with rich purple profusion soon to be converted into the wine that “ cheereth God and man.” As often appens, with change of season also comes change of food, a change doubly welcome in a country like our own winch seems to possess fewer changes than others, on the beef and mutton, mutton and beef, day after day and week after week. There are, perhaps, few changes more decided than that of hare in the shape of food, and few dishes that persons would care less to eat every day. Still, it is a change, and a pleasant one , but hare requires rather more skill in cooking than many cooks are aware of. Hare really properly cooked has simply to be compared with hare carelessly served to prove the truth of this statement. I will begin by describing that simple dish, roast ^ ll' common fault to be found with t^s excellent dish, as we get it in nine houses u of ten ? It IS nearly always dried up, that part of the meat of the back which in roasting is nearest the foe seems covered vnth a thick, hard skin, the reason been sufficiently basted. In cooking hare, and, in fact in cooking any kind of meat, the nature of that meat should be borne in mind. The specialty about LTdrv ^ what L may dry , and also, it possesses very little natural fat Consequently the cook's great object should be to keep the hare as moist as possible, and to prevent it rom ge mg dry. In all high-class works on cooking, entrees made from hare are invariably spoken of L ' larded fillets, which are finished by the addition of arious sauces, etc. ; but I do not think it would be veiy practical to describe the process of larding fiUets o hare. Larding requires practice, and one practical bulk-indeed, I might as well attempt to explain how 132 PRACTICAL HOME COOKERY. to shoot the hare ; I fear the cook who depended upon “ reading ” for her knowledge of larding woidd miss her mark, as surely as the sportsman whose sole experience consisted of a similar kind would miss his. There is an old saying, “ A disease once known is half -cured ; ” the disease, so to speak, against which we have to contend is dryness. In roasting a hare, therefore, bear in mind the importance of basting, and also of not letting the hare be too close to the fire in the early stage of roasting. But to begin at the begin- ning ; We will suppose the hare caught and hung up, head downwards, in his fur jacket. Now the first thing to be thought of is the length of time that a hare should be kept before it is cooked. This entirely depends upon the weather ; a perfectly fresh hare should never be cooked unless the whole of it is in- tended for hare-soup, which is rarely the case save is small private houses. Some persons prefer the hare absolutely high ; the best course is a happy medium between being too high and too fresh, and cooks should bear in mind that what often appears very high and offensive when raw, becomes perfectly right when cooked. We will not dwell upon that not very agreeable but still necessary process of skinning the hare, but will at once commence to make the stuflhng, which must be tied up inside it. Ordinary veal stuffing, as it is gener- ally called, is best for the purpose, and, as I think I have before pointed out, the most common fault is too much lemon.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

with rich purple profusion soon to be converted into the wine that “ cheereth God and man.” As often happens, with change of season also comes change of food, a change doubly welcome in a country like our own which seems to possess fewer changes than others, on the beef and mutton, mutton and beef, day after day and week after week. There are, perhaps, few changes more decided than that of hare in the shape of food, and few dishes that persons would care less to eat every day. Still, it is a change, and a pleasant one , but hare requires rather more skill in cooking than many cooks are aware of. Hare really properly cooked has simply to be compared with hare carelessly served to prove the truth of this statement. I will begin by describing that simple dish, roast A common fault to be found with this excellent dish, as we get it in nine houses u of ten ? It IS nearly always dried up, that part of the meat of the back which in roasting is nearest the fire seems covered with a thick, hard skin, the reason been sufficiently basted. In cooking hare, and, in fact in cooking any kind of meat, the nature of that meat should be borne in mind. The specialty about dry, and what I may dry , and also, it possesses very little natural fat Consequently the cook's great object should be to keep the hare as moist as possible, and to prevent it from getting dry. In all high-class works on cooking, entrees made from hare are invariably spoken of as larded fillets, which are finished by the addition of arious sauces, etc. ; but I do not think it would be very practical to describe the process of larding fiUets of hare. Larding requires practice, and one practical bulk-indeed, I might as well attempt to explain how to shoot the hare ; I fear the cook who depended upon “ reading ” for her knowledge of larding would miss her mark, as surely as the sportsman whose sole experience consisted of a similar kind would miss his. There is an old saying, “ A disease once known is half -cured ; ” the disease, so to speak, against which we have to contend is dryness. In roasting a hare, therefore, bear in mind the importance of basting, and also of not letting the hare be too close to the fire in the early stage of roasting. But to begin at the beginning ; We will suppose the hare caught and hung up, head downwards, in his fur jacket. Now the first thing to be thought of is the length of time that a hare should be kept before it is cooked. This entirely depends upon the weather ; a perfectly fresh hare should never be cooked unless the whole of it is intended for hare-soup, which is rarely the case save is small private houses. Some persons prefer the hare absolutely high ; the best course is a happy medium between being too high and too fresh, and cooks should bear in mind that what often appears very high and offensive when raw, becomes perfectly right when cooked. We will not dwell upon that not very agreeable but still necessary process of skinning the hare, but will at once commence to make the stuflhng, which must be tied up inside it. Ordinary veal stuffing, as it is generally called, is best for the purpose, and, as I think I have before pointed out, the most common fault is too much lemon.

Practical home cookery