Horrible stories, too, have been told of travellers in the desert, who, in their death-agony, have ripped open and ladled out a spoonful or two of water from their camel’s stomach.
However, we live in a happier clime; certain is it that should any one experience thirst in this country, it is not for want of opportunities to drink.
Before, however, we proceed to discuss the various methods and recipes for cooling drinks, such as claret-cup, champagne12-cup, as well as home-made lemonade, lemon-smash, &c., it will not be out of place to compare (as we have already done in cooking) France and England, in regard to drinking. If it is urged there is a good old saying that “comparisons are odious,” we would add, so also is drunkenness. That this latter vice13 is the curse of the country, and has been for many years, no one will deny. That of late private tippling in families far above the lower orders is also on the increase, is a fact so patent that it deserves more notice than that it has hitherto met with in purely14 medical journals.
151Perhaps one of the simplest and most effective cures for the dangerous habit we speak of is the substitution of some agreeable but at the same time harmless drink, for the usual stimulant15.
We believe that this point has not met with the attention it deserves. The public-houses of London are essentially16 drinking-houses. A poor man, to whom every penny is an object, is almost driven when thirsty to take beer—too often, unfortunately, the beer in question being so adulterated that it helps in the end to increase rather than alleviate17 thirst. On the other hand, a Paris café contains a choice of drinks almost unknown in London, many of which combine a delicious flavour with the advantage of being non-intoxicating. I have known several cases of English lads who, when in England, invariably took beer, who looked forward with pleasure to the equally cheap glass of groseille and water when abroad. These to whom I refer were in charge of some race-horses, had been educated at Newmarket, and were constantly in the habit of travelling between that place and Paris.
Young lads at the dangerous and susceptible18 age of seventeen too often take to drinking more beer than is good for them, just in the same way that they take to smoking—viz., because they think it will look manly19, and not because they really like it. The habit once formed, in nine cases out of ten probably lasts 152a lifetime; but the good old saying, that “prevention is better than cure,” was never more applicable than in the case in point.
We could recommend some enterprising grocers during the present summer to offer for sale glasses of syrup20 and water—say groseille—with a small piece of ice in each glass, for a penny; the profit would be considerable. Were every grocer’s shop in London to adopt this suggestion, I believe more would be done towards checking intemperance21 than all the efforts of the teetotal societies have done for years.
There are several ways of making claret-cup, and many persons have their own private recipe. It will also invariably be found that each person thinks his own recipe the best. In this respect claret-cup may be said to have taken the place of punch, disputes about the best method of brewing22 a bowl of which are said in days of old to have even led to duels23 being fought between the rival brewers.
I will give two recipes for making claret-cup—one, which may be called strong cup, suitable for dinner, and another weaker cup, more adapted to be drunk after cricket or rowing. There are, perhaps, few occasions when a deep draught24 of a cool fluid is more grateful than after a long pull on the river on a hot day.
Of course the basis of claret-cup is claret; but one 153word of warning somewhat similar to that we gave in connection with turtle soup. It is impossible to make a good cup out of really bad claret. I do not mean cheap claret, but sour. It is quite possible to get a good sound wine for twenty-four shillings a dozen, or even less; but at the same time it is quite possible to pay more, and get a sour compound that would be unfit for cup or any other purpose. On the other hand, to use really good claret, such as Chateau25 Margaux or Chateau Latour, for making cup, would be as bad as using 1834 port to make negus.
Perhaps the most difficult point to determine in making claret-cup is its sweetness. Now, as this is purely a matter of taste, I would recommend persons to err26 on the side of too little sugar rather than too much, as it is always easy to add, but impossible to take away.
Take therefore about an ounce and a half of white sugar, and dissolve it by pouring a table-spoonful of hot water on it, and afterwards adding a little claret. I have always found this plan best, as otherwise the sugar is apt to settle at the bottom of the cup or jug27, thereby28 often making the compound not quite sweet enough at starting, and a great deal too sweet at the finish.
We will suppose, therefore, that the sugar is completely dissolved, and added to a whole bottle of 154claret in the jug or cup selected for the purpose. Add two thin slices of lemon—cut across the lemon, care being taken to avoid any pips—and one thin slice of cucumber-peeling about as long and as broad as the first finger, and the thickness of the blade of a dinner-knife. Next add one sherry-glassful of sherry, one table-spoonful of good brandy—not some of that dreadful cheap brandy that smells like naphtha—and one table-spoonful of noyeau or maraschino. Rub a nutmeg about half a dozen times across the grater over the cup.
Let the cup stand for about a quarter of an hour, and then taste it. Should the flavour of the cucumber be very decided29, take out the piece of cucumber; and the same as regards the lemon. Should the flavour of the peel of the lemon be detected, take out the two slices of lemon, for lemons vary immensely in strength.
Now add a large lump of ice and a bottle of soda30-water, taking care to pour the latter in carefully—i.e., to put the soda-water bottle almost into the cup. I have seen persons pour the soda water from a height, thereby losing half the carbonic-acid gas, which ought to go into the cup to freshen it up, so to speak.
All that the cup now requires is drinking. It is by no means a very cheap affair, as the sherry, brandy, and noyeau probably cost more than the claret.
155A cheaper form of cup, and one more suitable for use, as we have said, after cricket or rowing, is a bottle of claret with the same quantity of lemon, cucumber-peel, and sugar, two or three drops of essence of almonds, a large lump of ice, and two bottles of soda-water.
One word, however, in reference to the lemon proper not only for claret-cup, but for any other kind of cup. The lemon must be fresh—i.e., when it is cut it must have a firm rim31 round it, yellow outside and white inside. An old lemon, that is soft and pulpy33, with a hard, dry skin, and that smells sweet, is no good for claret-cup. In making champagne-cup it is still more important to have a good lemon.
