1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
375 
Cooking in Cornwall. 
CLOTTED CREAM AND CORNISH PASTIES. 
How Cream Is Clotted. —Clotted 
cream enters largely into the composi¬ 
tion of the pies, and gives them not a 
little of their individuality. The fresh 
milk is poured into tin pans, which are 
usually about 10 inches in deptn. At the 
top they may be about 20 inches in 
width, but this grows less and less tow¬ 
ards the bottom. The pans are then 
placed on the slab cf the stove and slow¬ 
ly heated. Tnere is, of course, a proper 
temperature for the carrying out of this 
operation; but the Cornish farmer does 
not dream of a thermometer as being 
among the utensils needed in a dairy, 
and the temperature reached by the milk 
during this operation is altogether a 
matter of guesswork. Nor is one quite 
certain that Cornish cream is any the 
worse for this. It is probably scalded 
invariably at a temperature considerably 
higher than that which is theoretically 
right. In this way a goodly quantity of 
curd gets coagulated; and when at lasc 
the pans are set in the dairy to cool, and 
a thick golden crust forms upon the top, 
it consists of a mixture of curd and 
cream. This makes the final product 
more nutritious, and its only drawback 
is when the “cream” is made into butter. 
It is poured unthinned into a big shal¬ 
low tub, and there worked round and 
round by the hand. It forms into a 
stodgy mass quite suddenly—it is never 
granulated—and all the washing in the 
world will not suffice to free it thorough¬ 
ly from curd. Cornish people like a deal 
of salt in their butter, for we usually 
like the thing to which we have been ac¬ 
customed in the days of our youth, and 
the old-fashioned farmer had to use 
large quantities of this antiseptic, or the 
curd must have made his butter sour al¬ 
most immediately. 
Thunder and Lightning. — Clotted 
cream may be eaten with all sorts of 
fruit-tarts and preserves. It is best, 
however, thickly spread on homemade 
bread, and then covered with a big ser¬ 
pentine design in treacle. This is “thun¬ 
der and lightning.” The pleasantest 
cream, and ithat which makes the most 
delicious butter, is that which has a 
slight flavor of peat. This flavor must 
have been universal in the old days of 
the big open hearth, when each of the 
tins stood to be scalded on a little braz¬ 
ier wherein a fire of turf and furze burn¬ 
ed brightly. The pies and pasties are 
the invention of people who knew noth¬ 
ing at all of the uses of the oven. The 
implements they had were all connected 
with the open hearth, and their fuel was 
peat and gorse. There was the tripod or 
“brandice;” the crock with its three 
legs; the “baking-iron,” a flat slab of 
iron usually fitted with a handle; and 
the “baker,” which covered the baking- 
iron. This “baker,” by the bye, was 
used for another purpose than that of 
cooking. Let us suppose that some small 
theft had been committed about the 
farm, and that it was desired to discover 
the guilty person. The farmer would 
go out and capture his smallest cockerel 
—a bantam for choice—and place it un¬ 
der the baker on the table. Then the 
whole household would be assembled in 
the great gloomy kitchen, and in the or¬ 
der of age each would go forth and lay 
a hand on the baker, saying solemnly, 
“In the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, speak'.” At 
the touch of the guilty hand it was be¬ 
lieved that the imprisoned bird would 
crow loudly, and the guilty person stood 
revealed. The usual manner of using 
the baking-iron and baker was as fol¬ 
lows: The fire was got into a proper con¬ 
dition, and then the baking-iron was laid 
upon the hearth. When it had reached 
the proper temperature it was carefully 
cleaned, and the pie that was to be baked 
was placed upon it. The fire was then 
raked around, and it rested with the 
cook to settle in her own mind, as by a 
sort of clairvoyance, at what moment the 
operation had been completed. 
Cornish Pasties. —It may be alleged 
by the supercilious that these are merely 
turnovers such as any competent cook 
can turn out; but the fact remains that 
only a Cornish cook ever made pasties 
that Cornish people would be content to 
eat. The pasty in its most delicious 
form contains beef cut small, with sliced 
onions and potatoes; it is cooked to a 
delicate brownness, anu is so delicious 
When it comes straight from the oven 
that one marvels not a little that any 
one had ever the patience to wait and 
find out that it is even more delightful 
when it has had time to get cold. The 
Cornish miner’s wife has so little money 
at her disposal that she can rarely af¬ 
ford to make such a pasty as is described 
above. Usually she has 'to content her¬ 
self with a bit of fat pork with potatoes 
or turnips. It is not to be wondered at 
that even the strongest appetites fail be¬ 
fore this after a little while. Then the 
good wife goes to the grocer’s and spends 
twopence on a pound of the cheapest 
dates. These make a pasty which is at¬ 
tractive as a change, and should be 
hardly less nutritious than the fat pork 
and turnips. Another change is the hog- 
gan, a cake of dough studded with “figs,” 
or raisins. 
