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The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) written by Mrs. F.L. Gillette

M >> Mrs. F.L. Gillette >> The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887)




_Madder Red:_--To each pound of goods, alum five ounces, red or cream
of tartar one ounce. Put in the goods and bring the kettle to a boil
for one-half hour; then air them and boil one-half hour longer; empty
the kettle and fill with clean water; put in bran one peck; make it
milk-warm, and let it stand until the bran rises; then skim off the
bran and put in one-half pound madder; put in the goods and heat
slowly until it boils and is done. Wash in strong suds.

_Green:_--For each pound of goods, fustic one pound, with alum three
and one-half ounces; steep until strength is out, and soak the goods
therein until a good yellow is obtained, then remove the chips, and
add extract of indigo or chemic, one tablespoonful at a time, until
color suits.

_Snuff Brown, Dark:_--For five pounds of goods, camwood one pound;
boil it fifteen minutes; then dip the goods three-fourths of an hour;
take them out and add to the dye two and one-half pounds fustic; boil
ten minutes, and dip the goods three-fourths of an hour; then add blue
vitriol one ounce, copperas four ounces; dip again one-half hour. If
not dark enough add more copperas.

_Another Method--Any Shade:_--Boil the goods in a mordant of alum two
parts, copperas three parts; then rinse them through a bath of madder.
The tint depends on the relative proportions of the copperas and alum;
the more copperas, the darker the dye; joint weight of both should not
be more than one-eighth of weight of goods. Mixtures of reds and
yellows with blues and blacks, or simple dyes, will make any shade.

_Orange:_--For five pounds of goods, muriate of tin six
tablespoonfuls, argol four ounces; boil and dip one hour and add again
to the dye one teacupful of madder; dip again one-half hour.
Cochineal, about two ounces, in place of madder, makes a much brighter
color.

_Purple:_--For each pound of goods, two ounces of cudbear; rinse the
goods well in soap-suds, then dissolve cudbear in hot suds--not quite
boiling, and soak the goods until of required color. The color is
brightened by rinsing in alum water.

_Yellow--Rich:_--Work five pounds of goods one-half hour in a boiling
bath with three ounces bichromate of potassa and two ounces alum; lift
and expose till well cooled and drained; then work one-half hour in
another bath with five pounds of fustic. Wash out and dry.

_Crimson:_--Work for one hour in a bath with one pound cochineal
paste, six ounces of dry cochineal, one pound of tartar, one pint of
protochloride of tin. Wash out and dry.

_Salmon:_--For each pound of goods, one-fourth pound of annotto,
one-fourth pound of soap; rinse the goods well in warm water, put them
into mixture and boil one-half hour. Shade will be according to the
amount of annotto.

_Dove and Slate Colors of All Shades:_--Boil in an iron vessel a
teacupful of black tea with a teaspoonful of copperas and sufficient
water. Dilute till you get the shade wanted.


COTTON GOODS.

_Black:_--For five pounds of goods, boil them in a decoction of three
pounds of sumach one-half hour and steep twelve hours; dip in
lime-water one-half hour; take out and let them drip one hour, run
them through the lime-water again fifteen minutes. Make a new dye with
two and one-half pounds log-wood (boiled one hour) and dip again
three hours; add bichromate potash two ounces, to the log-wood dye and
dip one hour. Wash in clear, cold water and dry in the shade. Only
process for permanent black.

_Sky Blue:_--For three pounds of goods, blue vitriol four ounces; boil
a few minutes, then dip the goods three hours; then pass them through
a strong lime-water. A _beautiful_ brown can be obtained by next
putting the goods through a solution of prussiate of potash.

_Green:_--Dip the goods in home-made blue; dye until blue enough is
obtained to make the green as dark as required; take out, dry and
rinse a little. Make a dye with fustic three pounds, of log-wood three
ounces, to each pound of goods, by boiling dye one hour; when cooled
so as to bear the hand put in the goods, move briskly a few minutes,
and let lie one hour; take out and thoroughly drain; dissolve and add
to the dye for each pound of cotton, blue vitriol one-half ounce, and
dip another hour. Wring out and let dry in the shade. By adding or
diminishing the log-wood and fustic any shade may be had.

_Yellow:_--For five pounds of goods, seven ounces of sugar of lead;
dip the goods two hours; make a new dye with bichromate of potash four
ounces; dip until the color suits; wring out and dry. If not yellow
enough, repeat.

