; Would you make a soft cheese ? Then I'll tell you how :
Take a gallon of milk, quite fresh from the cow ;
Ere the rennet is added, the dairyman's daughter
Must throw in a quart of the clearest spring water.
When perfectly curdled, so white and so njce,
You must take it all out of the dish with a slice,
And put it 'thout breaking with care in the vat
With a cheese-cloth at bottom — be sure to mind that.
This delicate matter take care not to squeeze,
But fill as the whey passes off by degrees.
Next day you may turn it, and do not be loth
To wipe it quite dry with a fine linen cloth ;
That this must be done you cannot well doubt,
As long as you see the whey oozing out.
The cheese is now finished, and nice it will be,
If enveloped in leaves from the green ashen tree ;
Or, what will do better — at least, full as well —
In nettles just plucked from the bank of the dell.'
There is a kind of cream cheese made from goats' milk,
which, under the name of rtcotta, is much eaten in Italy ;
it is very sweet and palatable, and has evidently been in
use from very ancient times. The vendors carry it through
the streets on their heads, like the muffin sellers here, and
retail it by the centime to poor purchasers.
126 OUR VIANDS
A product of the dairy now seldom, if ever, seen, is the
syllabub^ for that which is sold as syllabub has very little
affinity with the genuine article, as formerly set before
guests on grand occasions in country houses, and which was
made as follows : —
'Put into a large china punch-bowl a bottle of sherry,
half a bottle of brandy, some loaf sugar, the juice of a
lemon, and a nutmeg grated. Give the bowl thus charged
to a careful dairymaid, and let her milk into it till nearly
full, from a cow yielding good rich milk ; then set aside,
covering the bowl with a cloth, and, after it has stood
about half an hour or more, place it on the table, and fill
the glasses with a silver punch-ladle. This is a capital
recipe, and sufficient for a large party.'
Devonshire is celebrated not only for its butter and cream,
but for that which is known as Devonshire Junket, and
which is now largely made and sold by the various dairy
companies in London. It is, in fact, the old-fashioned
curds and whey with a little brandy and sugar added, and
with a surface dressing of Devonshire cream, which makes
it a very tempting dish, especially in the summer. It is
very easily made.
' Place in a glass dish a quart of new milk made lukewarm,
add to it sugar to taste, a tablespoonful of brandy, a little
sherry, and three teaspoonfuls of rennet. Let it stand till
cold, then cover with Devonshire cream, and grate a little
nutmeg over. The rennet can be bought at the chemist's
in small bottles.'
Devonshire cream, which is so highly esteemed, and can
now be purchased in jars, is made thus :
1 The new milk from the cow is strained into large flat
DAIR Y PROD UCE 1 2 7
Our viands
1893Page 61
Presented as published in 1893. 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
A modernized reading is not available for this page yet. You are seeing the original text.
; Would you make a soft cheese ? Then I'll tell you how :
Take a gallon of milk, quite fresh from the cow ;
Ere the rennet is added, the dairyman's daughter
Must throw in a quart of the clearest spring water.
When perfectly curdled, so white and so njce,
You must take it all out of the dish with a slice,
And put it 'thout breaking with care in the vat
With a cheese-cloth at bottom — be sure to mind that.
This delicate matter take care not to squeeze,
But fill as the whey passes off by degrees.
Next day you may turn it, and do not be loth
To wipe it quite dry with a fine linen cloth ;
That this must be done you cannot well doubt,
As long as you see the whey oozing out.
The cheese is now finished, and nice it will be,
If enveloped in leaves from the green ashen tree ;
Or, what will do better — at least, full as well —
In nettles just plucked from the bank of the dell.'
There is a kind of cream cheese made from goats' milk,
which, under the name of rtcotta, is much eaten in Italy ;
it is very sweet and palatable, and has evidently been in
use from very ancient times. The vendors carry it through
the streets on their heads, like the muffin sellers here, and
retail it by the centime to poor purchasers.
126 OUR VIANDS
A product of the dairy now seldom, if ever, seen, is the
syllabub^ for that which is sold as syllabub has very little
affinity with the genuine article, as formerly set before
guests on grand occasions in country houses, and which was
made as follows : —
'Put into a large china punch-bowl a bottle of sherry,
half a bottle of brandy, some loaf sugar, the juice of a
lemon, and a nutmeg grated. Give the bowl thus charged
to a careful dairymaid, and let her milk into it till nearly
full, from a cow yielding good rich milk ; then set aside,
covering the bowl with a cloth, and, after it has stood
about half an hour or more, place it on the table, and fill
the glasses with a silver punch-ladle. This is a capital
recipe, and sufficient for a large party.'
Devonshire is celebrated not only for its butter and cream,
but for that which is known as Devonshire Junket, and
which is now largely made and sold by the various dairy
companies in London. It is, in fact, the old-fashioned
curds and whey with a little brandy and sugar added, and
with a surface dressing of Devonshire cream, which makes
it a very tempting dish, especially in the summer. It is
very easily made.
' Place in a glass dish a quart of new milk made lukewarm,
add to it sugar to taste, a tablespoonful of brandy, a little
sherry, and three teaspoonfuls of rennet. Let it stand till
cold, then cover with Devonshire cream, and grate a little
nutmeg over. The rennet can be bought at the chemist's
in small bottles.'
Devonshire cream, which is so highly esteemed, and can
now be purchased in jars, is made thus :
1 The new milk from the cow is strained into large flat
DAIR Y PROD UCE 1 2 7