1628. When the weather is very warm, and it is very difficult to prevent milk from turning sour and spoiling the cream, it should be scalded, and it will then remain good for a few hours. It must on no account be allowed to boil, or there will be a skin instead of a cream upon the milk; and the slower the process, the safer will it be. A very good plan to scald milk, is to put the pan that contains it into a saucepan or wide kettle of boiling water. When the surface looks thick, the milk is sufficiently scalded, and it should then be put away in a cool place in the same vessel that it was scalded in. Cream may be kept for 24 hours, if scalded without sugar; and by the addition of the latter ingredient, it will remain good double the time, if kept in a cool place. All pans, jugs, and vessels intended for milk, should be kept beautifully clean, and well scalded before the milk is put in, as any negligence in this respect may cause large quant.i.ties of it to be spoiled; and milk should never be kept in vessels of zinc or copper. Milk may be preserved good in hot weather, for a few hours, by placing the jug which contains it in ice, or very cold water; or a pinch of bicarbonate of soda may be introduced into the liquid.
MILK, when of good quality, is of an opaque white colour: the cream always comes to the top; the well-known milky odour is strong; it will boil without altering its appearance, in these respects; the little bladders which arise on the surface will renew themselves if broken by the spoon. To boil milk is, in fact, the simplest way of testing its quality. The commonest adulterations of milk are not of a hurtful character. It is a good deal thinned with water, and sometimes thickened with a little starch, or colored with yolk of egg, or even saffron; but these processes have nothing murderous in them.
CURDS AND WHEY.
1629. INGREDIENTS.--A very small piece of rennet, 1/2 gallon of milk.
_Mode_.--Procure from the butcher"s a small piece of rennet, which is the stomach of the calf, taken as soon as it is killed, scoured, and well rubbed with salt, and stretched on sticks to dry. Pour some boiling water on the rennet, and let it remain for 6 hours; then use the liquor to turn the milk. The milk should be warm and fresh from the cow: if allowed to cool, it must be heated till it is of a degree quite equal to new milk; but do not let it be too hot. About a tablespoonful or rather more, would be sufficient to turn the above proportion of milk into curds and whey; and whilst the milk is turning, let it be kept in rather a warm place.
_Time_.--From 2 to 3 hours to turn the milk.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
DEVONSHIRE CREAM.
1630. The milk should stand 24 hours in the winter, half that time when the weather is very warm. The milkpan is then set on a stove, and should there remain until the milk is quite hot; but it must not boil, or there will be a thick skin on the surface. When it is sufficiently done, the undulations on the surface look thick, and small rings appear. The time required for scalding cream depends on the size of the pan and the heat of the fire; but the slower it is done, the better. The pan should be placed in the dairy when the cream is sufficiently scalded, and skimmed the following day. This cream is so much esteemed that it is sent to the London markets in small square tins, and is exceedingly delicious eaten with fresh fruit. In Devonshire, b.u.t.ter is made from this cream, and is usually very firm.
DEVONSHIRE JUNKET.
1631. INGREDIENTS.--To every pint of new milk allow 2 dessertspoonfuls of brandy, 1 dessertspoonful of sugar, and 1-1/2 dessertspoonful of prepared rennet; thick cream, pounded cinnamon, or grated nutmeg.
_Mode_.--Make the milk blood-warm; put it into a deep dish with the brandy, sugar, and rennet; stir it altogether, and cover it over until it is set. Then spread some thick or clotted cream over the top, grate some nutmeg, and strew some sugar over, and the dish will be ready to serve.
_Time_.--About 2 hours to set the milk. _Seasonable_ at any time.
TO KEEP AND CHOOSE FRESH b.u.t.tER.
1632. Fresh b.u.t.ter should be kept in a dark, cool place, and in as large a ma.s.s as possible. Mould as much only as is required, as the more surface is exposed, the more liability there will be to spoil; and the outside very soon becomes rancid. Fresh b.u.t.ter should be kept covered with white paper. For small larders, b.u.t.ter-coolers of red brick are now very much used for keeping fresh b.u.t.ter in warm weather. These coolers are made with a large bell-shaped cover, into the top of which a little cold water should be poured, and in summer time very frequently changed; and the b.u.t.ter must be kept covered. These coolers keep b.u.t.ter remarkably firm in hot weather, and are extremely convenient for those whose larder accommodation is limited.
