may be kept on the stove, into which are put any
scraps of meat, bones, gristle, or vegetable; at the end of the day it
is strained, and all fat taken off. Bones and meat for stock must be
broken into small pieces. Cold water should be used, and a little
salt to extract the nutriment. The whole must be brought slowly to the
boiling point; then, the temperature lowered, the fat and scum taken
off. When wanted for clear soups the vegetables should be cleaned,
but not cut up, or with the long cooking they may mash and thicken the
soup. In hot weather it is better to leave out the vegetables, as
the stock turns sour more quickly if vegetables have been used in its
preparation. They can be cooked separately and added when using the
stock.

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The soup should simmer for five or six hours to extract the gelatinous
matters. If the stock is skimmed occasionally it will be much clearer.
Keep the lid on the stock pot to prevent loss by evaporation. The
bones can be cooked again next day for a second stock, but the
vegetables must be taken out. Care must be taken that nothing doubtful
in freshness be put into the stock pot. Meat and bones should be well
wiped with a damp cloth before using them. If onions be put in the
soup unpeeled, simply washed and the root end cut off, they will help
to color the soup. When using eggs for other dishes, if the shells be
washed before breaking them and added to the stock pot they will help
to clear the soup. For clear soups care must be taken that nothing
of a floury nature be added to the stock pot. Stock always should
be strained before cooling. Never allow it to stand in stock pot
all night. Clear gravy soup consists of the extractives, flavoring
matters, and gelatine of meat and bones.

Consomme is a good stock made from beef, veal, and often fowl, and
flavored with vegetables, cooled, freed from fat. It is clarified with
whites and shells of eggs, and chopped raw lean beef, and strained
through a cloth. It should be brilliantly clear and of a pale brown
color. Any fat floating on the stock may be removed by passing a piece
of kitchen or blotting paper over the surface. Soup left from a meal
will keep better if strained from the vegetables that have been served
in it. In hot weather, stock left over must be boiled each day,
and poured into a clean basin to prevent its turning sour. In warm
weather, soups with milk in their composition should have a pinch of
baking soda added.