CHAPTER I.
MARKETING.
In order to market intelligently and economically, we must bear in mind the three great divisions of foods generally accepted in their consideration, and endeavor to adapt them to the requirements of our households; if we remember that carbonaceous, or heat-giving foods, such as the inner part of the cereals, fat meat, milk, honey, liver, grapes, peas, beans, potatoes, beets, carrots, and parsnips, are the best diet for hard steady workers, and for invalids suffering from wasting diseases; that nitrogenous, or flesh-forming foods, such as lean meat, unbolted flour, oatmeal, eggs, cheese, cabbage, cauliflower, onions, spinach, asparagus, and artichokes, are most suitable for those who work rapidly but with intervals of rest; and that brain-workers should subsist chiefly on light and digestible articles, such as fish, oysters, fruits, game, and vegetables containing mineral salts in excess; we can arrange the daily marketing so as to give a pleasant variety and at the same time satisfy all appetites.
Buy only small quantities of perishable things such as green vegetables, fruit, fish, eggs, cream, and fresh butter; buy dry groceries and preserved stores in quantities large enough to entitle you to wholesale prices; and pay cash in order to avail yourself of the lowest market price. Make your purchases as early in the day as possible in order to secure a choice of fresh articles; and trade with respectable dealers who give full weight and honest measure.
Meats.—While meats are in season all the year, they are better at stated times; for instance, pork is prime in late autumn and winter; veal should be avoided in summer for sanitary reasons; and even our staples, beef and mutton, vary in quality. The flesh of healthy animals is hard and fresh colored, the fat next the skin is firm and thick, and the suet or kidney-fat clear white and abundant; if this fat is soft, scant and stringy, the animal has been poorly fed or overworked. Beef should be of a bright red color, well marbled with yellowish fat, and surrounded with a thick outside layer of fat; poor beef is dark red, and full of gristle, and the fat is scant and oily. Mutton is bright red, with plenty of hard white fat; poor mutton is dull red in color, with dark, muddy-looking fat. Veal and pork should be bright flesh color with abundance of hard, white, semi-transparent fat; when the fat is reddish and dark, the meat is of an inferior quality; veal and pork should be eaten very fresh. When meat of any kind comes into the house it should be hung up at once in some cool, dark place, and left until wanted.
Poultry.—Fresh poultry may be known by its full bright eyes, pliable feet, and soft moist skin; the best is plump, fat, and nearly white, and the grain of the flesh is fine. The feet and neck of a young fowl are large in proportion to its size, and the tip of the breast-bone is soft, and easily bent between the fingers; the body of a capon is large, fat, and round, the head comparatively small, and the comb pale and withered; a young cock, has short, loose, soft spurs, and a long, full, bright red comb; old fowls have long, thin necks and feet, and the flesh on the legs and back has a purplish shade; chickens, capons, and fowls, are always in season.
Turkeys when good are white and plump, have full breasts and smooth legs, generally black, with soft, loose spurs; hen turkeys are smaller, fatter, and plumper, but of inferior flavor; full grown turkeys are the best for boning and boiling, as they do not tear in dressing; old turkeys have long hairs, and the flesh is purplish where it shows under the skin on the legs and back. About March they deteriorate in quality. Turkey-poults are tender, but lack flavor.
Young ducks and geese are plump, with light, semi-transparent fat, soft breast-bone, tender flesh, leg joints which will break by the weight of the bird, fresh colored and brittle beaks, and windpipes that break when pressed between the thumb and fore-finger. They are best in fall and winter.
Young pigeons have light red flesh upon the breast, and full, fresh colored legs; when the legs are thin, and the breast is very dark, the birds are old. Squabs are tender and delicious.
The giblets of poultry consist of the head, neck, wings, feet, gizzard, heart, and liver; and make good soup, fricassees, pies, and various entrées, or side dishes.