Miss Parloa's kitchen companion

For white or cream soups the three substances already named are used, though rice, bread, barley, and flour are more commonly employed. When it is desired to make a cream soup yellow and rich, the yolks of eggs are used. They are beaten thoroughly, and after a little cold liquid — like cream or milk — has been added, they are stirred into the soup just before it is taken from the fire. When a thick soup is desired brown, the flour is either stirred over the fire in a dry pan until it becomes dark brown, or it is put into a pan with its own volume of hot batter and stirred until it turns dark brown. A coloring substance like soup paste, caramel, beef extract, or some of the many preparations for coloring soups and sauces, is nearly always necessary where the stock is not a rich brown one. Various other substances are used occasionally for thickening soups, but only those mentioned are in general use. Miscellaneous Notes. Be particular to cool stock rapidly. If it be allowed to cool partially on the range before it is strained, it will riot keep well. The more quickly it is cooled after the straining, the better it is. Cooking meat at a high and in a dry temperature develops a richer and more savory flavor; so, when it is possible, it is well to brown the meat before adding the water to it. The less fat there is in the stock-pot the more delicate will be the flavor of the soup. Cut off as much fat as possible before putting the meat into the pot. A delicate flavor of ham improves stock, but it should be so slight as hardly to be recognized. An ounce of ham to a gallon of water is a generous allowance. Herbs, vegetables, and spices always should be used in making stock, but only in such quantities that all the flavors will be nicely blended. Here is where one has a chance to display skill. Inexperienced housekeepers should, however, carefully follow rules, rather than trust to their own judgment as to the proper quantities to use. Stock made with Shin of Beef. Have a shin of beef broken into small pieces. Wash it well and trim off any tainted pieces that may be found at the lower end. Put it in a large soup-kettle with a quart of cold water for every pound and a half of meat and bone. Heat slowly to the boiling-point, and then skim thoroughly. The liquid should be skimmed several times in half an hour. Now place the pot where its contents will boil gently for ten hours. When it has been cooking for eight hours, put in a stew-pan four table-spoonfuls of butter, two onions, cut fine, three table-spoonfuls of minced carrot, three of minced turnip, six of celery ; then cook slowly for half an hour. At the end of that time cook the vegetables a little more rapidly for about a minute, stirring all the time. When they have become browned slightly, add them, with the butter, to the stock. Add also six cloves, a stick of cinnamon, three dozen pepper-corns, two table-spoonfuls of salt, and a bouquet of sweet herbs. Cook for an hour longer, and then strain. Cool quickly, and put in a cold place for the night. In the morning skim off all the fat, turn out the jelly, and scrape off the sediment. This jelly, when heated, will give a clear, well-flavored stock.