Part 39 (2/2)

878. _Sandwiches._--In making a large quant.i.ty, a stale quartern loaf should be taken and trimmed free from all crust, and cut into slices the eighth of an inch in thickness, slightly b.u.t.tered, and then thin slices of meat, nicely trimmed, may be laid on and covered with another slice of bread, and then cut into eight parts; should they be but some time before they are wanted, they ought to be put one over the other, as they thus keep moist,--a little mustard and salt may be added to the meat, if preferred. Some thin slices of gherkin may be added to the meat, and the same plan can be adopted with pickled fish, brawn or sausages.

The following varies the common mode of making sandwiches:

Take a small quant.i.ty of very fresh cream cheese, put it into a basin or a marble mortar, add some salt, pepper, and a little mustard, beat it well up until it is of the same consistence as b.u.t.ter; if too hard add a little of the latter, and use it as b.u.t.ter on the bread, with slices of meat between. Or make it into salad sandwiches:--cover the bread as before, and have ready some mustard and cress and water-cresses well washed and dried, put into a bowl with mayonnaise sauce, and when ready to serve place it neatly between the bread.

LETTER No. XIX

---- Farm, Ess.e.x, July --, 1849.

MY DEAR ELOISE,--You are no doubt surprised at receiving this from the above address, but you remember when you last called I thought my little Emily was unwell, the next day she seemed worse, I then had the Dr.--, who ordered her out of town, and a friend of Mr.

B.'s being present recommended this place; so Emily and I have now been a week here, and she has already improved by the change of air; it has also done me good, and I am greatly amused with the various occupations going on in the farm, which is an old-fas.h.i.+oned one, tenanted by a good old English farmer, his wife, and son; the latter is gone to see a brother settled in Liverpool. The cleanliness and regularity of the house are quite charming; but what delights me more than all is the dairy--such delicious cream and b.u.t.ter that it makes me quite envy people living in the country!

I must describe the pretty dairy to you: it is situated at the back of the house, and sheltered by it from the mid-day and afternoon's sun, and from the morning's sun by a plantation, so that it is deliciously cool; it is about twelve feet long by ten wide, paved with flat stones, and the walls of plaster, like stone, a door at one end with a window above and a window high up at the other end, and two windows at the side; these have thin wire shutters and glazed sashes on hinges; the roof is of slate, with about two feet thickness of thatch over it; there are also several little openings for the admission of air, about one inch from the floor. A dresser, two feet wide, being two inches from the wall, is on both sides, and above these are two shelves of nine inches wide, also two inches from the wall, these are supported on iron brackets. At the end, and opposite the door, is the churn, which is turned by a wheel outside, with apparatus for a donkey or mule to work it, if required.

All the utensils are of sycamore wood and perfectly clean, never used twice without was.h.i.+ng in hot water with soda put in it, and made perfectly dry.

There are as many ways of making b.u.t.ter as there are counties in Great Britain. I will now tell you how it is practised here. The cows are milked at a regular hour, not later than five, the milk taken as soon as possible into the dairy, and placed in the dishes about six quarts in each; is thus left for twenty-four hours; then it is skimmed, and the cream from each is placed in a deep bowl or pan, where it remains until the next day, when it is churned.

