Marshall’s) to the coating liquid, to ensure its
adhering evenly and smoothly. About |oz. to foz.
of the gelatine to the pint of sauce will be sufficient,
according to the density to which you have reduced
the latter. This addition, though giving body and
adhesiveness to the sauce does not affect its flavour
as would aspic, which always, from its nature, must
impart a strong acid taste to whatever it is mixed
with. So I would ask my readers to understand
that unless the word aspic is mentioned in connec-
tion with any dish where cliaufroix is named, it
implies that the sauce — whatever its nature — is
simply stiffened with from -|oz. to foz. of Mrs.
A. B. Marshall’s leaf gelatine to the pint of sauce.
This gelatine being added at the last, just before
the sauce is tammied or sieved, and allowed to
dissolve thoroughly in it.
Before concluding this chapter a few words or so
must be said regarding garnishes. It cannot be
denied that of late these have been fearfully over-
done, with the result that in many cases it is
absolutely impossible to tell the nature of the dish
set before one. I am not now alluding to those awful
specimens of how “ not to do it,” exhibited occasion-
ally by over clever, but fifth-rate cooks, who torture
a nice ouiet shoulder of mutton into the semblance
x
of a hideous duck, with glass eyes and a gruesome
tail of shred smews ; or who send up one’s much
longed-for ice in the form of a candle with a wick
of burnt almond, in a (sham) Dresden candlestick !)
Such things are all very well for a wager, but are
not high class cookery, in any shape or form.
10
ENTRIES.
Every dish sliould be as daintiiy served and
decorated as is consistent with its nature, and with
the least amount of handling. Any garnish that
suggests the “ pawing” (I can use no more refined
phrase) of one’s food is distasteful, and no amount
of so-called decoration will make up to the connois-
seur for the repulsion such dishes evoke! Some
years ago there was a craze (American I believe in
origin) for coloured dinners, when every dish had
to bear its share of a certain fixed scheme of colour.
Now, such an idea is all very well when the colour
chosen can be obtained naturally, as, say, a red and
greeu, or a brown and cream mixture ; but when it
comes to the host’s liveries, or the hostess’s toilette
being matched by the menu, it is carrying the idea
too far, and is an atrocity one must admit, sorrow-
fully, that women alone could have inaugurated.
Their food is far too serious a thing with men to
put it at the mercy of any colouring bottles, however
harmless. For savoury dishes, red, brown, cream,
green of various shades, and yellow, can all be pro-
duced readily by the use of various vegetables, eggs,
milk, &c., not to mention prawns, caviare, olives,
&c., without dragging in all kinds of extraneous
matter, tasteless at best, but very often utterly
subversive of the original dish to which they are
added.
Finally, a few words must be said with regard to
rechauffes, from which some of the daintiest, if also
the homeliest entrees can be produced. The great
secret in preparing these is care. The British cook
reads rechauffe, and correctly too as far as that
EXTREES AND RECHAUFFES.
11
Page 5
Presented as published in 1901. 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
Marshall’s) to the coating liquid, to ensure its adhering evenly and smoothly. About |oz. to foz. of the gelatine to the pint of sauce will be sufficient, according to the density to which you have reduced the latter. This addition, though giving body and adhesiveness to the sauce does not affect its flavour as would aspic, which always, from its nature, must impart a strong acid taste to whatever it is mixed with. So I would ask my readers to understand that unless the word aspic is mentioned in connection with any dish where cliaufroix is named, it implies that the sauce — whatever its nature — is simply stiffened with from -|oz. to foz. of Mrs. A. B. Marshall’s leaf gelatine to the pint of sauce. This gelatine being added at the last, just before the sauce is tammied or sieved, and allowed to dissolve thoroughly in it.
Before concluding this chapter a few words or so must be said regarding garnishes. It cannot be denied that of late these have been fearfully overdone, with the result that in many cases it is absolutely impossible to tell the nature of the dish set before one. I am not now alluding to those awful specimens of how “ not to do it,” exhibited occasionally by over clever, but fifth-rate cooks, who torture a nice quiet shoulder of mutton into the semblance
of a hideous duck, with glass eyes and a gruesome tail of shred smews ; or who send up one’s much longed-for ice in the form of a candle with a wick of burnt almond, in a (sham) Dresden candlestick !) Such things are all very well for a wager, but are not high class cookery, in any shape or form.
Every dish sliould be as daintiiy served and decorated as is consistent with its nature, and with the least amount of handling. Any garnish that suggests the “ pawing” (I can use no more refined phrase) of one’s food is distasteful, and no amount of so-called decoration will make up to the connoisseur for the repulsion such dishes evoke! Some years ago there was a craze (American I believe in origin) for coloured dinners, when every dish had to bear its share of a certain fixed scheme of colour. Now, such an idea is all very well when the colour chosen can be obtained naturally, as, say, a red and green, or a brown and cream mixture ; but when it comes to the host’s liveries, or the hostess’s toilette being matched by the menu, it is carrying the idea too far, and is an atrocity one must admit, sorrowfully, that women alone could have inaugurated. Their food is far too serious a thing with men to put it at the mercy of any colouring bottles, however harmless. For savoury dishes, red, brown, cream, green of various shades, and yellow, can all be produced readily by the use of various vegetables, eggs, milk, &c., not to mention prawns, caviare, olives, &c., without dragging in all kinds of extraneous matter, tasteless at best, but very often utterly subversive of the original dish to which they are added.
Finally, a few words must be said with regard to rechauffes, from which some of the daintiest, if also the homeliest entrees can be produced. The great secret in preparing these is care. The British cook reads rechauffe, and correctly too as far as that
EXTREES AND RECHAUFFES.