FoodNetArchive

The household cook book

1902

Page 12

Presented as published in 1902. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
and tasteless stock. Albumen partially dissolved, makes the cloudy appearance of soup and jelly; coagulated albumen is removed a£ scum. Scum is wasted food. It is well also to know that the size of the piece of meat affects the solubility of the albumen, as the part farthest from the surface will receive enough heat to be coagulated before it is dissolved, if the piece is large. The extractives and salts (osmazome) are soluble in water, cold or hot, and they give flavor and perfume to the stock. The flesh of old animals contains more than that of young ones, and brown meats contain more than white and make the stock more fragrant. By roasting meat, a portion is converted to caramel; thefore, by putting the remains of roast meats in the stock^pot a better flavor is obtained. Choose lean rather than fat meat for soup. See also what we say elsewhere about the princi- ples involved in cooking meats. Bones are composed of ossein, a gelatinous, fatty fluid some- thing like marrow, and an earthy substance, to which they owe their solidity. As much gelatinous matter is contained in 2 oz. of bone as in 1 lb. of meat, but it is so incased in the earthy substance, that usu- ally only the surface is dissolved in boiling water; when the bones are broken, there are more surfaces, and more gelatinous matter is dissolved; and by reducing the bones to powder, all the gelatinous matter can be obtained. Long continued boiling is, therefore, needed for bones, aud this boiling should continue until the earthy matter is full of little empty holes where the gelatinous matter once was, and until the bone has lost | of its weight. They should boil for days rather than hours. The best way to break bones is to pound them roughly in an iron mortar, adding a little water from time to time to prevent their heating. It is a great saving to thus utilize bones which are often entirely wasted. If the bones are finely broken, tie them up in a bag and put them in the stock^pot. Now gelatine forms the basis of stocks, but although nourishing, it is without taste, and so stock made entirely of it, is not liked. Flavoring and salts are needed to make it palatable, and when meat and vegetables are add- ed to the cooking bones, they make the stock savory. Stock — When meat is used solely to make stock, cut it into very small pieces, put it into cold water, and heat very slowly; but if you wish to have stock and a piece of savory meat also, choose the fresh- est meat, and have it cut as thick as possible, for if it is a thin, flat piece, if will not look well, and will be soon spoiled by the boiling. It is impossible, however, to have Jiist rate stock and good boiled meat at the same time, as the two objects are diametrically opposed. 22 . SOUPS