Manual of the principles of practical cookery / by E.E. Mann.

  • Mann, E. E.
Date:
1899
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Manual of the principles of practical cookery / by E.E. Mann. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    30/128 (page 14)
    Store-rooms.—Whether for storing fresh or dry goods, store-rooms should be cool, dry, well-lighted and ventilated, and not near any drain or open pipe. They should be large enough to hold the necessary stores without crowding or packing which would prevent free access of cool air. A good supply of shelves and cup- boards is a necessity ; also covered jars and boxes for holding stores. Accurate scales, weights and measures must be at hand, and a strict list of all stores dispensed should be kept and at regular intervals compared with the invoices of goods purchased, in order to check waste and to renew the stock before it is quite exhausted. In purchasing fresh foods, it is an invariable rule that they are best, in every sense of the word, when they are in season. They are then the best flavoured, most whole- some and nutritious, most plentiful and also cheapest. Some foods are never really out of season—beef and mutton, for instance, are always to be had of good quality; but other foods have times at which they are definitely in season, and these times are clearly de- fined. Even though we may find these latter good and useful, for occasional variety, both just before and after their season, it is unreasonable to expect the same per- fection of quality, and they are generally much dearer. Rules for Choosing Meat.—Good meat is firm, not flabby, and when pressed quickly recovers its form, the mark of the pressure disappearing. It has no disagreeable smell ; if any doubt exists on this point, thrust a knife or thick skewer in close to the bone and notice the smell when the metal is withdrawn. Any fluid OQ^ng ii^d^ good meat is watery^ never mucil- aginous. Beef.—Flesh smooth-grained, the colour a deep red;