_Orange:_--For five pounds of goods, sugar of lead four ounces; boil a
few minutes; when a little cool, put in the goods; dip for two hours;
wring out; make a new dye with bichromate potash eight ounces, madder
two ounces; dip until it suits; if color is too red, take a small
sample and dip into lime-water and choose between them.

_Red:_--Muriate of tin two-thirds of a teacupful; add water to cover
the goods; raise to boiling heat; put in the goods one hour, stir
often; take out, empty the kettle, put in clean water with nic-wood
one pound; steep one-half hour at hand heat; then put in the goods and
increase the heat one hour--not boiling. Air the goods and dip them
one hour as before. Wash without soap.




SMALL POINTS ON TABLE ETIQUETTE.


Delicacy of manner at table stamps both man and woman, for one can, at
a glance, discern whether a person has been trained to eat
well--_i.e._ to hold the knife and fork properly, to eat without the
slightest sound of the lips, to drink quietly, to use the napkin
rightly, to make no noise with any of the implements of the table, and
last, but not least, to eat slowly and masticate the food thoroughly.
All these points should be most carefully taught to children, and then
they will always feel at their ease at the grandest tables in the
land. There is no position where the innate refinement of a person is
more fully exhibited than at the table, and nowhere that those who
have not been trained in table etiquette feel more keenly their
deficiencies. The knife should never be used to carry food to the
mouth, but only to cut it up into small mouthfuls; then place it upon
the plate at one side, and take the fork in the right hand, and eat
all the food with it. When both have been used finally, they should be
laid diagonally across the plate, with both handles toward the right
hand; this is understood by well-trained waiters to be the signal for
removing them, together with the plate.

Be careful to keep the mouth shut closely while masticating the food.
It is the opening of the lips which causes the smacking which seems
very disgusting. Chew your food well, but do it silently, and be
careful to take small mouthfuls. The knife can be used to cut the meat
finely, as large pieces of meat are not healthful, and appear very
indelicate. At many tables, two, three or more knives and forks are
placed on the table, the knives at the right hand of the plate, the
forks at the left,--a knife and a fork for each course, so that there
need be no replacing of them after the breakfast and dinner is served.
The smaller ones, which are for game, dessert, or for hot cakes at
breakfast, can be tucked under the edges of the plate, and the large
ones, for the meat and vegetables, are placed outside of them. Be very
careful not to clatter your knives and forks upon your plates, but use
them without noise. When passing the plate for a second helping, lay
them together at one side of the plate, with handles to the right.
When you are helped to anything, _do not_ wait until the rest of the
company are provided, as it is not considered good breeding. Soup is
always served for the first course, and it should be eaten with
dessert spoons, and taken from the sides, not the tips, of them,
without any sound of the lips, and not sucked into the mouth audibly
from the ends of the spoon. Bread should not be broken into soup or
gravy. Never ask to be helped to soup a second time. The hostess may
ask you to take a second plate, but you will politely decline. Fish
chowder, which is served in soup plates, is said to be an exception
which proves this rule, and when eating of that it is correct to take
a second plateful if desired.

Another generally neglected obligation is that of spreading butter on
one's bread as it lies in one's plate, or but slightly lifted at one
end of the plate; it is very frequently buttered in the air, bitten in
gouges, and still held in the face and eyes of the table with the
marks of the teeth on it; This is certainly not altogether pleasant,
and it is better to cut it, a bit at a time, after buttering it, and
put piece by piece in the mouth with one's finger and thumb. Never
help yourself to butter, or any other food with your own knife or
fork. It is not considered good taste to mix food on the same plate.
Salt must be left on the side of the plate and never on the
tablecloth.

Let us mention a few things concerning the eating of which there is
sometimes doubt. A cream-cake and anything of similar nature should be
eaten with knife and fork, never bitten. Asparagus--which should be
always served on bread or toast so as to absorb superfluous
moisture--may be taken from the finger and thumb; if it is fit to be
set before you the whole of it may be eaten. Pastry should be broken
and eaten with a fork, never cut with a knife. Raw oysters should be
eaten with a fork, also fish. Peas and beans, as we all know, require
the fork only; however food that cannot be held with a fork should be
eaten with a spoon. Potatoes, if mashed, should be mashed with the
fork. Green corn should be eaten from the cob; but it must be held
with a single hand.

Celery, cresses, olives, radishes, and relishes of that kind are, of
course, to be eaten with the fingers; the salt should be laid upon
one's plate, not upon the cloth. Fish is to be eaten with the fork,
without the assistance of the knife; a bit of bread in the left hand
sometimes helps one to master a refractory morsel. Fresh fruit should
be eaten with a silver-bladed knife, especially pears, apples, etc.

