The housekeeper's guide to preserved meats, fruits, vegetables, &c

This entails considerable difficulty if the herbs are simply boiled in the soup in the ordinary way, and the soup then strained off. It is often impossible for the cook to tell exactly what state the herbs are in. If they have been freshly bottled they are very much stronger than if they have been kept corked up for a long time. In flavouring any kind of turtle soup, whether from fresh meat or dried meat, the cook should act as follows : — Take a good quantity of fla- vouring herbs, more than she knows will be necessary, tie these up in a piece of muslin and tie a string to it. The herbs can then be boiled in the soup. The cook should then exercise her sense of taste and smell, and when she believes that sufficient of the flavouring herbs has got into the soup she should take out the muslin bag. Another very good method of flavouring soup with flavouring herbs, a method that is practised when soups are made in large quantities, is to take say a pint of the soup and add to it a large quantity of these herbs. The herbs are boiled in this quantity of soup in a small stewpan, the lid of which fits very tight, as the flavour is apt to evaporate with the steam. After the herbs have been boiled thoroughly for a considerable time the cook should take the soup off the fire and allow it to get nearly cold. Were it to get quite cold it would probably be a jelly. Then strain through a sieve, pressing the herbs so as to extract all the liquid possible. This liquid can now be added to the soup gradually, and the cook should taste the soup to see when it has had sufficient flavour imparted to it. By this means the exact amount of flavour required is easily obtained. Those who have been fortunate enough to taste real turtle soup made by Mons. Burlet, of the Freemasons’ Tavern, will remember ■with what absolute perfection the various flavours are blended in his unequalled soup. He practises the latter method I have named for flavouring his soup. Flavouring, of course, depends a great deal upon the refined sense of taste as well as considerable patience in making the soup. When cooks mix their own herbs, either for flavouring soups or making veal-stuffing, at least onethird of the whole quantity should consist of sweet basil. When, however, they are mixing herbs for veal-stuffing or pork sausages, marjoram should rather predominate. Care also should be taken in adding both lemon thyme and ordinary thyme not to put in too much of these herbs, or they will entirely overthrow the flavour of all the rest. Some cooks, in mixing herbs for flavouring turtle soup, or for making a rich sauce for calves’ head en tortue, add a small quantity of the herb called pennyroyal. The flavour of pennyroyal is somewhat similar to peppermint, and of course when it is added it must only be added in small quantities. Half a teaspoonful of dried pennyroyal would be quite enough for half a gallon of soup. The late M. Francatelli recommended the use of pennyroyal, but I do not think the majority of cooks as a rule use it. In any case it must be used ■with extreme caution.