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Apricots, Compote of
INGREDIENTS for compote for 4 or 5 persons.pint of syrup (see SYRUP), 12 green apricots.
AVERAGE COST, 9d.
Make the syrup by the given recipe, and, when it is ready, put in the apricots whilst the syrup is boiling. Simmer them very gently until tender, taking care not to let them break; take them out carefully, arrange them on a glass dish, let the syrup cool a little, pour it over the apricots, and when cold, serve.
TIME. From 15 to 20 minutes to simmer the apricots.
SEASONABLE in June and July, with green apricots.
Note. A very nice compote can also be made at a small cost with tinned apricots by putting them in a syrup made from their juice and loaf sugar when made hot, letting them cool in this, then adding a glass or two of liqueur.
Apricots, Flanc of; or Compote of Apricots in a Raised Crust. - INGREDIENTS for 1 dish. Ib. of short crust (see CRUST), 12 good-sized apricots, pint of water, lb. of sugar. AVERAGE Cost, 1s. 6d.
Make a short crust by the given recipe, and line a mould with it. Boil the sugar and water together for 10 minutes; halve the apricots, take out the stones, and simmer them in the syrup until tender; watch them carefully, and take them up, for fear they should break. Arrange them neatly in the flanc or case; boil the syrup until reduced to a jelly; pour it over the fruit, and serve either hot or cold. Greengages, plums of all kinds, peaches, &c., may be done in the same manner, as also currants, raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries, &c.; but with the last-named fruits, a little currant-juice added to them will be found an improvement.
TIME.-Altogether, 1 hour to bake the flanc, from 15 to 20 minutes to simmer the apricots.
SEASONABLE in July, August, and September.
Note. The pretty appearance of this dish depends on the fruit being whole; as each apricot is done, it should be taken out of the syrup immediately.
APRIL, DINNERS FOR.
MENU. (French.) April-Dinner for Twelve Persons.
MENU. (English.) Quantity. Average لم ১. d.
Julienne. 5 pints. 46 Stuffed Trout, Fried. 3 fish. 70 Whitebait. 2 qts. 40 Lobster Cream. 2 mlds. 40 Chicken Rissoles. 2 dishes. 36 Quarter of Lamb. 1 joint. 70 Potatoes. Sprouts.
Albs.ea. 10 Ducklings. 3 birds. 90 Rhubarb Tart. 2 20 Vanilla Cream. 2 mlds. 36 Cheese Soufflé. 2 26 £280 Julienne.
Truite Farcie et Frite.
Blanchaille.
Crême de Homard.
Croquettes de Volaille.
Quartier d'Agneau.
Pommes de Terre. Choux.
Canetons.
Tourte à la Rhubarbe.
Crême de Vanille.
Soufflé de Parmesan.
April-- Dinner for Ten Persons.
MENU. (English.) Quantity. Average MENU. (French.) Lamb Cutlets.
Roast Fillet of Veal. 8. d.
Spring Soup. 5 pints. 32 Salmon, 4 lbs. 70 Tartar Sauce. pint. 09 Oyster Patties. 10 46 12 40 1 joint. 56 1 66 3lbs.ea. 09 3 birds. 40 2 dishes. 1 8 1 14 1½ pint. 01) 2 1 1 n Ham.
Potatoes. Spinach.
Ptarmigans.
Orange Fritters.
Gooseberry Tart.
Custard.
Celery Salad. £2 1 U Printanière.
Saumon, Sauce Tartare.
Petits Pâtes aux Huitres..
Côtelettes d'Agneau.
Rouelle de Veau.
Jambon.
Pommes de Terre. Epinards.
Ptarmigans.
Beignets d'Orange.
Tourte aux Groseilles.
Crême.
Salade de Celeri.
April-Dinner for Eight Persons.
MENU. (English.) Quantity. Average 8. d.
Custard Soup. 21 pints. 30 Fried Soles. 3 fish. 46 Lobster Cutlets. 1 dish. 30 Chicken Cream. 1 dish. 40 Leg of Lamb. 1 joint. 60 Potatoes. Spinach. 3lbs. ea. 09 Rhubarb Tart.