Almost anything may be made into 
pasties. They are uelicious when filled 
with fresh fruit, and there are moments 
when a pasty wherein an egg has been 
deftly enwrapped is not to be despised. 
There is perhaps only one substance 
which has never been used in the manu¬ 
facture of a genuine article of the kind, 
and that is minced meat. It is only the 
Cornish who know how to make a really 
satisfactory beefsteak pie. The one 
thing they seem to do which is not usual 
elsewhere is, that they cut the steak, not 
into lumps, out into thin slices. Each of 
these they roll round a small piece of the 
fat, and the reader who has no experi¬ 
mental knowledge of the result must be 
content with the assurance that nothing 
like it has been attained beyond the 
limits of the Duchy. 
Some Culinary Oddities. —There is 
no knowledge remaining of the materials 
used in the making of what used to be 
known as “stann’in’ pie.” It was made, 
however, very much in the likeness of 
the Melton Mowbray pie; it was placed 
on the baking-iron and covered with the 
baker. Then the cook went out to the 
place where the fuel was stored, and, 
shifting ...e furze-fagots, secured a good 
ly store of the “bruss”—the small frag¬ 
ments and dust which lay below. With 
tnis she covered the baker, and so se¬ 
cured what was technically known as a 
“soaking fire.” The pie was left to un¬ 
dergo this oraeal until the cook judged 
that the time was come to remove the 
baiter. Then the top crust was pierced 
with a small hole, and through this a 
quantity of ithinnish cream was poured. 
The pie was ready to be served, and one 
can imagine it was sufficiently delicious. 
Sweet giblet-pie was a sort of mince-pie, 
with which were incorporated the giblets 
of a goose, boiled and chopped fine. 
Muggety-pie was made of certain por¬ 
tions of the entrails of a sheep, flavored 
with parsley and enriched with much 
cream. Another pie which we remember 
seems to have consisted mainly of leeks. 
When it was taken from the oven the 
crust was lifted and cream added lib¬ 
erally. There was a pie which consisted 
of hardly less parsley than veal, and 
this also was enriched with cream. 
There was squab-pie, an exceedingly 
well-savoured dish, made of fat mutton 
and apples in alternate layers. As if 
this were not enough, the genius of the 
cook added onions and raisins. 
Fish Pies. —After this there is nothing 
remarkable in mackerel-pie, wherein ihe 
fish lies in milk and is baked under the 
MOTHERS.—Be sure to use “Mrs. Wins¬ 
low’s Soothing Syrup” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Aiv. 
crust. Star-gazing pie was a little more 
interesting. The principal ingredient is 
another fish, the pilchard. The heads of 
the fish adorned the upper crust, and, 
gazing pathetically towards the sky, 
gave the pie its name. Conger was also 
used in pies, and, indeed, the list might 
be continued indefinitely. Probably the 
fact to be gathered is that the people of 
Cornwall have always been poor, and 
that Cornish cooks have been compelled 
to find uses for everything that could 
possibly be considered edible. Probably 
the use of saffron in cake is in itself a 
confession of poverty, for the simplest 
cake looks rich in “goodness” when it 
has been colored by this means.—Cham • 
bers’s Journal. 
Something About Dulse. 
I was somewhat amused at your Nova 
Scotia correspondent’s account of dulse. 
I never heard of it being used as an 
article of food, but it may be so used. 
About 40 years ago it was commonly 
used as a vermifuge for children, and 
was considered a sure cure. About this 
time of year, or a little later, the Indians 
used to bring it to town. Of course, 
When fit was in season, everyone picked 
at it and ate more or less. It is cer¬ 
tainly very tasty, but I never knew of 
It being cooked in any way, although 
when a youngster I used to put it on 
top of the hot stove for an instant, 
which turned it a vivid green, and made 
it easier to chew, and at the same time 
made it very thin. When fresh it is 
quite ithick and leathery. It is occa¬ 
sionally sold in stores, but is generally 
too old, and not much like the fresh ar¬ 
ticle, which is only to be had for a short 
time in the Spring. I have not seen 
any of it (except a little old dried stuff) 
for years, and think very few of the 
present generation know much about it. 
