Cooking Books

I.—UNFERMENTED BREAD. 1. COLD WATER BREAD. 1-1/4 lb. fine wholemeal flour to 3/4 pint water. Put the meal into a basin, add the water gradually, and mix with a clean, cool hand. (Bread, pastry, etc., mixed with a spoon, especially of metal, will not be so light as that mixed with a light cool hand.) Knead lightly for 20 minutes. (A little more flour may be required while kneading, as some brands of... more...

Preface Montaigne in one of his essays* mentions the high excellence Italian cookery had attained in his day. "I have entered into this Discourse upon the Occasion of an Italian I lately receiv'd into my Service, and who was Clerk of the Kitchen to the late Cardinal Caraffa till his Death. I put this Fellow upon an Account of his office: Where he fell to Discourse of this Palate-Science, with... more...

PREFACE The following Receipts and Directions are not collected from books, nor interspersed with old women's nostrums; but they are, in very truth, the result of my own LONG EXPERIENCE in trade, founded on chemical principles, which are principles of never-erring nature. Perhaps I had never thought of this Method of communicating my little knowledge, had it not been for many gentlemen in the... more...

CHAPTER I GENERAL COMPOSITION OF FOODS 1. Water.—All foods contain water. Vegetables in their natural condition contain large amounts, often 95 per cent, while in meats there is from 40 to 60 per cent or more. Prepared cereal products, as flour, corn meal, and oatmeal, which are apparently dry, have from 7 to 14 per cent. In general the amount of water in a food varies with the mechanical structure... more...

INTRODUCTION The word "fat" is one of the most interesting in food chemistry. It is the great energy producer. John C. Olsen, A.M., Ph.D., in his book, "Pure Food," states that fats furnish half the total energy obtained by human beings from their food. The three primary, solid cooking fats today are: There are numbers of substitutes for these, such as butterine, oleomargarine and... more...

SAUCES The philosophy of a sauce, when understood, enables even an untrained cook to make a great variety of every day sauces from materials usually found in every household; to have them uniform, however, flavorings must be correctly blended, and measurements must be rigidly observed. Two level tablespoonfuls of butter or other fat, two level tablespoonfuls of flour, must be used to each half pint of... more...

MEATS AND POULTRY. To Boil Fresh Meat. In boiling fresh meat, care is necessary to have the water boiling all the time it is in the pot; if the pot is not well scummed, the appearance of the meat will be spoiled. Mutton and beef are preferred, by some, a little rare; but pork and veal should always be well done. A round of beef that is stuffed, will take more than three hours to boil, and if not... more...

MRS. WILSON'S COOK BOOK Bread, the staff of life, must be palatable and good if we are to be satisfied with it when we eat. Can you think of anything that will spoil a meal more quickly than poor, over moist, doughy or heavy bread? Bread may truly be called the staff of life, as it will maintain life longer than any other single food. Yet many women think bread-making is a simple task; that the... more...

PREFACE. As this treatise is calculated for the improvement of the rising generation of Females in America, the Lady of fashion and fortune will not be displeased, if many hints are suggested for the more general and universal knowledge of those females in this country, who by the loss of their parents, or other unfortunate circumstances, are reduced to the necessity of going into families in the line... more...

SOUPS BEEF SOUP STOCK (Brodo di Carne)   1 pound of round of beef  2 quarts of water  2 small, new carrots, or 1/2 of an old carrot  1/2 pound of beef bones  2 small potatoes  1 onion  1 tomato, fresh or canned  Parsley Boil the beef, bones, and vegetables in two quarts of water over a slow fire—adding pepper and salt. Skim occasionally, and after two hours add two tablespoons of... more...