FoodNetArchive

The complete cook book

1900

Page 53

Presented as published in 1900. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Many cooks, from lack of this knowledge, convert some of the most nutritious of foods into dishes that are unfit to eat. Great care should also be exercised that they should not be overdone or not done enough, for eihter destroys their natural flavor. Always pare potatoes very thin. Much of the most nutritious part of the tuber lies next its outer covering ; so care should be taken to waste as little as possible. Potatoes cooked with the skins on are undoubtedly bet- ter than those pared. Onions, potatoes and cabbage should always be scalded to draw out the indigestible qualities. Some object to the use of onions, particularly on account of the disagreeable odor ; but when added with the other seasoning material, they are so completely absorbed in the stock that no trace of their presence can be detected. All or part of the vegetables may be fried first, if you like. One or two sour apples give a pleasant fiavor to stock. Wines or ketchups should be added just before serving, as boiling dissipates the fiavor. POTATOES AND VEGETABLES. Potatoes sautees, five minutes; Lyonnaise, five min- utes; Gratin, fifteen minutes; hashed and browned, fifteen minutes; O'Brien, fifteen minutes; Ortiz The Complete Cook Book. 113 twenty minutes ; sweet potatoes (sautee or fried) fifteen minutes; baked, forty minutes; boiled rice, five minutes. A VALUABLE TABLE. The following table will be a guide in boiling vege- tables, but it must be remembered that the youngest and freshest boil in the least time ; and that in winter all the roots except potatoes require nearly double the time to cook that they would in summer, when they are new. Spinach, ten to fifteen minutes; brussels sprouts, peas, caulifiowers and asparagus, fifteen to twenty minutes; potatoes, cabbage, corn, and string beans, twenty to thirty minutes; turnips, onions and squash, twenty to forty minutes; beets, carrots and parsnips, about one hour. HOT SALT POTATOES. In every locality there is always a favorite dish that once partaken of by "strangers within her gates," is forever connected with that particular city or place. Philadelphia scrapple is as well known "down east" as Boston's beans and brown bread, and in the central city of New York State, Syracuse, is served a tid-bit that outshines them all, and one which courts favor among the male citizens. The name of this dish is hot salt potatoes, prepared thus : Enough brine is bought at the salt yards to fill a kettle three-quarters full. Medium-sized smooth potatoes are scrubbed clean and put into the boiling brine, covered and left to boil until a straw will pierce the vegetables; then they are drained and served piping hot. When eating these they are never cut; the ends are pressed with the fingers, which bursts open the center, pop in a generous lump of good butter, and the delicious tid-bit will be relished. The outside will be covered with salt crystals, the inside mealy, white and permeated with a relishing seasoning. BROILED POTATOES. Take warm mashed potatoes and pack solid into a sheet-iron bread tin (dip. tin into cold water before put- 1 14 The Complete Cook Book. ting in potatoes) j when cold cut into slices, pour a little cream all over the top, and brown in a broiler oxer hot coals. SWEET POTATO CROQUETTES. Boil four good-sized sweet potatoes. When done, peel and mash them through a colander, add one table- spoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of salt, a dash of cayenne, and four tablespoonfuls of cream. Beat un- til light, form into croquettes. Dip first into beaten egg and then in bread crumbs, and fry in smoking hot fat. FRIED POTATOES.