The art of cookery

It is well to recognize this distinction, and to remember that some vegetables affiliate or harmonize more perfectly than others with certain meat flavors, so as to be 112 The Art of Cookery. able to select only such as are appropriate in each case. As a general rule vegetables delicate in flavor — such as corn, celery, peas, salsify, cauliflower, and okra — should be served in veal or chicken broth in preference to the broth of beef or mutton, while those more pronounced in flavor — such as carrots, onions, turnips, tomatoes, beans, and cabbage — should be served with broths of the latter in preference to broths of the former meats. When vegetables of high flavor are used in beef or mutton broth, it is always admissible to use also those of delicate flavor, if desired ; but delicately flavored vegetables should not be served in a high-flavored broth, or mingled with stronger flavored vegetables in the preparation of a soup wherein the delicate flavored vegetables are to predominate. Bean soup, pea soup, tomato soup, and various other vegetable soups where a single vegetable is used in such abundance as to give its name legitimately to the soup, may still have used in the preparation of any of them vegetables, herbs, or spices calculated to stimulate or develop the flavor of the main vegetable, or to modify or counteract some undesirable flavor it may possess. In this way onion, cloves, and meat juices render tomato more palatable when served as a soup, a puree, or a sauce. For a similar reason a cup of sweet corn is a great improvement to a purée of beans, supplying it with sweetness and flavor and thereby enriching the flavor of the beans. And, in like manner, a sprig of mint cooked with dried peas, or with green peas that are so mature as to have lost most of their original taste, will obscure their rankness and frequently give them quite a fresh and spicy flavor ; and a slice of breakfast Soup - Making. 113 bacon added judiciously to a soup or puree of peas or beans will impart a very desirable piquancy, and greatly improve the rank or heavy natural flavor of the vegetable. Corn Soup. — To four cups of veal or chicken broth add one cup of tender sweet corn. Simmer fifteen minutes, or until cooked, season to taste, and serve. Pea Soup. — Cook one cup of green peas half an hour, or until tender, in water enough to just cover them, then add four cups of veal or chicken broth, heat to boiling point, season to taste, and serve. Tomato Soup No. i. — To four cups of beef stock add one cup of fresh tomatoes, peeled and cut in small pieces, one tablespoonful of minced onion, and two cloves. Simmer fifteen minutes, season to taste, and serve. Okra Soup No. i. — To four cups of chicken, veal, or beef broth add one cup of okra, cut in small pieces. Simmer until cooked, season to taste, and serve. Salsify Soup. — To four cups of any simple broth add one cup of thinly sliced salsify. Simmer fifteen minutes, or until cooked, season to taste, and serve. Rice Soup. — To four cups of chicken, veal, or mutton broth add one cup of boiled rice, heat to boiling point, season, and serve. Hominy Soup. — To four cups of beef broth add one cup of well-boiled hominy. Heat to boiling point, season, and serve.