The Cooking Manual of Practical Directions for Economical Every-Day Cookery

by Juliet Corson

206. Oatmeal Porridge.—Oatmeal is an extremely strengthening food; when it is well cooked it produces a large volume of nutritive matter in proportion to its bulk; and combined with milk it is the strongest and best of the cereals. Its flavor is sweet and pleasant; it appears in market in two forms, a rather rough meal, and the unbroken grain, after the husk has been removed; in either shape it should be thoroughly boiled, and combined with milk. A good thick porridge can be made by stirring four ounces of oatmeal into a quart of boiling milk, and then pouring this into a quart of water boiling on the fire, and allowing it to boil half or three-quarters of an hour; care must be taken not to burn it; just before it is done it should be seasoned with a teaspoonful of salt; and sweetened to taste at the table.

207. A good Breakfast can be made of fresh milk sweetened with a little sugar and eaten with bread a day old, lightly buttered.

208. Stewed Fruit.—Put a quart of apples pared and sliced over the fire in a thick sauce-pan, with half a pint of water, to prevent burning, and when tender break them well up and sweeten them with four ounces or more of sugar, according to the flavor of the apples. Serve them with bread and butter in the morning, or at noon.

209. Ripe Currants.—A pound of ripe currants mashed, and mixed with half a pound, or more, of sugar, makes an excellent accompaniment for bread, being served spread upon the slices.

210. Blackberry Jam.—This is an invaluable addition to the breakfast, or noon dinner, in place of butter. It is an excellent agent for regulating the action of the bowels. It is made by boiling with every pound of thoroughly ripe blackberries half a pound of good brown sugar; the boiling to be continued one hour, and the berries well broken up.

211. Baked Fruit.—In addition to baking apples in the ordinary way, plums, peaches, pears, and berries, are good when put into a stone jar with layers of stale bread and sugar, and about a gill of water, and baking the fruit slowly in a moderate oven for an hour and a half.

212. Broiled Chops.—Trim nearly all the fat from a pound of loin mutton chops, broil them over a clear, bright fire for about fifteen minutes, taking care not to burn them; when they are done put them on a hot platter, season them with half a teaspoonful of salt, and if they are very dry put a little butter over them, using not more than a quarter of an ounce. Serve them with mashed potatoes.

213. Beefsteak.—A tender sirloin steak is the best cut for general use. It should be chosen in accordance with the directions given in the chapter on marketing, and broiled over a brisk, clear fire for about twenty minutes; the seasoning of salt should be added after it is taken from the fire, and placed on a hot dish; and but very little butter, if any, should be used. Serve it with baked potatoes, finely broken with a fork.

214. Broiled Chicken.—A tender, but not very fat chicken, makes an excellent dinner for children. It should be plucked, singed, split down the back, carefully drawn, and wiped with a damp cloth, but not washed; the joints and breast-bone should be broken with the rolling pin, the chicken being covered with a folded towel to protect the flesh; it should then be broiled, inside first, over a clear, brisk fire, or better still, laid in a pan on a couple of slices of bread, and quickly roasted in a hot oven; by the latter process all the juices of the bird are saved; some gravy will flow from a good chicken, and from this the superfluous fat should be removed; if the chicken is very fat the bread under it should not be given to the children.

215. Boiled Eggs.—Eggs are usually spoiled in cooking; if they are plunged into boiling water, and maintained at the boiling point, the effect is to harden the albumen while the yolk remains almost raw, and make them totally unfit for digestion. A good way to cook them is to place them over the fire in cold water, bring them slowly to a boil, and then at once set the vessel containing them back from the fire, and let the eggs stand in the water about one minute if they are to be soft, and two minutes, or longer, if they are to be hard. Poor eggs cooked in this way are superior in flavor and digestibility to new-laid eggs boiled rapidly. One minute is quite long enough to boil them if they are wanted in their best condition.