Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Suppose, therefore, there are eight persons going to sit down to dinner, it may be calculated that each person will take one ladleful of melted butter with their fish, and no more; for if it be properly made it will look sufficiently rich to deter any one from what is vulgarly called " swimming" their plate with it. PRINCIPLES OF MELTED BUTTER. Let therefore the cook who feels willing to learn act as follows : — ^Take a small basin, or the sauce-tureen, and pour into it with the sauce-ladle eight ladlefuls of water, and two over, or ten in all, and then look at the quantity, and bear in mind that that is the limit of the quantity she must make — viz., about half a pint. I will now describe how to make a small quantity of melted butter, supposing only a quarter of a pound of butter used. First take the butter, and divide it into six equal portions — great accuracy not being essential — take one of these sixth parts and place it in a small enamelled stewpan to melt over the fire, and add to it not quite an equal quantity of flour, a small pinch of pepper, and a suspicion of nutmeg. When this little piece of butter is melted, and the flour, &c., well mixed with it, have ready half a tumbler of cold water, and pour the best part of it into the stewpan, and stir it up over the fire till the whole becomes about the same consistency as cream. When this is the case, gradually dissolve in it the remainder of the quarter of a pound of butter, taking care to stir it carefully, and not to apply too great a heat. It will sometimes be found that the melted butter thus made has a tendency to what cooks call " curdle," or to run oily. The moment any symptoms of this appear, add a spoonful of cold water, slacken the heat, and stir quickly. When all the butter thus made is dissolved, the whole may be poured into and sent through a tamis, which causes it to present a much smoother appearance than it otherwise would. Unfortunately, really good melted butter ought properly to be made from fresh butter ; when, therefore, the circumstances of the house allow of fresh butter being used, a little salt must be added. However, very good melted butter can be made from salt or tub butter. We, however, are bound to admit that we live in an age of adulteration; and should it be your fate, therefore, to attempt to make melted butter from butter adulterated with fat, the blame of failure will not be yours, but the widespread dishonesty of the age in. which we live. I firmly believe that before long, unless some more stringent laws are passed, successful trado will be incompatible with honesty. Tens of thousands of children die annually in this country from the slow but deadly poison of adulteration. THE JOINT. We will now proceed to discuss that all-important point in cooking, viz., the preparation of joints — roast and boiled. Simple as such preparation would seem, •yet the fact remains that there are still many families, like that of David Copperfield, which faU apparently ever to hit upon the proper medium between redness and cinders. Or should the joint happen to be a leg of mutton boiled, the first incision of the knife causes that appearance which has been graphically described as ''gushing horrible among its capers."