Hand-Book of Practical Cookery, for Ladies and Professional Cooks: Containing the Whole Science and Art of Preparing Human Food

drops of vinegar, and serve. _The same, in Salad._--Cook the beans in water, as directed above; then put a layer of them in a crockery vessel, the layer to be about one inch thick; then sprinkle on it salt and pepper; repeat the same process till all your beans are in; cover and leave thus three or four hours; then throw away the water, or drain if convenient; place the beans in a salad-dish, with the sweet-oil, vinegar, and parsley necessary; move like a salad, and serve cold. _Green, shelled, Lima, or other Beans._--Shell the beans, throw them in boiling water with a little salt, and when cooked drain them. Put two ounces of butter for a quart of beans in a saucepan, and when melted put the beans in with salt and pepper; toss gently now and then for three or four minutes, then add about a teaspoonful of vinegar, or the juice of half a lemon, and half a teaspoonful of parsley chopped. Mix and serve warm. They may also be prepared as string-beans, either _au jus_, in _maître d'hôtel_, or in _salad_. _Dry Beans, Lima, White or Colored._--Dry beans must be soaked in water for some time. Some require to be soaked twenty-four hours, others only five or six hours. Those that require to be soaked long are not from the last harvest, but have been kept for two or more years. If you are not sure that the beans (especially the white) are from this year's crop, soak them for twenty-four hours in cold water, and then drain them. _To boil._--Put the beans in a saucepan with cold water, and boil gently till tender. If the water boils away, fill up with cold water, but never put any salt to boil dry beans, it prevents them from cooking. As soon as boiled tender, drain them, and they are ready for use. _Au jus._--When boiled as above, set them on the fire in a stewpan with a few tablespoonfuls of gravy or broth, salt, and a little butter, stir for two or three minutes, then add a