FoodNet

The profession of cookery, from a French point of view

1894

Page 6

Presented as published in 1894. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
There is the generous portion for the ^^cure^' or the " pasteur/' according as her faith dic- tates ; the gift to be bestowed on a less fortunate friend or neighbour ; and ^^ the poor man at the gate '' will not be overlooked. With her pig safely disposed of, another growing up in the pen, her vegetables well stored and housed^ her fruits preserved, and her ^^ dame Jeanne ^^ of oil in the cellar, the '^ bonne bourgeoise ^^ is proof against invasion^ in what- ever form it may come. In this simple, homely fashion of living, an unexpected guest is ever a welcome addition to the family table. CHAPTER II. Soups ant) purees, IN starting on tlie subject o£ soups in general, it will be well to classify tliem under three divisions : Clear, thickened, and '^ purees/^ or vegetable soups. The distinction between thickened soup and a puree, lies in the fact of the former owing its consistency to the introduction of some artificial substance, such as rice, tapioca, flour, etc., while the puree is made by carefully pressing all the ingredients through a "tamis,'^ or wire sieve. Pea soup is really puree of peas, tomato soup puree of tomatoes, etc. AVhen rice, vermicelli, or macaroni are added to a clear soup or stock, they should have been previously boiled in w^ater, otherwise they will be apt to give a cloudy appearance to the soup. Clear soup may be simply ^* bouillon,'^ or broth, from beef, mutton, or veal, or it may be SOUPS AND PUREES. 15 stock made from bones, or, again, the stock from shin of beef or veal. The same principle of cooking applies to each and all — to bring it very slowly to boiling point, and never to let it boil hard. Many French cooks put the meat intended for bouillon on the stove in nearly cold water, even when it is intended to be eaten afterwards ; but where it is deemed preferable to keep a little more flavour in the meat, it should wait until the water nearly boils, then be plunged into the pot, and quickly come to boiling point again, after which it should be drawn aside from the fire, the vegetables added (either whole or merely split in two), the little bunch of herbs securely tied, then allowed to boil very gently for two or three hours. It is not customary to serve any vegetables in the tureen with true French bouillon — they are placed on a dish, and handed round, or reserv^ed to be eaten with the meat. When making a broth from veal, it may be treated in the same way, only as veal takes a less time to cook, and soon becomes soft, it is better to remove it when sufficiently done, and make a different dish altogether of the meat. When using shin of beef or veal, it would be i6 SOUPS AND PUREES. wasteful to treat it as the otlier parts of boiling meat, as it contains really more nutritious matter, wliicli takes a mucli longer time to be extracted. It should be placed in a deep brown jar, and be relegated to tlie far corner of the oven, and left to cook for several hours ; then carefully pour away all the liquor from it into a clean vessel, and put in a cold place. When vegetables are required to be added to this, they should be boiled apart, never in this stock, which merely requires warming up as it is needed.