The Joints of Pork.

BACON.

The rind of good bacon is always thin, the fat firm and white, or rather inclined to a pink tinge, and the lean is of a bright red, tender and adhering close to the bone. If there be any appearance of yellow, it is rusty. The Wiltshire and Hampshire bacon is best, but the Yorkshire is much esteemed. Irish bacon is, in general, bad; but this article is now so re-manufactured in London, as to resemble, in appearance, the most beautiful Wiltshire bacon.

Hams.—The Westphalia or bear’s hams, are the best; but the Westmorland, Wiltshire, and Yorkshire are the most desirable, of the English curing. Choose these latter short in the shank; and to know whether they are good, thrust a picked-pointed knife under the bone, and if it comes out clean and sweet, the ham is good, otherwise it is not.

GAME.

Venison is chosen by its fat, which should be thick, clear, and bright. A knife stuck in under the shoulder or shank will shew whether it be sweet. If venison looks green, or approaching to black, it is stale.

The Joints of Venison are only four; viz. The haunch, neck, breast, and shoulder.

Hares.—The claws of a young hare are smooth and sharp, the ears are tender and will easily tear, and the cleft of the lip is narrow; but the claws of an old hare are blunt and rugged, the ears dry and tough, and the cleft of the lip is wide, and the haunch is thick.—If fresh the body will be stiff. A hare is best when kept ten days or a fortnight, which, in favourable weather, may be done; but it should always be dressed as soon as it begins to bleed at the nose.

Leverets may be distinguished from hares, by their having a knob or small bone on the fore leg, near the foot, which hares have not. Leverets will not keep, therefore should be dressed as soon as possible.

Rabbits.—The age of Rabbits, whether wild or tame, may be known by nearly the same rules as that of Hares: observe also, that if old, their hairs are intermixed with the wool, their claws will be limber, and their flesh, instead of being white, will have a blue cast, and be slimy.

POULTRY.

(Poultry is in the greatest perfection when most plentiful. It is generally dearest from February to Midsummer, and cheapest in September.)

Geese.—The bill and feet of a young Goose will be yellow, the breast fat and plump, and the fat white and soft; but if old, the bill and feet will be red, and the fat yellow and skinny. If fresh, the feet will be limber, but if stale, stiff and dry. Green-Geese are in season in April, May, and June. They should be scalded. Stubble-Geese come into season in September.

Turkeys.—Choose cock birds. The very best have black legs, but the white legged birds are nearly as fine. If young their legs will be smooth, and the spurs of the cock will be very short and tender; but if old, the legs will be rough, and the spurs long and hard, unless filed or cut off. But the best criterion, by which to judge of both Turkeys and Fowls with certainty is, that the toes and bills, if they be young, will be soft and pliable, but will feel hard and stiff, if old. A Turkey should be kept without meat thirty-six hours before it is killed, and should be hung up in its feathers a week before it is dressed.

Fowls.—Young Pullets are in their prime before they begin to lay; but Hen Fowls are best when full of eggs, at which time the vent is soft. The comb, skin, and legs of old Hens are rough. A good Capon has a large rump, and much fat at the shoulders, and its comb is pale.

To know whether any kind of Fowl in its feathers is fit to dress, pull the feathers off the vent very gently, and if they come off easily, it ought to be dressed immediately.

Ducks and Ducklings.—These may be chosen by the same rules as Turkeys and Fowls; but the bills and feet of wild Ducks are smaller and redder than those of tame ones; their plumage too is different. Young wild Ducks will not keep. All young Ducks should be scalded, as that sweetens them, and improves their flavour.

[Norfolk is famous for Turkeys, Geese, and Ducks; Surrey and Sussex for Fowls and Ducklings. The Dorking Fowls are in high estimation in London.]

Pigeons.—These birds should be both young and fresh, and when they are so, they are fat and full at the vent; their legs are limber and of a dusky white: young Pigeons have also a yellow down round their necks and heads. If old, their legs and feet are large, harsh, and red, and the vent discoloured and flabby. Tame Pigeons are best, as wood Pigeons are harder and darker coloured.

