Pork, ham, and bacon should be boiled in cold water,
and brought slowly to simmering point. All large white
fish must be put into cold water (with a tablespoonful of
salt to every half-gallon of water), and brought gradually
to boiling point and then allowed to simmer. The white
side of the fish should be rubbed with lemon before putting
into the water, and then kept uppermost. All scum must
be skimmed off. White fish cooks more quickly than meat.
Small fish should be put into warm water, salmon and
trout into boiling water, which will take the water off the
boil when they must be let simmer till done. Ordinary-
sized fish are cooked within a few minutes from the time
the water boils.
Turkeys, fowls, rabbits, etc., should be placed in warm
water and then simmered. Vegetables require boiling fast,
meat only simmering.
Frying. — The French unquestionably take the palm in
roasting, but the Italians are the most accomplished friers:
and any one who has travelled in Italy and tasted even in
the humble trattoria there the delicate frittura will
acknowledge that the art of frying in England is very much
under the mark. Yet English cooks prefer frying, and if
possible they will use the frying-pan instead of the gridiron
for steaks, chops, and kidneys, which when fried are black
78
THE housewife's REFEEEE
and hard on the outside and sodden and tasteless on the
inside. The Italian fritto misto is worth eating, and any-
one can test its deliciousness at Prevaliti's, the Cafe Koma,
and the Hotel de Florence.
In Italy a batter is always prepared to dip the meat in and
then it is cooked to a turn. In frying, the first requisite is
to have a clear, bright fire (not a fierce one), and to see that
the fr}dng-pan is perfectly clean. Frying is immersing in
very hot fat and it is most necessary that the fat should cover
that which is being fried. I prefer a stewpan to a frying-
pan, as the fat can be deeper. The pan should be hot
enough to fry a piece of light brown bread the instant it is
thrown in ; whilst the fat is hissing, nothing should be put
in till it leaves off and smokes. In frying fish, the
fish must be thoroughly dried and well floured. An egg,
yolk and white, must be well beaten up and breadcrumbs,
dry and fine, passed through a sieve. Flour the fish,
brush it well over with the beaten egg with a paste brush,
and cover it with breadcrumbs ; when the fat is properly
boiling (which is easily ascertained by putting one drop of
cold water into it, and if it makes much hissing the fat
boils) then quickly immerse the fish into it and a very
short time serves to cook it. Fat crackles when it is first
put on the fire because there is generally water in it. This
water sinks and becomes converted into steam, and these
bubbles of steam escaping up through the fat make the
hissings.
Page 52
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
Pork, ham, and bacon should be boiled in cold water, and brought slowly to simmering point. All large white fish must be put into cold water (with a tablespoonful of salt to every half-gallon of water), and brought gradually to boiling point and then allowed to simmer. The white side of the fish should be rubbed with lemon before putting into the water, and then kept uppermost. All scum must be skimmed off. White fish cooks more quickly than meat. Small fish should be put into warm water, salmon and trout into boiling water, which will take the water off the boil when they must be let simmer till done. Ordinarysized fish are cooked within a few minutes from the time the water boils.
Turkeys, fowls, rabbits, etc., should be placed in warm water and then simmered. Vegetables require boiling fast, meat only simmering.
Frying. — The French unquestionably take the palm in roasting, but the Italians are the most accomplished friers: and any one who has travelled in Italy and tasted even in the humble trattoria there the delicate frittura will acknowledge that the art of frying in England is very much under the mark. Yet English cooks prefer frying, and if possible they will use the frying-pan instead of the gridiron for steaks, chops, and kidneys, which when fried are black
THE housewife's REFEREE
and hard on the outside and sodden and tasteless on the inside. The Italian fritto misto is worth eating, and anyone can test its deliciousness at Prevaliti's, the Cafe Koma, and the Hotel de Florence.
In Italy a batter is always prepared to dip the meat in and then it is cooked to a turn. In frying, the first requisite is to have a clear, bright fire (not a fierce one), and to see that the frying-pan is perfectly clean. Frying is immersing in very hot fat and it is most necessary that the fat should cover that which is being fried. I prefer a stewpan to a fryingpan, as the fat can be deeper. The pan should be hot enough to fry a piece of light brown bread the instant it is thrown in ; whilst the fat is hissing, nothing should be put in till it leaves off and smokes. In frying fish, the fish must be thoroughly dried and well floured. An egg, yolk and white, must be well beaten up and breadcrumbs, dry and fine, passed through a sieve. Flour the fish, brush it well over with the beaten egg with a paste brush, and cover it with breadcrumbs ; when the fat is properly boiling (which is easily ascertained by putting one drop of cold water into it, and if it makes much hissing the fat boils) then quickly immerse the fish into it and a very short time serves to cook it. Fat crackles when it is first put on the fire because there is generally water in it. This water sinks and becomes converted into steam, and these bubbles of steam escaping up through the fat make the hissings.