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He ranges over every part of the globe, and elicits nourishment from the productions of every climate. Nature is very kind in favouring the growth of those productions which are most likely to answer our local wants. Those climates, for instance, which engender endemic diseases, are, in general, congenial to the growth of plants that operate as antidotes to them. But if we go to the East for tea, there is no reason why we should not go to the West for sugar. The dyspeptic invalid, however, should be cautious in their use; they may afford temporary benefit, at the expense of permanent mischief. It has been well said, that the best quality of spices is to stimulate the appetite, and their worst to destroy, by insensible degrees, the tone of the stomach. The intrinsic goodness of meats should always be suspected when they require spicy seasonings to compensate for their natural want of sapidity." The quality of pepper is known by rubbing it between the hands: that which withstands this operation is good, that which is reduced to powder by it is bad. The quantity of pepper imported into Europe is very great. BENTON SAUCE (to serve with Hot or Cold Roast Beef). 370. INGREDIENTS.--1 tablespoonful of scraped horseradish, 1 teaspoonful of made mustard, 1 teaspoonful of pounded sugar, 4 tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Mode.--Grate or scrape the horseradish very fine, and mix it with the other ingredients, which must be all well blended together; serve in a tureen. With cold meat, this sauce is a very good substitute for pickles. Average cost for this quantity, 2d. BREAD SAUCE (to serve with Roast Turkey, Fowl, Game, &c.). I. 371. INGREDIENTS.--1 pint of milk, 3/4 of the crumb of a stale loaf, 1 onion; pounded mace, cayenne, and salt to taste; 1 oz. of butter. Mode.--Peel and quarter the onion, and simmer it in the milk till perfectly tender. Break the bread, which should be stale, into small pieces, carefully picking out any hard outside pieces; put it in a very clean saucepan, strain the milk over it, cover it up, and let it remain for an hour to soak. Now beat it up with a fork very smoothly, add a seasoning of pounded mace, cayenne, and salt, with 1 oz. of butter; give the whole one boil, and serve. To enrich this sauce, a small quantity of cream may be added just before sending it to table. Time.--Altogether, 1-3/4 hour. Average cost for this quantity, 4d. Sufficient to serve with a turkey, pair of fowls, or brace of partridges. [Illustration: MACE.] MACE.--This is the membrane which surrounds the shell of the nutmeg. Its general qualities are the same as those of the nutmeg, producing an agreeable aromatic odour, with a hot and acrid taste. It is of an oleaginous nature, is yellowish in its hue, and is used largely as a condiment. In "Beeton's Dictionary" we find that the four largest of the Banda Islands produce 150,000 lbs. of it annually, which, with nutmegs, are their principal articles of export. II. 372. INGREDIENTS.--Giblets of poultry, 3/4 lb. of the crumb of a stale loaf, 1 onion, 12 whole peppers, 1 blade of mace, salt to taste, 2 tablespoonfuls of cream or melted butter, 1 pint of water. 195 Mode.--Put the giblets, with the head, neck, legs, &c., into a stewpan; add the onion, pepper, mace, salt, and rather more than 1 pint of water. Let this simmer for an hour, when strain the liquor over the bread, which should be previously grated or broken into small pieces. Cover up the saucepan, and leave it for an hour by the side of the fire; then beat the sauce up with a fork until no lumps re-main, and the whole is nice and smooth. Let it boil for 3 or 4 minutes; keep stirring it until it is rather thick; when add 3 tablespoonfuls of good melted butter or cream, and serve very hot. Time.--2-1/4 hours. Average cost, 6d. BROWNING FOR GRAVIES AND SAUCES. 373. The browning for soups (see No. 108) answers equally well for sauces and gravies, when it is absolutely necessary to colour them in this manner; but where they can be made to look brown by using ketchup, wine, browned flour, tomatoes, or any colour sauce, it is far preferable. As, however, in cooking, so much depends on appearance, perhaps it would be as well for the inexperienced cook to use the artificial means (No. 108). When no browning is at hand, and you wish to heighten the colour of your gravy, dissolve a lump of sugar in an iron spoon over a sharp fire; when it is in a liquid state, drop it into the sauce or gravy quite hot. Care, however, must be taken not to put in too much, as it would impart a very disagreeable flavour. BEURRE NOIR, or BROWNED BUTTER (a French Sauce). 374. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of butter, 1 tablespoonful of minced parsley, 3 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Mode.--Put the butter into a fryingpan over a nice clear fire, and when it smokes, throw in the parsley, and add the vinegar and seasoning. Let the whole simmer for a minute or two, when it is ready to serve. This is a very good sauce for skate. Time.