Overview:
This book, published in 1852, was written by Charles Elmé Francatelli, a renowned chef who served as the Chief Cook to Queen Victoria. The book’s primary goal is to provide working-class families with practical and affordable recipes that prioritize both nutrition and taste. Francatelli emphasizes the importance of utilizing affordable cuts of meat, utilizing leftovers effectively, and making the most of seasonal produce.
Throughout the book, Francatelli offers a range of recipes, beginning with simple and economical fare like boiled beef and potato soup. He then expands to include more elaborate dishes such as roast fowl, baked goose, and a variety of puddings. The book also includes sections on curing bacon and hams, brewing beer, and baking bread. Francatelli provides detailed instructions for each recipe, often accompanied by helpful tips and tricks for achieving the best results.
Key Findings:
- The book highlights the importance of using affordable cuts of meat and maximizing leftovers to stretch budgets.
- It emphasizes the value of utilizing seasonal produce for economical and nutritious meals.
- It advocates for home-brewing beer and baking bread to ensure wholesome and cost-effective food.
- The book also focuses on the importance of good hygiene and cleanliness in the kitchen.
Learning:
- Economical Cooking: The reader will learn how to cook affordable and nutritious meals for their family using readily available ingredients and resources.
- The book offers specific examples of how to choose less expensive cuts of meat and prepare them in various ways.
- It demonstrates how to make the most of leftovers to avoid waste and create new dishes.
- Baking Bread: The reader will gain a step-by-step guide to making homemade bread, a skill that allows for greater control over ingredients and cost savings.
- It includes details on choosing the right type of flour, yeast, and water for a successful loaf.
- It provides instructions on proper kneading, fermentation, and baking techniques.
- Seasonal Cooking: The reader will understand the importance of utilizing seasonal produce, which is typically more affordable and flavorful.
- The book offers many recipes featuring seasonal fruits and vegetables, such as baked apples, rhubarb pie, and gooseberry jam.
- Preserving Food: The reader will learn various methods of preserving food, such as curing hams and bacon, and making jams and preserves, to have a supply of affordable food available year-round.
- It provides detailed instructions on preparing and storing these preserved foods.
Historical Context:
The book was written in a time when the working class in England had limited access to affordable and nutritious food. This context heavily influenced Francatelli’s approach, focusing on using simple ingredients and practical techniques to stretch budgets and provide wholesome meals for families.
Facts:
- Salt brisket, thick or thin flank, and buttock of beef are the most economical cuts for large families. This is because these cuts are often less expensive than other parts of the beef.
- A five-pound piece of salt brisket can provide a substantial meal for ten people. This emphasizes the value of maximizing resources and using large cuts of meat efficiently.
- Oatmeal is a cheap and nutritious ingredient for soups and other dishes. This is because it is a readily available and affordable source of protein and fiber.
- Bones from cooked joints can be boiled for six hours to make a gelatinized broth for soup. This is a way to utilize leftover ingredients for an economical and flavorful base.
- Good quality malt and hops are essential for brewing wholesome beer. These are crucial components for a successful brew and will yield more beneficial substances than cheaper alternatives.
- Spring water is not ideal for brewing beer because of its hardness. Softer water, like rainwater or river water, is preferred because it extracts more flavor and goodness from the malt and hops.
- Patna rice is the cheapest type of rice and is best soaked overnight before boiling. This makes the rice lighter and easier to cook.
- Brown and Polson’s prepared Indian corn is an economical and nutritious alternative to arrowroot. This was a revolutionary product at the time, offering a readily available source of starch for puddings and other dishes.
- Haricot beans are a nutritious and affordable alternative to potatoes. This is especially important in the winter when potatoes are more expensive and prone to spoilage.
- Sheep’s heads, plucks, shanks, and scrag-ends can be used to make a good mess of soup for the poor. This demonstrates the importance of utilizing less popular cuts of meat to help those in need.
- The liquor from boiled salt beef or pork can be used as a base for economical soup. This is an excellent way to use leftover cooking liquids and create a flavorful broth.
- Codfish, cod’s heads, skate, eels, and glutinous fish are ideal for making fish soup. These fish are readily available and affordable, making them perfect for a cost-effective and nutritious soup.
- Inferior kinds of tea are often made from leaves that resemble real tea but lack its genuine fragrance and can be harmful. This highlights the importance of choosing quality tea for health and taste.
- Red cabbage, when boiled with bacon, is both nutritious and beneficial for combating scurvy. This demonstrates the medicinal value of simple and readily available ingredients.
- The juice of black currants, combined with linseed and sugar, can create a cordial for coughs. This highlights the use of natural ingredients for creating effective remedies.
- A few drops of camphorated sal volatile can relieve a cold in the head. This was a common remedy at the time, utilizing readily available ingredients for simple ailments.
- Poppy leaves can be used to treat the sting of wasps or bees. This demonstrates the use of common plants for natural remedies.
- Camphorated chloroform can be used to relieve toothache. This was a common practice at the time, utilizing readily available ingredients for pain relief.
- Cocoa nibs can be used to make a nutritious and inexpensive breakfast drink. This highlights the affordability of cocoa as a breakfast alternative to tea.
- A cup of camomile tea with sugar and grated ginger can be given to aged people before dinner. This demonstrates the use of specific ingredients for different age groups and needs.
