Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/183

Rh for any clear soup, which would take its name from the garnish served with it.

Time.—6 hours. Average Cost, 1s. per quart.

This should produce about 6 quarts of stock.

Ingredients.—4 lb. of raw or cooked bones, the neck, cleaned feet, gizzards and liver of a chicken, the bones and rind of ham or bacon, 2 onions sliced, 2 carrots sliced, 1 turnip sliced, a strip of celery cut into small pieces, 2 ozs. of butter or sweet dripping, 12 peppercorns, 2 cloves, 1 tablespoonful of salt, and 1 quart of water to each lb. of meat and bone.

Method.—Clean and peel the vegetables. Make the fat hot in a large stewpan, chop or break the bones into small pieces, drain the vegetables thoroughly. Place the bones, herbs and vegetables in the hot fat, put on the cover of the stewpan, and fry gently until the whole is quite brown, stirring and turning the ingredients occasionally to prevent anything becoming overcooked. Put in the cold water, salt, peppercorns and cloves, let it come gently to the boil, and remove the scum as it rises. When clear, put on the cover and simmer gently for 5 or 6 hours. Some of the fat used in frying will rise to the surface during the process of simmering and should be taken off with a spoon. When done, strain through a sieve into a large basin, and when cold, remove the fat.

Soup made from this stock may not have the transparent brilliancy of that made from the previous recipe, but if gently simmered and carefully cleared it is quite good enough for ordinary purposes. Frying the bones and vegetables before adding the water greatly improves the flavour and colour.

Time.—6 hours. Average Cost, 6d. per quart.

1 lb. of solid material employed for stock should produce about 1½ pints of stock.

The best way to get brown stock is to fry the meat and bones in a little fat, as directed in the foregoing recipe. Another way to colour stock or any kind of soup or sauce is to add a few drops of caramel. This is obtained by boiling ½ a lb. of loaf sugar with ½ a gill of water until it is a dark brown, almost black colour. Then add a gill of cold water, and boil again till it acquires the consistency of thick syrup. Put it in a bottle and use as required; it will keep for any length of time.

Ingredients.—2 lb. of any inexpensive white fish, such as plaice or