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

certain seasons of the year how extremely difficult it is to get fresh lobster ; indeed, very often lobster cannot be obtained at all, but equally good sauce can be made by using tinned lobster. Lobster sauce is simply pieces of lobster warmed up in melted butter. We will first of all take a high-class model. Those who have been fortunate enough to dine at that well-known place, the Freemasons’ Tavern, will remember that the lobster sauce there is of a deep red colour, in fact the same colour as red lead, and that the sauce itself has a very strong lobster flavour ; indeed, there is quite as much flavour in the sauce as in the lobster itself. I will explain how this colour and flavour are obtained. The deep red colour is made by the addition of lobster butter. Lobster butter is made by mixing the boiled red coral of lobster with some butter till it becomes a smooth rich red paste, resembling, as I have said, red lead. A little cayenne pepper should be added, and the lobster butter should be put away in a small jar. I would strongly urge on all cooks, who have any pretension to the name, to invariably have by them a small quantity of lobster butter. When lobsters are in season cooks should get their fishmongers to supply them with as much lobster coral as possible. The red coral out of crayfish is equally good. Of course the coral must be boiled. Mix the red coral with about an equal quantity of butter till the whole becomes a smooth paste. Then put in about a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper to every three tablespoonfuls of lobster butter, and see that the cayenne pepper is well mixed in. Should the cook anticipate keeping the lobster butter for a long period, more cayenne should be added, as, of course, the more cayenne it contains the longer it will keep. The jar should then be put away handy for use, with some clarified butter over the top. If a small piece of bladder is tied over it the lobster butter will keep good for months. We will now suppose the cook has taken the precaution to have by her some lobster butter, which will enable her to make lobster sauce as follows : — Take a quarter of a pound of butter and cut it into six equal parts. Take one piece and mix it with an equal quantity of flour, and place it in a saucer in the oven till the butter has dissolved. Then with a spoon mix the butter and flour well together. Next take rather less than half a pint of water, add the butter and flour to this, and let it boil. This will, of course, make the water thick. Next add a dessert-spoonful, or perhaps rather less, of lobster butter, and dissolve this thoroughly till the whole becomes a deep red mixture. Now add gradually the remainder of the butter, taking care that the sauce does not get too hot. It should be kept hot, but should not be allowed to boil. Next cut up sufficient meat for the sauce out of a tin of lobster and add this to the sauce. Owing to the lobster butter containing cayenne pepper there will be no occasion to add any more cayenne. Just before sending to table the cook should add a little lemon juice. Another very nice way of serving tinned lobster is in the shape of lobster salad mayonnaise. Mayonnaise sauce is made by beating up yolks of eggs and oil. The yolks should be placed in a basin, free from all white, and the oil dropped in drop by drop.