It is now three shillings and sixpence a bushel at Boston; but the prices of provisions of all kinds have been much raised of late in all parts of America, owing to the uncommonly high prices which are paid for them in the European markets since the commencement of the present war.
Indian Corn and rye are very nearly of the same weight, but the former gives rather more flour, when ground and sifted, than the latter.—I find by a report of the Board of Agriculture, of the 10th of November 1795, that three bushels of Indian Corn weighed 1 cwt. 1 qr. 18 lb. (or 53 lb. each bushel), and gave 1 cwt. 20 lb. of flour and 26 lb. of bran; while three bushels of rye, weighing 1 cwt. 1 qr. 22 lb. (or 54 lb. the bushel), gave only 1 cwt. 17 lb. of flour and 28 lb. of bran.— But I much suspect that the Indian Corn used in these experiments was not of the best quality[13].
I saw some of it, and it appeared to me to be of that kind which is commonly grown in the southern states of North America.— Indian Corn of the growth of colder climates is, probably, at least as heavy as wheat, which weights at a medium about 58 lb. per bushel, and I imagine it will give nearly as much flour[14].
In regard to the most advantageous method of using Indian Corn as Food, I would strongly recommend, particularly when it is employed for feeding the Poor, a dish made of it that is in the highest estimation throughout America, and which is really very good, and very nourishing. This is called hasty-pudding; and it is made in the following manner: A quantity of water, proportioned to the quantity of hasty-pudding intended to be made, is put over the fire in an open iron pot, or kettle, and a proper quantity of salt for seasoning the pudding being previously dissolved in the water, Indian meal is stirred into it, by little and little, with a wooded spoon with a long handle, while the water goes on to be heated and made to boil;— great care being taken to put in the meal by very small quantities, and by sifting it slowly through the fingers of the left hand, and stirring the water about very briskly at the same time with the wooden spoon, with the right hand, to mix the meal with the water in such a manner as to prevent lumps being formed.— The meal should be added so slowly, that, when the water is brought to boil, the mass should not be thicker than water-gruel, and half an hour more, at least, should be employed to add the additional quantity of meal necessary for bringing the pudding to be of the proper consistency; during which time it should be stirred about continually, and kept constantly boiling.— The method of determining when the pudding has acquired the proper consistency is this;—the wooden spoon used for stirring it being placed upright in the middle of the kettle, if it falls down, more meal must be added; but if the pudding is sufficiently thick and adhesive to support it in a vertical position, it is declared to be PROOF; and no more meal is added.—If the boiling, instead of being continued only half an hour, be prolonged to three quarters of an hour, or an hour, the pudding will be considerably improved by this prolongation.
This hasty-pudding, when done, may be eaten in various ways.— It may be put, while hot, by spoonfuls into a bowl of milk, and eaten with the milk with a spoon, in lieu of bread; and used in this way it is remarkably palatable.—It may likewise be eaten, while hot, with a sauce composed of butter and brown sugar, or butter and molasses, with or without a few drops of vinegar; and however people who have not been accustomed to this American cookery may be prejudiced against it, they will find upon trial that it makes a most excellent dish, and one which never fails to be much liked by those who are accustomed to it. —The universal fondness of Americans for it proves that it must have some merit;—for in a country which produces all the delicacies of the table in the greatest abundance, it is not to be supposed that a whole nation should have a taste so depraved as to give a decided preference to any particular species of Food which has not something to recommend it.
The manner in which hasty-pudding is eaten with butter and sugar, or butter and molasses, in America, is as follows: The hasty-pudding being spread out equally upon a plate, while hot, an excavation is made in the middle of it, with a spoon, into which excavation a piece of butter, as large as a nutmeg, is put; and upon it, a spoonful of brown sugar, or more commonly of molasses.— The butter being soon melted by the heat of the pudding, mixes with the sugar, or molasses, and forms a sauce, which, being confined in the excavation made for it, occupies the middle of the plate.—The pudding is then eaten with a spoon, each spoonful of it being dipt into the sauce before it is carried to the mouth; care being had in taking it up, to begin on the outside, or near the brim of the plate, and to approach the center by regular advances, in order not to demolish too soon the excavation which forms the reservoir for the sauce.
If I am prolix in these descriptions, my reader must excuse me; for persuaded as I am that the action of Food upon the palate, and consequently the pleasure of eating, depends very much indeed upon the MANNER in which the Food is applied to the organs of taste, I have thought it necessary to mention, and even to illustrate in the clearest manner, every circumstance which appeared to me to have influence in producing those important effects.
In the case in question, as it is the sauce alone which gives taste and palatableness to the Food, and consequently is the cause of the pleasure enjoyed in eating it, the importance of applying, or using it, in such a manner as to produce the greatest and most durable effect possible on the organs of taste, is quite evident; and in the manner of eating this Food which has here been described and recommended, the small quantity of sauce used, (and the quantity must be small, as it is the expensive article,) is certainly applied to the palate more immediately;— by a greater surface;—and in a state of greater condensation;— and consequently acts upon it more powerfully;—and continues to act upon it for a greater length of time, than it could well be made to do when used in any other way.—Were it more intimately mixed with the pudding, for instance, instead of being merely applied to its external surface, its action would certainly be much less powerful; and were it poured over the pudding, or was proper care not taken to keep it confined in the little excavation or reservoir made in the midst of the pudding to contain it, much of it would attach itself and adhere to the surface of the plate, and be lost.
Hasty-pudding has this in particular to recommend it;—and which renders it singularly useful as Food for poor families,—that when more of it is made at once than is immediately wanted, what remains may be preserved good for several days, and a number of very palatable dishes may be made of it.—It may be cut in thin slice, and toasted before the fire, or on a gridiron, and eaten instead of bread, either in milk, or in any kind of soup or pottage; or with any other kind of Food with which bread is commonly eaten; or it may be eaten cold, without any preparation, with a warm sauce made of butter, molasses, or sugar, and a little vinegar.—In this last-mentioned way of eating it, it is quite as palatable, and I believe more wholesome, than when eaten warm; that is to say, when it is first made.—It may likewise be put cold, without any preparation, into hot milk; and this mixture is by no means unpalatable, particularly if it be suffered to remain in the milk till it is warmed throughout, or if it be boiled in the milk for a few moments.
A favourite dish in America, and a very good one, is made of cold boiled cabbage chopped fine, with a small quantity of cold boiled beef, and slices of cold hasty-pudding, all fried together in butter or hog's lard.
Though hasty-puddings are commonly made of Indian meal, yet it is by no means uncommon to make them of equal parts of Indian, and of rye meal;—and they are sometimes made of rye meal alone; or of rye meal and wheat flour mixed.
To give a satisfactory idea of the expence of preparing hasty-puddings in this country, (England,) and of feeding the Poor with them, I made the following experiment:—About 2 pints of water, which weighed just 2 lb. Avoirdupois, were put over the fire in a saucepan of a proper size, and 58 grains in weight or 1/120 of a pound of salt being added, the water was made to boil.—During the time that is was heating, small quantities of Indian meal were stirred into it, and care was taken, by moving the water briskly about, with a wooden spoon, to prevent the meal from being formed into lumps; and as often as any lumps were observed, they were carefully broken with the spoon;—the boiling was then continued half an hour, and during this time the pudding was continually stirred about with the wooden spoon, and so much more meal was added as was found necessary to bring the pudding to be of the proper consistency.