Stone Cream. 1 mould.
Cheese Straws. 1 dish. £1 5 6 MENU. (French.) Consommé à la Royale.
Soles Frits.
Côtelettes de Homard.
Crême de Volaille.
Gigot d'Agneau.
Pommes de Terre. Epinards.
Tourte à la Rhubarbe.
Crême de Tous-le-Mois.
Pailles de Parmesan.
APRIL, DINNERS FOR.
April-Dinners for from Six to Twelve Persons.
ENG Clear Soup.
Whiting.
Curried Rabbit.
Beef Rissoles.
Leg of Mutton.
Potatoes.
Sprouts.
Ptarmigan.
Rhubarb Tart.
Custard.
Vanilla Cream.
Gorgonzola Cheese.
MENU Oysters.
Brown Bread-and-Butter.
Spring Soup.
Turbot, Hollondaise Sauce.
Lamb Cutlets and Spinach.
Chicken Rissoles.
Sirloin, Horseradish Sauce.
Potatoes. Sprouts.
Salad.
Cabinet Pudding Compôte of Fruit.
Stilton.
Celery.
MENG Appétisans.
Julienne.
Boiled Salmon.
Cucumber.
Lobster Cream.
Veal Croquettes.
Leg of Lamb.
Potatoes.
Spinach.
Gooseberry Tart.
Whipped Cream.
Orange Jelly.
Cheese Biscuits.
Meur Oxtail Soup.
Filleted Soles.
Stewed Kidneys.
Saddle of Mutton.
Potatoes.
Brocoli.
Asparagus.
Canary Pudding.
Blanc-Mange.
Pastry Sandwiches.
Cheese Straws.
Herrings' Roes, Devilled.
APRIL, DINNER TABLE.
April-Plain Family Dinners for.
No. 1.
Sunday. Clear soup.-Leg of mutton, Vegetables. Gooseberry tart, cream.
A simple poached-fruit dessert built on a sugar syrup, and the whole trick is heat control: the apricots must stay whole. Note that several fractions have dropped out of the ingredient lists here, so quantities need judgement.
- Green apricotsThese are unripe, firm fruit picked before the flesh softens, and they hold their shape through poaching in a way ripe apricots will not. If you can only get ripe apricots, use the firmest available, halve them, and cut the simmering to a few minutes.
- The syrupMade by the book's own syrup recipe, which is not reproduced on this page. The stated quantity has lost its fraction; a half pint is the sensible reading for four or five servings, enough to cover a dozen small apricots.
- Simmer, do not boilThe fruit goes in while the syrup is boiling, but the pan should drop immediately to the barest tremble. A rolling boil splits the skins and the dish collapses into stewed fruit. Fifteen to twenty minutes suits hard green fruit only; test with a skewer from ten minutes.
- Lift as they softenApricots do not cook evenly. Take each one out with a slotted spoon the moment it yields and set it aside rather than waiting for the slowest one.
- Reducing the syrupThe recipe pours the syrup over as it is. If it seems thin, boil it down after removing the fruit, then cool it slightly before pouring so the heat does not go on cooking the apricots.
- The tinned-fruit noteCanned apricots are already fully cooked, so this is only warming: heat the drained juice with loaf sugar (plain granulated is fine) until dissolved, pour over the fruit, cool, then add the liqueur. Adding spirits while hot drives off the aroma. Kirsch, apricot brandy or brandy all work.
- Serving and yieldFour to five as written, served cold in a glass dish with the syrup spooned over. Cream, a plain custard, or sponge fingers all suit it.
A compote in the French sense means whole or halved fruit poached in sugar syrup and served in its own liquid -- a dish distinct from a jam or a preserve, since it is meant to be eaten soon rather than kept. Green apricots were used in Victorian kitchens while still too sour to eat raw but firm enough to survive poaching. The "average cost" of ninepence attached to the entry is characteristic of Beeton's method, which treated household accounting as part of cookery.