The proportions of bone and meat should be about equal by weight. When ready to begin the stock, wipe the fresh meat with a clean cloth wet in cold water. Never put the meat in a pan of cold water to soak. It takes out all the juices that you wish to save. Wipe before cutting. The inside is clean. But rinse the cloth and scrub the outside thoroughly. Cut away the parts that are tainted or discolored by rusty meat-hooks, etc. Examine all the odds and ends of cooked meat, and remove any smoked or burned parts from ham or broiled meat, also the stuffing and skin from roast poultry, if you wish to have the stock clear. Scrape the meat clean from the bones and cut into inch pieces. Break or saw the bones as small as you conveniently can. Remove the marrow (a soft, fatty substance, which you will find in the hollow of the bones) and put it in the soup kettle to keep the bones from sticking.

Put in the bones and pack the meat around them. Place your kettle on the back of the range before adding the water, so that there need be no heavy weight to lift. Allow one quart of fresh cold water to every pound of meat and bone; one fourth less water if your stock is to be made altogether of cooked meats, or if you use a digester. Cover the kettle, and after the water is quite red, and the juices are well drawn out, draw the kettle forward and let it heat slowly, and simmer, or boil slowly, but never boil hard.

The scum, which soon rises on the surface, is the albumen and juices of the meat which have been drawn out and mixed with the cold water. They coagulate, or harden, as the water heats, and, being lighter than the water, rise to the surface in the form of scum. It has usually been considered essential, in making soup, to remove every particle of this scum; but the practice is wholly unnecessary and wasteful. We learn, in the article on Boiling, the three distinct purposes and methods of cooking meat in water; and yet in skimming a soup we act directly contrary to the general principle there explained. If the kettle be clean, the water pure, and the meat well cleansed from any impurities on its outer surface, what can there be in the meat not suitable to eat, any more than in roast beef, or steak, or boiled mutton? In making beef tea we are directed by the highest scientific authorities to remove the fat, cut the meat small, soak it in cold water, heat gradually, and never skim, as the scum or thickened material in the water is the very thing desired. Soup is only another form of beef tea, and the fat which is objectionable can better be removed when the stock is cold. These juices and soluble parts of the meat should be retained; they increase, rather than diminish, the flavor, and all the sedi ment which is fine enough to go through the strainer should be used. In any thickened soup it is so mingled with the other ingredients as not to be unpleasant to the eye. And for those who wish clear soups, which are not as nutritious, this sediment can easily be removed in the clearing.

In a criticism which so decidedly rejects a prevailing custom, it may be well to remark that the method of preparing soups which is recommended in the preceding paragraph has been successfully proved in the Boston Cooking School for the last three years. The French, who regard skimming as very important in making their Pot-au-feu, remove the meat as soon as tender, and serve it as bouilli, or boiled beef. As it has not been cut in small pieces, and is heated quickly, some of the juices are retained in the meat, and it is nourishing and palatable. Their Pot-au-feu is more like our beef stew than like soup stock.

In the preparation of the stock, the next step is to add the seasoning, which may be used in these proportions: For every quart of water, one even teaspoonful of salt, two peppercorns or half a saltspoonful of ground pepper, two cloves, two allspice berries, one fourth of a saltspoonful of celery seed or a bit of celery root, a sprig of parsley, a teaspoonful of mixed herbs, and a tablespoonful of each vegetable.

Herbs and spices are better whole than ground, as they may be more readily removed by straining. The French cooks use a bouquet of herbs, made with two leaves or blossoms of each herb wrapped in a sprig of parsley and tied securely so that it may be easily removed. A convenient and economical way is to strip off the leaves and blossoms, break the stalks in tiny pieces, mix them, and keep in a tin box. Use sage, summer savory, thyme, marjoram, and bay leaves: a teaspoonful of the mixture (not of each herb) for every quart. The vegetables generally used are onion, carrot, turnip, and celery. It is better to omit them entirely in warm weather, or if you wish to keep the stock more than a week, as the vegetable juices ferment quickly and sour the stock.

Wash, scrape, or pare the vegetables; cut them into small pieces for convenience in measuring, as one onion or one slice of carrot is rather indefinite. Keep them in cold water until the juices are drawn from the meat.

