HISTORY AND COOKERY 103 



Beans and Bacon, 



being one of those combinations whose Tightness 

 depends, not on the vagaries of fashion, but on phy- 

 siological fact, retains its ancient place in the favour 

 of hungry men. Mrs Glasse gives to the pre- 

 paration of this dish the space which it deserves. 

 "When you dress beans and bacon," said she, "boil 

 the bacon by itself, and the beans by themselves, for 

 the bacon will spoil the colour of the beans. Always 

 throw some salt into the water, and some parsley, nicely 

 picked. When the beans are cooked enough (which 

 you will know by their being tender) throw them into a 

 cullender to drain. Take up the bacon and skin it ; 

 throw some raspings of bread over the top, and if you 

 have an iron make it red hot and hold over it, to brown 

 the top of the bacon ; if you have not one, set it before 

 the fire to brown. Lay the beans in the dish, and the 

 bacon in the middle on the top, and send them to table 

 with parsley and butter in a basin." 



Mrs Roundell's directions are, as usual, wise and 

 concisely expressed. " Choose a pig's cheek which is not 

 dry and hard, otherwise it must be soaked for four hours, 

 and will not be nearly so good as if cooked when fresh. 

 Put it in a saucepan with five quarts of water, and let it 

 simmer gently, allowing twenty minutes for each pound 

 of meat. Shell two pounds of Broad Beans. Half-an- 

 hour before the pig's cheek is done take out two quarts 

 of the liquid in which it is boiling, and replace instantly 

 with two quarts of boiling water. Put the two quarts 

 of liquid in another pan, throw in the Broad Beans, and 

 boil them in the liquid for from twenty minutes to half- 

 an-hour. Serve the pig's cheek in a large hot dish. 

 Moisten the Broad Beans with a spoonful of the liquid, 

 and put some of them round the pig's cheek in the dish, 



