Going to Market.

WHEN a housekeeper understands just what to do, and can spend the time to go to the market herself, she will find that she can have a better table, with greater variety and at less expense, than when she orders from the provision man who comes to the house each day. It is true that there are a great many housekeepers who have neither time nor strength for daily or even weekly visits to the markets, but the average housekeeper has the time, and she will find that in the end it will add to her mental and physical health, as well as to the attractiveness of her table.

FIRST FIVE RIBS.

In ordering at the house it is a difficult matter to keep in mind all the things that the provision man briskly calls off. Even if he should not miss many little things that one might choose for the sake of economy and variety, it would be almost impossible to remember them all when giving him the order. In the market, however, the articles are spread out before you, and one thing suggests another. Here the prices can be kept in mind when selecting the food; and should the thing that you have decided upon be too expensive, something else that you will find to be nearly or equally good may be substituted. For example, you may have planned to have halibut for dinner, and found that, instead of being eighteen cents, it has gone up to twenty-five or thirty cents. You will naturally hesitate before adding fifty per cent to the expense of the dish. A cod, haddock, whitefish, red-snapper, or something else of moderate price, will make a satisfactory substitute. Although the prices of beef, mutton, pork, etc. are not subject to great changes, the prices of fresh fish, vegetables, fruit, and game fluctuate constantly. Then again, many little savory dishes are suggested by the sight of the various little odds and ends found in the stalls. The sight and odor of a piece of smoked bacon may give you visions of the many savory dishes to which it will give relish,—liver and bacon, chicken livers en brochette, and rashers of bacon with chops or beefsteak.

CHUCK RIBS.

In the market, too, perhaps you will see sheep’s hearts, which when boiled make a cheap and savory breakfast, luncheon, or supper dish. Calves and lambs’ tongues are both cheap and good. They may be kept in brine for a week or two and then boiled, the same as beef tongue; or they may be boiled while fresh. They make an attractive dish when served in jelly, or they may be braised, and served with vegetables à la jardinière, making an elegant as well as an economical dish. Sheep and lambs’ kidneys are delicious when broiled, stewed, or sautéd. They are always cheap. Perhaps you may see a piece of honeycomb tripe which would make a pleasing dish for breakfast. The liver of nearly all animals is used, but beef, calves, and pigs’ livers are the most common. Sheep and lambs’ livers are delicious.

HIND QUARTER OF BEEF.

EXPLANATION OF DIAGRAM.

BOSTON.NEW YORK.PHILADELPHIA.
1.Tip end of sirloin.First cut of ribs.First cut of ribs.
2.Second cut of sirloin.Porter-house steak or sirloin roast.Sirloin roast or steak.
3.First cut of sirloin.Flat-boned sirloin steak or roast.Sirloin roast or steak.
4.Back of rump.⎧(a) Large sirloinHip roast; also rump steak.
⎪
5.Middle of rump.⎨(a) steaks orMiddle of rump.
⎪
6.Face of rump.⎩roasts.Face of rump.
7.Aitchbone.Aitchbone.Tail end of rump.
8.Best round steak.(and 4b and 5b) Rump steak or roasts.Best round steak.
9.Poorer round steak.(and 12c) Round steak.Poorer round steak.
10.Best part of vein.Best part of vein.Best part of vein.
11.Poorer part of vein.Poorer part of vein.Poorer part of vein.
12.Shank of round.(d) Leg of beef.Leg.
13.Flank.(e) Flank.(e) Flank.

FORE QUARTER OF BEEF.

EXPLANATION OF DIAGRAM.

BOSTON.NEW YORK.PHILADELPHIA.
1. First cut of ribs.First cut of ribs, with tip of sirloin.First cut of ribs, with tip of sirloin.
2. Second cut of ribs.Second cut of ribs.Second cut of ribs.
3. Third cut of ribs.Third cut of ribs.Third cut of ribs.
4 and 5. Best chuck ribs.Best chuck ribs.Best chuck ribs.
6 and 7. Poorer chuck ribs.Poorer chuck ribs.Poorer chuck ribs.
8. Neck piece.Neck piece.Neck chuck.
9. Rattle-ran.Plate piece.Plate piece.
10. Shoulder of mutton.⎫⎧Shoulder of mutton
⎬Shoulder of mutton.⎨ or boler piece.
11. Sticking piece.⎭⎩Sticking piece.
12. Middle cut or rib plate.⎫
⎬Navel end of brisket.Navel end of brisket.
13. Navel end of brisket.⎭
14. Brisket piece.Brisket piece.Brisket piece.
15. Shin, thick end of brisket, part of sticking piece.Shin and thick end of brisket.Shin and thick end of brisket.

