The flavour and digestibility of meat depends in a measure on the correct way in which it is carved. Everyone should acquire this accomplishment if they wish to preside gracefully at the table. It is not only bad form to haggle a joint, but wasteful, as, in addition to spoiling its appearance, a badly-carved joint will not serve nearly so many portions as one correctly dealt with. If younger members of a family were sometimes, under the supervision of the head, to practise a little carving, they w7ould soon accomplish this not too difficult art with grace and ease. Practice alone is necessary to make good carvers; and wfise distribution of the delicate morsels of the dish has been many a man’s passport into popularity. The first necessary provisions for carving are the utensils. The most skilled artist would be defeated if these were not in order. For joints of meat, a knife with a long, very sharp steel blade is necessary ; for poultry and game a long handled but short, pointed blade, for inserting dex¬ terously between the small joints of the bird. The fork should be two-pronged, and the dish sufficiently near to give an easy command over it. Having the needful utensils for work, everything depends on the coolness, confidence, and dexterity of the carver, with that small knowledge of anatomy which enables him to know what joints there must be in the piece before him, and where they are situated. In butcher’s meat, one rule is almost universal, the slice must be cut across the fibres of the meat, and not along them, a process which renders it more easy to masticate and digest. The exceptions to this rule are the fillet or undercut in a sirloin of beef, and the slices along the bone in a saddle of mutton. 22 I HE HOUSEHOLD 1 In cutting a joint of meat, a strong fork is used to steady it, but in carving poultry it is the fork which is most useful in removing wing and leg by a jerk, without leaving ragged remains adhering to the body. All this requires a knack, rather than strength, and anyone may quickly become proficient by observation and a little practice. A knife, unless silver, should never be used for fruit pies, and a spoon wherever possible should be used for entrees, sweet dishes, etc. In helping stuffing or choice dishes, a calculation of the number of persons present should be made, in order to distribute the delicacies discreetly. There are certain choice cuts or delicacies with which a good carver should be acquainted, for instance : — The shoulder parts and the sounds or liver of the codfish. The thin or fat (the belly part) of salmon. The thick portion near the fins of the turbot, with a portion of the liver and roe. The fatty parts of venison and lamb. The kidney part of veal. The long cuts from a haunch of venison. The “pope’s eye,’’ which is the gland surrounded by a little fat in the middle of the thigh or meaty part of a leg of mutton. The ribs and neck of a sucking-pig. The breast and wing of a fowl. Back pieces, ears, and brains of a hare. The breast and thighs (without the drumsticks) of turkey and goose. The legs and breast of a duck. The wings, breast, and back of game. The most delicate parts of a calf’s head are the bits under the ears next the eyes, and the side next the cheek. GAS COOKERY BOOK. 23 RECIPES. SOUPS.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The flavour and digestibility of meat depends in a measure on the correct way in which it is carved. Everyone should acquire this accomplishment if they wish to preside gracefully at the table. It is not only bad form to haggle a joint, but wasteful, as, in addition to spoiling its appearance, a badly-carved joint will not serve nearly so many portions as one correctly dealt with. If younger members of a family were sometimes, under the supervision of the head, to practise a little carving, they would soon accomplish this not too difficult art with grace and ease. Practice alone is necessary to make good carvers; and wise distribution of the delicate morsels of the dish has been many a man's passport into popularity. The first necessary provisions for carving are the utensils. The most skilled artist would be defeated if these were not in order. For joints of meat, a knife with a long, very sharp steel blade is necessary ; for poultry and game a long handled but short, pointed blade, for inserting dex¬ terously between the small joints of the bird. The fork should be two-pronged, and the dish sufficiently near to give an easy command over it. Having the needful utensils for work, everything depends on the coolness, confidence, and dexterity of the carver, with that small knowledge of anatomy which enables him to know what joints there must be in the piece before him, and where they are situated. In butcher’s meat, one rule is almost universal, the slice must be cut across the fibres of the meat, and not along them, a process which renders it more easy to masticate and digest. The exceptions to this rule are the fillet or undercut in a sirloin of beef, and the slices along the bone in a saddle of mutton. In cutting a joint of meat, a strong fork is used to steady it, but in carving poultry it is the fork which is most useful in removing wing and leg by a jerk, without leaving ragged remains adhering to the body. All this requires a knack, rather than strength, and anyone may quickly become proficient by observation and a little practice. A knife, unless silver, should never be used for fruit pies, and a spoon wherever possible should be used for entrees, sweet dishes, etc. In helping stuffing or choice dishes, a calculation of the number of persons present should be made, in order to distribute the delicacies discreetly. There are certain choice cuts or delicacies with which a good carver should be acquainted, for instance : — The shoulder parts and the sounds or liver of the codfish. The thin or fat (the belly part) of salmon. The thick portion near the fins of the turbot, with a portion of the liver and roe. The fatty parts of venison and lamb. The kidney part of veal. The long cuts from a haunch of venison. The “pope’s eye,’’ which is the gland surrounded by a little fat in the middle of the thigh or meaty part of a leg of mutton. The ribs and neck of a sucking-pig. The breast and wing of a fowl. Back pieces, ears, and brains of a hare. The breast and thighs (without the drumsticks) of turkey and goose. The legs and breast of a duck. The wings, breast, and back of game. The most delicate parts of a calf’s head are the bits under the ears next the eyes, and the side next the cheek. RECIPES. SOUPS.

The household gas cookery book