The school kitchen textbook

The kettle should be covered closely to keep in the steam and the savory odors which would be wasted by evaporation if it were uncovered. It is wasteful to skim soup-stock. The scum that rises as the water heats contains some of the very substances which are desired in the water. They increase the flavor of the stock and should be retained. After a time they settle as sediment, and all the sediment that is fine enough to go through the strainer should be used. In clear soups it may be removed, but clear soups are not the most nutritious. After simmering several hours, or until the bones are clean and the meat is in shreds, strain the stock, and throw away the scraps. This worthless residue of muscular SOUPS 233 fibre and bones is dry, tasteless, and useless as food. When the fibrin from meat is desired it is better to cook the meat in other ways, as in stews, which are often miscalled soups. Soup should not be considered a complete food but only as one of a variety of foods, — a stimulant to prepare the stomach for the heavier food. The stock will keep better if the fat be retained, as when cold it forms an air-tight covering. As the fat is more easily removed when cold, make the stock the day before it is needed, and strain it into several small jars, that the amount required may be used without disturbing the remainder. When ready to use this stock for soup, take off all the fat, and save it for clarifying. Heat the stock to the boilingpoint, and serve it alone, or put with it any vegetable, rice, macaroni, barley, or tapioca, which has been previously cooked till tender. Recipe, No. 157. A General Recipe for Stock Equal parts by weight of meat and bone, and one quart of water to every pound of meat and bone. Where there is more bone than meat, or only cooked meat, water enough to cover is a correct proportion. For every quart of water use 1 tsp. salt. 1 tsp. mixed sweet herbs. 4 peppercorns. 2 tbsp. each vegetable cut fine. 4 whole cloves. If allspice, mace, and celery seed be used, less of each spice will be required. The herbs are whole thyme, marjoram, summer savory, and bay leaves. Strip off the leaves and blossoms, break the small stalks in tiny pieces, mix them, and keep them in a tin box. Use a teaspoon of the mixture, not of each herb. The vegetables generally used are onion, carrot, turnip, celery, and parsley. If you have only two kinds, use more of each. They only give additional flavor to the broth. When it is desired to eat them with the soup, cook them separately, and add to the soup just before serving. There are soups in which parts of the meat are served with the broth. These are made from chicken, veal, oxtails, and calf's head. The meat is not cut as small as when it is to be used for stock. As soon as it is tender, it is removed and added to the strained stock just before serving. Soups made from light meats, veal and chicken, and from fish, are often made richer by the addition of eggs, or thickened with white sauce. Recipe, No. 158. Condensed Recipe for Soup Stock 2 lbs. hind shin of beef. 2 tsp. salt. 2 qts. cold water. 1 small onion. 6 whole cloves. | " carrot. 6 peppercorns. | ** turnip. 1 bunch of sweet herbs. 1 sprig parsley.