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Café au Lait

A historical recipe from The Skilful Cook A Practical Manual of Modern Experience, by Mary Harrison (1905).

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A historical recipe

The Skilful Cook A Practical Manual of Modern Experience, by Mary Harrison (1905). Project Gutenberg eBook #29007.

From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards.

France

Known as a French recipe, with similar versions prepared across other nations.

Ingredients 3 ingredients

  1. a cup with nicely-made coffee
  2. 2 quarts of cold water
  3. 1½ pint of boiling water

Cook safely

Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.

  • Boiling water and steam. Turn pan handles inward, away from the edge of the hob. Lift lids away from you, and pour hot water away from your body: steam burns too.

Method

  1. Half fill a cup with nicely-made coffee, and pour in the same quantity of boiled milk.
  2. Coffee (economical method).
  3. Ingredients--¾ lb.
  4. of coffee.
  5. 2 quarts of cold water.
  6. Method.--Make a bag of rather thick muslin, and put the coffee into it.
  7. The bag should be rather large, so that the coffee will have plenty of room.
  8. Tie the ends of the bag securely.
  9. Put it into a saucepan with the water;
  10. bring to the boil, and boil steadily for one hour.
  11. Strain through thick muslin.
  12. This will make strong coffee, which can be diluted with boiling water as required.
  13. Coffee made in a Percolator.
  14. Ingredients--3 oz.
  15. of coffee.
  16. 1½ pint of boiling water.
  17. Method.--Make the percolator hot.
  18. Put the coffee in it, and pour on the boiling water.
  19. Let it stand in a hot place for about ten minutes.

Plating

Cookware for this recipe

  • Saucepan
  • Sieve
Source Public domain in the USA
Credit

From The Skilful Cook A Practical Manual of Modern Experience, by Mary Harrison (1905). Digitised by Project Gutenberg, eBook #29007 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29007). Public domain in the USA; its status may differ elsewhere.

What was changed: As printed, from the book's text; Project Gutenberg's header and licence removed. Ingredient lines were read out of the text by a program. A historical recipe, not current advice.