The method of making champagne-cup that I think best is so simple that it barely deserves the name of a recipe. It is as follows:—A bottle of champagne, one or two thin slices of lemon, a large lump of ice, and a bottle of soda-water.
Francatelli is, however, so great an authority in cooking, and all his recipes, so far as cooking is concerned, so invariably correct, that I will give his recipe for making both champagne and claret-cup, merely remarking that I have not tried either. Francatelli recommends—“One bottle of champagne, one quart bottle of German seltzer-water, two oranges sliced, a bunch of balm, ditto of burrage, one ounce 156of bruised34 sugar-candy. Place the ingredients in a covered jug embedded35 in rough ice for an hour and a quarter previously36 to its being required for use, and then decanter it free from the herbs, &c.” I should think the fault in this cup would be that it would taste too sweet.
For claret-cup Francatelli recommends—“One bottle of claret, one pint37 bottle of German seltzer water, a small bunch of balm and burrage, one orange cut in slices, half a cucumber sliced thick, a liqueur-glass of cognac, and one ounce of bruised sugar-candy. Place these ingredients in a covered jug well immersed in rough ice. Stir all together with a silver spoon, and when the cup has been iced for about an hour, strain or decanter it off free from the herbs, &c.” In this recipe I should think there would be far too strong a flavour of cucumber.
One of the most refreshing38 drinks in very hot weather is lemonade; but how rare is it that we meet with lemonade that is really nice! Of course tastes differ, but I cannot understand how some people can drink the ordinary bottled lemonade. It is, as a rule, so very sweet that it is absolutely sickly, and at the same time in such a state of effervescence that only peculiarly constituted throats can drink it at a draught. Plain home-made lemonade can be made very cheaply, when lemons are not too dear. The 157great secret is to use boiling water, and pour it on the pulp32 of, say, three lemons, with a small piece of peel, but not too much, as it will render the lemonade bitter. Add white sugar to taste; of course, children like it sweeter than others. Let it get cold, and then strain it. Care should be taken that all the pips are removed from the pulp before the boiling water is added. A great improvement to this kind of lemonade is the addition of a little dilute39 sulphuric acid, about thirty drops to a quart. Thirty drops of dilute sulphuric acid, when freely diluted40, can be taken at one dose without any fear, though of course such a dose must not be taken without a doctor’s order; but the addition of it to a whole quart of lemonade has the effect of rendering41 it much more palatable42; and were a person to drink the whole quart, which is improbable, it would not do them the slightest possible harm. Dilute sulphuric acid is a simple but valuable medicine, particularly useful in summer.
Those who prefer sparkling lemonade had better try the following method, and then let them judge for themselves whether it is not infinitely43 superior to the ordinary bottled lemonade:—Squeeze a lemon through a little piece of muslin into a tumbler, and have the patience to wait while a couple of lumps of sugar dissolve in it. Then add some iced soda-water and 158stir it up, taking care it is not half lost by frothing over the tumbler.
Soda-water can be bought now very good at one shilling and ninepence a dozen. Mixed with a little fruit-essence or French syrup, or raspberry vinegar, it makes most delicious drinks, especially if iced. Let me, therefore, entreat44 ladies who, during this hot weather, when they feel at times exhausted45, have been in the habit of taking either weak brandy-and-water or sherry-and-water, to try one of these kinds of syrup instead. The effect of a stimulant is but short, and too often is followed by a reaction far worse than the original feeling of lassitude.
There is one subject in connection with cooling drinks that I wish to mention, though a trifle out of place in an article that purports46 teaching cooking; yet its importance is so great that I trust I may be pardoned for introducing it. When you use water for drinking, or for mixing cooling drinks, take care that it is pure. No house ought to be without a filter. Were the custom of first boiling and then filtering water universal, tens of thousands of lives would be annually47 saved throughout the country. Children are peculiarly susceptible to the influence of impure48 water, and during hot weather especially drink a great deal. The cost of a filter is small, and the trouble of boiling the water also small.
159Let me strongly advise mothers in small households, where no trustworthy housekeeper49 is kept, to superintend the management of the filter themselves. If my advice be the means of saving the life of even one little one, it will not have been given in vain. Should any one say or think that this is all rubbish, let that one ask any respectable medical man for his opinion, and then act on it.
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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dungeon
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| n.地牢，土牢 | |
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ravenous
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| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
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devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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goblet
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| n.高脚酒杯 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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raving
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| adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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stimulant
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| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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alleviate
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| v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等) | |
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susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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syrup
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| n.糖浆，糖水 | |
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intemperance
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| n.放纵 | |
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brewing
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| n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式 | |
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duels
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| n.两男子的决斗( duel的名词复数 )；竞争，斗争 | |
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draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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chateau
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| n.城堡，别墅 | |
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err
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| vi.犯错误，出差错 | |
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jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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soda
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| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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pulp
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| n.果肉，纸浆；v.化成纸浆，除去...果肉，制成纸浆 | |
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pulpy
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| 果肉状的，多汁的，柔软的； 烂糊； 稀烂 | |
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bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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embedded
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| a.扎牢的 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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dilute
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| vt.稀释，冲淡；adj.稀释的，冲淡的 | |
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diluted
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| 无力的，冲淡的 | |
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rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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palatable
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| adj.可口的，美味的；惬意的 | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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purports
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| v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的第三人称单数 ) | |
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annually
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| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
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impure
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| adj.不纯净的，不洁的；不道德的，下流的 | |
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housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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