Name: Boiled Bacon and Cabbages
Ingredients: a piece of bacon in a pot capable of containing two gallons; two gallons

Boiled Bacon and Cabbages

Ingredients

a piece of bacon in a pot capable of containing two gallons
two gallons

Directions

Make the broth

Put a piece of bacon in a pot capable of containing two gallons; let it boil up, and skim it well.
Add some well-washed split cabbages, a few carrots and parsnips also split, and a few peppercorns.
Boil gently for about an hour and a half.

Cook the vegetables

Throw in a dozen peeled potatoes; continue boiling until the potatoes are done.

Serve

Take up the bacon and place it on its dish.
Garnish the bacon with the cabbages, carrots, parsnips, and potatoes.
Add some pieces of crust, or thin slices of bread, to the liquor in which the bacon-dinner has been cooked.
Serve the soup.

By Charles Elme Francatelli. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Bacon: Flavours the cooking liquor and gives the soup its savoury, smoky richness.
Cabbages (in the method): Adds bulk, mild sweetness and body to the broth as it simmers.
Potatoes (in the method): Soften during boiling, thickening the broth slightly and making the dish filling.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.