meat, as is the too common practice of so many American house- keepers. Hash appears to be a peculiarly American institution. In no other country is every remnant of cold meat turned into this one unvarying dish. Not only remnants but whole joints of cold meat, a roast of beef of which the tenderloin had sufficed for the first day's dinner, the leg of mutton from which a few slices only have been taken, the fillet of veal, available for so many delicate dishes, are ruthlessly turned into the all-prevading hash. The curious thing is that people are even fond of it. Yet hash in itself is not a bad dish ; it is called a peculiarly American institution, because when English people speak of hash, they mean something quite diflFerent — meat warmed in slices. Our hash, in its best form — ^that is, made with nice gravy, garnished with sippets of toast and pickles, surrounded with maled potatoes or ric^is dignified abroad by the name of ^^mince,^' and makes its appearance as an elegant little entree. Nor would it be anathematized in the way it is with us, if it were only occasionally introduced. It is the familiarity that has led to con- tempt. But though recipes are hereafter given for most excellent dishes of hash, it is better to introduce a little variety in warmed- over meats. Variety is as easy to produce as it is rare to meet with in average cooking, and depends more upon intelligence and thoughtfulness than upon anything else. Plenty of good well fla- vored gravy is an absolute necessity for the success of warmed-over dishes, also a variety of seasoning, herbs, etc., though in using the recipes that follow, if all the seasonings mentioned are not at hand others may be substituted or they may be omited entirely. No good cook, however, will allow her stock of spices, herbs and other con- diments to run low, for upon these and their appropriate use de- pends the success of all cookery, giving that peculiar flavor charac- teristic of French cooking ; and another secret we may learn from them is the use of a Pinch of Sugar in soups, meat and vegetable dishes, etc. It is not added to sweeten, or even be perceptible, but it en- riches, softens, tones, as it were, the other ingredients as salt does. It is a mistaken idea to think that fat and butter in large quantities are necessary to good cooking. Butter and oils may be melted with- out changing their nature, but when cooked they become much more indigestible and injurious to weak stomachs. Oravy is equally if not more palatable and much more wholesome, though a limited quantity of butter, drippings or oil is almost indispensable to a well COLD HEATS. 455 flavored gravy, unless.it be made from good stock from boiled meat and vegetables, which is much better. In making warmed-over •dishes of meat do not let the preparation boil or cook long ; simply become thoroughly heated, as boiling toughens re-cooked meat, and it is also necessary to always place in a hot frying-pan, so the heat- ing can be more quickly accomplished. We give below a few recipes which make Sippetizing dishes from cold meat but the ways of pre- paring the latter are legion, and the successful housekeeper can form innumerable dishes, as each recipe will suggest another even more edible than the first.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

meat, as is the too common practice of so many American housekeepers. Hash appears to be a peculiarly American institution. In no other country is every remnant of cold meat turned into this one unvarying dish. Not only remnants but whole joints of cold meat, a roast of beef of which the tenderloin had sufficed for the first day's dinner, the leg of mutton from which a few slices only have been taken, the fillet of veal, available for so many delicate dishes, are ruthlessly turned into the all-prevading hash. The curious thing is that people are even fond of it. Yet hash in itself is not a bad dish ; it is called a peculiarly American institution, because when English people speak of hash, they mean something quite different — meat warmed in slices. Our hash, in its best form —that is, made with nice gravy, garnished with sippets of toast and pickles, surrounded with mashed potatoes or rice, is dignified abroad by the name of "mince,"' and makes its appearance as an elegant little entree. Nor would it be anathematized in the way it is with us, if it were only occasionally introduced. It is the familiarity that has led to contempt. But though recipes are hereafter given for most excellent dishes of hash, it is better to introduce a little variety in warmedover meats. Variety is as easy to produce as it is rare to meet with in average cooking, and depends more upon intelligence and thoughtfulness than upon anything else. Plenty of good well flavored gravy is an absolute necessity for the success of warmed-over dishes, also a variety of seasoning, herbs, etc., though in using the recipes that follow, if all the seasonings mentioned are not at hand others may be substituted or they may be omited entirely. No good cook, however, will allow her stock of spices, herbs and other condiments to run low, for upon these and their appropriate use depends the success of all cookery, giving that peculiar flavor characteristic of French cooking ; and another secret we may learn from them is the use of a Pinch of Sugar in soups, meat and vegetable dishes, etc. It is not added to sweeten, or even be perceptible, but it enriches, softens, tones, as it were, the other ingredients as salt does. It is a mistaken idea to think that fat and butter in large quantities are necessary to good cooking. Butter and oils may be melted without changing their nature, but when cooked they become much more indigestible and injurious to weak stomachs. Gravy is equally if not more palatable and much more wholesome, though a limited quantity of butter, drippings or oil is almost indispensable to a well flavored gravy, unless it be made from good stock from boiled meat and vegetables, which is much better. In making warmed-over •dishes of meat do not let the preparation boil or cook long ; simply become thoroughly heated, as boiling toughens re-cooked meat, and it is also necessary to always place in a hot frying-pan, so the heating can be more quickly accomplished. We give below a few recipes which make Appetizing dishes from cold meat but the ways of preparing the latter are legion, and the successful housekeeper can form innumerable dishes, as each recipe will suggest another even more edible than the first.

The new practical housekeeping