oury dish without an_ ONION.

_Sliced onions fried_, (see No. 299, and note under No. 517), with some
butter and flour, till they are browned (and rubbed through a sieve),
are excellent to heighten the colour and flavour of brown soups and
sauces, and form the basis of most of the relishes furnished by the
"_Restaurateurs_"--as we guess from the odour which ascends from their
kitchens, and salutes our olfactory nerves "_en passant_."

The older and drier the onion, the stronger its flavour; and the cook
will regulate the quantity she uses accordingly.

[92-*] Burnet has exactly the same flavour as cucumber. See Burnet
vinegar (No. 399).

[92-+] The concentration of flavour in CELERY and CRESS SEED is such,
that half a drachm of it (_finely pounded_), or double the quantity if
not ground or pounded, _costing only one-third of a farthing_, will
impregnate half a gallon of soup with almost as much relish as two or
three heads of the fresh vegetable, weighing seven ounces, and costing
_twopence_. This valuable acquisition to the soup-pot deserves to be
universally known. See also No. 409, essence of CELERY. This is the most
frugal relish we have to introduce to the economist: but that our
judgment in palates may not be called in question by our fellow-mortals,
who, as the _Craniologists_ say, happen to have the _organ of taste_
stronger than the _organ of accumulativeness_, we must confess, that,
with the flavour it does not impart the delicate sweetness, &c. of the
fresh vegetable; and when used, a bit of sugar should accompany it.

[92-++] See No. 419, No. 420, and No. 459. Fresh green BASIL is seldom
to be procured. When dried, much of its fine flavour is lost, which is
fully extracted by pouring wine on the fresh leaves (see No. 397).

To procure and preserve the flavour of SWEET AND SAVOURY HERBS, celery,
&c. these must be dried, &c. at home (see No. 417* and No. 461).

[92-Sec.] See No. 421 and No. 457. Sir Hans Sloane, in the Phil. Trans.
Abr. vol. xi. p. 667, says, "_Pimento_, the spice of Jamaica, or
ALLSPICE, so called, from having a flavour composed as it were of
cloves, cinnamon, nutmegs, and pepper, may deservedly be counted the
best and most temperate, mild, and innocent of common spices, almost all
of which it far surpasses, by promoting the digestion of meat, and
moderately heating and strengthening the stomach, and doing those
friendly offices to the bowels, we generally expect from spices." We
have