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Post by Black Hand on Jan 27, 2019 10:34:38 GMT -7
Portable Soup I made, similar to that described in the receipts posted in the Library. Chicken bones, venison, celery, carrots and onions - no additional salt was added. Make a stock from meat/bones/vegetables, strain to remove the chunks, reduce the stock to a syrup, place on a tray and dry. The bones/meat/vegetables were simmered in a pot - the foam was skimmed at the beginning and the resultant liquid was strained through several layers of cheesecloth to remove sediment. The bones are an important source of gelatin - I used chicken carcasses (ribs, backbones, necks and others) which replaced the split pig & calf feet listed in the original recipe. The resulting stock was simmered until just a few cups of liquid remained of the original 2-3 gallons. I poured the remainder into a small tray, allowed it to gel, cut the gel into squares and dried the squares. The consistency is like (very) hard caramel. The squares you see in the image are ~1/2" square and ~1/4" thick. Took 3-4 days from beginning to end.  |
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Post by Black Hand on Jan 27, 2019 11:10:55 GMT -7
Courtesy of Spence
From William Byrd II, 1729, in "Histories of the Dividing Line betwixt Virginia and North Carolina":
The Portable Provisions I would furnish our Foresters withal are Glue-Broth and rockahomini: one contains the Essence of Bread, the other of Meat.
The best way of making Glue-Broth is after the following method: Take a Leg of Beef, Veal, Venison, or any other Young Meat, because Old Meat will not so easily jelly. Pare off all the fat, in which there is no Nutriment, and of the Lean make a very strong Broth, after the usual Manner, by Boiling the meat to Rags till all the Goodness is out. After Skimming off what fat remains, pour the Broth into a wide Stew-Pan, well tinn’d, & let it simmer over a gentle, even Fire, till it come to a thick Jelly. Then take it off and set it over Boiling Water, which is an Evener Heat, and not so apt to burn the Broth to the Vessel. Over that let it evaporate, stirring it very often till it be reduc’d, when cold, into a Solid Substance like Glue. Then cut it into small Pieces, laying them Single in the cold, that they may dry the Sooner. When the pieces are perfectly dry, put them into a Cannister, and they will be good, if kept Dry, a whole East India Voyage.
This Glue is so strong, that two or three Drams dissolv'd in boiling Water with a little Salt will make a half a Pint of good Broth, & if you shou'd be faint with Fasting or Fatigue, let a small Piece of this Glue melt in your Mouth, and you will find yourself surprisingly refreshed.
One Pound of this Cookery wou'd keep a Man in good Heart above a Month, and is not only Nourishing, but likewise very wholesome. Particularly it is good against Fluxes, which Woodsmen are very liable to, by lying too near the moist Ground, and guzzling too much cold Water. But as it will be only us'd now and then, in times of Scarcity, when Game is wanting, two Pounds of it will be enough for a Journey of six Months.
But this Broth will be still more heartening if you thicken every Mess with half a Spoonful of Rockahominy, which is nothing but Indian Corn parched without burning, and reduced to Powder. The Fire drives out all the Watery Parts of the Corn, leaving the Strength of it behind, and this being very dry, becomes much lighter for carriage and less liable to be Spoilt by the moist Air.
Thus half a Dozen Pounds of this Sprightful Bread will sustain a Man for many Months, provided he husband it well, and always Spare it when he meets with Venison, which, as I have said before, may be Safely eaten without any Bread at all.
By what I have said, a Man needs not encumber himself with more than 8 or 10 Pounds of Provisions, tho’ he continue half a year in the Woods.
These and his Gun will support him very well during that time, without the least danger of keeping a Single Fast. And tho’ some of his days may be what the French call Jours maigres, yet there will happen no more of these than will be necessary for his health, and to carry off the Excesses of the Days of Plenty, when our Travelers will be apt to indulge their Lawless Appetites too much.
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Post by Black Hand on Feb 3, 2019 21:35:02 GMT -7
HOUSEKEEPER's INSTRUCTOR or UNIVERSAL FAMILY Cook, THE SIXTH EDITION - 1793 By WILLIAM AUGUSTUS HENDERSON LONDON: PRINTED AND sold BY W AND J Stratford, No 112 HOLBORN Hill "Portable Soup
THIS soup which is particularly calculated for the use and convenience of travellers from its not receiving any injury by time must be made in the following manner. Cut into small pieces three large legs of veal one of beef and the lean part of a ham Put a quarter of a pound of butter at the bottom of a large cauldron then lay in the meat and bones with four ounces of anchovies and two ounces of mace. Cut off the green leaves of five or six heads of celery wash the heads quite clean cut them small put them in with three large carrots cut thin cover the cauldron quite close and set it over a moderate fire When you find the gravy begins to draw keep taking it up till you have got it all out then put water in to cover the meat set it on the fire again and let it boil gently for four hours then strain it through a hair fieve into a clean pan till it is reduced to one part out of three. Strain the gravy you draw from the meat into the pan and let it boil gently till you find it of a glutinous consistence observing to keep skimming off the fat clean as it rises. You must take particular care when it is nearly enough that it does not burn Season it to your taste with chyan pepper and pour it on flat earthen dishes a quarter of an inch thick Let it stand till the next day and then cut it out by round tins a little larger than a crown piece Lay the cakes in dishes and set them in the sun to dry to facilitate which turn them often. When the cakes are dry put them into a tin box with a piece of clean white paper between each and keep them in a dry place. If made in frosty weather it will be sooner formed into its proper solidity. This foup is not only particularly useful to travellers but is also exceeding convenient to be kept in private families for by putting one of the cakes into a sauce pan with about a pint of water and a little salt a bason of good broth may be had in a few minutes. There is also another great convenience in it that by boiling a small quantity of water with one of the cakes it will make an excellent gravy for roast turkeys or fowls." books.google.com/books?id=0NoqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PT14&dq=portable+soup&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjb2Oj3lqHgAhVGs1QKHRZOAW4Q6AEIRzAG#v=onepage&q=portable%20soup&f=false |
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