9 Book Ji3 copyRiG»r DEPOSIT. THE HOUSEKEEPER TIC--'' Ediied bt/ LAURA A . HUNT In s tractor in. Household Economics ruhlished ii/ THE HLEE COMPANY BOSTON. MASS. Compiled and Edited By LAURA A. HUNT household arts DEPT.. high school, WINCHESTER. MASS. COPYRIGHT, 1920 By THE H. Lee Company FEB 28 1921 (Cambridge. Mass. perry-estabrook press, printers 1920 0)C!.A608707 'INTRODUCTION The duties of the homemaker today demand a greater knowledge tlian ever before. It is not enough that she oe able to prepare food well, she must be economical in purchasing, must know something of the season of fruits and vegetables, what is a reasonable price and how to rec- ognize (juality. In addition to this she should know how- to use left-over foods, how to serve meals well and attrac- tively, and also to suit her expenditures to her income. And more than this she is expected to know something of the nutritive value of foods so that she mav be sure she is giving the members of her household the proper amount of nourishment in their food. In fact there are a thousand and one things the homemaker must know if she is to fill her position efficiently. This volume contains a collection of the best available material on subjects of interest to the homemaker. There is a large collection of valuable recipes, most of which are adaptable to any income, in addition to this we have in- cluded full instructions for serving simple or elaborate meals, and an important chapter upon the nutritive value of food telling how to plan the meals so that each person served is receiving the proper kind and amount of food. The chapters on the care and feeding of children will be invaluable to the young mother, while those on first aid and food for the sick are not only practical but supply the essential facts in an easily accessible form. It is not necessary to mention the use which can be made of the material on the care of the house, cleaning and laun- dering for every housewife knows how often she has spent much valuable time searching for information to tell her how to remove a stain from some fabric or how^ to clean some metal. We know that this volume contains a vast amount of practical, well-arranged material which every housew'ife should have at hand and we feel sure that it will meet a long- felt need in every household. The Publishers. THE HOUSEKEEPER We are indebted to the following sources, among others, for our material : Home Canning and Drying of Vegetables and Fruits — National War Garden Conimission. Farmers' Bulletins — U. S. Department of Agriculture. No. 256. Preparation of Vegetables for the Table. Eggs and Their Uses as Food. Use of Fruit as Food. Cereal Breakfast Foods. Home-made Fireless Cookers and Their Use. Fish as Food. Economical Use of Meat in the Home. Bread and Bread Making. Principles of Nutrition and the Nutritive Value of Food. Food for Young Children. How to Select Food — I. What the Body Needs. No. 861. Removal of Stains from Clothing and Other Textiles. Other Government Publications: Household Discoveries. — Sidney Morse. The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book — Fannie Merritt Farmer. Food and Cookery for the Sick and Convalescent — Fannie Merritt Farmer. Better Meals for Less Money — Mary Green. Low Cost Recipes — Edith G. Harbison. Home Economics — Maria Parloa. One Thousand Shorter Ways Around the House — Mae Safuell Croy. Text-Book of Cooking — Carlo tta C. Greer. 4 No. 128. No. 293. No. 249. No. 771. No. 85. No. 391. No. 389. No. 142. No. 717. No. 808. THE HOUSEKEEPER Elements of the Theory and Practice of Cookery — Williams and Fisher. Domestic Science _ Principles and Application — Pearl L. Bailey. Foods and Sanitation — Forsfer and IVeigley. "First Aid" American Red Cross Abridged Text-Book — Major Charles Lynch. The Care and Feeding of Children — tL. Emmett Holt, M.D. Personal Health — J]'illiain Brady, M.D. Care of Children— .^//rrc/ Cleveland Cotton, A.M., M.D. The Healthy B2^iy— Roger H. Dennett, M.D. Approved Methods of Home Laundering — Mary Seals Vail. Ryzon Baking Book — Marion Harris Neil. Household Science and Arts — Josephine Morris. Teachers' College Record. Official Recipe Book — Illinois State Council of Defense. Good Housekeeping Magazine. American Cookery. War Time Recipes — Royal Baking Poivder Company. Economy in the Buying and Preparation of Meats — Eleanor Lee Wright. Mrs. Allen's Cook Book — Ida Cogszvell Bailey Allen. The Rumford Complete Cook Book — Lily Haxworth Wallace. The Story of Crisco — Marion Harris Neil. Marketing and Housework Manual — S. Agnes Donhani. Feeding the Family — Mary Sivartz Rose. Nutrition and Diet — Emma Conley. The New Housekeeping — Christine Frederick. Diet in Disease — Alida Frances Pattee. Individual Recipes in Use at Drexel Institute — Helen M. Spring. Practical Cooking and Serving — Janet McKenzie Hill. 5 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. ATTENTION ! We have tested and tried thor- oughly the materials, utensils, etc., shown on other pages in this book and can recommend them to be all that is claimed for them by the manufacturers. We believe that if any one else will test them as thoroughly as we have, he will come to the same conclusion, that he is receiving full money value in using them. The editor has found by expe- rience that it is very easy to be misled by a similarity in name and package, but all materials shown here are in the ORIGINAL packages. Laura A. Hunt THE HOUSEKEEPER y 24- Bayerlablets ; Aspirin dose: lto5Tab(ets- with water The Bayer Companylm 117 Hudson 5t..New York = 'FACTORIES^ Rensselaer, N.V yAiii,u.Mi You will find the above article to l^e all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. THE HOUSEKEEPER TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE I. Terms and Processes Used in Preparing Food 11 II. Beverages 29 III. Bread and Bread Making 38 IV. Quick Breads 57 V. Cereals 75 VI. Vegetables 92 VII. Potatoes 113 VIII. Eggs 123 IX. Soups 135 X. Fish 149 XL Meat 166 XII. Fish and Meat Sauces 207 XIII. Entrees 211 XIV. Fruits 215 XV. Salads 223 XVI. Sandwiches 232 XVII. Hot Puddings 238 XVIII. Sauces for Desserts 247 XIX. Cold Desserts 252 XX. Frozen Desserts 262 XXI. Pastry and Pies 270 XXII. Cake 283 9 THE HOUSEKEEPER PAGE XXIII. Cake Frostings 298 XXIV. Cookies 303 XXV. Confections 309 XXVI. The Fireless Cooker 322 XXVII. Preservation, — Canning of Vegetables and Fruits 342 XXVIII. Principles of Jelly Making 366 XXIX. Home Drying of Vegetables and Fruits. . . 376 XXX. Pickling and Salting 390 XXXI. Food for the Sick 399 XXXII. Tal)le Service 427 XXXIII. Foods 443 XXXIV. First Aid 458 XXXV. Personal Hygiene 473 XXXVI. Toilet Preparations 494 XXXVII. Care of Children 515 XXXVIII. Food for Young Children 543 XXXIX. Cleaning 571 XL. Laundering and Removal of Stains 596 XLI. Household Hints 627 10 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER I TERMS AND PROCESSES USED IN PREPARING FOOD In collecting the recipes for this book no attempt has been made to keep them uniform for a particular number of servings, but it will be found that most of the recipes are for six servings or for four people, with some food left for second servings. All measurements are level, and the value of careful measurement of ingredients in preparing any recipe cannot be overestimated. In the kitchen more accurate weights and measures are coming into common use. The basis of the kitchen system of measures is the stand- ard cup, a measure holding 3^ pint or 8 fluid ounces, by weight half a pound of sugar, butter or chopped meat. The cup is marked to show 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 of a cup on one side, and 1/3 and 2/3 of a cup on the other side. A cup is filled with a spoon and leveled with a knife. To measure half a cup, press the article to be measured into the cup solidly on a line with the ridge indicating the half- cup mark. To measure a cup, pack the food solidly to the top and level with a knife. Fractions of a cup are meas- ured in the same way as the half -cup. When the recipe calls for 1/4 or 1/3 cupful of material, it is often easier to measure in tablespoon fuls. Flour is always measured after sifting once, and should not be packed in the cup. To measure a tablespoon ful or teaspoon ful of material, take up a spoonful, then level with a knife. For half a spoonful, level with a knife and divide lengthwise of the spoon; for a cjuarter spoonful, divide half a spoonful cross- wise. A special set of spoon measures, from 1/4 teaspoon- ful up, will be found convenient since ordinary spoons vary in size and are not adapted to measuring fractions of their capacity. 11 THE HOUSEKEEPER TABLE OF COMMON WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 3 teaspoonfuls equal 1 tablespoonful 4 tablespoonfiils equal ^ cupful 16 tablespoonfuls equal 1 cupful 3^ cupful equals 1 gill 2 cupfuls equal 1 pint 2 pints (4 cupfuls ) equal 1 quart 4 cupfuls liquid equal 1 C[uart 4 cupfuls flour equal 1 pound or 1 qu't 2 cupfuls butter, solid equal 1 pound ^ cupful butter, solid equals Yx pound, 4 ounces 2 cupfuls granulated sugar, .equal 1 pound 2^ cupfuls powdered sugar . .equal 1 pound 1 pint milk or water equals 1 pound 1 pint chopped meat (solid) .equals 1 pound 10 eggs (without shells) ... .equal 1 pound 8 eggs (with shells) equal 1 pound 2 level tablespoonfuls butter equal 1 ounce 4 level tablespoonfuls butter equal 2 ounces — ^4 cup 2 level tablespoonfuls granu- lated sugar equal 1 ounce 4 level tablespoonfuls flour, .equal 1 ounce STIRRING, BEATING AND FOLDING Stirring is done by moving a spoon around in a circle until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. The materials may be liquid, dry, or both. A wooden spoon used for stirring food while cooking will be found convenient, as the handle does not get hot. Beating is done by cutting down with a spoon from the top to the bottom of a mixture, bringing the spoon up to the surface, passing over and down through the mixture again and again. This is done to introduce air into the mixture and make it light. Cutting and Folding is the process by which whites of eggs or cream, beaten very light, may be incorporated into another mixture without loss of the air bubbles formed. Put the two mixtures together; with a spoon cut down to 12 THE HOUSEKEEPER PYREX TRANSPARENT OVEN DISHES You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 13 THE HOUSEKEEPER the bottom of the dish, turn, bring to the top and fold over the mixture thus brought to the surface. Repeat until the ingredients are blended. Sifting. ITour is sifted to make it light and to remove any foreign matter which may be present. Dry ingredients are sifted together in order to mix them thoroughly. PROPORTIONS OF FLOUR AND LEAVENING AGENT Two teaspoonfuls of baking powder are used to one cupful of flour. If eggs are used, the amount of baking powder is lessened. One-half teaspoonful of soda is used with one cupful of sour milk. ^>om one-half to one teaspoonful of baking powder added to a mixture which requires soda and sour milk improves the texture of the finished product. BATTERS AND DOUGHS 1 measure liquid to 1 measure flour for pour batters. 1 measure liquid to about 2 measures flour for drop bat- ters. 1 measure li(|uid to about 3 or more measures flour for dough. BEATING EGGS When eggs are simply added to thicken a mixture, as in custards, timbales and Erench omelet, beat only until the yolks and whites are well mixed, using a Dover egg-beater. When eggs are added for lightness, as in cakes, souftles, etc.. beat the whites and yolks separately, the whites until very light, using a fork for beating one and the egg-beater for beating several : beat the yolks until light-colored and thick. METHODS OF COOKING Boiling is cooking in a quantity of water heated to the boiling point (212^ Fahrenheit or 100*^ Centigrade). 14 THE HOUSEKEEPER In boiling meat the cooking is begun in water at the boihng point to insure the retention of the juices and extractives and is completed just below the boiling point. In stewing the cooking is done in water in such a manner that part of the juices are drawn out and part are re- tained. Simmering is cooking in water below the boiling point. Broiling is cooking on a wire rack over coals or under the flame in a gas range oven or broiler. Panbroiling. — Cooking of chops or steak in a hot frying pan, the pan being the medium of communicating all the heat received by the article (no fat in the pan). Steaming is cooking food over boiling water. The food may come in contact with the steam or the mold in which the food is placed ( for example brown bread ) comes in contact with the steam. Cooking over Hot Water. — The vessel in which the cooking is done does not come in direct contact with the heat of the stove, boiling water intervening. The double boiler is the proper utensil. Frying is a form of cookery in which the article is im- mersed in fat at a high temperature. 350° to 400° Fahren- heit. To Saute is to cook in a heated frying pan with just fat enough to keep the article from adhering to the pan. When drops of liciuid appear on the upper surface of the article, turn to cook the other side. A large supply of fat is needed for " frying " properly, but more fat is probably absorbed when an article is sauted than when the same article is cooked in deep fat. To test fat for frying : cut a cube from the crumb of stale bread and drop it into the fat. If the bread is golden brown in 60 seconds the fat is right for frying uncooked mixtures like doughnuts and fritters. If the bread browns in 40 seconds the fat is right for frying articles made of cooked food as crociuettes and fish cakes. 15 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 16 THE HOUSEKEEPER Baking. — ^Cooking in an oven of a temperature from 330° Fahrenheit to 450'^ Fahrenheit or higher. For best results, in baking meats, poultry, etc., baste with fat and cook at a temperature low enough to keep the fat from burning. This is often called roasting. To test the oven for baking place a piece of white un- glazed paper on the rack where the food is to be baked. H the paper turns golden brown in five minutes the oven is moderately hot. H the paper turns dark brown in five minutes the oven is hot. INGREDIENTS FOR COOKING Bread flour is used in all recipes which require yeast. Pastry flour is used with baking powder, soda and cream of tartar, soda and sour milk or soda and molasses. Oftentimes only one flour, such as Gold Medal Flour, is purchased. This is a bread flour and when substituted for pastry flour one-eighth less should be used. For example : if the recipe calls for 2 cupfuls pastry flour and you wish to substitute bread flour use F>4 cupfuls. At present butter is too expensive to be used for any- thing but table purposes. We suggest that in all recipes for cream sauce or white sauce, oleomargarine or nut- margarine be substituted for butter. It may also be used with vegetables and meats. In making 1)iscuits, muffins, cakes, etc., we suggest using lard, compound, Crisco, Mazola. Wesson Oil, Cottolene or oleomargarine. In substituting lard, compound, Crisco or the various oils for butter in a recipe which calls for butter, use one- eighth less, as these materials contain less water than butter and therefore contain more fat. Oleomargarine and nutmargarine should be used in the same proportions as butter. 17 THE HOUSEKEEPER EXTRACT FROM "MEASUREMENTS FOR THE HOUSEHOLD" Issued by The Couwiomvealth of Massachusetts Depart- ment of Weights and Measures PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED IN MAKING PURCHASES li yovi are engaged in the industry of housekeeping you should : Trade with dealers who have accurate and sealed weigh- ing and measuring devices. Check up all goods received to ascertain if full quantity has been delivered. Purchase package goods which are legibly marked on the outside of package with the net quantity which it contains. See that your milk and cream bottles are filled to the cap or stopple. The coal dealer is required by law to deliver to you a sworn statement as to the weight delivered. See that you receive such a certificate. n any coal dealer neglects to give you a certificate stating the number of pounds contained in a load that is being delivered to you, the local sealer of weights and measures should be promptly notified. In purchasing ice be careful to ask for a certain weight of ice, viz., 50 pounds, 75 pounds, 100 pounds, and do not be content to accept 10-cent, 20-cent, 30-cent pieces. In purchasing meats request that all " trimmings " be included with purchase; otherwise a correct check of goods cannot be made. In purchasing turkey, chicken, etc., do not accept the weight as sometimes already marked on the same, but insist that the commodity be re-weighed in your presence. Equip your kitchen with a good scale of 10 to 20 pounds capacity, weighing in ounces, and have it tested and sealed annuallv by the local sealer of weights and measures. 18 THE HOUSEKEEPER Use this scale for checking all weights of commodities de- livered, and if underweight is found to exist, do not fail to bring each case to the attention of the dealer. The shortage may be due merely to carelessness, but you are entitled to full weight, and he should know that you are a business woman and will not countenance unbusiness- like methods in his dealings with you. Also have on hand an accurate dry quart, a liciuid quart, a 60-inch steel tape, an 8-ounce graduate. These should also be submitted to the sealer for test. Be businesslike when purchasing. The merchant is care- ful that in his sales he receives full value for correct weight or measure given. He is obliged to be thus careful, else his business would be done at a loss. W hy then should the business of housekeeping be done in a careless manner and at a loss. Order commodities in terms of weight and measure. Do not order a "pail of lard," "print of butter," "30 cents worth of potatoes," "piece of bacon," "can of oil," " box or basket of fruit," unless you know how much that pail, print, package, etc., contains in weight and measure. Refuse to accept a bill from your tradesman made in the following manner : — Beef $0.40 Butter 35 Oil 15 Lard 10 Insist that a bill be rendered in the following manner : — Beef, 1 pound 6 ounces $0.40 Butter, 1 pound 35 Oil, 1 gallon 15 Lard, 1 pound 10 19 THE HOUSEKEEPER TABLES OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES LIQUID MEASURE 4 gills (gi.) equals 1 pint (pt.) 2pt. equals 1 quart (qt.) 2 pt. equals 8 gi. 4 qt. equals 1 gallon (gal.) 4 qt. equals 8 pt. 4 qt. equals 32 gi. 31/. gal. equals 1 barrel (bbl.) 31/ gal. equals 126 qt. 2 bbls. equals 1 hogshead (hhd.) 2 bbls. equals 63 gal. 2 bbls. equals 252 qt. UNITED STATES DRY MEASURE 2 pints (pt.) equals 1 quart (qt.) 8qt. equals 1 peck (pk.) 8 qt. equals 16 pt. 4 pk. equals 1 bushel (bu.) 4 pk. equals 32 qt. 4 pk. equals 64 pt. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES Articles Quantity Almonds (shelled) .1 cupful Barley 1 tablespoonful Barley 1 cupful Beans (dried) 1 cupful Bread crumbs, fine 1 cupful Butter 1 tablespoonful Butter 1 cupful Cheese (grated) 1 cupful Citron (chopped) 1 cupful Cocoa 1 cupful Cofifee (unground) 1 cupful 20 Weight 5 oz. /2 oz. / oz. 7 oz. 2 oz. K oz. 9 oz. 3M oz. 7 oz. 4/ oz. 3K^ oz THE HOUSEKEEPER Articles Quantity Weight Coffee (ground) 1 tablespoon ful Corn meal 1 cupful Corn meal 1 tablespoon ful Cornstarch 1 cupful Currants (clean and dried) . . 1 cupful Dates 1 cupful Egg (white) 1 Egg (yolk) 1 Farina 1 cupful Figs 1 cupful Flour 1 tablespoonful Flour 1 cupful Lard 1 cupful Lard 1 tablespoonful Meat (chopped fine) 1 cupful Milk 1 tablespoonful Milk 1 cupful Molasses 1 cupful Mustard (dry) 1 tablespoonful Mustard (dry) 1 cupful Nutmegs ( whole ) 5 Nutmegs (ground) 1 tablespoonful Oats (rolled) 1 cupful Peanuts (shelled) 1 cupful Peas (dried, split) 1 cupful Prunes 1 cupful Prunes 3 med'm-siz'd Raisins (seeded) 1 cupful Rice 1 cupful Salt 1 cupful Spice (ground) 1 tablespoonful Sugar (brown) 1 cupful Sugar (crystal domino) 4 lumps Sugar (confectioners') 1 cupful Sugar (granulated) 1 cupful Sugar (granulated) 1 tablespoonful Yi oz. 21 1/4 oz. 1/3 lb. 1/3 oz. 5 oz. 5 1/3 oz. 5^ oz. 2/3 oz. 2/3 oz. 6 oz. 6 oz. Va oz. 4 oz. 7 oz. Y oz. 8 oz. Y- oz. 8M oz. 11 oz. M oz. 3/2 oz. 1 oz. K oz. 2^ oz. 6M oz. / oz. 5 oz. 1 oz. 5 oz. 7/ oz. 9/ oz. % oz. 6 oz. 1 oz. 5/ oz. 8 oz. THE HOUSEKEEPER Tapioca 1 cupful Tea 1 cupful V^inegar 1 cupful Walnuts (shelled) 1 cupful Water 1 cupful Wheat biscuit (shredded) ... 1 6 oz. 2 oz. 8 oz. 4 oz. 8 oz. 1 oz. COOKS' COMPLETE TIME TABLE VEGETABLES Articles How Cooked Time Artichokes, globe Boiled 30 to 45 minutes Artichokes, Jerusalem Boiled 15 to 30 minutes Asparagus Boiled 1 5 to 30 minutes Beans Baked 6 to 8 hours or more Beans, Lima Boiled 30 to 40 minutes Beans, string or shell. young Boiled 1 to 2 hours Beans, string or shell, old Boiled 2 to 4 hours Beets, new Boiled 45 to 60 minutes Beets, old Boiled 4 to 6 hours Beet Greens Boiled 1 hour or longer Brussels' sprouts Boiled 1 5 to 25 minutes Cabbage Boiled 30 to 80 minutes Carrots, young Boiled 20 to 30 minutes Carrots, old Boiled 1 hour or longer Cauliflower Boiled 20 to 30 minutes Celery Boiled 2 hours, or longer Corn, green on cob Boiled 12 to 20 minutes Dandelion Greens Boiled \y2 hours Kohl-rabi Boiled 20 to 30 minutes Lentils Boiled 2 hours or more Lettuce Steamed 10 to 15 minutes Mushrooms Stewed 25 minutes Okra Boiled 30 to 45 minutes Onions, young Boiled 30 to 60 minutes Onions, old Boiled 2 hours or more Oyster, Plant Boiled 45 to 60 minutes 22 THE HOUSEKEEPER Articles How Cooked Time Parsnips Boiled 30 to 45 minutes Peas, green, young Boiled 15 to 30 minutes Peas, green, old Boiled 30 to 60 minutes Potatoes, new Baked 25 to 45 minutes Potatoes, old Baked 30 to 60 minutes Potatoes Boiled 20 to 30 minutes Potatoes, raw Fried 4 to 8 minutes Potatoes, cooked Fried 3 to 7 minutes Potatoes, sweet Boiled 15 to 25 minutes Potatoes, sweet Baked 45 to 60 minutes Pumpkin Stewed 4 to 5 hours Rice Boiled 25 to 35 minutes Rice Steamed 40 to 60 minutes Salsify Boiled 45 to 60 minutes Sea Kale Boiled 30 to 40 minutes Spinach Boiled 1 5 to 20 minutes Squash, summer Boiled 20 to 30 minutes Squash, winter Boiled 1 hour Tomatoes Baked 25 to 40 minutes Tomatoes Stewed 1 5 to 20 minutes Turnips, young Boiled 15 to 20' minutes Turnips, old Boiled 30 to 45 minutes BREAD, PASTRIES, PUDDINGS, Etc. Article H Dw Cooked Time Biscuits (baking powder) Baked 12 to 15 minutes Bread (white loaf) Baked 45 to 60 minutes Bread (Graham loaf) Baked 35 to 60 minutes Brown bread Steamed 3 hours Cake, fruit Baked 2 to 3 hours Cake, layer Baked 20 to 30 minutes Cake, loaf, small Baked 25 to 40 minutes Cake, loaf, medium or large Baked 35 to 90 minutes Cake, sponge Baked 45 to 60 minutes Cake, wedding Baked 3 hours 23 THE HOUSEKEEPER Article How Cooked Time Cookies Baked 8 to 1 5 minutes Custards, small or in cups Baked 20 to 35 minutes Custards, large Baked 35 to 65 minutes Doughnuts Fried 3 to 5 minutes Fritters Fried 3 to 5 minutes Gingerbread Baked 20 to 30 minutes Graham Gems Baked 25 to 35 minutes Macaroni Boiled 20 to 50 minutes Muffins, baking powder Baked 20 to 25 minutes Muffins, raised Baked 30 minutes Patties Baked 20 to 25 minutes Pie Crust Baked 30 to 45 minutes Pies Baked 30 to 50 minutes Puddings, batter Baked 35 to 45 minutes Puddings, bread Baked 45 to 60 minutes Pudding, Indian Baked 2 to 3 hourj; Pudding, steamed Steamed 1 to 3 hours Pudding, plum Baked 2 to 3 hours Pudding, rice Baked 45 to 60 minutes Pudding, tapioca Baked 45 to 60 minutes Rolls Baked 12 to 25 minutes Scalloped and au Gratin Dishes (cooked mixtures ) Baked 12 to 20 minutes Tarts Baked 1 5 to 20 minutes Timbales Baked 20 minutes SEA FOODS Article How Cooked Clams Boiled Fish, Shad, Bluefish and Whitefish Broiled Fish, Slices of Halibut, Sal- mon or Swordfish Broiled Fish, Codfish and Haddock, per pound Boiled 24 Time 3 to 5 minutes 15 to 30 minutes 12 to 15 minutes 6 minutes THE HOUSEKEEPER Article How Cooked Fish, Halibut, whole or thick piece, per pound Boiled Fish. Bluefish and Bass, per pound Boiled Fish, Salmon, whole or thick cut, per pound Boiled Fish, small Boiled Fish, small Broilec Fish, whole, as bluefish, sal- mon, etc. Baked Small fish and fillets Baked Lobsters Boiled Ovsters Boiled Time 15 minutes 10 minutes 10 to 15 minutes 6 to 10 minutes 5 to 8 minutes 1 hour or more 20 to 30 minutes 25 to 45 minutes 3 to 5 minutes GAME AND POULTRY Article How Cooked Time Birds, game, small Roasted 1 5 to 20 minutes Chicken, spring Broiled 20 minutes Chicken, per pound Roasted 1 5 or more minutes Chicken. 3 pounds Boiled 1 to 1^ hours Duck, (domestic) Roasted 1 hour or more Duck, (wild) Roasted 15 to 30 minutes Fowl, 4 to 5 pounds Boiled 2 to 4 hours Fowl, per pound Roasted 30 to 45 minutes Goose. 8 to 10 pounds Roasted 2 hours or more Grouse Roasted 25 to 30 minutes Partridge Roasted 45 to 50 minutes Pigeons (potted) Baked 3 hours Quails Broiled 8 to 10 minutes Quails, in paper cases Broiled 10 to 12 minutes Rabbit Roasted 30 to 45 minutes Squabs Broiled 10 to 12 minutes Turkey, 8 to 10 pounds Roasted 3 hours Turkey, 9 pounds Boiled 2 to. 3 hours Venison, rare, per pound Roasted 10 minutes 25 THE HOUSEKEEPER BEEF, PORK, LAMB, MUTTON, VEAL, Etc. Article How Cooked Time Bacon Broiled 7 minutes Bacon Cooked in oven 15 minutes Beef, corned, rib or flank Boiled 4 to 7 hours Beef, corned, fancy brisket Boiled 5 to 8 hours Beef, fillet, rare Roasted 20 to 30 minutes Beef, fresh Boiled 4 to 6 hours Beef, ribs or loin, rare per pound Roasted 8 to 10 minutes Beef, ribs or loin, well done per pound Roasted 12 to 16 minutes Beef, ribs, rolled, rare, per pound Roasted 10 to 13 minutes Beef, ribs, rolled, well done ;, per pound Roasted 15 to 19 minutes Beef, rump, rare, per pound Roasted 9 to 10 minutes Beef, rump, well done, per pound Roasted 13 to 15 minutes Chops, breaded Fried 5 to 8 minutes Chops, Lamb or Mutton Broiled 6 to 10 minutes Croquettes Fried 1 to 2 minutes Ham, 12 to 14 pounds Boiled 4 to 6 hours Ham, 12 to 14 pounds Baked 4 to 6 hours Lamb, well done, per pound Roasted 18 to 21 minutes Liver Broiled 4 to 8 minutes Liver Braised 2' hours Liver, whole, stuffed Baked \y^ hours Meat, for Bouillon Simmer 6 to 7 hours Mutton, leg, rare, per pound Roasted 10 minutes Mutton, leg, well done, per pound Roasted 14 minutes Mutton, saddle, rare per pound Roasted 9 minutes Mutton, forequarter, stuffed per pound Roasted 15 to 25 minutes 26 THE HOUSEKEEPER Article He 3W Cooked Time Mutton, loin, rare per pound Roasted 9 minutes Ox Tongue Boiled 3 to 4 hours Pork, per pound Roasted 25 to 30 minutes Steak, 1 inch thick Broiled 4 to 10 minutes Steak, 1 ^ inches thick Broiled 8 to 15 minutes Veal, well done, per pound Roasted 18 to 25 minutes Veal, leg Roasted 3y2 to 4 hours Veal, loin Roasted 2 to 3 hours 27 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 28 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER H BEVERAGES Hot Beverages. Ereshly boiled water should be used in making hot beverages. FRENCH COFFEE (Percolated) 1 cupful hnely ground coffee. 