--1/4 hour. CLARIFIED BUTTER. 375. Put the butter in a basin before the fire, and when it melts, stir it round once or twice, and let it settle. Do not strain it unless absolutely necessary, as it causes so much waste. Pour it gently off into a clean dry jar, carefully leaving all sediment behind. Let it cool, and carefully exclude the air by means of a bladder, or piece of wash-leather, tied over. If the butter is salt, it may be washed before melting, when it is to be used for sweet dishes. MELTED BUTTER. I. 376. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of butter, a dessertspoonful of flour, 1 wineglassful of water, salt to taste. Mode.--Cut the butter up into small pieces, put it in a saucepan, dredge over the flour, and add the water and a seasoning of salt; stir it one way constantly till the whole of the ingredients are melted and thoroughly blended. Let it just boil, when it is ready to serve. If the butter is to be melted with cream, use the same quantity as of water, but omit the flour; keep stirring it, but do not allow it to boil. Time.--1 minute to simmer. Average cost for this quantity, 4d. II. (More Economical.) 377. INGREDIENTS.--2 oz. of butter, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, salt to taste, 1/2 pint of water. Mode.--Mix the flour and water to a smooth batter, which put into a saucepan. Add the butter and a seasoning of salt, keep stirring one way till all the ingredients are melted and perfectly smooth; let the whole boil for a minute or two, and serve. Time.--2 minutes to simmer. 196 Average cost for this quantity, 2d. MELTED BUTTER (the French Sauce Blanche). 378. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of fresh butter, 1 tablespoonful of flour, salt to taste, 1/2 gill of water, 1/2 spoonful of white vinegar, a very little grated nutmeg. Mode.--Mix the flour and water to a smooth batter, carefully rubbing down with the back of a spoon any lumps that may appear. Put it in a saucepan with all the other ingredients, and let it thicken on the fire, but do not allow it to boil, lest it should taste of the flour. Time.--1 minute to simmer. Average cost, 5d. for this quantity. [Illustration: THE NUTMEG.] NUTMEG.--This is a native of the Moluccas, and was long kept from being spread in other places by the monopolizing spirit of the Dutch, who endeavoured to keep it wholly to themselves by eradicating it from every other island. We find it stated in "Beeton's Dictionary of Universal Information," under the article "Banda Islands," that the four largest are appropriated to the cultivation of nutmegs, of which about 500,000 lbs. are annually produced. The plant, through the enterprise of the British, has now found its way into Penang and Bencooleu, where it flourishes and produces well. It has also been tried to be naturalized in the West Indies, and it bears fruit all the year round. There are two kinds of nutmeg,--one wild, and long and oval-shaped, the other cultivated, and nearly round. The best is firm and hard, and has a strong aromatic odour, with a hot and acrid taste. It ought to be used with caution by those who are of paralytic or apoplectic habits. THICKENED BUTTER. 379.--INGREDIENTS.--1/4 pint of melted butter, No. 376, the yolks of 2 eggs, a little lemon-juice. Mode.--Make the butter quite hot, and be careful not to colour it. Well whisk the yolks of the eggs, pour them to the butter, beating them all the while. Make the sauce hot over the fire, but do not let it boil; add a squeeze of lemon-juice. MELTED BUTTER MADE WITH MILK. 380. INGREDIENTS.--1 teaspoonful of flour, 2 oz. butter, 1/3 pint of milk, a few grains of salt. Mode.--Mix the butter and flour smoothly together on a plate, put it into a lined saucepan, and pour in the milk. Keep stirring it one way over a sharp fire; let it boil quickly for a minute or two, and it is ready to serve. This is a very good foundation for onion, lobster, or oyster sauce: using milk instead of water makes it look so much whiter and more delicate. Time.--Altogether, 10 minutes. Average cost for this quantity, 3d. CAMP VINEGAR. 381. INGREDIENTS.--1 head of garlic, 1/2 oz. cayenne, 2 teaspoonfuls of soy, 2 ditto walnut ketchup, 1 pint of vinegar, cochineal to colour. Mode.--Slice the garlic, and put it, with all the above ingredients, into a clean bottle. Let it stand to infuse for a month, when strain it off quite clear, and it will be fit for use. Keep it in small bottles well sealed, to exclude the air. Average cost for this quantity, 8d. CAPER SAUCE FOR BOILED MUTTON. 382. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 pint of melted butter (No. 376), 3 tablespoonfuls of capers or nasturtiums, 1 tablespoonful of their liquor. 197 Mode.--Chop the capers twice or thrice, and add them, with their liquor, to 1/2 pint of melted butter, made very smoothly; keep stirring well; let the sauce just simmer, and serve in a tureen. Pickled nasturtium-pods are fine-flavoured, and by many are eaten in preference to capers. They make an excellent sauce. Time.--2