This being done, it was taken from the fire and weighed, and was found to weigh just 1 lb. 11 1/2 oz.—Upon weighing the meal which remained, (the quantity first provided having been exactly determined by weight in the beginning of the experiment,) it was found that just HALF A POUND of meal had been used.
From the result of this experiment it appears, that for each pound of Indian meal employed in making hasty-pudding, we may reckon 3 lb. 9 oz. of the pudding.—And expence of providing this kind of Food, or the cost of it by the pound, at the present high price of grain in this country, may be seen by the following computation:
L. s. d.
Half a pound of Indian meal, (the quantity) ]
used in the foregoing experiment,) at 2d ]
a pound or 7s. 6d. a bushel for the corn, ]… 0 0 1
(the price stated in the report of the ]
Board of Agriculture of the 10th of ]
November 1795, so often referred to,) costs]
58 grains or 1/120 of a pound of salt, at ]
2d. per pound ]… 0 0 0 1/60
——————
Total, 0 0 1 1/60
Now, as the quantity of pudding prepared with these ingredients was 1 lb. 11 1/2 oz. and the cost of the ingredients amounted to ONE PENNY AND ONE SIXTIETH OF A PENNY, this gives for the cost of one pound of hasty-pudding 71/120 of a penny, or 2 1/3 farthings, very nearly.—It must however be remembered that the Indian Corn is here reckoned at a very exorbitant price indeed[15].
But before it can be determined what the expence will be of feeding the Poor with this kind of Food, it will be necessary to ascertain how much of it will be required to give a comfortable meal to one person; and how much the expence will be of providing the sauce for that quantity of pudding.—To determine these two points with some degree of precision, I made the following experiment:— Having taken my breakfast, consisting of two dishes of coffee, with cream, and a dry toast, at my usual hour of breakfasting, (nine o'clock in the morning,) and having fasted from that time till five o'clock in the afternoon, I then dined upon my hasty-pudding, with the American sauce already described, and I found, after my appetite for Food was perfectly satisfied, and I felt that I had made a comfortable dinner, that I had eaten just 1 lb. 1 1/2 oz. of the pudding; and the ingredients, of which the sauce which was eaten with it was composed, were half an ounce of butter; three quarters of an ounce of molasses; and 21 grains or 1/342 of a pint of vinegar.
The cost of this dinner may be seen by the following computation:
For the Pudding
Farthings.
1 lb. 1 1/2 oz. of hasty-pudding, at
2 1/3 farthings a pound … … … … 2 1/2
———
For the Sauce
Half an ounce of butter, at 10d. per pound 1 1/4
Three quarters of an ounce of molasses,
at 6d. per pound … … … … 1
1/352 of a pint of vinegar, at 2s 8d.
the gallon … … … … … … 0 1/16
———
Total for the Sauce, 2 5/16 farthings.
Sum total of expences for this dinner,
for the pudding and its sauce… … … 4 13/16 farthings.
Or something less than one penny farthing.
I believe it would not be easy to provide a dinner in London, at this time, when provisions of all kinds are so dear, equally grateful to the palate and satisfying to the cravings of hunger, at a smaller expence.—And that this meal was sufficient for all the purposes of nourishment appears from hence, that though I took my usual exercise, and did not sup after it, I neither felt any particular faintness, nor any unusual degree of appetite for my breakfast next morning.
I have been the more particular in my account of this experiment, to show in what manner experiments of this kind ought, in my opinion, to be conducted;—and also to induce others to engage in these most useful investigations.
It will not escape the observation of the reader, that small as the expence was of providing this dinner, yet very near one-half of that sum was laid out in purchasing the ingredients for the sauce.—But it is probable that a considerable part of that expence might be saved.—In Italy, polenta, which is nothing more than hasty-pudding made with Indian meal and water, is very frequently, and I believe commonly eaten without any sauce, and when on holidays or other extraordinary occasions they indulge themselves by adding a sauce to it, this sauce is far from expensive.—It is commonly nothing more than a very small quantity of butter spread over the flat surface of the hot polenta which is spread out thin in a large platter; with a little Parmezan or other strong cheese, reduced to a coarse powder by grating it with a grater, strewed over it.
Perhaps this Italian sauce might be more agreeable to an English palate than that commonly used in America. It would certainly be less expensive, as much less butter would be required, and as cheese in this country is plenty and cheap. But whatever may be the sauce used with Food prepared of Indian Corn, I cannot too strongly recommend the use of that grain.
While I was employed in making my experiment upon hasty-pudding, I learnt from my servant, (a Bavarian,) who assisted me, a fact which gave me great pleasure, as it served to confirm me in the opinion I have long entertained of the great merit of Indian Corn.—He assured me that polenta is much esteemed by the peasantry in Bavaria, and that it makes a very considerable article of their Food; that it comes from Italy through the Tyrol; and that it is commonly sold in Bavaria AT THE SAME PRICE AS WHEAT FLOUR! Can there be stronger proofs of its merit?
The negroes in America prefer it to rice; and the Bavarian peasants to wheat.—Why then should not the inhabitants of this island like it? It will not, I hope, be pretended, that it is in this favoured soil alone that prejudices take such deep root that they are never to be eradicated, or that there is any thing peculiar in the construction of the palate of an Englishman.
The objection that may be made to Indian Corn,—that it does not thrive well in this country,—is of no weight. The same objection might, with equal reason, be made to rice, and twenty other articles of Food now in common use.
It has ever been considered, by those versed in the science of political economy, as an object of the first importance to keep down the prices of provisions, particularly in manufacturing and commercial countries;—and if there be a country on earth where this ought to be done, it is surely Great Britain:—and there is certainly no country which has the means of doing it so much in its power.
But the progress of national improvements must be very slow, however favorable other circumstances may be, where those citizens, who, by their rank and situation in society, are destined to direct the public opinion, AFFECT to consider the national prejudices as unconquerable[16].—But to return to the subject immediately under consideration.
Though hasty-pudding is, I believe, the cheapest Food that can be prepared with Indian Corn, yet several other very cheap dishes may be made of it, which in general are considered as being more palatable, and which, most probably, would be preferred in this country; and among these, what in America is called a plain Indian pudding certainly holds the first place, and can hardly fail to be much liked by those, who will be persuaded to try it.—It is not only cheap and wholesome, but a great delicacy; and it is principally on account of these puddings that the Americans, who reside in this country, import annually for their own consumption Indian Corn from the Continent of America.
In order to be able to give the most particular and satisfactory information respecting the manner of preparing these Indian puddings, I caused one of them to be made here, (in London,) under my immediate direction, by a person born and brought up in North America, and who understands perfectly the American art of cookery in all its branches[17]. This pudding, which was allowed by competent judges who tasted it to be as good as they had ever eaten, was composed and prepared in the following manner:
Approved Receipt for making a plain Indian Pudding.