6 cupfuls boiling water. There are a number of pots on the market for making French coffee ; they are suitable, provided they contain a fine strainer, which holds the coffee and prevents the grounds from getting into the infusion. To make coffee in this fashion, put the coffee into the strainer, which is generally set into the mouth of the pot ; place the pot on the stove and slowly pour the water over the grounds, allowing it to filter through. If you wish to have the coffee stronger, pour out the infusion and pour it a second time over the grounds, but do not allow it to cool. BOILED COFFEE 4 tablespoonfuls ground coffee, 4 cupfuls freshly boiling water, Yi white of t^gg. Mix the white of ^gg with 3 tablesponfuls cold water, beating with a fork; add the coffee and stir. Scald coffee- pot, put in prepared coffee, pour in boiling water, cover the spout, and boil five minutes. Pour in quickly ^4 cupful cold water; let stand three minutes to settle. Strain into a hot pot. Wash eggs before breaking and save the shells for clearing coffee. The shells may be substituted for the ^gg white, enough of the white usually clings to the shell to make it eft'ective for this purpose. 29 THE HOUSEKEEPER Yon will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 30 THE HOUSEKEEPER TEA A\'ater for tea should be used when it has just reached the boihng point. Teas are of different strengths, but a safe rule is 1 teaspoonful dry tea to 1 cupful boiling water. Scald the pot, put in dry tea, and cover one minute. Add boiling water and cover closely. Let stand three to six minutes and strain off into another hot pot. RUSSIAN TEA Follow the recipe for making tea, Russian tea is always served without milk. Allow a thin slice of lemon or orange, from which the seeds have been removed for each cup. Sugar may be added according to taste. ICED TEA 3 tablespoonfuls tea. 4 cupfuls boiling water. Follow the recipe for making tea. Strain into glasses one-third full of cracked ice. The flavor is improved by chilling the infusion quickly. Serve the tea with slices of lemon and sugar to taste. BREAKFAST COCOA 2 tablespoonfuls cocoa, 2 tablespoonfuls sugar, 2 cupfuls boiling water, 2 cupfuls of n^ilk. Few grains salt. Scald milk. Mix cocoa, sugar and salt, add the boiling water slowly and boil 3 minutes. Turn the cocoa into the scalded milk and beat one minute with the Dover egg- beater. This prevents scum forming. 31 THE HOUSEKEEPER INSTAMT POSTUM Yon will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the mannfactnrer. Laura A. Hunt. 32 THE HOUSEKEEPER COCOA 4 tablespoon fills cocoa, y^ cupful sugar, A few grains salt. 4 cupfuls milk, y^ cupful boiling water. Scald milk. Mix cocoa, sugar and salt, add the boiling water slowly and boil 2 minutes. Pour into the scalded milk and beat one minute, using Dover egg-beater. COCOA NIBS OR "SHELLS" Wet 2 ounces cocoa shells with a little cold water and stir into them a quart of boiling water. Boil steadily for an hour and a half; strain, stir in a quart of fresh milk, bring to the scalding point, and serve. Sweeten in the cups. AFTERNOON CHOCOLATE 1 quart milk, 2 squares chocolate, 3 tablespoonfuls boiling water, 2 tablespoonfuls sugar. Put the chocolate in a double boiler. When it melts, add the sugar and stir thoroughly till dissolved. Add the boil- ing water and beat it smooth, then pour over it the scalded milk. With an egg-beater, whip the beverage till it foams, keeping it over the fire. Serve from a chocolate pot, sweetening to taste and putting into each cupful a table- spoonful of whipped cream. FRUIT BEVERAGES The majority of fruit punches, as a rule, have one foun- dation — a syrup of equal measure of water and sugar. This is a much better way to prepare such drinks than by melting sugar, which can only be half dissolved in cold water. After the syrup for such a beverage is prepared, its flavoring is limited only by the variety of fruit on hand. 33 THE HOUSEKEEPER LEMONADE 2 cupfuls sugar, 1 quart water, 2/}> cupful lemon juice. Boil the sugar and water fifteen minutes, then add the fruit juice. Cool and, if too strong, add a piece of ice to dilute it. ORANGEADE Yj cupful sugar. 2 cupfuls water. 1 cupful orange juice. Boil the sugar and water ten minutes. Sweeten the orange juice with the syrup and dilute by pouring over cracked ice. FRUIT PUNCH 1 Juice 2 lemons, • Juice 1 orange, 1 cupful sugar, 2 cupfuls grape juice, 2 cupfuls water. Mix together the juice of the lemons and orange, add sugar, grape juice, and water. Place a small cake of ice in the bottom of a punch bowl or in a tall glass pitcher and pour in the liquid. FRUIT PUNCH 2 1 quart boiling water, 4 tal)lespoonfuls tea. 1 cupful granulated sugar, Juice 4 lemons, ' y2 pint Apollinaris. Pour the boiling water over the tea; cover and leave for five minutes ; strain off and cool. Half fill the punch bowl with cracked ice, add the sugar and strained juice of the 34 THE HOUSEKEEPER lemons. Pour the tea over these, and just before serving add the ApolHnaris. Sprinkle a handful of mint sprays on the surface and serve at once. PINEAPPLE PUNCH 1 cupful grated pineapple, 2 cupfuls water, 2 cupfuls sugar, Yj cupful fresh-made tea. Juice 3 oranges. Juice 3 lemons, 1 cupful grape juice, 2j/ quarts of water. Put the pineapple and 2 cupfuls water to boil for fifteen minutes. Strain through cheese cloth, pressing out all the juice. Add 1 pint of water to the sugar, boil ten minutes, then add the tea, juice of the oranges and lemons, grape juice and the rest of the water. Strain into a punch bowl with a large piece of ice. Serve perfectly chilled in sherbet glasses. TUTTI-FRUTTI PUNCH 2 cjuarts water, 1 pound sugar, Grated rind 2 lemons. Grated rind 4 oranges, Juice from the lemons and oranges, 24 Malaga grapes, 2 slices oranges, 4 slices pineapple, 1 banana, Yi cupful ^Maraschino cherries. Boil five minutes 1 quart of the water and sugar; add the grated rinds of the lemons and oranges and continue boiling for ten minutes longer. Strain the syrup through cheese cloth and add 1 ([uart cold water. Extract the juice from the lemons and oranges, strain, and mix with the 35 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 36 THE HOUSEKEEPER grapes cut in half and seeded, oranges, pineapple, sliced banana, and the Maraschino cherries with their liquor, the cherries being halved. Serve from a punch bowl in which a piece of ice has been placed. OLD COLONIAL MINT CUP 1 bunch fresh mint, 6 oranges, 2 lemons, 3/2 ounce pulverized gum arabic, y2 cupful cold water, 1 cupful sugar. Whites of 2 eggs. Steep mint in 2 cupfuls hot water to extract the flavor, add the juice of the oranges and lemons. Soak gum arabic in cold water for twenty minutes and dissolve over hot water, add the sugar and cook until it spins a thread ; pour this boiling hot upon the stiffly beaten whites of eggs, beating until cold and smooth. Stir in the strained mint flavoring and fruit juice. Dilute to the required strength with carbonated water and serve in tumblers containing finely cracked ice, garnishing each portion with lemon peel and sprigs of mint. PUNCH FOR FIFTY 6 oranges, 6 lemons, 1 quart raspberry juice, 1 quart grape juice, 4 cupfuls sugar, 4^ quarts water. Make a syrup by boiling the sugar and 2 cupfuls of the water together eight minutes. Add the strained fruit juices and let stand thirty minutes. Add the water and serve in a punch-bowl with a large piece of ice. 37 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER HI BREAD AND BREAD-MAKING* Probably no food, unless it is milk, is more generally used than bread, nor is there any food that constitutes a larger part of the diet of the average person. The reason for this importance of bread is very simple. Ever since the far-off days when the wild cereals were first found or cultivated men have known that food prepared from them would support life and strength better than any other single food except milk. Although in this country the ease with which other foods can be obtained makes bread seem less important, there are many districts of Europe and Asia where it is still the " staff of life," and where if people pray for their daily bread they mean it literally. In regard to its ingredients, bread is one of the simplest of cooked foods, but in regard to the changes which the raw materials must undergo to produce a finished loaf it is one of the most complicated. Flour, water, a pinch of salt, and a little yeast are the necessary ingredients. In the flour mill, where the initial steps in bread making may be said to be taken, the grain is ground into powder, the coarser outer parts being sifted out as bran, while the finer interior parts constitute flour. Once in the baker's hands, the flour is mixed with water and yeast, or some- thing which will produce the same effect. When this paste, or dough, containing yeast is set in a warm place the yeast begins to "work," and the dough to "rise" ; in other words, the yeast causes a change known as " alcoholic fermenta- tion " to set in, one of the principal results of which is the production of carbon-dioxid gas. If the dough has been w-ell mixed, this gas appears all through it, and expanding, leavens or raises it throughout. After the yeast has worked sufficiently the dough is shut up in a hot oven. Here the *Extract from Farmers' Bulletin 389, "Bread and Bread Making." 38 THE HOUSEKEEPER heat kills the yeast and prevents further alcoholic ferment- ation, causes the gas to expand and stretch open the little pockets which it has formed in the dough, changes some of the water present into steam, and expands any air mechan- ically included, thus raising the loaf still more. Further, the heat hardens and darkens the outer layers into what is called the " crust." The sum of these changes in the oven is called " haking." When this has been continued long enough the bread is " done " and is ready to be cooled and eaten. The nutritive value of bread depends not only on its chemical composition, but also on its digestibility, and digestibility in its turn seems to depend largely on the light- ness of the loaf. It is the gluten in a dough which gives it the pow'er of stretching and rising as the gas from the yeast expands within it, and hence of making a light loaf. Rye has less gluten proteids than wheat, while barley, oats, and maize have none, so that they do not make a light, porous loaf like wheat. It is possible that of the various kinds of wheat flour those containing a large part of the bran-entire- wheat and graham flours — furnish the body with more mineral matter than fine white flour ; but it is not certain that the extra amount of mineral matter furnished is of the same value as that from the interior portion of the grain. It seems safe to say that, as far as is knowai, for a given amount of money, white flour yields the most actual nourishment with the various food ingredients in good proportion. It should be remembered, however, that all kinds of bread are wholesome if of good cjualitv, and the use of several kinds is an easy means of securing variety in the diet. The lightness and sweetness of bread depend as much on the way in which it is made as on the materials used. The greatest care should be used in preparing and baking the dough and in cooking and keeping the finished bread. Though good housekeepers agree that light, well-raised 39 THE HOUSEKEEPER bread can readily be made with reasonable care and atten- tion, heavy, badly raised bread is unfortunately very com- mon. Such bread is not palatable, and is generally con- sidered to be unwholesome, and probably more indigestion has been caused by it than by all other badly cooked foods. MIXING THE BREAD The first step in bread making, as in cookery, is to get together everything necessary in utensils and materials. The utensils needed are a bread pan with a close-fitting, ven- tilated cover, a measuring cup, a spoon for beating the batter, and a molding cloth. The molding cloth is a square of heavy duck or sail cloth; it is much superior to the smooth surface of a wooden molding board, because con- siderable flour can be sifted into the rough surface of the fabric. It holds the flour and there is no sticking of soft dough. As the flour works into the dough, sift in more, rubbing it into the cloth with the hand. When finished, shake and fold the cloth, and lay it away until needed again. It can be used a number of times before being washed; when it has to go to the laundry, soak it for an hour in cold water, and rinse several times, before putting in the suds ; hot water would turn the flour into dough ; then it would be no easy task to get it clean. Sift into a pan four or five quarts of flour, and set it either over the register or in a moderate oven to warm, unless working in midsummer. Cold flour will always retard the raising of bread. Scald one pint of milk and pour it into the bread pan over two teaspoons of salt. Add a pint of cold water, then one yeast cake dissolved in half a cupful of lukewarm water. To this liquid add seven or eight cupfuls of warm flour, and beat the batter thoroughly with a wire spoon. Do not stop beating until the batter is a mass of bubbles. Then add more flour till you have a soft dough. When it becomes too stiff to stir, dust plenty of flour into the molding cloth, rubbing it into the fabric 40 THE HOUSEKEEPER till it will hold no more. Gather the dough into a ball and drop it on the cloth. Now begin to knead, folding the edge of the dough farthest from you tow^ard the center, pressing it away with the palms, gently yet quickly. The process of kneading has more to do with good bread than almost any- thing else. As you work the dough becomes full of little bubbles and blisters. When the dough is smooth, elastic does not stick, and is so spongy that it rises quickly after denting it with your finger, it is ready to set to rise. Place dough in pan, cover and set the pan in a w^arm place. As soon as the dough has doubled in bulk, turn it out on a slightly floured molding cloth and knead into loaves. This second kneading is a slight one. only enough to pre- pare it for the pans and get rid of any large air bubbles which, if left in, would mean holes in the bread. Have the pans greased. Always make small loaves ; generally the right size can be guessed at by having each pan half full of dough. Bread baked in the French or round bread pans is good. When large brick-shaped loaves are made, it is almost impossible to bake them to the heart unless the crust gets very thick and hard, li heat does not penetrate to the center of a loaf, yeast mav remain alive, causing bread to sour. After the bread is in the pans set it to rise in a warm place and let rise until it becomes double in bulk. BAKING BREAD When bread is nearly ready for the oven, test the oven, which should be hot enough to turn a piece of wdiite paper dark brown in 6 minutes. Place pans in lower part of oven and as near center as possible. Time. — Small loaves require about 35 minutes, large loaves ( 4 in. thick ) 50 or 60 minutes. Divide time into quarters as follows : — 1st. Quarter, bread should rise and begin to browm. 2nd. Quarter, now reduce the heat in the oven and bread continues to rise and brown. 41 THE HOUSEKEEPER 3rtl Uuarter, it finishes browning and rising. 4th Quarter. l)aking is finished and the loaf draws away from sides of pan. Turn the loaves so that they will brown evenly. Test zvJicn done. Bread draws away from sides of pans when done and sounds hollow when tapped with finger. Take out the well-browned loaves, turn them immediately out of the pans and set them to cool on a wire stand. If loaves are set fiat, the bottom will become moist; if they are wrapped in a cloth there is a soft, steamy crust. In summer if the steam is not allowed to evaporate from bread, there is danger of it molding, so it must never be put away until perfectly cool. Store it in a small closet with a door that closes tight. NOTES ON BREAD-MAKING Some cooks prefer to set a sponge when making bread, allowing it to rise in the shape of a well-beaten batter before adding fiour enough to do the kneading. " Sponging " makes a fine-grained bread, but it lengthens the time re- cjuired for making, as two risings are needed after the sponge is light. Bread may be made from water alone instead of " half and half ", as milk and water bread is called. Water bread is tougher and sweeter and keeps lietter than that made from all milk. If bread must be made in a hurry simply double the amount of yeast, if you are using compressed yeast. Should the oven be too hot. set a pan of cold water in it for a few minutes. The best way to care for a bread box is to wash it in hot water, then dry it on the liack of the range. This ought to be done between each baking to keep it fresh and sweet. If you are detained from getting bread into the pan? when it has risen sufiiciently, take a knife and cut down 42 THE HOUSEKEEPER the dough till you are ready to attend to it. This allows the gas to escape and there is no danger of souring if you i cannot return to it for half an hour. It is best to have the fire in such condition that it will Jneed no replenishing while bread baking is in progress. Yeast may be kept perfectly fresh for at least a week or [ten days by immersing the cake in cold water. The particles lof yeast settle at the bottom and w'ater acts as a seal from Fthe air. Cover the glass in which yeast is dissolved and [keep it in the refrigerator. H you have no covered bread pan set the dough to rise [in a large bowl or basin and keep it well covered with a ttowel. To hurry bread slightly add one tablespoon ful of sugar to four quarts of flour. The yeast plant begins to grow lore cjuickly when there is sugar to feed on. When there [is no sugar, the yeast has to change some of the starch to I sugar. Pricking the top of a loaf with a fork before it is put I in the oven tends to make it rise and bake evenly. Never use flour without sifting it first. fWATER BREAD 4 cupfuls boiling water. 2 tablespoon fuls lard. 1 tablespoon ful sugar. 1^ teaspoonfuls salt. 1 yeast cake dissolved in 3/2 cupful lukewarm water. 3 quarts sifted flour. Put the lard, sugar, and salt in a bowl, pour on boiling 1 water; when lukewarm, add dissolved yeast cake and 5 [cupfuls flour; then stir until thoroughly mixed. Add re- laining flour, mix and knead. Return to bowl ; let rise wernight. In the morning cut down, knead, shape into [loaves or biscuits, place in greased pans, having pans nearly fhalf full. Cover, let raise again, and bake. 43 THE HOUSEKEEPER MILK AND WATER BREAD 1 cupful scalded milk. 1 cupful boiling water. 1 tablespoon ful lard. 1 tablespoonful butter. 1^ teaspoonfuls salt. 1 yeast cake dissolved in ^4 cupful lukewarm water. 6 cupfuls sifted flour, or 1 cupful white flour and enough entire wheat flour to knead. Prepare and bake as Water Bread. When entire wheat flour is used add three tablespoonfuls molasses. Bread may be mixed, raised, and baked in five hours by using one yeast cake. Bread made in this way has proved most satisfac- tory. It is usually mixed in the morning, and the cook is able to watch the dough while rising and keep it at uniform temperature. It is often desirable to place bowl containing dough in pan of water, keeping water at uniform tempera- ture of from 95° to 100° F. Cooks who have not proved themselves satisfactory bread makers are successful wdien employing this method. (Fannie M. Farmer.) ENTIRE-WHEAT BREAD 4 cupfuls scalded milk. y2 cupful brown sugar. 1^ teaspoonfuls salt. 1 yeast cake dissolved in j/j cupful lukewarm water. 9 cupfuls entire-wheat flour. Put sugar and salt in a 1)owl and pour the hot milk over them ; when cool add the dissolved yeast cake and flour, beat hard with a wooden spoon for five minutes, cover the pan and set in a warm place till the batter doubles its bulk. Beat, turn into greased bread pans, having each half full. Let the batter rise nearly to the top, then bake. 44 THE HOUSEKEEPER YEAST FOAM 45 THE HOUSEKEEPER "OLD GLORY" BREAD Used much in France at present. (Four medium-sized loaves. ) 1 cupful rye. 3 cupfuls whole wheat flour. 8 cupfuls white flour. 4 cupfuls water. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 3 tablespoon fuls shortening- (may be omitted). 1 yeast cake or more according to the length of time allowed for rising. Add salt and shortening to boiling water. Cool to luke- warm. Add yeast cake, dissolved in a little of the cool w^ater. Add flours sifted together and knead until smooth and soft. Let rise in warm room until double its size. Knead and divide into loaves. Let rise as before and bake one hour. ROLLED OATS BREAD Pour 2 cupfuls boihng water over 1 or 2 cupfuls rolled oats. Cool to lukewarm. Add ^ yeast cake softened in y^ cupful lukewarm water for overnight process (5^ yeast cake in winter or for short process), 2 teaspoonfuls salt. Finish with flour like any white bread, or simply beat in flour to make a dough and do not knead. CORN MEAL BREAD 1 cupful liquid (^2 milk, VS water). 1 tablespoonful shortening. 1 tablespoonful sugar. 1^ teaspoonfuls salt. ^ yeast cake. 1 cupful yellow or white corn meal. Wheat flour (about 2 cupfuls). 46 THE HOUSEKEEPER Soften the veast cake in the water. Measure saU, sugar and shortening into a mixing bowl. Add the scalded milk and cool the mixture until it is lukewarm. Add the yeast and the corn meal and beat thoroughly. Add wheat flour gradually until the dough can be lifted in a mass on the spoon. Turn the dough onto a floured board and knead flour into it until it can be kneaded on an unfloured board for 1 minute without sticking. Place the dough in a clean bowl. Cover it tightly ( to prevent the formation of a crust) and let it rise until it doubles its bulk. Knead the dough on an unfloured board just enough to distribute the gas bubbles evenly. Shape into a loaf and place in an oiled tin, pressing it into the corners. Let the loaf rise until double its bulk and bake for 50 or 60 minutes. Remove the loaf from the tin and cool on a wire rack. BARLEY FLOUR BREAD Substitute 1 cupful of barley flour for the corn meal in the recipe for Corn Meal Bread. RYE MEAL BREAD Substitute 1 cupful of rye meal for the corn meal in the recipe for Corn Meal Bread. POTATO BREAD 2 cupfuls scalded milk (or part water). 1 tablespoon ful syrup. 2 tablespoon fuls shortening. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 2 cupfuls boiled and riced potatoes. 1 cake compressed yeast. Yj cupful lukewarm water or milk. About 6 cupfuls wheat flour. To the scalded milk add the syrup, shortening, salt and potato; when lukewarm add the yeast mixed with the half- cupful of lukewarm liciuid and stir in the flour; knead until 47 THE HOUSEKEEPER 24y, Lbs. Net You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 48 THE HOUSEKEEPER smooth and elastic, cover and set aside to become light; shape into two loaves. When again light bake about one hour. GRAHAM BREAD 1 quart Graham flour. 1 quart white flour. 1 yeast cake dissolved in Yx cupful lukewarm water. 1 1^ teaspoonfuls salt. Yx cupful brown sugar. 1 quart milk or milk and water. Scald the milk and pour it over the sugar and salt ; when lukewarm stir in the flour and add the yeast, which has been dissolved in warm water. Beat hard and let it rise in the pan till spongy. This is a dough which is not stiff enough to knead ; it simply requires a thorough stirring and beating. Put it into greased pans, let rise, and bake in an oven which is hot at first, but cool during the latter part of the baking process. This dough may be used to drop into greased gem pans and bake as muflins. RICE BREAD 1 cui)ful rice cooked in 2 cupfuls boiling salted water. When lukewarm add 1 tablespoon ful fat. 1 tablespoon ful sugar. 1 yeast cake dissolved in 1/3 cupful lukewarm water. 3 cupfuls bread flour or enough to knead easily. The dough should be quite stiff. Let rise until double in bulk, add more flour; knead, shape in loaves, let rise again and bake 45 minutes to one hour according to size of loaf. 49 THE HOUSEKEEPER *'QUASH BREAD 2 cupftils squash. 54 cupful sugar. 3 cupfuls scalded milk. 2 tablespoonfuls butter. 1 yeast cake. Flour enough to knead. Press the stewed squash through a potato ricer, stir it with the sugar, salt, and butter into the hot milk; when cool, pour in the dissolved yeast and as much flour as will make a dough that can be handled. Turn out on a floured board and knead for fifteen minutes. Return to the bread pan and let it double its bulk. Knead again, shape into loaves, let rise, and bake. NUT BREAD 1 cupful entire-wheat flour. 1 cupful white flour. ^ cake yeast dissolved in 1 cupful milk. 2 tablespoonfuls brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ful salt. 34 cupful shelled walnut meats. Set a sponge of the wheat flour, white flour, yeast, and milk; when light, add sugar, salt, nuts, and enough entire- wheat flour to make as stiff as can be stirred with spoon. Put in the pan, let rise, and bake one hour. BOSTON BROWN BREAD 1 cupful rye meal. 1 cupful granulated corn meal. 1 cupful Graham flour. ^ tablespoon ful soda. 1 teaspoonful salt. 14 cupful molasses. 