Mrs Beeton recipes and book

Having fallen in love with Mrs Beeton and her old recipes, I have decided to make a list of 'Recipes I'd love to try', and was searching through my recipes for Christmas and came upon this one for Roast Goose. I've decided to order a goose for Christmas this year. It's not a traditional Christmas food here in Australia, and we are just as likely to have a selection of hot and cold meats and salads, or we BBQ some of the food, prawns etc., you know how it is? We have to eat so much at Christmas, we might starve on Boxing Day, when the shops are shut...anything could happen in 24 hours, couldn't it?

I've had a terrible few days trying to post as my wireless keyboard went haywire. It's the second one that has gone feral, so I've bought a good old fashioned plug in, there's less to go wrong, but I'm finding it hard to adjust to, I miss all the quick launch features on the old , and it seems smaller somehow. Anyway here's the recipe, ready for Christmas. I'll let you know how mine goes:

Roast Goose
Remove the wings and take out the breast bone.

Skin needs to be crispy, so pierce the skin with a fork (not the flesh)

Ladle boiling water over the goose to release the fat and then paint with a good marmalade

Tie the legs together then cook at 200° for half an hour
then 180° for one and a half hours

Stuffing
Fresh sage and parsley, chop and cook off with chopped onion
leave to infuse
Handful of minced pork

3 handfuls fresh breadcrumbs
1 granny smith apple grated
add sage/onion/parsley mix. Roll into balls (the size of a snowball) with a prune in the centre.
Surround ball with streaky bacon and paint with goose fat.

20 mins before the goose is ready put the balls in the oven around the goose.

Cook par boiled potatoes in the goose fat, and try some cabbage and onion sweated off as a side dish.

Make gravy from pan juices.

Sounds yummy doesn't it? I'm going to try it in the webber. I did the turkey in the webber last year, and everyone loved it, it was the juiciest turkey I've ever had. Cheers Ursula

Comments;

Mrs Beeton

I haven't been posting for awhile, but I have had some weird virus, and couldn't be bothered wrapping my brain around anything, let alone Mrs Beeton. But the last week, I knuckled down, and actually completed the book, and it's ready to give to my friend on the weekend. It has taken many months to complete this book, but I'm glad I have, for now I can also use the ebook instead of the original. I'll have it ready for sale the week after that I hope. I need to make a display cover first, and can't decide which photo to use, they are all so lovely. Don't you love this one of the Victorian oven? It is an original Leamington Kitchener, which had many and varied models over the years, and I think they still make Kitcheners in England. Here's another, which was at the Dublin Exhibition in 1853, and I think I like the look of it better. I wouldn't mind a wood fired oven, but I guess it would be time intensive chopping the wood and keeping it going all the time, and it maybe just a little bit hot in summer. You'd have to live on salads. I really don't think my husband would agree to me having one installed. :) I begin to see why they had so many kitchen staff in Victorian times. Even keeping it shiny would be the job of one person alone - the poor old kitchen maid, according to Mrs B. Here's a weird recipe I came across for children. How times have changed, but although it appears pretty unpalatable as a dinner dish to me (like a runny custard or plate full of creme anglaise) -I suppose the milk was at least natural, full fat and flavoured as it was meant to be, and not the reconstituted muck we get sold by supermarkets today.

Anyway here it is: MILK SOUP (a Nice Dish for Children).

137. INGREDIENTS.--2 quarts of milk, 1 saltspoonful of salt, 1

teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon, 3 teaspoonfuls of pounded sugar, or

more if liked, 4 thin slices of bread, the yolks of 6 eggs.

_Mode_.--Boil the milk with the salt, cinnamon, and sugar; lay the bread

in a deep dish, pour over it a little of the milk, and keep it hot over

a stove, without burning. Beat up the yolks of the eggs, add them to the

milk, and stir it over the fire till it thickens. Do not let it curdle.

Pour it upon the bread, and serve.

_Time_.--3/4 of an hour. _Average cost_, 8d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ all the year.

_Sufficient_ for 10 children.

