Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management/Chapter VII

by Isabella Beeton

SOUPS.

 

1.—Mutton Broth. 2.—Pot-au-Feu. 3.—Tomato Soup. 4.—Kidney Soup. 5.—Consommé à la Celestine. 6.—Consommé à la Royale. 7.—Bonne Femme. 8.—Hollandaise. 9.—Consommé à la Julienne. 10.—Consommé à la Brunoise.

SOUPS.

 

CHAPTER VII.

 

General directions for making Soups and Stock, with observations on the materials required for Soups. Thickenings and Flavourings.

The valuable dietetic properties of soup have been, and indeed still are, much overlooked in this country. Soup forms the first course of the meal of those who dine in the true sense of the term, but its importance as a part of the every day diet is not sufficiently appreciated by the multitude in these islands. Yet no form of food is more digestible and wholesome, nor does any other method of preparing food afford so many opportunities for utilizing material that would otherwise be wasted.

Nearly a hundred years ago Count Rumford, the famous scientist and founder of the Royal Institution, wrote:—

"The richness or quality of a soup depends more upon a proper choice of ingredients, and a proper management of the fire in the combination of those ingredients, than upon the quantity of solid nutritious matter employed; much more upon the art and skill of the cook than upon the sum laid out in the market."

This remark is as true to-day as it was a century ago. The average cook imagines that the goodness of a soup depends upon the weight of meat she puts into it, and upon the size of the fire over which it is boiled. It will therefore be advisable to preface this chapter with a simple scientific account of a few of the most interesting and important facts which relate to the food we have to prepare, and the theory and chemistry of the various culinary operations. This is, therefore, the proper place to treat of the quality of the flesh of animals, and to describe some of the conditions which affect its qualities. We will commence with the consideration of age, and examine how far this affects the quality of the meat.

The Flesh of Animals.—During the period between the birth and maturity of animals their flesh undergoes very considerable changes. For instance, when the animal is young, the fluids in the tissues of the muscles contain a large proportion of albumin and gelatin. This albumin, which is also the chief component of the white of eggs, and is the essential constituent of protoplasm, the physical basis of life, possesses the peculiarity of coagulating or hardening at a certain temperature (160° F., the cooking point of meat) like the white of a boiled egg, and becomes no longer soluble or capable of being dissolved in water. As animals grow older gelatin gradually decreases in proportion to the fibrin (an organic compound substance which constitutes the solid matter that is deposited when blood coagulates) and to the other constituents of the flesh. The reason, therefore, why veal, lamb and young pork are white when cooked is that the large quantity of albumin contained in the fibres hardens, or becomes coagulated. The chief characteristic of young meat is the great proportion of gelatin contained in those parts that afterwards become hard or bony.

The quality of the flesh of animals is influenced considerably by the nature of the food on which they have been fed, for the food supplies the material which produces the flesh. If the food is not suitable and good, the meat will necessarily be inferior. The flesh of animals fed on farinaceous produce, as corn, pulse, etc., is firm, well-flavoured and also economical in the cooking; the flesh of those fed on juicy and pulpy substances, as roots, possesses these qualities in a somewhat less degree; but the flesh of those whose food contains fixed oil, as linseed, is greasy, high-coloured and gross in the fat, and if such food has been used in large quantities, will have a rank flavour.

Health of Animals.—It is indispensable to the good quality of meat that the animal should be perfectly healthy when slaughtered. However slight the disease in an animal may be, inferiority in the quality of its flesh as food is certain to follow. In many cases, indeed, the flesh of diseased animals has a tendency to very rapid putrefaction, and becomes not only unwholesome, but absolutely poisonous to those who eat it.