2 cupfuls sour milk or Ifi cupfuls sweet milk or water. 50 THE HOUSEKEEPER Mix and sift dry ingredients, add molasses and milk, stir until well mixed, turn into a well-buttered mould and steam three and one-half hours. The cover should be buttered before being placed on mould, and then tied down with string; otherwise the bread in rising might force off cover. Mould should never be filled more than two-thirds full. A melon-mould or one-pound baking-powder boxes make the most attractive-shaped loaves, but a five-pound lard pail answers the purpose. For steaming, place mould on a trivet in kettle containing boiling water, allowing w'ater to come half-way up around mould; cover closely and steam, add- ing, as needed, more boiling water. (Fannie M. Farmer.) PARKER HOUSE ROLLS 7 cupfuls flour. 1 teaspoonful salt. 1 tablespoon ful sugar. 3 tablespoon fuls butter or other fat. 1 pint milk. 1 yeast cake dissolved in Yi cupful lukewarm water. Put 4 cupfuls flour into a mixing bowl w^ith the salt, sugar, and butter; pour on the milk, scalding hot, and beat thoroughly ; allow it to cool, then add the dissolved yeast and let the sponge rise till frothy; put in the rest of the flour, mix thoroughly, and knead. Let rise again, then turn out on a board and shape into Parker House rolls. Cut off a small ball of dough and roll it flat and thin. Brush over the top with melted butter, cut across the mid- dle, but not Cjuite through the dough, with the back of a silver knife. Fold over and lay nearly double, then press down to make the dough adhere, allow rolls to rise. Bake fifteen minutes in a hot oven, and brush with melted butter. 51 THE HOUSEKEEPER SWISS ROLLS 2 ciipfiils milk. 2 tablespoon fuls sugar. y^ cupful shortening. 1 cake yeast, dissolved in Yi cupful lukewarm water. 1^ quarts flour. 1 teaspoon ful salt. Scald the milk, add the sugar and shortening ; when luke- warm, add the dissolved yeast. Stir in the flour and set in a warm place to rise. Turn out on a floured bread board, roll till an inch thick, brush the top over with melted butter, and roll up the sheet of dough like a rolled jelly cake. Press it lightly into shape and cut from the end slices about an inch thick; put the slices, cut side up, into a greased pan and let rise until thev have doubled in height. Bake in a hot oven twenty minutes, and brush over with melted butter. HOT CROSS BUNS 1 pint milk. y2 cupful butter. Yz cupful sugar. 3 eggs. Y2 teaspoon ful salt. 1 cake yeast dissolved in Y2 cupful lukewarm water. Flour. Scald the milk and pour it over the butter and salt ; when lukewarm, add the dissolved yeast and eggs well beaten; then sift in flour enough to make a thin batter, and beat with a wire whisk ten minutes; when full of bubbles, add flour enough to make a dough; knead it hard and let rise. When it has doubled its bulk, turn it out, knead it and cut into buns. Place them in a greased pan to rise, brush them over when ready to go into the oven with a sirup made of 1 tablespoonful cream and 2 tablespoonfuls sugar boiled 52 THE HOUSEKEEPER tcgether for a minute. Dust with cinnamon, and just be- fore putting in the oven cut two gashes in the top with a sharp knife. Adding raisins or currants to this recipe jnakes fruit buns. APPLE CAKE (Dutch Recipe) 1 cupful milk. 1/3 cupful sugar. 1/3 cupful butter or other fat. Yi teaspoon ful salt. 1 cake yeast dissolved in ^ cupful lukewarm water. 2 eggs. Elour. 5 apples. 4 tablespoon fuls sugar. y2 teaspoon ful cinnamon. Scald the milk, pour it over the butter, sugar, and salt; when lukewarm, add the well-beaten eggs, dissolved yeast cake and enough flour to make a soft dough. Beat it thor- oughly and set in a warm place to rise. Beat again and let it rise a second time. Then pour into a shallow greased pan. spread the dough out thin with a palette knife, and brush over the top with melted butter. Pare the apples, core and cut into eighths. Lay them thickly on top of the dough in straight rows. Dust sugar and cinnamon over them, cover with a towel, set in a warm place and let the dough rise again. Bake in a moderate oven half an hour, cut into scjuares and serve hot, with whipped, sweetened cream. RAISED WHEAT MUFFINS 2 cupfuls flour. 1 cupful milk. 1 tablespoon ful shortening. - ^ tablespoon ful sugar. 53 THE HOUSEKEEPER Yi teaspoon ful salt. y% cake yeast dissolved in 2 tablespoon fills lukewarm water. Pour the flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl ; scald the milk and add the shortening to it. Let the mixture stand till lukewarm, add the milk, shortening, and yeast to the flour and beat well. Cover the bowl and set in a cool place overnight. In the morning the batter will be a light sponge. Beat the ^gg and add to this sponge. Half fill buttered muthn pans with the batter; cover, and let the mufiins rise in a warm place. Bake for half an hour in a moderately hot oven. COFFEE CAKE 1 tgg. 1 cupful milk. 2 tablespoonfuls shortening. 3 tablespoonfuls sugar. ]/x yeast cake dissolved in 2 tablespoonfuls lukewarm water, y^ teaspoonful salt. Yi teaspoonful cinnamon. y2 cupful raisins. Yx cupful shaved citron. Flour. Scald the milk, pour it over the shortening, sugar, and salt. When lukewarm, add the dissolved yeast and enough flour to make a soft dough; beat the mixture hard; let it rise overnight. In the morning add the beaten ^gg and the fruit, also a little more flour if necessary, and knead for a few minutes. Shape the dough into a ring, put in a greased pie plate, and set to rise. Before putting into the oven, brush the top with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinna- mon and sugar. Bake half an hour. 54 THE HOUSEKEEPER STALE BREAD A careful housewife plans to keep in stock the smallest amount possible of stale bread, and of that stock not a morsel is consigned to the garbage can. There is economy in adopting the English fashion of bread cutting, placing the loaf on a wooden trencher with a keen knife, and cut- ting at the table each slice as it is required. Keep a pan in the pantry to receive all scraps left on plates, toast crusts, or morsels from the bread jar. Nev^er put them in a covered pail or jar ; they will mold. Save all soft inside parts of a loaf to be used as soon as possible for croutons, slices or cubes for toast and toast points, and soft scraps for meat and fish dressings, puddings, omelets, scalloped dishes, griddle cakes, souffles, croquettes, and the numerous dishes for which stale bread may be utilized. Never allow the crusts to grow more than a golden brown. When the scraps of bread are thoroughly dry, roll them on a board or put through the meat chopper, using the finest knife. TOAST Toast bread over a clear, red fire for two minutes. Then turn it over and let all the moisture be drawn out of the bread. Butter and serve immediately. Toast may be uti- lized, especially for breakfast, in all sorts of ways. Plain toast is a favorite in most households ; then there are milk toast, cream toast, dropped eggs on toast, water toast, and the excellent dish of bread soaked in egg and milk and sauted, which has all sorts of names, French, Spanish, and Scotch toast, but more properly egged toast. At the lun- cheon and dinner table toast appears in all forms — under chicken and with such vegetables as asparagus and spinach ; under minced meats, fricassees, and creamed mixtures, or in the delicate canape. 55 THE HOUSEKEEPER FRIED BREAD 6 slices stale bread. 1 egg. 1 cupful milk. 2 tablespoon fuls oil (olive). Salt. Cut the bread into fingers three inches wide and the length of the slice. Beat the egg slightly, add the salt and milk. Dip the bread in the mixture. Put the oil in a spider and allow it to grow hot. Drop the bread in and saute till brown. Drain on soft paper. x'Krrange log-cabin fashion, and serve with a sweet liquid sauce or maple syrup. MILK TOAST 6 slices stale bread. 2 cupfuls milk. 2 teaspoonfuls cornstarch. 2 tablespoon fuls butter. Dry the bread thoroughly in the oven, then toast over a clear fire to a golden brown. Heat the milk in the double boiler, add the butter, and, when scalding hot, the corn- starch moistened in cold milk. Cook until the sauce thick- ens. Lay the toast on a hot platter and baste each slice with the sauce. Serve very hot. TOMATO TOAST 1 K' cupfuls strained tomato. y2 cupful scalded milk. yl teaspoonful soda. 3 tablespoon fuls butter. 3 tablespoon fuls flour. j/2 teaspoonful salt. 6 slices toast. Make a tomato sauce from the butter, flour and tomato, add the soda and salt, then the milk. Dip the toast in the sauce. Serve hot. 56 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER I\' QUICK BREADS BAKING POWDER BISCUITS 2 cupfiils flour. 2 tablespoon fills shortening. ^ cupful milk. 3^ teaspoon ful salt. 4 teaspoon fuls baking powder. Sift the salt, baking powder, and flour together, rub in the shortening, add the milk and mix lightly to a soft dough. Toss on a floured baking board, pat to about an inch thick, and cut into biscuits. Lay in a baking pan, brush the tops with milk, and bake in a quick oven twelve minutes. Biscuits should be handled as little as possible. DROP BISCUITS 3 cupfuls flour. 2 tablespoon fuls shortening. 6 teaspoonfuls baking powder. Yj teaspoonful salt. XYj cupfuls milk. Sift the baking powder, salt, and flour together, rub in the shortening with the tips of the fingers, then add the milk, a^d beat to a soft dough. Grease a baking pan. lift a level tablespoonful of the dough and drop it into the pan. having each biscuit an inch apart, and bake in a hot oven. This is an excellent recipe to use when one is in a hurry and there is hot time to make a biscuit which has to be rolled out and cut. THE HOUSEKEEPER BARLEY BAKING POWDER BISCUITS 1 cupful sifted barley flour. 1 cupful sifted wheat flour. Yi teaspoon ful salt. 4 teaspoon fuls baking powder. 2 tablespoon fuls shortening. 1 scant cupful milk or water. Same cjuantity of corn flour or rve flour may be substi- tuted for the barley flour, or another cup of barley flour substituted for the wheat flour. Sift the dry ingredients together, work in the shortening; gradually add the lic|uid and mix with a knife to a soft dough. Turn upon a board, roll with a knife to coat with flour, then knead slightly. Roll into a sheet about three- fourths of an inch thick, cut in rounds and set in a shallow baking pan. Bake about fifteen minutes. GRAHAM BISCUITS 2 tablespoon fuls shortening. 2 cupfuls Graham flour. 1 cupful white flour. 1 teaspoonful salt. 1 teaspoonful sugar. 6 teaspoonfuls baking powder. 2 cupfuls milk. Mix dry ingredients thoroughly and chop into the mixture 2 tablespoonfuls shortening. Add the mijk, and if the mixture is then too stifif to handle, add enough water to make it a soft dough. Turn upon a floured board, roll out and cut into biscuits, handling as little and as lightly as possible. Bake in a hot oven. SHORTCAKE 2 cupfuls flour. ^ teaspoonful salt. 2 tablespoonfuls sugar. 4 teaspoonfuls baking powder, 4 tablespoonfuls shortening. 1 cupful milk. 58 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 59 THE HOUSEKEEPER Sift together all the dry ingredients, rub in the shorten- ing with the tips of the fingers, then wet with the milk to a soft dough. Drop it on a floured board and, handling it just as little as possible, roll and pat into two round cakes, which will fill a deep pie plate. In the pan place one cake of the dough, brush with melted butter, and lay the other one on top of it. Bake until crisp, brown, and puffy. Split and between the cake and on top spread any fruit which is in season. Strawberries make a most delicious shortcake, or peaches may be used ; red raspberries, cherries, fresh apricots, oranges, or oranges and bananas, while a short- cake filled with stewed prunes or well-seasoned apple sauce is good. Chipped pineapple mixed with bananas and oranges makes a delicious filling. In every case have it juicy by leaving the fruit covered with sugar to stand for an hour in a cool place before it is served. EGOLESS MUFFINS 2 cupfuls flour. 4 teaspoon fuls baking powder. ^ teaspoonful salt. 2 tablespoonfuls sugar. 1 tablespoonful melted shortening. 1 cupful milk. Mix and sift the dry ingredients, add the milk graduallv and the melted shortening. Turn into greased nuiftin pans and bake in a hot oven twenty minutes. (Makes 12 muf- fins.) This is a good foundation recipe for all mufiins. Graham, whole wheat, rye or barley flour mav be substi- tuted for one-half the wheat flour. Cooked on top of a pot roast, this recipe makes dumplings or baked with slices of apple it makes a delicious pudding. 60 THE HOUSEKEEPER TWIN-MOUNTAIN MUFFINS 34 cupful shortening. 34 cupful sugar. 1 pcro" •j4 cupful milk. 2 cupfuls flour. 4 teaspoonfuls baking powder. 3/2 teaspoon ful salt. Cream the shortening; add the sugar and egg, well beat- en; sift baking powder and salt with flour, and add to the first mixture, alternating with milk. Bake in buttered gem pans twenty-five minutes. BERRY MUFFINS 2 cupfuls flour. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 2 tablespoonfuls melted butter. 34 cupful sugar. 4 teaspoonfuls baking powder. 1 egg. 1 cupful milk. 1 cupful berries. Mix as for plain muftins ; add berries last, dusting them with a little flour. Bake in muftin pans in a hot oven. APPLE GEMS 1 cupful corn meal. 13^ cupfuls flour. y2 teaspoonful salt. 2 tablespoonfuls sugar. 5 teaspoonfuls baking powder. 1 cupful milk. 4 sour apples. 2 tablespoonfuls molasses. Sift dry ingredients together. Add enough milk to make thick batter. Beat well. Add apples, chopped fine, and molasses. Bake in hot greased gem pans fifteen to twenty minutes. 61 THE HOUSEKEEPER DATE MUFFINS 2 cupfuls flour. 3 teaspoon fuls baking powder. ^ teaspoonful salt. 2 eggs. 1 cupful milk. 3 tablespoonfuls melted fat. 1 cupful dates (stoned and chopped). Alix and sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat the eggs thoroughly and add the milk to the eggs. Combine the mixtures and add the melted fat and dates. Mix the ingredients and turn the mixture into greased muftin tins. Bake in a moderate oven for twenty-five minutes. CEREAL MUFFINS 1/^ cupfuls barley flour. 1 teaspoonful salt. 3 teaspoon fuls baking powder. Yi cupful cooked cereal. f4 cupful milk. 1 tgg (beaten light). 2 tablespoonfuls corn syrup. 2 tablespoonfuls melted shortening. Sift together the dry ingredients. Break the cereal apart and mix with the milk to a smooth consistencv. Hot or cold cereal may be used. Add the tgg, corn syrup, and shortening, and stir into the dry ingredients. Bake in a hot. well-greased muffin pan about twenty minutes. CREAM OF MAIZE MUFFINS 1 cupful cream of maize. 1 cupful rye or barley flour. 4 teaspoon fuls baking powder. Yz teaspoonful salt. 1 tgg (beaten light), 1 tablespoon ful corn syrup. y^ cupful milk (about). lYi tablespoonfuls shortening. 62 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 63 THE HOUSEKEEPER Put the maize into a bowl, sift in the other dry ingredi- ents, add the Hqiiid, and mix thoroughly. Bake in a hot, well-greased, iron muffin pan about twenty-five minutes. This makes 12 muffins. BRAN MUFFINS 1 cupful barley flour. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 4 teaspoon fuls baking powder. 1 cupful bran. ^4 cupful molasses. 1 e^g (beaten light). 1/4 cupfuls milk. 2 tablespoon fuls melted shortening. Sift together twice, barley flour, salt and baking powder; add the bran, molasses, the beaten egg with the milk and the shortening. Mix together thoroughly. Bake in hot, well-greased iron muffin pans about twenty-five minutes. BUCKWHEAT MUFFINS 1^ cupfuls buckwheat flour. ■)4 cupful flour. 4 teaspoon fuls baking powder. 2 tablespoon fuls sugar. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 1 cupful milk. 2 tablespoon fuls shortening. Mix and sift dry ingredients; add milk and melted short- ening and beat vmtil smooth. Bake in greased muffin tins in hot oven twentv to twenty-five minutes. RYE AND CORNMEAL MUFFINS 1^ cupfuls rye flour or barley flour. j/o cupful cornmeal. ^ teaspoon ful salt. 4 teaspoon fuls baking powder. 64 THE HOUSEKEEPER 1 tablespoon fill sugar. 154 cupfuls milk and water. 1 tablespoon ful shortening. Sift together dry ingredients; add milk and water and melted shortening. Beat well. Bake in greased muffin pans in hot oven thirty to thirty-five minutes, RICE AND CORNMEAL MUFFINS ^ cupful white cornmeal. ^ cupful flour. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 2 teaspoon fuls baking powder. 1 cupful cold rice. 1^ cupfuls milk. 2 eggs. 2 tablespoon fuls butter. Sift the dry ingredients together, rub the rice in lightly with the tips of the fingers till every grain is separated. Beat the yolks of eggs till thick, mix with the milk, pour over the dry ingredients and beat well. Add the melted butter, and lastly the whites of eggs beaten dry. Bake in hot oven. MISSOURI HOE CAKE Pass through a sieve, together, two cupfuls of cornmeal and half a teaspoonful, each, of salt and baking powder; add one tablespoonful of melted fat and stir in water to make a soft dough. Make into small cakes about half an inch thick and bake on a hot, greased griddle until well browned on both sides. POP-OVERS 2 cupfuls flour. Yi teaspoonful salt. \y\ cupfuls milk. 2 eggs. 1 teaspoonful shortening. 65 THE HOUSEKEEPER Mix salt and flour, add the milk gradually. Add the eggs, well beaten, and the melted shortening. Beat two minutes, using the Dover egg-beater; turn into hot buttered earthen or iron cups and bake forty-five minutes in a hot oven. BARLEY POP-OVERS Beat two eggs, one cupful of barley flour, one teaspoon- ful of sugar, half a teaspoonful of salt, and one cupful of milk until ver)- smooth. Use a Dover egg-beater. Bake about forty minutes in a hot, well-greased iron pan. The pop-overs are good, but will not puff (|uite as high as when made with wheat flour. One-fourth cupful of rice flour may replace half a cupful of the barley flour. GRAHAM BREAD 2 cupfuls graham flour. 2 cupfuls wheat flour. 1 teaspoonful sodn. 1 teaspoonful baking powder. Yi cupful sugar. 1 teaspoonful salt. 2 tablespoon fuls molasses. 2 cupfuls sour milk. 2 tablespoon fuls cold water. Mix and sift the drv ingredients, add the molasses and sour milk, beat well, add the cold water, beat again, pour into a greased bread pan and bake forty minutes in moder- ate oven. CORNMEAL AND SQUASH BREAD \y\ cupfuls flour. Yx cupful cornmeal. Yi cupful leftover cooked scpiash. 2 tablespoonfuls Mazola. 2 tablespoonfuls Karo. 1 teaspoonful salt. 4 teaspoon fuls baking powder. Y2 cupful milk. 66 THE HOUSEKEEPER Mix dry ingredients, add milk, squash and melted short- ening. Bake in hot oven in cake tins about twenty-five minutes. Leftover canned corn can be put through grinder and used in place of scjuash — both add bulk. NUT BREAD No. 1 4 cupfuls flour. 4 tablespoonfuls sugar. 6 teaspoonfuls baking powder. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 2 cupfuls milk. .1 ^gg- Yz cupful walnut meats. Mix and sift the dry ingredients, add the milk, ^gg^ well beaten, and the chopped nutmeats. Pour into a greased bread pan, let rise twenty minutes, and bake in a moderate oven. This makes two loaves. QUICK NUT BREAD No. 2 1 cupful barley flour. Yi cupful corn flour. 5 teaspoonfuls baking powder. \Y2 teaspoonfuls salt. 1 cupful oat flour. Ya cupful raisins. Y2 cupful nutmeats. 1 cupful milk. 1/3 cupful molasses. 2 tablespoonfuls melted shortening. 1 ^gg- Mix and sift barley flour, corn flour, baking powder and salt. Add oat flour or ground rolled oats, without sifting. Then add raisins and nuts cut in pieces, milk, molasses, melted shortening and ^gg, well-beaten. Beat thoroughly and put in greased bread pan. Let stand twenty minutes, and bake in moderate oven one hour. The tgg may be 67 THE HOUSEKEEPER ta. A oz. WET ^^ iniKiaiii— '"iT^ AUNT COR .,«»-!Hifi2iaSS— ' You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 68 THE HOUSEKEEPER omitted, but bread will not slice quite as well. The nuts or raisins or both may be omitted it desired, li the three flours are not available, the 2j/4 cups of flour called for may be made up of wheat flour. ONE.EGG GRIDDLE CAKES 3 cupfuls flour. 6 teaspoon fuls baking powder. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 2 tablespoon fuls melted butter. 2 cupfuls milk. Sift the dry ingredients, separate the egg, and add to flour the milk and beaten yolk. Beat thoroughly, add the melted butter and white of egg, beaten to a stiff froth. Bake at once on a hot g'riddle. CORNMEAL FLAP JACKS 2/2 cupful cornmeal. 1/3 cupful rye flour. yi teaspoon ful salt. ^ teaspoon ful soda. 1 ^gg- ^Yi cupfuls sour milk. Yi tablespoon ful melted shortening. Mix and sift dry ingredients. Add the beaten egg and milk to the mixture. Mix thoroughly. Add melted short- ening and beat well. Drop from a spoon on to a hot greased griddle ; turn. When brown, serve. CREAM OF MAIZE GRIDDLE CAKES 1 cupful cream of maize. ^4 cupful corn flour. ]/> cupful rye or barley flour. 1/2 teaspoonful soda. 1 teaspoonful baking powder. 69 THE HOUSEKEEPER Yi teaspoon fill salt. 1 egg (beaten very light). 1 cupful sour cream or 1 cupful whey. 2 tablespoonfuls melted shortening. Put the maize in a bowl; put the flour, soda, salt and baking powder into a sieve together and sift them over the maize, ^^^^en ready to bake, add the liquid ingredients and mix thoroughly. Bake on a hot. well-greased griddle. SOUR-MILK DOUGHNUTS 2 cupfuls flour. 'y{\ teaspoon ful salt. 1 scant teaspoon ful soda. 1 teaspoonful baking powder. Grating of nutmeg. Yi tablespoon ful shortening (melted). 1 ^gg- Y2 cupful sugar. Y2 cupful sour milk. Sift together the dry ingredients, add the shortening, the sugar, well-beaten ^gg, and milk ; beat thoroughly and toss the dough on a floured board. It should be a soft dough, and it is not easy to handle. Use a knife in turning it over if you have any difficulty. Knead lightly and roll into a sheet. Cut the doughnuts with a ring cutter and fry in hot fat, putting only about four in the kettle at once. If more are fried at a time, the fat will cool and the doughnuts be- come greasy. DOUGHNUTS 1 ^gg- 1 cupful sugar. 2 tablespoonfuls melted shortening. 2 cupfuls milk. 4 cupfuls flour (or more). 6 teaspoon fuls baking powder. Y2 teaspoonful salt. Y2 teaspoonful nutmeg. 70 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 71 THE HOUSEKEEPER Beat the egg until light, add the sugar gradually, then the melted shortening. Mix and sift the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg and add to first mixture alternately with the milk. Add enough more flour to make a soft dough. Turn on a flour board, roll to one inch in thick- ness, shape and fry in deep fat. WAFFLES 1 cupful flour. j/4 teaspoon ful salt. 2 teaspoon fuls baking powder. 2 eggs. 1 cup milk. 2 tablespoonfuls melted butter. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder; add the beaten yolks of eggs and milk, beating well so as to make a smooth batter. Stir in the melted butter and last, the stiffly beaten whites of eggs. Bake in hot, well-greased waffle irons, turning the cakes just as soon as possible after the batter is put in all the compartments of the iron. BAKING POWDERS Baking Powders have for their essential constituents sodium bicarbonate and some form of acid or acid salt. During the bread-making process in which they are em- ployed, under the influence of the licpiid used in mixing the dough, chemical reaction more or less complete ensues between these constituents. This results in the evolution of the leavening carbon dioxide gas, which eventually passes off and a fixed residue which remains. It is, there- fore, the character of this residue which determines the hygienic quality of any baking powder. 72 THE HOUSEKEEPER Based upon these residues, Baking Powders may be con- venieiitly divided into three groups : 1. Baking powders made of cream of tartar, baking soda and a httle starch. The resulting salt is the Rochelle Salt known in medicine. These powders are highest in price. 2. Powders made of acid phosphate and baking soda, the resulting salt being harmless. These include the medium- priced baking powders. 3. Cheap baking powders, which usually contain some alum. These should be avoided, as thev are not safe to use. 71 THE HOUSEKEEPER Yoii will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 74 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER V CEREALS* Cereals are grains, and include wheat, oats, rice, rye, barley, corn, etc., and among them are many valuable foods. In what we call breakfast cereals we have a number of foods that are unusually rich in nitrogenous matter and mineral sulistances ; therefore making an excellent morning meal with no further addition than milk or cream, for all cereals are lacking in fat. Unless cereals can be subjected to the long, slow cooking which is necessary, they had better not be eaten, for nothing is so indigestible as half-raw cereal. ]Most of the cereals put up in packages, so the directions say, can be cooked in half an hour, but that is not possible. Few of them, except the fine-grained wheat foods, are fit to eat till they have had at least one hour's cooking in a double boiler. If they can have longer they are so much the better. Always add salt to a cereal — one teaspoon ful to a cjuart of water — and let it dissolve before the grains are put in, so it will flavor the whole mass. The best way to cook any rough-grained cereal is to drop it slowly into water which is boiling briskly in the upper part of a double boiler. After cooking for a few minutes on the stove, set it over the water and allow the grains to swell slowly so the food is stiff enough to be chewed. Cornmeal demands a long time for cooking — at least six hours — and it swells, so it should have six times the same measurement of water. Granular cereals — farina, for in- stance — should be mixed with a little cold water and stirred smooth before being added to the necessary amount of boiling water; this prevents it from becoming lumpy. Buy cereals in small c[uantities and store in glass jars with tight-fitting lids instead of the pasteboard boxes in *Extract from Farmers' Bulletin 249, "Cereal Breakfast Foods." 