For Puff Paste, the flour was put in a wide earthen pan set before the fire, till it was quite warm, turning it frequently with the hands. A little butter was then rubbed into the flour, and enough warm water was added to make the whole into a very smooth and even paste, every lump in the flour having been carefully crumbled in the process of mixing. The paste was rolled out rather thick, and little bits of butter stuck all over it; flour was then dusted over the butter, and the paste was folded up so as to cover the flour. This was repeated as often as required, and half a pound of butter to a pound of flour was considered to make a very rich crust, a quarter of a pound of butter to a pound of flour being the usual proportion.
Short or Sugar Paste was made by rubbing two ounces of lump-sugar, crushed by a rolling-pin so as to be very fine, into a pound of dry flour, and adding three ounces of butter, both the butter and the sugar being so mixed as to leave no lumps. The yolks of two eggs were then beaten up well, with some cream, and added to the flour, so as to make it into a paste, and if more moisture was required, milk or cream was used, but no water. This paste only required rolling out once, and it was delicious.
In some of the modern cookery books equal quantities of butter and flour, in addition to the yolks of two eggs, are recommended for rich puff paste; and it is directed that the greater part of the butter should be made into a ball, and the buttermilk having been squeezed out of it, it should be put into the crust and covered with it, like an apple in making an apple-dumpling. The crust is then to be floured and rolled out five or six times. I have never tried this paste, and I should think it would be difficult to make. Regular pastrycooks, I am told, use oil, which they mix with the flour without any water; and lard or dripping is often used in large families to save butter. Eggs give a great richness to paste; but when used the whites should be omitted, as they are apt to make the paste hard.
Having thus broken through my determination to give you only receipts for impromptu cookery, I think I must give you a few hints on what may be called National Cookery, or, in other words, that I may teach you how to make the favourite dishes of most of the nations of Europe. I do this principally to amuse you, and to enable you to produce variety in your entertainments, as the greatest enemy you have to dread is monotony; but you may occasionally find it useful to know how to produce the favourite dishes of foreigners, when you have to entertain them.
The Pot au Feu is the popular soup of France, which is found in every house, from the prince to the peasant: it is made by putting a solid piece of beef into cold water, in the proportion of one pound of meat to a quart of water, and letting it simmer in an earthen pot on a hot hearth for six hours, taking off the scum as it rises. A little salt is thrown in after the liquor has begun to simmer, and carrots, cabbage, an onion or two, and any other vegetable that may be in season are put in, after the scum, caused by the addition of the salt, has been taken off. This pottage can never be made properly unless wood is burned in the kitchen, as it requires to be kept constantly simmering, but never boiling rapidly during the whole of the six hours; and this can scarcely be accomplished with a tin kettle or saucepan placed at the side of a coal fire. In France they generally use a piece of the rump for the pot au feu, as they have their meat (which they call bouilli) sent to table, with the best of the vegetables, taken carefully out of the liquor, laid round it. The soup is then strained off and poured quite hot on a slice of bread, either toasted or untoasted, according to taste, which is laid at the bottom of the tureen. Sometimes, instead of using bread, the pottage is served plain; or vermicelli is added in the proportion of from one to two ounces to each quart of soup. The vermicelli is put into a saucepan, and enough of the bouillon to cover it is strained over it, and it is stewed very gently for about half an hour, so as to be ready to add to the soup when it is put into the tureen. In winter, instead of vegetables, rice is frequently put into the pot au feu about two hours before it is served up; or it is stewed for about an hour in a separate saucepan, and added when the pottage is served up.
Macaroni is the national dish of Italy, and it is prepared by covering it with ten times its volume of boiling water, and letting it remain till it becomes soft. When this is the case, some salt is thrown into the water, and the saucepan is held over the fire for a minute, till the liquid begins to bubble, when cold water is thrown in to stop the ebullition: the macaroni is then drained, and placed in a dish alternately with small bits of butter, pepper, and grated cheese; or, instead of butter, gravy of any kind may be used, or tomato sauce. The Italians use the same kind of soup as the French, but they always serve a dish of grated cheese to eat with it; and sometimes they add parsley chopped very small to the potage before serving it. The cheese used in Italy is either Parmesan or Gruyere, but any strong flavoured, dry cheese will do.
Sauer kraut is the national dish of Germany, and it is made from very large close cabbages, which are deprived of their outer leaves so as to leave only the hard white part, or head. The first process of preparing them is to scoop out the interior part of the stalk with an iron instrument or scoop; they are then cut into small shreds by a wooden machine, composed of a flat board or tray, which has a ledge on two sides, to steady a box or frame, into which the cabbages are put. In the middle of the board are four flat pieces of steel, similar to the steel part of a spokeshave, placed in an oblique direction, and the near edge of each being a little raised up, with small spaces between each, to let the shreds fall down into a tub placed underneath to receive them. The cabbages are then put into the box before described, which is pushed backwards and forwards, when the cabbages, being cut by the steel, fall in small shreds into the tub placed below. A barrel stands ready to receive them when cut, the sides of which are first washed with vinegar. A man stands on a chair by the barrel, with clean wooden shoes on, whose business it is to salt and prepare them, which is done in the following manner:—The man first takes as much of the cut cabbage as covers about four inches above the bottom; he next strews upon it two handfuls of salt, one handful of unground pepper, and a small quantity of salad oil; he then gets into the barrel, and treads it down with his wooden shoes till it is well mixed and compact. He next takes another layer of cabbage, and puts salt and pepper on it as before, and treads it again, and so goes on till the barrel is filled. A board is then placed on it, and upon the board some very heavy weights are put, and it remains so ten or fifteen days, when it partially ferments, and a great deal of water swims on the surface: it is then put into the cellar for use. The men who prepare sauer kraut are Tyrolese, and carry their machine on their backs from house to house.
In the annexed sketch (fig. 6.), a is the cutting-tray, b the box into which the cabbages are put, c the scoop, and d the tub into which the shreds fall.
Fig. 6. Cabbage-cutter for Sauer kraut.