This recipe is from the vintage cookbook the New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook, 9th Edition 1951. I guess it is new - good old Fannie was years ahead of her time as this recipe calls for the use of a blender. Aha! here is our explanation: although the original copyright in 1896 was given to Fannie Merritt Farmer, the editions from 1915 to 1929 went to Cora D. Perkins and then to Dexter Perkins from 1930 to 1951 and yet the title page credits Wilma Lord Perkins with the complete revision of this 9th edition.
Wilma opens her preface with a reference to Aunt Fannie's famous cookbook. I am thinking this same pattern of lucky birthright/shrewd marriages is the exactly what happened with The Joy of Cooking. You may recall the Soup Lady's opinion that the latest Joy is diluted, devalued and cheapened by the son-in-law's revisions. Much of the origianl charm is lost along with the taste and interest factors of many of the modern recipes. 16 vinaigrettes, indeed.
But I digress. I do not have the originanl version to compare this revision against but at the very least , this is a trip to 1951. The following recipe is simple but is a huge flavor surprise from a minimum of extra effort. Its got that mid-century innocence concerning chicken skin but of course, that is where the flaovr comes from. I'd like to see what that Rombauer-Becker boy would say to this.
SURPRISE CHICKEN SOUP
Put chicken broth or stock into an electric blender with a few bits of leftover cooked chicken and well-browned skin. Blend until perfectly smooth. Add more broth or top milk until as thin as you like it. Season carefully. Serve hot or chilled.
Vary the flavor by blending with the chicken 1 tablespoon blanched almonds, 1/4 cup sauteed mushrooms or 1/2 cup cooked peas.
And there we have it. The only mystery is what exactly is "top milk"? It's not in any modren dicitonary and the only on-line references that I can find for it are from the U.K., where they apparently like to be as dangerous as possible about their bovine product consumpiton. This article refers to "untreated or green top milk, (raw milk which had not been subjected to any form of heat treatment)..." Could they have meant that as an addition to chicken broth? Well, it was 1951 - I'm not at all on solid ground with this one.
Anyway, try this Chicken Surprise. It is extremely flavorful and can be used in place of plain broth or stock in any recipe that calls for it. The "top milk" thing is up to you - it's fans seem to be rabid about the taste and health benefits (!) of it - the Fugu crowd, I guess - I personally would not even try it.
I believe top milk is the stuff right under the cream - so rich whole milk
Posted by: Mary Beth | September 30, 2004 at 10:42 AM
or light cream. I'd probably do half milk and half light cream.
Posted by: Mary Beth | September 30, 2004 at 10:43 AM
I was just going to point out that the cream always rises to the top! I agree, either cream or half and half.
Posted by: Christine | October 08, 2004 at 04:07 AM
According to the OED, 2d ed. (Vol. XVIII, p. 246), the "top of the milk" is "the cream that rises to the top of milk when left undisturbed." There are examples from 1942, 1958 and 1979 on p. 247. The 1979 example is a comment that pasteurized milk has no "top of the milk." I couldn't find the phrase "top milk."
And, yes, I'm a librarian
Posted by: Larry Abraham | October 19, 2004 at 07:51 PM
Top milk, in the forties, in Canada, was the cup shaped ball on top of the milk bottle, and contained whipping cream.
Posted by: Doreen Giles | October 30, 2004 at 10:35 PM
What the heck was the surprise????
Posted by: Camella Burton | November 29, 2004 at 09:53 PM
Before milk was homogenised the milk fat would rise to the top. This is not as rich as cream, but richer than whole milk.
Homogenisation (whizzing the milk to the point where the fat particles are dispersed so finely that they no lnger rise to the top) was only introduced in Ireland about 20 years ago. As kids we would fight to get the top of the milk for our breakfast cereal. It was also used as a treat swirled into soup.
Posted by: Razza | February 07, 2005 at 07:54 AM
Just a quick note to let you know although I didn't find this recipe in the 1896 edition, I borrowed your recipe link for my Months of Edible Celebrations tribute to Fannie Farmer.
LUV! to visit you sites.
Posted by: Louise | March 23, 2008 at 12:53 PM