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

HERRINGS A LA SARDINES.— Herrings can now be obtained, preserved in oil, in tins, like sardines, and those who are fond of fish preserved in oil would do well to make a trial of these herrings. Herrings preserved in oil can be eaten as they are, and form a very excellent breakfast-dish. A little lemon-juice and cayenne pepper added to them will be found a great improvement. The herrings can also be quickly served hot as a curry when preserved in oil. To do this, open the tin and pour out all the oil into a frying-pan, then take a dessert-spoonful or less of Crosse and Blackwell’s curry-powder, mix it with a little water, and add it to the oil in the frying-pan. Next take a small quantity of cornflour or arrowroot and mix this also with a little water and some oil. Add gradually, spoonful by spoonful, some of the mixture of cornflour and water. When the mixture gets sufficiently thick the curry sauce is made, and the herrings can be warmed up in this curry sauce, and when they are hot through they can be served. If possible, warm up also in the sauce four or five bay-leaves, whole. Herrings preserved in oil curried in this way form an excellent breakfast-dish, and of course boiled rice should accompany them. The rice should be put in the dish first, and in it a sort of well formed, in which the herrings should be placed and the sauce poured over them. HERRINGS, FRESH.— Fresh herrings are now to be obtained preserved in tins. There are various ways of serving them. First, they can be served in a little vinegar and water, in which should be placed a few peppercorns. In this form they make a very nice dish for breakfast or luncheon. When preserved whole they can be warmed up and served with mustard sauce. Mustard sauce is very simply made by adding two or three good-sized spoonfuls of made mustard to a small quantity of melted butter— or, as it should be called, butter sauce. I have before had occasion to remind cooks that the too common fault in making butter sauce is making an excessively large quantity, and at the same time necessarily making it very poor. A quarter of a pint of butter sauce would be ample for a tin of herrings. And it would be best before making it to measure out this quantity in a glass. Really good butter sauce is of course an expensive luxury when made from butter at its present price. In making butter sauce only just sufficient flour should be added to slightly thicken the water, whiclr is generally better for the purpose than milk. Then the butter should be added, piece by piece, gradually, and dissolved in the sauce.