sharply, uncovered, for ten to twenty minutes ; then
lift them out very carefully, drain well, remove the
tape, and serve on a trebly folded napkin with any
sauce to taste. The great objection to this method
is that half the time the stalks are not cooked, whilst
the heads are overdone, and usually floating loose on
the water. The new method is that advised by Sir
H. Thompson in his valuable little book, on “ Food
and Feeding.” For this you require properly a
small frame made for the purpose, but, failing this,
cut the stalks very even, and tie them up in a bundle
large enough to keep steady, then place them upright
in a deep pan, with boiling water to within two inches
of the tops. In this way the heads will only be steamed
and will be just cooked right, though kept on the
fire for thirty to forty minutes, which time will
render the major part of the stalk tender and eatable,
instead of, as usually happens, tough and stringy
from insufficient cooking. Having cooked the aspara-
gus, lift it out and dish as above on a delicately white
and triply folded napkin The old-fashioned custom
of dishing this (and other vegetables) on a slice of
toast is a relic of barbarism, dating from the days
when cooks were careless about draining their veget-
ables. Never serve the sauce in the dish with the
asparagus, but always in a separate boat. Some
gourmets aver that to eat asparagus in perfection it
should be served if hot with a cold (if not actually iced)
sauce, or if cold with a hot sauce. The favourite sauces
for this vegetable, if served hot, are white sauce
(see Sauce blanche), Sauce mousseuse (season half a gill
of boiling water with nutmeg, pepper, and salt, stir in
VEGETABLES.
19
the yolks of two eggs, and whisk this all well together
at the side of the stove without letting it boil ; then
work in bit by bit 4oz. of butter broken up small,
whisking it all till it looks like cream ; now add a
squeeze of lemon juice and serve in a hot tureen ;
this sauce is equally good with artichoke bottoms,
cold slaw, &c.), oiled butter {beurre fondu), Hollandaise ;
or Sauce mousseline (for this put half a gill of cream,
four egg yolks, a pinch of salt, a grate of nutmeg, and
three crushed peppercorns into a pan, and stand this
in the bain marie, or in another larger pan, half filled
with boiling water, and whisk it all together with
a whisk, adding loz. of butter (cut up into very
small pieces) gradually, not adding one piece till the
previous one is perfectly amalgamated, and whisking
it all the time ; when the sauce looks like a rich frothy
cream it is ready, and for company purposes should
be tammied, and just before serving should be finished
■off with a few drops of lemon juice) ; for cold asparagus
use plain iced cream seasoned with a little white pepper,
mayonnaise, or tomato cream, &c. The water in
which the asparagus was cooked as always best as
.a foundation for the sauces used with it, but always
be careful to keep the sauce delicate, or the natural
^flavour of the asparagus will be lost. This is not so
important when canned asparagus is used. The
latter, by the w^ay, should always be served cold,
thus : Lift it carefully from the tin, or bottle, on
to a colander, and let the water from the tap run on it
'for a minute or two, then set it on ice till wanted.
Page 10
Presented as published in 1902. 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
sharply, uncovered, for ten to twenty minutes ; then lift them out very carefully, drain well, remove the tape, and serve on a trebly folded napkin with any sauce to taste. The great objection to this method is that half the time the stalks are not cooked, whilst the heads are overdone, and usually floating loose on the water. The new method is that advised by Sir H. Thompson in his valuable little book, on “ Food and Feeding.” For this you require properly a small frame made for the purpose, but, failing this, cut the stalks very even, and tie them up in a bundle large enough to keep steady, then place them upright in a deep pan, with boiling water to within two inches of the tops. In this way the heads will only be steamed and will be just cooked right, though kept on the fire for thirty to forty minutes, which time will render the major part of the stalk tender and eatable, instead of, as usually happens, tough and stringy from insufficient cooking. Having cooked the asparagus, lift it out and dish as above on a delicately white and triply folded napkin The old-fashioned custom of dishing this (and other vegetables) on a slice of toast is a relic of barbarism, dating from the days when cooks were careless about draining their vegetables. Never serve the sauce in the dish with the asparagus, but always in a separate boat. Some gourmets aver that to eat asparagus in perfection it should be served if hot with a cold (if not actually iced) sauce, or if cold with a hot sauce. The favourite sauces for this vegetable, if served hot, are white sauce (see Sauce blanche), Sauce mousseuse (season half a gill of boiling water with nutmeg, pepper, and salt, stir in
the yolks of two eggs, and whisk this all well together at the side of the stove without letting it boil ; then work in bit by bit 4oz. of butter broken up small, whisking it all till it looks like cream ; now add a squeeze of lemon juice and serve in a hot tureen ; this sauce is equally good with artichoke bottoms, cold slaw, &c.), oiled butter {beurre fondu), Hollandaise ; or Sauce mousseline (for this put half a gill of cream, four egg yolks, a pinch of salt, a grate of nutmeg, and three crushed peppercorns into a pan, and stand this in the bain marie, or in another larger pan, half filled with boiling water, and whisk it all together with a whisk, adding loz. of butter (cut up into very small pieces) gradually, not adding one piece till the previous one is perfectly amalgamated, and whisking it all the time ; when the sauce looks like a rich frothy cream it is ready, and for company purposes should be tammied, and just before serving should be finished ■off with a few drops of lemon juice) ; for cold asparagus use plain iced cream seasoned with a little white pepper, mayonnaise, or tomato cream, &c. The water in which the asparagus was cooked is always best as a foundation for the sauces used with it, but always be careful to keep the sauce delicate, or the natural flavour of the asparagus will be lost. This is not so important when canned asparagus is used. The latter, by the way, should always be served cold, thus: Lift it carefully from the tin, or bottle, on to a colander, and let the water from the tap run on it 'for a minute or two, then set it on ice till wanted.