When old or strong, they may be blanched or parboiled first.

Onions, potatoes, and cabbage should always be scalded to draw out the indigestible qualities. Some object to the use of onions, particularly on account of the disagreeable odor; but when added with the other seasoning material, they are so completely absorbed in the stock that no trace of their presence can be detected. All or part of the vegetables may be fried first, if you like. One or two sour apples give a pleasant flavor to stock. Wines or catchups should be added just before serving, as boiling dissipates the flavor.

If you wish to have a dark brown stock, reserve part of the lean meat to brown with the onions. Fry the onions in a little fat, and when very brown remove them, to prevent burning, and brown the meat in the same fat. Add the onions and meat to the stock. Take a little water from the stock, and wash off all the browned glaze adhering to the frying-pan, as this is the best part. A table-spoonful of browned sugar or caramel (see page 134), which should always be kept on hand, will also give a rich dark color. After the seasoning is placed in the mixture, put the kettle where it will keep at a gentle, steady simmering. Do not let it boil furiously one half-hour and not at all the next, but find the place on the range where it will keep at just the right temperature, and then, if you have a steady fire, it will need no further attention until ready to strain. It is hot enough if the water just bubbles on one side of the kettle.

When the stock has simmered till the meat is in rags and the bones clean, strain at once. Do not let it stand, if in an iron kettle. If you have used a digester or steam-tight kettle, the water will not have lessened much. If boiled in an ordinary kettle, it will be reduced about one half by evaporation, and may be diluted when ready for the table. Strain in this way. Place a stone jar beside your kettle. It should be of a size suited to the amount of stock. Put a colander over the jar (it should fit inside it), and a strainer cloth over the colander. Then, with a ladle or dipper, dip the contents of the kettle and pour into the strainer. Never try to lift the kettle and pour it out, unless you have more strength and skill than most beginners. When you have only a pint left, you may try the pouring. Do not squeeze the cloth, but let the contents drain ten or fifteen minutes, then throw the scraps away. Remember that you have extracted all the nutriment, and have it in the water; so do not expect to have any virtue in the meat or vegetables. Set the jar in a cool place, uncovered, but not in the ice chest while hot. It keeps better to cool quickly. In cold weather, and if you have used a large proportion of bone, the stock will harden like jelly, with a cake of solid fat on the top. This fat, by excluding the air, helps to keep the stock, and should not be removed until the stock is needed. In winter stock will keep a week, and longer, if made without vegetables. It should be heated occasionally to the boiling-point, or after taking off any portion of it, that what remains may harden again in an unbroken form. A little fresh charcoal tied in a bag and boiled with the stock is said to restore it when only slightly changed.

In very warm weather, make only enough for each day, as sometimes it spoils in one night. If you wish to make a soup while the stock is still hot, put what portion you may need into a shallow pan and place the pan in ice water, with a larger pan of ice water over it. This will soon harden the fat; or if you have not time to do this, take off what fat you can with a spoon, and wipe off the remainder with soft tissue paper, or strain several times through a fine napkin. The grease will adhere to the napkin, which should be rinsed in cold water. That hardens the fat. Or you may let the soup boil gently, and nearly all can be taken off.

To remove the fat after the stock has jellied, run a knife around between the cake of fat and the jar. If the fat be solid, it will sometimes come off whole; but if soft, take off all you can without cutting into the jelly, then wring a cloth out of very hot water, and wipe the stock. The hot cloth was absorb the fat readily. Remember, if the soup is to be served clear, not a pin-head of fat must be left; but if it is to be thickened with any starchy material, this will absorb what cannot be removed with a spoon. This fat must be saved and clarified according to directions on page 18.

With this stock for a foundation, you may make an endless variety of soups, each soup taking its name from the principal solid ingredient; and it is equally valuable to use, instead of water, in making gravies or sauces. No matter how little you have, one cupful is worth more than it costs to make it, as an addition to fricassees and braised meats. This stock, if properly made and strained, will be sufficiently clear for any common soups. But for clear sparkling soups and aspic jelly, it must be clarified with the white of an egg.