PEACH FRITTERS.--These are made exactly similar to apricot fritters, bearing in mind that if they are made from tinned peaches only the firm pieces, and not pulpy ones, must be used for the purpose. Proceed exactly as directed for apricot fritters.

If any liqueur is used, noyeau is best adapted for the purpose.

POTATO FRITTERS.--Mix up some floury potato with a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, a well-beaten-up egg, and three ounces of sugar, some of which has been rubbed on the outside of a lemon. The addition of a little cream is a great improvement. Roll the mixture into small b.a.l.l.s and flour them; they are then fried just as they are, without being dipped into batter.

PINE-APPLE FRITTERS.--These can be made from fresh pine-apples or tinned.

They should be cut into slices like apple fritters if the pine-apple is small, but if the pine-apple is large they can be cut into strips three inches long and one wide and half an inch thick. These must be dipped in powdered sugar, then into batter, and finished as directed for apple fritters.

If any liqueur is used, maraschino is best adapted to the purpose.

ORANGE FRITTERS.--Only first-cla.s.s oranges are adapted for this purpose.

Thick-skinned and woolly oranges are no use. Peel a thin-skinned ripe orange, divide each orange into about six pieces, soak these in a syrup flavoured with sugar rubbed on the outside of an orange, and if liqueur is used make the syrup with brandy. After they have soaked some time, remove any pips, dip each piece into hatter, and proceed as directed for apple fritters.

CREAM FRITTERS.--Rub some lumps of sugar on the outside of an orange, pound them, and mix with a little cream; take some small pieces of stale white cake, such as Madeira cake or what the French call brioche. Soak these pieces of stale cake, which must be cut small and thin, or they will break, in the orange-flavoured cream, dry each piece in some finely-powdered sugar, dip it into batter, and proceed as directed for making apple fritters.

GERMAN FRITTERS.--Take some small stale pieces of cake, and soak them in a little milk or cream flavoured with essence of vanilla and sweetened with a little sugar. Take them out, and let them get a little dry on the outside, then dip them in a well-beaten-up egg, cover them with bread-crumbs, and fry a nice golden-brown colour.

RICE AND GINGER FRITTERS.--Boil a small quant.i.ty of rice in milk and add some preserved ginger chopped small, some sugar, and one or more eggs, sufficient to set the mixture when baked in a pie-dish. Bake till set, then cut into slices about two inches long, an inch wide, and half an inch thick; dry these pieces with powdered sugar, dip into batter, and finish as directed for making apple fritters.

RICE FRITTERS.--A variety of fritters could be made from a small baked rice pudding, flavoured with various kinds of essences, spices, orange marmalade, peach marmalade, fresh lime marmalade, apricot jam, &c., proceeding exactly as directed above.

CHAPTER VII.

VEGETABLES.

SUBSTANTIAL VEGETABLES.

Vegetables may be roughly divided into two cla.s.ses--those that may be called substantial and which are adapted to form a meal in themselves, and those of a lighter kind, which cannot be said to make a sufficient repast unless eaten with bread.

Potatoes were first introduced into this country about 400 years ago, tobacco being introduced about the same period, and we cannot disguise the fact that there are many who regard the latter as the greater blessing of the two. If Sir Henry Thompson is right in stating that tobacco is the great ally of temperance, there may be some ground for this opinion.

Potatoes form an important article of food for the body, while, whatever effect tobacco may have upon the thinking powers of mankind, it is almost the only product of the vegetable kingdom that is absolutely uneatable even when placed within the reach of those in the last stage of starvation.

In some parts, especially in Ireland, potatoes form almost the only food of the population, just as rice does in hotter climates, and when the crop fails famine ensues. When potatoes form the only kind of food, a very large quant.i.ty has to be eaten by a hard-working man in order for him to receive sufficient nourishment to keep his body healthy, the amount required being not less than ten pounds per day. If, on the other hand, a certain amount of fat or oil of some kind be mixed with them, a far less quant.i.ty will suffice. Hence we find in Ireland that, wherever it is possible, either some kind of oily fish, such as herring, is taken with them, or, which is much more to the point with vegetarians, a certain quant.i.ty of fat is obtained in the shape of milk.