[Ill.u.s.tration: b.u.t.tER-DISH.]
In choosing fresh b.u.t.ter, remember it should smell deliciously, and be of an equal colour all through: if it smells sour, it has not been sufficiently washed from the b.u.t.termilk; and if veiny and open, it has probably been worked with a staler or an inferior sort.
TO PRESERVE AND TO CHOOSE SALT b.u.t.tER.
1633. In large families, where salt b.u.t.ter is purchased a tub at a time, the first thing to be done is to turn the whole of the b.u.t.ter out, and, with a clean knife, to sc.r.a.pe the outside; the tub should then be wiped with a clean cloth, and sprinkled all round with salt, the b.u.t.ter replaced, and the lid kept on to exclude the air. It is necessary to take these precautions, as sometimes a want of proper cleanliness in the dairymaid causes the outside of the b.u.t.ter to become rancid, and if the sc.r.a.ping be neglected, the whole ma.s.s would soon become spoiled. To choose salt b.u.t.ter, plunge a knife into it, and if, when drawn out, the blade smells rancid or unpleasant, the b.u.t.ter is bad. The layers in tubs will vary greatly, the b.u.t.ter being made at different times; so, to try if the whole tub be good, the cask should be unhooped, and the b.u.t.ter tried between the staves.
It is not necessary to state that b.u.t.ter is extracted from cream, or from unskimmed milk, by the churn. Of course it partakes of the qualities of the milk, and winter b.u.t.ter is said not to be so good as spring b.u.t.ter.
A word of caution is necessary about _rancid_ b.u.t.ter. n.o.body eats it on bread, but it is sometimes used in cooking, in forms in which the acidity can be more or less disguised. So much the worse; it is almost poisonous, disguise it as you may. Never, under any exigency whatever, be tempted into allowing b.u.t.ter with even a _soupcon_ of "turning" to enter into the composition of any dish that appears on your table. And, in general, the more you can do without the employment of b.u.t.ter that has been subjected to the influence of heat, the better. The woman of modern times is not a "leech;" but she might often keep the "leech" from the door, if she would give herself the trouble to invent _innocent_ sauces.
b.u.t.tER-MOULDS, for Moulding Fresh b.u.t.ter.
[Ill.u.s.tration: DISH OF ROLLED b.u.t.tER.]
1634. b.u.t.ter-moulds, or wooden stamps for moulding fresh b.u.t.ter, are much used, and are made in a variety of forms and shapes. In using them, let them be kept scrupulously clean, and before the b.u.t.ter is pressed in, the interior should be well wetted with cold water; the b.u.t.ter must then be pressed in, the mould opened, and the perfect shape taken out.
The b.u.t.ter may be then dished, and garnished with a wreath of parsley, if for a cheese course; if for breakfast, put it into an ornamental b.u.t.ter-dish, with a little water at the bottom, should the weather be very warm.
CURLED b.u.t.tER.
1635. Tie a strong cloth by two of the corners to an iron hook in the wall; make a knot with the other two ends, so that a stick might pa.s.s through. Put the b.u.t.ter into the cloth; twist it tightly over a dish, into which the b.u.t.ter will fall through the knot, so forming small and pretty little strings. The b.u.t.ter may then be garnished with parsley, if to serve with a cheese course; or it may be sent to table plain for breakfast, in an ornamental dish. Squirted b.u.t.ter for garnishing hams, salads, eggs, &c., is made by forming a piece of stiff paper in the shape of a cornet, and squeezing the b.u.t.ter in fine strings from the hole at the bottom. Scooped b.u.t.ter is made by dipping a teaspoon or scooper in warm water, and then scooping the b.u.t.ter quickly and thin. In warm weather, it would not be necessary to heat the spoon.
b.u.t.tER may be kept fresh for ten or twelve days by a very simple process. Knead it well in cold water till the b.u.t.termilk is extracted; then put it in a glazed jar, which invert in another, putting into the latter a sufficient quant.i.ty of water to exclude the air. Renew the water every day.
FAIRY b.u.t.tER.