75 THE HOUSEKEEPER which they are sold. This keeps them fresher and safe from the invasion of moths or mice. There is such a bewildering variety of cereal breakfast foods on the market, with such differences in appearance, taste, and claims to nutritive value, that it is hard to make an intelligent choice among them. True economy here, as with other kinds of food, depends upon the amount of digestible nutrients which can be obtained for a given sum of money. Of the five cereals most commonly used for breakfast foods, oats contain perhaps the largest quantities of the important nutrients, with a fairly low proportion of crude fiber. Wheat ranks very close to oats in all respects, how- ever, and even when prepared with the bran is freer from crude fiber. Many persons consider that the bran contains so much protein and desirable mineral matters that it should be retained in spite of the crude fiber which it contains. Digestion experiments indicate, however, that the crude fiber makes the whole material so much less digestible that more protein is actually available to the body when the bran is excluded. Moreover, the ordinary mixed diet probably furnishes all the mineral matters which the healthy body needs, so bran is not needed for this purpose. The bran- containing preparations should be avoided by persons of weak digestion, but are often useful in cases of constipation. Such differences are, however, too small to be of importance to normal, healthy persons, and all the ordinary varieties of breakfast cereals are wholesome. Individual taste must de- termine which are most palatable. Appearance, palatability and relative cost will always and rightly be important feat- ures in the selection of all these cereal breakfast foods. Corn and its preparations are rich in carbohydrates and fat, but are slightly less digestible than the other cereals. Rice is poor in protein, but remarkably free from crude fiber, and consequently furnishes a large proportion of digestible car- bohydrates. Barley contains a fair proportion of nutrients 76 THE HOUSEKEEPER and is moderately digestible. All these differences in com- position and digestibility are comlparatively slight and may be disregarded by healthy persons living on the ordinary mixed diet. Thoroughness of cooking is a factor which has a bearing upon digestibility. It not only makes the cereals more palatable, but also breaks down the walls of indigestible cellulose which surround the starch grains and other nutri- ents and produces other changes so that the digestive juices can work on the nutritive ingredients more effectively. Poorly cooked cereals are less palatable than the same dishes well cooked, and may cause indigestion and be really harm- ful. When the partially cooked preparations are used care should be taken to insure sufficient re-cooking before serv- ing. The majority of the ready-to-eat brands are apparent- ly thoroughly cooked. In choosing among the various breakfast foods it must be remembered that a novel appearance and quasi-scientific name do not necessarily represent any usual food value. Unless something is added during the process of manufac- ture, all brands must have just about the same composition as the cereals from which they are made, as manipulation cannot increase the amount of food material in a cereal product, though it may materially modify its appearance and flavor. It should not be forgotten that breakfast cereals of all sorts are usually free from harmful adulterants and that, especially in the case of package goods, they reach the con- sumer in a clean, fresh condition. The retail prices of breakfast cereals run all the way from 5 cents a pound for some of the plain meals sold in bulk to 15 cents or more for some of the ready-to-eat brands. The proportion of nutrients supplied, pound for pound, does not differ greatly. The partially cooked brands, usually medium priced, are certainly easier to prepare than the raw grains, and may be more truly economical in households where time, labor, and fuel are scarce. In general, the ready-to-eat brands are 77 THE HOUSEKEEPER higher in price than the partially cooked goods, though they have practically the same nutritive value, pound for pound, as other classes of cereal breakfast foods. The extent to which they should be used for their special flavor and the variety they give to the diet must be decided according to individual circumstances. It is only fair to add, however, that, whatever the relative food values of malted and un- malted foods, the cost of the former to the manufacturer is greater, and the increased price is to this extent justified. All things considered, the cereal breakfast foods as a class are nutritious, convenient, and reasonably economical foods and worthy of an important place in the diet when judiciously combined with other foods. TIME-TABLE FOR COOKING CEREALS Cereal Water Salt Time Rolled Oats 1 cupful 2i cupfuls J teaspoonful 40 minutes Coarse Oatmeal. . 1 cupful 4 cupfuls H teaspoonfuls 5 hours Cornmeal Mush. .1 cupful 3 to Si cupfuls H teaspoonfuls 3 hours Fine Hominy. ... 1 cupful 6 cupfuls li teaspoonfuls 1 hour Cracked Wheat. . 1 cupful 4 cupfuls li teaspoonfuls 1 hour Cream of Wheat. 1 cupful 4 cupfuls li teaspoonfuls 45 minutes Rice (Steamed) .1 cupful 3 cupfuls 1 teaspoonful 45 to 60 minutes TABLE SHOWING COMPOSITION Mineral Proteid Fat Starch Matter Water Oatmeal 15.6 7.2, 68.0 1.9 7.2 Corn Meal 8.9 2.2 75.1 0.9 12.9 Wheat Flour (Spring) 11.8 1.1 75.0 0.5 11.6 Wheat Flour (Winter) 10.4 1.0 75.6 0.5 12.5 Entire Wheat Flour 14.2 1.9 70.6 1.2 12.1 Graham Flour 13.7 2.2 70.3 2.0 11.8 Pearl Barley 9.3 1.0 77.6 1.3 10.8 Rye Meal 7.1 0.9 78.5 0.8 12.7 Rice 7.8 0.4 79.4 0.4 12.4 Buckwheat Flour 6.1 1.0 772 1.4 14.3 Macaroni 11.7 1.6 72.9 3.0 10.8 (Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.) 78 THE HOUSEKEEPER II ft<-"rHa Flavor And DigestibiHly. Its "' " You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 79 THE HOUSEKEEPER OATMEAL MUSH 1 cupful granulated oatmeal. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 1 scant quart boiling water. Put the oatmeal and salt in a double boiler, pour on the boiling water, and cook three or four hours. Remove the cover just before serving, and stir with a fork to let the steam escape. HOMINY MUSH Yz cupful fine hominy. Yi teaspoon ful salt. 3 cupfuls boiling water. Put all together in a double boiler, and cook one hour. Add more water if mush seems stiff; all preparations of corn absorb a, great deal of water in cooking, and hominy usually needs a little more than four times its bulk. BAKED HOMINY (Southern Style) Y\ cupful fine hominy. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 1 cupful boiling water. 2 tablespoon fuls butter. 1 tablespoon ful sugar. 1 ^%Z- 2 cupfuls milk. Mix water and salt and add gradually, while stirring con- stantly the hominy. Bring to the boiling point and let boil two minutes. Then cook in double boiler until the water is absorbed. Add one cupful milk, and cook one hour. Re- move from fire and add butter, sugar, t.gg slightly beaten, and the remaining" milk. Turn into a buttered dish and bake in a slow oven one hour. 80 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Fit int. 81 THE HOUSEKEEPER CEREAL WITH FRUIT f^ cupful wheat germ, farina or wheatina. ^ cupful cold water. 2 cupfuls boiling water. 1 teaspoon ful salt. y2 pound dates, stoned and cut in pieces. Mix cereal, salt, and cold water; add to boiling water in a saucepan. Boil five minutes, steam in double boiler thirty minutes, stir in dates, and serve with cream. Serve for breakfast or as a simple dessert. (Fannie M. Farmer.) HASTY PUDDING 1 cupful cornmeal. 2 tablespoonfuls flour. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 1 cupful milk. 2 cupfuls boiling water. Mix the meal, flour, and salt with the milk ; when smooth, stir in the boiling water. Cook in a double boiler one hour or more ; or over direct heat, one half hour. Serve with cream and sugar, or turn into tins to cool if wanted for sauteing. Cut into slices, dip in flour, and saute in drippings or butter. POLENTA WITH CHEESE 2 cupfuls boiling water. 2 cupfuls milk. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 1 cupful cornmeal. 1 cupful cheese grated, or soft cheese cut fine. Put the water and milk in a saucepan, heat to the boil- ing point, add the salt and slowly stir in the cornmeal. Cook over hot water 2 hours, then add the cheese and pour into a shallow pan in a layer one-half inch thick. When cold, cut in squares, dip in crumbs, then in tgg and in crumbs again. Fry in deep fat. 82 THE HOUSEKEEPER POLENTA WITH DATES Use the recipe for polenta with cheese and for the cheese substitute one and one-half cupfuls of dates, washed, stoned and cut in pieces. Serve hot as a cereal or a dessert. Cooked apricots, prunes or figs may be substituted in place of the dates. STEAMED RICE 1 cupful rice. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 3 cupfuls boiling water. Pick over the rice and wash in three or four w^aters. Put it with the salt and boiling water in upper part of double boiler. Cook over boiling water. Do not stir while cooking. Steam until the grains are tender. BOILED RICE 34 cupful rice. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 4 cupfuls boiling water. Wash rice thoroughly and gradually add to boihng water, care being taken that the water does not stop boiling. Cover and cook twenty minutes, or until grains are soft. Turn into a strainer and drain, put in oven a few moments to dry, with oven door open. RICE MILANAISE 1 cupful rice. 2 tablespoonfuls butter, 1 onion. 1 quart stock. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 2 tablespoonfuls butter. y2 cupful grated cheese. Cook the rice in a quart of water, stir until the boiling point is reached, and let boil three or four minutes, then drain and rinse in cold water and dry for a few minutes. 83 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 84 THE HOUSEKEEPER I'lit the butter intci a saucepan ; cook in it until softened, a slice of onion choi)i)ecl fine ; then add the rice, stock and salt ; cook until the rice is tender and the licjuid absorbed; add the butter and grated cheese. Lift the rice with a fork to mix the butter and cheese evenly. Var}^ the dish occa- sionally bv adding a cup of strained tomato with the broth and two tablespoon fuls chopi)ed green pepper with onion. TURKISH PILAF Yi cupful rice. •;4 cupful tomatoes, stewed and strained. 1 cupful brown stock, seasoned. 3 tablespoon fuls butter. Add tomato to stock, and heat to boiling point, add rice, and steam till soft; stir in butter with a fork, and keep un- covered that steams may escape. Serve in place of a vegetable, or as a border for curried or fricasseed meat. ( b^annie M. Earmer. ) RISOTTO 1 cupful rice. 2 tablespoon fuls butter. 1/ onion. 1 cupful tomato. 1 ^'2 teaspoonfuls salt. Paprika. 2-i cup fuls stock or water. 5^2 cupful grated cheese. \\'ash the rice and cook five minutes in boiling, salted water. Drain and rinse with cold water. Melt the butter, add the onion, and the rice and cook until the butter is ab- sorbed. Add the tomato, salt, paprika and the stock or water and cook until the rice is tender and the licpiid is absorbed. Remove the onion, add the grated cheese mixing with a fork. Serve very hot. THE HOUSEKEEPER MACARONI 86 THE HOUSEKEEPER MACARONI WITH WHITE SAUCE 1 cupful macaroni, broken into pieces. 2y2 quarts boiling water. 1 tablespoon ful salt. Cook macaroni in boiling salted water twenty minutes or until soft, drain in a strainer and pour cold water through it to prevent pieces from sticking. Re-heat in white sauce. For white sauce melt 2 tablespoon fuls oleomargarine or other butter substitute, add 2 tablespoonfuls fiour; when smooth, add slowly 15^2 cupfuls milk. Cook until the sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper. BAKED MACARONI Place m&caroni with white sauce in a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle generously wath buttered crumbs and bake in a moderately hot oven until the crumbs are brown. To prepare buttered crumbs. To 1 cupful crumbs use Yx cupful butter or butter sub- stitute. Roll dry bread or crackers to make fine crumbs. Melt the butter and pour over the crumbs. BAKED MACARONI WITH CHEESE Put a layer of boiled macaroni in a buttered baking dish, sprinkle with grated cheese, add another layer of macaroni and a second layer of cheese, add 2 cupfuls of white sauce, cover with buttered crumbs and bake until the crumbs are brown and the sauce boils up around the sides of the dish. MACARONI WITH TOMATOES Break half a pound of macaroni into inch lengths and boil in salted water until tender. Drain, and put a layer of the macaroni in the bottom of a greased pudding dish, sprinkle with pepper, salt, onion juice, and grated cheese. Cover all with a layer of stewed and strained tomatoes that have been previouslv seasoned to taste. On these place an- other layer of macaroni, and repeat till the dish is full. The 87 THE HOUSEKEEPER TSr^'MNt*-. You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. THE HOUSEKEEPER topmost layer must be of tomatoes sprinkled with buttered crumbs. Bake in hot oven, covered for twenty minutes, then bake, uncovered, until the crumbs are brown. (Marion Harland.) MACARONI (Virginia Style) 1/^j cupfuls macaroni. 2 tablespoonfuls butter. 1 teaspoon ful mustard. Yi cupful grated cheese. \y\- cupfuls white sauce I. 3 tablespoonfuls dried bread crumbs. Break macaroni in one-inch i)ieces and cook in boiling, salted water twenty minutes or until soft; drain in colander and pour over one quart cold water. Put half in buttered baking dish, dot over with one-fourth the butter and sprinkle with one-half the mustard and cheese; repeat, pour white sauce, cover with dried bread crumbs mixed with remaining butter and bake in a hot oven until crumbs are brown. BAKED MACARONI WITH CHIPPED DRIED BEEF Break macaroni in one-inch pieces (there should be three- fourths cupful) and cook in l)oiling, salted water until soft ; drain and pour over one quart of cold Avater. Remove skin from one-fourth pound thinly sliced smoked dried beef and separate pieces. Cover with hot water, let stand ten minutes, and drain. Arrange in buttered baking dish alter- nate lavers of macaroni and dried beef, having two of each. Pour over two cupfuls white sauce, cover with three- fourths cupful buttered cracker crumbs and bake in a hot oven until the crumbs are brown. For the white sauce melt two tablespoonfuls butter, add two tablespoonfuls flour and add gradually, while stirring constantly, two cupfuls milk. Bring to the boiling point and add one-half tea- spoonful salt and one-eighth teaspoonful pepper. 89 THE HOUSEKEEPER SPAGHETTI Spaghetti is a flour paste like macaroni, but is in thr, form of a much smaller tube than macaroni. It niiay be served in any way in which macaroni is served and is most often cooked with tomato sauce. It is cooked in long strips rather than being broken ; to do this hold the spaghetti to be cooked in the hand, dip the ends into the boiling salted water ; as the spaghetti softens it will bend and may be coiled under water. CREOLE SPAGHETTI 2 cupfuls Spaghetti broken in pieces. 1 onion finely chopped. 1 green pepper ( finely chopped ) . 3 tablespoon fuls bacon fat. 1 cupful tomatoes. Yt. teasponful salt. y2 teaspoon ful paprika. Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and rinse to prevent pieces adhering. Cook the onion and pepper in the bacon fat for ten minutes, stirring occa- sionally, add the tomatoes, salt and paprika, put in the top of a double boiler, add the spaghetti and cook ^ hour. 90 1 HE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 91 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER VI VEGETABLES A^egetable foods may be divided into a few general the diet, which neither meats nor cereals, fruits nor sweets can play. CLASSIFICATION OF VEGETABLES* Vegetable foods may be divided into a few general classes. These are cereals, legumes, tubers, roots and bulbs, herbaceous or green vegetables, and vegetable fruits and flowers. The cereals are the most valual)le of the vegetable foods, including as they do the grains from which are made nearly all the bread of the world. The use of cereals for bread making, for breakfast foods, and in similar ways is taken up elsewhere. Legvmies belong to the pulse family. The fruit is usually in the shape of a pod. Beans, peas, cowpeas, and lentils are the legumes principally employed as human food. The dried seeds of beans, peas, and lentils constitute a most valuable all-the-year-round food supply. The seeds occupy small space, keep well, and may be prepared in a great manv appetizing and nutritious forms. The ripe leguminous seeds are very rich in nitrogenous matter. When properly cooked and consumed in reason- able (juantities peas, beans, and lentils may replace a por- tion of the meat in the daily dietary. Among the foods served as table vegetables, tubers and roots have an important place. The potato comes next to the cereals in its almost universal employment. We have no other vegetable that lends itself to such a variety of preparations. The potato contains a large percentage of water, a fair percentage of starch, a very small percentage '•'Extract from Farmers' Bulletin 256, "Preparation of Vegetables for the Table." 92 THE HOUSEKEEPER of sugar, and nitrogenous, fatty, and gummy matter, and about 1 per cent, of mdneral matter. The mineral matter consists of potash and soda salts, citrates, phosphates, magnesia, and silicate of lime. It is to this mineral matter that the potato owes its antiscorbutic properties. The true roots most used as table vegetables are beets, radishes, turnips, parsnips, carrots, salsify, and celeriac. Both the parsnip and salsify withstand frost and may be left in the ground all winter, thus making it possible to have these vegetables in the early spring as well as in the fall. The bulb-bearing plants belong to the lily family, the onion being the bulb most generally used as a vegetable and flavorer. The herbaceous vegetables cabbage, lettuce, celery, spin- ach, etc., are valuable for their refreshing c|ualities, the salts they }ield, and the variety they give to our diet ; but owing to the amount of water they contain (90 per cent, or more on an average) their food value is low. The leaves, stems, and shoots are the parts used as food. These vegetables should be employed while young and tender ; the more rapidly the vegetables grow the more tender they will be. The list of herbaceous vegetables is long and includes the cabbage tribe, celery, asparagus, and all the green leaves, stalks, and shoots that are employed, cooked, or used as salads. Fruits used as vegetables include tomatoes, okra, squash, pumpkin, cucumber, eggplant, and peppers, among others. GENERAL PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING VEGETABLE COOKING Vegetables are baked, roasted, fried, or boiled, they are used for making a great variety of dishes, and are prepared for the table in other ways ; but the most common method of cooking them is in boiling water. Steaming is not in- frequently resorted to as a method of cooking vegetables and is, of course, similar in principle to boiling in water. 93 THE HOUSEKEEPER The simpler the methods of cooking and serving vegeta- bles the better. A properly grown and well-cooked vegetable will be palatable and readily digestible. All green vegetables, roots, and tubers should be crisp and firm when put on to cook. H for any reason a vegeta- ble has lost its firmness and crispness, it should be soaked in very cold water until it becomes crisp. With new veg- etables this will be only a matter of minutes, while old roots and tubers often rec{uire many hours. All vegetables should be thoroughly cleaned just before being put on to cook. Vegetables that form in heads, such as cabbage, cauli- flower, and Brussels sprouts, should be soaked, heads turned down, in salted cold water, to which a few spoon- fuls of vinegar may be added. If there are any worms or other forms of animal life in these vegetables, they will crawl out. To secure the best results all vegetables except the dried legumes should be put in boiling water, and the water made to boil again as soon as possible after the vegetables have been added, and should be kept boiling until the cooking is finished. Herbaceous vegetables should boil rapidly all the time. With tubers, roots, cauliflower, etc., the boiling should not be so violent as to break the vegeta- bles. To secure the most appetizing and palatable dishes, only fresh tender vegetables should be cooked. If, however, green beans, peas, etc., have grown a little too old and it still seems best to gather them, a very small amount of baking soda added to the water in which they are boiled makes them more tender, it is commonly believed, and helps to retain the color. Too much soda injures the flavor, an excess must be carefuly avoided. In preparing vegetables for the table the careful cook will remove all edible portions and will see to it that the total amount of refuse is as small as is consistent with good quality. Thin paring of potatoes and other vegetables is an economy which is worth while to practice, and is an easy way of decreasing useless loss. 94 THE HOUSEKEEPER V tn M u 0) d) s 3 3 E t— 1 C C l- D O j_ H S E 3 o o irt o j: jn 3 ^ ro r^Cl O CVI O O 1 ■ " ro OJ ■—1 '"' ^^ O*^^ ^ rt •o o "O o O o ^ z in c done s easily 1— t o o U 4J -a 3 O •a 3 nge hen kin r/1 •— ' u •3 % "' Pi c/l •CJ (U Cpl ter nove C! ^ n 13 ti X .3 ,:^ ^^^ 111 rtf r S 'o '5 .-3 O o -^ 'o r3 > I' ~ > 1- CQ CQ m CQ m P3 m m m P4 ^^ O a> . o ■u •n 0^ JH rrt s-^ ^2 I-. • rt . i; be ~ rt u: rt =J ^ ^ 1 _r^ ' (J 03 3 x: 'V c • ^ rt 1 . 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Ph i:l, W Oh W fin cu O :^ < « ^ p O H H 97 THE HOUSEKEEPER CREAMED AND SCALLOPED VEGETABLES Vegetables may be creamed by cutting them into cubes when cooked, adding White Sauce, and then reheating. H the cut vegetables are cold, they can be heated by adding them to the sauce with the last portion of liquid. By the time the sauce reaches the boiling point, the vegetables will be heated. Care should be taken not to break the vegeta- bles while heating them in the sauce. Care should also be taken to prevent the sauce from scorching. An asbestos mat over a gas burner is desirable for this purpose. Use one part of white sauce with 2 or 3 parts of diced vegeta- bles. \'egetal)les may be scalloped by placing Creamed Vegeta- bles in an oiled baking dish, covering with buttered crumbs, and I^rowning in the oven. A scalloped vegetable should be served from the dish in which it is baked. CREAM SAUCE FOR VEGETABLES Blend 2 tablespoonfuls butter with 2 tablespoon fuls flour; then add gradually 1 pint hot milk, and beat till creamy. Add Yj teaspoon ful salt, a speck of pepper. Let the sauce boil up once. CRUMBS FOR SCALLOPED DISHES 1 cupful soft bread crumbs. y^ teaspoon ful salt. White pepper. 1 tablespoonful butter or butter substitute. Mix seasonings and crumbs together, then add to the melted l)utter, or place the butter in bits over the seasoned crumbs. JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES 2 tablespoonfuls Crisco. 1 pound artichokes. 2 tablespoonfuls flour. 1 yolk of ^gg. 2 teaspoonfuls lemon juice. \y2 cupfuls of milk. 98 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 99 THE HOUSEKEEPER 2 tablespoonfuls cream. Salt and pepper to taste. 1 teaspoonful chopped parsley. )4 cupful vinegar. 1 pint boiling milk. Wash and scrape artichokes, and place in cold water containing vinegar ; when all are done, rinse in water and put into boiling milk, add one cupful boiling water and one teaspoonful of salt. Boil quickly with lid off. When tender lift into hot dish and cover with sauce. For sauce : blend Crisco and flour in saucepan over fire, add mjilk, salt and pepper and cook five minutes. Remove from fire, add egg beaten with cream and lemon juice, pour over artichokes and sprinkle parsley over top. HARVARD BEETS Wash 12 small beets, cook in boiling water until soft, dip in cold water to remove skins, and cut beets in thin slices, or small cubes. Mix one-half cupful sugar and one-half tablespoonful corn-starch. Add one-half cupful vinegar and let boil five minutes. Pour over beets, and let stand on back of range one-half hour. Just before serving add two tablespoonfuls butter. BAKED BEANS Soak dried beans over night, cook the beans gently until the skins begin to break, then drain off the water. Put a layer of beans in a bean pot or deep earthen dish, and on this layer, in the center of the dish, place a piece of salt pork {" streak of fat and streak of lean ") having the rind side up, using for 1 cjuart of beans a half-pound of pork; the rind should be scored. Fill up the dish with the beans, and add seasonings and water to cover the beans. The simplest seasoning is one tablespoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful of pepper to a cjuart of beans. Mix the sah and pepper with the water. If liked, a tablespoonful o1 100 THE HOUSEKEEPER mustard may be added as well as a tablespoon f til or more of molasses and an onion. Instead of the pork a piece of salt or fat beef or mutton may be employed. In this case there should be from \y2 to 2 pounds of the meat per quart of beans. If fresh meat is used, add more salt to the beans. If, on the other hand, salt meat is used, probably 1 tea- spoonful of salt will be enough for each quari of beans. When mutton is employed trim off every particle of the skin. Bake the beans in a very moderate oven for eight or ten hours. Add a little boiling water from time to time, but never enough to bring the water beyond the top of the beans. Any kind of beans may be baked in this manner. However, the small pea beans are the best for " Boston baked beans." The Lima and large white beans are best for the deep earthen dish. Uncover the beans while baking the last hour to brown those on top. BAKED PINTO BEANS 2 cupfuls pinto beans. y2 teaspoonful soda. Yi pound salt pork. 1 onion. 