WILD FOWL.

To judge whether these are young and fresh, observe the rules given above for tame Fowls; recollect also that these birds should be fat, and when they are so, they will be hard at the vent; if stale, the skin will peel off when rubbed with the finger.

Pheasants.—Cock Pheasants are best. Hens are excellent when full of eggs.

Woodcocks.—These are fine, high-flavoured birds, and when in the best condition, they feel thick and firm, and have a vein of fat down the sides of the breast. When stale they run at the nostrils. Land Rails and Snipes are chosen by these rules.

Partridges.—The yellow legs of young partridges become blue when old, and their bills changed from yellow to a dark hue.

Quails.—These come chiefly from France and Germany, but the finest and best that are sold in London, come from Cambridgeshire, and are fed by the poulterers with herbs, seed, or boiled bread and milk. They are so extremely delicate, in feeding, that two of them will not eat out of the same trough.

Teal is of a beautiful plumage, and very delicate to eat. Their bills and feet are black, and are shaped like those of a Duck.

Ruffs and Rees are chiefly found in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire; and in April or May, when most in season, they are a perfect lump of fat. If poor, when caught, they should be fattened with white bread and milk boiled, given them in separate troughs.

Moor Game, and even Grouse, may be kept good a long time. Old birds of all kinds will keep longest, and will be the better for keeping; but young birds should be dressed soon.

Small Birds, of every description, should be dressed immediately.

FISH.

General Rules for choosing it.

(The price of fish depends on the supply; and it will often be found, that one kind of fish, equally as good and seasonable as another, may be bought for much less money; therefore, never buy at an extravagant price.)

When fish is fresh, it is firm, bright, and stiff; the gills are of a lively red, hard to open, and smell sweet; and the eyes are full and clear. If stale, the whole fish, and particularly the gills and fins, will always be flabby and limber, the gills will be pale, and the eyes sunk and dull. By these rules alone, good fish may be distinguished from bad; but besides these, some kinds of fish have other distinguishing peculiarities, which are as follow; viz.

Sturgeon.—The grain of the flesh of a fine Sturgeon is smooth and very white, interspersed with blue veins. The skin is soft and tender, and its smell is very pleasant. When the veins and gristles are brown or yellow, instead of blue, or the skin is hard and dry, the fish is not good.

Caviare.—This is the roe of the female Sturgeon. It should be taken out and beaten flat, then sprinkled with salt and dried, first in the sun and air, and afterwards in an oven, till it becomes very dry and of a reddish brown colour. Thus prepared, it is a fine relish; it is to be eaten with oil and vinegar.

Turbot, when good, is thick, firm, and plump; and the nose, and fins all round the belly, tinged with a pink colour; but if it has lost this beautiful tinge, or if the belly be changed from a yellowish white to a blueish cast, the fish is either stale or poor, or both.

Soles are to be chosen by these rules, particularly as to the pink tinge round their bellies and under their noses.

Cod Fish should be thick at the neck, having the gills red, the flesh very white, firm, hard, and dear, and the eyes bright.

Haddock are to be chosen by these rules. The shortest fish are the best.

Salmon should be chosen for its small head and thick neck; its scales should be bright, and its gills and flesh of a fine red colour. The Thames and Severn Salmon are mostly esteemed.

Skate, Maids, and Thornbacks are all of one species; they ought to be white and thick. The two latter should be kept a day, or perhaps two, to make them tender, and Skate may be kept longer. The maiden Skate and the young male, or Thornback, are the best; but large, old Skate, is generally coarse and rank.

Flounders, Plaice, &c. should be stiff and firm, with bright, full eyes. If flabby, these and all other kinds of fish are certainly stale. The Thames Flounders are reckoned best, in London, because they may be had alive, or nearly so, and they are always best when dressed as soon as caught.