It must also be remembered that four pounds of raw potatoes contain only one pound of solid food, the remaining three pounds being water. It is important, for those who first commence a vegetarian diet, to remember that vegetables like peas, haricot beans, and lentils are far superior to potatoes so far as nourishment is concerned, for many are apt to jump to the conclusion that potatoes are the very best subst.i.tute for bread and milk. So, too, is oatmeal. A Scotchman requires a far less quant.i.ty of oatmeal to sustain life than an Irishman does potatoes; hence it is a very important point to remember that, if we depend upon potatoes to any great extent for our daily food, we should cook them in such a manner as to entail as little waste as possible. We will now try and explain, as briefly as possible, the best method of serving.

POTATOES, PLAIN BOILED.--The best method of having potatoes, if we wish to study economy, is to boil them in their jackets, as it is generally admitted that the most nourishing part is that which lies nearest to the skin. There are many houses in the country where an inexperienced cook will peel, say four pounds of potatoes, and throw the peel into the pig-tub, where the pig gets a better meal than the family.

When potatoes are boiled in their skins, they should be thoroughly washed and scrubbed with a hard brush. Old potatoes should be put into cold water, and when the water boils the time should a good deal depend upon the size of the potatoes. When the potatoes are large, the chief principle to be borne in mind is, do not let them boil too quickly or cook too quickly.

We must avoid having the outside pulpy while the inside is hard. The water, which should be slightly salted, should more than cover them, and, if the potatoes are very large, directly the water comes to the boil it is a good plan to throw in a little cold water to take it off the boil. It is quite impossible to lay down any exact law in regard to boiling potatoes.

We cannot do more than give general principles which can only be carried out by cooks who possess a little common sense.

Small new potatoes are an extreme in one direction. They should be thrown into boiling water, and are generally cooked in about ten minutes or a quarter of an hour. Large old potatoes should be put into cold water and, as we have stated, the water should not be allowed to boil too soon, and it will take very often an hour to boil them properly. Between these two extremes there is a gradually ascending scale which must be left to the judgment of the cook. It is as impossible to lay down any hard-and-fast line with regard to time in boiling potatoes as it would be to say at what exact point in the thermometer between freezing and 80 degrees in the shade a man should put on his top coat.

If we may be allowed the expression, "old new" potatoes should be thrown into neither boiling water nor cold water, but lukewarm water. Again, in boiling potatoes, especially in the case of old ones, some little allowance must be made for the time of year. In winter, they require longer time, and we may here mention the fact that it is very important that potatoes, after they are dug, should not be left out of doors and exposed to a hard frost, as in this case a chemical change takes place in which the starch is converted into sugar.

When potatoes are boiled in their jackets sufficiently, which fact is generally tested by sticking a steel fork into them, they should be strained off, and allowed to get dry for a few minutes in the saucepan, which should be removed from the fire, as at times the potatoes are apt to stick and burn.

When large potatoes are peeled before they are boiled, we should endeavour to send them to table floury, and this is often said to be the test of a really good cook. After the water has been strained off from the potatoes, a dry cloth should be placed under the lid of the saucepan, and the lid should only be placed half on, _i.e._, it should not be fitted down tight.

It is also as well to give the saucepan now and then a shake, but do not overdo the shaking and break them. About five or ten minutes is generally sufficient.

POTATOES, STEAMED.--Potatoes can be steamed in their jackets, and it is a more economical method than peeling. It should be remembered, however, that steam is hotter than boiling water. If plain water is underneath and boils furiously, and the steam is well shut in, they will cook very quickly; but if, as is generally the case, something else is in the saucepan under the steamer, boiling gently, this does not apply. We refer to the ordinary steamer met with in private houses, and not to the ones used in the large hotels and restaurants.

POTATOES, BAKED.--When potatoes are baked in the oven in their jackets the larger they are the better. The oven must not be too fierce, and ample time should be allowed. Baked potatoes require quite two hours. This only refers to those baked in their jackets. When potatoes are cut up and baked in a tin they require some kind of fat, which, of course, in vegetarian cookery must be either oil or b.u.t.ter.

POTATOES, MASHED.--What may be termed high-cla.s.s mashed potatoes are made by mashing up ordinary boiled potatoes with a little milk _previously boiled_, a little b.u.t.ter, and pa.s.sing the whole through a wire sieve, when a little cream, b.u.t.ter and salt is added.

