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[Illustration: H. J. Clayton]

CLAYTON'S

Quaker Cook-Book,

BEING A

PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE CULINARY ART

ADAPTED TO THE TASTES AND WANTS

OF ALL CLASSES.

     With plain and easily understood directions for the preparation of
     every variety of food in the most attractive forms. Comprising the
     result of a life-long experience in catering to a host of highly
     cultivated tastes.

--BY--

[Illustration: H. J. Clayton]

San Francisco:
WOMEN'S CO-OPERATIVE PRINTING OFFICE.
1883.

Copyrighted according to Act of Congress, A. D. 1883, by H. J. Clayton.




PREFACE.


One of the sacred writers of the olden time is reported to have said:
"Of the making of many books, there is no end." This remark will, to a
great extent, apply to the number of works published upon the all
important subject of Cookery. The oft-repeated saying, attributed to old
sailors, that the Lord sends victuals, and the opposite party, the
cooks, is familiar to all.

Notwithstanding the great number and variety of so-called cookbooks
extant, the author of this treatise on the culinary art, thoroughly
impressed with the belief that there is ample room for one more of a
thoroughly practical and every day life, common sense character--in
every way adapted to the wants of the community at large, and looking
especially to the preparation of healthful, palatable, appetizing and
nourishing food, both plain and elaborately compounded--and in the
preparation of which the very best, and, at the same time, the most
economical material is made use of, has ventured to present this new
candidate for the public approval. The preparation of this work embodies
the result of more than thirty years personal and practical experience.
The author taking nothing for granted, has thoroughly tested the value
and entire correctness of every direction he has given in these pages.
While carefully catering to the varied tastes of the mass, everything of
an unhealthful, deleterious, or even doubtful character, has been
carefully excluded; and all directions are given in the plainest style,
so as to be readily understood, and fully comprehended by all classes of
citizens.

The writer having been born and brought up on a farm, and being in his
younger days of a delicate constitution, instead of joining in the
rugged work of the field, remained at home to aid and assist his mother
in the culinary labors of the household. It was in this home-school--in
its way one of the best in the world, that he acquired not only a
practical knowledge of what he desires to fully impart to others, but a
taste for the preparation, in its most attractive forms, of every
variety of palatable and health-giving food. It was his early training
in this homely school that induced him to make this highly important
matter an all-absorbing theme and the subject of his entire life study.
His governing rule in this department has ever been the injunction laid
down by the chief of the Apostles: "Try all things; prove all things;
and hold fast that which is good."




INTRODUCTORY.


A Brief History of the Culinary Art, and its Principal Methods.

Cooking is defined to be the art of dressing, compounding and preparing
food by the aid of heat. Ancient writers upon the subject are of opinion
that the practice of this art followed immediately after the discovery
of fire, and that it was at first an imitation of the natural processes
of mastication and digestion. In proof of the antiquity of this art,
mention is made of it in many places in sacred writ. Among these is
notably the memoirs of the Children of Israel while journeying in the
wilderness, and their hankering after the "flesh-pots of Egypt."

Among the most enlightened people of ancient times,--cooking, if not
regarded as one of the fine arts, certainly stood in the foremost rank
among the useful. It was a highly honored vocation, and many of the most
eminent and illustrious characters of Greece and Rome did not disdain to
practice it. Among the distinguished amateurs of the art, in these
modern times, may be mentioned Alexander Dumas, who plumed himself more
upon his ability to cook famous dishes than upon his world-wide
celebrity as the author of the most popular novels of his day.

In the state in which man finds most of the substances used for food
they are difficult of digestion. By the application of heat some of
these are rendered more palatable and more easily digested, and,
consequently, that assimilation so necessary to the sustenance of life,
and the repair of the constant waste attendant upon the economy of the
human system. The application of heat to animal and vegetable
substances, for the attainment of this end, constitutes the basis of the
science of cookery.

Broiling, which was most probably the mode first resorted to in the
early practice of this art, being one of the most common of its various
operations, is quite simple and efficacious. It is especially adapted to
the wants of invalids, and persons of delicate appetites. Its effect is
to coagulate, in the quickest manner, upon the surface the albumen of
the meat, effectually sealing up its pores, and thus retaining the rich
juices and delicate flavor that would otherwise escape and be lost.

Roasting comes next in order, and for this two conditions are
essentially requisite--a good, brisk fire, and constant basting. As in
the case of broiling, care should be taken at the commencement to
coagulate the albumen on the surface as speedily as possible. Next to
broiling and stewing, this is the most economical mode of cooking meats
of all kinds.

Baking meat is in very many respects objectionable--and should never be
resorted to when other modes of cooking are available, as it reverses
the order of good, wholesome cookery, in beginning with a slow and
finishing with a high temperature. Meats cooked in this manner have
never the delicate flavor of the roast, nor are they so easily digested.

Boiling is one of the easiest and simplest methods of cooking, but in
its practice certain conditions must be carefully observed. The fire
must be attended to, so as to properly regulate the heat. The utensils
used for this purpose, which should be large enough to contain
sufficient water to completely cover the meat, should be scrupulously
clean, and provided with a close-fitting cover. All scum should be
removed as fast as it rises, which will be facilitated by frequent
additions of small quantities of cold water. Difference of opinion
exists among cooks as to the propriety of putting meats in cold water,
and gradually raising to the boiling point, or plunging into water
already boiling. My own experience, unless in the preparation