376 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



beef -tea, at present merely adding, as evidence of the importance of 

 retaining these juices in cooked meat, that the extracts of beef, mutton, 

 and pork may be distinguished by their specific flavors. Some " Ex- 

 tract of Kangaroo," sent to me many years ago from Australia by the 

 Ramornie Company, made a soup that was curiously different in 

 flavor from the other extract similarly prepared by the same company. 

 Epicures pronounced it very choice and " gamy." When these juices 

 are removed from the meat, mutton, beef, pork, etc., the remaining 

 solids are all alike, so far as the palate alone can distinguish. 



Let us now apply these principles practically to the case of a leg of 

 mutton. First, in order to seal the pores, the meat should be put into 

 boiling water ; the water should be kept boiling for five or ten minutes. 

 A coating of firmly-coagulated albumen will thus envelop the joint. 

 Now, instead of boiling or " simmering " the water, set the saucepan 

 aside, where the water will retain a temperature of about 180, or 32 

 below the boiling-point. Continue this about half as long again, or 

 double the usual time given in the cookery-books for boiling a leg of 

 mutton, and try the effect. It will be analogous to that of the egg 

 cooked on the same principles, and appreciated accordingly. 



The usual addition of salt to the water is very desirable. It has a 

 threefold action : first, it directly acts on the superficial albumen with 

 coagulating effect ; second, it slightly raises the boiling-point of the 

 water; and, third, by increasing the density of the water, the "ex- 

 osmosis," or oozing out of the juices, is less active. These actions are 

 slight, but all co-operate in keeping in the juices. 



I should add that a leg of mutton for boiling should be fresh, and 

 not " hu\g" as for roasting. The reasons for this hereafter. 



v. FISH. 



" Please, mum, the fish would break to pieces," would be the proba- 

 ble reply of the unscientific cook, to whom her mistress had suggested 

 the desirability of cooking fish in accordance with the principles ex- 

 pounded in my last. Many kinds of fish would thus break if the popu- 

 lar notions of " boiling " were carried out, and the fish suddenly im- 

 mersed in water that was agitated by the act of ebullition. But this 

 difficulty vanishes when the true theory of cookery is understood and 

 practically applied by cooking the fish from beginning to end without 

 ever boiling the water at all. 



In the case of the leg of mutton, chosen as a previous example, the 

 plunging in boiling water and maintenance of boiling-point for a few 

 minutes was unobjectionable, as the most effectual means of obtaining 

 the firm coagulation of a superficial layer of albumen ; but, in the 

 case of fragile fish, this advantage can only be obtained in a minor 

 degree by using water just below the boiling-point, for the breaking 

 of the fish by the agitation of the boiling water does more than merely 

 disfigure it when served ; it opens outlets to the juices, and thereby 



