chief point with regard to the preservation of tinned meat is that it
should be kept cool, or at any rate be made cold before it is opened.
In the case of «in ordinary piece of meat, such as boiled beef, the meat
is surrounded by a bright colourless jelly, which contains almost as
much nourishment as the meat itself. Should the meat be required
hot, it would be best to heat it in the tin before opening. When hot,
the tin can be opened, the meat turned out hot, and the jelly poured
round in the shape of gravy. In the case of the vast majority of
tinned meats of every description, including rich ones, such as tinned
woodcock, tinned snipe, etc. , the cook should always bear in mind the
importance of letting the tin be perfectly cold before it is opened. In
the majority of cases, when opened, the contents of these tins are sur-
rounded by a rich fat, somewhat similar to lard, and when truffles are
mixed with the contents, this fat is strongly impregnated with the
flavour of the truffles. Now, if owing to carelessness, this tin has been
kept in a warm place, when it is opened the contents will not turn out
neatly on to the plate as they should do, and will have a most dis-
agreeable appearance. In every case, therefore, in turning out a tinned
woodcock, or woodcock paid, or tinned tongue, etc., let the cook do her
utmost to keep the tin perfectly cool. Next, let the contents of the
tin be turned out neatly. The appearance of many a tin of preserved
meat is entirely ruined owing to impatience, coupled with want of skill
in opening the tin. As a rule these tins of meat bear ample directions
as to the best method of opening them, and it is important to read these
directions with care before attempting the process. Next, let the dish
or plate on to which the meat is to be turned be suited to the size of
the tin, and let the cook be prepared with some kind of ornament for
the dish. The outside of the tinned meat will often present a rough
appearance. This is easily rectified by smoothing the outside with a
knife or spoon. Next, attention should be paid to ornamenting it.
For this purpose there is, perhaps, nothing equal to good, bright, fresh,
green parsley. The parsley should be placed round the pat^ when it is
turned out. This, again, can be further ornamented with cut lemon, or
a little row of parsley finely chopped up can be placed on the top of the
pate itself round the edge. If the cook possesses any ingenuity it will
be easy to extract, in the case of a tin which contains truffle, a small
piece of black truffle, which should be carefully wiped on a cloth and
cut into thin slices, so that a little star can be made in the centre of
the pat4 on the top, the centre of the star being a little speck of green
parsley ; or if by chance a tongue should be in the house, ready cut,
104
ENGLISH AND FBENCH COOKEKT.
a small red centre of tongue may be used. Again, in the case of turning
out a tongue, now a popular and standing dish at breakfast-time, how
much better does this tongue look when surrounded by a neat paper
frill than when placed on the table bare !
Page 87
Presented as published in 1890. 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
chief point with regard to the preservation of tinned meat is that it should be kept cool, or at any rate be made cold before it is opened. In the case of «in ordinary piece of meat, such as boiled beef, the meat is surrounded by a bright colourless jelly, which contains almost as much nourishment as the meat itself. Should the meat be required hot, it would be best to heat it in the tin before opening. When hot, the tin can be opened, the meat turned out hot, and the jelly poured round in the shape of gravy. In the case of the vast majority of tinned meats of every description, including rich ones, such as tinned woodcock, tinned snipe, etc. , the cook should always bear in mind the importance of letting the tin be perfectly cold before it is opened. In the majority of cases, when opened, the contents of these tins are surrounded by a rich fat, somewhat similar to lard, and when truffles are mixed with the contents, this fat is strongly impregnated with the flavour of the truffles. Now, if owing to carelessness, this tin has been kept in a warm place, when it is opened the contents will not turn out neatly on to the plate as they should do, and will have a most disagreeable appearance. In every case, therefore, in turning out a tinned woodcock, or woodcock pâté, or tinned tongue, etc., let the cook do her
utmost to keep the tin perfectly cool. Next, let the contents of the tin be turned out neatly. The appearance of many a tin of preserved meat is entirely ruined owing to impatience, coupled with want of skill in opening the tin. As a rule these tins of meat bear ample directions as to the best method of opening them, and it is important to read these directions with care before attempting the process. Next, let the dish or plate on to which the meat is to be turned be suited to the size of the tin, and let the cook be prepared with some kind of ornament for the dish. The outside of the tinned meat will often present a rough appearance. This is easily rectified by smoothing the outside with a knife or spoon. Next, attention should be paid to ornamenting it. For this purpose there is, perhaps, nothing equal to good, bright, fresh, green parsley. The parsley should be placed round the pâté when it is turned out. This, again, can be further ornamented with cut lemon, or a little row of parsley finely chopped up can be placed on the top of the pate itself round the edge. If the cook possesses any ingenuity it will be easy to extract, in the case of a tin which contains truffle, a small piece of black truffle, which should be carefully wiped on a cloth and cut into thin slices, so that a little star can be made in the centre of the pâté on the top, the centre of the star being a little speck of green parsley ; or if by chance a tongue should be in the house, ready cut,
a small red centre of tongue may be used. Again, in the case of turning out a tongue, now a popular and standing dish at breakfast-time, how much better does this tongue look when surrounded by a neat paper frill than when placed on the table bare !