The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-08-11


Recent showers have brought up guam
titles OF pink and white meadow mush-
rooms and preceptibly lowered the price
in market.
While the average huckster seorns the
i~nsiruation that ne deals in anything but
cultivated mushrooms the effect of an
abundant season of wild mushrooms on
the market price at the stalls seems to
tell another story.
The French have no such foolish preju-
dice. The most costly of all fungi. the
fruffle, which is worth far mere than its
weight in gold, is always gathered wild
and is never cultivated. The truffle
hunter seeks 1T with the assistance of an
absurd little pet pig. who follows at his
heels and indicates with his snout where
his master is to- dig.
After a small struggle. during which
the pigs appetite is satisfied with some
less costly morsel than a truffle the hunt
er secures the truffle and the couple go
ON till Ire pig finds another
Fortunately, one does not have to hunt
mushrooms with pigs. though pigs, cows
and almost any animal will eagerly eat
them when they find them. The best
time to gather is as soon as the dew
is off the grass in the morning, when
they are generally Ia prime condition
In twenty-four hours they will be brown
and stale.
The majority of people cook mush-
rooms too much. They should not be
ssmmered over six minutes. Throw a
pound of nice mushrooms that have been
peeled and had half the stem taken off
into a nice porcelain saucepan with a
heaping tablespoonful Of butter and some
salt and pepper. Simmer them in their
own Juice and the butter for just six min
utes, then squeeze in the juice of half a
lemon Add a pinch of minced parsley.
Toast six small thin slices of bread and
pour the mushrooms over them
When mushrooms are fully open they
are nice broiled. Cut the stalks off up
to the cap. As o as possible, after
gathering mushrooms, prepare them for
the table. They turn a dull color in an
hours time. Remember that they grow
near the earth and are apt to be sandy,
yet they must be. washed with the great
est care and never allowed to soak for
a moment in the water. Wash them
one by one.
To broil them dust them with salt and
a little pepper, roll each in sweet oil and
broil them on the double broiler on the
under side first for about three minutes.
Then t,,rn them over and broil them
about four minutes on the upper side.
Lift them carefully off the brother and lay
them on small delicately brown slices
of toast. Put a little maatre d'hotel but
ter ON each mushroom and serve.
An economical method of cooking large
mushrooms is to bake them. Remove
the stalks from a dozen mushrooms
abut turo ;nebes in diameter. After
washing and pealing Law them aside in a
cold place while YOU prepare the follow
ing mixture to fill them with: Melt a
tablesnoonfuI of butter and stir in a
large tablespoonful of flour. Add a PM
of stock.
Reduce it down to half a pint. Chop
the stalks of the mushrooms and add
them: add also a tablespoonful of shall
teaspoouful Of minced parsley. add salt
and pepper. Boil the mixture for about
ten minutes longer. Set the mushrooms
in a nice buttered d-ripping-pan or. if
nnssibIe a gratin dish: fill them each
with a mixture of ndnes herbes.~ and |
sprinkle them with sifted bread crumbs
that have been browned and a few bits
of butter. Bake them in q QUICK owe |
for fen minutes They should have a
cream sauce poured around them If cook
ed IN a gratin dish, and should be served
Hike all dishes au gratirl in the dish they
are cooked in. 1t is a matter of regret
thai genuine gratin dishes of copper,
plated with silver, remain SO costly.
The smallest size seldom costs less
than $40. Why should not aluminium be
used for this purpose? 1t need not be
plated, and it is as good a conductor of
heat as copper. Fish and many other
things are excellent cooked au gratin,
but the cost of the cooking apparatus
has in a measure preeluded this method
of cooking. The appearance of a coarse
dish of copper or any other kitchen metal
is not appetizing, and those who cannot
afford silver-plated gratin dishes are
forced to do without this kind of cook
Ing. s.aAAza
With Spartan determination to aceen-
tuate her bad points. the hostess had
placed a stiff, apparently whitewashee
cuff in juxtaposition with a gnarled-
looking wrist and hand of yellowish tint.
Seeing which the aesthetic sighed and
delivered a brief lecture on the subject