The spirit of cookery

Macaroni are made from wheat-grits or flour, of which qualities are selected which contain much gluten ; the parts of such grits, of which thirty-four parts require ten to twelve parts of boiling water, are worked vehemently under heavy revolving stones, and upon this working depends much of their quality as regards taste and permanency of shape. The best macaroni are made in Italy, at Naples, Livorno, Genoa, and Turin, and in the Auvergne in France. In the latter country some sorts of macaroni are also made from wheat gluten, obtained in the manufacture of starch ; of this gluten ten parts, flour which need not be rich in gluten thirty parts, and five to six parts of boiling water, are mixed. Macaroni and other sorts of Italian paste contain in the mean 13 per cent, of water, 9 per cent, of nitrogenous matter, 0'25 per cent, of fat, nearly 77 per cent, of starch and matters free from nitrogen, and 0'8 per cent, of ash. From physiological experiments on digestion, it follows that although macaroni are as well digested as bread, yet they are, like bread, not sufficiently rich in nitrogenized substance to serve as a perfect food ; during their exclusive use a vigorous, previously well-fed man will lose daily from 6 to 7 grammes of nitrogen furnished by his own tissues. In this respect the French macaroni, to which gluten is added, are a little better, for they offer to the body a greater proportion of nitrogenous matter. The addition of cheese and eggs and of meat fills up the deficiency in ordinary diet. Clear Soup with Macaroni, Plain Macaroni Soup. — Boil 1 lb. of pipe-macaroni, previously soaked in cold water, in a sufficiency of water to which some salt has been added. When they are nearly cooked, which will take about half an hour’s boiling in case they were not soaked, and less if they were swelled in cold water, drain them upon a napkin, and cut them in pieces of about an inch in length. Put them into a soup-pot, add two quarts of standard broth moderately flavoured with roots and herbs, or bits of fowl or game, and let it boil ten minutes longer. Send Parma cheese on a plate for each diner to help himself. Clear or Plain Vermicelli Soup. — Vermicelli, being made of the same paste as macaroni, but of very much thinner shape, are cooked much more quickly than the latter. Take half a pound of vermicelli, break them short, and keep them for three minutes in boiling water to remove any extraneous flavour which they may have acquired; drain them in a sieve, and put them in a stewpan with two quarts of any finished broth ; boil until the vermicelli are done, which will take less than half an hour. Send to table with Parmesan, or a mixture of Parma and Gruyere, cheese. As vermicelli are quickly cooked, they are useful for producing soup in a short time. They are more voluminous than macaroni, and hence half a pound only must be used with two quarts of standard broth, while of macaroni a whole pound can be put into the same quantity. When it is intended to produce a less nutritious and more liquid soup, 60 grammes of any kind of paste to the litre of finished broth is a good proportion. Plain Soup of Italian Paste, or Star Noodles. — The stars or paste of any shape require previous ablution with boiling water, like the vermicelli, but a little longer boiling in brotb.