Cassell's dictionary of cookery

not extremely hot, the soup when the tin is opened will be a hard jelly. It only requires warming up ; but if, on tasting, it appears poor and looks thin and of a bad colour, very much can be done in a few moments to improve it, both in flavour and appearance. A table-spoonful of brown thickening or roux will render it darker and thicker, a little extract of meat or a small piece of glaze will give a better flavour, and last but not least, half a wine-glassful or a little more of faii'ly good sherry will transform it, as if by magic, into excellent mock-turtle soup. Almost any soup is improved by the addition of extract of meat, whether it be thick or thin. Hare soup, again, when in a tin, of course requires port wine instead of sherry. Mulligatawny soup is wonderfully improved by the addition of a little curry paste, such as Captain White's. A short time back I referred to the advantage of keeping a cei'tain kind of stock to make certain soups, and mentioned mutton stock for making oyster soup. Excellent oyster souj) can be made from tinned oysters, and, as we are speaking of tinned soups, I will take this opportunity of describing the principles to be observed in making oyster soup from tinned oysters instead of fresh, which, considering the extraordinary price now charged for oysters, is really the only form of obtaining oyster soup when any regard whatever is had for economy. We will suppose, therefore, the stock, or rather the liquor left, in which a leg of mutton has been boiled. Now tliis liquor will make poor soup as a rule, but will make good oyster soup by means of a tin of oysters, which costs less than sixpence, and the addition, if possible, of about three-pennyworth of cream, which latter will be found a vast improvement. Fii-st reduce the stock by boiling, i.e., let it boil gently on the fire till rather less than a quart is left. Of course, care must be taken previously that every particle of fat has been removed. Next, take the tin of oysters, and having opened it, pour the liquor off the oysters through a strainer into the stock, keeping back the oysters in a basin ; add a bay-leaf, a little cayenne pepper, some boiling milk or, of course still better, cream ; thicken the soup with a little white roux or plain raw butter and flour. Allow it to boil gently, so as to throw up the butter, which must be skimmed off, then add a good tea-spoonful of anchovy sauce, without which the soup will be very flavourless; pour this soup on to the oysters, which must be placed just as they are in the tureen. They are, in fact, over-cooked already, and rather tough, but the soup will be of a strong oyster flavour, and quite equal to that made from fresh oysters, so far as the soup itself is concerned. It is, perhaps, scarcely necessary for me to remind you that soup, like stock, will be preserved in hot weather better by being boiled up fresh every day, and also that soup that has had cream added to it is very apt to turn sour. Consequently, when it is possible, just sufficient should be made for the day. In conclusion, I would add that a little and good is far better than an enormous quantity and poor. I fear in summer time it is a very common thing for cooks to make soup in such quantities that half of it is nearly always wasted. FISH.