Herrings, Pilchards, Whitings, Sprats, &c.—These may be classed together. The largest are the best. Their gills should be of a fine red, their fins stiff, their eyes bright, and their flesh, when best, is bright and firm. As the Herrings emigrate, in immense shoals, from the northern regions, they are in the greatest perfection on their first arrival on the coasts of Scotland, the North of Ireland, and the Isle of Man. On the coast of the German Ocean also, even so far south as Yarmouth, they are taken in great quantities, remarkably fat and fine, and full of spawn; but before they reach the southern coast of England, they become poor and thin, and are then known by the denomination of Shotten-Herrings.

Mackerel look beautifully bright when first caught. These and Whitings should be dressed as soon as possible.

FRESH WATER FISH.

Pike and Jack are taken in rivers; they are very dry eating, and require much seasoning and sauce.

Carp, Tench, and Perch, are best eaten as soon as caught; the latter is not so much esteemed as the two former.

Smelts, when fresh, have a fine bright appearance, firm flesh, and a fragrant smell, like a cucumber.

Gudgeons, Roach, and Dace, and most other river fish, must be chosen by the rules already given.

BUTTER, CHEESE, and EGGS.

Butter should be chosen by the taste and smell.—The best fresh butter is the Epping, and next the Cambridge; sometimes the potted weekly Dorset is very good. Of tub butter, the Welch is best, the Dutch next, and the Irish worst. In examining tub-butter, and particularly the Irish, look at and smell to the outside next the cask, which is often white in appearance like tallow, and quite rank in smell.

Cheese. Of the common kinds, Cheshire, North Wiltshire and double Gloucester, are the best. Cheese of the first making, in May, is usually brought to Market in August. Factors have a pernicious practice of sticking brass pins into cheese, which gives it the appearance of blue mould and old age. That cheese which has a smooth, moist coat, is generally good. Spanish arnatto is often used to give the rind a beautiful red colour.

Eggs.—If fresh, will feel warm when the tongue is applied to the biggest end; but if stale, it will be cold. An egg, when quite fresh, will sink at once when put into cold water; but if rotten, it will swim.

VEGETABLES.

N.B. Vegetables are cheapest soon after they come into full season.

Names.	When best.	Names.	When best.
Artichokes	July to October.	Endive	June & all Winter.
Asparagus	May to July.	Leeks	Sept. & all Winter.
Beans, Windsor, &c.	Midsummer to September.	Lettuces	April & all Summer.
——– French	Midsumr. & onwd.	Onions	June to November.
——– Scarlet	July to October.	Parsley	All the year.
Beet-root	All the year.	Parsnips	Aug. & all Winter.
Borcole, or	November and all	Peas (green)	June to September.
Scotch Kale	the Winter.	Potatoes	May & all the year.
Brocoli	October and ditto.	Radishes	March to July.
Cabbage	May & all Summer.	Small Salad	All the year.
———– red	July to September.	Salsafy and
———– Plants	All the year.	Scarzonera	July and August.
Carrots	May till Winter.	Sea Kale	April and May.
Cauliflowers	June to August.	Spinach (sprg.)	March to July.
Celery	June till March.	Do. (Winter)	Winter and Spring.
Corn Sallad	May to July.	Turnips	May to September.
Cucumbers	June to September.	Turnip Tops.	February to May.

All vegetables are best if dressed as soon as gathered; and are in their greatest perfection just before they begin to flower.

Most Articles for Pickling will be in their prime in July and August; but walnuts not later than the middle of July; and mushrooms and white cabbage in September and October.

Herbs, of all kinds, should be gathered in a dry day; and when the roots are cut off, and the herbs are perfectly well cleaned from dust, &c. they should be divided into small bunches and dried very quick by the heat of a stove, or in a Dutch oven before a common fire, rather than by the heat of the sun, taking care that they be not burnt. When dry put them into bags, and hang them up in a dry place; or pound them and sift them through a hair sieve, and keep the powder in bottles closely stopped.

Sweet and Savory Herbs are best in season from May to August, according to their kinds.

The flavour and fragrance of fresh herbs are much finer than of those that are dried.