2 teaspoonfuls salt. Pinch of ground mustard. 1 tablespoonful molasses. Pick over beans, cover with cold water, and soak over night. In the morning drain, add fresh water to cover and one-half teaspoonful of soda, and put on the fire. As soon as the beans come to the boiling point drain and pour cold water over them, rinsing thoroughly. This gives them the firmness which keeps thent from getting mushy. Drain the beans. Scald rind of salt pork, scrape, remove one- fourth inch slice and put in bottom of bean-pot. Cut through rind of remaining pork every one-half inch, making cuts one inch deep. Cut onion into small pieces, add to beans, 101 THE HOUSEKEEPER put beans in pot and bury pork in beans leaving rind ex- posed. Mix salt, mustard and molasses, add one cupful of boiling water and pour over beans, then add enough more boiling water to cover beans. Cover bean-pot, put in oven, and bake slowly 6 to 8 hours, uncovering the last hour of cooking, that rind may become brown and crisp. As the water boils out. add more; be sure to add boiling water as cold water would retard the cooking and toughen the skins. BAKED BEAN LOAF Use two cupfuls of cold Boston baked beans; crush the beans through a colander with a pestle or leave them whole ; add one well-beaten egg, two tablespoonfuls of tomato cat- sup, one cupful of soft (sifted) bread crumbs, one table- spoonful of chopped or scraped onion with salt and pepper to season ; mix all together thoroughly, then shape into a loaf. Set in a greased dish, with a slice of bacon or fat salt pork on the top of the loaf. Bake about twenty-five minutes. Serve hot in the baking dish. DRIED SHELL BEANS Soak one cupful dried beans over night, drain, and cook in boiling salted water until soft; drain, add three-fourths cupful of cream, and season with butter and salt. Reheat before serving. SPAGHETTI AND KIDNEY BEANS 1 cupful spaghetti. 2 cupfuls dried kidney beans. 3 tablespoonfuls margarine. 2 cupfuls stewed tomatoes. 3 tablespoonfuls corn flour. 2 teaspoonfuls salt. }i teaspoon ful pepper. 102 THE HOUSEKEEPER Wash and soak the beans overnight, add one teaspoon fiil of salt, and cook them until tender. Break the spaghetti into pieces about an inch long and cook in boiling, salted water until soft. Drain and pour cold water through it. Make a tomato sauce. Melt the margarine, add the flour and cook till bubbling. Add the tomato and cook all until thickened. Mix together the spaghetti and beans, add seasonings and sauce, and serve hot. GREEN LIMA BEANS Cover 1 quart of the shelled beans with boiling water. Place on the fire where they will boil up quickly, then draw back where they will just simmer until done. When tender pour off a part of the water. Season the beans with a teaspoonful of salt and 2 tablespoonfuls of butter. STEWED SHELLED BEANS 1 quart shelled beans. y^ pound salt pork. 1 onion. 1 tablespoon ful flour. 1 quart boiling water. Salt to taste. Yi teaspoonful pepper. Cut the pork in slices and fry it slowdy ten minutes in a saucepan. Add the onion, cut fine, and cook twenty min- utes very slowly. Cover the beans with boiling water and boil ten minutes. Drain off the water. Put the beans and flour in the saucepan with the pork and onion, and stir over the fire for five minutes. Add the quart of boiling water and the pepper. Place the saucepan where its con- tents will simmer for two hours. Taste to see if salt enough ; if not, add salt. This method of cooking new shelled beans gives a savory and substantial dish. 103 THE HOUSEKEEPER TO BOIL CABBAGE Cut a head of cabbage in 4 parts. Soak half an hour in a pan of cold water to which has been added a tablespoonful salt and 1 tablespoonful vinegar; this will draw out insects or worms that mjay be hidden in the leaves. After soaking, cut in slices. Have a large stewpan half-full of boiling water; put in the cabbage, pushing it under the water with a spoon. Add 1 tablespoonful salt, and cook twenty-five to forty minutes. Turn into a colander and drain, chop. Season with butter, pepper, and more salt if required. Allow a tablespoonful butter to a pint of cooked vegetable. SCALLOPED CABBAGE Cut one-half boiled cabbage in pieces; put in buttered baking-dish sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add one cupful of Cream Sauce. Lift cabbage with fork, that it may be well mixed with sauce, cover with buttered crumbs, and bake until crumbs are brown. BUTTERED CARROTS Wash and scrape small carrots and cut in narrow strips. Cook three cupfuls of the carrots in just enough water to cover. When carrots are tender and only a small amount of water remains, add one tablespoonful butter. Cook slowly until almost all the remaining water has evaporated. The carrots will have a delicious flavor cooked this way and none of the minerals will be wasted. String beans cut in halves lengthwise or parsnips cut in strips are also good served this way. CORN FRITTERS 1 can corn. 1 cupful flour. 1 teaspoon ful baking powder. 1 teaspoonful salt. 34 teaspoonful paprika. 2 eggs. 104 THE HOUSEKEEPER Chop corn, and add dry ingredients mixed and sifted, then add yolks of eggs beaten until thick, and fold in whites of eggs beaten stiff. Drop by spoonfuls and fry in deep fat. Drain on paper. GREEN-CORN PUDDING This is a delicious way to serve either sweet corn or the tender field corn. A little sugar may be added to the field corn, if desired. Husk and silk 12 good-sized ears of corn. Slice off half the kernel with a sharp knife, and with the blunt edge of the knife scrape out the milky part that remains on the cob. Add a tablespoonful of butter, salt, and pepper, and three-fourths cupful of milk. Bake for 45 minutes, allow- ing it to brown on top. This makes a creamy dish, which is best served in the pan or baking dish in which it is baked. CORN a la SOUTHERN To one can chopped corn add two eggs slightly beaten, one teaspoon ful salt, one-eighth teaspoonful pepper, one and a half tablespoon fuls melted fat, and one pint scalded milk ; turn into a buttered baking-dish and bake in slow oven until firm. FRIED EGGPLANT For fried eggplant cut the vegetable in slices about half an inch thick and pare. Sprinkle the slices with salt and pile them upon one another, put a plate with a weight on top of the slices. Let them rest for an hour, then remove weight and plate. Add one tablespoonful of water, half a tablespoonful of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper to one egg and beat well. Dip the slices of egg-plant in the egg, then in dried bread crumbs. Spread on a dish for twenty or more minutes. Fry till brown (in deep fat). 105 THE HOUSEKEEPER BROILED EGGPLANT The eggplant is sliced and drained as directed above. Then spread the slices on a dish, season with pepper, and baste with salad oil. Sprinkle with dried bread crumbs and broil. BAKED EGGPLANT Eor baked eggplant make a dressing as for stuffed pep- pers, except that a little more salt, pepper, and butter are used. Cut the eggplant in two lengthwise, scrape out the inside, and mash it fine, then mix with the dressing and return to the shells. Place on a pan in the oven. Cook forty-five minutes. MUSHROOMS AU GRATIN 4 tablespoon fuls Crisco. 14 large mushroms. 1 ^gg- Salt, pepper, and red pepper to taste. 1 tablespoon ful chopped parsley. 2 tablespoon fuls chopped, cooked meat. 2 tablespoon fuls bread crumbs. ^ cupful stock. 1 tablespoon ful chopped suet. Beat the egg, add suet, bread crumbs, meat, parsley, and seasonings. Wash and remove centers from mushrooms, season with salt, pepper, and red pepper, also place a tiny piece of Crisco in each. Then put a heaping teaspoonful of meat in each one, and cover with crumbs. Lay on greased tin, add stock, and bake fifteen minutes. Serve on a hot dish with the gravy. PARSNIP FRITTERS Wash parsnips, cook forty-five mjnutes, or until tender, in boiling, salted water. Drain, plunge in cold water, when skins will be found to slip off easily. Mash, season with butter, salt, and pepper, shape in small flat round cakes, roll in flour, and saute in butter substitute. 106 THE HOUSEKEEPER DRIED PEAS WITH RICE AND TOMATOES lj/4 Clips rice. 2 cupftils dried peas. 6 onions. 1 tablespoon ful salt. Yx teaspoon fill pepper. 2 cups tomato (fresh or canned). Soak peas over night in two quarts of water. Cook until tender in water in which they soaked. Add rice, onions, tomatoes, and seasonings and cook 20 minutes. GREEN PEPPERS STUFFED AND BAKED Use only tender peppers. For six medium-sized peppers make a dressing from the following ingredients : Soak, in cold water, enough stale bread to make one pint when the water is pressed out. Season this with two teaspoonfuls of salt, one tablespoonful of fine herbs, about one-fifth of a teaspoon ful each of sweet basil and summer savory, and two tablespoon fuls of butter or drippings. Cut of¥ the stem end of the pepper and remove all the interior, being careful to take out every seed. Fill the peppers with the dressing. Place them on end in a shallow baking dish and pour around them a sauce prepared as follows : Put into a saucepan on the fire, one tablespoonful of drip- pings and when hot, add one tablespoonful of flour. Stir until smooth and brown, then add, gradually, one and one- half cupfuls of meat stock or water. Season with one tea- spoonful of salt. Cook five minutes, then pour around the stufifed peppers. Put the dish in a moderately hot oven and bake the peppers one hour, basting often with the sauce in the dish. Peppers may also be filled with a well-seasoned dressing of chopped meat, made with or without the addi- tion of bread crumbs or rice. 107 THE HOUSEKEEPER PEPPERS WITH MACARONI (Italian Recipe) Cut the tops from green peppers, remove seeds and core, and let stand ten minutes in boiling water. Chop cooked macaroni into small pieces and mix with a thin cream sauce. Drain the peppers, fill with macaroni, adding to each a generous spoonful of grated cheese. Bake in a granite dish with very little water until the peppers are tender. Serve with tomato sauce made from fresh or canned tomatoes pressed through a sieve and thickened with melted butter to which a tablespoon ful of flour has been added. Salt and a few drops of onion juice should be added, but no pepper. TO BOIL SPINACH To clean spinach, cut ofif the roots, break the leaves apart and place in a pan of water, rinsing them well. Continue washing in clean water until there is no sand left in the bottom of the pan. Drain and blanch. For ^ peck spinach have 3 quarts boiling water and 1 tablespoonful salt. Let it cook ten minutes, counting from the time it begins to boil. Put the spinach in a colander, and pour cold water over it. Drain well, and chop. SPINACH WITH EGG 2 cupfuls boiled spinach. y2 teaspoon ful pepper. 3 tablespoon fuls butter. 2 eggs. 3 teaspoonfuls salt. Drain the blanched spinach and chop fine, return to the saucepan, and add salt, pepper, and butter. Place on the fire, and cook ten minutes. Heap in a mound on a hot dish, and garnish with hard-boiled eggs cut in slices. 108 THE HOUSEKEEPER SQUASH The various varieties of the summer squash are generally cooked when so small and tender that the thumb nail can pierce the rind easily. To prepare for the table wash the squash, cut into small pieces, and either cook in boiling water or steam it. It will cook in boiling water in half an hour. It takes about an hour to cook it in the steamer. The cooked squash is mashed fine and seasoned with salt, pepper and butter. This method gives a delicate flavored but rather watery dish. Summer scjuash is very palatable cut in slices and fried like eggplant. From the more mature squash remove the thin skin and seeds. Cut the squash in small pieces and put in a saucepan with boiling water enough to cover. Boil for half an hour. Drain, mash, and season with salt, pepper, and butter. Cook winter squash in the same manner. Squash is one of the vegetables that require a good deal of butter. BAKED HUBBARD SQUASH Select a thoroughly ripened squash, cut in halves and remove the seeds, scraping the inside thoroughly. Bake one and a half hours in a moderate oven, remove the thin brown skin and with a spoon scrape the squash out of the shell into a hot dish, mashing it with butter, salt, and pepper to taste. ESCALLOPED TOMATOES 1 pint peeled and cut tomiatoes. 1 pint grated bread crumbs. 1 tablespoon ful butter. Pepper. 1 level teaspoonful salt. 105 THE HOUSEKEEPER Reserve three tablespoon fuls of the bread crumbs, and spread the remainder on a pan. Brown in the oven, being careful not to burn them. Mix the tomatoes, browned crumbs, salt, pepper, and half the butter together, and put in a shallow baking dish. Spread the unbrowned crumbs on top, and dot with the remainder of the butter, cut into bits. Bake in a moderately hot oven for half an hour. The top of this dish should be brown and crisp. TOMATO SAUCE Cook one pint of peeled and cut tomatoes ten minutes, then rub through a strainer. In a saucepan melt one table- spoonful of butter, add one tablespoonful of flour, and gradually beat the hot tomato into this. Add the salt and pepper, and cook ten minutes. This sauce may be served with macaroni, rice, etc., as well as with fish and niicat. The flavor of the tomato sauce may be modified bv the addition of onion, spice, or herbs. STEWED TOMATOES Peel the tomatoes and cut into small pieces. Put into a saucepan on the fire. Boil gently for twenty minutes or half an hour, counting from the time tomatoes begin to boil. Season five minutes before the cooking is finished. Allow for each quart of tomato one teaspoon ful each of salt and sugar and one tablespoonful or more of butter. TOMATO TOAST Boil one quart of peeled and cut tomatoes for ten min- utes, then rul) through a strainer. Return to the saucepan and add two teaspoonfuls of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, and two tablespoonfuls of butter. Place on the fire and cook five minutes. Have the bottom of a hot platter covered with well-toasted slices of bread and pour the hot tomato over it. Serve at once. A dropped or poached egg may be put on each slice of toast. 110 THE HOUSEKEEPER VEGETABLE HASH Hash may be made with one or many cooked vegetables, the vegetable or vegetables being used alone or combined with meat or fish. Potato is the most useful vegetable for a hash, as it combines well with animal food or with other vegetables. To make good hash, the vegetables should be cut fairly fine, but not so fine that the pieces lose their shape or stick together. Each vegetable must be cut up separately, then all be mixed. The vegetables and meat or fish must be well seasoned with salt and pepper, and if liked there may be added a little minced onion, chives, parsley, or green pepper finely minced. The hash should be moistened a little with meat broth, milk, or water (not more than half a cupful for a quart of hash). When the hash is mixed, seasoned, and moistened, put a tablespoon ful of butter or drippings in a frying pan. When this is melted i)Ut in the hash, and spread evenly and lightly in the pan. Over this put small pieces of butter or drippings, using about one tablespoonful in all. Cover the pan and place where the hash wnll not burn, but will cook slowly half an hour, then fold and turn in hot platter. A rich, brown crust will have formed on the bottom of the hash if the heat was sufficient. Serve very hot. The plates on which hash is served should be hot. VEGETABLE PIE 1 cupful dried beans (lima). 1 cupful peanuts or half almonds and half peanuts. 1 cupful white sauce. 6 potatoes. 2 hard-boiled eggs. 1 tablespoonful parsley. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 1 tablespoonful chopped onion. 54 teaspoon ful pepper. Ill THE HOUSEKEEPER Soak the beans overnight, in the morning cover with water and boil one-half hour. Drain, slip front the skins, cover with fresh water and boil until tender. When done, split in halves. Scald and blanch the almonds, shell the peanuts, boil the potatoes, and when done cut three of them into cubes. Mash the other three and add 4 tablespoonfuls hot milk, a little salt and pepper,' and ^ cupful sifted flour. Put a layer of beans in the bottom of greased baking dish, then a sprinkling of nuts, a little chopped boiled egg, seas- oning, then the potato cubes, another layer of beans, and so on. Pat or roll out the mashed potato the size of the baking dish. Pour in the white sauce, put the potato crust on top, brush with milk and bake one-half hour. 112 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER Vn POTATOES* The potato is a starchy food that contains enough mois- ture to cook the starch. This moisture is in the form of a watery juice, in which is dissoh^ed the nitrogenous matter, the various sahs, sugar, gum, etc. The starch cells are surrounded and penetrated by this watery bath. In cook- ing, the starch granules swell and burst, and the starch absorbs the watery part of the juice. When this stage is reached, if the moisture has been in the right proportion, all parts of the potato will present a Hght, dry, glistening appearance. Such a potato will not cause digestive disturb- ance. However, the moisture is not always in the right proportion. Ripe potatoes and potatoes grown on a well- drained or sandy soil will, as a rule, be dry and mealy if properly cooked. Potatoes grown in a wet season or in a heavy, damp soil as a rule contain too large a proportion of moisture for the starch. Old potatoes that are allowed to sprout will be watery, probably owing to the withdrawal of some of the starch for food for the growing sprouts. Potatoes cooked in dry heat, as by baking in the oven, roasting in ashes, frying in deep fat, or steaming in their jackets, retain all their salts and other constituents, and the flavor is more pronounced and savory than when cooked in water. But potatoes so cooked must be served just as soon as they are done, or else they will become soggy and bad flavored. Potatoes cooked in the skin should be free from any blemish and washed absolutely clean. Old potatoes, that is, potatoes that are kept into the spring and early summer, are better for being soaked in cold water and peeled before cooking. *Extract from Farmers' Bulletin 256, "Preparation of Vegetables for the Table." 113 THE HOUSEKEEPER BAKED POTATOES Select potatoes having a smooth surface. Wash perfectly clean and let them drain. Put them in an old baking pan kept for this purpose — do not crowd them — and put in a hot oven. K the oven is large and hot and the potatoes of medium size, forty minutes will answer for the cooking. On the other hand, if the oven is filled with cold potatoes the temperature of the oven will be reduced quickly and it will require an hour to cook the potatoes. Baked potatoes should be served as soon as they are done, li they must be kept any time after the cooking is completed, break them in order that the moisture may escape. Keep them in a warm oven or covered with cheese cloth in a pan. BOILED POTATOES The method and time given for boiling potatoes are the same whether the potato is peeled, partially peeled, or left with the skin intact. Ha dozen or two ordinary sized potatoes are put on the fire in a large stewpan and are cov- ered generously with boiling water and a cover is imme- diately put on the stewpan, they will be cooked in thirty minutes. Small potatoes will cook in two minutes less time, and very large potatoes will require about thirty-five min- utes' cooking. H the potatoes are to be boiled in their skins, wash them until clean, and then with a sharp knife cut a narrow band of the skin from the center of the potato. Cut a little bit of the skin from each end of the potato. H the potatoes are to be peeled, use a very sharp knife and remove the thinnest possible layer. The skins may be scraped ofif, if preferred, and there are special knives for this purpose. Let the potatoes boil fifteen minutes, then add 1 tablespoon ful of salt for every dozen potatoes. When the potatoes have been cooking thirty minutes, drain off every drop of water and let all the steam pass off. They are now ready to serve, though they will not be injured, 114 THE HOUSEKEEPER but, in fact, will be improved by being kept hot for an hour or more, if they are well ventilated in such a way that they dry rather than retain moisture. When boiled or steamed potatoes miust be kept warm for any length of time, place the stewpan on the range on a tripod or iron ring and cover the potatoes with one thick- ness of cheese cloth. This will protect them from the cold air and allow the moisture to pass ofif. MASHED POTATOES Take boiled potatoes and put them through a potato ricer, add butter, hot milk, pepper and salt, and beat with a potato masher or large spoon until flufify. Heap lightly in a dish and. if you wish, brown them over the top. ROASTED BROWN POTATOES Wash and pare potatoes, soak in cold water, boil for seven minutes, then remove from the kettle and lay in the gravy of a roast about half an hour before the meat is to be taken from the oven. Baste with fat two or three times. Sweet potatoes may be cooked in the sarnie way. SCALLOPED POTATOES Cut potatoes in thin slices, put in layers in a baking dish, sprinkle with pepper and salt, dredge with flour, and with a little butter here and there. Pour hot milk over it, until the milk can be seen through the potatoes, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and bake in a hot oven for an hour. POTATOES ESCALLOPED WITH CHEESE 4 cupfuls potato cubes. 2 tablespoon fuls fat. 2 cupfuls milk. Yj cupful grated cheese. 1 onion (chopped). 4 tablespoon fuls flour. ^2 teaspoonful salt. Yj cupful bread crumbs. n5 THE HOUSEKEEPER Cook potatoes and onion in boiling water until tender, drain. Melt fat, add flour and milk. Stir until smooth. Add salt and cheese, mix with potatoes. Turn into a greased baking dish, cover with crumbs, and bake fifteen minutes, or until brown. STUFFED WHITE POTATOES 2 tablespoon fuls butter or butter substitute. % teaspoon ful pepper. % cupful hot milk. •)<4 teaspoon ful salt. 6 baked potatoes. Select medium-sized potatoes and bake from forty-five to sixty minutes. Remjove from oven and cut in half, then without breaking the skin remove with a spoon the inside; mash, add seasoning, butter and milk, and fill the shells, leaving the top rough. Place in a hot oven for ten minutes, or until the potatoes are a light brown. The white of an egg beaten light may be added if desired. Potatoes may be sprinkled with grated cheese before putting in oven. FRIED POTATOES SARATOGA CHIPS Pare potatoes, slice into thin shavings on a vegetable cutter, and allow to soak in ice water for an hour. Lift from the water, dry in a towel, place in frying basket, fry in deep fat or oil until they curl and are delicately brown. Shake as free from fat as possible before lifting frying basket from the kettle, and put to drain on brown paper. Dust with salt. Be careful that the fat is not too hot, as the potatoes must cook before they brown; also allow the fat to re-heat each time before frying another portion of potatoes. POTATO CAKES Mix left-over mashed potatoes with one well-beaten egg and make into cakes. Bake in moderate oven until brown or saute, using small amount of fat. 116 THE HOUSEKEEPER FRENCH FRIED POTATOES Wash and pare potatoes, cut them into lengthwise strips, and soak an hour in ice water. Drain and dry, then fry in hot fat. When taken from the kettle, shake them on a sheet of brown paper to absorb the fat, and dust with salt. Be careful not to cook too many potatoes at a time, as the fat is apt to become chilled and the potatoes grease-soaked. LEFT-OVER POTATOES CREAMED POTATOES Make a white sauce of 1 cupful milk, 1 tablespoonful butter, 1 tablespoonful flour, and 3^ teaspoonful salt. Re- heat in the white sauce 2 cupfuls cold boiled potatoes, cut in dice. Season with salt and pepper. BAKED CREAMED POTATOES WITH CHEESE 3 cupfuls potatoes (diced). 1 cupful milk. Yo cupful water. 3 tablespoon fuls flour. Yj cupful grated cheese. 1 cupful bread crumbs. 1 teaspoonful salt. Y2 teaspoonful paprika. 3 tablespoon fuls fat. Cook potatoes in skins, peel and dice. Make a white sauce by melting the fat in a saucepan, adding the flour and seasonings, mixing well, and then adding the milk and water all at once. Stir till smooth and well cooked, then a«ld the cheese and mix thoroughly. Add this sauce to the potatoes, pour into a greased baking dish, cover with crumbs, and bake twenty to thirty minutes in a moderate oven, browning the crumbs nicely. 117 THE HOUSEKEEPER DELMONICO POTATOES 2 cupfuls cold boiled potatoes. y2 cupful grated cheese. 2 cupfuls white sauce. 2 hard-boiled eggs. Arrange above ingredients in layers in greased baking dish and bake fifteen minutes. DUCHESS POTATOES 2 cupfuls cold mashed potatoes. 1 ^%^- 2 tablespoon fuls cream. Beat the yolk of the tgg till very thick, add the cream to it, and work into the potatoes. Shape in small pyramids. Place each one in a buttered tin. Beat the white of the tg% slightly; add to it a teaspoonful of milk, and brush each cone with the mixture. Bake till golden brown. Serve on a hot platter garnished with parsley. HASHED BROWN POTATOES 1/3 cupful fat salt pork, y^ teaspoonful pepper. 