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

Indeed, in making a dish of kromeskies from the remains of cold fowl, ham, and a small tin of mushrooms, it is often well worth while opening a tin of these savoury patés on purpose to complete the dish. It is far quicker and cheaper than making an elaborate forcemeat, entailing the trouble of rubbing the meats through a wire sieve. Cooks, when in a hurry, would do well to bear this in mind. BREAKFAST TONGUES.— See Tongues. BRETON’S COLOURING.— See Vegetable Colouring. BROTH, MUTTON. — See Mutton Broth. BROWN GRAVY SALT.— See Salt. BROWNING. — Browning is now sold in bottles, and will be found cheaper and more economical in this form than when made at home, unless it is made in very large quantities. The common fault with cooks in using browning is to add too much, especially in colouring soups. They are too often apt to think that the darker a soup is in colour the stronger and the richer it will be thought. Good judges of cooking, however, know that generally the finest clear soup is of a delicate pale-straw colour. When too much browning is added it is apt to impart a flavour of its own to the soup, and the perfection of good soup is that it should taste as much as possible — or rather lose as little as possible — of the flavour of the meat. In colouring thick soups and gravies this is not so important ; still, moderation should always be used. Browning can be used for a variety of purposes. I will mention one, though I do not recommend it for general use. We all know how long a way imagination goes. A former pupil of mine was head cook at a well-known place of public entertainment in the North of England, and on one occasion had to arrange a dinner and tea for a school treat of twelve hundred children at an exceedingly small cost per head. The tea especially was a success — sweet and, to the astonishment of all, strong. Those present in command wondered how it could have been done for the money. The manager of the building made inquiries, fearing some dreadful extravagance had been perpetrated. The explanation was simple. The tea had been made by boiling old tea-leaves for some time. A small quantity of fresh tea was thrown into the boiling liquid, and the boiling stopped. Then sufficient blackjack (browning) was added to give it an air of respectability so far as appearance went. The whole was sweetened, and milk added. The result was a great success. Browning can also be used to colour syrup to glaze cakes such as sponge-cakes. When they arc in a nice sticky-, brown state, sprinkle them with chopped angelica and coarse lump-sugar, sifted — too big to go through a fine sieve, and small enough to go through a coarse sieve. Blanched almonds, cut in halves, can also be used to decorate these cakes, which are sometimes soaked in sweetened rum. BRUNSWICK SAUSAGE.— See Sausage. BULL’S HEAD KNIVES. — See Knives. BURNT ONIONS.— See Onions. ABBAGE: RED, PICKLED.— Pickled cabbage is sold in bottles and in jars. _ It is usually eaten plain with cold meat, but can be used for other purposes, especially qs an additjon to ornamental dishes, hashes,