these circumstances the cook who can improvise an extra dish or two is a vahiable
one; but as we are speaking at present on the subject of stock, we will confine
our directions to the instantaneous manufacture of that necessary basis of all
culinary oj)erations. We will suppose the house, or at any rate an adjacent grocer's,
to contain some extract of meat and some gelatine. Most houses likewise have at
hand a few onions and some parsley. Let the cook proceed as follows : — Take an
onion, and having peeled and split it in two, stick two or three"- cloves in it, and
place it in a saucepan of water with a good bunch of parsley, a little salt and cayenne
pepper, and a small quantity of gelatine — about a quarter of one of those little packets✪ Instant Stock
generally sold by grocers for making jelly — let all this boil till the gelatine is
dissolved, and then strain it oif into a basin, taking care in straining it to press the
onion and parsley so as to squeeze as much as possible the goodness out of them.
If any celery-seed happens to have been in the house, a very little may have been
added, only care should be taken not to put too much in, as the flavour is exceedingly
strong. Having then strained ofi" this liquid, add to it about a tea-spoonful of
extract of meat, and stir it all up till the extract is dissolved ; after which taste it
as often as the addition of extract of meat entails the addition of more salt, and as
extract of meat unfortunately varies both in flavour and goodness, it is difficult to
give any exact quantities to be used. Wo now have a very fair stock, which indeed
may be sent up as soup just as it is. It is, of course, perfectly pure from grease,
and should be, if the gelatine be good, perfectly bright ; the stock is, however, by
no means equal in flavour to that made from meat, and consequently a good cook
would, if possible, take advantage of anything in her possession to impart a little
additional flavour. Now, for this purpose, nothing is better then a few fresh tarragon-
leaves, or, if fresh tarragon-leaves camiot be obtained, a very small pinch of dried
tarragon can be put in vnth the parsley, which will have the effect of imparting the
flavour ; but it should be strained off with the onion, &c., whereas the fresh tarragon
may be sei-vxd up in the soup. Stock thus made can, of course, have vermicelli or
anything else added to it should a perfectly plain soup not be wished. There are,
however, a number of persons who have the mistaken notion that a thin soup is of
necessity poor. If by chance you are awai-e of theu* ignorance it is as well to
remind the cook to thicken the soup, which can be done as previously directed in a
very few moments by boiling in it a little arrowroot, mixed up and well stiiTed in a
little cold water. When this is done, be careful not to over-thicken the soup, or
the deception becomes too apparent ; enough arrowroot should be added to give the
soup an appearance of thin prepared gum in consistency.
Page 36 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1892. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
these circumstances the cook who can improvise an extra dish or two is a valuable one; but as we are speaking at present on the subject of stock, we will confine our directions to the instantaneous manufacture of that necessary basis of all culinary operations. We will suppose the house, or at any rate an adjacent grocer's, to contain some extract of meat and some gelatine. Most houses likewise have at hand a few onions and some parsley. Let the cook proceed as follows : — Take an onion, and having peeled and split it in two, stick two or three cloves in it, and place it in a saucepan of water with a good bunch of parsley, a little salt and cayenne pepper, and a small quantity of gelatine — about a quarter of one of those little packets generally sold by grocers for making jelly — let all this boil till the gelatine is dissolved, and then strain it oif into a basin, taking care in straining it to press the onion and parsley so as to squeeze as much as possible the goodness out of them. If any celery-seed happens to have been in the house, a very little may have been added, only care should be taken not to put too much in, as the flavour is exceedingly strong. Having then strained ofi" this liquid, add to it about a tea-spoonful of extract of meat, and stir it all up till the extract is dissolved ; after which taste it as often as the addition of extract of meat entails the addition of more salt, and as extract of meat unfortunately varies both in flavour and goodness, it is difficult to give any exact quantities to be used. Wo now have a very fair stock, which indeed may be sent up as soup just as it is. It is, of course, perfectly pure from grease, and should be, if the gelatine be good, perfectly bright ; the stock is, however, by no means equal in flavour to that made from meat, and consequently a good cook would, if possible, take advantage of anything in her possession to impart a little additional flavour. Now, for this purpose, nothing is better then a few fresh tarragonleaves, or, if fresh tarragon-leaves cannot be obtained, a very small pinch of dried tarragon can be put in vnth the parsley, which will have the effect of imparting the flavour ; but it should be strained off with the onion, &c., whereas the fresh tarragon may be served up in the soup. Stock thus made can, of course, have vermicelli or anything else added to it should a perfectly plain soup not be wished. There are, however, a number of persons who have the mistaken notion that a thin soup is of necessity poor. If by chance you are awai-e of theu* ignorance it is as well to remind the cook to thicken the soup, which can be done as previously directed in a very few moments by boiling in it a little arrowroot, mixed up and well stirred in a little cold water. When this is done, be careful not to over-thicken the soup, or the deception becomes too apparent ; enough arrowroot should be added to give the soup an appearance of thin prepared gum in consistency.
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