This would have been the bread & milk suppers we read about in so many old books. It seems to be a rather unsatisfying meal, I can't imagine my children being satisfied with only a small bowl of thin custard for dinner. But that's what I really love about reading these old books on cookery and household management. I am currently looking for an old farm and food production book; they are all so historically factual and fascinating reading. I like to grow some of the old heritage seeds, and grew some heritage tomatoes and pumpkins this year. You've never tasted better tomatoes, and they were prolific growers, and I still have 3 of the delicious pumpkins left - very intense flavours. I like to grow some of my tomatoes on a trellis, this is well suited for romas, and keeps them off the ground. In my vege growing eBook it gives you a few different methods for tomatoes (and other veges) anything from hydroponics to trellis, to growing in pots - great for people in high rise apartments or without a sizeable garden. We saved some of the seeds for this year. I need to get into my little hot house and clear it out. I've been slack since my daughter's wedding, and now the cold weather is here and I haven't even cleaned out the pots from last year yet. Ah well! I will make myself venture into the garden after July is over. (That's our coldest month here). Now I'm going to finish with an interesting soup recipe, it is probably delicious as the cheek meat of most animals is very flavourful. I'm going to try roasting some pig's cheek, as I saw Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall (I think that's the correct spelling? Hugh has his own small holding in England) help Gordon Ramsay with the pig's he raised at home , and Gordon declared the ears particularly delicious and crispy, and they both said the cheek meat was almost the best part.

Mrs. Beeton's USEFUL SOUP FOR BENEVOLENT PURPOSES.

165. INGREDIENTS.--An ox-cheek, any pieces of trimmings of beef, which

may be bought very cheaply (say 4 lbs.), a few bones, any pot-liquor the

larder may furnish, 1/4 peck of onions, 6 leeks, a large bunch of herbs,

1/2 lb. of celery (the outside pieces, or green tops, do very well); 1/2

lb. of carrots, 1/2 lb. of turnips, 1/2 lb. of coarse brown sugar, 1/2 a

pint of beer, 4 lbs. of common rice, or pearl barley; 1/2 lb. of salt, 1

oz. of black pepper, a few raspings, 10 gallons of water.

_Mode_.--Cut up the meat in small pieces, break the bones, put them in a

copper, with the 10 gallons of water, and stew for 1/2 an hour. Cut up

the vegetables, put them in with the sugar and beer, and boil for 4

hours. Two hours before the soup is wanted, add the rice and raspings,

and keep stirring till it is well mixed in the soup, which simmer

gently. If the liquor reduces too much, fill up with water.

_Time_.--6-1/2 hours. _Average cost_, 1-1/2d. per quart.

_Note_.--The above recipe was used in the winter of 1858 by the

Editress, who made, each week, in her copper, 8 or 9 gallons of this

soup, for distribution amongst about a dozen families of the village

near which she lives. The cost, as will be seen, was not great; but she

has reason to believe that the soup was very much liked, and gave to the

members of those families, a dish of warm, comforting food, in place of

the cold meat and piece of bread which form, with too many cottagers,

their usual meal, when, with a little more knowledge of the "cooking."

art, they might have, for less expense, a warm dish, every day.

