Volume 2

Cassell's household guide to every department of practical life : being a complete encyclopædia of domestic and social economy.

Date:
[1884-1886?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Cassell's household guide to every department of practical life : being a complete encyclopædia of domestic and social economy. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

    13/388 (page 7)
    fn'ing-pan ; they are delicate done in that way, but are flat and outspread, and want the pleasing plumpness of the properly poached egg. Ude directs: “As soon as they I are done, take them out one at a time, and throw them i| into cold water. When you have poached the number you want, pare them well. Then with your finger rub li them gently over in the water, that they may be very neat [ and white. They must be very soft.” With all due deference to the departed chef,* we prefer a little less unnecessary slopping and handling. Fried Eggs.—When your frying-pan is well wiped out, I do not be afraid of putting a good lump of butter in it. When that is melted and hot, break your eggs into it, as many as the pan will hold without their touching each I other. As they fry, raise their edges with a knife or slice, 1 give them a slight shake to make them shift their places in the pan, and ladle a little of the hot butter over the yolk of each. They are spoiled by turning them and frying hard ; also by being served on a cold dish. You I may put on the top of each a dust of pepper and salt, and a drop of vinegar. If you have to serve a dish of bacon and eggs, fry the bacon first; firstly, because it takes a little longer to do ; secondly, because the fat that comes away from it will help to fry your eggs. Eggs done in their Dish.—Take a strong earthen or a metal dish. Butter its inside well. Break into it, without I damaging the yolks, as many eggs as it will hold without j their lying one upon the other. On the top of each drop pepper, salt, and a little bit of butter. Set them into ! the oven of your stove, or in an American oven before the fire; watch their progress, and as soon as the ] butter is all melted, and the whites well set, serve. The 1 heat of the dish will cook them a little more after they are taken from the oven. Eggs so done are often pre- ferable to fried eggs. They are free from the tough brown under-surface to which the latter are liable, which also is indigestible, even when it is rather crisp than horny. Ehard-boiledEggs (an American discovery).—For boiling an egg hard, five minutes are sufficient; but for boiling mealy, which is the most digestible condition next to the three-minutes-and-a-half rule, allow one hour. For salads, always boil one hour. An egg boiled one hour is a very different thing to one which has been boiled five minutes. Sca?nbled Eggs (American).— Put in a spider enough sweet butter to oil the bottom of the pan. Put in a dozen eggs without breaking the yolks, add a bit of butter as big as a walnut, season with very little salt and pepper. When the whites harden a little, stir the egg from the bottom of the spider, and continue to do this until cooked to suit the family. The yolks and whites, when done, should be separate, though stirred together, and not mixed like beaten eggs. Scambled eggs and mashed eggs (which are much the same thing, only done with meat gravy) may be served on squares of hot buttered toast; which toast will be made more relishing if slightly spread with anchovy sauce, or with potted beef, cheese, or fish. They are transitional forms, marking the passage of eggs into omelettes. Beatmg Eggs.—This is best done with rods of wood in a shallow, flat-bottomed pan ; bestow the beating with short, quick, downward strokes, without moving the elbow, which should be kept close to the side. When the foaming and bubbles disappear, and the beaten eggs assume the appearance which has been well described as that of a rich boiled custard, your task will have been very well accomplished. Kent’s egg-beater is an ex- cellent little instrument which greatly facilitates this process. CATTLE.—IV. MANAGEMENT OF THE FAMILY OR COTTAGER’S COW. In a previous article we have described the treatment of dairy cows on ordinary farms, and under good ordinary farm management. But cows are often kept under other circumstances ; and there are two cases in particular in which the maintenance of from one to three cows becomes a very desirable object, and to which we shall therefore devote the present paper. The one is that of a family living in a suburban or country neighbourhood, with an acre or two ot ground, and perhaps a number of children ; the other is that of the cottager who rents a small allotment, varying from half an acre to two acres, as an addition to his other scanty resources. In the one case it is desirable to have an abundant supply of milk and other dairy produce for family consumption, at a moderate cost, but of the best quality ; in the other we believe that where sufficient assistance can be rendered by the cot- tager’s family, his greatest return for the land he rents will be obtained by keeping a cow. It is obvious that the best system of management in the two cases may differ widely under some circumstances, while in others they may be nearly the same. One very simple remark may, however, be made at the outset. If only one cow be kept, as she must always be allowed to run dry for six or eight weeks before calving, and ex- changing animals yearly would cause both loss and inconvenience, it is obvious that for some time every year there will be no supply. And as, moreover, there is very little more trouble connected with two cows, so far as milking and attendance goes, than with one, it is better, where possible, to keep two. The surplus produce may almost always be readily disposed of, even by a gentle- man’s family, without in the least losing caste, and the convenience of thus securing a constant supply is very great. The object and system of the cottager are both very simple. He is not so much concerned with the relative total cost of different modes of management, or in balancing rent of land against saving in labour ; but his constant aim is to spend as little actual motiey as may be, either in rent or anything else, while on the other hand he gets through the cow the utmost possible cash return for the labour of himself or family. He has, in fact, to sub- stitute labour for capital, and this can best be done by stall-feeding combined with spade husbandry. A tight, warm cowshed, or stall, constructed so as to give perfect ventilation, as already described, or in any other method that will avoid draught, is essential. For the sake of warmth, in winter the back of the cottage will obviously be the best locality, for warmth will not only promote health, but save food. Great care should be bestowed on the shed, for the cottager’s cow must, unless there be common rights available, pass nearly all her time in the stall. A liquid manure tank and a well-lined dung pit should also be provided, in which not only the drain from the stall, but all the sewage and slops of the house should be received—for nothing must be wasted, and every ounce will be needed to keep up the produce of the land. In fact, the amount of success will depend almost entirely upon the economy of every possible kind of manure which can be procured, and its judicious applica- tion to the land—which must be devoted entirely to the raising of heavy green and root crops in a judicious suc- cession—adapted to the season. However small the allot- ment, therefore, it will be divided into several portions in order that the successive crops may varjn The variety is large—rye-grass, clover, tares, lucerne, sainfoin (where the soil suits), cabbages, carrots, beet, turnips, mangold, &c. &c., may all be employed according to the soil and other circumstances, which must be carefully considered, and * The title by which a head man-cook is addressed or spoken of in France. Its full meaning is chefde cuisine, head of the kitchen.