eady
for colouring. If made according to this recipe, the spinach-green will
be found far superior to that boiled in the ordinary way.

HOT SPICE, a Delicious Adjunct to Chops, Steaks, Gravies, &c.

524. INGREDIENTS.--3 drachms each of ginger, black pepper, and cinnamon,
7 cloves, 1/2 oz. mace, 1/4 oz. of cayenne, 1 oz. grated nutmeg, 1-1/2
oz. white pepper.

_Mode_.--Pound the ingredients, and mix them thoroughly together, taking
care that everything is well blended. Put the spice in a very dry glass
bottle for use. The quantity of cayenne may be increased, should the
above not be enough to suit the palate.

[Illustration: CINNAMON.]

CINNAMON.--The cinnamon-tree (_Laurus Cinnamomum_) is a valuable
and beautiful species of the laurel family, and grows to the
height of 20 or 30 feet. The trunk is short and straight, with
wide-spreading branches, and it has a smooth ash-like bark. The
leaves are upon short stalks, and are of an oval shape, and 3 to
5 inches long. The flowers are in panicles, with six small
petals, and the fruit is about the size of an olive, soft,
insipid, and of a deep blue. This incloses a nut, the kernel of
which germinates soon after it falls. The wood of the tree is
white and not very solid, and its root is thick and branching,
exuding a great quantity of camphor. The inner bark of the tree
forms the cinnamon of commerce. Ceylon was thought to be its
native island; but it has been found in Malabar, Cochin-China,
Sumatra, and the Eastern Islands; also in the Brazils, the
Mauritius, Jamaica, and other tropical localities.

BROWN ROUX, a French Thickening for Gravies and Sauces.

525. INGREDIENTS.--6 oz. of butter, 9 oz. of flour.

_Mode_.--Melt the butter in a stewpan over a slow fire, and dredge in,
very gradually, the flour; stir it till of a light-brown colour--to
obtain this do it very slowly, otherwise the flour will burn and impart
a bitter taste to the sauce it is mixed with. Pour it in a jar, and keep
it for use: it will remain good some time.

_Time_.--About 1/2 hour. _Average cost_, 7d.

WHITE ROUX, for thickening White Sauces.

526. Allow the same proportions of butter and flour as in the preceding
recipe, and proceed in the same manner as for brown roux, but do not
keep it on the fire too long, and take care not to let it colour. This
is used for thickening white sauce. Pour it into a jar to use when
wanted.

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