CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



pieces in a basin, with four or five quarts of cold 

 water, till required to be cooked ; they may stand 

 all night if necessary ; when wanted, place them 

 in a goblet of sufficient size, and set on the fire, 

 taking particular care to stir the compound till it 

 is thoroughly boiling ; whilst it is being stirred, the 

 flour of a grated potato may be added. After the 

 soup has come to the boiling-point, pour in the 

 stock gradually, and then let the whole simmer for 

 two hours. Dish with the pieces of hare in the 

 tureen. Some cooks add a glass or two of port 

 wine before the soup is served, others a pint of 

 porter ; but, if a full-blooded hare has been ob- 

 tained, the flavour will be sufficiently powerful 

 without these adjuncts. 



In making the above and most other soups, suf- 

 ficient time must be given for the extraction and 

 diffusion in the fluid of the juices of the meat and 

 vegetables. A good plan, to save both fuel and 

 trouble, is, where the size of the family admits of 

 it, to have a pot sufficiently large to make broth 

 for two days, and to heat the broth slowly on the 

 second day. The cost of a large potful of 

 barley broth may be set down, at present prices, 

 as about 2s. 6d. that is, 2s. for beef, and 6d. for 

 vegetables and firing. The cost of a sheep's head 

 and trotters is is.; which, with 6d. for vegetables 

 and firing, makes a cheap dinner, considering that 

 it will dine six or seven people. 



Peas .5V7#^. Take two or three pounds of a 

 shin or hough of beef, and put into a gallon and 

 a half of water, with a bit of washing-soda the 

 size of a large nut, two pounds of split peas, a 

 moderately sized carrot and turnip, two or three 

 onions, and a little celery-seed tied in a bit of 

 muslin. When the carrot and turnip are boiled 

 soft, mash, and return them to the pot Boil with 

 closed cover, very gently, for four hours. When 

 ready, strain through a sieve, and serve with hard 

 toasted bread, cut into dice, and thrown into the 

 soup in the tureen, so as to preserve its crisp- 

 ness. This soup may be made with bones or 

 trimmings, or roast-beef dripping, the liquor a 

 ham or any meat has been boiled in, or even 

 without any of these, by frying the bread in plenty 

 of lard before cutting it into dice. Its best season- 

 ing is curry-powder. Vinegar added before serv- 

 ing, or at table, in the proportion of about a tea- 

 spoonful to each plateful of soup, is thought by 

 many to improve its flavour, and certainly pro- 

 motes its digestibility ; it also removes in a great 

 measure one great objection which many have to 

 this fine soup namely, the formation by it of 

 flatus in the stomach and bowels. 



Cockle Leekie or Cock-a-leekie is a famous Scot- 

 tish soup. It is made by boiling three pounds 

 of hough till all the strength is taken out of it. 

 After that, take out the refuse of the beef, and 

 add to the gravy a fowl, jointed or cut in small 

 pieces ; then put into the goblet plenty of leeks, 

 well cleaned, and cut into small portions : it is 

 as well to boil down a leek or two in the stock. 

 Season with pepper and salt to taste : the soup 

 must be well boiled. 



FISH. 



The price of fish of all kinds has, in recent 

 years, increased enormously. A quarter of a cen- 

 tury ago, a fine haddock might have been obtained 

 for a few halfpence, and to pay a shilling for a 



7&6 



large cod-fish was thought extravagant, whilst 

 fresh herrings were considered dear if they ex- 

 ceeded threepence a dozen. Now, a good-sized 

 cod-fish at Christmas-time has been known to 

 cost a sovereign, and oysters for sauce will be 

 half as much ; whilst turbot, salmon, and some 

 other fishes sell at prices which place them alto- 

 gether beyond the reach of any but rich people 

 if we except occasions of a glut in the market, 

 when fresh herrings, mackerel, or flounders may 

 be bought at a reasonable price. 



Choosing Fish. If the purchaser can afford to 

 buy fish at a first-rate fishmonger's shop where a 

 continuous trade is carried on, the selection or 

 recommendation of particular kinds may be very 

 safely left to the dealer, who, for the sake of his 

 business reputation, will do nothing wrong, and 

 who, from the great and constant demand made 

 at his shop, is sure to have his stock in an 

 invariably fresh and wholesome state. To those 

 compelled to buy in the open market or from 

 hawkers, the following directions may prove use- 

 ful. As a general rule, the freshness of a fish 

 may be tested by the brightness of the eyes and 

 the redness of its gills. Line-caught ground fish 

 are always the best ; those taken by .the trawl 

 have a hashed appearance, in consequence of the 

 slime and scales being rubbed off. The largest 

 cod-fish, as a general rule, are best. When fish 

 are turning stale, the redness of the gills begins 

 to fade, the sides grow dull, and the fish becomes 

 limp. A fine fish is always 'bent stiff' when in 

 good condition. Fish full of milt and roe are not 

 good for food, as all the flesh-forming properties 

 have been abstracted to swell the spawn ; but, 

 unfortunately, it is at the spawning period that 

 most of our best fish are obtained. 



Fish are dressed in a variety of ways, according 

 to taste. They are boiled, broiled, baked, stewed, 

 and fried ; but the most common modes of pre- 

 paration are boiling and frying boiling when 

 required to be done in a plain way, and frying 

 when a high relish or flavour is to be given to 

 them. In all modes of preparing fish, much care 

 is required to prevent them from being broken or 

 disfigured. 



To fry Trouts or similar Fish. Trouts of a 

 moderate size are dressed whole, and frying is the 

 best mode of preparation. Take the trouts, and 

 clean out and scale them. Dust them with flour 

 or oatmeal, and put them in a frying-pan with hot 

 dripping or lard. Turn them, so as to brown them 

 on both sides. Lift them out, and serve them on 

 a dish ; they will be improved by laying a napkin 

 under them, to absorb the grease. In the countr 

 parts of Scotland, trouts are dipped in oatme 

 instead of flour, and some reckon that this im- 

 proves the flavour. 



To dress a Cod's Head and Shoulders. Ta 

 a cod's head and shoulders in one piece, whicl 

 clean, and let lie among salt all night. When yot 

 are going to dress it, skin it, and bind it with tap 

 to keep it firm. Put it in a fish-kettle, back uj 

 wards, with plenty of cold water, a handful of sa 

 and a little vinegar. Let it heat slowly, and boil 

 for about half an hour. Then let it lie on rf 

 drainer across the top of the kettle, for the wate 

 to drip from it. After this, place it, back upwards 

 on the dish in which it is to be carried to table 

 cutting and drawing away the tapes very carefully 

 Brush it over with beat egg, strew crumbs 



