Att dricka rostat bröd

The Portuguese Jug, 1916

Robert Delaunay

När jag för en tid sedan skrev om rostat bröd, hade jag ingen aning om att man även kan dricka det. Tack vare Gutenberg har jag nu täppt till denna kunskapslucka — för där fann jag nyligen ännu en av Mrs Beetons kokböcker, "Mrs. Beeton's Dictionary of Every-Day Cookery". För några år sedan presenterade jag Isabella Beeton, och lärde mig då att hennes make (eller karlsloken, som PettasKarin, så träffande kallade honom) pressade ut så mycket pengar han bara kunde — både ur sin levande, och alldeles för snart, döda hustru. Den här boken kom ut postumt, när framgår inte av den här upplagan, men det måste ha varit efter 1865.

Vill du prova, så gör så här:

TOAST-AND-WATER.

Ingredients.—A slice of bread, 1 quart of boiling water. Mode.—Cut a slice from a stale loaf (a piece of hard crust is better than anything else for the purpose), toast it of a nice brown on every side, but do not allow it to burn or blacken. Put it into a jug, pour the boiling water over it, cover it closely, and let it remain until cold. When strained, it will be ready for use. Toast-and-water should always be made a short time before it is required, to enable it to get cold: if drunk in a tepid or lukewarm state, it is an exceedingly disagreeable beverage. If, as is sometimes the case, this drink is wanted in a hurry, put the toasted bread into a jug, and only just cover it with the boiling water; when this is cool, cold water may be added in the proportion required, the toast-and-water strained; it will then be ready for use, and is more expeditiously prepared than by the above method.

Jag är inte säker på att jag kommer att prova receptet, håller mig nog till det traditionella sättet att äta mitt rostade bröd.

Så jag läser vidare, hur Isabella anser att man ska gå till väga, och inser att det är en konst — en konst som jag inte vet om jag någonsin kommer att behärska. Redan i första meningen stöter jag på problem . Jag vet inte vad det är för skillnad på household bread och cottage bread. Någon som kan bilda mig?

TOAST, to make Hot Buttered.

A loaf of household bread about two days old answers for making toast better than cottage bread, the latter not being a good shape, and too crusty for the purpose. Cut as many nice even slices as may be required, rather more than ¼ inch in thickness, and toast them before a very bright fire, without allowing the bread to blacken, which spoils the appearance and flavour of all toast. When of a nice colour on both sides, put it on a hot plate; divide some good butter into small pieces, place them on the toast, set this before the fire, and when the butter is just beginning to melt, spread it lightly over the toast. Trim off the crust and ragged edges, divide each round into 4 pieces, and send the toast quickly to table. Some persons cut the slices of toast across from corner to corner, so making the pieces of a three-cornered shape. Soyer recommends that each slice should be cut into pieces as soon as it is buttered, and when all are ready, that they should be piled lightly on the dish they are intended to be served on. He says that by cutting through 4 or 5 slices at a time, all the butter is squeezed out of the upper ones, while the bottom one is swimming in fat liquid. It is highly essential to use good butter for making this dish.

TOAST, to make Dry.

To make dry toast properly, a great deal of attention is required; much more, indeed, than people generally suppose. Never use new bread for making any kind of toast, as it eats heavy, and, besides, is very extravagant. Procure a loaf of household bread about two days old; cut off as many slices as may be required, not quite ¼ inch in thickness; trim off the crusts and ragged edges, put the bread on a toasting-fork, and hold it before a very clear fire. Move it backwards and forwards until the bread is nicely coloured; then turn it and toast the other side, and do not place it so near the fire that it blackens. Dry toast should be more gradually made than buttered toast, as its great beauty consists in its crispness, and this cannot be attained unless the process is slow and the bread is allowed gradually to colour. It should never be made long before it is wanted, as it soon becomes tough, unless placed on the fender in front of the fire. As soon as each piece is ready, it should be put into a rack, or stood upon its edges, and sent quickly to table.

Girl Cooking Toast on the Stove