Berries, of course, are to be eaten with a spoon. In England they are
served with their hulls on, and three or four are considered an ample
quantity. But then in England they are many times the size of ours;
there they take the big berry by the stem, dip into powdered sugar,
and eat it as we do the turnip radish. It is not proper to drink with
a spoon in the cup; nor should one, by-the-way, ever quite drain a cup
or glass.

Don't, when you drink, elevate your glass as if you were going to
stand it inverted on your nose. Bring the glass perpendicularly to the
lips, and then lift it to a slight angle. Do this easily.

Drink sparingly while eating. It is far better for the digestion not
to drink tea or coffee until the meal is finished. Drink gently, and
do not pour it down your throat like water turned out of a pitcher.

When seating yourself at the table, unfold your napkin and lay it
across your lap in such a manner that it will not slide off upon the
floor; a gentleman should place it across his right knee. Do not tuck
it into your neck like a child's bib. For an old person, however, it
is well to attach the napkin to a napkin hook and slip it into the
vest or dress buttonholes, to protect their garments, or sew a broad
tape at two places on the napkin, and pass it over the head. When the
soup is eaten, wipe the mouth carefully with the napkin, and use it to
wipe the hands after meals. Finger bowls are not a general
institution, and yet they seem to be quite as needful as the napkin,
for the fingers are also liable to become a little soiled in eating.
They can be had quite cheaply, and should be half-filled with water,
and placed upon the side table or butler's tray, with the dessert,
bread and cheese, etc. They are passed to each person half filled with
water, placed on a parti-colored napkin with a dessert plate
underneath, when the dessert is placed upon the table. A leaf or two
of sweet verbena, an orange flower, or a small slice of lemon, is
usually put into each bowl to rub upon the fingers. The slice of lemon
is most commonly used. The finger tips are slightly dipped into the
bowl, the lemon juice is squeezed upon them, and then they are dried
softly upon the napkin. At dinner parties and luncheons they are
indispensable.

Spoons are sometimes used with firm puddings, but forks are the better
style. A spoon should never be turned over in the mouth.

Ladies have frequently an affected way of holding the knife half-way
down its length, as if it were too big for their little hands; but
this is as awkward a way as it is weak; the knife should be grasped
freely by the handle only, the forefinger being the only one to touch
the blade, and that only along the back of the blade at its root, and
no further down.

At the conclusion of a course, where they have been used, knife and
fork should be laid side by side across the middle of the plate--never
crossed; the old custom of crossing them was in obedience to an
ancient religious formula. The servant should offer everything at the
left of the guest, that the guest may be at liberty to use the right
hand. If one has been given a napkin ring, it is necessary to fold
one's napkin and use the ring; otherwise the napkin should be left
unfolded. One's teeth are not to be picked at table; but if it is
impossible to hinder it, it should be done behind the napkin. One may
pick a bone at the table, but, as with corn, only one hand is allowed
to touch it; yet one can easily get enough from it with knife and
fork, which is certainly the more elegant way of doing; and to take
her teeth to it gives a lady the look of caring a little too much for
the pleasures of the table; one is, however, on no account to suck
one's finger after it.

Whenever there is any doubt as to the best way to do a thing, it is
wise to follow that which is the most rational, and that will almost
invariably be found to be proper etiquette. To be at ease is a great
step towards enjoying your own dinner, and making yourself agreeable
to the company. There is reason for everything in polite usage; thus
the reason why one does not blow a thing to cool it, is not only that
it is an inelegant and vulgar action intrinsically, but because it may
be offensive to others--cannot help being so, indeed; and it, moreover
implies, haste, which, whether from greediness or a desire to get
away, is equally objectionable. Everything else may be as easily
traced to its origin in the fit and becoming.

If, to conclude, one seats one's self properly at table and takes
reason into account, one will do tolerably well. One must not pull
one's chair too closely to the table, for the natural result of that
is the inability to use one's knife and fork without inconveniencing
one's neighbor; the elbows are to be held well in and close to one's
side, which cannot be done if the chair is too near the board. One
must not lie or lean along the table, nor rest one's arms upon it. Nor
is one to touch any of the dishes; if a member of the family, one can
exercise all the duties of hospitality through servants, and wherever
there are servants, neither family nor guests are to pass or help from
any dish. Finally, when rising from your chair leave it where it
stands.




DINNER GIVING.


THE LAYING OF THE TABLE AND THE TREATMENT OF GUESTS.

In giving "dinners," the apparently trifling details are of great
importance when taken as a whole.

