Practical gastronomy and culinary dictionary

" Never use silver spoons for scraping kettles." " See that the kitchen utensils are always properly cleansed and dried." " Do not allow cream to mould and spoil." 64 PRACTICAL GASTRONOMY " When not using the fire do not forget to arrange dampers so as not to burn more fuel than needed." " Do not leave the lights burning when not wanted." " Do not let fruit decay for the want of ' sorting over.' " " Save the bones of meat and the carcasses of poultry, as they can be used in making good soups." " Take care of the gravy which is left ; it will save many pounds of meat in making sauces for hashes, and many other little dishes." ",Save all the meat, &c., which is left from table, as many things may be re-dressed, in a different form, from that in which they were first served, and often improve the appearance of the table without increasing the expense of same." " Never allow soups or sauces to be left standing in tin or copper overnight." " Do not leave cold vegetable to get sour and spoil." " No artists have greater need to make hay while the sun shines than cooks have." 65 PART III HIGH-CLASS AND DOMESTIC COOKERY Of the Present Time. All that appertains to the delicate and valuable science of cookery, in its highest and most artistic form, is the result and study of the masters of that craft, who, we are bound to admit, have of late produced marvellous improvements by providing what " is pleasant to the eye and good for food." The modern high-class cooks are at once artists, architects, and physicians : they appeal to our senses of colour, of fragrance, of form, and of taste, and, recognising that truth, the condition of our souls is largely dependent on the state of our stomachs. Their inventive genius is displayed in multitudinous methods for what we may call the artistic presentation of nutri- ment. They can build castles and cathedrals out of cooked meats, flour, rice, and sugar ; they can fashion all the flowers that bloom in the sprmg out of deftly moulded stearine crystals or carved vegetable roots ; they 66 PRACTICAL GASTRONOMY can form all the delicate pieces of a table decoration, and the judicious composition of a well-balanced bill of fare ; they work like dramatists and think like doctors, for, after all, the " secret " of a dinner means good dialogue on the part of the company, hence the culinary artist is the real physician of modern life. So much for the artists and the "haute cuisine " ; but it is also most necessary that the importance of good cooking be like- wise recognised in " every-day life." It is here that cookery in many cases is still shamefully mismanaged, and the extravagance and discomfort resulting from bad cooking are beyond restraint. It is often said that a French cook can serve up a most savoury dish of a few crusts of bread and scraps of meat and a little spice. I do not know how true this may be, but I am quite sure that the English cook, with a little more judicious management and proper use of the material, ought to be just as capable of serving up as palatable, nutritious, and economical dishes as the French. Eleven women out of twelve have daily some- thing to do with preparing food for the table, and if more regard were shown for such an important matter as the art of cooking, not nearly so much food which is entrusted to them would be spoiled.