2 cupfuls cold boiled potatoes. y^ teaspoonful salt. Try out the fat salt pork, cut in small cubes, remove scraps. Add the potatoes, finely chopped, pepper and salt. Mix potatoes thoroughly with fat ; cook three minutes, stir- ring constantly ; brown underneath. Fold as an omelet and turn on hot platter. POTATO APPLES To 2 cupfuls hot riced potato add 2 tablespoonfuls butter, 2 tablespoonfuls milk, ^ teaspoonful salt and pepper. Grated cheese may be added also to increase protein content or to give variety in flavor. Mix thorovighly, and when cool shape in form of small apples. Brush over with yolk 118 THE HOUSEKEEPER of egg which has been sHghtly beaten, insert a clove at both stem and blossom end of each apple, and place in a hot oven immediately. Remove when apples are browned. POTATO AND CHEESE MOLDS 2 cupfuls cooked potatoes. 4 tablespoon fuls grated cheese. }4 cupful milk. 1 teaspoonful salt. 2 tablespoon fuls fat. Rub potatoes through a sieve, melt fat in saucepan, add potatoes, and mix well; then add the milk and half the cheese and seasoning. Put into a greased baking dish, small ramekins, or baking cups, sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top, and bake in a fairly quick oven about ten minutes. POTATO AND EGG MOLD 2 cupfuls mashed potatoes. 1 cupful egg sauce. Mix the potatoes with the egg sauce and season. Put in baking dish or baking cups and bake until slightly browned. The egg sauce is made as follows : EGG SAUCE 1 cupful milk. ^ tablespoonful potato starch. 1 tablespoonful fat. Salt. Pepper. 1 hard-boiled egg. Make a cream sauce by mixing the potato starch with the melted fat, combining with the milk and cooking until thick- ened. Add the finely chopped egg to this and season. 119 THE HOUSEKEEPER POTATO AND NUT SAUSAGE 2 cupfnls mashed potatoes. y2 pound nuts of any kind. 1 t.gg (well beaten). 1^ teaspoonfiils salt. Few grains cayenne. Pinch celery salt. Yi cupful milk (approximately). yi pound salt pork. y% teaspoon ful pepper. To the mashed potatoes add enough milk to moisten. Put nuts in boiling water to loosen skins, remove skins and put nuts through meat grinder. Mix nuts and potatoes thoroughly and season well. Add well-beaten ^gg to potato mixture. Form into sausages, flour them well, put into greased pan, and put a small piece of salt pork on top of each sausage. Bake in a hot oven until brown (about forty-five minutes.) Serve with tomato sauce. POTATO OMELET Mash boiled potatoes. Season well with onion, salt and pepper. Turn into a hot greased frying pan, spread evenly, cook slowly until browaied underneath, fold as omelet. Serve with cheese or tomato sauce. POTATO SOUFFLE 2 cupfuls hot potatoes, put through ricer. Yi cupful milk or cream. 2 eggs (yolks and whites beaten separately). 2 tablespoon fuls peanut butter. Salt and pepper. Mix potatoes, butter, cream and yolks of eggs; thor- oughly folding in whites of eggs last. Bake in one dish or individual dishes long enough to cook the ^%g. Serve at once. 120 THE HOUSEKEEPER POTATO AND TOMATO CROQUETTES 1 cupful mashed potato. 1 sliced onion. 2 cloves. 1 tablespoonful fat. 2 cupfuls tomatoes. 1 slice carrot. ^ teaspoonful peppercorns. %. cupful grated cheese. y^ teaspoonful salt. Few grains cayenne. Cook tomatoes twenty minutes with onion, carrot, cloves, peppercorns. Rub through a sieve, add beaten &gg, cheese, fat, salt, and cayenne. Cool, shape in croquettes, brush with oil and bake in hot oven until brown. SWEET POTATOES BAKED SWEET POTATOES Wash potatoes, dry, and bake cjuickly in a hot oven. If they cannot be served immediately, prick with a fork and allow the steam to escape to prevent becoming soggy. BOILED SWEET POTATOES Select potatoes which are of uniform size; they may be boiled in skins and peeled before serving, or pare them, and cook twenty minutes in boiling salted water. BROILED SWEET POTATOES Use 6 sweet potatoes, steam ten minutes, pare and cut in slices three-eighths of an inch thick; lay the slices in a double broiler ; salt, cover with melted butter, and broil over a slow fire. 121 THE HOUSEKEEPER GLAZED SWEET POTATOES Wash-6 medium-sized sweet potatoes and boil for fifteen minutes in salted water. Drain, cut in halves lengthwise, and place in a buttered pan. Make a sirup by boiling for three minutes j4 cupful sugar and 2 tablespoonfuls water. Add ^ tablespoonful butter. Brush potatoes with the sirup and bake until brown, basting with the remaining sirup. SWEET POTATO PUFF To 2 cupfuls mashed potato add beaten yolk of 1 egg, Yi cupful cream and a little salt. Beat well and add the stiffly beaten white of the egg. Heap in a loaf on a but- tered dish, brush with white of egg, and brown in a hot oven. SWEET POTATO (Southern Style) Bake medium-sized potatoes; when they are soft, cut in two lengthwise and scoop out the inside with a spoon. Put it through a potato ricer; add butter, salt, pepper, and enough cream to moisten. Whip with a fork until light and fluffy, refill the skins, heaping the potato into rough little mounds, and bake delicately brown. SWEET POTATOES AND APPLES 6 sweet potatoes (boiled). ]/\ cupful Karo. ^ teaspoon ful salt. 6 apples. 1 tablespoonful butter or butter substitute. Cut the sweet potatoes in slices, arrange a layer in the bottom of a greased baking dish, sprinkle with salt. Place a layer of sliced apples on top. Repeat until potato and apples are used. Pour over them the Karo and melted but- ter, and bake until the syrup is absorbed. 122 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER Vni EGGS Eggs are a valuable animal food composed of water protein, fat and mineral matter. The white of egg on beat- ing entangles a large amount of air, and this is a help in making light omelets and cakes. The albumen coagulates on heating, and makes the egg a thickening agent for cust- ards and sauces. More air may be entangled in the albu- men by beating the white and yolk separately. There are a number of household tests of the freshness of eggs. The most reliable is to candle them. Hold the egg in the hand with the fingers wrapped about it and look through it against a bright light; in a perfectly fresh egg you can see the yolk like a golden ball and the white about it clear as water. Or, drop an egg into a basin of water; if perfectly fresh, it will sink and rest on its side, li it rolls around standing on its end, it is comparatively fresh; if it floats, discard it unopened. PRESERVATION OF EGGS In March, April, May and June eggs are most plentiful and cheap. Thrifty housewives will then "put theinj down" for fall and winter. Eggs are valuable not only for protein, but for iron, phosphorus and other growth and repair material. To preserve eggs, air must be excluded by covering them with water glass, lime water, strong brine, fat, paraffin, etc., or by packing them in coarse salt, bran or clean oats. When dry methods are used, pack with small end down to keep air chamber moist. This precaution is not necessary with liquids. 123 THE HOUSEKEEPER Eggs to be packed must be fresh, preferably infertile, clean and free from cracks. If the filmy outer covering of the shell is dissolved by washing, the egg spoils more rapid- ly. One cracked egg will spoil many others. W^ater glass usually is the first choice ; lime, second ; bran, salt or even clean oats, third, li eggs are infertile and if the cellar is clean and moist (not damp), eggs will keep manv weeks if wrapped only in paper or even not covered at all — small end down, preferably. Water glass may be bought at the drug store or poultry supply stores. To 1 c{uart of water glass add 9 quarts of boiled and cooled water for an 8-gallon jar holding at least 15 dozen eggs. Fill containers half full, add eggs care- fully. Be sure to keep two inches of liquid above the top layer. Cover and keep in a cool place, li the liquid evap- orates, replace it with cool, boiled water. Liquid can be used only one year. After removing from liquid, eggs will keep at least two weeks. They are good for boiling or poaching until November (before boiling prick shell with a needle) ; for frying until December; then for omelets, scrambled eggs, custards, cakes, and general cookery. DESSICATED EGGS, EGG POWDER AND EGG SUBSTITUTES* Different methods of evaporating or dessicating whole tgg yolks and whites have been proposed and several pro- ducts which claim to be thus prepared are now on the mar- ket. It is said that the tgg is dried in or out of a vacuum, usually by a gentle heat or by currents of air. When placed on the market the dried egg is usually ground. Sometimes salt, sugar, or both have been used as preserva- tives. Such material is merely egg from which the bulk of the water has been removed. If the process of manufac- ture is such that the product is palatal^le and keeps well, the value of evaporated eggs under many circumstances is evident. *Extract from Farmers' Bulletin 128, "Eggs and Their Uses as Foods." 124 THE HOUSEKEEPER This material is used by bakers to some extent as being cheaper when fresh eggs are high in price. It is also used in provisioning camps and expeditions, since dessicated foods have the advantage of a higher nutritive value in proportion to their bulk than the same materials when fresh. If all the water is removed in preparing evaporated eggs, one pound will furnish nutritive material equivalent to about four pounds of fresh eggs. One commercial product ap- pears to be dried eggs coarsely ground. For use it is thor- oughly mixed with a small quantity of water. The mixture can then be fried or made into an omelet, etc., and is very palatable, closely resembling in taste the same dishes made from fresh eggs. An egg substitute has been manufactured from skimi milk. It is said to contain the casein and albumen of the milk mixed with a little flour, and is put up in the form of a paste or powder. Such material is evidently rich in protein and, according to reports — apparently reliable — is used in considerable quantities by bakers and confectioners in place of fresh eggs. Egg substitutes have been devised which consist of mix- tures of animal or vegetable fats, albumen, starch or flour, coloring matter, and some leavening powder in addition to the mineral matter similar to those found in the egg. Such products are designed to resemble eggs in composition. Other egg substitutes have been marketed which contain little or no albumen, but apparently consist quite largely of starch, colored more or less with some yellow substance. These goods are especially recommended for making cust- ards and puddings similar in appearance to those in which fresh eggs are used. There is no reason to suppose that such products can not be made so that they will be perfectly wholesome. The fact must not be overlooked that in the diet they cannot replace fresh eggs, since they do not con- tain much nitrogenous matter or fat. This may be an im- portant matter if such an egg substitute is used in the diet 125 THE HOUSEKEEPER of invalids, especially if the composition of the egg sub- stitute is not known, and it is employed with the belief that, like eggs, it contains an abundance of protein. COOKING AND SERVING EGGS The methods of serving eggs alone or in combination with other food materials are very numerous. Cooked in vari- ous ways, they are a favorite animal food, taking the place of meat to a certain extent, while raw eggs, usually seasoned in some way, are by no means infrequently eaten. Eggs are combined with other materials in various ways in many dishes. They are used in making cakes and such foods to improve their flavor, color and texture, wdiile in custards, creams, etc., they thicken the mlaterial and give the desired consistency. The white of the egg is also employed in making icings and confectionery. Well-beaten or whipped egg white is used to leaven many forms of cakes and similar foods, as well as to improve the flavor. The beaten white. incloses air in small bubbles, which become distributed throughout the mass of dough in mixing. The heat of cooking expands the air and makes the walls of the air bubbles firm, so that the porous structure is retained. The power to inclose and retain air when beaten varies, being greatest in the fresh egg and much lessened in packed or old eggs. Convenient leavening pow^ders have lessened the number of eggs used for this purpose. Sponge cake, how- ever, is a familiar example of food so leavened. This use of eggs explains some of the recipes in old cook- ery books which call for such large numbers of eggs. There are several simple ways of cooking eggs which are very commonly followed. Thus, the egg in the shell is cooked by immersion in hot or boiling water or is less com- monly roasted. After removal from the shell, the egg is cooked in hot water or in hot fat. In the latter case it may or may not be beaten or stirred. Combined with other materials to form] various made dishes, eggs are boiled, baked, steamed, or fried, as the case may be. The total 126 THE HOUSEKEEPER number of methods of serving and preparing eggs is very large, but in nearly every case it will be found that the method of preparation is only a more or less elaborate modification of one of the simple methods of cooking. HARD AND SOFT COOKED EGGS To cook eggs so that they will be firm all the way through and yet not tough or indigestible, put them in a saucepan of boiling water, cover closely and place on a part of the stove where the water will remain very hot. but not boil, and let stand for thirty minutes. To cook eggs so that they will be soft, follow the above directions, but let the eggs remain only six minutes. POACHED EGGS A deep spider is the best utensil in which to poach eggs. Fill it nearly full of boiling water which has been slightly salted. Break egg in a saucer, and drop into water, cooking slowly, until the white is like jelly. SCRAMBLED EGGS 4 eggs. ^ teaspoon ful salt. Dash pepper. y^ cupful milk. Beat the eggs just enough to break them up ; they do not need to be light or frothy. Put the butter into an omelet pan, and when it is brown pour in the egg and milk. Scrape the cooked eggs from the bottom of the pan, tipping it so the uncooked egg will run down on the hot iron. Double it over before it begins to get brown, and serve very hot. EGGS IN NEST Separate as many eggs as are needed for this dish, and beat the whites to a stitT froth. Drop in spoonfuls on a flat buttered baking dish, dust with pepper and salt here and there, in the middle of the white, slide in carefully the raw yolks. Put a bit of butter on each yolk. Place the dish in 127 THE HOUSEKEEPER a hot oven for eight minutes. Serve immediately. H de- sired, the froth may be piled into individual dishes with the yolk in the center of each and baked as described. PLAIN OMELET 4 eggs. 4 tablespoonfuls hot water. 1 tablespoon ful butter. Pepper and salt. Separate the whites from the yolks, beat the yolks with an egg beater till thick, and whip the whites with a wire whisk to a stiff froth. To the yolks add the seasonings and hot water. Last of all blend in the beaten whites. Heat an omelet pan and grease with butter, pour in the egg mix- ture, set it where it will cook slowly, turning the pan around that omelet may brown all over. When puffed and deli- cately browned on the bottom, take it from the fire and set on the top grate of the oven for a few minutes to cook. Press it with your finger; if none of the egg mixture clings, omelet is cooked. Score lightly down the center, and turn out on a hot platter. BREAD OMELET 6 eggs. 3 tablespoonfuls stale bread crumbs. 1 cupful milk. Pepper and salt. lJ/4 tablespoonfuls butter. Scald the milk, pour over the crumbs and allow it to soak, beat the whites and yolks separately until very light. Stir the crumb mixture into the yolks, add the seasoning, then cut in with a palette knife the whites beaten to a stiff froth. Pour into a deep buttered baking dish, and bake in a hot oven till browned on top. 128 THE HOUSEKEEPER POTATO OMELET 1 cupful mashed potatoes. ^ teaspoon ful pepper. 3 tablespoonfuls cream or milk. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 3 eggs. Wash eggs, and separate the whites and yolks. Add the yolks to the potatoes and beat until there are no lumps. Season with onion juice, if desired, and chopped parsley. Beat the whites until stiff and fold into the potato mixture. Put into a well-greased frying pan and bake in oven until brown. Then turn and fold on hot platter. Serve at once. EGG TIMBALES 4 eggs. 2 tablespoonfuls chopped parsley or chopped ham. Salt and pepper. 4 tablespoonfuls milk or thin cream. Tomato or white sauce. Beat the eggs just enough to thoroughly mix yolks and whites, add the salt, pepper and the milk or cream. Grease very small cups or moulds and sprinkle the bot- toms and sides with the parsley or ham, pour in enough egg to nearly fill each cup, and stand in a pan of almost boiling water. Cook either in a moderate oven or over a slow fire, that the water may not boil and cause the timbales to be- come "honeycombed." As soon as a knife can be inserted in the timbales and drawn out clean, they are done. Serve on individual plates with sauce around them. CHEESE SOUFFLE 3 tablespoonfuls flour. 3 tablespoonfuls butter. 3 eggs. 1 cupful milk. 1 cupful grated cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. 129 THE HOUSEKEEPER Put the butter and flour together in a saucepan and stir until blended. Add the milk, slowly, and stir till the mix- ture boils ; then add the grated cheese, salt and pepper, and set aside to cool. Beat the eggs, yolks and whites separ- ately ; then add the yolks to the mixture in the saucepan and blend thoroughly. Lastly, fold in the beaten whites, and turn the soufile into a well-greased baking dish. Bake in a moderate oven about twenty-five minutes, and serve at once to prevent its falling. CURRIED EGGS 6 hard-cooked eggs. 1 small onion. 2 tablespoon fuls butter or drippings. 1 tablespoon ful flour. ^ sour apple or a teaspoon ful of lemon juice. Yi teaspoon ful salt. ^Yi cupfuls water, stock or milk. 1 tablespoon ful curry powder. Hard cook the eggs, remove the shells and cut the eggs in slices. Melt the butter or drippings and cook in it the onion, finely chopped ; add flour and curry powder and cook three minutes. Add the stock, water or milk slowly, and stir until sauce boils. Add the apple or lemon juice and cook slowly twenty minutes. Season and heat the slices of egg in the sauce. EGGS IN TOMATO CUPS For each serving allow one ^g% and one medium-sized tomato. Cut a slice from the stem end of the tomato and with a spoon scoop out the center. Sprinkle the cavity with buttered cracker crumbs. Break and carefully drop one ^^g into each tomato. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover with buttered crumbs. Place on a buttered pan and bake in a moderate oven until the eggs are set and the crumbs are brown. 130 THE HOUSEKEEPER EGGS (Creole Style) 1 tablespoon fill olive oil. 1 teaspoon fill chopped onion. 1 tablespoon fill green pepper (chopped). 3 tablespoon fills firm tomato pulp. 2 tablespoonfuls boiled rice. Speck of paprika. 34 teaspoonfiil salt. 6 eggs. Cook the olive oil and onion together until the onion is slightly brown, then add the green pepper and tomato pulp, and cook slowly until quite thick. Add the rice, paprika, and salt. Cover the bottom of a shallow baking dish with the mixture and carefully break over it six eggs. Pour over them one tablespoonful melted butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake in a moderate oven until the whites are set. SCUFFLED EGG WITH HAM For each serving cut a round of bread three inches in diameter; toast it. spread with finely chopped ham mois- tened with milk, stock, or gravy; add a few grains of salt to the white of an egg, and beat very stiff. Mound on the ham, make a depression in the center, put in the yolk, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake in a moderate oven until the egg is firm. When several servings are to be prepared, keep the yolks in separate dishes until needed, but beat the whites together. SCALLOPED EGGS WITH CHEESE 6 hard-cooked eggs. 2 cup fills white sauce. ^ cupful grated cheese. ]/2 cupful buttered crumbs. 131 THE HOUSEKEEPER Cut the eggs in eighths lengthwise ; put half of them into a greased baking dish, cover with half the sauce and sprinkle with half of the cheese ; repeat, cover with crumbs and bake about fifteen minutes, or until the crumbs are brown. Bacon or sausage fat may be used in making the white sauce. EGGS A LA GOLDENROD 6 hard-cooked eggs. 2 tablespoon fuls butter. 2 tablespoon fuls flour. 2 cupfuls milk, Yz teaspoon ful salt. y% teaspoonful pepper. 8 slices toast. Parsley. Make a thin white sauce with butter, flour, milk, and seasonings. Separate yolks from whites of eggs. Chop whites finely, and add them to the sauce. Cut six slices of toast in halves lengthwise. Arrange on platter, and pour over the sauce. Force the yolks through a potato ricer or strainer, sprinkling over the top. Garnish with parsley and remaining toast, cut in points. STUFFED EGGS Cut six hard-cooked eggs in halves crosswise; remove yolks, mash, and add two tablespoonfuls grated cheese, one teaspoonful vinegar, one-fourth teaspoonful mustard, and salt and cayenne to taste. Add enough melted butter to make the mixture of the right consistency to shape. Make in balls the size of the original yolks, and refill whites. Ar- range on a serving dish, pour around one and one-half cupfuls White Sauce I, cover and re-heat. 132 THE HOUSEKEEPER STUFFED EGGS IN A NEST Cut hard-cooked eggs in halves lengdiwise. Remove yolks, and put whites aside in pairs. Mash yolks, and add half the amount of devilled ham and enough melted butter to make of consistency to shape. Make in balls size of original yolks and refill whites. Form remainder of mix- ture into a nest. Arrange eggs in the nest, and pour over one cupful White Sauce I. Sprinkle with buttered crumbs, and bake until crumbs are brown. 133 THE HOUSEKEEPER CAMPBELL'S SOUP 134 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER IX SOUPS SOUPS WITH STOCK Soups are divided into two classes — soups with stock and soups without — and the variations wdiich can l^e made from these are numberless. With a pot of stock on hand and the assistance of vegetables for stockless soups, even in a frugal home there may be a soup for every day in the year. Be- sides, there are excellent soups made from fish, and satis- fving chowders with the addition of potatoes which make the dish a full meal. In recipes for making stock, the ingredients for seasoning seem endless. Spices, such as mace, bay leaves, peppers, etc., are inexpensive, so are the winter vegetables that most recipes call for, and they may be kept constantly on hand. In a family where there is a meat dish once a day, little fresh meat is recjuired for the stock pot if all bones and scraps are saved and utilized. Every mprsel of a stew, roast with its gravv, chop and steak bones, bones of chicken or game, and the trimmings from meat, which a housewife pays for and should insist on having, are all grist for the soup pot. The meats to avoid using are bits of raw lamb or mutton with fat on them, which give a disagreeable flavor, also smoked or corned meat. Scraps of bacon, cold ham. or even calf's liver may be added ; they give a touch of good flavoring. Eor a fine-flavored, good-colored soup, save all the scraps and keep in a clean jar in the refrigerator, making soup twice a week. Never add a morsel of anything that has the slightest taint. Break bones thoroughly. If you would ex- tract all the flavor from bits of meat, put them through a chopper. With a skewer pick marrow from the bones. Eay the bones at the bottom of the pot. 135 THE HOUSEKEEPER it there are any lett-overs in the refrigerator ot such vegetables as onions, celery, tomatoes, carrots, chop V'y cupful each of carrot, turnip and celery, and add for flavor- ing, with ^ teaspoonful peppercorns, 1 bay leaf, sprig of parsley, 6 cloves, and 1 chopped onion. Do not add salt till the stock is half cooked. Cover the bones with cold water and set far back on the stove where it will come to the boil slowly. Let it simmer five or six hours, strain through a fine sieve, and cool as quickly as possible. Do not remove the cake of fat from the top of the soup until you are ready to use it, then run a thin knife around the edge to loosen it. Cut into quarters and lift each piece carefully. If there are any grains of fat left on the top of the jellied stock, dampen a bit of cheese cloth and carefully wipe over the top. For an everyday family soup in which nourishment is the first consideration, do not clear. In the sediment there is considerable nutriment. If it is to be cleared, set the strained, skimmed soup over the fire, mix with the white and crushed shell of one egg, a dash of celery seed and pepper and salt if required. Mix thoroughly, heat, and boil ten minutes. Just before taking from the fire, pour in ^ cupful of cold water. Pour through cheese cloth, and heat again to the boiling point before using. BROWN STOCK 3 pounds shin beef. 1 slice bacon. 1 onion. 1 carrot. ^ turnip. % bunch celery. 1 sprig parsley. 1 sprig thyme. 12 cloves. 2 teaspoonfuls salt. % teaspoonful pepper. 1^ quarts cold water. 136 THE HOUSEKEEPER Cut in rather small pieces all the meat from shin of beef ; break the bone in pieces, and put into a large pot with bacon, onions, carrots, turnip, celery, parsley, thyme, salt, cloves, pepper, butter. Add cold water, let stand thirty minutes, then set it on the fire, where it will simmer slowly for six hours, skimming very often. Strain carefully through a fine sieve, not bruising the vegetables. Next morning skim off the fat. You can make a variety of soups from this stock by adding to it noodles, macaroni or finelv cut ves:etables. CONSOMME 3 pounds lean beef 1 carrot. 1 turnip. 1 parsnip 1 onion. 1 red pepper. 1 tablespoon ful whole cloves. 1 tablespoon ful chopped parsley. 4 stalks celery. 3 cjuarts water. Cover the meat with water, and simmer four hours. Add the other ingredients, and cook one hour longer. Strain and let stand overnight. Next day skim off the grease, add the white and shell of one egg to clear it, boil up, strain again, and serve. WHITE SOUP STOCK 3 pounds knuckle veal. 1 pound lean beef. 3 quarts boiling water. 