SIRLOIN ROAST,—SECOND CUT.

Perhaps you want just about two pounds of the neck of mutton for a broth. You see it cut off and are sure to get nearly what you want. It may be you want a pound or two of the round of beef chopped for a Hamburg steak or for beef tea. If you see it cut, you will not get three or four pounds instead of two. This is true of all the cuts of meat and fish. It is a rare thing that the provision man, who takes your order at the house, does not bring you more than you want. In the fish, vegetable, and fruit market there is constant change, and we cannot be well supplied with the best and cheapest except by a personal visit to the sales place.

If one have a large and cold room to keep stores in, and the family be large, it will pay to buy in quantity, provided the housekeeper knows what to do with the supplies when she gets them.

CARCASS OF MUTTON.

1.⎫1. Leg.
2.⎬ Hind quarter.2. Loin.
4.⎭3. Shoulder.
3.⎫4. Flank.
5.⎬ Fore quarter.5.⎫ Breast.
5.⎭5.⎭

In cold weather I often buy a hind quarter of mutton. To give the housekeeper an idea of what can be done with such a piece of meat, let me explain how I use it. This is for a family of three, with an average of one guest for one meal each day. It must be kept in mind that the part of the hind quarter which will spoil first is the flank; next come the ribs and loin; the leg will keep many weeks if hung in a cold dry place. When the piece of mutton is sent home, I cut off the flank and the thin end of the ribs, leaving the rib and loin chops quite short. Should I want to cook any of the chops that day or the next I cut off the required number, but if I do not care to use them for several days, they are not cut off until that time. The piece of meat is now hung in my cold room, and cut from as required. The flank and thin ribs are freed from every bit of fat; the lean meat is cut into cubes and placed in a stewpan with four tablespoonfuls of chopped onion, a generous half-cupful of pearl barley, two level tablespoonfuls of salt, one level teaspoonful of pepper, and three quarts of cold water. These materials for a soup are placed on the fire and skimmed carefully when they begin to boil; then the stewpan is set back where the contents will just bubble for three hours. The bones are placed in another stewpan with one quart of cold water. They cook for two hours and then the water is strained into the soup in the other stewpan. When the soup has been cooking for three hours, two tablespoonfuls of butter are put into a small frying-pan and set on the fire. When this becomes hot, two tablespoonfuls of flour are stirred into it, and when the mixture becomes smooth and frothy it is added to the soup; after which a tablespoonful of chopped parsley is added. The result is a gallon of the most delicious Scotch broth. This soup is just as good when warmed over as when first made, and it is so substantial that it answers for luncheon, no meat, fish, or vegetables being required. From the remainder of the hind quarter I get fourteen chops, cutting the last four from the leg, and a good roast. All the fat is rendered for soap grease; and as I make my own soap, this is quite an item.

SIRLOIN ROAST.
A, Tenderloin. B, Back of Sirloin. C, Flank. D, Suet.

The weight of the hind quarter described is about twenty pounds, and I save about one third what it would cost me to buy the soup meat, chops, and roast separately. One must have a good sharp knife, a meat-saw, and a cleaver to cut up meats in this manner.

Before going to market one should look through her supplies, and then make a list of things for use with them. A list of the meals that are to be arranged, and such purchases as must be made for these meals, is next in order. One may find it best to make radical changes in her plans when she gets to the market; still, the list will be a great aid as a guide. With it, one is not likely to buy too much or too little.

RIB CHOP BEFORE TRIMMING.

RIB CHOP AFTER TRIMMING.

In some places it is a great pleasure to go through the markets, especially on the regular market days. This is particularly true where there is a large German or French population. The women of these nationalities have stalls where they sell eggs, butter, cheese, poultry, fruit, vegetables, and flowers,—the product of their own and neighbors’ farms. Nothing can be brighter or more picturesque than are such markets in the spring, summer, and fall, when flowers and vegetables are in abundance. Even the poor laborer’s wife takes home her little growing plant, or a bunch of fresh flowers. Going to market has not been all prose to that poor woman, although she had to calculate very closely in her purchases for her table; for has she not had the sight and odor of the plants and green vegetables, and did not their beauty and freshness fill her mind with visions of a beautiful and fragrant country? What a pity there are not such markets in all our cities!

If you have never made a practice of going to market, try the plan now. It will pay you.