Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks Part 3

It must be well ventilated and lighted. The best degree of temperature is about 66 degrees Fahr.

DISH.

A dish ought to be charming to the eye, flattering to the smell, and delicious to the taste.

DRAINING.

To drain, is to put in a colander any thing that has been soaked, washed, or boiled, etc., in water or any other liquid, in order to dry it, or at least to let drop from it the water or other liquid that may be in it.

Salads of greens, as a general thing, are drained after being washed, before putting them in the salad-dish; they must be drained as dry as possible, but without pressing on them, as it would wilt the leaves, and give the salad an unsightly appearance.

DUSTING.

A pan, after being b.u.t.tered or greased, is dusted with flour, sugar, or even bread-crumbs, to prevent the mixture that is put in it from sticking. Sugar, etc., may also be sprinkled over dishes with a dredger.

DRINKING.

When weary, or cold, or warm, or exhausted, we drink in preference to eating, because we feel the effect instantaneously; while after eating even the most substantial food, we do not feel the effect for some time.

When exhausted and when immediate relief is necessary, the best drinks are broth, chocolate, milk, or water sweetened with sugar. It is more than a mistake to drink wines or liquors at such a time; it is really committing slow suicide.

When only thirsty, without exhaustion, we ought to drink cold water with a teaspoon. When thirsty and heated, the first thing to do is to dip the hands in cold water deep enough just to cover the wrists; then dip a towel in the water, lay it on the forehead, and then drink cold water with a teaspoon.

A few drops of vinegar or lemon-juice may be added to the water. If exceedingly hot, keep your hands in cold water and the towel on your forehead at least one minute before drinking.

HOT WEATHER.

A remark or two on eating and drinking in hot weather are always in season. Green vegetables, properly cooked, are certainly healthful in warm weather; but it is a mistake to think that meat should be excluded from summer diet. The hotter the weather, the more the system wastes, and therefore the more we must supply.

In order to keep the body in a healthful condition, meat ought to be eaten at least once a day in summer-time. It would be well to vary this programme by taking one meal of fish on every other day.

Fat should be disused as much as possible. A very little good b.u.t.ter with your fresh radishes at breakfast is as much fat as is necessary.

COLD WEATHER.

Fat meat is good in winter and is relished; so are dry vegetables and saccharine substances.

FOOD.

Nature has provided man with a mind, in order that he should study what kind of food suits his const.i.tution; he who does not do it, is not above the lower animals.

"Good things have been made by the Creator for good people, flowers have certainly not been made for brutes, either quadruped or biped."--_Jefferson._

"It is from good things that, in a human point of view, we derive the strength necessary to our limbs, let us partake of the same and be thankful."--_Rev._----_Chadband._

Have your food selected and prepared according to const.i.tution, occupation, climate, age, and s.e.x.

Waste in females is greater than in males.

Animals, generally, are very careful in selecting their food.

A temporary bloatedness may be obtained, especially with the young, by eating much farinaceous food, such as pancakes, etc., but it does not last, and is sure to bring on disease or sickness, or both.

Man is omnivorous, and must be fed accordingly.

Extreme leanness comes from want of proper food, either in youth or old age.

It is not the amount that is eaten which nourishes, but the amount that is digested; an excess of food is as bad as a lack of it.

Good and well-baked bread is nutritious and healthful, while unbaked bread is heavy and difficult of digestion.

Take at least half an hour's rest after a hearty meal, for mind and stomach cannot work at the same time.

Never eat when angry, or tired, or when heated; but be as cool and as gay as possible, for food being exposed to a heat of about 100 degrees Fahr, in the stomach, would ferment instead of digesting.

Take a hearty but by no means heavy dinner.

Eat slowly, at regular hours, and masticate well, but do not bolt your food, or eat any thing that does not taste good.

Drink slowly, moderately, and always taste before swallowing.

Vary your food as much as possible.

Always have at least one dish of vegetables for dinner, besides meat, and also ripe fruit.

See that every thing you eat or drink is of a good quality, wholesome and properly prepared.

ECONOMY.

There is not a word so much misused in cooking as the word economy.

Prejudice comes for a large share in the use of it.

How many things are thrown away, or wasted by mere prejudice or ignorance!

It is often from economy that a woman washes meat, because some part of it does not look clean. Instead of was.h.i.+ng it, do not buy it; or, if bought, cut off a thin slice and throw it away: it is more economical than was.h.i.+ng the whole piece, which you partly destroy by the process.

It is with a view to economy, that an old, bad custom prevails of boiling coffee. What an economy of sending the best part of the coffee (the aroma) to the attic, and the rest to the dining-room. A bad drink can be made cheaper with many things than with coffee.

Tea is also boiled with an eye to economy.