Harper's cook book encyclopædia

skimmed every day in summer and every other day in winter. The pan and the lid used in making it should be scrupulously clean. Granite - ware is the best. When ready, stock should be poured into an earthenware pan and left uncovered until it is cold. It should on no account be allowed to cool in a metal pan. Before being used, every particle of fat which has settled on the surface should be removed, and the liquor should be poured off free from sediment. In a house where meat is regularly used, a good cook will never be without a little stock. Broken remnants of all kinds will find their way to the stock- pot, and will not be thrown away until, by gentle stewing, they have been made to yield to the utmost whatever of flavor and of goodness they possessed. The liquor in which fresh meat has been boiled should always be used as stock. Frequently there is immediate need of stock and none on hand. The following recipes will be welcome : Soup Stock quickly made. — Take I Yz lbs. of beef cut into thin slices and diced. Cover with one quart of cold water, boil twenty minutes, take from the fire, then skim and strain. Another way : — Take an onion, peel it, split it in halves, and stick two cloves into it ; put it into a saucepan with a pint and a half of water, a bunch of fresh green parsley leaves, a teaspoonful of gelatine, and a little salt and cayenne. A stick or two of celery or a few celery seeds, or a very small pinch of dried tarragon may be added, if they are at hand, as they will greatly assist the flavor of the stock. Boil the liquor till the gelatine is dissolved, strain it into a bowl, and press the onion and parsley so as to get as much of the goodness out of them as possible. If the gelatine was good, the stock will be bright and clear. Stir into it until dissolved a teaspoonful of extract of meat, and it will be ready for use. It may be served as it is, as clear soup, or a little macaroni or vermicelli may be added to it, though they should be boiled separately or the soup will not be clear — or a few vegetables cut as for Julienne soup may be put in. Extract of beef dissolved in water will frequently answer as a substitute for stock. Brown Stock is made from beef alone, or in combination with other meats. White Stock is made from veal alone, or veal and chicken. Fish Stock is made from the bones, head, and trimmings — or remnants — of fish. Cream Soups are generally made without meat, of milk or cream combined with vegetables mashed, and strained to a puree. If soup is to be clarified, take the white of an egg and the crushed shell, put it in the soup while cold, and then let it boil for five minutes. Then strain through a cloth. In high-grade cooking minced raw beef or chicken is added duting the last hour of boiling to clarify soup. If the brown soup is wanted of a deep color, brown the vegetables and a part of the meat before putting into the pot, or a little caramel (burned sugar) may be added. If the soup is to be thickened, use white or brown roux, according to the color of the soup. Amber Soup. — Proceed as for bouillon, but a soup-bone, a chicken, and a slice of ham is to be added the first day. Before serving put in a large table-spoonful of caramel to color.