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Welsh Rarebit
A lump of butter size of an egg, put in a dish and allowed to melt; put in cheese, one pound to every four persons, and half a glass of lager beer, ale or milk; stir with fork or spoon, and while stirring, drop in as much mustard as the end of a fork-handle will hold; add same amount of paprika and the beaten yolk of one egg, also a few drops of Worcestershire sauce; stir until cheese is melted, and serve hot.
— Mrs. James Rider
A chafing-dish rarebit of the sort served at card parties and late suppers. The method is sound; the proportions are of their period and the heat control is the whole game.
- The hinge: low, steady heatCheese held above a bare simmer will break, turning grainy and weeping oil. Melt over the lowest possible flame or a double boiler, and pull it off the heat while a few unmelted shreds remain.
- "A lump of butter size of an egg"Roughly 2 ounces, or 4 tablespoons. With modern full-fat cheese you can use rather less without the mixture seizing.
- "As much mustard as the end of a fork-handle will hold"A pinch — call it a scant quarter teaspoon of dry English mustard for a pound of cheese. The same for the paprika. Both are there for bite and colour, not to be tasted separately.
- The cheese to useA firm, well-aged Cheddar grated on the coarse side melts most reliably. Pre-shredded cheese is dusted with an anti-caking agent and tends to give a chalky texture here.
- Half a glass of beerA drinking glass of the day was around 6 to 8 fl oz, so figure 3 to 4 fluid ounces (6 to 8 tablespoons) of ale. Add it warm and gradually; cold liquid dropped into melted cheese encourages curdling.
- The egg yolkBeat it with a spoonful of the warm cheese mixture first, then stir it back in off the heat. Dropped in cold and whole it will scramble in streaks.
- ServingThe receipt says only "serve hot," but rarebit is customarily served on thick toast. It sets and turns rubbery within minutes, so bring it to table straight from the pan.
Welsh rarebit is melted cheese on toast dressed up with mustard, beer and seasoning, and its name is an eighteenth-century English joke at Welsh expense — a "Welsh rabbit" being, as the traditional gloss has it, the only rabbit a poor Welshman was supposed to catch. "Rarebit" is a later genteel respelling of the punchline, and cookbooks have argued over which form is correct ever since. By the time this book was compiled, the dish had become the standard American chafing-dish supper: the chafing dish was a fashionable piece of equipment around 1900, kept in the parlour rather than the kitchen, and rarebit, creamed oysters and lobster Newburg were what one cooked in it in front of guests. Mrs. Rider's version offers lager beer, ale or milk interchangeably, and the Worcestershire and paprika are the period's two favourite shortcuts to savour.