Three pounds of Indian meal (from which the bran had been separated by sifting it in a common hair sieve) were put into a large bowl, and five pints of boiling water were put to it, and the whole well stirred together; three quarters of a pound of molasses and one ounce of salt were then added to it, and these being well mixed, by stirring them with the other ingredients, the pudding was poured into a fit bag; and the bag being tied up, (an empty space being left in the bag tying it, equal to about one-sixth of its contents, for giving room for the pudding to swell,) this pudding was put into a kettle of boiling water, and was boiled six hours without intermission; the loss of the water in the kettle by evaporation during this time being frequently replaced with boiling water from another kettle.
The pudding upon being taken out of the bag weighed ten pounds and one ounce; and it was found to be perfectly done, not having the smallest remains of that raw taste so disagreeable to all palates, and particularly to those who are not used to it, which always predominates in dishes prepared of Indian meal when they are not sufficiently cooked.
As this raw taste is the only well-founded objection that can be made to this most useful grain, and is, I am persuaded, the only cause which makes it disliked by those who are not accustomed to it, I would advise those who may attempt to introduce it into common use, where it is not known, to begin with Indian (bag) puddings, such as I have here been describing; and that this is a very cheap kind of Food will be evident from the following computation:
Expense of preparing the Indian Pudding above mentioned.
Pence. Pence.
3 lb. of Indian meal at … … 1 1/2 … 4 1/2
3/4 lb. of molasses at … … 6 … 4 1/2
1 oz. of salt at 2d. per lb. … … … 0 1/8
———
Total for the ingredients, 9 1/8
As this pudding weighed 10 1/16 lbs. and the ingredients cost nine pence and half a farthing, this gives three farthings and a half for each pound of pudding.
It will be observed, that in this computation I have reckoned the Indian meal at no more than 1 1/2d per pound, whereas in the calculation which was given to determine the expense of preparing hasty-pudding it was taken at two pence a pound. I have here reckoned it at 1 1/2d. a pound, because I am persuaded it might be had here in London for that price, and even for less.—That which has lately been imported from Boston has not cost so much; and were it not for the present universal scarcity of provisions in Europe, which has naturally raised the price of grain in North America, I have no doubt but Indian meal might be had in this country for less than one penny farthing per pound.
In composing the Indian pudding above mentioned, the molasses is charged at 6d. the pound, but that price is very exorbitant. A gallon of molasses weighing about 10 lb. commonly costs in the West Indies from 7d. to 9d. sterling; and allowing sufficiently for the expenses of freight, insurance, and a fair profit for the merchant, it certainly ought not to cost in London more than 1s. 8d. the gallon[18]; and this would bring it to 2d. per pound.
If we take the prices of Indian meal and molasses as they are here ascertained, and compute the expense of the ingredients for the pudding before mentioned, it will be as follows:—
Pence. Pence.
3 lb. of Indian meal at … … 1 1/4 … 3 3/4
3/4 lb. of molasses at … … 2 … 1 1/2
1 oz. of salt at 2d. per lb. … … … 0 1/8
———
Total for the ingredients, 5 3/8
Now as the pudding weighed 10 1/16 lbs. this gives two farthings, very nearly, for each pound of pudding; which is certainly very cheap indeed, particularly when the excellent qualities of the Food are considered.
This pudding, which ought to come out of the bag sufficiently hard to retain its form, and even to be cut into slices, is so rich and palatable, that it may very well be eaten without any sauce; but those who can afford it commonly eat it with butter. A slice of the pudding, about half an inch, or three quarters of an inch in thickness, being laid hot upon a plate, an excavation is made in the middle of it, with the point of the knife, into which a small piece of butter, as large perhaps as a nutmeg, is put, and where it soon melts. To expedite the melting of the butter, the small piece of pudding which is cut out of the middle of the slice to form the excavation for receiving the butter, is frequently laid over the butter for a few moments, and is taken away (and eaten) as soon as the butter is melted. If the butter is not salt enough, a little salt is put into it after it is melted. The pudding is to be eaten with a knife and fork, beginning at the circumference of the slice, and approaching regularly towards the center, each piece of pudding being taken up with the fork, and dipped into the butter, or dipped into it IN PART ONLY, as is commonly the case, before it is carried to the mouth.
To those who are accustomed to view objects upon a great scale, and who are too much employed in directing what ought to be done, to descend to those humble investigations which are necessary to show HOW it is to be effected, these details will doubtless appear trifling and ridiculous; but as my mind is strongly impressed with the importance of giving the most minute and circumstantial information respecting the MANNER OF PERFORMING any operation, however simple it may be, to which people have not been accustomed, I must beg the indulgence of those who may not feel themselves particularly interested in these descriptions.
In regard to the amount of the expence for sauce for a plain Indian (bag) pudding, I have found that when butter is used for that purpose, (and no other sauce ought ever to be used with it,) half an ounce of butter will suffice for one pound of the pudding. —It is very possible to contrive matters so as to use much more;—perhaps twice, or three times as much;—but if the directions relative to the MANNER of eating this Food, which have already been given, are strictly followed, the allowance of butter here determined will be quite sufficient for the purpose for which it is designed; that is to say, for giving an agreeable relish to the pudding.—Those who are particularly fond of butter may use three quarters of an ounce of it with a pound of the pudding; but I am certain, that to use an ounce would be to waste it to no purpose whatever.
If now we reckon Irish, or other firkin butter, (which, as it is salted, is the best that can be used,) at eight pence the pound, the sauce for one pound of pudding, namely, half an ounce of butter, will cost just one farthing; and this, added to the cost of the pudding, two farthings the pound, gives three farthing for the cost by the pound of this kind of food, with its sauce; and, as this food is not only very rich and nutritive, but satisfying at the same time in a very remarkable degree, it appears how well calculated it is for feeding the Poor.
It should be remembered, that the molasses used as an ingredient in these Indian puddings, does not serve merely to give taste to them;—it acts a still more important part;—it gives what, in the language of the kitchen, is called lightness.—It is a substitute for eggs, and nothing but eggs can serve as a substitute for it, except it be treacle; which, in fact, is a kind of molasses; or perhaps coarse brown sugar, which has nearly the same properties.— It prevents the pudding from being heavy, and clammy; and without communicating to it any disagreeable sweet taste, or any thing of that flavour peculiar to molasses, gives it a richness uncommonly pleasing to the palate. And to this we may add, that it is nutritive in a very extraordinary degree.—This is a fact well known in all countries where sugar is made.
How far the laws and regulations of trade existing in this country might render it difficult to procure molasses from those places where it may be had at the cheapest rate, I know not;—nor can I tell how far the free importation of it might be detrimental to our public finances;—I cannot, however, help thinking, that it is so great an object to this country to keep down the prices of provisions, or rather to check the alarming celerity with which they are rising, that means ought to be found to facilitate the importation, and introduction into common use, of an article of Food of such extensive utility. It might serve to correct in some measure, the baleful influence of another article of foreign produce, (tea,) which is doing infinite harm in this island.
