The Soup Kettle

In making stock all the nutriment and flavors possible are to be drawn out from the various ingredients and retained in the stock; but when once the volatile odors of fowl, vegetable and herb have escaped from the saucepan and permeated the house, we cannot bring them back again to the soup plate and this appetizing aroma is lost. So often nothing is left for serving but a thin, watery liquid, in appearance gray and cloudy from the lime extracted from the bones. First of all, then, let the soup kettle be furnished with a tight-fitting cover. And, moreover, let this utensil be of agate, or graniteware and as nearly free from blemishes as possible. For acid, found in all flesh, attacks unprotected iron, and thus gives an inky color to the soup. Scrupulous cleanliness is just as essential to the making of a fine-flavored soup as in the making of a fine cup of coffee. Both the coffee-pot and the soup kettle must be scoured frequently and well aired after each use.