474 



might, in many cases, be used instead of it. I do not 

 think, however, that it can be kept long without spoil- 

 ing ; whereas, maccaroni, as is well known, may be 

 kept good for a great length of time. Though I have 

 not been able to get any satisfactory information rela- 

 tive to the process of making maccaroni, yet I have 

 made some experiments to ascertain the expense of 

 cooking it, and of the cost of the cheese necessary for 

 giving it a relish. 



Half a pound of maccaroni, which was purchased at 

 an Italian shop in London, and which cost tenpence,* 

 was boiled till it was sufficiently done, namely, about 

 one hour and a half, when, being taken out of the 

 boiling water and weighed, it was found to weigh 

 thirty-one ounces and a half, or one pound fifteen 

 ounces and a half. The quantity of cheese employed 

 to give a relish to this dish of boiled maccaroni (and 

 which was grated over it after it was put into the dish) 

 was one ounce, and cost two farthings. 



Maccaroni is considered as very cheap food in those 

 countries where it is prepared in the greatest perfection, 

 and where it is in common use among the lower classes 

 of society ; and as wheat, of which grain it is always 

 made, is a staple commodity in this country, it would 

 certainly be worth while to take some trouble to intro- 

 duce the manufacture of it, particularly as it is already 

 become an article of luxury upon the tables of the rich, 



* This maccaroni would not probably have cost one quarter of that sum 

 at Naples. Common maccaroni is frequently sold there as low as fourteen 

 grains, equal to fivepence halfpenny sterling the rottolo, weighing twenty- 

 eight ounces and three quarters avoirdupois, which is threepence sterling 

 the pound avoirdupois. An inferior kind of maccaroni, such as is commonly 

 sold at Naples to the poor, costs not more than twopence sterling the pound 

 avoirdupois. 