The Treatment of the Animal before it is Slaughtered is another circumstance which greatly affects the quality of meat, and has an important influence on its value and wholesomeness. This will be readily understood if we consider the laws in accordance with which the life of an animal is supported and maintained. These are the digestion of its food and the assimilation of that food into its substance. Nature in effecting this process, first reduces the food in the stomach to a state of pulp, under the name of chyme, which passes into the intestines and is there divided into two principles, each distinct from the other. One, a milk-white—fluid the nutritive portion—is absorbed by the innumerable vessels which open upon the mucous membrane, or inner coat of the intestines. These vessels, or absorbents, discharge the fluid into a common duct, or road, along which it is conveyed to the blood, thus supplying it with materials whereby the various tissues are nourished. The blood having circulated through all parts, and having had its waste repaired by the digested food, is now received into the heart, and by the action of that organ it is urged through the lungs, there to receive its purification from the air which the animal inhales. Again returning to the heart, it is forced through the arteries, and thence distributed by the innumerable ramifications of the minute blood-vessels, called capillaries, to every part of the animal, imparting life and nutriment. The other principle—the innutritive portion—passes from the intestines out of the system. It will now be clearly seen how flesh is injuriously affected if an animal is slaughtered when the circulation of its blood has been increased by over-driving, ill-usage or any other cause of excitement, to such a degree that the capillaries cannot perform their functions properly, thus causing the blood to be congealed in its minuter vessels. Where this has been the case, the meat will be dark-coloured and become rapidly putrid, so that self-interest and humanity alike dictate kind and gentle treatment of all animals destined to serve as food for man.

THE CHEMISTRY AND ECONOMY OF SOUP MAKING.

The Basis of all Meat Soups.—Stock forms the basis of all meat soups and of the principal sauces; but except the rich clear stock used for consommé (or clear soup), it is not necessarily made from fresh meat. In making brown stock from the shin of beef, white stock from the knuckle of veal, or ordinary stock from the bones and the trimmings of meat, poultry, etc., the methods employed for completely extracting from the materials all their nutriment and flavour are the same: the result depends upon the quality and kind of material employed, and the length of time the simmering is continued. Five or six hours will extract from the materials all that is necessary and desirable for stock intended for clear soup; but many more hours of gentle simmering will be necessary to draw from the bones all the goodness they contain.

In France, and indeed throughout the Continent generally, a stock-pot will be found in every peasant's kitchen. By its means, the basis of many a delicious meal can be provided from materials that would be wasted in the average middle class household in Britain.

The component parts of meat are: albumin, myosin (contained in all muscle fibres), fibrin, gelatin, fat, alkaline salts and certain extractives known as osmasome, which give to flesh its characteristic agreeable flavour.

Albumin.—Albumin is the most valuable nutritive substance contained in meat; it and its allied substance myosin are soluble in cold water, but coagulate or harden almost immediately they come in contact with boiling water, or with water a few degrees below boiling point; and it is the knowledge of these important facts which enables us to retain the juices in the meat in roasting and boiling, and extract all the goodness from it in making soup. The chemistry of this will be easily understood by minutely examining the thread-like fragments of meat that have been subjected to a long process of boiling. In the raw condition each separate fibre was intermixed with and surrounded by albumin, myosin, etc. In making stock, the meat is cut up into rather small pieces in order to expose a larger surface to the action of the water. If put into cold water and allowed to stand for some time the soluble substances, albumin, myosin, osmasome and salts are extracted. The salts and extractives (certain nitrogenous crystalline bodies) being readily soluble are dissolved at once, the albumin and myosin dissolve slowly and the gelatin becomes softened. When heat is applied its first gentle effect is to hasten the dissolving and softening processes, but as it approaches boiling point the albumin and myosin coagulate and appear as brown particles on the surface of the stock. The connective tissue which surrounds and binds the thread-like fibres together dissolves under the influence of heat, and yields gelatin to the stock. Should the mistake of putting the meat into boiling water be made the albumin on the surface of each piece of meat would immediately harden and imprison the juices of the meat, and thus protect them and the fibres from the softening and dissolving influence of the water. Consequently the stock would be thin and poor.