Cheers, Ursula

Mrs Beeton and Pickled Walnuts

Hi again! I have deliberately chosen this recipe because I have my mother's recipe as well. I have never made pickled walnuts myself, nor have I ever made pink grapefruit marmalade, but mum used to make both and they were delicious. When I nursed mum at home in the month before she died, one of the last things she requested was a jar of pickled walnuts. She used to love them on buttered bread fingers. One of my cousins scoured the countryside, and bless her, she came back with a jar. Mum only ate them once and declared they weren't as good as hers, and she was right. Although I haven't made these things myself, I do have all her recipes, many from her mother and grandmother, and always intend to collate them one day, but that's another story. Pickled walnuts are indeed delicious.
Here's Mrs Beeton's Recipe, and I'll follow it with Mum's. PICKLED WALNUTS (Very Good). 534. INGREDIENTS.--100 walnuts, salt and water. To each quart of vinegarallow 2 oz. of whole black pepper, 1 oz. of allspice, 1 oz. of bruised ginger.
_Mode_.--Procure the walnuts while young; be careful they are not woody,and prick them well with a fork; prepare a strong brine of salt and water (4 lbs. of salt to each gallon of water), into which put the walnuts, letting them remain 9 days, and changing the brine every third day; drain them off, put them on a dish, place it in the sun until they become perfectly black, which will be in 2 or 3 days; have ready dry jars, into which place the walnuts, and do not quite fill the jars. Boil sufficient vinegar to cover them, for 10 minutes, with spices in the above proportion, and pour it hot over the walnuts, which must be quite covered with the pickle; tie down with bladder, and keep in a dry place. They will be fit for use in a month, and will keep good 2 or 3 years. _Time_.--10 minutes. (I have transcribed this exactly as it was in her original book)

Here's Mum's recipe, followed by her stuffed walnut recipe which I found whilst looking for the pickled version.
Ingredients 1 kg fresh green walnuts; 1 cup cooking salt; 10 cups water; 5 cups malt vinegar ;1 2/3 cups brown sugar; 1 teaspoon salt;
1 teaspoon pickling spice ;1 teaspoon black peppercorns; ½ teaspoon cloves.
Preparation method: Gather walnuts for pickling in early summer while they are still green, and before the shells have begun to form. To protect your hands while preparing them, wear disposable plastic gloves. Walnut stains are difficult to remove. Test the walnuts by pricking them with a darning or thin knitting needle – they should be soft. Discard any that are firm and resist the needle as this means that the shell has started to form. Prick the selected walnuts all over with a silver fork and put them in a large bowl. Dissolve half of the salt in half of the water, then pour this over the walnuts, making sure that they are covered with the brine. Place a clean plate (or other weight) on the surface to keep the walnuts submerged. Cover the bowl and leave walnuts to soak, stirring occasionally, for seven days. Drain, cover with brine made with the remaining salt and water, and leave for seven more days, stirring occasionally. Drain the walnuts well and spread them, in single layers, on dishes. Leave them outside in the open air, preferably in the sunshine, for a couple of days until they are black. Put the vinegar in a stainless-steel or enamel saucepan and add the brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, pickling spice, black peppercorns and cloves. Stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to the boil and boil on low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to cool. Pack the blackened walnuts in clean, dry jars. Strain the spiced vinegar into an enamel or stainless-steel saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the vinegar over the walnuts, making sure that they are well covered. Cover the jars with vinegar proof lids and label. Let the pickled walnuts mature in a cool, dark cupboard for one month before eating. These are traditionally served with bread and cheese, mum, as I mentioned, loved them with buttered bread.
Mum's stuffed Walnuts in Syrup. 50 fresh green walnuts 50 almonds - roasted in their skins 50 cloves 6 large cups water 4½ pounds sugar Method Skin walnuts (gloves again) and put in a bowl of water. Leave them soak for one week - changing the water daily. Make a small incision in each walnut, into which you place an almond and a clove. Make a syrup of sugar and water, cool, then put in the walnuts and bring it to the boil, simmer 20 minutes, next day boil again for 20 mins. When this has cooled pack into preserving jars and cover with the syrup. I'd better get on with my website for now. I need to photograph stacks of comics. But I'll be back tomorrow I hope. Cheers Ursula

Comments;

Posted 25/5/09

Here I am back at Mrs Beeton's, working madly to scan some more photos and I came across Irish Stew. We used to have it quite a lot when we were young, with 5 children mum made every meal go a long way, and we used to have the leftovers on toast next morning for breakfast. It always tasted better next day. Anyway...I found this one from Mrs B and I'm going to try it. I have a great free range butcher where I live (I'm up in the lower Dandenong Ranges near The Basin, where we have some lovely old fashioned shops, but we are still close to the city of Melbourne) he'll supply any cut I like, and I've asked him for some strange ones as I plough my way through all these old recipes. I'm going to cook a goose this Xmas, as I've never tried one. The kids think Mum's going a bit dotty, as they never know what they're being asked to dinner for, but it's a load of fun; now I've retired from nursing I have the time to prepare these feasts, they are not difficult just unfamiliar, in fact they are really quite simple foods. You should try them. I'll have to add carrots to my stew though, also some fresh parsley from the garden. Hope you enjoy this one. Ursula
PS The first version of the comic shop is up and running, but I have decided to redesign both the book shop and the comic shop. Here's some photos of some of my book shelves. See you! Ursula

