Soup is generally the first thing served at dinner, and when other dishes are to follow, it should never be of a heavy, satisfying character; a thin soup as clear as sherry to cleanse the palate and promote the flow of the gastric juice is the proper kind of soup to precede other dishes ; as a rule, soups are too heavy. But if a soup is to be the only thing, as is frequently the case with the working classes in other countries, it should be of a nourishing character, and when no meat or meat-stock has been used, it may be im- proved with milk or thickened with macaroni, pea meal, Indian meal, pearl barley, or oatmeal, and in this way all the conditions of a cheap wholesome foot! may be prepared. “ The great heroes of antiquity/ says Sir John Sinclair, “lived on broth. The liquor in which mutton or venison was boiled, thickened with oatmeal and flavoured with wild herbs, formed the morning and evening meal in the hall of the Highland Chief.” A soup made without meat or a meat-stock is called vegetable soup or soup maigre ; and in old On Stock Soups and Pot an Feu . 27 books fast-day soup ; it is, however, generally thick- ened and improved by the addition of yolk of egg, cream, tapioca, sago, oatmeal, milk or butter, or some of these either separately or mixed. A meat soup may be regarded as a decoction in water of gelatine, osmazome, and the flavouring of the materials used in its preparation. No house should be without a little stock ; it is the foundation of all meat soups, sauces, and pure'es. It is to a cook what oil is to an oil painter ; it is the life and soul of all domestic cooking, and has its origin in the French pot au feu. In preparing a stock the object is to extract from the materials the best broth, and for this purpose we should have a saucepan or stock-pot of tinned iron ; this is the cheapest and best, because it can be easily cleaned, and without a clean stock-pot or saucepan both the flavour and quality of the stock are injured. In France a glazed earthenware pipkin is often used, and there is no reason why something of the kind should not be used in this country. A grey earthenware jar which will stand the fire, with a suit- able lid, is a better looking utensil in a poor man’s house than a saucepan. It can be easily kept clean, and retains the heat longer. THE EDUCATION OF GIRLS. “For the fashion of this world passeth away.” “ What have I learn’d where’er I’ve been ? From all I’ve heard, from all I’ve seen, What know I more that’s worth the knowing? What have I done that’s worth the doing ? What have I sought that I should shun ? What duties have I left undone? Or into what new follies run ?”

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Soup is generally the first thing served at dinner, and when other dishes are to follow, it should never be of a heavy, satisfying character; a thin soup as clear as sherry to cleanse the palate and promote the flow of the gastric juice is the proper kind of soup to precede other dishes ; as a rule, soups are too heavy. But if a soup is to be the only thing, as is frequently the case with the working classes in other countries, it should be of a nourishing character, and when no meat or meat-stock has been used, it may be improved with milk or thickened with macaroni, pea meal, Indian meal, pearl barley, or oatmeal, and in this way all the conditions of a cheap wholesome food! may be prepared. “ The great heroes of antiquity/ says Sir John Sinclair, “lived on broth. The liquor in which mutton or venison was boiled, thickened with oatmeal and flavoured with wild herbs, formed the morning and evening meal in the hall of the Highland Chief.” A soup made without meat or a meat-stock is called vegetable soup or soup maigre ; and in old On Stock Soups and Pot an Feu . 27 books fast-day soup ; it is, however, generally thickened and improved by the addition of yolk of egg, cream, tapioca, sago, oatmeal, milk or butter, or some of these either separately or mixed. A meat soup may be regarded as a decoction in water of gelatine, osmazome, and the flavouring of the materials used in its preparation. No house should be without a little stock ; it is the foundation of all meat soups, sauces, and purées. It is to a cook what oil is to an oil painter ; it is the life and soul of all domestic cooking, and has its origin in the French pot au feu. In preparing a stock the object is to extract from the materials the best broth, and for this purpose we should have a saucepan or stock-pot of tinned iron ; this is the cheapest and best, because it can be easily cleaned, and without a clean stock-pot or saucepan both the flavour and quality of the stock are injured. In France a glazed earthenware pipkin is often used, and there is no reason why something of the kind should not be used in this country. A grey earthenware jar which will stand the fire, with a suitable lid, is a better looking utensil in a poor man’s house than a saucepan. It can be easily kept clean, and retains the heat longer. THE EDUCATION OF GIRLS. “For the fashion of this world passeth away.” “ What have I learn’d where’er I’ve been ? From all I’ve heard, from all I’ve seen, What know I more that’s worth the knowing? What have I done that’s worth the doing ? What have I sought that I should shun ? What duties have I left undone? Or into what new follies run ?”

Buckmaster's cookery