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

Persons, however, who are not accustomed to take much stimulant had better avoid rum, as it is apt to produce nausea and headache. Gruel can also be flavoured with any of the numerous fruit syrups. A list of these fruit syrups will be found under the heading, “Fruit Syrup, Various ” (see Fecit Syrup, Various). Semolina is a very light, digestible form of invalid food, and makes a most delicate and delicious pudding. Receipts for making semolina pudding will be found in that excellent book, Cassell’s “ Dictionary of Cookery.” IRISH SALMON.— See Salmon. ITALIAN PASTE.— Under the general heading “Italian paste” may be included nearly every kind of prepared food sent from Italy, made from pure wheat flour, and sent over under various names, such as macaroni, vermicelli, Italian paste, Cagliari paste, etc. These pastes vary slightly in quality. The small Sicilian wheat, which is very hard, and which is considered to contain slightly more albumen than wheat grown in other and colder countries, is considered the best for the purpose of manufacturing these pastes. Another form of paste is the Genoese paste. All these are made from the very best wheat flour, but in Italy this Italian paste is manufactured all over the country, and nearly every town has its own little manufactory, the process of manufacture varying but slightly. With regard to macaroni, receipts will be found for using macaroni under its own heading. (See Macaroni.) So. too, with vermicelli. Receipts for using it will be found under the heading ‘ ‘ V ermicelli ” — (see V ermicelli) — and also sparghetti (see Sparghetti). Italian paste properly so called is made from pure wheaten flour, and is imported into this country in large quantities. It is used generally to add to soups, etc. Cagliari paste is a mixture of a variety of shapes, and can be bought in 51b. boxes. Italian paste is also sold in the shape of letters. V ery often the paste is made in certain letters for certain occasions. I remember a banquet at St. Peter’s College, Cambridge, given in honour of the marriage of the Prince of Wales, which His Royal Highness attended. The cook, M. Bossard, obtained a quantity of Italian paste in the shape of Prince of Wales’s feathers, which was served up in excellent soup. Cooks should always remember in using Italian paste that they must not let the soup get cloudy. The outside of the paste contains really a very little fine flour, and all cooks know full well that flour will make the best stock cloudy. Let them therefore proceed as follows : The soup must be made by itself, and must be perfectly bright. The paste should then be first washed in cold water, and then boiled for a certain time in ordinary boiling water till it is tender. If this water is at all cloudy it will be best to strain it off and let the paste boil again in another water for a short period. When the cook sees that the water ceases to get in the least degree cloudy she can throw the paste into the boiling soup and serve. I may here say that the same precaution, of course, should be taken with regard to boiling macaroni, vermicelli, etc. There is perhaps nothing so annoying to a good cook, who has taken great pains and trouble to clear the soup for some great occasion by means of white-ofegg or isinglass, after straining it through a jelly-bag, to find, after putting in Italian paste without taking the precaution