Gelatin.—The best stock and the best beef tea are not necessarily those which, when cold, form a jelly. The properties to which beef tea owes its valuable stimulating power are not derived from gelatin, but from the juices of the meat; of which juices more can be extracted from a beef-steak cut from a recently-killed animal, than from one that has been hung for some time, and yet obtained in a much larger proportion from ANY KIND of beef-steak than from the highly gelatinous shin of beef. Juicy beef produces well-flavoured, stimulating beef tea, but such a liquid, strained of its floating particles of coagulated albumin, has no value as a food, and notwithstanding its rich flavour of meat would be regarded as too thin and watery to form the basis of a good consommé, which must combine both flavour and substance. Therefore, in making stock, the extraction of the juices of meat by the process already indicated, should be followed by a long, slow simmering to soften and dissolve the connective tissue, tendons, etc., which yield a more transparent gelatin than that extracted from bones. Gelatin not only gives substance to the stock, but also makes it more nourishing, if that point need be considered in a liquid forming the basis of a consommé generally used as a prelude to a dinner in which meat and poultry play an important part. Gelatin in this form is more useful to those who cannot eat much meat or other albuminoid food, as the nitrogen of the gelatin replaces the nitrogen of albumin, in the formation of many digestive and other secretions of the body, if not in its constructive processes.

Extractives.—It is to the changes the extractives undergo during the process of cooking that meat owes much of its flavour, particularly the outside of roast meat. The flesh of old animals contains more of these substances than that of young ones; brown meats contain more than white, and consequently give a richer, if a less delicate, flavour to the stock.

CLASSIFICATION OF SOUPS.

Although there are between five and six hundred different kinds of soup, they can be broadly divided into a few distinct classes, namely, broths, clear soups, thick soups and purées; each group may be divided and sub-divided, but it will be more convenient to consider them under this simple classification.

Broths.—The unclarified liquor in which chicken, veal, beef, mutton, rabbit or sheep's head is cooked are included in this class. They are frequently garnished with pearl-barley or rice, but they are not thickened.

Clear Soups.—The basis of good clear soups is double stock, that is, a good beef stock which has been strengthened with veal to give it gelatinous substance, and with fowl to improve the flavour. The clear soups include all those which are transparent in appearance, varying in colour from amber to nut-brown. Additions may be made to them as a garniture or decoration, from which they take their distinctive name. Some of the garnitures and flavouring in common use are: vegetables; "shaped," i.e. cut into various shapes or devices; dice, or small cubes of cooked game, chicken, meat and fish; quenelles of meat, fish and chicken; finely shredded vegetables; various farinaceous preparations as Italian paste, semolina, rice, sago and batters.

Thick Soups.—The basis of soups of this class may be stock of any kind, white, brown, fish or vegetable, according to the soup required, or a mixture of white stock and milk for such soups as Potage à la Royal and Potage à la Bonne Femme; or all milk, or milk and water for such plain thick soups as cabbage and vegetable soups. Soups of this class are frequently garnished as well as being thickened; the well-known ox-tail and mock turtle soups may be given as examples. Thick soups owe their thickening to the addition of arrowroot, cornflour, rice-flour, flour, or some other farinaceous substance; rich soups, such as "Bonne Femme," are thickened by a liaison or combination of yolks of eggs and cream, while a good brown soup like "Ox Tail" would be thickened with butter and flour, previously either cooked or well kneaded together. In making hare soup the blood of the animal is frequently used: it should be strained into the soup a few minutes before serving. Thick soups should have the same consistency as good single cream, i.e. cream obtained from milk that has stood 12 hours.

Purées.—This class of soups differs from other thick soups in being thickened by the ingredients of which they are made, such as Bisque of Lobster, purées of peas, beans and lentils; in all cases the substances comprising the soup are rubbed through a sieve and served in the soup. Croûtons of bread are usually used with purées.

Purée, Fr.—A smooth pulp, thick soup, mashed vegetables. Meat or fish that has been cooked, pounded in a mortar, and passed through a sieve is also called a purée.