A point of great importance in preparing an Indian pudding, is to boil it PROPERLY and SUFFICIENTLY. The water must be actually boiling when the pudding is put into it; and it never must be suffered to cease boiling for a moment, till it is done; and if the pudding is not boiled full six hours, it will not be sufficiently cooked.—Its hardness, when done, will depend on the space left in the bag its expansion. The consistency of the pudding ought to be such, that it can be taken out of the bag without falling to pieces;—but it is always better, on many accounts, to make it too hard than too soft. The form of the pudding may be that of a cylinder; of rather of a truncated cone, the largest end being towards the mouth of the bag, in order that it may be got out of the bag with greater facility; or it may be made of a globular form, by tying it up in a napkin.—But whatever is the form of the pudding, the bag, or napkin in which it is to be boiled, must be wet in boiling water before the pudding, (which is quite liquid before it is boiled,) is poured into it; otherwise it will be apt to run through the cloth.
Though this pudding is so good, perfectly plain, when made according to the directions here given, that I do not thing it capable of any real improvement; yet there are various additions that may be made to it, and that frequently are made to it, which may perhaps be thought by some to render it more palatable, or otherwise to improve it. Suet may, for instance, be added, and there is no suet pudding whatever superior to it; and as no sauce is necessary with a suet pudding, the expence for the suet will be nearly balanced by the saving of butter. To a pudding of the size of that just described, in the composition of which three pounds of Indian meal were used, one pound of suet will be sufficient; and this, in general, will not cost more than from five pence to six pence, even in London;—and the butter for sauce to a plain pudding of the same size would cost nearly as much. The suet pudding will indeed be rather the cheapest of the two, for the pound of suet will add a pound in weight to the pudding;—whereas the butter will only add five ounces.
As the pudding, made plain, weighing 10 1/16 lb. cost 5 3/8 pence, the same pudding, with the addition of one pound of suet, would weigh 11 1/16 lb. and would cost 11 1/8 pence,—reckoning the suet at six pence the pound.—Hence it appears that Indian suet pudding may be made in London for about one penny a pound. Wheaten bread, which is by no means so palatable, and certainly not half so nutritive, now costs something more than three pence the pound: and to this may be added, that dry bread can hardly be eaten alone; but of suet pudding a very comfortable meal may be made without any thing else.
A pudding in great repute in all parts of North America, is what is called an apple pudding. This is an Indian pudding, sometimes with, and sometimes without suet, with dried cuttings of sweet apples mixed with it; and when eaten with butter, it is most delicious Food. These apples, which are pared as soon as they are gathered from the tree, and being cut into small pieces, are freed from their cores, and thoroughly dried in the sun, may be kept good for several years. The proportions of the ingredients used in making these apple puddings are various; but, in general, about one pound of dried apples is mixed with three pounds of meal,—three quarters of a pound of molasses,—half an ounce of salt, and five pints of boiling water.
In America, various kinds of berries, found wild in the woods, such as huckle-berries, belberries, whortle-berries, etc. are gathered and dried, and afterwards used as ingredients in Indian puddings: and dried cherries and plums may be made use of in the same manner.
All these Indian puddings have this advantage in common, that they are very good WARMED UP.—They will all keep good several days; and when cut into thin slices and toasted, are an excellent substitute for bread.
It will doubtless be remarked, that in computing the expence of providing these different kinds of puddings, I have taken no notice of the expence which will be necessary for fuel to cook them.—This is an article which ought undoubtedly to be taken into the account. The reason of my not doing it here is this:— Having, in the course of my Experiments on Heat, found means to perform all the common operations of cookery with a surprisingly small expence of fuel, I find that the expence in question, when the proper arrangements are made for saving fuel, will be very trifling. And farther, as I mean soon to publish my Treatise on the Management of Heat, in which I shall give the most ample directions relative to the mechanical arrangements of kitchen fire-places, and the best forms for all kinds of kitchen utensils, I was desirous not to anticipate a subject which will more naturally find its place in another Essay.—In the mean time I would observe, for the satisfaction of those who may have doubts respecting the smallness of the expence necessary for fuel in cooking for the Poor, that the result of many experiments, of which I shall hereafter publish a particular account, has proved in the most satisfactory manner, that when Food is prepared in large quantities, and cooked in kitchens properly arranged, the expense for fuel ought never to amount to more than two per cent. of the cost of the Food, even where victuals of the cheapest kind are provided, such as is commonly used in feeding the Poor. In the Public Kitchen of the House of Industry at Munich the expence for fuel is less than one per cent. of the cost of the Food, as may be seen in the computation, page 206, Chapter III. of this Essay: and it ought not to be greater in many parts of Great Britain.
With regard to the price at which Indian Corn can be imported into this country from North America in time of peace, the following information, which I procured through the medium of a friend, from Captain Scott, a most worthy man, who has been constantly employed above thirty years as master of a ship in the trade between London and Boston in the State of Massachusetts, will doubtless be considered as authentic[19].
The following are the questions which were put to him,—with his answers to them:
Q. What is the freight, per ton, of merchandise from Boston in North America to London in time of peace?——A. Forty shillings (sterling).
Q. What is the freight, per barrel, of Indian Corn?——A. Five shillings.
Q. How much per cent. is paid for insurance from Boston to
London in time of peace?—— A. Two per cent.
Q. What is the medium price of Indian Corn, per bushel, in New England?——A. Two shillings and sixpence.
Q. What is the price of it at this time?——A. Three shillings and sixpence.
Q. How many bushels of Indian Corn are reckoned to a barrel?
——A. Four
From this account it appears that Indian Corn might, in time of peace, be imported into this country and sold here for less than four shillings the bushel;—and that it ought not to cost at this moment much more than five shillings a bushel.
If it be imported in casks, (which is certainly the best way of packing it,) as the freight of a barrel containing four bushels is five shillings, this gives 1s. 3d. a bushel for freight; and if we add one penny a bushel for insurance, this will make the amount of freight and insurance 1s. 4d. which, added to the prime cost of the Corn in America, (2s. 6d. per bushel in the time of peace, and 3s. 6d. at this time,) will bring it to 3s. 10d. per bushel in time of peace, and 4s. 10d at this present moment.
A bushel of Indian Corn of the growth of New England was found to weigh 61 lb.; but we will suppose it to weigh at a medium only 60 lb. per bushel; and we will also suppose that to each bushel of Corn when ground there is 9 lb. of bran, which is surely a very large allowance, and 1 lb. of waste in grinding and sifting;— this will leave 50 lb. of flour for each bushel of the Corn; and as it will cost, in time of peace, only 3s. 10d. or 46 pence, this gives for each pound of flour 46/50 of a penny, or 3 3/4 farthings very nearly.
If the price of the Indian Corn per bushel be taken at 4s. 10d. what it ought to cost at this time in London, without any bounty on importation being brought into the account,—the price of the flour will be 4s. 10d equal to 58 pence for 50 lb. in weight, or 1 1/6 penny the pound, which is less than one third of the present price of wheat flour. Rice, which is certainly not more nourishing than Indian Corn, costs 4 1/2 pence the pound.
If 1/13 of the value of Indian Corn be added to defray the expence of grinding it, the price of the flour will not even then be greater in London than one penny the pound in time of peace, and about one penny farthing at the present high price of that grain in North America. Hence it appears, that in stating the mean price in London of the flour of Indian Corn at one penny farthing, I have rather rated it too high than too low.
