A guide to modern cookery by A. Escoffier

necessity of ensuring that setting which means that the covering of batter solidifies immediately. As the substances constituting these various dishes are cooked in advance, it follows that their second heating and the colouring of the coating (egg and bread-crumbs or batter) take place at the same time and in a few minutes. The third temperature, “very hot,” is used (1) for all objects that need a sharp and firm setting; (2) for all small objects the setting of which is of supreme importance, and whose cooking is effected in a few minutes, as in the case of whitebait. 265—FRYING MEDIUM FOR FISH Every frying medium, used for work on a large scale, which has acquired a too decided colouring through repeated use, may serve in the preparation of fish even until its whole strength is exhausted. Oil is best suited to the frying of fish, especially the very small kind, owing to the tremendous heat it can withstand without burning, for this heat guarantees that setting which is so indispensable. Except in this case, however, the temperature of the frying medium should be regulated strictly in accordance with the size of the fish to be fried, in order that its cooking and colouring may be effected simultaneously. Except _Nonats_ and whitebait, which are simply rolled in flour, fish to be fried are previously steeped in slightly salted milk and then rolled in flour. From this combination of milk and flour there results a crisp coating which withholds those particular principles that the fish exude while cooking. When finished, fried fish are drained, dried, slightly salted, and dished on a serviette or on paper, with a garnish of fried parsley-sprays and sections of channelled lemon. 266—THE QUANTITY OF THE FRYING MEDIUM This should always be in proportion to the quantity or size of the objects to be fried, bearing in mind that these must always be entirely submerged. Without necessarily exaggerating, the quantity should invariably be rather in excess of the requirements, and for this reason, viz., the greater the amount of fat, the higher will be the temperature reached, and the less need one fear a sudden cooling of the fat when the objects to be treated are immersed. This sudden cooling is often the cause of great trouble, unless one be working over a fire of such fierceness that the fat can return in a few seconds to the temperature it was at before the objects were immersed. 267—THE CARE OF THE FRYING MEDIUM Every time a frying fat is used it should, after having been melted, be strained through a towel, for the majority of objects which it has served to cook must have left some particles behind them which might prove prejudicial to the objects that are to follow. Objects that are “_panés_” always leave some raspings, for instance, which in time assume the form of black powder, while those that have been treated with flour likewise drop some of their coating, which, in accumulating, produces a muddy precipitate on the bottom of the utensil. Not only do these foreign substances disturb the clearness of the fat and render it liable to burn, but they are exceedingly detrimental to the objects that are treated later. Therefore, always strain the fat whenever it is used—in the first place because the proper treatment of the objects demands it, and, secondly, because its very existence as a serviceable medium depends upon this measure. 268—GRATINS This culinary operation plays a sufficiently important part in the work to warrant my detailing at least its leading points. The various kinds of the order “Gratins” are (1) the Complete Gratin; (2) the Rapid Gratin; (3) the Light Gratin; (4) Glazing, which is a form of Rapid Gratin. 269—COMPLETE GRATIN This is the first example of the series; it is that whose preparation is longest and most tiresome; for its principal constituent, whatever this is, must be completely cooked. Its cooking must moreover be coincident with the reduction of the sauce, which is the base of the gratin, and with the formation of the gratin proper, _i.e._, the crimped crust which forms on the surface and is the result of the combination of the sauce with the raspings and the butter, under the direct influence of the heat. In the preparation of complete gratin, two things must be taken into account:—(1) The nature and size of the object to be treated, and (2) the degree of heat which must be used in order that the cooking of the object, the reduction of the sauce, and the formation of the gratin may be effected simultaneously. The base of complete gratin is almost invariably ordinary or Lenten duxelle sauce (No. 223), in accordance with the requirements. The object to be treated with the gratin is laid on a buttered dish, surrounded with slices of raw mushrooms and chopped shallots, and covered with duxelle sauce. The surface is then sprinkled with raspings, and copiously moistened with melted butter. Should the piece be large, the amount of sauce used will be proportionately greater, and the reverse, of course, applies to medium or smaller sizes. Take note of the following remarks in the making of complete gratins:—