The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-04-21
RESTAURANT SECRETS.
Parisians Use Artificial Hambones and
Stamped Cockscombs.
(London Globe. J

OF the Paris cuisine. Here are a few of
them. just as the Parisians, like the
Cockney coffee-house keepers, have found
out how to make coffee without coffee SO
have also the Partisan restaurateurs
found out how to make bouillon, or beef
tea, without beef. At the gargotes, the
lowest class of Paris restaurants, a species
OF very ingenious fraud has now been
common for over half a century and may
be more. 1t consists in passing off warm
water, oolored and favored with burnt
onions and caramel, into which some
little grease bubbles have been injected,
as soup. 1t Is true that bones which have
been twice stewed, first by the larger res
taurants, 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. il possibls, by some particle of
animal substance; but as this operation
fails to impart to it those little greasy
bubbles which the French term sseyes, "
and forswhich the shrewd frequenters of
these establishments invariably look, in
order to satisfy themselves that the broth
they drink has been actually made from
meat q clever cook got over the diff
Guilty by blowing tspoonful of fish oil,
which, falling into the cauldron or soup
tureen. formed the eyes SO dear:to epioures
of certain type. The system was found
to answer SO perfectly that an employe
aux ysux de bouillon, as the individual
who performs this operation is termed, is
now an indispensable necessity to all
gRrgotiers in large way of business
Parisians Of certain class are inordi-
nate eaters Of ham; in fact, almost as
many hams are eaten in Paris al could
be furnished by all the pigs killed
throughout the whole of France, even
allowing for both shoulder and leg being
cured in accordance with French practice.
The demand used-and may be now-to
he supplied in this wise. The dealers
in cooked hams bought up the old ham,
bones at a couple of sous apiece. AID
ingeniously inserted them into pieces of
picked pork, which they trimmed into
shape, and coated with grated bread
orusts. In this way many bones did duty
hundreds Of times over, lasting in fact,
for years. They would leave the dealers
them the same night. to quit them again
the following day. Nevertheless the sup
ply could hardly keep pace with the de-
mand. Only fancy tho moon venience Of
having to wait for your ham until your
neighbours servant took back the ham,
bone which the charcuntier relied upon
receiving yesterday 1t was to obviate
such a state of things that an ingenious
individual conceived the idea of manu-
featuring hambones wholesale, and ere
long he drove a thriving trade at ten sous
a dozen; since which time the stock of
hams has augmented, and the delioacy
has become less difficult OF attainment.
Much in the same way another ingenious
individual, knowing the immense con-
ragouts coqullles of cocksoombs and
vol-au-vents, and seeing the high prices
the fcookscombs commanded, owing
to the limited supply, set to work to min
lister himself as manufacturer of
cocksoombs. So extensive was the trade
done by him chat he found 1t necessary to
set up small steam engine. He was
great enthusiast. and was accustomed to
pride himself upon the artificial cocks
soombs which emanated from his atelier
being greatly superior to- the natural
article.
This is the way our artist went to
work. 4 the same method Is largely
worked at this day in London as vol as
in Paris-aye, and in New York and New
Orleans-we purposely use the present
tense for time. He takes the palate of
will do, although he prefers the first.
After having blancbed 1t in boiling water,
be macerates 1t and detaches the flesh of
the palatic vault, without in the slightest
degree derangiDg it, and then places it
under stamping machine, whiuh punch
es out cookscombs more perfect in shape
than those produced by nature, yet suffi-
GENTLY resembling them to deceive con-
noisseurs. Still, there is way of detect
ing the artificial produotiou-the cooks
combs OF clumsy nature have papillae on
both sides. whereas those of art have them
only on one. Counterfeit oockscombs are
sold as low as four sous the dozen in
Paris to poulterers, keepers Of restaurants
pastry cooks, etc., and at six sous to
cooks in private families.
Apropos of our subject, this man, in
his intercourse with poulterers, got to
learn that when they did not sell their
lower the price about one-tifth every SUBJ
sequent day bird remained on hand.
and so frequently had to submit to a
loss, although the turkey might present
the same appearance OF fresh ness that it
did when first killed. And yet no cook
could be deceived, and this solely because
of the birds legs, which were black and
shiny on the day of its death, assumed a
more and more grasish tone as time
our man of genius. The shrewd manu-
faoturer of cookscombs fastened khome
and set to WORK to compound q ynrnish
which should defy the .attaoks of time,
and render turkeys' legs ever fresh and
youthful. In couple of days he re-
turned triumphant to the market, and
furnished the best proof of his success by