With regard to the expense of importing it, there may be, and doubtless there are frequently other expences besides those of freight and insurance; but, on the other hand, a very considerable part of the expences attending the importation of it may be reimbursed by the profits arising from the sale of the barrels in which it is imported, as I have been informed by a person who imports it every year, and always avails himself of that advantage.
One circumstance much in favour of the introduction of Indian Corn into common use in this country is the facility with which it may be had in any quantity. It grows in all quarters of the globe, and almost in every climate; and in hot countries two or three crops of it may be raised from the same ground in the course of a year.—It succeeds equally well in the cold regions of Canada;—in the temperate climes of the United States of America;—and in the burning heats of the tropics; and it might be had from Africa and Asia as well as from America. And were it even true,—what I never can be persuaded to believe,—that it would be impossible to introduce it as an article of Food in this country, it might at least be used as fodder for cattle, whose aversion to it, I will venture to say, would not be found to be UNCONQUERABLE.
Oats now cost near two pence the pound in this country. Indian Corn, which would cost but a little more than half as much, would certainly be much more nourishing, even for horses, as well as for horned cattle;—and as for hogs and poultry, they ought never to be fed with any other grain. Those who have tasted the pork and the poultry fatted on Indian Corn will readily give their assent to this opinion.
CHAPTER. VII.
Receipts for preparing various Kinds of cheap Food.
Of MACCARONI.
Of POTATOES.
Approved receipts for boiling potatoes.
Of potatoe puddings.
Of potatoe dumplings.
Of boiled potatoes with a sauce.
Of potatoe salad.
Of BARLEY
Is much more nutritious than wheat.
Barley meal, a good substitute for pearl barley, for making
soups.
General directions for preparing cheap soups.
Receipt for the cheapest soup that can be made.
Of SAMP
Method of preparing it
Is an excellent Substitute for Bread.
Of brown Soup.
Of RYE BREAD.
When I began writing the foregoing Chapter of this Essay, I had hopes of being able to procure satisfactory information respecting the manner in which the maccaroni eaten by the Poor in Italy, and particularly in the kingdom of Naples, is prepared;— but though I have taken much pains in making these inquiries, my success in them has not been such as I could have wished:— The process, I have often been told, is very simple; and from the very low price at which maccaroni is sold, ready cooked, to the Lazzaroni in the streets of Naples, it cannot be expensive. —There is a better kind of maccaroni which is prepared and sold by the nuns in some of the convents in Italy, which is much dearer; but this sort would in any country be too expensive to be used as Food for the Poor.—It is however not dearer than many kinds of Food used by the Poor in this country; and as it is very palatable and wholesome, and may be used in a variety of ways, a receipt for preparing it may perhaps not be unacceptable to many of my readers.
A Receipt for making that Kind of Maccaroni called in Italy
TAGLIATI.
Take any number of fresh-laid eggs and break them into a bowl or tray, beat them up with a spoon, but not to a froth,—add of the finest wheat flour as much as is necessary to form a dough of the consistence of paste.—Work this paste well with a rolling-pin;— roll it out into very thin leaves;—lay ten or twelve of these leaves one upon the other, and with a sharp knife cut them into very fine threads.—These threads (which, if the mass is of a proper consistency, will not adhere to each other) are to be laid on a clean board, or on paper, and dried in the air.
This maccaroni, (or cut paste as it is called in Germany, where it is in great repute,) may be eaten in various ways; but the most common way of using it is to eat it with milk instead of bread, and with chicken broth, and other broths and soups, with which it is boiled. With proper care it may be kept good for many months. It is sometimes fried in butter, and in this way of cooking it, it forms a most excellent dish indeed; inferior, I believe, to no dish of flour that can be made. It is not, however, a very cheap dish, as eggs and butter are both expensive articles in most countries.
An inferiour kind of cut paste is sometimes prepared by the Poor in Germany, which is made simply of water and wheat flour, and this has more resemblance to common maccaroni than that just described; and might, in many cases, be used instead of it. I do not think, however, that it can be kept long without spoiling; whereas maccaroni, as is well known, may be kept good for a great length of time.—Though I have not been able to get any satisfactory information relative to the process of making maccaroni, yet I have made some experiments to ascertain the expense of cooking it, and of the cost of the cheese necessary for giving it a relish.
Half a pound of maccaroni, which was purchased at an Italian shop in London, and which cost ten pence[20], was boiled till it was sufficiently done, namely, about one hour and an half, when, being taken out of the boiling water and weighed, it was found to weigh thirty-one ounces and an half, or one pound fifteen ounces and an half. The quantity of cheese employed to give a relish to this dish of boiled maccaroni, (and which was grated over it after it was put into the dish,) was one ounce, and cost two farthings.
Maccaroni is considered as very cheap Food in those countries where it is prepared in the greatest perfection, and where it is in common use among the lower classes of society; and as wheat, of which grain it is always made, is a staple commodity in this country, it would certainly be worth while to take some trouble to introduce the manufacture of it, particularly as it is already become an article of luxury upon the tables of the rich, and as great quantities of it are annually imported and sold here at a most exorbitant price[21]:—But maccaroni is by no means the cheapest Food that can be provided for feeding the Poor, in this island;—nor do I believe it is so in any country.—Polenta, or Indian Corn, of which so much has already been said,— and Potatoes, of which too much cannot be said,—are both much better adapted, in all respects, for that purpose.—Maccaroni would however, I am persuaded, could it be prepared in this country, be much less expensive than many kinds of Food now commonly used by our Poor; and consequently might be of considerable use to them.
With regard to Potatoes they are now so generally known and their usefulness is so universally acknowledged, that it would be a waste of time to attempt to recommend them.—I shall therefore content myself with merely giving receipts for a few cheap dishes in which they are employed as a principal ingredient.
Though there is no article used as Food of which a greater variety of well-tasted and wholesome dishes may be prepared than of potatoes, yet it seems to be the unanimous opinion of those who are most acquainted with these useful vegetables, that the best way of cooking them is to boil them simply, and with their skins on, in water.—But the manner of boiling them is by no means a matter of indifference.—This process is better understood in Ireland, where by much the greater part of the inhabitants live almost entirely on this Food, than any where else.
This is what might have been expected;—but those who have never considered with attention the extreme slowness of the progress of national improvements, WHERE NOBODY TAKES PAINS TO ACCELERATE THEM, will doubtless be surprised when they are told that in most parts of England, though the use of potatoes all over the country has for so many years been general, yet, to this hour, few, comparatively, who eat them, know how to dress them properly.— The inhabitants of those countries which lie on the sea-coast opposite to Ireland have adopted the Irish method of boiling potatoes; but it is more than probable that a century at least would have been required for those improvements to have made their way through the island, had not the present alarms on account of a scarcity of grain roused the public, and fixed their attention upon a subject too long neglected in this enlightened country.
The introduction of improvements tending to increase the comforts and innocent enjoyments of that numerous and useful class of mankind who earn their bread by the sweat of their brow, is an object not more interesting to a benevolent mind than it is important in the eyes of an enlightened statesman.