We gather around our board agreeable persons, and they pay us and our
dinner the courtesy of dressing for the occasion, and this reunion
should be a time of profit as well as pleasure. There are certain
established laws by which "dinner giving" is regulated in polite
society; and it may not be amiss to give a few observances in relation
to them. One of the first is that an invited guest should arrive at
the house of his host at least a quarter of an hour before the time
appointed for dinner. In laying the table for dinner _all_ the linen
should be a spotless white throughout, and underneath the linen
tablecloth should be spread one of thick cotton-flannel or baize,
which gives the linen a heavier and finer appearance, also deadening
the sound of moving dishes. Large and neatly folded napkins (ironed
without starch), with pieces of bread three or four inches long,
placed between the folds, but not to completely conceal it, are laid
on each plate. An ornamental centre-piece, or a vase filled with a few
rare flowers, is put on the centre of the table, in place of the large
table-castor, which has gone into disuse, and is rarely seen now on
well-appointed tables. A few choice flowers make a charming variety in
the appearance of even the most simply laid table, and a pleasing
variety at table is quite as essential to the enjoyment of the repast
as is a good choice of dishes, for the eye in fact should be gratified
as much as the palate.

All dishes should be arranged in harmony with the decorations of the
flowers, such as covers, relishes, confectionery, and small sweets.
Garnishing of dishes has also a great deal to do with the appearance
of a dinner-table, each dish garnished sufficiently to be in good
taste without looking absurd.

Beside each plate should be laid as many knives, forks and spoons as
will be required for the several courses, unless the hostess prefers
to have them brought on with each change. A glass of water, and when
wine is served glasses for it, and individual salt-cellars may be
placed at every plate. Water-bottles are now much in vogue with
corresponding tumblers to cover them; these, accompanied with dishes
of broken ice, may be arranged in suitable places. When butter is
served a special knife is used, and that, with all other required
service, may be left to the judgment and taste of the hostess, in the
proper placing of the various aids to her guests' comfort.

The dessert plates should be set ready, each with a doily and a
finger-glass partly filled with water, in which is dropped a slice of
lemon; these with extra knives, forks and spoons, should be on the
side-board ready to be placed beside the guest between the courses
when required.

If preferred, the "dinner" may all be served from the side-table, thus
relieving the host from the task of carving. A plate is set before
each guest, and the dish carved is presented by the waiter on the
left-hand side of each guest. At the end of each course the plates
give way for those of the next. If not served from the side-table, the
dishes are brought in ready carved, and placed before the host and
hostess, then served and placed upon the waiter's salver, to be laid
by that attendant before the guest.

Soup and fish being the first course, plates of soup are usually
placed on the table before the dinner is announced; or if the hostess
wishes the soup served at the table, the soup-tureen, containing _hot_
soup, and the _warm_ soup-plates are placed before the seat of the
hostess. Soup and fish being disposed of, then come the joints or
roasts, _entrees_ (made dishes), poultry, etc., also relishes.

After dishes have been passed that are required no more, such as
vegetables, hot sauces, etc., the dishes containing them may be set
upon the side-board, ready to be taken away.

Jellies and sauces, when not to be eaten as a dessert, should be
helped on the dinner-plate, not on a small side dish as was the former
usage.

If a dish be on the table, some parts of which are preferred to
others, according to the taste of the individuals, all should have the
opportunity of choice. The host will simply ask each one if he has any
preference for a particular part; if he replies in the negative, you
are not to repeat the question, nor insist that he must have a
preference.

Do not attempt to eulogize your dishes, or apologize that you cannot
recommend them--this is extreme bad taste; as also is the vaunting of
the excellence of your wines, etc., etc.

Do not insist upon your guests partaking of particular dishes. Do not
ask persons more than once, and never force a supply upon their
plates. It is ill-bred, though common, to press any one to eat; and,
moreover, it is a great annoyance to many.

In winter, plates should always be warmed, but not made hot. Two kinds
of animal food, or two kinds of dessert, should not be eaten _off_ of
one plate, and there should never be more than two kinds of vegetables
with one course. Asparagus, green corn, cauliflower and raw tomatoes
comprise one course in place of a salad. All meats should be cut
across the grain in very thin slices. Fish, at dinner, should be baked
or boiled, never fried or broiled. Baked ham may be used in every
course after fish, sliced thin and handed after the regular course is
disposed of.

The hostess should retain her plate, knife and fork, until her guests
have finished.

