When selecting dishes for breakfast it must
always be borne in mind that the amount of time
that can be devoted to actual cooking at an early
hour is necessarily limited. Such dishes as can
either be prepared the day before, or take little
time to get ready in the morning, must therefore
be chosen. In fact if one wants to have nice little
dishes in the morning, a certain amount of pre-
paration must always be done beforehand, but
with a little forethought the morning cooking can
generally be well advanced.
The number of dishes that should be served at
breakfast will naturally depend on the style of
the house and the needs of the family. The usual
allowance is one or two hot dishes, or one hot and
one cold. A cold dish of some kind is always
acceptable in summer, and this is not difficult to
provide. Of course there are some people who do
not care for variety in their principal dish, they
prefer bacon, or ham and eggs, every day. _ Bacon,
unfortunately, has become such an expensive item
that it makes the weekly bills mount up if given
too often.
Some cereal, such as porridge, is usually served
at the commencement of breakfast, and it should
be quite easy to provide a little variety in this
course as well. Hominy, semolina, grape nuts,
shredded wheat biscuit, bread and milk, milk
toast, &c., might all form a pleasing change, and
especially in hot weather when the ordinary oat-
meal porridge is found rather heating.
Variety can also be introduced in the kind of
bread provided. White bread, the various makes
of brown bread, white or brown toast, scones, rolls,
oatcakes, &c., are all acceptable according to in-
dividual taste.
Fruit too, either stewed or raw, is a pleasant
addition to the meal ; it is particularly acceptable
to those who go in for a vegetarian diet, and might
advantageously be used to relieve the monotony
of this, the first meal of the day.
An attempt should always be made to serve the
hot dish at breakfast as hot as possible ; bacon, for
instance, and eggs in their various forms are spoilt,
if they have to be taken in a lukewarm condition.
This is not always easy, especially if breakfast is
a prolonged meal, as it is in many houses. In
these circumstances a hot-water dish would be
The “ Heatorboil ”
found a great boon, or a little table heater, which is
warmed either by a spirit lamp or by electricity.
By this means not only dishes and plates can be
kept warm, but some of the heaters can be utilised
for boiling a kettle or doing a little simple cooking
as well.
1636. Dry Toast, To Make
The bread used for toast should not be less than
a day old, and a tin loaf is best for the purpose.
Cut slices about a third of an inch✪ Dry Toast in thickness, in
order that it may be toasted to the centre. When
cut too thick, a soft damp piece remains in the
middle of the slice, and this untoasted part is less
digestible than plain bread.
Put the bread on a toasting fork and hold it a
little distance from a clear, bright fire. Let it
slowly dry and become a. nice uniform brown
colour, without being at all black. Then turn,
and toast the second side in the same way. Trim
off the crusts, cut the toast in convenient-sized
pieces, and stand it on end or in a toast rack to
cool. Toast must never be made a long time before
it is required nor laid flat on a plate or table, or it
will become tough and heavy.
Page 609 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1914. 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
When selecting dishes for breakfast it must always be borne in mind that the amount of time that can be devoted to actual cooking at an early hour is necessarily limited. Such dishes as can either be prepared the day before, or take little time to get ready in the morning, must therefore be chosen. In fact if one wants to have nice little dishes in the morning, a certain amount of preparation must always be done beforehand, but with a little forethought the morning cooking can generally be well advanced.
The number of dishes that should be served at breakfast will naturally depend on the style of the house and the needs of the family. The usual allowance is one or two hot dishes, or one hot and one cold. A cold dish of some kind is always acceptable in summer, and this is not difficult to provide. Of course there are some people who do not care for variety in their principal dish, they prefer bacon, or ham and eggs, every day. _ Bacon, unfortunately, has become such an expensive item that it makes the weekly bills mount up if given too often.
Some cereal, such as porridge, is usually served at the commencement of breakfast, and it should be quite easy to provide a little variety in this course as well. Hominy, semolina, grape nuts, shredded wheat biscuit, bread and milk, milk toast, &c., might all form a pleasing change, and especially in hot weather when the ordinary oatmeal porridge is found rather heating.
Variety can also be introduced in the kind of bread provided. White bread, the various makes of brown bread, white or brown toast, scones, rolls, oatcakes, &c., are all acceptable according to individual taste.
Fruit too, either stewed or raw, is a pleasant addition to the meal ; it is particularly acceptable to those who go in for a vegetarian diet, and might advantageously be used to relieve the monotony of this, the first meal of the day.
An attempt should always be made to serve the
hot dish at breakfast as hot as possible ; bacon, for instance, and eggs in their various forms are spoilt, if they have to be taken in a lukewarm condition. This is not always easy, especially if breakfast is a prolonged meal, as it is in many houses. In these circumstances a hot-water dish would be
The “ Heatorboil ”
found a great boon, or a little table heater, which is warmed either by a spirit lamp or by electricity. By this means not only dishes and plates can be kept warm, but some of the heaters can be utilised for boiling a kettle or doing a little simple cooking as well.
1636. Dry Toast, To Make
The bread used for toast should not be less than a day old, and a tin loaf is best for the purpose. Cut slices about a third of an inch in thickness, in order that it may be toasted to the centre. When cut too thick, a soft damp piece remains in the middle of the slice, and this untoasted part is less digestible than plain bread.
Put the bread on a toasting fork and hold it a little distance from a clear, bright fire. Let it slowly dry and become a. nice uniform brown colour, without being at all black. Then turn, and toast the second side in the same way. Trim off the crusts, cut the toast in convenient-sized pieces, and stand it on end or in a toast rack to cool. Toast must never be made a long time before it is required nor laid flat on a plate or table, or it will become tough and heavy.
Records on this page
Dry Toast