The palate delights in it without being able to identify
it, and the surest proof of its charm is manifested by the flatness
and insipidity which will infallibly characterise any dish usually
flavoured with it, if by chance this dish should be prepared
without it. The cook who can employ it successfully will be found
to possess the delicacy of perception, the accuracy of judgment,
and the dexterity of hand, which go to the formation of a great
artist. It is a primary maxim, and one which cannot be repeated
too often, that garlic must never be cut up and used as part of the
material of any dish. One small incision should be made in the
clove, which should be put into the dish during the process of
cooking, and allowed to remain there until the cook's palate gives
warning that flavour enough has been extracted. Then it must be
taken out at once. This rule does not apply in equal degree to the
use of the onion, the large mild varieties of which may be cooked
and eaten in many excellent bourgeois dishes; but in all fine
cooking, where the onion flavour is wanted, the same treatment
which I have prescribed for garlic must be followed.
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