We therefore repeat their
definitions : Gravy is a watery solution of extract of meat
which has been browned by the influence of heat upon the
first time advanced in literature. Proust’s claim to the discovery of
extract of meat in its true pure form was recognised hy myself in the
course of the studies for this work.
BROTH, GRAVY, CONSOMME
135
extract, while it was in a nearly dry state; this change
from broth to gravy is analogous to that which sugar under-
goes when it becomes caramel. Consommd, on the other
hand, means the product obtained from a watery extract of
meat and vegetables, properly spiced and salted, by reduction
or evaporation to such a consistency that it has obtained
the mixed character of both broth and gravy combined. In
many older and even some so-called modern cookery-books
so-called consommes are made to rise from very dilute
liquids, and require many hours of boiling before they
become sufficiently ‘ consumed ’ to be eatable or applicable
to further preparation. This long boiling was not only
: costly, but destructive of much quality, and it is one of the
I principal objects of modern culinary art as advocated in
I this treatise to limit as much as possible the necessity for
I such long evaporation by making the extracts as concen-
trated from the beginning as may be needed for their
immediate application.
Gravy-Broth (Empotage or Consomme) for Soups and Sauces
in General (Grand Consomme pour Potage et Sauce).
Definition. — The preparation here to be considered is the
evaporated extract from beef and veal, with the addition of
some smaller animals for variation of taste, flavoured with
roots, rhizomes, and green condiments. The quantities are
adapted to large establishments.
RecijJe. — Put into a stock-pot 30 lb. of gravy-beef, 20 lb.
of knuckle of veal, four wild rabbits, an old hen (and two
partridges, if in season), all cut small ; cover the meat with
standard broth, and boil the whole, skimming it until the
liquid be reduced to a light-coloured glace ; then fill up
again with standard broth, and add carrots, turnips, leeks,
onions, celery, two blades of mace, and six cloves, but only
little salt✪ Gravy-Broth (Empotage or Consomme) for Soups and Sauces. Boil the whole for several hours to extract the
. vegetables, then press the meat, pass the broth through a
‘36
Tllli SPIRIT OF COOKERY
silk tammy, or a napkin, into pans, and place it in the
larder for use.
This consommd may be used for sauces directly, but is a
great deal too strong for soups ; to be used in these it
requires dilution with at least two parts of water or thin
stock, so as to constitute one-third of the volume of the
finished soup. Such good soup as this is practically no-
where obtained except in philosophical households which
conserve atavistic traditions ; more particularly, it is never
obtained in the modern restaurant or hotel or club, where,
on the contrary, some very dilute colour and tasteless liquids
are given out in soup-plates under the completely false name
of consomme ; when made into thick soup with any puree or
flour, the broth disappears as well, and the result is non-
descript insipidity.
Page 95 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1895. 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
We therefore repeat their definitions : Gravy is a watery solution of extract of meat which has been browned by the influence of heat upon the
first time advanced in literature. Proust’s claim to the discovery of extract of meat in its true pure form was recognised hy myself in the course of the studies for this work.
BROTH, GRAVY, CONSOMME
extract, while it was in a nearly dry state; this change from broth to gravy is analogous to that which sugar undergoes when it becomes caramel. Consommd, on the other hand, means the product obtained from a watery extract of meat and vegetables, properly spiced and salted, by reduction or evaporation to such a consistency that it has obtained the mixed character of both broth and gravy combined. In many older and even some so-called modern cookery-books so-called consommes are made to rise from very dilute liquids, and require many hours of boiling before they become sufficiently ‘ consumed ’ to be eatable or applicable to further preparation. This long boiling was not only : costly, but destructive of much quality, and it is one of the I principal objects of modern culinary art as advocated in I this treatise to limit as much as possible the necessity for
I such long evaporation by making the extracts as concentrated from the beginning as may be needed for their immediate application.
Gravy-Broth (Empotage or Consomme) for Soups and Sauces in General (Grand Consomme pour Potage et Sauce).
Definition. — The preparation here to be considered is the evaporated extract from beef and veal, with the addition of some smaller animals for variation of taste, flavoured with roots, rhizomes, and green condiments. The quantities are adapted to large establishments.
Recipe. — Put into a stock-pot 30 lb. of gravy-beef, 20 lb. of knuckle of veal, four wild rabbits, an old hen (and two partridges, if in season), all cut small ; cover the meat with standard broth, and boil the whole, skimming it until the liquid be reduced to a light-coloured glace ; then fill up again with standard broth, and add carrots, turnips, leeks, onions, celery, two blades of mace, and six cloves, but only little salt. Boil the whole for several hours to extract the . vegetables, then press the meat, pass the broth through a
‘36
silk tammy, or a napkin, into pans, and place it in the larder for use.
This consommd may be used for sauces directly, but is a great deal too strong for soups ; to be used in these it requires dilution with at least two parts of water or thin stock, so as to constitute one-third of the volume of the finished soup. Such good soup as this is practically nowhere obtained except in philosophical households which conserve atavistic traditions ; more particularly, it is never obtained in the modern restaurant or hotel or club, where, on the contrary, some very dilute colour and tasteless liquids are given out in soup-plates under the completely false name of consomme ; when made into thick soup with any puree or flour, the broth disappears as well, and the result is nondescript insipidity.
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Gravy-Broth (Empotage or Consomme) for Soups and Sauces