Friday's milk is made into cheese; when churned it is gathered well together from the milk and laid in a clean bowl, with hard spring water in it, and worked to and fro until it is brought to a firm consistence; it is then laid out thin, and then what is called here a scotcher is taken--that is, a kind of five-p.r.o.nged fork of wood, only each p.r.o.ng is as sharp as a knife, and drawn through every part of it; then whatever salt is required is added, and it is then formed into pats, or done any way they like. If intended as corned or salt b.u.t.ter, they then add one pound of fine salt to every fourteen pounds of b.u.t.ter; in some places the coa.r.s.est grained salt is used; in others two pounds of salt, one pound of saltpetre, and one pound of white sugar mixed together, one fourth of this for every fourteen pounds. If intended for keeping, it is put into stone crocks until it is wanted. The way in which they make the cheese here is as follows: all Friday's milk is taken, that of the morning is kept until the afternoon, and mixed with it; then two spoonfuls of rennet to every twelve quarts of milk are put to it and well mixed, it is then left all night. Very early the next morning the curd is removed with a strainer and equally broken into the cheese vat or mote until it is about one inch above the brim, a cheese cloth or strainer having previously been put at the bottom of the vat, and large enough to allow for part of it to be turned over the top when the vat is filled; when thus filled it is taken to the press, and left for two hours with a clean cloth under it; it is then turned over on the cloth, and pressed again; and the same process is continued three or four hours out of the twenty-four. It is then removed and placed on the shelf, and turned regularly every day for the first two months; after that occasionally.

I intend to try my hand at it shortly, and see what I can make of it.

I find that the b.u.t.ter which is made here and potted for winter use is not intended to be sold as salt, but as fresh, and the dairy-maid has just told me how it is done. For every quart of new milk from the cow, she takes one pound of potted b.u.t.ter, which has been treated thus the day previous: into two quarts of cold water two tablespoonfuls of vinegar are mixed, and the potted b.u.t.ter well broken and kneaded in it, and then taken out, and served the same in fresh water, in which it is left until the next morning, and then mixed with the milk, put into the churn and churned again, and then treated in the usual way as b.u.t.ter; by this plan there is a large quant.i.ty of sweet milk always in the farm, as it is exceedingly good when strained.

The following is the way they make the clouted cream:--

879. _Clouted Cream._--Strain the milk as soon as it comes from the cow into wide pans, holding about six quarts each, so as to be about three inches deep, and let it remain for twenty-four hours; then gently place the pan upon a hot plate or slow charcoal fire, which must heat it very gently, for if it boils it is spoilt; as soon as the cream forms a ring in the middle, remove a little with the finger, and if there are a few bubbles rise in the place where you do so, it is done, which will be in half to three quarters of an hour; remove it from the fire, and let it remain twenty-four hours; then skim it, and throw a little sugar on the top.

CONVERSATION ON HOUSEHOLD AFFAIRS.

_Mrs. R._ After all the receipts and information which you have given me, there is one which you have not touched upon yet, which, perhaps, is of more importance than all the rest, it is the management of servants.

_Mrs. B._ You are right, my dear, it is of great importance, and more so than many of us imagine, as for myself I do not consider that I am a good manager, being perhaps of too forgiving a disposition; but there is one good quality which I possess which makes up for the want of others, that is exact.i.tude; by enforcing this it causes all to know their place, and perform their work.

_Mrs. R._ But what surprises me is to see everything so well done and clean with so few servants; you seem to have but two maid servants, the cook, house-maid, and coachman.

_Mrs. B._ Yes, that is all, and I generally find that they are enough for the work, unless I have a dinner party, and then of course, as you know, I have extra men; but I will tell you how I pa.s.s the day, and then you will be able to judge.

We are what are called early risers, that is, Mr. B. is obliged to leave home every week day at twenty minutes past nine; our breakfast is on the table at half-past eight; the breakfast parlor having previously been got ready, as the servants rise at seven. We are, when we have no visitors, our two selves, the three children, and the governess. The children, in summer time, have had a walk before breakfast, but before leaving their room they uncover their beds, and if fine open the windows, if a wet morning about two inches of the top sash is pulled down. The servants get their breakfast at the same time as we do, as we require hardly any or no waiting upon, everything being ready on the table. In a former letter I told you what was our breakfast some years since when in business, now we have placed on the table some brown bread, rolls and dry toast; the b.u.t.ter is in a gla.s.s b.u.t.ter-dish, and the eggs are brought up when we have sat down to table. The urn is placed on the table, as I make my own tea and coffee; the cocoa is made down stairs.

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