Vegetarian Soups.—A soup made of milk and cabbage, lettuce or mixed vegetables, may not please the English palate so well as the more expensive consommé, but it contains as much nourishment, and if in itself it had no food value whatever it would still be a useful addition to a meal of cold meat. A few words will explain this. Food serves the twofold purpose of maintaining the heat of the body and of supplying force or strength. A want of food produces not only a sense of hunger, but also a sensation of cold. If a meal of cold meat be taken, a part of the latent heat contained in it will be spent in raising the temperature of the food to that of the body, consequently less food will be available for the production of heat and energy. Some hot soup taken at the commencement of the meal would not only have strengthened the stomach and made it better able to receive the substantial food to follow, but it would by its own heat have quickly raised the temperature of the food it became mixed with. Soups made from peas, beans and lentils, being very rich in carbo-hydrates, contain so much nourishment that they ought to be eaten in the place of meat instead of with it: every economical housewife should know the value of these soups. Mattieu Williams, speaking of vegetable soups, says: "I must add a few words in advocacy of the further adoption in this country of the French practice of using as POTAGE the water in which vegetables generally (excepting potatoes) have been boiled. When we boil cabbages, turnips, carrots, etc., we dissolve out of them a very large proportion of their saline constituents; salts which are absolutely necessary for the maintenance of health; salts without which we become victims of gout, rheumatism, lumbago and gravel."

Flavourings for Soups.—The following list of flavourings simply enumerates those most commonly used and conveniently obtained: turnips, carrots, onions, celery, parsley, thyme, bay-leaf (parsley, thyme and bay-leaf are usually tied together and spoken of as a "bouquet-garni"), tarragon, chervil, tomatoes, celery seeds, cloves, wine, vinegars of various kinds, and lemon juice.

Seasoning for Soups.—In addition to salt and pepper, which form the ordinary seasonings for soups, and which must be added with caution, nutmeg, allspice, mace, sugar and cinnamon are used, but in all cases judgment and discretion must be exercised, as an overdose of any one of the above ingredients may spoil the best soup.

The exact quantity of liquid needed in making soup cannot, speaking generally, be given, so much depends on the rate of cooking, and whether the lid of the saucepan is kept on to prevent waste by evaporation. If the liquid becomes greatly reduced by rapid boiling but has been closely covered, the contents of the saucepan have merely become concentrated in strength and flavour, and water may be added to make up the original quantity. Should the liquid, by being allowed to boil in an uncovered saucepan, have wasted its strength and flavour, sufficient stock, milk, or whatever formed the basis of the soup, must be added to make up the original STRENGTH and quantity. The inexperienced cook should take this lesson to heart—Cooking cannot be Hastened. If the preparations for dinner have been somewhat delayed nothing is gained by placing the saucepan containing the soup, stew, or meat on the top of a fierce fire. When once the SLOW-BOILING or simmering point has been reached all excess of heat is wasted, and the BENEFIT of slow progressive cooking is lost.

STOCK.

The following information and directions will be found useful in the making of stock.

1. Beef makes the best brown stock, but it lacks gelatinous substance; therefore stock for good consommé, or clear soup, should be made of beef and veal, and a fowl, or part of a fowl added to give it an additional flavour.
2. White stock is usually made from veal, bones and remains of poultry and calves' feet. The liquor in which calves' head or fowls has been boiled makes excellent white stock.
3. Stock meat should be as lean and as fresh as possible. Never wash meat unless obliged, as it deprives its surface of all the juices. It should be cut into small pieces, in order to multiply the surfaces to be exposed to the softening and dissolving influences of the water.
4. The usual allowance of water is 1 quart to each lb. of meat. This may, however, be too large a quantity if the stock is very gently simmered and kept covered the whole time; on the other hand, if cooked too quickly, or if by careless exposure the evaporation is excessive, the amount specified may not be sufficient.
5. The meat should be allowed to stand in the water for a little time in order to dissolve the soluble constituents; heat should be applied gradually until the stock reaches the boiling point; when the scum thrown up by boiling has been removed, the stock should be reduced to, and kept at, simmering point.
6. The vegetables must be whole or in large pieces, and be added after the stock has boiled and the scum has been removed. They should be used very sparingly so as not to overpower the flavour of the meat. To 4 quarts of water, 1 carrot, 1 onion, ½ a turnip and 1 short strip of celery should be allowed, also a teaspoonful of salt and 12 peppercorns; ground pepper should never be used, as it makes stock and clear soup cloudy.
7. The stock should simmer very gently for 5 or 6 hours, with the stock-pot covered to prevent waste by evaporation. When ready, it should be strained through a hair sieve into a large basin, and the meat and sediment at the bottom of the stewpan be put back into the stock pot.
8. When cold, the fat should be removed from the surface.

MANAGEMENT OF A HOUSEHOLD STOCK-POT.

For most cooking operations stock is in constant demand to form the basis of a soup, a sauce or gravy. Recipes for making excellent stocks (including white stock or blond de Veau, and a good brown stock) are given on the following pages. The stock-pot should supply stock for sauces, stews and gravies, and we will now indicate how a careful cook can always have stock on hand with little or no extra expense.

The first consideration is the stock-pot. A well-tinned stock-pot with a tap is to be recommended; the tap permits the stock to be drawn off without any admixture of grease, all the fat rising to the top of the stock-pot. For small households the earthenware stock-pot will be found useful, as a very small amount of heat is required to keep its contents at simmering point.

The materials that may be put into the stock-pot are bones and the trimmings of meat, cooked or uncooked; poultry, giblets, poultry bones, game bones, the rinds and bones of bacon, the remains of gravies, but not sauces thickened with flour—the latter make the stock cloudy. Scraps of raw vegetables, if fresh and suitable, may be added in cold weather; cooked vegetables must not be used for they are liable to turn sour, especially in warm weather.

Fat should never be put into the stock-pot, but marrow from bones is often introduced in small quantity. Flour and anything thickened with flour or potatoes must also be carefully excluded.

When using a metal stock-pot the stock should be emptied and strained every night into an earthenware vessel. In starting it the following morning the pieces of meat and bones from which all the goodness has been extracted should be discarded, and the rest returned to the stock-pot with the stock or fresh water.

Fresh meat used for stock need not be washed, but should be wiped with a damp cloth before being cut up.

Any unused stock should be boiled up every day in hot weather, and in cooler weather every second or third day.

MEAT GLAZE.

Any kind of rich meat stock, especially such as contains a good proportion of gelatinous substance, can be reduced to half glaze, or glaze gravy that sets to the thickness of jelly. This is effected by rapid boiling, and frequent skimming to ensure its being clear, until the desired consistency has been reached.

Glaze is used for improving the appearance of meats, galantines, pies, etc., and is very handy for enriching soups and sauces, which frequently require additional strength and flavour.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR RECIPES FOR SOUPS.

The vegetables named in the recipes are supposed to be of moderate size, but two smaller ones, or half a larger one may be used instead. To avoid repetition, they are spoken of as "prepared," meaning that the onions have been peeled, the carrots scraped and the turnips pared. As the fibre on the outside of the turnip is very tough and thick it is advisable, and not extravagant, to take off a THICK PARING. On the other hand, potatoes should be pared as thinly as possible, because the outer part contains the most valuable and nutritious part of the potato.

A bouquet-garni is a small bunch of mixed herbs, such as parsley, thyme, bay-leaf, basil and majoram. Sparingly used, these herbs improve the flavour of many soups, but they are not essential, and one or more of them may be omitted if they cannot be easily procured.

The following table of equivalents will enable the cook to dispense with scales in making many of the soups given in the following pages.

TABLE OF EQUIVALENTS

MEASURE.					WEIGHT.
Flour	1	tablespoonful	(heaped)	1	oz.
Rice	1	,,	(level)	1	,,
Semolina	1	,,	,,	1	,,
Tapioca and Sago	1	,,	,,	1	,,
A piece of butter or fat, the size of a small egg				1	,,
Tumbler, ½ pint. Breakfast Cup, ½ pint. Tea Cup, ¼ pint.