The art of cookery

To Prepare Lettuce. — Cut off the root and remove the outside leaves from each head. Then remove the other leaves one by one and place them in cold water. Rinse carefully, lay in a fine wire basket, and swing in a draft of air to dry off, or lay on a coarse towel and shake gently until dry. Keep in a cool place until served. Cress, chicory, sorrel, and all salad leaves should be washed and dried in a similar manner. To Prepare Cucumbers. — Lay the cucumbers upon ice, or in cold water, until half an hour before serving, then pare and slice upon broken ice. Just before serving drain off the water. Cucumbers should never be soaked in salted water, as salt renders them tough and indigestible. To Prepare Tomatoes. — Lay the tomatoes, stem end down, in a basin or bowl, and pour boiling water over them until they are completely covered with it. Let stand half a minute, then drain it off, and fill the bowl with cold water. Renew the water several times, if Preparation of Food Materials. 27 necessary, but do not handle the tomatoes until quite cold. As soon as the tomatoes are cold the skins can be removed quite easily. If the tomatoes are to be used raw lay them upon ice until just before serving, when the skins can be removed and the tomatoes sliced. To Prepare Bread and Cracker Crumbs. — As different kinds of crumbs are required for different purposes the various methods of preparing them are here given : Crumbs No. i. — To prepare crumbs for stuffing meats, poultry, etc., remove the crust from a loaf of stale bread, break the loaf in the middle, and rub the jagged or rough edges against each other until the bread is rubbed into tolerably fine crumbs. Crumbs No. 2. — Crumbs for scolloping meats, oysters, fish, etc., should be prepared in the same manner as those for stuffing meats and poultry, and should then be rubbed through a coarse sieve. Crumbs No. 3. — To prepare crumbs that are to be used in frying, take pieces of dry bread, crusts, or crackers, lay upon a molding board, and, with a rollingpin, crush and roll them into very fine crumbs. Sift before using. Stuffing for Poultry. — Season to taste with salt and pepper the desired quantity of Crumbs No. i, and moisten lightly with melted butter. If additional seasoning be desired, minced parsley, celery, or onion may be used. Stuffing for Veal. — Season to taste with salt and pepper the desired quantity of Crumbs No. i, or with salt, pepper, and lemon-thyme, or with salt, pepper, and a combination of grated lemon-peel and nutmeg, 28 The Art of Cookery. or ground mace — using half as much nutmeg or mace as lemon-peel, and moisten well with melted butter. Crumbs No. i seasoned with salt and pepper and a little sage or sweet marjoram, and moistened with melted butter, may be used for stuffing pork. Stuffing for Fish. — Use the same seasoning and prepare in the same manner as for veal. To Remove the Skins from Peaches and Plums. — The skins may be removed from peaches, plums, grapes, and some other fruits, in the same way they are removed from tomatoes, but success depends greatly upon the exact condition of the fruit. And as the skins of all these fruits can frequently be peeled off readily without the aid of boiling water it is always advisable to experiment with a small quantity of the fruit before deciding upon which is the easiest method of removing them.