Cassell's dictionary of cookery

present work to supply for the benefit of absolute novices a few simple directions and explanations which, if given in each receipt, would magnify the present work into ten times its present size. For instance, there is a story on record of a certain royal personage many years ago who remarked that he wondered how the apples, were got into the dumpling. Now, why should an ignorant person any more than an educated one be ashamed of saying — "It is all very well to say, Baste it thoroughly ; but what do you mean by ' basting?' " Probably any cook of exceedingly elementary knowledge would laugh at the idea of explaining anything so simple. On the other hand, a professed French cook might as well laugh at her for not knowing how to bone a turkey, or to lard a fillet of beef, or make mayonnaise sauce. In teaching cooking, as in teaching everything else, the great art for the teacher is to bring down his own mind and thoughts to the level of the pupil. We wish, therefore, in the present work to take nothing for granted. The greatest astronomer commenced his course of study by learning the axioms of Euclid, the first of which is the self-evident fact that " things that are equal to the same thing are equal to one another." There was a period in the life of Francatelli — probably an early one — when he did not know what it meant to baste a joint, and was ignorant of the fact that a greasy saucepan required soda in the hot water in order that it could be properly cleaned. GEAYY. One of the best tests of a good cook, in our opinion, is good gravy. Good gravy should be perfect in all the four following particulars : — Flavour, colour, smell, and consistency. How very often, especially in private houses, do you get gravy — or rather so-called gravy — in the shape of thin beef-tea, or else it comes up resembling gruel not only in colour, but absolutely in taste ! In speaking of gravy, we will first refer to the gravy that is naturally formed in roasting a joint; and secondly, to that far higher branch of cooking, viz., good gravy served in a small tureen with chickens, ducks, game, &c. First, the gravy naturally formed in roasting a joint — say a leg of mutton. We will compare two legs of mutton as they appear when sent to table, which we will call, respectively, the cheap lodging-house leg, and the gentleman's-house leg. The first will be generally sent to table surrounded with a thick greasy gravy resembling lightbrown gruel, and indeed differs but little in appearance, flavour, and consistency from the gravy generally sent up surrounding roast veal. The method pursued is as follows : — First, the joint has been hung up before the fire in the usual way, a large pan (called the dripping-pan) having been placed underneath it to catch the fat that after a short time always drops from a joint placed in front of the fire. The joint, having been roasted sufficiently, has been probably dredged with flour, i.e., some flour has been shaken over it from a round tin box with holes in the lid. After a time, the woman cooking the joint has unhooked it, and placed it on a dish which ought to be a hot one ; she has then taken a basin and poured off the greater portion of the fat in the dripping-pan into it, leaving the sediment or dregs in the pan.