Koock-boeck oft Familieren kevken-boeck : leerende hoe datmen alderhande vleesch, vogelen, ...

Sauce that is very good, and may last a hundred years.

Take a pot of juice of crushed red currants, a pot of juice of crushed parsley, a pot of wine, half a pot of wine vinegar, put in it a pound of sugar, and boil it until it becomes thick: preserve it, or else it is not to be consumed.

Until now we have scarcely had a bite to eat, having only filled our stomachs with meager pottages or sauces: it is time that something else comes to the table. Therefore, I will first have the boiled dishes before the roasted ones, following our Netherlandish customs, which prize eating those foods first that are of easier digestion, and after this, we shall speak of the roasted. First.

To boil a Calf’s head in water with some salt.

In order that the head remains white, one must, as soon as the calf is slaughtered, cut it from the calf and peel it in warm water. Pull the tongue out of it, and then insert a stick through the nostrils so that all the filth that might be within may come out; then wind it in a white cloth, so tightly that it cannot escape; then put it in a tinned copper

kettle with cold water, or also in another pot without salt, which is done to make it purge more. And when it begins to boil, skim it, but stir it gently so that the foam does not break or get stirred in. When it is now well skimmed, add salt to it according to discretion, or a piece of lard that is not rancid, and so much until it is enough to salt the broth appropriately; and to know if it is sufficiently boiled, one must let a foot of the same calf boil along with it, for when the foot is almost boiled, the head shall already be boiled: then take it out of the broth, and remove the cloth, and serve it to the table with some borage flowers over it, and parsley. One must not let it stand long once it is out of the cloth, for it would lose its whiteness and become red, and unappealing. The season for calf’s heads begins from April until the end of July. One could make some sauces for this, but many like to eat it only with some vinegar, salt, and pepper: if one puts it to the fire without a cloth, it will become pale and unsightly.

How one shall boil an Ox-brisket.

The brisket is the toughest part that is on the ox, or also on other animals, and therefore one must boil it with more diligence for a longer time, but let it soak less, for by itself it is light and spongieur spongy. But it must be hung to wash in warm water, and so that it remains under the water (for of itself it floats up due to its lightness), one shall wind a cloth around it and a heavy stone underneath, for it must remain under the water. Other pieces require longer soaking, especially those that are bloody; they also want to be washed several times in lukewarm and cold water, and put to the fire in cold water, and boiled very gently, for gradually, as the water becomes warmer and warmer, the more the blood is purged. Above all, take care that in the skimming the foam does not break, for the foam is heavy by itself and easily sinks, and makes it impure again.