be noticed before dishing up ; if too pale, put it nearer the
fire. To make the gravy, leave the joint hanging, and take
up the dripping pan; carefully pour off all the fat into a
basin till you come to the discoloured dregs, which make the
gravy. Pour into the pan a pint of boiling water (or stock)
and wash and rub the dripping pan with a spoon in it.
Rub all the brown specks (which are the dried-up gravy),
then strain the whole through a fine strainer into a sauce-
pan, skim off* any grease there may be and place the
saucepan on the side of the fire to keep hot. Then take
down the joint, and when it is dished pour the gravy into
the dish but not over the meat.
Boiling. — How often in ordinary kitchens does the cook
put a piece of meat into the saucepan, placing it over the
fire and boiling it rapidly, when instead it should have been
boiled slowly, and the water, instead of being allowed to
boil very fast, should have merely simmered, because the
first process makes it tough and stringy, whilst the second
renders it tender and succulent? Joints of fresh meat
do not require more than twenty minutes to a pound. Salt
meat should have as long again ; but, of course, the cook
must use her judgment according to the size of the joint.
A large piece of beef, such as the top-side, having more
surface exposed to the heat of the fire, takes less time to cook
than a leg of mutton of the same weight. Boiling is the
more economical plan of cooking, as meat loses less weight in
boiling than roasting, and the liquor it is boiled in can
be utilised for soup. In boiling, the great thing is not to
let the meat boil. Few people understand the difference
between stewing, simmering, and boiling. Stewing and
simmering, though similar, are yet very different, and the
difference is that meat simmered has to be eaten by itself —
that is, that the water or stock in which it is simmered is
required for something else, and the meat taken out when
sufficiently cooked — and that meat stewed is when both
meat and liquor are to be eaten together.
When the water in a saucepan bubbles at the top
and steams, it is boiling. Simmering is keeping the
water nearly boiling: little tiny bubbles every now and
then appear at the edges, and in this state it should
remain.
PLAIN COOKING
77
When boiling a leg of mutton, it should be put into fast
boiling water and allowed to boil five minutes to make the
outside hard and prevent the juices escaping. Then sufficient
cold water should be added to reduce the temperature, it
should be brought gently to the boil ; when it is on the point
of boiling it must be skimmed most carefully, drawn to
the side of the stove and allowed to simmer slowly. The
saucepan should be just large enough to hold the joint
easily, and the meat only just covered with water. It takes
from fifteen to twenty minutes to each pound of meat, after
the water has boiled.
Puddings should be plunged into plenty of boiling water
and kept boiling till quickly done. Salt meat should be
put into cold water, which should be brought up slowly
to simmering point. All white fish should be placed in
boiling water and then allowed to simmer gently, and the
water carefully skimmed.
Page 51
Presented as published in 1898. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
be noticed before dishing up ; if too pale, put it nearer the fire. To make the gravy, leave the joint hanging, and take up the dripping pan; carefully pour off all the fat into a basin till you come to the discoloured dregs, which make the gravy. Pour into the pan a pint of boiling water (or stock) and wash and rub the dripping pan with a spoon in it. Rub all the brown specks (which are the dried-up gravy), then strain the whole through a fine strainer into a saucepan, skim off any grease there may be and place the saucepan on the side of the fire to keep hot. Then take down the joint, and when it is dished pour the gravy into the dish but not over the meat.
Boiling. — How often in ordinary kitchens does the cook put a piece of meat into the saucepan, placing it over the fire and boiling it rapidly, when instead it should have been boiled slowly, and the water, instead of being allowed to boil very fast, should have merely simmered, because the first process makes it tough and stringy, whilst the second renders it tender and succulent? Joints of fresh meat do not require more than twenty minutes to a pound. Salt meat should have as long again ; but, of course, the cook must use her judgment according to the size of the joint. A large piece of beef, such as the top-side, having more surface exposed to the heat of the fire, takes less time to cook than a leg of mutton of the same weight. Boiling is the more economical plan of cooking, as meat loses less weight in boiling than roasting, and the liquor it is boiled in can be utilised for soup. In boiling, the great thing is not to let the meat boil. Few people understand the difference between stewing, simmering, and boiling. Stewing and simmering, though similar, are yet very different, and the difference is that meat simmered has to be eaten by itself — that is, that the water or stock in which it is simmered is required for something else, and the meat taken out when sufficiently cooked — and that meat stewed is when both meat and liquor are to be eaten together.
When the water in a saucepan bubbles at the top and steams, it is boiling. Simmering is keeping the water nearly boiling: little tiny bubbles every now and then appear at the edges, and in this state it should remain.
When boiling a leg of mutton, it should be put into fast boiling water and allowed to boil five minutes to make the outside hard and prevent the juices escaping. Then sufficient cold water should be added to reduce the temperature, it should be brought gently to the boil ; when it is on the point of boiling it must be skimmed most carefully, drawn to the side of the stove and allowed to simmer slowly. The saucepan should be just large enough to hold the joint easily, and the meat only just covered with water. It takes from fifteen to twenty minutes to each pound of meat, after the water has boiled.
Puddings should be plunged into plenty of boiling water and kept boiling till quickly done. Salt meat should be put into cold water, which should be brought up slowly to simmering point. All white fish should be placed in boiling water and then allowed to simmer gently, and the water carefully skimmed.