There are, without doubt, GREAT MEN who will smile at seeing these observations connected with a subject so humble and obscure as the boiling of potatoes, but GOOD MEN will feel that the subject is not unworthy of their attention.
The following directions for boiling potatoes, which I have copied from a late Report of the Board of Agriculture, I can recommend from my own experience:
On the boiling of Potatoes so as to be eat as Bread.
There is nothing that would tend more to promote the consumption of potatoes than to have the proper mode of preparing them as Food generally known.—In London, this is little attended to; whereas in Lancashire and Ireland the boiling of potatoes is brought to very great perfection indeed. When prepared in the following manner, if the quality of the root is good, they may be eat as bread, a practice not unusual in Ireland.—The potatoes should be, as much as possible, of the same size, and the large and small ones boiled separately.—They must be washed clean, and, without paring or scraping, put in a pot with cold water, not sufficient to cover them, as they will produce themselves, before they boil, a considerable quantity of fluid.—They do not admit being put into a vessel of boiling water like greens.— If the potatoes are tolerably large, it will be necessary, as soon as they begin to boil, to throw in some cold water, and occasionally to repeat it, till the potatoes are boiled to the heart, (which will take from half an hour to an hour and a quarter, according to their size,) they will otherwise crack, and burst to pieces on the outside, whilst the inside will be nearly in a crude state, and consequently very unpalatable and unwholesome.—During the boiling, throwing in a little salt occasionally is found a great improvement, and it is certain that the slower they are cooked the better.—When boiled, pour off the water, and evaporate the moisture, by replacing the vessel in which the potatoes were boiled once more over the fire. —This makes them remarkably dry and mealy.—They should be brought to the table with the skins on, and eat with a little salt, as bread.—Nothing but experience can satisfy any one how superior the potatoe is, thus prepared, if the sort is good and meally.— Some prefer roasting potatoes; but the mode above detailed, extracted partly from the interesting paper of Samuel Hayes, Esquire, of Avondale, in Ireland, (Report on the Culture of Potatoes, P. 103.), and partly from the Lancashire reprinted Report (p.63.), and other communications to the Board, is at least equal, if not superior.—Some have tried boiling potatoes in steam, thinking by that process that they must imbibe less water.—But immersion in water causes the discharge of a certain substance, which the steam alone is incapable of doing, and by retaining which, the flavour of the root is injured, and they afterwards become dry by being put over the fire a second time without water.—With a little butter, or milk, of fish, they make an excellent mess.
These directions are so clear, that it is hardly possible to mistake them; and those who follow them exactly will find their potatoes surprisingly improved, and will be convinced that the manner of boiling them is a matter of much greater importance than has hitherto been imagined.
Were this method of boiling potatoes generally known in countries where these vegetables are only beginning to make their way into common use,— as in Bavaria, for instance,—I have no doubt but it would contribute more than any thing else to their speedy introduction.
The following account of an experiment, lately made in one of the parishes of this metropolis (London), was communicated to me by a friend, who has permitted me to publish it.—It will serve to show,—what I am most anxious to make appear,— that the prejudices of the Poor in regard to their Food ARE NOT UNCONQUERABLE February 25th, 1796.
The parish officers of Saint Olaves, Southwark, desirous of contributing their aid towards lessening the consumption of wheat, resolved on the following succedaneum for their customary suet puddings, which they give to their Poor for dinner one day in the week; which was ordered as follows:
L. s. d.
200 lb. potatoes boiled, and
skinned and mashed … … 0 8 0
2 gallons of milk … … … 0 2 4
12 lb. of suet, at 4 1/2 … 0 4 6
1 peck of flour … … … 0 4 0
Baking … … … … … 0 1 8
————-
Expense 1 0 6
————-
Their ordinary suet pudding had been made thus:
2 bushels of flour … … … 1 12 0
12 lb. suet … … … … 0 4 6
Baking … … … … … 0 1 8
————-
Expense 1 18 2
Cost of the ingredients for the
potatoes suet pudding … … 1 0 6
————-
Difference 0 17 8
————-
This was the dinner provided for 200 persons, who gave a decided perference to the cheapest of these preparations, and with it to be continued.
The following baked potatoe-puddings were prepared in the hotel where I lodge, and were tasted by a number of persons, who found them in general very palatable.
Baked Potatoe-puddings.
No. I.
12 ounces of potatoes, boiled, skinned, and mashed;
1 ounce of suet;
1 ounce (or 1/16 of a pint) of milk, and
1 ounce of Gloucester cheese.
—
Total 15 ounces,—mixed with as much boiling water as was necessary
to bring it to a due consistence, and then baked in an earthen pan.
No. II.
12 ounces of mashed potatoes as before;
1 ounces of milk, and
1 ounce of suet, with a sufficient quantity of salt.—Mixed up
with boiling water, and baked in a pan.
No. III.
12 ounces of mashed potatoes;
1 ounce of suet;
1 ounce of red herrings pounded fine in a mortar.—Mixed—baked,
etc. as before.
No. IV.
12 ounces of mashed potatoes;
1 ounce of suet, and
1 ounce of hung beef grated fine with a grater.—Mixed and baked
as before.
These puddings when baked weighed from 11 to 12 ounces each.— They were all liked by those who tasted them, but No I and No 3 seemed to meet with the most general approbation.
Receipt for a very cheap Potatoe-dumplin.
Take any quantity of potatoes, half boiled;—skin or pare them, and grate them to a coarse powder with a grater;—mix them up with a very small quantity of flour, 1/16, for instance, of the weight of the potatoes, or even less;—add a seasoning of salt, pepper, and sweet herbs;—mix up the whole with boiling water to a proper consistency, and form the mass into dumplins of the size of a large apple.— Roll the dumplins, when formed, in flour, to prevent the water from penetrating them, and put them into boiling water, and boil them till they rise to the surface of the water, and swim, when they will be found to be sufficiently done.
These dumplins may be made very savoury by mixing with them a small quantity of grated hung beef, or of pounded red herring.
Fried bread may likewise be mixed with them, and this without any other addition, except a seasoning of salt, forms an excellent dish.
Upon the same principles upon which these dumplins are prepared large boiled bag-puddings may be made; and for feeding the Poor in a public establishment, where great numbers are to be fed, puddings, as these is less trouble in preparing them, are always to be preferred to dumplins.
It would swell this Essay, (which has already exceeded the limits assigned to it,) to the size of a large volume, were I to give receipts for all the good dishes that may be prepared with potatoes.—There is however one method of preparing potatoes much in use in many parts of Germany, which appears to me to deserve being particularly mentioned and recommended;—it is as follows:
A Receipt for preparing boiled Potatoes with a Sauce.
The potatoes being properly boiled, and skinned, are cut into slices, and put into a dish, and a sauce, similar to that commonly used with a fricaseed chicken, is poured over them.
This makes an excellent and a very wholesome dish, but more calculated, it is true, for the tables of the opulent than for the Poor.—Good sauces might however be composed for this dish which would not be expensive.—Common milk-porridge, made rather thicker than usual, with wheat flour, and well salted, would not be a bad sauce for it.
Potatoe Salad.
