Part 16

To make beef broth, allow one pound of meat, or meat and bone, to every quart of water. Wash the meat with a cloth in cold water until it is clean, or wipe it with a wet cloth if it is apparently fresh cut; divide it into small pieces (half-inch cubes) in order to expose as great an extent of surface as possible to the dissolving action of the water. Put it into a granite-ware kettle with cold water, and cook it at a low temperature for two hours, then boil it for two hours to dissolve the gelatin. Remove it from the fire, and strain it, using a strainer so coarse that the flakes of albumen may go through (an ordinary wire strainer will do). Skim as much fat as possible from the surface with a spoon, and then remove the remaining small particles with a sheet of clean paper (unsized is best) drawn over the surface. Season the broth with salt and pepper, and serve it very hot. If not needed at once, it may be set away to cool, when the fat will rise to the top, and form into a cake which may be lifted off.

=With Herbs.= Make a broth according to the above rule, and flavor it with bay-leaves, mint, or with a bouquet of sweet herbs in the proportion of one teaspoon to a quart of liquid.

=With Grains.= One tablespoon of any of the following grains--rice, barley, oatmeal, or wheat--to one quart of liquid, gives a pleasant consistency and flavor to beef broth. Tapioca, sago, cold dry toast, or cuttings of bread may also be used. They should be put in when the broth is first set on the fire to cook, that they may be completely dissolved in the liquid.

=With Vegetables.= Celery, onion, carrot, turnip, or shredded cabbage may be used in broth in the proportion of one tablespoon to a quart. Cabbage is better in combination with onion than alone.

BROTH MADE FROM BEEFSTEAK

(A QUICK METHOD)

Scrape the pulp from a pound of round or of sirloin steak, or mince the meat in a chopping-tray until it is fine; put it into a saucepan with just enough cold water to cover it, and let it come to the boiling-point slowly; then simmer it for fifteen minutes (better half an hour if there is time). Strain it, take off the fat with a sheet of paper, and season it with salt. This is a somewhat expensive but savory broth, and may easily be made on a gas or alcohol stove.

A beef panada may be made by leaving the pulp in the broth and adding a little rolled cracker-crumbs or some bread softened and squeezed through a strainer.

SCOTCH BEEF BROTH

Put into a granite stew-pan a pint of prepared beef broth,--that is, broth which has been strained, cleared of fat, and seasoned. Add to it one tablespoon of rolled oats, or of ordinary oatmeal, and simmer it gently until the oatmeal is soft and jelly-like. The time required will be about two hours. Then strain it, and serve very hot. This makes a good dish for an invalid for whom oatmeal has not been forbidden. If the broth is reduced by the boiling, add enough water to restore the pint.

CHICKEN BROTH

Chicken broth should be made with fowl, not with young chicken; a good one weighing three pounds will make three pints of broth.

=To Prepare.= Singe the chicken with a piece of blazing newspaper to burn off the long hairs; remove all refuse or that which is not clear flesh, viz., pin-feathers, oil-bag, crop, lungs, kidneys, and, of course, the entrails if the fowl is not already drawn. If the pipes in the neck are not all drawn out with the crop, they may be easily taken away when the fowl is cut up. Scrub it well in cold water, and then disjoint and cut it into small pieces; wash each piece thoroughly, retaining the skin if it is clear and free from pin-feathers, otherwise removing it. Put the chicken into cold water and simmer it for two hours, then boil it for two hours. Finally strain it and remove the fat, season it with salt and a bit of white pepper, and serve very hot in pretty china cups, with or without a lunch-cracker or a bit of dry toast.

=With Herbs.= Parsley, bay-leaves, sage, thyme, or a bouquet of sweet herbs will give a pleasant flavor to chicken broth. A teaspoon to a pint is the right proportion.

=With Grains or Vegetables.= Rice may be used to advantage in chicken broth, and also pearl-barley, sago, tapioca, and bread. These are among the best additions of the kind that can be made, for with them one is able to preserve the light color so desirable in chicken broth. Onion, celery, and parsley in the proportion of one teaspoon to a pint are suitable vegetables. Celery is especially nice.

MUTTON BROTH

One pound of mutton from the neck, or, better, the loin, one quart of cold water, and one teaspoon of chopped onion will be needed for this broth. Remove from the mutton the tough skin, the fat, and all membranes, and cut the meat into small pieces; break the bone, and if it be a part of the spinal column, take out the spinal cord. Put the pieces of meat, the onion, and the water into a saucepan, and simmer them together for three hours; then strain out the meat, dip off the fat from the broth with a spoon, and remove the remaining small particles with paper; season it with salt and white pepper. Serve hot in a pretty cup, with a toasted cracker.

A little bunch of mint, a bouquet of herbs, a few bay-leaves, or a sprinkle of Cayenne pepper or curry-powder will vary the broth agreeably. Pearl-barley is a particularly good addition to make, or rice may be used in the proportion of one teaspoon to a pint.

OYSTER-TEA. No. 1

Select eight fresh oysters, chop them fine in a chopping-tray, and turn them into a saucepan with a cup of cold water; set the saucepan on the fire, and let the water come slowly to the boiling-point, then simmer for five minutes; strain the liquid into a bowl, flavor it with half a saltspoon of salt, and serve hot with or without a small piece of dry toast, or a toasted cream-cracker.

OYSTER-TEA. No. 2

Put a dozen large oysters with their liquor into a stew-pan; simmer for five minutes. Then strain the liquor, leaving out the oysters, and add to it one half cup of milk; set it back on the stove and heat it just to the boiling-point. Flavor with a sprinkle of white pepper and half a saltspoon of salt. Or make it according to rule No. 1, using milk instead of water.

CLAM BROTH

Six large clams in their shells and a cup of water will be needed for this broth. Wash the clams thoroughly with a brush, and place them with the water in a kettle over the fire. The broth is simply the juice of the clams with the water boiled for a minute. It does not require seasoning, as clam-juice is usually salt enough. As soon as the shells open, the broth is done.

This broth and oyster-tea No. 1 are good in cases of nausea, and will be retained on the stomach when almost everything else is rejected.

GRUELS

Gruels are cooked mixtures of grain or flour, with water, or with water and milk. They are best made with milk as a part of the liquid, but care must be taken not to put it into the gruel until the grain has been thoroughly cooked in water, and after that the mixture should not be allowed to boil, as so high a temperature changes the flavor and composition of the milk, and renders it a less desirable food than if it were cooked at a lower temperature,--for instance, 190° or 200° Fahr.

The largest ingredient of grains is starch, which is not easily digested unless well cooked; therefore the time for boiling gruels should be conscientiously kept by the clock. Should the water evaporate, restore to the original quantity before putting in the milk, which should be hot, though not boiling. It may, however, come just to the boiling-point without any special injury.