stock will then keep much longer, especially in summer time. When soup is required to be made, stock should be drawn from the stock pot. This vessel should consist of a copper pot tinned inside, and with a tap at the base. Beef and veal meat and bones make excellent stock. After drawing the liquor from the stock pot, it should be allowed to stand until it gets cold, when the fat can be readily removed, and the stock pot should again be filled up with cold water, and any bones or meat that have had all their juices extracted should be removed and fresh ones put in their place. Most excellent stock is made from bones and trim¬ mings of meat; it is quite unnecessary to make stock from meat alone. Poultry and veal bones, roast beef bones, all help to make most excellent stock, provided it has been allowed plenty of time to simmer. Stock removed from the stock pot, and required to be clarified, may be done by whisking the white of an egg with a gill of water, and when the stock is warm, stir it into it, let it gently boil up, and remove all the scum as it rises; let it continue to simmer until no more scum rises, then let it settle, and strain through a cloth.

The household gas cookery book