FoodNetArchive

Miss Parloa's new cook book and marketing guide

1880

Page 10

Presented as published in 1880. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Both the calves' and beeves' hearts are used for roast- ing and braising. The calves' are rather small, but tenderer than the beeves'. The price of one is usually not more than fifteen cents. The heart is nutritious, but not «ju$'Jj digested. 58 MISS PARLOA'S NEW COOK BOOK. Kidneys. The kidneys of beef, veal, mutton, lamb and pork are all used for stews, broils, sautes, curries and fricassees. Veal are the best. Tongues. These are very delicate. Beef tongue is the most used. It should be thick and firm, with a good deal of fat on the under side. When fresh, it it used for bouilli, mince pies and to serve cold or in jelly. Salted and smoked, it is boiled and served cold. Lambs' tongues are sold both fresh and pickled. POULTRY AND GAME. Chickens. All fowl less than a year old come under this head. The lower end of the breast-bone in a chicken is soft, and can be bent easily. The breast should be full, the lean meat white, and the fat a pale straw color. Chickens are best in last of the summer and the fall and winter. The largest and juciest come from Philadelphia. Spring" Chickens. These are generally used for broiling. They vary in size, weighing from half a pound to two and a half pounds. The small, plump ones, weighing about one and a half or two pounds, are the best. There is little fat on spring chickens. Fowl. These may be anywhere from one to five or six years old. When over two years the meat is apt to be tough, dry and stringy. They should be fat, and the breast full and soft. The meat of fowl is richer than that of chickens, and is, there- fore, better for boiling and to use for salads and made dishes. MARKETING. 39 The weight of bone is not much greater than in a chicken, while there is a great deal more meat. Another point to be remembered is that the price per pound is also generally a few cents less. Turkeys. The lower end of the breast-bone should be soft, and bend easily, the breast be plump and short, the meat firm and the fat white. When the bird is very large and fat the flavor is sometimes a little strong. Eight or ten pounds is a good size for a small family. Geese. It is more difficult to judge of the age and quality of a goose than of any other bird. If the wind pipe is brittle and breaks easily under pressure of the finger and thumb, the bird is young, but if it rolls the bird is' old. Geese live to a great age — thirty or more years. They are not good when more than three years old. Indeed, to be perfect, they should be not more than one year old. They are in season in the fall and winter. Green Geese. The young geese are very well fed, and when from two to four months old are killed for sale. They bring a high price, and are delicious. They are sometimes in the market in winter, but the season is the summer and fall. Ducks. The same tests that are applied to chickens and geese to ascertain age and quality are made with ducks. Besides the tame bird, there are at least twenty different kinds that come under the head of game. The canvas -back is the finest in the list ; the mallard and red-head come next. The domes- tic duck is in season nearly all the year, but the wild ones only through the fall and winter. The price varies with the 40 MISS PAKLOA'S NEW COOK BOOK.