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

Let all these bones, after they have been taken away, be then put into three pints of water, after being chopped up, and the whole allowed to boil for five or six hours. They are quite sufficient to make a quart of good stock, which when cold will be a hard jelly. All this excellent nourishment is very often thrown into the dustbin or devoted to the family cat. A small quantity of extract of meat can be added to this stock, and of course the usual vegetables must be boiled with it. When celery cannot be obtained, two or three drops of essence of celery — (see Celery, Essence of) — or a few celery seeds may be used. (See Celery Seeds.) Care must, however, be taken in both cases not to add more than two or three drops of essence, and not to allow the seeds to boil in the stock longer than is necessary to give it the desired flavour. When good clear stock is once made the number of different soups that it can be quickly turned into is very great. For instance, macaroni soup is simply macaroni boiled in good clear stock. So vermicelli soup is simply vermicelli boiled in clear stock, and so also with sago soup. Italian paste is also used for making good high-class soup, but it is only the paste boiled in some good clear stock. In all cases of adding vermicelli, sago, Italian paste, macaroni, rice, etc. , to clear stock, the cook should always boil all these ingredients first by themselves in a little water for a short time, and by this means the outside dirt, will be dissolved in the water. Were the cook to add this vermicelli or macaroni to the clear stock direct she would probably make the stock slightly cloudy. A very nice soup is made as I have described by thickening the soup with a little arrowroot or cornflour. A good clear soup can be made from extract of meat without the assistance of any other kind of meat whatever, and when soup is required in a hurry it will be found a very great convenience. Take say an onion, and slice it up. Add to it any trimmings of vegetables that may be at hand, and put it on in a quart of water with two or three cloves, and let it boil for about a quarter or half an hour. Should there be any trimmings of celery these can be added to it, but if not the small bag of celery seed can bo allowed to boil hi it for a few minutes, as directed under the head Celery Seed. Add about an ounce or more of gelatine, and let this dissolve in the water, and when it is thoroughly dissolved strain it off and add to it two teaspoonfuls of extract of meat. You now have a bright clear gelatinous stock, which will form the base of a very excellent soup. If you happen to have by you a tin of macedoines— (see Macedoines)— take a brimming tablesponful of them, and add to the stock. As no meat has been used the stock will be absolutely bright. Should the flavour