IRISH STEW. from Mrs Beeton I. 721. INGREDIENTS.--3 lbs. of the loin or neck of mutton, 5 lbs. of potatoes, 5 large onions, pepper and salt to taste, rather more than 1pint of water.
_Mode_.--Trim off some of the fat of the above quantity of loin or neck of mutton, and cut it into chops of a moderate thickness. Pare and halve t he potatoes, and cut the onions into thick slices. Put a layer of potatoes at the bottom of a stewpan, then a layer of mutton and onions, and season with pepper and salt; proceed in this manner until the stewpan is full, taking care to have plenty of vegetables at the top. Pour in the water, and let it stew very gently for 2-1/2 hours, keeping the lid of the stewpan closely shut the _whole_ time, and occasionally shaking it to prevent its burning. _Time_.--2-1/2 hours. _Average cost_, for this quantity, 2s. 8d.

This one I'm going to try for sure, I'll let you know how it turns out. Cheers Ursula Comments;

Comments:

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posted by

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Some Recipes from Mrs Beeton's Cookbook

Posted 11/5/09

I promised some recipes as I get around to it, but first read one of her gems, some notes on kitchen equipment, I'll add some more as I come across them . Some about the female's role are priceless. I'll write in the recipe and add a couple of pics for this post, here goes:-

AMONGST THE MOST ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS of the kitchen are scales or weighing-machines for family use. These are found to have existed among the ancients, and must, at a very early age, have been both publicly and privately employed for the regulation of quantities. The modern English weights were adjusted by the 27th chapter of Magna Charta, or the great charter forced, by the barons, from King John at Runnymede, in Surrey. Therein it is declared that the weights, all over England, shall be the same, although for different commodities there were two different kinds, Troy and Avoirdupois. The origin of both is taken from a grain of wheat gathered in the middle of an ear. The standard of measures was originally kept at Winchester, and by a law of King Edgar was ordained to be observed throughout the kingdom.

Well first up I've chosen the humble cauliflower for one of her recipes, it's a pretty standard one, so I thought I'd follow it with one for beetroot, not only because I love them both, but because lots of people still cook caulis, but not many I know bother to cook their own beetroot. I'll put my own beetroot recipes after Mrs B's, because my kids love them even though they wouldn't dream of bothering to cook it themselves, I do it in batches . I like to grow my own in spring/summer here, which is from September to around Feb in Aus, but I still grow them into March as Australia can stay pretty warm, this summer it reached up to 46C°, so many of my veges suffered throughout Jan and Feb, I'm digressing, but thought it might interest some to know the season's are opposit to those quoted in Mrs B. Here's the first recipe:-

CAULIFLOWERS WITH PARMESAN CHEESE. (Entremets, or Side-dish, to be served with the Second Course.) 1106. INGREDIENTS.--2 or 3 cauliflowers, rather more than 1/2 pint of white sauce No. 378, 2 tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese, 2 oz. of fresh butter, 3 tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs. _Mode_.--Cleanse and boil the cauliflowers by recipe No. 1104, and drain them and dish them with the flowers standing upright. Have ready the above proportion of white sauce; pour sufficient of it over the cauliflowers just to cover the top; sprinkle over this some rasped Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs, and drop on these the butter, which should be melted, but not oiled. Brown with a salamander, or before the fire, and pour round, but not over, the flowers the remainder of the sauce, with which should be mixed a small quantity of grated Parmesan cheese. _Time_.--Altogether, 1/2 hour. _Average cost_, for large cauliflowers, 6d. each. _Sufficient_,--3 small cauliflowers for 1 dish. _Seasonable_ from the beginning of June to the end of September.