1 onion. 6 slices carrot. 1 large stalk celery. 137 THE HOUSEKEEPER ^ teaspoon fill peppercorns. y2 bay leaf. 2 sprigs thyme. 2 cloves. Wipe veal, remove from bone, and cut in small pieces; cut beef in pieces, put bone and meat in soup kettle, cover with cold water, and bring quickly to boiling point; drain, throw away the water. Wash thoroughly bones and meat in cold water; return to kettle, add vegetables, seasonings, and 3 quarts boiling" water. Boil three or four hours; the stock should be reduced one-half. (Fannie M. Farmer.) JELLIED SOUP Beef or other soup stock may be chilled and served cold in summer. The stock is cleared with ^gg white to make it attractive. Mix together a quart of stock and the shell and white of one ^gg. Heat gradually and stir constantly until a thick scum forms on the top. Let stand for a few minutes, then strain the soup through a napkin or other fine cloth. The soup must be made with considerable bone if it is to jelly. If it is not firm enough, it can be stiff- ened with gelatine in the proportion of a tablespoon ful of gelatine softened in two tablespoonfuls of water for each three cupfuls of soup. The jellied soup must be rather highly seasoned, and a small amount of caramel coloring will give the desired tint to a pale soup. OXTAIL SOUP Separate the joints of two oxtails, wash carefully. Put in a soup kettle, cover with cold water and heat slowly to the boiling point. .Simmer for one hour. Then add two carrots, two small turnips and one onion, all sliced. Tie together in a bit of cheese cloth a sprig of parsley, a bit of garlic, a small bay leaf, and six peppercorns, and place in the stock. Add enough salt to season. When the meat is quite tender, remove it from the stock and take out all the 138 THE HOUSEKEEPER bone. Remove the seasoning and then put the meat back into the kettle, and add a cup of tomato. Thicken with a Httle arrowroot or cornstarch and cold water. TOMATO SOUP 2 tablespoon fuls beef fat. 2 tablespoon fuls onion. 1 bay leaf. 10 peppercorns. 1 tablespoon ful flour. 1 can tomatoes. 3 cup fuls stock. 1 teaspoon ful salt. Place beef fat and chopped onion in a saucepan over the fire ; cook five minutes ; add bay leaf, peppercorns and flour ; stir and cook two minutes ; add the tomatoes ; stir and cook five minutes; add salt and stock; cook ten minutes; then strain the soup through a sieve, and serve with toasted bread cut into dice. VEAL SOUP 2 pounds veal. 2 quarts cold water. 1 cupful chopped ham. 1 onion. 1 tablespoonful parsley. 3 slices carrot. Pepper and salt. 1 pint cream or rich milk. Cook veal in water slowly for two or three hours. Take out the veal and add to the boiling stock ham, onion, pars- ley, and carrot. Let this simmer slowly for an hour, strain, then add the cream ; season with salt and pepper, and serve with croutons. 139 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHICKEN SOUP Carcass roast chicken, 2 quarts cold water. 1 pound lean veal. 2 tablespoon fuls chopped bacon, 1 bay leaf. 1 slice onion. 1 stalk celery. 2 tablespoon fuls cornstarch, 1^ teaspoonfuls salt. Yz teaspoon ful pepper. 1 tablespoon ful flour. 2 tablespoon fuls fat. 1 cupful cream. Slice the best meat from fowl, leaving only wrings and carcass, wath skin removed from meat as well. Break bones, put them into the soup kettle with cold water. Cut veal in dice, dust with flour and pepper, and brown in finely chopped bacon ; add 1 cupful hot water, simmer for a few minutes, cool, and pour into the soup kettle. Cook slowly for one hour, then add bay leaf, onion, and celery; cook half an hour longer, strain and cool. Mix together in a saucepan, cornstarch, salt, pepper, flour and fat. Add gradually one pint hot stock and cook until thickened. Add this to the soup stock and serve in boullion cups, with or without a spoonful of whipped cream on top of each. MULLAGATAWNY SOUP 3 quarts chicken stock. 4 onions, 1 carrot. 2 turnips. 6 stalks celery. 1 tablespoonful curry powder. 2 tablespoon fuls flour. 140 THE HOUSEKEEPER Chop the vegetables and add to the stock. Place soup in a saucepan over a hot fire until it begins to boil, then set aside to simmer for twenty minutes. Add curry powder and flour mixed with cold water. Mix well, boil three minutes, and strain. In serving, add some pieces of the white meat of the chicken chopped. SOUPS WITHOUT STOCK MILK-VEGETABLE SOUPS 1 cjuart milk (skim milk may be used). 2^ tablespoonfuls flour. 2 tablespoonfuls butter, margarine or other fat. 1 teaspoonful salt. 2 cupfuls thoroughly cooked vegetable, finely chopped, mashed or put through a sieve. Spinach, peas, beans, potatoes, celery, or asparagus make good soups. Stir flour into melted fat and mix with the cold milk. Add the cooked vegetable and stir over the fire until thick- ened. H soup is too thick, add a little water or milk. CREAM OF CELERY SOUP 1 head celery. 1 slice onion. 2 cupfuls milk. 3 tablespoonfuls cornstarch. 3 tablespoonfuls butter. Clean outside stalks and white leaves of celery. Cut into small pieces and cook until tender in 3 cupfuls water. Scald onion in milk in double boiler. Rub the celery, when soft, through a sieve. Blend together cornstarch with but- ter, cook for a few minutes, lifting from fire, beating and cooking in turn. Season with salt and white pepper to taste, gradually add the strained, scalded milk, cook thor- oughly, then add the strained celery stock, and re-heat. Serve with croutons, bread sticks, or toasted wafers. 141 THE HOUSEKEEPER CREAM OF CORN SOUP 1 can corn. I cupfuls boiling water. 1 teaspoon fill salt. ^ teaspoon fill celery salt. V2 teaspoon fill onion juice. 2^ tablespoon fills cornstarch. 3 tablespoon fills fat. 2 cupfuls milk. 1 cupful whipped cream. Rub corn through sieve into a saucepan, add water, milk, salt, celery salt, and white pepper to taste. Blend together in a saucepan cornstarch with fat, gradually add the milk and cook together five minutes, stirring constantly. Just before serving add beaten cream. Serve with crisp wafers. POTATO SOUP 3 cupfuls sliced potatoes. Yi onion (sliced). ^ cupful celery (chopped). 2 cupfuls boiling water. I34 teaspoon ful salt. Y\ teaspoon fill pepper. 2 cupfuls milk (hot). 1 tablespoonful fat. 1^ tablespoonful cornstarch. Cook onion in fat, add potatoes, celery and water. Cook until potatoes are tender. Rub through a sieve; add sea- sonings, milk which has been thickened with cornstarch. Serve garnished with chopped parsley. POTATO AND SPLIT PEA SOUP 2/3 cupful split peas. 1 quart water. 2 tablespoon fuls fat. 3 potatoes. 2 onions. 142 THE HOUSEKEEPER y^ teaspoon fill paprika. 1 teaspoon fill salt. Pepper. 1 quart boiling water. Wash and pick over peas, add cold water and soak over- night. Simmer covered in the same water for one and a half hours, or until peas are soft. Mash through a strainer until only the husks remain. Melt fat, add onions thinly sliced, and seasonings. Stir frecjuently until the onion be- gins to brown, then add boiling water, sifted peas, and potatoes cut into dice. Simmer until the potatoes are ten- der. Season with salt to taste. The potatoes as well as the peas may be put through the sieve if desired. SPLIT PEA SOUP 1 cupful split peas. 1^ quarts stock or water. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 2 tablespoon fuls minced onion. 3 tablespoon fuls chopped celery. 1 carrot. Look over and wash the peas. Soak in cold water over- night. Place a saucepan with split peas and stock over the fire ; when it boils, add salt, onion, celery and carrot ; cover and boil slowly three hours, or until done; press the soup through the sieve; if too thick, add a little more water; season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with small squares of fried bread. CREAM OF OYSTER SOUP 1 pint oysters. 1 quart milk. 1 tablespoon ful butter. 1 tablespoon ful flour. Salt and pepper to taste. 1 cupful whipped cream. 143 THE HOUSEKEEPER Chop the oysters, drain off the Hquor and add to it equal measure of water; heat slowly to boiling point; skim well, then put in the chopped oysters and cook three minutes. Scald the milk, thicken with the butter and flour creamed together, and add to the oysters with the seasoning. Put in the cream the last moment before serving. TOMATO BISQUE 6 fresh tomatoes or one-quart can tomatoes. 1 small onion. 1 bay leaf. 2 cloves. 1 sprig of parsley. 2 tablespoon fuls fat. 2 tablespoon fuls flour. 1 pint milk. Yz teaspoon ful baking soda. 1 teaspoon ful hot water. Salt and pepper to taste. 1^ pints water if fresh tomatoes are used. Cut the tomatoes in slices and stew them till tender with the onion, bay leaf, cloves, parsley and water. H canned tomatoes are used, omit the water. When tender, pass all through a sieve, rubbing the pulp through also. Blend the butter and flour in a saucepan till smooth, but not browned ; add the hot tomato and stir till boiling. Season, and cook five minutes, add the soda dissolved in a teaspoon ful of hot water. The addition of the soda neutralizes the acid of the tomato. Just before serving, add the milk previously scalded. BERKSHIRE SOUP y^ cupful fat. 1 onion, finely chopped. Yz bay leaf. 12 peppercorns. 2 tablespoon fuls flour. 144 THE HOUSEKEEPER 1 quart can tomatoes. 2 tablespoon fills sugar. 1 teaspoon ful salt. y^ teaspoon ful pepper. 2 cupfuls water. 1 can corn. ^ cupful milk. Cook onion in the fat five minutes, stirring all the time. Add the bay leaf, peppercorns and flour and cook two minutes ; then add tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper and boiling water and simmer 20 minutes. Add the corn, cook ten minutes longer and force through a strainer. Just before serving add the tgg slightly beaten and diluted with the milk. CLAM CHOWDER Yz peck clams in shells. 1 quart potatoes sliced thin. A 2-inch cube fat salt pork. 1 teaspoon fill salt. j/2 teaspoon ful white pepper. 1 tablespoonful fat. 1 quart milk. 6 butter crackers. \\^ash clams with a small brush, and put in a kettle with Yi cupful water. When the clams at the top have opened, take them out with a skimmer, and when cool enough to handle, take the clams from the shells ; remove the thin skin; cut off all the black end (cut the "leather straps" into small pieces), leaving the soft part whole. Let the clam liquor set, and pour it off carefully. Use half water and half clam liquor. Fry the pork and onion; add the potatoes, which have been soaked and scalded, and boiling water to cover. When the potatoes are soft, add the clam liquor, seasoning and clams ; when boiling add the hot milk, and turn into the tureen over broken crackers. (Mary J. Lincoln.) 145 THE HOUSEKEEPER CORN AND POTATO CHOWDER 1 tablespoon fill fat. 1 medium-sized onicn. 2 diced potatoes. y2 can corn. J4 teaspoon ful salt. y% teaspoon ful paprika. Dash pepper. 1 pint milk. 1 cupful boiling water. Brown the onion, sliced thin, in the fat ; add seasonings, corn, boiling water and potato and cook until potato is soft. Add milk and more salt if needed. Bring to the boiling point and serve. POTATO CHOWDER 54 cupful fat. 2 onions sliced. 3 cupfuls boiling water. 3 cupfuls sliced potatoes. Yx teaspoonful celery salt. XYi teaspoon fuls salt. 1 cupful chopped carrots. 2 cupfuls hot milk. Cook onion in fat ; add water, potatoes, carrots and seasonings. Cook until potatoes are tender. Add hot milk and serve. SALT-CODFISH CHOWDER 2 cupfuls milk. 1 cupful shredded codfish. XYi cupfuls potato cubes. 3 ounces salt pork. 2 tablespoon fuls minced onion. ]/\ teaspoonful pepper. 1 tablespoon ful flour. Salt. 3 Boston crackers. 146 THE HOUSEKEEPER Wash the fish and cut in two-inch lengths. Tear these in pieces, and, covering with cold water, soak for one-half hour. Slice the pork, and cook in the frying pan for five minutes. Now add the flour and stir until smooth; after- wards stir in ^4 cupful water. Put the potatoes in a stew- pan and pour the mixture in the frying pan over them. Season with pepper and ^ teaspoon ful salt. Place on the fire and cook for ten minutes ; then take out the slices of pork and add the fish and milk. Cook gently for half an hour. Taste before serving to be sure to have salt enough. Pour over the split crackers. SOUP ACCOMPANIMENTS CRISP CRACKERS Break open common crackers, spread thinly with butter, place in a pan and bake until golden brown. CRACKERS WITH CHEESE Arrange saltines in a baking pan. Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake until the cheese is melted and crackers are brown. CROUTONS Cut stale bread in I. inch slices, cut slices in cubes, put in a pan and bake until golden brown. IMPERIAL STICKS Cut stale bread in I inch slices, spread thinly with butter. Cut the slices in strips and bake in a pan in a moderate oven until bread is brown. NOODLES 1 egg. Yj teaspoonful salt. Flour. Beat the egg slightly, add the salt and enough flour to make a stiff dough, knead on a floured board and roll as thinly as possible. Set aside for twenty minutes, cut in strips, dry and when needed cook them 20 minutes in boil- ing salted water. Drain and add to soup. Keep in covered glass jar until needed. 147 THE HOUSEKEEPER DAVIS FISH 148 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER X FISH* The chief uses of fish as food are ( 1 ) to furnish an economical source of nitrogenous nutrients and (2) to supply the demand for variety in the diet, which increases with the advance of civilization. Kinds. — Fish are classified as vertebrates, or fish proper, those having a backbone; and shellfish. Those having a backbone are divided into two classes; white fish and oily fish. In the white fish, the fat is found only in the liver; in oily fish, the fat is found distributed throughout the entire body. ^^'hite-fleshed fish include whitefish, cod, perch, pickerel, sunfish, smelts, croppies, soles, brook trout, and black bass. Oily fish include salmon, lake trout, shad, herring, mackerel, halibut, and eels. Points to be Observed in Choosing Fish. — Firm flesh, bright eyes, red gills, firm tail, fresh odor. A slice of fish should hold its shape. Lobsters, clams, oysters, crabs should be alive in the shell. Of the very large quantity of fish annually placed on the American market, the greater part is consumed at home, although a portion is prepared in various ways for ex- port. The preference for fresh- water or salt-water fish is a mat- ter of individual taste. Both are, so far as known, equally wholesome. It may be said that in general the preference for one kind of sea food or another is quite largely a ^Extract from Farmers' Bulletin No. 85, "Fish as a Food." 149 THE HOUSEKEEPER matter of circumstances. It is noticeable that many kinds of fish which are known to be good for food are seldom eaten. Among others may be mentioned the whiting, or silver hake, and the sea robin. The latter are taken in enormous cjuantities in certain regions. This prejudice against certain fish is largely local ; for instance, skates are eaten on the western coast of the United States, but until recently they were regarded as of no value in the East. A few years ago sturgeon and eel were not generally eaten. To-day sturgeon is much prized, and in regions where it was formerly worthless commands a high price. Many persons have a prejudice against frogs legs, while others consider them a great delicacy. In the United States they are now very commonly eaten, and frog-raising for the mar- ket is more or less of an industry. An interesting change of opinion regarding the use of a sea product may be noted in the case of abalone, a large mollusk abundant on the California coast, which was formerly disregarded as a food product by Americans, but which, it is said owing to its use by the Chinese, has become known and is relished. Conditions Which i\FFECT the Market Value OF Fish The market value of fish is affected by various condi- tions. Among these are the locality from which they come, the season in which they are taken, and the food on which they have grown. In general, it may be said that fish from clear, cold, or deep water are regarded as preferable to those from shallow or warm water. \\n'iile fish taken in waters with a rocky or sandy bottom are preferable to those from water with a muddy bottom. Some fish, for instance shad, are at their best during the spawning season, while others should not be eaten during this period. Those fish which feed on small Crustacea and the other forms of animal and vegetable life, constituting their natural food, are preferable to those living upon sewage and other matter which may contaminate the waters. 150 I THE HOUSEKEEPER The mode of capture also affects the market vahie. Fish caught by the gills and allowed to die in the water by slow- degrees, as is the case where gill nets are used, undergo decomposition very readily and are inferior for food. Fish are often landed alive and allowed to die slowly. This custom is not only inhumane, but lessens the value of the fish. It has been found that fish killed immediately after catching remain firm and bear shipment better than those allowed to die slowly. The Cjuality of the fish is often injured by improper handling in the fishing boats before placing on the market. Improvements in transportation facilities and in other lines have made it possible to bring fish to market from distant fishing grounds in good con- dition. Fresh water and salt w^ater fish alike are offered for sale as taken from the water, and preserved in a number of ways. In some cases preservation is only to insure transportation to remote points in ^ood condition. Low temperature is the means most commonly employed for this purpose. By taking advantage of the recent improve- ments in apparatus and methods of chilling and freezing, fish may be shipped long distances and kept a long time in good condition. According to the practice of a successful firm dealing in frozen fish, the fish, as they are unloaded from the boats, are sorted and graded as to size and quality, then placed in galvanized iron pans about 2 feet long, covered with loosely fitting lids, and frozen by keeping them twenty- four hours at a temperature often as low as 16° below zero. The fish are removed from the pans in a solid cake and packed in tiers in the storehouse and marketed frozen. It is said that they may be thus preserved indefinitely, though as a rule frozen fish are only kept six to eight months, being frozen in the spring, when the supply is abundant, and sold in the winter or whenever fresh fish 151 THE HOUSEKEEPER can not be readily obtained. Such frozen fish are com- monly shipped in barrels packed with broken ice in such a manner that the water formed by the melting ice may readily escape. Oysters and other shellfish are placed on the market alive in the shell or are removed from the shell and kept in good condition by chilling or other means. Oysters in the shell are usually transported in barrels or sacks. Shipment is made to far inland points in refrigerator cars and to Europe in the cold-storage chambers of vessels. Large quantities of shellfish are also canned. Oysters are often sold as they are taken from the salt water. However, the practice of "freshing," "fattening," or "floating" is very widespread — that is, oysters are placed in fresh or brackish water for a short period. They become plump in appearance and have a different flavor from those taken directly from salt water. Care should be taken that the oysters are grown and fat- tened in water which is not contaminated by sewage. Lobsters, crabs, and other Crustacea are usually sold alive. Sometimes they are boiled before they are placed on the market. Large quantities of lobsters, shrimps, and crabs are canned. PREPARING FISH FOR THE TABLE Fish is prepared for the table in a variety of ways. Fish is comnionly boiled, steamed, broiled, fried, or baked, or may be combined with other materials in some made dish. In most cases fat or carbohydrates in the form of butter, flour, or other materials are added to fish when cooked, and thus the deficiency in fuel ingredients is made good. Boiled or steamed fish is often accompanied by a rich sauce, made from butter, eggs, etc. Fried fish is cooked in fat, and baked fish is often filled with force meat, and may also be acconnpanied by a sauce; the force meat being made of bread, butter, etc., contains fat and carbohydrates. In made dishes — chowders, fish pies, salads, etc. — fat and car- l)ohydrates (butter, flour, vegetables, etc.) are combined 152 THE HOUSEKEEPER with fish, the kind and amount varying in the individual cases. Furthermore, in the ordinary household fish or meat is supplemented by such foods as bread, butter, pota- toes, green vegetables, and fruit. That is, by adding ma- terials in cooking and by serving other dishes with the cooked product the protein of the fish is supplemented by the necessary fat and carbohydrates. METHODS FOR COOKING FISH Bass Baked, boiled, or broiled. Bluefish Planked, baked, or broiled. Butterfish Fried or sauted. Cod Boiled, broiled, or baked. Eels Fried or broiled. Flounder Baked, fried, or sauted. Haddock Baked, broiled, planked, or boiled. Halibut Baked, broiled, fried, boiled or planked. Herring Baked or broiled. Kingfish Broiled. Blackfish Baked or broiled. Mackerel Baked, broiled, or planked. Perch Fried or broiled. Pickerel Baked. Pompano Broiled. Red Snapper Fried or boiled. Salmon Boiled, broiled, or baked. Shad Broiled, baked, or planked. Sheepshead Boiled or baked. Smelts ' Sauted, baked, or fried. Trout Baked, broiled, or sauted. Muskellunge Baked. Turbot Boiled. Whitefish Planked, baked, or broiled. Sturgeon Roasted, broiled, baked after being par-boiled. Carp Boiled or baked. 153 THE HOUSEKEEPER Scrod Broiled. Swordfish Baked, broiled, or boiled. Mullet Baked. pike Boiled. Whitebait Fried. Porgies Planked, broiled, or baked. Catfish Fried. Alewives Baked. To Boil Fish. — Boiling is the most insipid way of cook- ing fish, yet there are certain varieties that are better cooked this way if accompanied by a rich sauce. Fish, if boiled in a common kettle, should first be wrapped in cheese cloth to preserve its shape. Boiled fish should be served with a sauce. The water should be salted and 1 tablespoon ful lemon juice or vinegar may be added to keep the fish white. A boiled fish may be stuffed if desired. (12-20 minutes per pound.) To Bake FisJi. — A baked fish presents a more attractive appearance when served in an upright position on the plat- ter; it also cooks better. To keep it upright, press it down enough to flatten the under side, then, if necessary, brace W'ith skewers or potatoes placed against it until it is well under way for cooking, then it will keep its position until cooked and dished. Lay over the back and in the pan small strips of salt pork, add 1 cupful hot water, and baste often while baking. (20-30 minutes per pound.) To Fry Fish. — Clean the fish and wipe perfectly dry; then dip in beaten egg and afterwards in bread crumbs or cornmeal, but preferably in the crumbs, patting these on well that no loose ones may fall ofif and burn in the fat; then plunge the fish, a few pieces at a time, in the fat, which must be smoking hot, and of which there must be sufficient in the pan to completely cover the fish. Cook golden brown, and drain well before serving. (5-7 minutes per pound.) Broih'd Fish. — Bluefish, cod. haddock, and mackerel are split down the back and broiled whole, removing head and 154 THE HOUSEKEEPER tail if desired. Salmon, halibut, and swordfish are cut in inch slices for broiling. Smelt and other small fish are broiled whole without splitting, but the entrails are removed carefully so as not to bruise the fish. Clean and wipe the fish, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place in a well- greased wire broiler, cooking the fiesh side first. Turn it and cook the skin until crisp. Sliced fish should be turned often while broiling, slip upon a hot platter, or place platter over fish and invert platter and broiler together. Small fish re(iuire 10 to 15 minutes for broiling. Large fish re(|uire 1 5 to 20 minutes for broiling. BAKED HADDOCK WITH STUFFING Clean a four-pound haddock, sprinkle with salt inside and out, stuff and sew. Cut five diagonal gashes on each side of backbone and insert narrow strips of fat salt pork, hav- ing gashes on one side come between gashes on other side. Shape with skewers in form of letter "S," and fasten skew- ers with small twine. Place on greased fish-sheet in a dripping-pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, brush over with melted butter, dredge with flour, and place around fish small pieces of fat salt pork. Bake one hour in hot oven, basting as soon as fat is tried out, and continue basting every ten minutes. Serve with drawn butter, egg or Hol- landaise sauce. FISH STUFFING ^ cupful cracker crumbs. y2 cupful stale bread crumbs. j4 cupful melted butter substitute. 34 teaspoon ful salt. ys teaspoonful pepper. Few drops onion juice. }i cupful hot water. Mix ingredients in order given. (Fannie M. Farmer.) 155 THE HOUSEKEEPER BAKED COD WITH OYSTER STUFFING Clean a four-pound cod, sprinkle with salt and pepper, brush over with lemon juice, stuff and sew. Gash, skewer, and bake as Baked Haddock with Stuffing. OYSTER STUFFING 1 cupful cracker crumbs. y^. cupful melted butter substitute. ^ teaspoon ful salt. ]4, teaspoon ful pepper. \y2 teaspoonfuls lemon juice. Yi tablespoon ful finely chopped parsley. 1 cupful oysters. Add seasonings and fat to cracker crumbs. Clean oysters, chop in small pieces, add to mixture, with two tablespoonfuls oyster liquor to moisten. HOLLENDEN HALIBUT Arrange six thin slices of fat salt pork in a dripping-pan. Cover with one small onion, thinly sliced, and add a bit of bay leaf. Place on the pork a two-pound piece of halibut. Spread with 3 tablespoonfuls butter creamed with 3 table- spoonfuls flour. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with 1 cupful buttered crumbs and place thin slices of salt pork over the crumbs. Cover with buttered paper and bake fifty minutes in a moderate oven, removing paper during the last fifteen minutes of baking to brown the crumbs. Place on a hot serving dish and garnish with slices of lemon and parsley. FRIED SMELTS WITH LEMON SAUCE Allow two medium-sized smelts for each person. Wash, clean and drv the fish. Dip each in flour to which has been added seasoning of salt and pepper. Dip in beaten tgg to which 1 tablespoonful of water has been added, then roll the fish in fine white l^read crumbs. Fry five minutes in deep fat. Drain and serve with lemon sauce. 156 I THE HOUSEKEEPER For the sauce use : 4 tablespoon fuls butter. 5 tablespoonfuls lemon juice. 1 tablespoonful finely chopped parsley. Warm the butter slightly and beat it until very creamy, add slowly the strained lemon juice and chopped parsley. The sauce may be served in cups made from halves of lemon, one cup being placed with each serving of fish. SHAD — ROE CROQUETTES 1 pound shad roe. 3 tablespoonfuls butter. 54 cupful cornstarch. \y2 cupfuls milk. XYi tablespoonfuls lemon juice. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 1 teaspoon ful paprika. Few drops onion juice. 1 ^gg- Cook the roe fifteen minutes in boiling water to which 1 tablespoonful vinegar is added. Scald the milk, cream the butter, add the cornstarch, and when thoroughly blended add the scalded milk and cook fifteen minutes in the top of the double boiler. To the shad roe add the sauce, lemon juice, salt, paprika, onion juice and beaten egg. Cool, shape in croquettes, roll in crumbs, dip in Qgg, then roll in crumbs again, and fry in deep fat until delicately browned. CREAMED FINNAN HADDIE Put the fish in cold water, cover and let soak twenty minutes. Bring the water to the boiling point and cook slowly one-half hour. Drain, rinse and separate the fish into flakes, using a fork. To each cupful of fish use j^ cupful of medium white sauce. Heat together, season with salt, pepper, and plenty of paprika, and serve. 157 THE HOUSEKEEPER CREAMED SALT CODFISH Pick salt codfish in pieces ( there should be 1 cupful ) and soak in lukewarm water fifteen minutes. Drain and add 2 cupfuls thin white sauce. Cook five minutes. Add 1 beaten egg just before removing from fire. Garnish with slices of hard-boiled eggs. Creamed codfish is better made with cream slightly thickened in place of white sauce. CODFISH PUFF Yi cupful shredded codfish. 1 cupful potatoes. Pepper. 1 tablespoon ful butter substitute. Soak the codfish in cold water for fifteen minutes. Shred it into bits. Pare and cut the potatoes in quarters and cook with the codfish in boiling water until tender. Mash, add the fat and pepper. Beat w^ell with a fork until the codfish is in fine threads. Beat the tgg very light and fold into the fish mixture. The mixture should be soft and creamy Have an omelet pan hot. Grease the bottom, add the fish mixture, spread evenly about half -inch thick and cook slow- ly until a brown crust is formed. Loosen the edges and roll one side over halfway and turn out on a hot plate like an omelet. Or shape the fish and potato in small cakes and fry in deep fat one minute, or until brown. FISH CAKES WITH PORK SCRAPS 1 pound shredded codfish. 2 cupfuls hot mashed potato. y^ teaspoon ful pepper. 1 ^gg (well beaten). 2 tablespoonfuls milk. 34 pound fat salt pork. 158 THE HOUSEKEEPER Soak the fish in hikewarni water fifteen minutes. Drain and shred in fine pieces. Add the potato, pepper, egg, well beaten, milk and salt, if necessary. Beat well, shape into small flat cakes and roll in flour. Cut the pork in thin slices and try out in a frying pan ; when crisp, but not burned, remove to a platter. Cook the fish cakes in the fat in the pan until brow^n, and serve with a piece of pork on each cake. FISH BALLS Use the recipe for fish cakes, but shape in i)alls with a tablespoon, and cook in deep fat one minute or until deli- cately browned. SALMON LOAF 1 can salmon. 1 teaspoon ful lemon juice. 1 cupful stale bread crumbs. ^ cupful milk. 1 teaspoon ful salt. Separate the salmon and remove the bones. Add the bread crumbs, beaten egg and the milk. Season with salt and lemon juice. Put into well-greased molds and steam or bake thirty minutes. Turn from the mold, serve hot or cold with white sauce or lemon. OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL Allow 6 oysters on half shell for each plate. Arrange the shells on crushed ice on deep plates, with the shells radi- ating out from the center. Place a quarter of a lemon and a piece of parsley in the center of each plate. Serve with salt, pepper, horse-radish or Worcestershire sauce. 159 THE HOUSEKEEPER CUBE SALT 160 THE HOUSEKEEPER OYSTER COCKTAIL (One Serving) 8 oysters. y^ teaspoon fill grated horse-radish. 2 teaspoon fills lemon juice. 10 drops Worcestershire sauce. 1 teaspoon ful tomato ketchup. Few grains salt. Clean and chill the oysters. Mix the horse-radish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and salt and pour over the oysters. Serve in shefry glasses, grape fruit shells or tomato cups. CREAMED OYSTERS 1 pint oysters. 1/4 cupfuls medium white sauce. ]/& teaspoon ful celery salt. Drain and wash oysters, cook in oyster liquor until plump and edges begin to curl ; drain and add to white sauce seasoned with celery salt. Serve on toast, in timbale cases or patty shells. One-fourth cup sliced mushrooms may be added to Creamed Oysters. SCALLOPED OYSTERS 1 pint oysters. 4 tablespoon fills oyster liquor. 2 tablespoonfuls milk or cream. y2 cupful stale bread crumbs, 1 cupful cracker crumbs. y cupful melted butter substitute. 1 teaspoon ful salt. Pepper. Wash the oysters, mix the bread and the cracker crumbs and the fat. Put a thin layer in the bottom of a buttered baking-dish, cover with oysters, sprinkle with salt and pep- per; add half of the oyster liquor and half of the cream or milk. Cover with another layer of crumbs and oysters, 161 THE HOUSEKEEPER add the remainder of the hquor and milk and cover with crumbs. Never make more than two layers of oysters, for oysters should be evenly cooked through. Bake thirtv min- utes in a hot oven. A sprinkling of nutmeg to each layer adds flavor. TO BOIL LOBSTER Put a handful of salt into a kettle of boiling water, into which place the lobster head first. Boil from twenty to thirty minutes, according to size. Too long or too rapid boiling will make the meat tough and stringy. In buying a lobster, choose one that is heavy for its size : very large ones are likely to be tough. TO DRESS A LOBSTER (Janet McKenzie Hill) Pull off the two large claws and the four pairs of small claws, break apart the tail and body; cut the bony mem- brane on the inside of the tail shell with a pair of scissors or sardine can opener ; then spread the tail slightly and pull out the tlesh in a single piece; open this in the crease on the under side and carefully remove the intestinal vein, which runs the entire length. This vein is always visible, but it differs in color, being white or red. or sometimes from the contents, black. Take the body from the shell, leaving within the shell the stomach or lady. If the coral and green substance remain in the shell, shake them out and set aside for use. Pull off the woolly gills found on the l3ody. then break open the body shell and remove all the bits of flesh found between the bones; this is the sweetest and ten- derest portion of the lobster. Disjoint the large claws and cut the shell, if thin, to remove the flesh as whole as pos- sible. Take the meat from the small claws with a skewer and leave these whole for garnishing. 162 I THE HOUSEKEEPER BROILED LIVE LOBSTER \Vith a strong pointed knife make a deep, sharp cut at the mouth, then draw the knife firmly but quickly through the body and entire length of tail ; open the lobster and take out the stomach, or lady, and the intestinal vein, which runs from the stomach to the tip of the tail. Pull off the small claws, wash carefully, and spread in a well-oiled broiler. Broil over clear coals about ten minutes on the flesh side, basting once with melted butter ; turn and broil a few min- utes less on the shell side ; crack open the large claws and serve at once on a hot serving dish. Serve with melted butter. The lobster may be baked in a hot oven fifteen minutes. Spread with melted butter before baking. LOBSTER A LA NEWBURG 1 pound lobster. Yx cupful butter. ^ teaspoon ful salt. Cayenne (a few grains). 1/3 cupful cream. 2 tgg yolks. Grating of nutmeg. Yi teaspoon ful lemon juice. Cut or break up the lobster meat into cubes. Melt the butter in a pan, add the lobster, and cook until thoroughly heated. Season with salt, cayenne, and nutmeg. Add the cream and Q:gg yolks slightly beaten ; cook until the mixture thickens, add the lemon juice. Serve on toast. STEAMED CLAMS Buy clams for steaming in the shell, alive. Wash clams thoroughly, scrubbing with a brush, changing the water sev- eral times. Put into a large kettle, allowing one-half cup hot water to four quarts clams; cover closely and steam until shells partiallv open, care being taken that they are not overdone. Serve with individual dishes of melted but- ter. A few drops of lemon juice or vinegar may be added to the butter. 163 THE HOUSEKEEPER SHRIMI» PATTIES 1 cupful shrimps, either fresh or canned. 1 cupful cream sauce. 1 egg yolk. 1 teaspoon ful lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Slight grating of nutmeg. Make the sauce by beating together in a saucepan two tablespoonfuls butter with the same quantity flour; then stir in one-half cupful thin cream and one-half cupful milk. Stir until l)()i1ing, cook five minutes, put in the seasonings and the shrimps, which may be divided if very large. Heat thoroughly and, just before serving, add the yolk of the egg. FiW little puff paste cases and serve. — Rumford Com- ])lete Cook Book. 164 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 165 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XI MEAT Conservation of food supplies is one of the most import- ant problems confronting the world today. Under present conditions food products must be bought with economy and utilized with care. The cheaper cuts of meat heretofore have been neglected; possibly because people considered them not good enough, or did not realize their high nutritive value. b"or example, in considering meats we naturally think of the loins and ribs. These constitute only a part of the meat available in the animal. It is obvious that if all the avail- able meat is used properly the total supply of meats will increase in proportion, and the average price will be low- ered correspondingly. True economy consists in knowing the nature of the vari- ous cuts of meat as to their proportion of fat, lean, bone and waste. If we eliminate fat. the edible meats vary little in their food value. The loins and ribs, which form about one-fourth of the weight of the cattle, represent nearly one- half of the retail cost. The rational way to equalize the market is to use all of the meat, but the demand for center cuts of cjuality has so increased that the lower-priced parts are sadly neglected. Yet experience in making soups shows that a greater amount of extract and flavoring matter is found in these cheaper portions. The housewife should take advantage of the fact that tenderness, appearance, and convenience in cooking rather than actual food value largely determine retail prices. The facts are that the cheaper cuts of meat are by far the most economical from every standpoint. She can get the most for her money by purchasing tough cuts and serving tender ones through skillful methods of cooking. 166 THE HOUSEKEEPER TEXTURE AND FLAVOR OF MEAT "Although meats vary greatly in the amount of fat which they contain and to a much less degree in their protein content, the chief difference to be noted between the cheaper and more expensive cuts is not so much in their nutritive value as in their texture and flavor. All muscle consists of tiny fibers which under the microscope are seen to have the form of tubes. These fibers are tender in young animals and in those parts of older animals in which there has been little muscular strain. Under the backbone in the hind quarter is the place from which the tenderest meat comes ; this is usually called the tenderloin. Sometimes in beef and also in pork it is taken out whole, and sometimes it is left to be cut up with the rest of the loin. In old animals, and in those parts of the body where there has been much mus- cular action — the neck and the legs, for example — the muscle fibers are tough and hard. But there is another point which is of even greater importance than this. The fibers of all muscle are bound together in bundles and in groups of bundles by a thin membrane which is known as connective tissue. This membrane, if heated in w^ater or steam, is converted into gelatin. The process goes quickly if the nteat is young and tender; more slowly if it is tough. Flavor in meat depends mainly on certain nitrogenous substances wdiich are called extractives because they can be dissolved out or "extracted" by soaking the meat in cold water. The quality of the extractives and the resulting flavor of the meat vary with the condition of the animal and in different parts of its body. They are usually con- sidered better developed in older than in very young ani- mals. Many persons suppose extractives or the flavor they cause are best in the most expensive cuts of meat ; in reality, cuts on the side of beef are often of better flavor than tender' cuts. The extractives have little or no nutritive value in themselves, but they are of great importance in causing the secretion of digestive juices." *Extract from Farmers' Bulletin 391, "Economical Use of Meat in the Home." 167 THE HOUSEKEEPER The prudent buyer considers the following points in choosing meats : ( 1 ) Quality, which includes color, grain and fat. (2) Method of cooking, which includes flavor, fuel and time. (3) Number to be served; also whether all the meat is to be used at one meal or part reserved for a second serving; the possible use of left-overs. (4) The cost, which means not only the initial outlay, but the total cost of fuel, time and additional material. When meat is brought into the kitchen, either by the de- livery boy or by the housekeeper herself on her return from market, the wrapping should first be removed and the meat weighed to check up the household accounts. Trim ofif any portion of the meat that looks unsound or has a particle of odor. Divide the meat into the proper amount if only a portion of it is to be cooked that day. Wipe with a damp cloth, or scrape the surface of the meat with a knife, but avoid washing it unless necessary, for juices are lost when meat is placed in water. ♦GENERAL METHODS OF PREPARING MEAT There are three typical methods of cooking meat : first, by the application of intense heat to keep in the juices, as by roasting, baking or broiling; second, by placing the meat in cold water and cooking for a long time at a low tempera- ture, i.e., boiling; and third, by a combination of the two processes, first, searing, and then afterwards stewing the meat. The first method is suitable only for the most tender cuts, young poultry, and game birds. There is a distinction between roasting and baking. The word roasting, properly speaking, applies to the old-fashioned method of cooking by the direct radiant heat from the open fire ; whereas bak- ing is cooking by heat reflected by the sides of the oven. The older method of roasting is now very little practised, and the term roasting is most often improperly applied to *Extract from Farmers' Bulletin 391. 168 THE HOUSEKEEPER baking in an oven. The rules for the treatment of the meat, however, are substantially the same in both cases, and the two processes, therefore, may properly be dealt with to- gether. Meat which is to be roasted should never be w^ashed, but only wiped over on the outside with a clean, damp cloth. For baking it should he set on the trivet or meat stand, and placed in a dripping-pan large enough to project tw^o or three inches all around it. The mjodern double dripping- pan, having a close-fitting cover, with a vent to allow the escape of gases and steam from the meat juices, is superior to the old-fashioned single pan. An essential point in roasting or baking meat properly is to expose the joint or bird for the first few minutes to a very high temperature to sear the surface and thereby harden the meat on the outside so as to prevent the escape of the meat juices, and then to lower the temperature and keep it at a lower point for the remainder of the time. The proper temperature for a large piece of meat at the begin- ning is about 550 degrees Fahrenheit, but after the surface is well browned the temperature should be lowered to about 400 degrees, and kept at this point until the process is fin- ished. To accomplish this, meat to be baked should be placed in the hottest part of the oven until the surface is thoroughly browned. Then it should be m0ved to a cooler part of the oven. H a gas oven is being used, the gas should be turned on full, in advance, and allowed to burn about ten minutes. Then it may be turned do\vn slightly to re- duce the temperature. In the absence of an oven thermome- ter the cook must, of course, learn by experiment the proper management of her own oven. Basting and Larding. — Meat, while being cooked, whether by roasting or baking, must be often basted, i.e., the melted fat which has run from it must be poured over its surface with a spoon to prevent the roast from drying out or burn- ing. In order to insure that there may be sufficient dripping for this purpose, the cook must notice whether the rrieat has 169 THE HOUSEKEEPER enough fat; otherwise a httle additional fat should be put in the pan and also upon the top of the roast. Lean joints of meat, or poultry, game, and the like — which have no natural fat on the outside — should be larded by having slices of fat bacon laid over them and tied tightly with a cord to protect the meat from browning too rapidly. Or a piece of buttered paper may be used for this purpose, which should be taken off during the last fifteen minutes so that the sur- face may become brown. Larding is usually necessary for Lay them over the steak, and serve. thick pieces only. Meat baking in the oven — except for very small pieces — requires basting at intervals of twenty minutes. Time for Cooking a Roast. — Some experience is required to determine when a roast is sufficiently done. The inex- perienced cook should consult the Complete Time Table, elsewhere given. But one must also consider that the time required depends upon the weight and the quality of the roast. As a general rule, a thick piece of beef requires fifteen minutes to the pound, and fifteen minutes over. A similar piece of pork or veal will require twenty minutes to the pound, and fifteen minutes over; poultry, fifteen minutes to the pound. With a little experience the cook should be able to tell when the meat is done by piercing with a fork upon the outside. Broiling. — Broiling, like roasting, is cooking by the direct rays of the fire ; unlike roasting, it is adapted to small and thin pieces of meat, such as chops, steak, chicken, and smaller game birds. The w4iole of the cooking is accom- plished by heat applied to the outside, but so regulated as to allow the outside to be hardened while the inside is be- ing gently cooked. To accomplish perfect broiling some care and experience are required. In cooking on the grill, the state of the fire must be taken into consideration. The coals must be glowing, without smoke or flame. Should flame arise, a few drops of cold water sprinkled over the 170 THE HOUSEKEEPER coals will cause them to subside. For broiling by gas, the gas must be lighted long enough in advance to radiate a strong heat, both over and under the grill. The grill should be greased with suet or pieces of larding pork, and the steak or other pieces of meat to be broiled laid on this, held at a proper distance from the fire, and turned once in a while till done. A chop or steak, when properly grilled, should look plump in the middle, and should be rare and juicy rather than dry and hard. For full instructions as to the time required for broiling, consult the Complete Time Table. But observe that, in general, the time is regulated, not by weight, but by the thickness of the meat, and is approximately as follows : for a steak one and one-half inches thick, underdone, fifteen minutes; well done, twenty minutes. For a steak one inch thick, underdone, twelve minutes; well done, fifteen min- utes. For spring chicken, fifteen minutes, squab chicken, ten minutes. For a lamb chop, seven minutes, and for a veal chop, fifteen minutes. CUTS OF BEEF The beef animal is cut in halves lengthwise along the back. Each half or side weighs about 450 pounds, and is divided into the fore and hind quarters. FORE QUARTER CUTS Neck^ — Good for mincemeat; also as a brown stew. Flavor and richness are added by cooking with salt pork. Chuck — Suitable for pot roasts, stews, casserole dishes and spiced beef. Ribs — There are seven ribs in this cut. About one-half is lean meat, one-third fat and one-sixth bone. The two ribs nearest the loin make excellent roasts. Ribs are al- ways roasted. Shank — Used mostly for soups and stews ; also for ham- burger steak, 171 THE HOUSEKEEPER WILSON PRODUCTS 172 THE HOUSEKEEPER Clod — Used for steaks and pot roast. Brisket — Used mostly for corned beef, also used for soup, pot roast and stew. Plate — Suitable for soup and pot roast. Generally used for making corned beef. HIND QUARTER CUTS Rump — About one-third fat and one-half lean meat. Generally used for steaks, corning, braising and pot roast. Round — A juicy cut, free from fat. The top (or inside) is used for steak and roasts. The bottom (or outside) is best chopped. Loin — Contains the choicest steaks and is divided into two portions, the short loin and the loin end. This latter cut contains the sirloin, pinbone and porterhouse steaks. Shank — Used for soup and stews. Flank — Practically a boneless cut. Can be used with very little waste. Contains the flank steak. Flank meat makes excellent pot pie. OTHER PARTS Heart — Braised. Tail used for soup. Tongue — Boiled. Kidneys — Stewed. Brains — Scalloped or creamed. Tripe — Stewed or fried. Suet — Tried out, used as fat. Thymus gland and pancreas (calfs) or sweetbreads. TO BROIL A STEAK Grease a broiler with beef fat, place the steak in it, and hold it over a clear fire while counting ten slowly. Turn the broiler and hold the other side down for the same length of time. Turn the meat once in ten seconds for about one 173 THE HOUSEKEEPER minute, or until it is well seared ; then hold it farther from the hre, turning occasionally, until the surface is brown. Broil five or six minutes. When the steak is cooked, lay it on the platter, spread both sides with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. STEAK SAVORY (Hungarian Recipe) 1 pound round steak. 1 teaspoon ful butter. 1/^ teaspoon ful salt. 34 teaspoon ful pepper. 1/^ cupful choi)ped beef fat. 2 onions. Cut the steak into four parts. Place a frying pan over the fire with enough beef fat to grease the pan. When verv hot, put in the meat and fry over a quick fire until brown on both sides. Remove to a hot dish. Mix butter, salt, and pepper. Spread this over both sides of the steak and set in a warm place. Put chopped beef fat in the pan and frv, remove the bits of fat, leaving the liquid fat in the pan. Add to this the onions cut in slices, season with salt, cover, and cook five minutes, stirring them occasionally. Lay them over the steak, and serve. STEAK A LA BORDELAISE 1 Sirloin steak. 2 tablespoonfuls butter. 2 tablespoonfuls flour. 2 cup fuls beef stock. 2 tablespoonfuls chopped raw ham. 1/) bay leaf. 1 tablespoon ful chopped onion. Salt and pepper to taste. 1 tabdespoonful tomato ketchup. 1/2 cupful finelv chopped mushrooms. 174 THE HOUSEKEEPER Brown the butter and flour, stir in the stock ; when thick and smooth, add the ham, bay leaf, and onion. Cover and simmer gently for an hour, then strain. Add salt, pepper, ketchup, and mushrooms, and keep hot. Broil a sirloin steak, arrange on a hot platter, and pour this sauce around it. PLANKED STEAK Wipe, remove superfluous fat, and pan broil seven min- utes a porterhouse or cross-cut of the rump steak cut one and three fourths inches thick. Butter a plank and arrange a border of Duchess Potatoes close to edge, using a pastry- bag and rose tube. Remove steak to plank, put in a hot oven, and bake until steak is cooked and potatoes are browned. Spread steak with butter, sprinkle with salt, pep- per, and hnely chopped parsley. Garnish top of steak with sauted mushroom caps, and put around steak at equal dis- tances halves of small tomatoes sauted in butter and on top of each tomato a circular slice of cucumber. ( Fannie M. Farmer.) HAMBURG STEAK Two pounds round beef chopped fine; press it into a flat steak. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a little onion juice ; flour lightly, and broil as beefsteak. Make a brown gravy with a little soup stock, thicken with flour, and pour around the steak. This name is commonly given to inexpensive cuts of beef chopped, seasoned a little, shaped into small balls or into one large thin cake, and quickly broiled in the way that a tender steak would be. Owing to the quick cooking much of the natural flavor of the meat is developed and retained. The fact should be kept in mind that Flamburg steak must be made from fresh, well-ground meat. It is much safer to chop the meat at home, as chopped meat spoils very quickly. Much depends, too, upon browning it sufficiently to bring out the flavors. Many cooks think that Hamburg steak is improved if the meat is mixed with milk before it is cooked. 175 THE HOUSEKEEPER INDIAN PACKING CO. 176 THE HOUSEKEEPER ROAST BEEF Use. if possible, a covered roaster for cooking any sort of meat. The result is a more tender roast and less shrink- age. