The "Queen" cookery books: Entrees

the whites of two eggs, pour over it a quart of warm water, and a short gill of brown vinegar ; bring this gently to the boil, whisking it a little at the first to mix the ingredients well, and when it boils up, strain it through a warm jelly bag. It should be quite clear, but if not, run it through the bag a second time. (The meat aspic jelly is made in precisely the same way, only substituting a quart of well flavoured stock for the water.) This jelly will be pretty stiff, as it is intended for borders ; if only needed for garnishing and chopping l|oz. to 2oz. of gelatine will be found ample. (It may be observed that if aspic jelly is not in constant use it will be best to strain it through a clean napkin instead of the jelly bag, as the vegetables, vinegar, &c., might give an unpleasant flavour to any sweet jelly run through the bag afterwards, however carefully the latter is scalded out.) Be careful of the temperature of the liquid added to the ingredients, for if too hot, or boiling as some cooks advise, it will curdle and set the egg whites at once and not clear well. Whisking the jelly too long, i.e., after it has nearly reached boiling point ; using a greasy or dirty pan, or allowing the gelatine to touch anything greasy, are both causes of clouding. To chop aspic, sprinkle a sheet of white paper well with cold water, and cut up the aspic with a well wetted knife, on this ; sprinkling it with a very little more cold water if necessary, and chop as fine as possible, for the finer it is the more brilliant it will be. If to be put on with a forcing bag and pipe, be sure the latter are well wetted before putting in the jelly, or it will not flow out properly. For aspic cream, tomato aspic, &c., stir a gill of cream, tomato puree, or whatever sauce is to be used, with half a pint of just liquid aspic, add a little tarragon vinegar if necessary (be careful about this, for over-acid aspic is a very common fault), tammy it, and use when cooling, for masking, lining moulds, &c. Bain-marie. — This utensil is a most useful one, and of almost universal use abroad, where few save chefs have kitchenmaids ; though in England it is Fig. 16. looked on as a luxury only required in very large kitchens. This, however, is a great mistake. Where a cook is single-handed it is all but impossible to get ready everything required at the moment of use. So various things such as sauces, garnishes, &c., may be kept warm, and handy in this vessel, and indeed are so kept abroad, as shown in the illustration copied from a real pot in use (Fig. 16). Various substitutes for tnis pan have been introduced (on account of its large cost in this country), of which probably the best known is the “ gourmet-boiler,” but with a little management the cost need not be in the least prohibitive. The only things required are, a shallow kettle (such as most ironmongers sell as fish fryers), and a few small block tin saucepans, to fit in it. Of course where expense is no object copper pans, &c., are nicest, but the above homely arrangement works admirably. In putting sauces in this pan, pour a spoonful of liquid very gently over the surface of each, as this prevents the formation of a skin, which it is not easy to dissolve in a hurry when wanted ; using brown stock for dark and milk for white sauces.