HORTENSE.
[COMFORTS FOR INVALIDS.]
54. Meat for Invalids.—The best meat as food for invalids is, in fact, that which is principally used, mutton and beef, lamb, if not too young (sweetbreads, I consider, ought oftener to be introduced), and calves’ feet or head, scalded and boiled until tender, are very nutritious; chickens, pigeons, partridges, are also very inviting. All the above-mentioned articles are easy of digestion, excepting perhaps the beef, which may require to be gently stewed until tender, if for a delicate stomach just ordered to take meat after a serious fit of illness.
55. Plain Mutton Broth for Invalids.—Get one pound of scrag of mutton, break the bone with a chopper, without separating the meat, then put it into a stewpan with three pints of water and a salt-spoonful of salt; boil gently two hours, carefully removing all the scum and fat, which is easily done by allowing it to simmer slowly by the side of the fire; it will be by that time reduced to about one quart, and is then ready to serve. This broth must not be expected to drink very palatable, being deprived of vegetables and seasoning, being in fact more like a beverage than a soup: at the commencement of convalescence more strength may be given if ordered by the doctor, by reducing the original quantity to one pint. This broth is often administered by a spoonful only at a time.
56. Seasoned Mutton Broth.—Put the same quantity of mutton and water into your stewpan, add double the quantity of salt, and a quarter ditto brown sugar, quarter of a middle-sized onion, very little celery, and one ounce of turnip; set it upon the fire, and when beginning to boil draw it to the side; let it simmer gently two hours; skim off all the scum and fat, and pass it through a sieve, and use it when required. When finished, there ought to remain about a quart of broth; but if by neglect it has boiled too fast, add more water, and set to boil for a quarter of an hour longer. If the patient is getting better, his medical man will probably order him to eat a little of the meat, or even turnips, in which case serve them on a plate separately; should the meat not be required by the patient, it is very excellent for a healthy person, with a few spoonfuls of onions or caper sauce, or even plain. If pearl-barley is required to be taken with the broth, put a tablespoonful of it in with the water when you first put it upon the fire, the whole will then be done together; if the barley is to be eaten by the patient, take out the meat and vegetables, and skim off every spot of grease; but if the barley is not required, pass the broth, as before, through a sieve.
57. Mutton Broth (with variations). With Vermicelli.—Having made your broth, and passed it through a sieve, as before, put the meat and vegetables upon a plate, and the broth back into the same stewpan; when boiling, if about a quart, add one or two tablespoonfuls of vermicelli, depending upon the strength of the patient’s stomach; ten minutes’ boiling will be sufficient to cook vermicelli.