In private houses mashed potatoes are generally made from the remains of cold boiled potatoes, or when the cook, in boiling the potatoes, has made a failure. Still, of course, potatoes are boiled often expressly for the purpose of being mashed. This is often the case where old potatoes have to be cut into all sorts of shapes and sizes in order to get rid of the black spots. As soon as the potatoes are boiled they are generally moistened in the saucepan with a little drop of milk. It is undoubtedly an improvement, and also entails very little extra trouble, to boil the milk first. There is a difference in flavour, which is very marked, between milk that has been boiled and raw milk. Suppose you have coffee for breakfast, add boiling milk to one cup and raw milk to another, and then see how great a difference there will be in the flavour of the two. A little b.u.t.ter should be added to mashed potatoes, but it is not really essential. Mashed potatoes can be served in the shape of a mould, that is, they can be shaped in a mould and then browned in the oven. If you serve mashed potatoes in an ordinary dish, and pile them up in the shape of a dome, the dish will look much prettier if you score it round with a fork and then place the dish in a fairly fierce even; the edges will brown, but be careful that they don't get burnt black.

POTATOES, FRIED.--The best lesson, if you wish to fry potatoes nicely, is to look in at the window of a fried fish shop, where every condition is fulfilled that is likely to lead to perfection. The bath of oil is deep and smoking hot, and in sufficient quant.i.ty not to lose greatly in temperature on the introduction of the frying-basket containing the potatoes. The potatoes must be cut up into small pieces, not much bigger in thickness than the little finger; these are plunged into the smoking hot oil, and as soon as they are _slightly_ browned on the outside they are done. They acquire a darker colour after they are removed from the oil, and the inside will go on cooking for several minutes. It would be quite impossible to eat fried potatoes directly they are taken out of the fat, as they would burn the mouth terribly. It is best to throw the fried potatoes into a cloth for a few seconds.

POTATO CHIPS.--Potato chips are ordinary fried potatoes cut up when raw into little pieces about the size and thickness of a lucifer match. They, of course, will cook very quickly. They should be removed from the oil directly they _begin_ to turn colour.

POTATO RIBBON.--Potato ribbon is simply ordinary fried potatoes, in which the raw potato is cut in the shape of a ribbon. You take a potato and peel it in the ordinary way. You then take this and, with not too sharp a knife, peel it like apple, making the strip as long as you can, like children sometimes do when they throw the apple peel over their shoulders to see what letter it will make. You can go on peeling the potato round and round till there is none left. These ribbons are thrown into boiling oil, and must be removed as soon as they begin to turn colour. When piled up in a dish they look very pretty, and with a little pepper and salt, and a squeeze of lemon-juice, make an excellent meal when eaten with bread.

POTATO SAUTE.--This dish is more frequently met with abroad than in England, except in foreign restaurants. It is made by taking the remains of ordinary plain-boiled potatoes that are not floury. These are cut up into small pieces about the size of the thumb, no particular shape being necessary. They are thrown into a frying-pan with a little b.u.t.ter, and fried gently till the edges begin to brown; they are served with chopped parsley and pepper and salt. The b.u.t.ter should be poured over the potatoes, and supplies the fatty element which potato lacks.

POTATOES A LA MAITRE D'HOTEL.--These are very similar to potato saute, the difference being that they are not browned at the edges. Small kidney potatoes are best for the purpose. These must be boiled till tender, and the potatoes then cut into slices. These must be warmed up with a spoonful or two of white sauce (_see_ WHITE SAUCE), to which is added some chopped parsley and a little lemon-juice. A more common way is to boil the potatoes, slice them up while hot, and then toss them about in a vegetable-dish lightly with a lump of what is called Maitre d'hotel b.u.t.ter.

This is simply a lump of plain cold b.u.t.ter, mixed with chopped parsley, till it looks like a lump of cold parsley and b.u.t.ter. When tossed about squeeze a little lemon-juice over the whole and serve.

POTATOES, NEW.--New potatoes should be washed and the skin, if necessary, rubbed off with the fingers; they should be thrown into boiling water, slightly salted, and as a rule require from fifteen to five-and-twenty minutes to boil before they are done. During the last few minutes throw in one or two sprigs of fresh mint, drain them off and let there dry, and then place them in a vegetable-dish with the mint and a little piece of b.u.t.ter, in which the potatoes should be boiled to give them a shiny appearance outside.

New potatoes can also be served with a little white sauce to which has been added a little chopped parsley.

POTATO b.a.l.l.s.--Mash some boiled potatoes with a little b.u.t.ter, pepper, salt, chopped parsley, chopped onion, or still better, shallot, and add a few savoury herbs. Mix up one or two or more well-beaten eggs, according to the quant.i.ty of potato, roll the mixture into b.a.l.l.s, flour them, and fry them a nice brown colour, and serve.