The day I got The R. N.-Y. with the 
dulse article I met an old Indian in 
town, and asked him whether he could 
get me some, as I wanted my children 
to have some. In my youth it was con¬ 
sidered a good thing to eat in the Spring. 
Old Louis said he would try to get some, 
if it was to be had. If he gets some of 
the real old stuff I will send you some, 
as I am of the opinion the stuff your 
friend sent you was the dried article of 
the stores, and may not have been this 
year’s crop. When fresh the color is 
yellowish or Drown, some of it one color 
and some the other, as I remember it. 
nova SCOTIAN. 
B. & Bi 
fine line of 
bannockburns 
For the 
Baby 
The fifty-cent size is just ; 
right for the baby. A little 
of it in the bottle three or 
four times a day will supply 
precisely the fat all thin ba- : 
bies need. If your baby does 
not gain in weight as fast as 
you would like, try j 
Scott’s Emulsion 
The result will please you. If 
the baby nurses, the mother : 
should take the emulsion. 
It makes the baby’s food 
richer and more abundant; 
only buy the dollar size—it’s 
more economical. 
Both mother and child will feel at 
once its strengthening, upbuilding 
and fat-producing properties. 
At all druggists; 50c. and $1.00. 
SCOTT & liOWNE, Chemists, New York. * 
. H I — W—W ' » W-J 
COE’S 
ECZEMA CUKE, »1 at druggists. 25c. 
size of us. Coe Chem. Co., Cleveland, O. 
At Shelburne Farms, Vt., 
Dr. W. Seward Webb has used thousands of gallons of 
Cabot’s Creosote Shingle Stains 
on buildings and fences. Instead of paint. Not merely 
because they are cheaper, but because they are also 
better. Samples of all colors and Illustrated cata¬ 
logue sent free on request. 
SAMUEL CABOT. 81 Kilby St., Boston, Mass. 
The World’s Standard. 
All Jewelers sell Elgin Watches In eases to suit 
every taste. An Elgin watch always has the word 
•‘Elgin” engraved on the works-fully guaranteed 
Our new booklet about watches Is ready to send 
everyone who desires it—free 
Elgin National Watch Co., Elgin, III. 
Brass Band 
laatrumcntH, Drums, Uniform*. 
A Supp le*. Write for catalog, 446 
illustrations, KKKK; it gives in¬ 
formation for musicians and new 
bands. LYON & HEALY, 
80 Adams St., CHICAGO. 
WATCH AND CHAIN FOR ONE DAY’S WORK. 
Boys and Girls can get a Nickel-Plated 
Watch, also a Chain and Charm for soiling 
IN doz. Packages of Blulne at 10 cents each. 
Send your full address by return mall and 
we will forward the Blaine, post-paid, and 
__ 1 large Premium List. No money required. 
BLiUTNK CO. Box 500 Concord Junction, Mass. 
Free for a Club of Four. 
Here are 44 first-class tools for repair¬ 
ing shoes, rubber, harness and tinware. 
We are going to give no arguments why 
you should have them. The reasons and 
uses are apparent to every one. There 
is nothing like mending a hole, putting 
in a stitch, or driving a nail in time. It 
—swell material for dressy skirts 
to wear with shirt waists— 
dollar goods, 50c. 
—all wool— right summer weight 
—50 inches wide. 
Handsome blue, gray, brown 
and tan mixtures. 
Greatest offering and value of 
the season. 
Handsome new wash silks 35c., 45c. 
Best quality corded wash silks 50c.— 
fine for fine, cool waists. 
Great lines of i>retty shirt waist 
madras ginghams 10e., genuine imported 
ones 20c.—and at 25c., 30c., 35c., 40c. 
Styles and prices that show we’re in 
earnest about making it to your profit to 
send here. 
BOCCS & BUHL, 
Department C, 
ALLEGHENY, PA. 
always saves time and money. It often 
saves lives. The price is $2 alone, but 
it need cost you only SI. Send us one 
new subscription with $1, and SI extra— 
(S2 in all) and we will send you the out¬ 
fit complete, or we will send it to you 
free for a club of four yearly subscrip¬ 
tions at SI each 
SOLDER 
SOLDER IRON 
WRENCH 
HEELPLATES 
BRISTLES 
HEELPLATES 1 
RIVETS 
cement! 
HOME 
REPAIRING OUTFIT N2 1 
Boot,Shoe,Harness andTinwareRepairing . 
