98 



.\'.^ TURE 



[May lo, 1 89; 



and white of egg, by which the loss of flavour by the old 

 process has been overcome. 



In regard to the author's condemnation of the state- 

 ment that " the French cook makes excellent and nutri- 

 t ous soup out of materials which the English housewife 

 throws away as useless, while her pot-au-fcu is composed 

 of stray scraps carefully husbanded, which cost her 

 nothing, but which when skilfully combined constitute 

 a useful and inexpensive food." we would obserxe that 

 the use of the word pot-au-feii is obviously a mistake, 

 but that had mirmite been substituted there would have 

 been no cause for objection. What says Sir Henry 

 Thompson .' " This (the pot-au-feii) is a different thing 

 from the common 'stock-pot' of the French peasant, 

 so frequently termed a potau-feu and confounded with 

 it. The primar)' object of the 'stock-pot' is to make 

 a decoction for soup— of animal food if possible — and 

 every morsel of flesh, poultry', trimmings from joints, 

 bones well bruised, &c., which are available for the 

 purpose are reser\'ed for it." This turning to account 

 of scraps is, to our thinking, by no means a "delusion," 

 but a thing that should be encouraged in every 

 economically conducted kitchen. In nearly ever)- other 

 respect we are able to concur with Dr. Thudichum. He is 

 undoubtedly right in pronouncing against the so-called 

 clear soups of restaurants and hotels, in denouncing the 

 free use of wine to smother defects, and the heedless 

 use of cream and butter in potages lUs, bisques, and 

 puries. 



Turning to his precepts concerning processes, we 

 also find much that we can accept as excellent. Here 

 and there are points, of course, in regard to which 

 the best authorities differ. We would never put fresh 

 meat or poultr)-, when either has to be cooked for the 

 table by boiling, into cold broth or water, having found 

 the method advocated by Sir Hcnr)- Thompson better 

 than any other, viz. to immerse the joint or bird in a 

 lx>iling medium to solidify or coagulate the albumen 

 which pervades the outer layer of meat, and after five 

 or six minutes at that temperature to reduce the heat 

 beneath the vessel to simmering point, never exceeding 

 180' F. We apply the same principle to the pre- 

 paration of fish with equally satisfactor>- results, having 

 proved the accuracy of Sir Henry's axiom that boiling 

 fish in the ordinary manner is of all systems the most 

 wasteful and unsalisfactor)-. There can be no doubt, 

 though it is contrar)' to Dr. Thudichuni's theor)', that 

 the greatest benefit is to be derived from broth made 

 from fish-bones and "cuttings" of white fish, assisted 

 by herbs and vegetables. This we cmplr)y as a moisten- 

 ing in our method of fish-poaching, and consider it 

 superior to court bouillnn with its excessive amount of 

 wine, which Dr. Thudichum very properly condemns. 



There is another point on which the doctor's advice 

 is open to question. We refer to his definition of braising 

 as a species of "roasting." Surely this is contrar>' to 

 the teaching of the best authors. " Braiser la viande," 

 says Dubois, "c'est la cuire \ I'dtuv^c dans un bon 

 fonds de fa<;on i I'attcindre complitement, en lui con- 

 scr\'ant ses sues nutritifs." How can a piece of meat 

 be said to be " roasted " when it is moistened in the 

 braisiire vt'wh bouillon " 1) /taiileiir " f The fact is there 1 

 arc varieties of braising. The French cook adopts one | 



NO. I33.r VOL. 52] 



method, for instance, for white, and another for brown 

 meats, and, as we read in " Food and Feeding," these 

 var)' in treatment. In all the predominating feature is 

 stewing, though the part of the meat exposed by the 

 gradual reduction of the moistening broth may be 

 browned by heat transmitted downwards from hot cinders 

 on the lid of the vessel. The meat is really part stewed, 

 part steamed, and superficially toasted. Dr. Thudichum 

 says nothing of the amount of moistening mircpoix 

 necessary for braising, the preliminary browning of the 

 meat, the couche de racines et oignons eminces on which 

 it should be placed, the reduction of the first partial 

 moistening, and then the final filling up level with the 

 top of the meat. Without these instructions, how is the 

 student to have placed in his hands " the means of 

 attaining his object with certainty and elegance?" 



But the few points to which we have taken exception 

 are of no great consequence in a work which covers as 

 much ground as " The Spirit of Cookery." Some of 

 them might perhaps have been passed over as apper- 

 taining to practical work, which Dr. Thudichum may not 

 have intended to explain minutely. There is, as we have 

 said, a great quantity of information which is beyond 

 criticism, plenty of advice which is full of common sense, 

 and a painstaking classification of the principal sections 

 of the art which cannot but be useful to students of 

 cookery. The scientific principles, by which all intelligent 

 work should be guided, are ver)' clearly laid down. The 

 notes on the preparation of food for the sick-room and 

 the camp are excellent, and all who recognise the necessity 

 of encouraging cookery for the palate rather than for the 

 eye will concur in Dr. Thudichum's observations regarding 

 the vulgar folly of over-ornamentation. 



WEATHER OBSERVATTON AND 



PREDICTIONS. 



Meteorology, Weather, and Afet/iods of Forecasting, 



Description of Meteorological Instruments, and River 



Flood Predictions in the United States. By Thom.is 



Russell, U.S. .\ssistant-Engineer. (New N'ork : M.u - 



millan and Co., 1895.) 

 Results of Rain, River, and Evaporation L'bscrvafion-.. 



made in Nnv South Wales during 1893. By H. C. 



Russell, B.A., C.M.G., F.R.S. (Sydney : C. Pottci, 



1894.) 



THE first of these two books has for its aim the in 

 struction of those who are interested in the weather, 

 and wish to make forecasts on scientific lines, or to under- 

 stand the principles which underlie the predictions issued 

 by responsible authorities. The expression " scientific 

 lines " is, perhaps, not justified. Experience plays, prn 

 bably, as large a part as science. The knowledge of tin- 

 character of the weather that has followed certain 

 definite atmospheric conditions in former cases, is to 

 some extent a guide as to what will happen when thox 

 conditions again present themselves, and possibh 

 as true a guide as any result based on the wider 

 knowledge of the general circulation of the atmosphere. 

 Especially has the particular study of the direction and 

 rate of motion of cyclonic areas, with their attend.mt 

 phenomena of rain, and change of temperature permitted 

 a greater amount of security in weather prediction', for 



