The following information cannot come in a better place, to induce ladies to give to the duty of house-keeping more attention, as from their remissness in this particular the most expensive part of their tables are put into the hands of confectioners. At a late inspection of adulterated flour, where damages were given to the amount of £10,000, Mr. Clark, the operator at Apothecaries' Hall, found the adulterated flour to consist of an abominable mixture of beans, buck-wheat, and flour of the very coarsest description. He goes on to state, he had upon several former occasions found in bakers' flour an immense quantity of plaster of Paris, burnt bones, an earthy substance, technically termed Derbyshire white, of the most destructive nature, but prepared for the sole use of bakers, confectioners, and pastry-cooks. The colour of all these dreadful ingredients is beautiful. It resembles that of the finest flour, and the article is impossible to be detected, in its unmade-up state, without a chemical process. Mr. Clark further says, the public ought to be most particularly on their guard in their use of confectionary, as the confectioners use not only what is stated above, but the following poisons in great abundance: cromate of lead, copper, verdigris, iron, rose-pink, vermilion, and powder blue. The adulterations of beans and peas may be detected by mixing the flour to be tested with water and a small quantity of ammonia, the beans will turn brown, and the peas yellow; while the flour with other ingredients will remain white but ammonia will not detect adulteration of burnt bones, or plaster of Paris. A small quantity of diluted oil of vitriol will detect all those kinds except plaster of Paris. It is to be hoped that this public declaration will have some effect in diffusing the knowledge of making pastry and confectionary among the consumers. It would be an affront to common sense to say more on the subject. The French are particular in dressing out their tables regularly, in twos, fours, sixes, or eights, according to the length: such as, one soup, one fish, two removes, two or four ragouts or stews, which such a course admits of, according to the number of covers, which rises progressively, admitting of a variety of soups, fishes, braizes, pies, patties, crustades, casseroles, &c. The second course takes the same form in its varieties of roasts, fish, and salads, dressed vegetables, pastry, creams, sweet and savory jellies, enclosing meats, fish, and fruits. The desserts, which are put on the table crowded together in small dishes, are always very plentiful. They are very particular to have them in their due order: a certain number of covers requires so and so: two pines, two melons, two cakes, two grapes. They have generally a dormant, which remains during the service. The dessert is served round as other dishes, interspersing according to order, four plums and raisins, four almonds and nuts, four compotes, four biscuits, four dried fruits, such as figs, pears, apricots, and peaches, four caramels, four chemises: when the table is longer, there may be six or eight of the same sort of things properly distributed. If Ices may either be served before the dessert, with it, or handed round. Whatever mode is adopted, they must be accompanied with compotes, and, in the height of luxury, followed by preserved ginger. Wine Zests. Three covered silver dishes of deviled grouse or ducks, four plates of olives, four of anchovies, and four of biscuit, oysters, butters, zests, &c. &c. Wines. Port, Claret, Sherry, Madeira, Champagne, Burgundy, and Rhenish, with Curacoa Marischino, and Noyeau. If a mistress calculates and arranges these things in her mind, and attends to what will fill her dishes, her eye will become so accurate, that she will soon miss half a pound of grapes, or any thing else from her table, and she will know whether they cost 1s. 6d., 2s., or 3s. 6d. per lb., and so of every other thing; and unless firstrate servants are kept, a dessert never has half the appearance, if not set out by the lady herself. Every thing goes right after the lady begins to calculate. Many a thoughtless, expensive and useless dinner would never have been given, had the lady begun earlier to look into her expenses. Now were two, four, six, or eight dinners to be restrained in the year, say that was a saving of 1007. to as many different classes, and that 1007. were laid out in any prudent manner, or even planting waste ground, it would be a provision for a child, which may be left on the world friendless and penny less. * A lady sent a commission to a friend in London, to have ordered for her, early in November, a quarter of house-lamb, and some other rare things. Her friend found it difficult to procure, and wrote that the lamb might be had, if notice was given two days before, for twenty-eight shillings. The price struck the lady so forcibly, that she returned for answer, she would not require it, as she could have a fine turkey for eight shillings. Were ladies to accustom themselves to look into their own affairs, they would not be led by their servants into extravagancies of which they alone are the sufferers in the end. A servant is always to be suspected that advises extravagantly; whenever there is a reference to great places, where they always did so and so; and the English, who do not keep first-rate cooks, are so little accustomed to real good cookery, that if they get the first-fruits boiled on the gallop, swimming in blood, and hardly warm at the heart, half-roasted, or burnt to a cinder, they are content; while a good cook would dress them dishes of the things in season far superior, often at a tenth, and at least a third of their value. * Over lamps. The sauces over lamps may be introduced in the corners, in the side-centres, or in the middle; if in the middle,t wo sauce spoons will be required, to facilitate the helping from either side. The a' ove sauces would be superfluous for such a course; and are merely put down to show how they may be placed in different courses. |