A dish in high repute in some parts of Germany, and which deserves to be particularly recommended, is a salad of potatoes. The potatoes being properly boiled and skinned, are cut into thin slices, and the same sauce which is commonly used for salads of lettuce is poured over them; some mix anchovies with this sauce, which gives it a very agreeable relish, and with potatoes it is remarkably palatable.
Boiled potatoes cut in slices and fried in butter, or in lard, and seasoned with salt and pepper, is likewise a very palatable and wholesome dish.
Of Barley.
I have more than once mentioned the extraordinary nutritive powers of this grain, and the use of it in feeding the Poor cannot be too strongly recommended.—It is now beginning to be much used in this country, mixed with wheat flour, for making bread; but is not, I am persuaded, in bread, but in soups, that Barley can be employed to the greatest advantage.—It is astonishing how much water a small quantity of Barley-meal will thicken, and change to the consistency of a jelly; and, if my suspicions with regard to the part which water acts in nutrition are founded, this will enable us to account, not only for the nutritive quality of Barley, but also for the same quality in a still higher degree which sago and salope are known to possess.— Sago and Salope thicken, and change to the consistency of a jelly, (and as I suppose, prepare for decomposition,) a greater quantity of water than Barley, and both sago and salope are known to be nutritious in a very extraordinary degree.
Barley will thicken and change to a jelly much more water than any other grain with which we are acquainted, rice even not excepted;—and I have found reason to conclude from the result of innumerable experiments, which in the course of several years have been made under my direction in the public kitchen of the House of Industry at Munich, that for making soups, Barley is by far the best grain that can be employed.
Were I called upon to give an opinion in regard to the comparative nutritiousness of Barley-meal and wheat flour, WHEN USED IN SOUPS I should not hesitate to say that I think the former at least three or four times as nutritious as the latter.
Scotch broth is known to be one of the most nourishing dishes in common use; and there is no doubt but it owes its extraordinary nutritive quality to the Scotch (or Pearl) Barley, which is always used in preparing it.—If the Barley be omitted, the broth will be found to be poor and washy, and will afford little nourishment;—but any of the other ingredients may be retrenched;— even the meat;— without impairing very sensibly the nutritive quality of the Food.—Its flavour and palatableness may be impaired by such retrenchments; but if the water be well thickened with the Barley, the Food will still be very nourishing.
In preparing the soup used in feeding the Poor in the House of Industry at Munich, Pearl Barley has hitherto been used; but I have found, by some experiments I have lately made in London, that Pearl Barley is by no means necessary, as common Barley-meal will answer, to all intents and purposes, just as well.—In one respect it answers better, for it does not require half so much boiling.
In comparing cheap soups for feeding the Poor, the following short and plain directions will be found to be useful:
General Directions for preparing cheap Soup.
First, Each portion of Soup should consist of one pint and a quarter, which, if the Soup be rich, will afford a good meal to a grown person.—Such a portion will in general weigh about one pound and a quarter, or twenty ounces Avoirdupois.
Secondly, The basis of each portion of Soup should consist of one ounce and a quarter of Barley-meal, boiled with ONE PINT AND A QUARTER OF WATER till the whole be reduced to the uniform consistency of a thick jelly.—All other additions to the Soup do little else than to serve to make it more palatable; or by rendering a long mastication necessary, to increase and prolong the pleasure of eating;—both these objects are however of very great importance, and too much attention cannot be paid to them; but both of them may, with proper management, be attained without much expence.
Were I asked to give a Receipt for the cheapest Food which (in my opinion) it would be possible to provide in this country, it would be the following:
Receipt for a very cheap Soup.
Take of water eight gallons, and mixing with it 5 lb. of Barley-meal, boil it to the consistency of a thick jelly.—Season it with salt, pepper, vinegar, sweet herbs, and four red herrings, pounded in a mortar.—Instead of bread, add to it 5 lb. of Indian Corn made into Samp, and stirring it together with a ladle, serve it up immediately in portions of 20 ounces.
Samp, which is here recommended, is a dish said to have been invented by the savages of North America, who have no Corn-mills. —It is Indian Corn deprived of its external coat by soaking it ten or twelve hours in a lixivium of water and wood-ashes.— This coat, or husk, being separated from the kernel, rises to the surface of the water, while the grain, which is specifically heavier than water, remains at the bottom of the vessel; which grain, thus deprived of its hard coat of armour, is boiled, or rather simmered for a great length of time, two days for instance, in a kettle of water placed near the fire.—When sufficiently cooked, the kernels will be found to be swelled to a great size and burst open, and this Food, which is uncommonly sweet and nourishing, may be used in a great variety of ways; but the best way of using it is to mix it with milk, and with soups, and broths, as a substitute for bread. It is even better than bread for these purposes, for besides being quite as palatable as the very best bread, as it is less liable than bread to grow too soft when mixed with these liquids, without being disagreeably hard, it requires more mastication, and consequently tends more to increase and prolong the pleasure of eating.
The Soup which may be prepared with the quantities of ingredients mentioned in the foregoing Receipt will be sufficient for 64 portions, and the cost of these ingredients will be as follows:
Pence.
For 5 lb. of Barley-meal, at 1 1/2 pence, the ]
Barley being reckoned at the present ]
very high price of it in this country, viz ]… 7 1/2
5s. 6d. per bushel ]
5 lb. of Indian Corn, at 1 1/4 pence the pound … 6 1/4
4 red herrings … … … … … … … 3
Vinegar… … … … … … … … … 1
Salt … … … … … … … … … 1
Pepper and sweet herbs … … … … … 2
———-
Total 20 3/4
———-
This sum, (20 3/4 pence,) divided by 64, the number of portions of Soup, gives something less than ONE THIRD OF A PENNY for the cost of each portion.—But at the medium price of Barley in Great Britain, and of Indian Corn as it may be afforded here, I am persuaded that this Soup may be provided at one farthing the portion of 20 ounces.
There is another kind of Soup in great repute among the poor people, and indeed among the opulent farmers, in Germany, which would not come much higher.—This is what is called burnt Soup, or as I should rather call it, brown Soup, and it is prepared in the following manner:
Receipt for making BROWN SOUP.
Take a small piece of butter and put it over the fire in a clean frying-pan made of iron (not copper, for that metal used for this purpose would be poisonous);— put to it a few spoonfuls of wheat or rye meal;—stir the whole about briskly with a broad wooden spoon, or rather knife, with a broad and thin edge, till the butter has disappeared, and the meal is uniformly of a deep brown colour; great care being taken, by stirring it continually, to prevent the meal from being burned to the pan.
A very small quantity of this roasted meal, (perhaps half an ounce in weight would be sufficient,) being put into a sauce-pan and boiled with a pint and a quarter of water, forms a portion of Soup, which, when seasoned with salt, pepper, and vinegar, and eaten with bread cut fine, and mixed with it at the moment when it is served up, makes a kind of Food by no means unpalatable; and which is said to be very wholesome.