The crumb-brush is not used until the preparation for bringing in the
dessert; then all the glasses are removed, except the flowers, the
water-tumblers, and the glass of wine which the guest wishes to retain
with his dessert. The dessert plate containing the finger-bowl, also a
dessert knife and fork, should then be set before each guest, who at
once removes the finger-bowl and its doily, and the knife and fork to
the table, leaving the plate ready to be used for any dessert chosen.

Finely sifted sugar should always be placed upon the table to be used
with puddings, pies, fruit, etc., and if cream is required, let it
stand by the dish it is to be served with.

To lay a dessert for a small entertainment and a few guests outside of
the family, it may consist simply of two dishes of fresh fruit in
season, two of dried fruits and two each of cakes and nuts.

Coffee and tea are served _lastly_, poured into tiny cups and served
clear, passed around on a tray to each guest, then the sugar and cream
passed that each person may be allowed to season his black coffee or
_cafe noir_ to suit himself.

A _family dinner_, even with a few friends, can be made quite
attractive and satisfactory without much display or expense;
consisting first of good soup, then fish garnished with suitable
additions, followed by a roast; then vegetables and some made dishes,
a salad, crackers, cheese and olives, then dessert. This sensible
meal, well cooked and neatly served, is pleasing to almost any one,
and is within the means of any housekeeper in ordinary circumstances.




MEASURES AND WEIGHTS.

IN ORDINARY USE AMONG HOUSEKEEPERS.

4 Teaspoonfuls equal 1 tablespoonful liquid.

4 Tablespoonfuls equal 1 wine-glass, or half a gill.

2 Wine-glasses equal one gill or half a cup.

2 Gills equal 1 coffeecupful, or 16 tablespoonfuls.

2 Coffeecupfuls equal 1 pint.

2 Pints equal 1 quart.

4 Quarts equal 1 gallon.

2 Tablespoonfuls equal 1 ounce, liquid.

1 Tablespoonful of salt equals 1 ounce.

16 Ounces equal 1 pound, or a pint of liquid.

4 Coffeecupfuls of sifted flour equal 1 pound.

1 Quart of unsifted flour equals 1 pound.

8 or 10 ordinary sized eggs equal 1 pound.

1 Pint of sugar equals 1 pound. (White granulated.)

2 Coffeecupfuls of powdered sugar equal 1 pound.

1 Coffeecupful of cold butter, pressed down, is one-half pound.

1 Tablespoonful of soft butter, well rounded, equals 1 ounce.

An ordinary tumblerful equals 1 coffeecupful, or half a pint.

About 25 drops of any thin liquid will fill a common sized teaspoon.

1 Pint of finely chopped meat, packed solidly, equals 1 pound.

A set of tin measures (with small spouts or lips), from a gallon down
to half a gill, will be found very convenient in every kitchen, though
common pitchers, bowls, glasses, etc., may be substituted.




INDEX.

ARTICLES REQUIRED FOR THE KITCHEN, 588

BEVERAGES, 458
Ale, Mulled, or Egg Flip, 468
Beer, Ginger, 465
Hop, 465
Spruce, 466
Buttermilk as a Drink, 461
Cherry Bounce, 465
Chocolate, 461
Cocoa, 461
Coffee, 458
Filtered or Drip, 459
Healing Properties of, 458
Iced, 460
Substitute for Cream in, 460
Vienna, 459
Cordial, Blackberry, 465
Noyeau, 468
Cream Soda Without Fountain, 467
Egg Flip, or Mulled Ale, 468
Egg Nog, 468
General Remarks, 458
Inexpensive Drink, 472
Junket, Delicious, 466
Koumiss, 470
Lemonade, 469
For a Summer Draught, 463
Lemon Syrup, 467
Mead Sassafras, 467
Pineappleade, 471
Punch, Hot, To Make, 469
Milk, 468
Milk, Fine, 469
Roman. No. 1, 466
Roman. No. 2, 466
Raspberry Shrub, 466
Seidlitz Powder, 471
Syrup, Lemon, 467
Strawberry and Raspberry, 469
Tea, Iced, 461
To Make, 460
The Healing Properties of Tea or Coffee, 458
Vinegar, Home-made Table, 471
Pineapple, 470
Raspberry. No. 1, 470
Raspberry. No. 2, 471
Very Strong Table, 471
Water, Strawberry, 469
Wine, Blackberry No. 1, 462
Blackberry. No. 2, 463
Black Currant, 464
Currant. No. 1, 462
Currant. No. 2, 462
Grape, 463
Honey or Methelin, 464
Orange, Florida, 463
Raisin, 464
Whey, 467