1636. INGREDIENTS.--The yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs, 1 tablespoonful of orange-flower water, 2 tablespoonfuls of pounded sugar, 1/4 lb. of good fresh b.u.t.ter.
_Mode_.--Beat the yolks of the eggs smoothly in a mortar, with the orange-flower water and the sugar, until the whole is reduced to a fine paste; add the b.u.t.ter, and force all through an old but clean cloth by wringing the cloth and squeezing the b.u.t.ter very hard. The b.u.t.ter will then drop on the plate in large and small pieces, according to the holes in the cloth. Plain b.u.t.ter may be done in the same manner, and is very quickly prepared, besides having a very good effect.
b.u.t.tER.--White-coloured b.u.t.ter is said not to be so good as the yellow; but the yellow colour is often artificially produced, by the introduction of colouring matter into the churn.
ANCHOVY b.u.t.tER.
1637. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of b.u.t.ter allow 6 anchovies, 1 small bunch of parsley.
_Mode_.--Wash, bone, and pound the anchovies well in a mortar; scald the parsley, chop it, and rub through a sieve; then pound all the ingredients together, mix well, and make the b.u.t.ter into pats immediately. This makes a pretty dish, if fancifully moulded, for breakfast or supper, and should be garnished with parsley.
_Average cost_, 1s. 8d.
_Sufficient_ to make 2 dishes, with 4 pats each.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
CHEESE.
1638. In families where much cheese is consumed, and it is bought in large quant.i.ties, a piece from the whole cheese should be cut, the larger quant.i.ty spread with a thickly-b.u.t.tered sheet of white paper, and the outside occasionally wiped. To keep cheeses moist that are in daily use, when they come from table a damp cloth should be wrapped round them, and the cheese put into a pan with a cover to it, in a cool but not very dry place. To ripen cheeses, and bring them forward, put them into a damp cellar; and, to check too large a production of mites, spirits may be poured into the parts affected. Pieces of cheese which are too near the rind, or too dry to put on table, may be made into Welsh rare-bits, or grated down and mixed with macaroni. Cheeses may be preserved in a perfect state for years, by covering them with parchment made pliable by soaking in water, or by rubbing them over with a coating of melted fat. The cheeses selected should be free from cracks or bruises of any kind.
CHEESE.--It is well known that some persons like cheese in a state of decay, and even "alive." There is no accounting for tastes, and it maybe hard to show why mould, which is vegetation, should not be eaten as well as salad, or maggots as well as eels. But, generally speaking, decomposing bodies are not wholesome eating, and the line must be drawn somewhere.
STILTON CHEESE.
[Ill.u.s.tration: STILTON CHEESE.]
1639. Stilton cheese, or British Parmesan, as it is sometimes called, is generally preferred to all other cheeses by those whose authority few will dispute. Those made in May or June are usually served at Christmas; or, to be in prime order, should be kept from 10 to 12 months, or even longer. An artificial ripeness in Stilton cheese is sometimes produced by inserting a small piece of decayed Cheshire into an aperture at the top. From 3 weeks to a month is sufficient time to ripen the cheese. An additional flavour may also be obtained by scooping out a piece from the top, and pouring therein port, sherry, Madeira, or old ale, and letting the cheese absorb these for 2 or 3 weeks. But that cheese is the finest which is ripened without any artificial aid, is the opinion of those who are judges in these matters. In serving a Stilton cheese, the top of it should be cut off to form a lid, and a napkin or piece of white paper, with a frill at the top, pinned round. When the cheese goes from table, the lid should be replaced.
MODE OF SERVING CHEESE.
[Ill.u.s.tration: CHEESE-GLa.s.s.]
1640. The usual mode of serving cheese at good tables is to cut a small quant.i.ty of it into neat square pieces, and to put them into a gla.s.s cheese-dish, this dish being handed round. Should the cheese crumble much, of course this method is rather wasteful, and it may then be put on the table in the piece, and the host may cut from it. When served thus, the cheese must always be carefully sc.r.a.ped, and laid on a white d"oyley or napkin, neatly folded. Cream cheese is often served in a cheese course, and, sometimes, grated Parmesan: the latter should he put into a covered gla.s.s dish. Rusks, cheese-biscuits, pats or slices of b.u.t.ter, and salad, cuc.u.mber, or water-cresses, should always form part of a cheese course.