portion to the water, cut into slices, put ov'er a fierce fire, and the
bouillabaisse is done in a quarter of an hour. It is either a magni-
licBiit success or Jin igiioininious fuilure. Add saffron if liked.
5. Egg Soup. — Boil 5 units of rice in 40 of milk till quite soft,
with an onion in slices and herb seasoning. Rub it through «i
sieve ; add a little butter, salt, pepper, and parsley, and sufficient
milk to make it the consistence of cream. Just before serving mix
in 3 units of yolks of eggs well beaten.
6. Macaroni Soup. — Boil .5 units of macaroni in 40 units of
milk with a whole onion. Add salt, pepper, thicken with white
roux and a little grated cheese.
7. Oyster Soup. — Take 2 units of the liquor from a tin of
oysters, add 2 units of milk; thicken with sufficient white roux
to make it the consistence of cream. Add 1 unit of ci’eam, season
with salt, nutmeg, cayenne, and the squeeze of a lemon✪ Oysters with Cream. Pour
over some oysters, cut in halves, and serve.
8. Vegetable Soups. — All the purees can be made without stock
by using milk instead, but in this case increase the quantity of
butter. These milk soups are very good for children.
Before leaving the subject of soups, we give a few hints
as to their thickening, clearing, and colouring, although a
good cook will seldom require to perform the two latter
operations.
In this country thickening must be made in very small
quantities. For brown thickening take 4 units of butter and
melt it, then dredge in 6 units of flour✪ Brown Thickening, stir it over a slow fire
until it becomes of an even light brown, and put it in a jar
for use. White thickening is made the same way, but not
allowed to take any colour. One unit should be enough for
40 of stock or more.
In regard to clarifying soups, it is only by negligence in
skimming and over-boiling that it becomes necessary. In
such cases refer to p. 239-
Colouring for soups should never be used. A decent
cook will be able to vary his stock to every shade of browrr
by the length of time he allows the meat to “ sweat ” in the
pair before filling up with water. Burnt orrions and sugar-
are the refuge of the negligent. It is now the fashion to
serve (separately) elaborate crouto?is or rolls or other gar-
246 The Indian Housekeeper and Cook
nishes with soup, which in this case is a clear, bright con-
somme flavoured to suit.
The following soup maxims should be committed to
memory : —
Keep the lid tight.
Do not boil.
Do not strain through a duster.
Do not leave the soup to cool in copper degchies.
CHAPTER XXIV
FISH
There arc many good Indian fishes, so it is a mistake to
despise them, and use English tinned fish on all occasions.
Many of these Indian fish are doubtless full of bones ; but
if you cut them into slices crossways, instead of lengthways,
you can remove most of the worst ones. Stale fish is perhaps
the most dangerous of all foods, therefore a cook must take
the greatest care to ascertain that it is fresh. Even if his
mistress has ordered fish, he will disappoint her rather than
bring rank poison into the house.
Very few cooks clean their fish really well. It requires
a g)-eat deal of mater, and it should finally be rinsed in salt,
vinegar, and water. If there is any fear of its tasting muddy,
let it stand in strong salt and water for half-an-hour.
Page 169 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1898. 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
portion to the water, cut into slices, put ov'er a fierce fire, and the bouillabaisse is done in a quarter of an hour. It is either a magnificent success or an ignominious failure. Add saffron if liked.
5. Egg Soup. — Boil 5 units of rice in 40 of milk till quite soft, with an onion in slices and herb seasoning. Rub it through a sieve ; add a little butter, salt, pepper, and parsley, and sufficient milk to make it the consistence of cream. Just before serving mix in 3 units of yolks of eggs well beaten.
6. Macaroni Soup. — Boil .5 units of macaroni in 40 units of milk with a whole onion. Add salt, pepper, thicken with white roux and a little grated cheese.
7. Oyster Soup. — Take 2 units of the liquor from a tin of oysters, add 2 units of milk; thicken with sufficient white roux to make it the consistence of cream. Add 1 unit of cream, season with salt, nutmeg, cayenne, and the squeeze of a lemon. Pour over some oysters, cut in halves, and serve.
8. Vegetable Soups. — All the purees can be made without stock by using milk instead, but in this case increase the quantity of butter. These milk soups are very good for children.
Before leaving the subject of soups, we give a few hints as to their thickening, clearing, and colouring, although a good cook will seldom require to perform the two latter operations.
In this country thickening must be made in very small quantities. For brown thickening take 4 units of butter and melt it, then dredge in 6 units of flour, stir it over a slow fire until it becomes of an even light brown, and put it in a jar for use. White thickening is made the same way, but not allowed to take any colour. One unit should be enough for 40 of stock or more.
In regard to clarifying soups, it is only by negligence in skimming and over-boiling that it becomes necessary. In such cases refer to p. 239-
Colouring for soups should never be used. A decent cook will be able to vary his stock to every shade of browrr by the length of time he allows the meat to “ sweat ” in the pair before filling up with water. Burnt orrions and sugarare the refuge of the negligent. It is now the fashion to serve (separately) elaborate crouto?is or rolls or other gar-
246 The Indian Housekeeper and Cook
nishes with soup, which in this case is a clear, bright consomme flavoured to suit.
The following soup maxims should be committed to memory : —
Keep the lid tight.
Do not boil.
Do not strain through a duster.
Do not leave the soup to cool in copper vessels.
CHAPTER XXIV
FISH
There arc many good Indian fishes, so it is a mistake to despise them, and use English tinned fish on all occasions. Many of these Indian fish are doubtless full of bones ; but if you cut them into slices crossways, instead of lengthways, you can remove most of the worst ones. Stale fish is perhaps the most dangerous of all foods, therefore a cook must take the greatest care to ascertain that it is fresh. Even if his mistress has ordered fish, he will disappoint her rather than bring rank poison into the house.
Very few cooks clean their fish really well. It requires a great deal of water, and it should finally be rinsed in salt, vinegar, and water. If there is any fear of its tasting muddy, let it stand in strong salt and water for half-an-hour.
Records on this page
Oysters with CreamBrown Thickening