Part 199 (1/2)

DISH OF STRAWBERRIES.

1606. Fine strawberries, arranged in the manner shown in the engraving, look exceedingly well. The inferior ones should be placed at the bottom of the dish, and the others put in rows pyramidically, with the stalks downwards; so that when the whole is completed, nothing but the red part of the fruit is visible. The fruit should be gathered with rather long stalks, as there is then something to support it, and it can be placed more upright in each layer. A few of the finest should be reserved to crown the top.

TO HAVE WALNUTS FRESH THROUGHOUT THE SEASON.

1607. INGREDIENTS.--To every pint of water allow 1 teaspoonful of salt.

_Mode_.--Place the walnuts in the salt and water for 24 hours at least; then take them out, and rub them dry. Old nuts may be freshened in this manner; or walnuts, when first picked, may be put into an earthen pan with salt sprinkled amongst them, and with damped hay placed on the top of them, and then covered down with a lid. They must be well wiped before they are put on table.

_Seasonable_.--Should be stored away in September or October.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

CHAPTER x.x.xII.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON MILK, b.u.t.tER, CHEESE, AND EGGS.

MILK.

1608. Milk is obtained only from the cla.s.s of animals called Mammalia, and is intended by Nature for the nourishment of their young. The milk of each animal is distinguished by some peculiarities; but as that of the cow is by far the most useful to us in this part of the world, our observations will be confined to that variety.

1609. Milk, when drawn from the cow, is of a yellowish-white colour, and is the most yellow at the beginning of the period of lactation. Its taste is agreeable, and rather saccharine. The viscidity and specific gravity of milk are somewhat greater than that of water; but these properties vary somewhat in the milk procured from different individuals. On an average, the specific gravity of milk is 1.035, water being 1. The small cows of the Alderney breed afford the richest milk.

1610. Milk which is carried to a considerable distance, so as to be much agitated, and cooled before it is put into pans to settle for cream, never throws up so much, nor such rich cream, as if the same milk had been put into pans directly after it was milked.

1611. Milk, considered as an aliment, is of such importance in domestic economy as to render all the improvements in its production extremely valuable. To enlarge upon the antiquity of its use is unnecessary; it has always been a favourite food in Britain. ”Lacte et carno vivunt,”

says Caesar, in his Commentaries; the English of which is, ”the inhabitants subsist upon flesh and milk.” The breed of the cow has received great improvement in modern times, as regards the quant.i.ty and quality of the milk which she affords; the form of milch-cows, their mode of nourishment, and progress, are also manifest in the management of the dairy.

1612. Although milk in its natural state be a fluid, yet, considered as an aliment, it is both solid and fluid: for no sooner does it enter the stomach, than it is coagulated by the gastric juice, and separated into curd and whey, the first of these being extremely nutritive.

1613. Milk of the _human subject_ is much thinner than cow's milk; _a.s.s's milk_ comes the nearest to human milk of any other; _Goat's milk_ is something thicker and richer than cow's milk; _Ewe's milk_ has the appearance of cow's milk, and affords a larger quant.i.ty of cream; _Mare's milk_ contains more sugar than that of the ewe; _Camel's milk_ is used only in Africa; _Buffalo's milk_ is employed in India.

1614. From no other substance, solid or fluid, can so great a number of distinct kinds of aliment be prepared as from milk; some forming food, others drink; some of them delicious, and deserving the name of luxuries; all of them wholesome, and some medicinal: indeed, the variety of aliments that seems capable of being produced from milk, appears to be quite endless. In every age this must have been a subject for experiment, and every nation has added to the number by the invention of some peculiarity of its own.

b.u.t.tER.

1615. BECKMAN, in his ”History of Inventions,” states that b.u.t.ter was not used either by the Greeks or Romans in cooking, nor was it brought upon their tables at certain meals, as is the custom at present. In England it has been made from time immemorial, though the art of making cheese is said not to have been known to the ancient Britons, and to have been learned from their conquerors.

1616. The taste of b.u.t.ter is peculiar, and very unlike any other fatty substance. It is extremely agreeable when of the best quality; but its flavour depends much upon the food given to the cows: to be good, it should not adhere to the knife.

1617. b.u.t.ter, with regard to its dietetic properties, may be regarded nearly in the light of vegetable oils and animal fats; but it becomes sooner rancid than most other fat oils. When fresh, it cannot but be considered as very wholesome; but it should be quite free from rancidity. If slightly salted when it is fresh, its wholesomeness is probably not at all impaired; but should it begin to turn rancid, salting will not correct its unwholesomeness. When salt b.u.t.ter is put into casks, the upper part next the air is very apt to become rancid, and this rancidity is also liable to affect the whole cask.

1618. _Epping b.u.t.ter_ is the kind most esteemed in London. _Fresh b.u.t.ter_ comes to London from Buckinghams.h.i.+re, Suffolk, Oxfords.h.i.+re, Yorks.h.i.+re, Devons.h.i.+re, &c. _Cambridge b.u.t.ter_ is esteemed next to fresh; _Devons.h.i.+re b.u.t.ter_ is nearly similar in quality to the latter; _Irish b.u.t.ter_ sold in London is all salted, but is generally good. The number of firkins exported annually from Ireland amounts to 420,000, equal to a million of money. _Dutch b.u.t.ter_ is in good repute all over Europe, America, and even India; and no country in the world is so successful in the manufacture of this article, Holland supplying more b.u.t.ter to the rest of the world than any country whatever.