My chief aim has been to. give no recipe which a child could not be trusted to carry out with a little supervision. In giving recipes for soups, I have had some difficulty, as of course the secret of good soup is well-made stock, and this can only be procured by constant attention and care, which is impossible in the case of children. I have, therefore, taken it for granted that the cook will supply the stock ready made ; but there is no reason why 8 Preface girls should not know how to make it, if necessary. For an economical stock nothing is essential but bones, cooked or uncooked, just covered with water, which must be added to as it boils away, and the bones kept boiling until they are perfectly soft. Bones which have been cooked still retain a vast amount of goodness. Many cooks will not agree to this, but the fact remains that it is so. The bones should all be cracked before being put into the saucepan or stock-pot. After boiling a sufficiently long time the stock must be strained off, and when cold will be found to be in a thick jelly. To extract all the goodness the stock should be boiled for at least three days. It is not generally known that in every pound of bone there are six ounces of good nourish- ing food. There is no necessity whatever to use meat if bones are properly boiled, though 9 Preface of course a richer soup is made by the addition of gravy beef, knuckle of veal, or, best of all, an old fowl. No vegetables should be put into stock, or it will not keep. It is well to remember that stock, however thin, is better than water for soup. I have not arranged many meat dishes ; they are not interesting to children, and generally entail much standing over the fire. Those I have put in are easily pre- pared, and form nice supper dishes for the schoolroom. For the same reason the fish and egg recipes are few in number, and will be found quite easy to carry out. About puddings and cakes the important things are that the eggs should be fresh and well beaten. It is almost always better to beat yolk and white apart, and remember that, should you wish to use the white alone, to make a souflde, it will be impossible to beat it sufficiently stiff if, in lo separating the white from the yolk, you allow the yolk to break. Never use unwashed or unpicked cur- rants, and when used they must not be either wet or hot. It is well to prepare them some time before using by picking out the stems, &c., and washing and dry- ing them in a clean cloth. Rice does not require washing before it is cooked. It is a great mistake to do so, and one that is very usually made. For beating up eggs I recommend a Dover’s egg-whisk, used in a pound jam- pot. The smallest child can manage in this way without spilling. Boiled puddings when cooked should be plunged into cold water; the cloth will then be easily removed, and the pudding will not break. I have made an addition to the recipes, which will, I know, be appreciated by the children, in a large collection of sweets of various kinds, interesting to make and quite wholesome. In searching for some- thing new (or old) to add to the variety, I consulted a cookery-book which is more than a hundred years old, and, for the amusement of the children, have copied out a recipe which is given to be used for a grand party.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

My chief aim has been to. give no recipe which a child could not be trusted to carry out with a little supervision. In giving recipes for soups, I have had some difficulty, as of course the secret of good soup is well-made stock, and this can only be procured by constant attention and care, which is impossible in the case of children. I have, therefore, taken it for granted that the cook will supply the stock ready made ; but there is no reason why Preface girls should not know how to make it, if necessary. For an economical stock nothing is essential but bones, cooked or uncooked, just covered with water, which must be added to as it boils away, and the bones kept boiling until they are perfectly soft. Bones which have been cooked still retain a vast amount of goodness. Many cooks will not agree to this, but the fact remains that it is so. The bones should all be cracked before being put into the saucepan or stock-pot. After boiling a sufficiently long time the stock must be strained off, and when cold will be found to be in a thick jelly. To extract all the goodness the stock should be boiled for at least three days. It is not generally known that in every pound of bone there are six ounces of good nourishing food. There is no necessity whatever to use meat if bones are properly boiled, though Preface of course a richer soup is made by the addition of gravy beef, knuckle of veal, or, best of all, an old fowl. No vegetables should be put into stock, or it will not keep. It is well to remember that stock, however thin, is better than water for soup. I have not arranged many meat dishes ; they are not interesting to children, and generally entail much standing over the fire. Those I have put in are easily prepared, and form nice supper dishes for the schoolroom. For the same reason the fish and egg recipes are few in number, and will be found quite easy to carry out. About puddings and cakes the important things are that the eggs should be fresh and well beaten. It is almost always better to beat yolk and white apart, and remember that, should you wish to use the white alone, to make a souflde, it will be impossible to beat it sufficiently stiff if, in lo separating the white from the yolk, you allow the yolk to break. Never use unwashed or unpicked currants, and when used they must not be either wet or hot. It is well to prepare them some time before using by picking out the stems, &c., and washing and drying them in a clean cloth. Rice does not require washing before it is cooked. It is a great mistake to do so, and one that is very usually made. For beating up eggs I recommend a Dover’s egg-whisk, used in a pound jampot. The smallest child can manage in this way without spilling. Boiled puddings when cooked should be plunged into cold water; the cloth will then be easily removed, and the pudding will not break. I have made an addition to the recipes, which will, I know, be appreciated by the children, in a large collection of sweets of various kinds, interesting to make and quite wholesome. In searching for something new (or old) to add to the variety, I consulted a cookery-book which is more than a hundred years old, and, for the amusement of the children, have copied out a recipe which is given to be used for a grand party.

The child's cookery book