It will be my endeavour in these pages to write down
the details of cookery as plainly as I can. The girls who
read them must, if they would become cooks, go down
into the kitchen and prove for themselves whether or not
what I say is right. They will feel at first a little awkward ;
things will not come exactly as they want them. But if
they will persevere they will soon become skilful, and after
a time they will be able to congratulate themselves on
being able to cook. This means that as long as they live
they, and more than themselves — those whom they love —
will never be dependent upon others for the comforts of
home ; that whatever position in life they may occupy.
lo The Girl’s Own Cookery Book.
they will be able to cook food themselves, or to direct
others in doing it ; and that they will have gone a long
way in the road which leads to their being good daughters,
good wives, good mothers, and good mistresses. In
addition, they will gain one of the finest things a woman
can gain — the power to use their own hands for a useful
purpose.
There are six different ways of cooking food : roasting,
broiling, boiling, baking, stewing, and frying. Of these,
roasting and broiling may be described as the most
nutritious ; stewing and boiling as the most economical
and digestible ; frying and baking as the most convenient
and speedy. I will begin with roasting.
I. ROASTING.
#E English are continually being told how very
much better the French cook their food; but at
any rate we may pride ourselves on this, they do
not roast meat so well as we. A great French cook once
said that in England all women roast well, and certainly
the roast beef of old England is celebrated all over the
world. Those who have travelled on the Continent know
that wherever the English go it is thought necessary
to provide them with “rosbif;” and as a rule I imagine
experienced travellers avoid the dish, and regard it as a
delusion and a snare. Our real roast beef is quite a
different thing. Let us see what makes it so excellent.
The first consideration is the joint itself The superior
pieces of meat are generally chosen for roasting. The
coarser parts are reserved for stewing. Red meats — that
is, beef, and mutton, and game — should be hung for
a while before they are roasted, for only when this is done
can it be expected that they will be tender. White
meats, on the contrary — such as lamb, veal, and pork —
taint quickly, and require to be roasted when fresh.
The time that meat should be kept must depend upon
the weather and the time of the year. In cold dry weather
Roasting. 1 1
Page 2
Presented as published in 1882. 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
It will be my endeavour in these pages to write down the details of cookery as plainly as I can. The girls who read them must, if they would become cooks, go down into the kitchen and prove for themselves whether or not what I say is right. They will feel at first a little awkward ; things will not come exactly as they want them. But if they will persevere they will soon become skilful, and after a time they will be able to congratulate themselves on being able to cook. This means that as long as they live they, and more than themselves — those whom they love — will never be dependent upon others for the comforts of home ; that whatever position in life they may occupy.
[illustration: The Girl's Own Cookery Book]
they will be able to cook food themselves, or to direct others in doing it ; and that they will have gone a long way in the road which leads to their being good daughters, good wives, good mothers, and good mistresses. In addition, they will gain one of the finest things a woman can gain — the power to use their own hands for a useful purpose.
There are six different ways of cooking food : roasting, broiling, boiling, baking, stewing, and frying. Of these, roasting and broiling may be described as the most nutritious ; stewing and boiling as the most economical and digestible ; frying and baking as the most convenient and speedy. I will begin with roasting.
I. ROASTING.
The English are continually being told how very much better the French cook their food; but at any rate we may pride ourselves on this, they do not roast meat so well as we. A great French cook once said that in England all women roast well, and certainly the roast beef of old England is celebrated all over the world. Those who have travelled on the Continent know that wherever the English go it is thought necessary to provide them with “rosbif;” and as a rule I imagine experienced travellers avoid the dish, and regard it as a delusion and a snare. Our real roast beef is quite a different thing. Let us see what makes it so excellent.
The first consideration is the joint itself The superior pieces of meat are generally chosen for roasting. The coarser parts are reserved for stewing. Red meats — that is, beef, and mutton, and game — should be hung for a while before they are roasted, for only when this is done can it be expected that they will be tender. White meats, on the contrary — such as lamb, veal, and pork — taint quickly, and require to be roasted when fresh.
The time that meat should be kept must depend upon the weather and the time of the year. In cold dry weather
Roasting. 1 1