The greatest amount of saving — and by Avhich saving the whole food-
supply of the world itself is increased— exists chiefly in the fact of many
of the goods being made and preserved in the country Avhere the raw
material is plentiful. Take one simple instance. There are few modem
inventions connected with eating and drinking more valuable than
extract of meat, now so univ ersally recommended by medical practitioners
of every mode of thinking. This extract of meat is simply the pure
juice of the meat itself reduced to a concentrated form. Thanks to
this invention, Ave in England reap the benefit almost in full of those
fruitful countries Avhere land and grass are so plentiful that beef and
mutton can be obtained at three-halfpence per pound. Were extract of
meat made in this country, its price would necessarily be prohibitive.
The fact of its being manufactured Avhere meat is almost a drug in the
market, and then sent over in a preserved state, enables cooks in the
present day to almost do Avithout gravy beef in making soup, and to
make the soup at a far more reasonable rate than it could possibly be
made did not extract of meat exist.
Of course one great advantage gained by cooking all lands of provisions
on a wholesale scale is that of economy. Every cook knows that it Avould
be possible to supply an excellent dinner for fifty persons at five shillings
a head, but it Avould be impossible to supply the same dinner to one
person for five shillings. In manufacturing soups on a large scale, the
wholesale manufacturer has an enormous advantage over a private
kitchen. Any good cook will know hoAV valuable is an old ham bone in
making stock for soup. In a manufactory like that of Messrs. Crosse and
Blackwell, thousands and thousands of ham bones are left in the course
of a year — not the rusty ham bone of the private house, but the fresh
ham bones from Avhich the meat has been cut but a few minutes ; and
these ham bones are used in addition to other materials in making stock
for the various soups.
There are certain general principles Avhich govern the method of
dealing with all kinds of preserved goods, Avhich may be divided into
four classes— meats and soups, fruits, vegetables, and sauces. Before
going into this matter in detail, I would give a short explanation as to
the method pursued in preserving all lands of goods in tins. Take any
tin of preserved meat, fruit, or vegetables, and open it. It is not an
uncommon thing to hear the remark, “Ah! there is the air escaping.”
The sudden rush of air is indeed heard, but the Avord “ escape ” is most
unscientific. The fact is, the rush of air is into the tin and not out of it.
The secret of the preservation of all kinds of meat in tins is that the air
•71
INTRODUCTION.
Page 2
Presented as published in 1880. 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
The greatest amount of saving — and by Avhich saving the whole foodsupply of the world itself is increased— exists chiefly in the fact of many of the goods being made and preserved in the country Avhere the raw material is plentiful. Take one simple instance. There are few modem inventions connected with eating and drinking more valuable than extract of meat, now so univ ersally recommended by medical practitioners of every mode of thinking. This extract of meat is simply the pure juice of the meat itself reduced to a concentrated form. Thanks to this invention, Ave in England reap the benefit almost in full of those fruitful countries Avhere land and grass are so plentiful that beef and mutton can be obtained at three-halfpence per pound. Were extract of meat made in this country, its price would necessarily be prohibitive. The fact of its being manufactured Avhere meat is almost a drug in the market, and then sent over in a preserved state, enables cooks in the present day to almost do Avithout gravy beef in making soup, and to make the soup at a far more reasonable rate than it could possibly be made did not extract of meat exist.
Of course one great advantage gained by cooking all lands of provisions on a wholesale scale is that of economy. Every cook knows that it Avould be possible to supply an excellent dinner for fifty persons at five shillings a head, but it Avould be impossible to supply the same dinner to one person for five shillings. In manufacturing soups on a large scale, the wholesale manufacturer has an enormous advantage over a private kitchen. Any good cook will know hoAV valuable is an old ham bone in making stock for soup. In a manufactory like that of Messrs. Crosse and Blackwell, thousands and thousands of ham bones are left in the course of a year — not the rusty ham bone of the private house, but the fresh ham bones from Avhich the meat has been cut but a few minutes ; and these ham bones are used in addition to other materials in making stock for the various soups.
There are certain general principles Avhich govern the method of dealing with all kinds of preserved goods, Avhich may be divided into four classes— meats and soups, fruits, vegetables, and sauces. Before going into this matter in detail, I would give a short explanation as to the method pursued in preserving all lkinds of goods in tins. Take any tin of preserved meat, fruit, or vegetables, and open it. It is not an uncommon thing to hear the remark, "Ah! there is the air escaping." The sudden rush of air is indeed heard, but the word "escape" is most unscientific. The fact is, the rush of air is into the tin and not out of it. The secret of the preservation of all kinds of meat in tins is that the airr
•71