Hints on O loosing Provisions 



411 



young, poultry, and the toughness of an old 

 fowl. With the former something J, may 

 be done ; but with the old and tough 

 birds, I repeat most emphatically, nothing 

 can be done. A good turkey will be 

 recognised by the whiteness of the flesh and 

 fat. Beware of those with long hairs, and 

 whose flesh on the legs and back is of a violet 

 tinge. To select a goose, try the flesh of the 

 pinion, and break off the lower part of the 

 beak, which should break easily. The fat 

 should be light-coloured and transparent. 

 Ducks are chosen in the same way. Pigeons 

 should have fillets of a light red colour ; when 

 old, these darken to blackish violet, and the 

 legs get thin. 



A fresh fish is recognisable by the redness 

 of the gills, the brightness of the eyes, and 

 the firmness of the flesh. It is not enough 

 to be guided by the smell : it may lie days 

 on ice without acquiring any noticeable smell, 

 but the flesh in such a case will be dull and 

 flaccid, and care should be taken not to employ 

 fish in that condition. It should be borne 

 in mind that fish will lose in quality in the 

 spawning season. This should regulate one's 

 purchases. My remarks on old poultry apply 

 even more particularly to old fish, which 

 should never on any consideration appear on 

 the table. 



Old hares should be discarded ; they can 

 be turned to no good account. Leverets and 

 young hares alone should be bought. You 

 can tell a tender hare by the ease with which 

 the fore-paw may be broken, by its large 

 knees, and short stumpy neck. Good wild 

 rabbits are known by the same indications. 

 Pheasants should be selected with the spur 

 but little developed ; the tenderness of the 

 bird is known by trying the flesh of the 



pinion. Woodcocks are also tried by pinch- 

 ing the pinion and breast. Similarly with 

 respect to wild ducks, teal, widgeon, and 

 other water-fowl. Partridges are also tested 

 in the same way ; their age can be ascertained 

 by examining the long feathers of the wing 

 — round at the tip in an old bird, and pointed 

 in a young. 



GROCERIES, ETC. 



As to all articles to be had from the 

 grocer, the oilman, and dairyman, I would urge 

 more than ever that none but the best be 

 bought. This is sure in the end to prove 

 more satisfactory and economical. An infe- 

 rior quality of oil used in cookery will spoil 

 the same, or whatever else it may be added 

 to; the same with butter, which should 

 always be selected of the freshest and best. 

 A small quantity of sweet butter will improve 

 any preparation where it is required ; whereas, 

 with bad butter, the result will be exactly the 

 reverse : the more you add of it the worse 

 will your dish become. Never buy butter 

 without carefully smelling and tasting it; 

 these two tests are indispensable. If you have 

 any doubts as to its freshness, do not on any 

 account buy it, but try elsewhere ; it is an in- 

 variable rule that " no good cookery is to be 

 done with questionable butter." Never em- 

 ploy eggs without examining them carefully, 

 not only when buying them, but also when 

 they are broken. An egg may appear per- 

 fecdy good, and still have an unpleasant 

 damp-straw flavour, which is sufticient to spoil 

 a whole dish. Eggs should be broken one after 

 the other, and none put into the basin until 

 their freshness has been ascertained. With 

 respect to bacon, one should likewise be very 

 particular in selecting none but what is very 

 white, with the least gristle possible, and 

 quite fresh and free from rustiness. Fresh 

 pork should be of a light brownish hue, and 

 free from any inequalities of colour. 