As this Soup may be prepared in a very short time, an instant being sufficient for boiling it; and as the ingredients for making it are very cheap, and may be easily transported, this Food is much used in Bavaria by our wood-cutters, who go into the mountains far from any habitations to fell wood.— Their provisions for a week, (the time they commonly remain in the mountains,) consist of a large loaf of rye bread (which, as it does not so soon grow dry and stale as wheaten bread, is always preferred to it); a linen bag containing a small quantity of roasted meal;—another small bag of salt;—and a small wooden box containing some pounded black pepper;—with a small frying-pan of hammered iron, about ten or eleven inches in diameter, which serves them both as an utensil for cooking, and as a dish for containing the victuals when cooked.—They sometimes, but not often, take with them a small bottle of vinegar;—but black-pepper is an ingredient in brown Soup which is never omitted.—Two table-spoonfuls of roasted meal is quite enough to make a good portion of Soup for one person; and the quantity of butter necessary to be used in roasting this quantity of meal is very small, and will cost very little.—One ounce of butter would be sufficient for roasting eight ounces of meal; and if half an ounce of roasted meal is sufficient for making one portion of Soup, the butter will not amount to more than 1/10 of an ounce; and, at eight pence the pound, will cost only 1/32 of a penny, or 1/8 of a farthing.—The cost of the meal for a portion of this Soup is not much more considerable. If it be rye meal, (which is said to be quite as good for roasting as the finest wheat flour,) it will not cost, in this country, even now when grain is so dear, more than 1 1/2d. per pound;— 1/2 an ounce, therefore, the quantity required for one portion of the Soup, would cost only 6/32 of a farthing;—and the meal and butter together no more than (1/8 + 6/32) = 10/32, or something less than 1/3 of a farthing.—If to this sum we add the cost of the ingredients used to season the Soup, namely, for salt, pepper and vinegar, allowing for them as much as the amount of the cost of the butter and the meal, or 1/3 of a farthing, this will give 2/3 of a farthing for the cost of the ingredients used in preparing one portion of this Soup; but as the bread which is eaten with it is an expensive article, this Food will not, upon the whole, be cheaper than the Soup just mentioned; and it is certainly neither so nourishing nor so wholesome.
Brown Soup might, however, on certain occasions, be found to be useful. As it is so soon cooked, and as the ingredients for making it are so easily prepared, preserved, and transported from place to place; it might be useful to travellers, and to soldiers on a march. And though it can hardly be supposed to be of itself very nourishing, yet it is possible it may render the bread eaten with it not only more nutritive, but also more wholesome;— and it certainly renders it more savoury and palatable.—It is the common breakfast of the peasants in Bavaria; and it is infinitely preferable, in all respects, to that most pernicious wash, TEA, with which the lower classes of the inhabitants of this island drench their stomachs, and ruin their constitutions.
When tea is mixed with a sufficient quantity of sugar and good cream;—when it is taken with a large quantity of bread and butter, or with toast and boiled eggs;—and above all,—WHEN IT IS NOT DRANK TOO HOT, it is certainly less unwholesome; but a simple infusion of this drug, drank boiling hot, as the Poor usually take it, is certainly a poison which, though it is sometimes slow in its operation, never fails to produce very fatal effects, even in the strongest constitution, where the free use of it is continued for a considerable length of time.
Of Rye Bread
The prejudice in this island against bread made of Rye, is the more extraordinary, as in many parts of the country no other kind of bread is used; and as the general use of it in many parts of Europe, for ages, has proved it to be perfectly wholesome.— In those countries where it is in common use, many persons prefer it to bread made of the best wheat flour; and though wheaten bread is commonly preferred to it, yet I am persuaded that the general dislike of it, where it is not much in use, is more owing to its being BADLY PREPARED, or not well baked, than to any thing else.
As an account of some experiments upon baking Rye Bread, which were made under my immediate care and inspection in the bake-house of the House of Industry at Munich, may perhaps be of use to those who wish to known how good Rye Bread may be prepared; as also to such as are desirous of ascertaining, by similar experiments, what, in any given case, the profits of a baker really are; I shall publish an account in detail of these experiments, in the Appendix to this volume.
I cannot conclude this Essay, without once more recommending, in the most earnest manner, to the attention of the Public, and more especially to the attention of all those who are engaged in public affairs,—the subject which has here been attempted to be investigated. It is certainly of very great importance, in whatever light it is considered; and it is particularly so at the present moment: for however statesmen may differ in opinion with respect to the danger or expediency of making any alterations in the constitution, or established forms of government, in times of popular commotion, no doubts can be entertained with respect to the policy of diminishing, as much as possible, at all times, —and more especially in times like the present,—the misery of the lower classes of the people.
END OF THE THIRD ESSAY.
Footnotes for Essay III.
[1] November 1795.
[2] The preparation of water is, in many cases, an object of more importance than is generally imagined; particularly when it is made use of as a vehicle for conveying agreeable tastes. In making punch, for instance, if the water used be previously boiled two or three hours with a handful of rice, the punch made from it will be incomparably better, than is to say, more full and luscious upon the palate, than when the water is not prepared.
[3] I cannot dismiss this subject, the feeding of cattle, without just mentioning another practice common among our best farmers in Bavaria, which, I think, deserves to be known. They chop the green clover with which they feed their cattle, and mix with it a considerable quantity of chopped straw. They pretend that this rich succulent grass is of so clammy a nature, that unless it be mixed with chopped straw, hay, or some other dry fodder, cattle which are fed with it do not ruminate sufficiently. The usual proportion of the clover to the straw, is as two to one.
[4] A viertl is the twelfth part of a schafl, and the Bavarian schafl is equal to 6 31/300 Winchester bushels.
[5] The quantity of fuel here mentioned, though it certainly is almost incredibly small, was nevertheless determined from the results of actual experiments. A particular account of these experiments will be given in my Essay on the Management of Heat and the Economy of Fuel.
[6] One Bavarian schafl (equal to 6 31/100 Winchester bushels) of barley, weighing at a medium 250 Bavarian pounds, upon being pearled, or rolled (as it is called in Germany), is reduced to half a schafl, which weighs 171 Bavarian pounds. The 79lb. which it loses in the operation is the perquisite of the miller, and is all he receives for his trouble.
[7] Since the First Edition of this Essay was published the experiment with barley-meal has been tried, and the meal has been found to answer quite as well as pearl barley, if not better, for making these soups. Among others, Thomas Bernard, Esq. Treasurer of the Founding Hospital, a gentleman of most respectable character, and well known for his philanthropy and active zeal in relieving the distresses of the Poor, has given it a very complete and fair trial; and he found, what is very remarkable, though not difficult to be accounted for—that the barley-meal, WITH ALL THE BRAN IN IT, answered better, that is to say, made the soup richer, and thicker, than when the fine flour of barley, without the bran, was used.
[8] By some experiments lately made it has been found that the soup will be much improved if a small fire is made under the boiler, just sufficient to make its contents boil up once, when the barley and water are put into it, and then closing up immediately the ash-hole register, and the damper in the chimney, and throwing a thick blanket, or a warm covering over the cover of the boiler, the whole be kept hot till the next morning. This heat so long continued, acts very powerfully on the barley, and causes it to thicken the water in a very surprising manner. Perhaps the oat-meal used for making water gruel might be improved in its effects by the same means. The experiment is certainly worth trying.