Statistics:
- A five-pound piece of salt beef at 6 1/2d per pound costs 2s 8 1/2d. This demonstrates the cost of a key ingredient for an economical family dinner.
- Two pounds of common flour cost 4d. This shows the cost of a basic ingredient for puddings and dumplings.
- A shoulder of mutton for boiling costs 6d. per pound. This demonstrates the cost of a key ingredient for a boiling dinner.
- A small knuckle or scrag-end of neck of veal can be purchased very cheap. This shows the affordability of using less popular cuts of meat.
- A sheep’s pluck, properly cooked, will furnish a meat dinner enough for twelve persons. This highlights the amount of food that can be obtained from a less expensive part of the animal.
- A pint of soup served with pieces of meat is typically distributed to each person in a family. This shows the typical serving size of soup when distributed to the poor.
- Two bushels of malt and two pounds of hops are used to brew 54 gallons of water. This demonstrates the ratio of ingredients used in a typical brew.
- Three kilderkins of good beer can be produced from two bushels of malt and two pounds of hops. This shows the yield from a typical brewing batch.
- A bushel of flour is used to make bread. This is a significant amount of flour for a typical baking batch.
- Four-pound loaves of bread are baked in the oven. This shows the typical size of bread loaves.
- Twelve ounces of currants are used in a recipe for Yorkshire pie-clates for tea. This demonstrates the use of a common ingredient for a specific recipe.
- A pound of flour, half a pint of hot milk, a teaspoonful of salt, and a pinch of baking powder are used to make hard biscuits. This shows the ingredients used for a basic biscuit recipe.
- Thirty flowers of camomile are used to make a pint of tea. This demonstrates the amount of herbs needed to brew a specific herbal tea.
- Sixpenny-worth of fowls’ necks, gizzards, and feet can be used to make chicken broth. This highlights the affordability of using less desirable parts of the chicken for broth.
- A large handful of bran is boiled in a quart of water to make bran tea. This demonstrates the amount of bran used in a typical bran tea.
- One ounce of barley is boiled in a quart of water to make barley water. This shows the amount of barley used in a typical barley water.
- Six ounces of rice and two quarts of water are used to make rice water. This shows the amount of rice used in a typical rice water.
- Twenty sage leaves, a handful of red rose leaves, and a pint of water are boiled to make a stringent gargle. This demonstrates the amount of ingredients used for a specific gargle.
- Twenty ounces of cocoa nibs are boiled in three pints of water for two and a half hours. This demonstrates the amount of cocoa nibs needed for a specific brewing time.
- Fifteen pounds of fish are used to make a large quantity of fish soup for distribution to the poor. This highlights the significant amount of fish required for a large batch of soup.
Terms:
- Maître d’Hôtel: A head waiter or manager in a restaurant or hotel.
- Congou: A type of black tea, typically from China.
- Patna rice: A type of rice originating from Patna, India, often considered to be of good quality and affordable.
- Giblets: The edible parts of a fowl, such as the heart, liver, and gizzard.
- Spare-rib: The section of a pig that includes the ribs and surrounding lean meat.
- Saltpetre: A type of salt used in curing meats.
- Salprunella: A type of salt used in curing meats.
- Chitterlings: The intestines of a pig, often used in making sausage or other dishes.
- Wort: The unfermented liquid produced during the brewing process.
- Kilderkin: A unit of volume, typically used for beer, equivalent to 18 gallons.
Examples:
- Boiled Beef (No. 1): This recipe calls for using salt brisket, flank, or buttock of beef, all affordable cuts. The author explains how to use the leftover broth to make a nourishing soup.
- Economical Pot Liquor Soup (No. 3): This recipe uses the leftover broth from boiled beef and oatmeal to make a flavorful and nutritious soup.
- Baked Goose (No. 26): This recipe suggests using potato and onion stuffing for a goose, utilizing affordable and easily available ingredients.
- Pig’s Fry (No. 77): This recipe utilizes the heart, liver, lights, and chitterlings of a pig, demonstrating the value of using every part of the animal.
- Irish Stew (No. 117): This recipe uses inferior parts of meat to create a hearty and inexpensive stew.
- Fish Soup (No. 118): This recipe uses affordable fish cuts such as codfish cuttings, plaice, skate, dabs, and haddocks to make a nutritious soup.
- Soused Mackerel (No. 119): This recipe uses mackerel, a fish that is often inexpensive, to create a flavorful dish.
- Baked Apple Dumplings (No. 104): This recipe uses apples and suet paste to make a simple and affordable dessert.
- Bran Tea (No. 204): This recipe uses bran, a readily available by-product, to make a soothing tea for colds and other ailments.
- Orangeade (No. 205): This recipe uses oranges, a seasonal fruit that is often affordable, to make a refreshing drink.
Conclusion:
Charles Elmé Francatelli’s “A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes” provides a wealth of information on how to cook nutritious and flavorful meals on a limited budget. The book emphasizes resourcefulness, utilizing affordable ingredients, maximizing leftovers, and making the most of seasonal produce.
The book goes beyond simply providing recipes, also offering valuable insights into techniques like curing meats, brewing beer, and baking bread. These skills empower readers to produce their own food, ensuring both quality and affordability. This book serves as a testament to the importance of kitchen knowledge and its power to improve the lives of working-class families.