FoodNet

Foods and household management

1914

Page 11

Presented as published in 1914. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
The other flavors are really odors, and are detected by the sense of smell. Have you not at some time seemed to lose the sense of taste when suffering from a severe cold in the head? Yet even then you could taste sugar, salt, vinegar, and feel the pungency of pepper. These other flavors or odors are due to a volatile oil in the flavoring material, that is, an oil that readily evaporates, especially when heated, as distinguished from the non-volatile oils and fats like olive oil and butter. This is a practical bit of knowl- edge in our cookery, for whatever passes off as fragrance during the cooking process, is lost as flavor. For instance, to cook vanilla essence in a soft custard is equivalent to throwing most of it away. Salt. — A mineral substance that develops other flavors. It should not be used in excess. A small amount is desirable even in sweet dishes. FOOD MATERIALS AND FOODSTUFFS 13 Acids, — Vinegar, lemon juice, and juices of other sour fruits. These are pleasing in themselves, and in small quantities develop other flavors and give a certain brightness of taste. They are used with meat and fish, and in sweet dishes. Spices, — Red, black, and white pepper, cinnamon, cloves, all- spice, nutmeg, mace, and ginger are examples. They are made from the seeds of certain plants, used whole or ground. Stick cinna- mon is a layer of a stem. Ginger is a root. Herbs, — Thyme, mint, sweet marjoram, summer savory are the leaves of old-fashioned pot herbs, used either fresh or dried. There were many others used in olden days that are not common now, such as sweet basil and pot marigold. A quite complete list will be found nowadays in any good seed catalogue. These herbs are used with meat dishes. Vegetable flavors, — Celery seeds and stalks, onions, leek and garlick, carrots and turnips, all contain flavoring oils, and we use them for their flavors in small portions, in meat dishes. Essences, — The oils of vanilla, bitter almonds, lemon and orange peel are dissolved in alcohol; and used in liquid form in cakes and desserts. Violet leaves and violet essence are sometimes used, but are a fad as a flavor. Rose water made from rose leaves is an old- fashioned flavoring, used infrequently now in blancmanges. The fresh leaf of a rose geranium gives a pleasing flavor, for occasional use. Chocolate, coffee, and tea are used for flavorings as weU as for beverages. Coloring substances, — These come of many colors made from aniline dyes, and while probably not often hurtful, they should be used only in sweets and candies, and very seldom, if ever. It is better to depend on natural fruit coloring when color is wanted. The fine art of cooking is to develop the natural flavor of each foodstuff by the proper application of heat, and never to use these condiments and flavorings in excess. The artist in cookery has a gift for flavoring, somewhat as the painter has for color. Beverages. — The dictionary defines " beverage " as " drink of any kind." The word is used in different forms in several languages and is traced back to the Latin bibere. 14 FOODS AND HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT