Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/34

30 the hind quarters of a wallaby with the tail will make delicious soup. In the bush there are very many ways of filling the stock pot. A few parrots, if not used otherwise, can be put in, and give a nice gamey flavor. Salt is the only condiment that should be put into the stock. Every night the bones and meat should be taken out and fresh put in. As stock is wanted for soup, gravies, etc., it is drawn off, and allowed to stand till the fat can be taken off. With a little care you can take off every particle of fat. At the last, if the stock becomes disturbed and the fat floats about in globules, by using a piece of blotting paper you can take them. One of the chief things in soup making, is removing the whole of the fat. The reason so many people dislike soups of all kinds is merely because what they know of soup is either a greasy, thick mixture, or else tasteless and watery. You should stir up your bones and meat well before drawing off your stock, or else you will not get the best of it. When the fat is removed, you have the foundation of your soup; the flavoring, seasoning, etc., determines its name. The stock pot can always be added to, and always taken from, if a sufficient supply of water is kept in it. The usual quantity is a pint to every pound, but there is no occasion to be so very accurate. My plan is to add water whenever I take stock out, and, as one is constantly adding meat scraps and other trimmings, it is kept about an equal strength. No piece is too small for the stock pot. Everything makes up. A very good motto for this pot is, “What don’t poison, fattens; and what don’t fatten, helps to fill up.” All bones should be crushed and broken into convenient lengths, as there is gelatine in them, and they add to the strength and colour of the stock. The lid should always be kept on the stock pot; if not, some of the goodness will fly up the chimney in the steam. In a cold climate, where it is possible the soup is the better for being made the day before it is required, the fat can be removed in a solid cake. A small packet of gelatine added to the stock pot is a great improvement; but, better still, there is a Chinese gelatine one can buy in almost any of the Chinese shops. Doubtless many ladies know what I mean. It makes capital jelly and puddings, but in soup it is before anything of the kind, being quite tasteless in itself. For one shilling you can buy a good bundle. It is not unlike dried snake’s skin. A bottle of colouring should always be kept on hand for soups, gravies, stews, etc. The following is a good rich browning, suitable for all purposes:—Take a cupful of brown sugar, put it into an old frying pan, on failing that an iron saucepan will do. Set it over a brisk fire, and when the sugar is melted, let it froth up to a fine brown colour and keep stirring all the time. Then pour in two cups of red wine. Any colonial wine will do, or, if you do not care to go to such expense, plain water will answer the purpose, but it will