The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-06-11
CUISINE SECRETS.
TRICKS OF THE COOKS AND THE
MARkETMEN OF PARIS.

Counterfeit Bubbles on Bouilion. Artificial
Ham Bones, Stamped Cocks Combs and
Vanished Turkey Legs Arc Some OF tho
Partisan Deceptions.
We often hear people who have paid
20 minute visits to Paris talk of the
beauties of Parisian cuisine. Here are
few of them. Just as the Parisians,
like tho cockney coffeehouse keepers,
have found out how to make coffee
without coffee, so have also the Partisan
restaurateurs found out how to make
boulllon, or beef tea, without beef. At
the gargotes, the lowest class of Paris
restaurants, q species of very ingenious
fraud has now been common for over
half n century and maybe moro 1t con-
sists in passing off warm water, colored
and favored with burned onions and
caramel and into which some little
grease bubbles have been injected, as
soup. 1t is true that bones which have
been twice stewed, first by tho larger
restaurants and secondly by the inferior
class of traiteurs and cast away as done
with, are stewed in this water for the
third time, in order that it may be i'm
pregnated, If possible, with some parti-
Gle OF animal substance; but, as this OPP
Grafton fails to impart to it those little
greasy bubbles which the French term
"eyes, and for which the shrewd fire.
quenters of these establishments invaria-
bly, look in order to satisfy themselves
that the broth thev drink has been act
ually made from meat, clever cook
got over the difficulty by blowing
spoonful of fish oil, which, falling into
the caldron or soup tureen, formed the
eyes so dear to epicures
Parisians Of certain class arc inordi-
nate eaters Of ham-in fact, almost as
many hams are eaten in Paris as could
DO furnished by all the pigs killed
throughout the whole of France, even
allowing for both shoulder and leg be-
ing cured III accordance with French
practice. Tho demand used-and NAV
be now-to DO supplied in this wise.
The dealers in cooked hams bought up
the old ham bones ut couple of sous
piece and ingeniously inserted them into
pieces of picked pork, which they trim
med into shape and coated with grated
crusts In this way many bones did duty
hundreds of times over. lasting, in fact,
for years They would leave the dealers
in the morning and frequently return
to them the same night, to quit them
again the following day. Nevertheless
the supply could hardly keep pace with
the demand Only fancy the inconven-
iencc of having to wait for your ham
until your neighbours servant took back
tho ham bone which the charcutier ne;
lied upon receiving yesterday 1t was to
obviate such state of things that an
ingenious individual conceived the idea
OF manufacturing ham bones wholesale,
and ere long he drove thriving trade
at 10 sous q dozen, since which time
the stock Of hams has augmented and
tho dellcacy has become less difficult Of
attainment Much in the same way an
other ingenious individual, knowing the
Immense consumption of cocks combs in
Paris for ragouts, coquilles of cocks
combs and vol-au-vents and seeing the
high prices the said cocks combs COM
manded owing to the limited supply,
set to work to minister to the demand
and duly established himself as a man.
ufacturer Of cocks combs. So extensive
was the trade done by him that he
found it necessary to set up q small
steam engine He was great enthusiast
and was accustomed to pride himself
upon the artificial cocks combs which
emanated from his atelier being great
ly superior to the natural article.
This is the way our artist went TO
work. AS the same method is largely
worked at this day III London as we'll
as i'll Paris-ay, and in New York and
New Orleans-we purposely use the
present tense for time He takes the
palate Of bullock, COW, calf, sheep or
goat-either will do, though he prefers
the first After having blanched it in
boiling water he macerates it and de-
taches the flesh of the palatic vault
without In the slightest degree derang-
ing 1T and then places it under stamp
ing machine, which punches out cocks
combs more perfect in shane than those
produced by mature, yet sufficiently re- /
sembling them to deceive the connois-
seurs Still, there is way Of detecting
the artificial production-the cocks
combs of clumsy nature have papillm on
both sides, whereas those of art have
them only on one Counterfeit cocks
combs are sold as low rs SOUS the
dozen in Paris to poul.crers, keepers of
restaurants, pastry cooks. etc, and at
sous to cooks in private families.
Apropos Of our subject, this man, in
his intercourse with poultcrers, got to
learn that when they did not sell their
turkeys off at once they We're obliged
to lower the price about one-fifth every
subsequent day or submit to loss, al
though the turkey might present the