Dark concentrated meat glaze in a period earthenware bowl on a rustic wooden table with beef bones and root vegetables beside it

Georgian England · England

Compleat Housewife's Portable Soup

Name: Compleat Housewife's Portable Soup
Total time: 630 min
Yield: Makes concentrated blocks for 20-30 servings
Cuisine: England
Ingredients: 2 kg beef bones with meat; 1 kg veal bones; 2 onions, quartered; 2 carrots, chopped; 1 celery stick, chopped; 4 l water; 2 teaspoons salt; 1 teaspoon black peppercorns

From The Compleat Housewife · Eliza Smith · 1727

Verified from original source

An 18th-century concentrated meat glaze that could be reconstituted into broth.

Historical note: Take two legs of beef, break the bones, put them in a pot...

History

Portable soup was an 18th-century English concentrated meat stock, essentially a precursor to modern stock cubes. Eliza Smith's 1727 recipe involved boiling beef or veal for hours, clarifying the broth, then reducing it to a thick, gelatinous substance that could be dried into cakes. These portable cakes were invaluable for travellers, soldiers, and sailors, as they kept for months and reconstituted with hot water. The dish reflects the Georgian era's interest in preservation techniques and convenience foods for Britain's expanding imperial and commercial ventures. It remained popular through the 18th and 19th centuries, influencing later commercial products like Liebig's meat extract and eventually modern bouillon cubes.

Sources

Eliza Smith, The Compleat Housewife, 1727
Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, 1747
Ivan Day, 'Portable Soup' in Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, 1999
C. Anne Wilson, Food and Drink in Britain, 1973
Janet MacDonald, Feeding Nelson's Navy, 2004

Serves

Makes concentrated blocks for 20-30 servings

Prep

30m

Cook

600m

Difficulty

Hard

Ingredients

· 2 kg beef bones with meat
· 1 kg veal bones
· 2 onions, quartered
· 2 carrots, chopped
· 1 celery stick, chopped
· 4 l water
· 2 teaspoons salt
· 1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Method

1
Place all ingredients in a large stockpot and bring to a boil.
2
Reduce heat and simmer very gently for 8-10 hours, skimming regularly.
3
Strain through muslin and discard solids.
4
Continue simmering liquid until reduced to a thick glaze.
5
Pour into moulds and dry in a very low oven until hard; store in a cool place.

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