Well here's the entry for boiled beetroot. I hope you like the photos as they are scanned from the original book, aren't they lovely?

BOILED BEETROOT. 1094. INGREDIENTS,--Beetroot; boiling water. _Mode_.--When large, young, and juicy, this vegetable makes a very excellent addition to winter salads, and may easily be converted into an economical and quickly-made pickle. (_See_ No. 369.) Beetroot is more frequently served cold than hot: when the latter mode is preferred, melted butter should be sent to table with it. It may also be stewed with button onions, or boiled and served with roasted onions. Wash the beets thoroughly; but do not prick or break the skin before they are cooked, or they would lose their beautiful colour in boiling. Put them into boiling water, and let them boil until tender, keeping them well covered. If to be served hot, remove the peel quickly, cut the beetroot into thick slices, and send to table melted butter. For salads, pickle, &c., let the root cool, then peel, and cut it into slices. _Time_.--Small beetroot, 1-1/2 to 2 hours; large, 2-1/2 to 3 hours. _Average cost_, in full season, 2d. each. _Seasonable_.--May be had at any time. BEETROOT.--The geographical distribution of the order Saltworts (_Salxolaceae_), to which beetroot belongs, is most common in extra-tropical and temperate regions, where they are common weeds, frequenting waste places, among rubbish, and on marshes by the seashore. In the tropics they are rare. They are characterized by the large quantities of mucilage, sugar, starch, and alkaline salts which are found in them. Many of them are used as potherbs, and some are emetic and vermifuge in their medicinal properties. The _root_ of _garden_ or red beet is exceedingly wholesome and nutritious, and Dr. Lyon Playfair has recommended that a good brown bread may be made by rasping down this root with an equal quantity of flour. He says that the average quality of flour contains about 12 per cent. of azotized principles adapted for the formation of flesh, and the average quality of beet contains about 2 per cent. of the same materials.

I must say I prepare mine much the same way, I boil them after cleaning carefully so I don't break the skin, I peel them whilst they are still fairly hot, but I use disposeable gloves as they tend to turn your hands a vibrant purple/puce colour, and around your nails stain for days. I love to eat them just like that with plenty of pepper and salt, yum! A quick pickle is easy for salads, burgers etc. I slice them whilst still warm, not too thickly, and layer them in a clean warmed glass jar, layer of slices, then a light sprinkle of pepper, salt, sugar, layer of beetroot slices, pepper, salt, sugar and so on to fill the jar/container, I then cover the lot with malt vinegar that I have brought to the boil and allowed to cool slightly (make sure jar is around same temp or it will crack; I sometimes use my tupperware container and that works fine also), then I just let them cool and refrigerate, the longer you leave them the better they taste. I also love the young tender beets cleaned, cut in half lengthwise, placed in a baking tray, sprinkled with pepper and olive oil and baked until tender, eat the young leaves and all.

Hope you try them, if you have any recipes of your own I'd love to try them, so please drop me a line. I'll find some more Mrs Bs for you, I'm only up to around page 427 although I did skip ahead for the vege recipes. Some of the cakes and puddings look yum too, but they are towards the end of the book. I'll publish some of the "Suitable Occupations for Young Ladies" section later on. It reads like a fantasy novel. Until next time, Ursula Comments:

Comments:
Hey little bear, nice blog you have. I have replied to your comment on my blog (www.ebizexperiment.com) good luck in the future!

posted by Normal Alex : 2:14 PM

Thank you Alex, I am following your blog with interest

posted by littlebear : 9:52 PM

Thanks for stopping by my new art blog and becoming a followers, I am here to return the favor! Interesting old cookbook, I like the illustrations you pictured. Most of my books I own are not limited additions but I do have 1 or 2 gems in my collection. Interesting that you repair your own bindings and such!
T.

posted by T. : 1:47 PM

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updated 12-07-10 02:14:43 PM Posts on Mrs Beeton

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Posts on Mrs Beeton