Cock.—A cock when young has short and dubbed spurs, but it should be observed that the spurs of old cocks may be scraped so as to deceive any but a very accurate observer. If fresh his vent will be hard and close; but you cannot be too particular in observing the spurs, as the market people frequently scrape them.
Eggs.—As to eggs, hold the great end of the egg to your tongue; if it feels warm, it is new; if cold, bad; and so in proportion to the heat or cold is the goodness of the egg. Another way to know is to put the egg in a pan of cold water, the fresher the egg, the sooner it will fall to the bottom; if rotten, it will swim at the top. This is a sure way not to be deceived. The best way to keep eggs is in bran or meal, turning them frequently; some, however, place the small end downwards in fine wood-ashes: to keep them for a long period they may be buried in salt, which it is said will preserve them in almost any climate.
Butter.—When you buy butter, trust not to that which may be good in external appearance, but try in the middle, and if your smell and taste be good, you cannot be deceived.
Cheese.—If old cheese be rough-coated, rugged, or dry at top, beware of little worms called hoppers, and also of mites, a still smaller animal. If it be full of holes, moist, or spongy, hoppers may also be expected to be found in it. If any crack or any soft and perished place appear on the outside, examine into its depth, for the greater part may be hidden within. Cheese is to be chosen by its moist smooth coat. A fat cheese, if of much size, has generally rounded edges, and the sides are swelled out more or less; although excessive swelling out of the sides is not a good sign; neither is an elevation of the top desirable. A poor cheese has usually keen edges, and the sides are straight. Fat cheese may also be known by rubbing a small portion of it between the finger and thumb: if it soon becomes smooth and soft, melting as it were on the finger by the animal heat, it is fat; but if it remains tough and crumbly, it is not rich nor of prime quality. No cheese should be chosen which has the surface much swelled, such swelling being an indication of its containing holes and being badly made, and that it has most probably also an unpleasant smell and taste. Besides these indications, no cheese should be purchased without being both tasted and smelled.
CHAPTER VI.
ON SOUPS AND BROTHS.
At every great dinner—indeed I may say at every dinner of the least pretension in the most civilised countries—you begin by eating soup. Often in Paris and at Brussels, between September and April, at dinners at restaurants, you also commence by half a dozen, a dozen, or eighteen oysters by way of appetiser; but this practice is not resorted to at formal dinners, or, as the French say, diners d’apparat, in private houses; though if three or four intimate friends are dining together sans façon, oysters may be, and often are, introduced before the soup. In Russia the custom is to take caviare, or a slice of raw or pickled herring before soup, which relish is followed by a glass of Cognac or some liqueur. But these are customs not likely to be introduced into more civilized countries; customs, moreover, quite repugnant to English habits.
The basis of nearly every soup is a stock or broth called by the French a grand bouillon. The best way of making this stock is by boiling, or rather stewing down a sufficient quantity of properly prepared and washed beef in a marmite, or iron or earthen pot, or stewpan. The water must be judiciously apportioned to the quantity of meat. The French, who make the best bouillon in the world, generally pour a quart of water, on half a kilogramme (equivalent to about a pound) of meat, and let it simmer from five-and-a-half to six hours. When the liquid is sufficiently diminished to receive the vegetables, a few young carrots, an onion with a couple of cloves stuck in it, a parsnip, a little celery and a bunch of thyme and parsley are added. The water should be cold, and seasoned with a little salt. The pot or earthen vessel should be placed on a clear fire, and allowed to remain till the liquid is diminished a third. This bouillon is the basis of most soups, and it is called a consommé when a large fowl or the half of a turkey is added. Some cooks use old partridges or pigeons instead of fowls. It is an axiom in cookery, however, that at least two sorts of meat are necessary to make a good bouillon. When the bouillon is skimmed it serves as the stock for all kinds of soup. It cannot be too often stated that the basis of all soup, and indeed of all broth, except mutton, should be juicy young beef and pure soft water. It should be remembered that the trimmings and the bones of fresh meat, the necks of poultry, the liquor in which a joint has been boiled, and the shank-bones of mutton, are excellent additions to the stock-pot, and should be reserved for it. As soup is the food of childhood and old age, it should be restorative and nourishing. The great defect of English soups is, not the want of meat, but the want of a proper boiling or concoction. This radical fault is vilely but vainly attempted to be supplied by the excessive use of seasoning and herbs. The following elementary rules for making nourishing broth, are from the French of Parmentier:—
I. Sound, healthful, fresh viands.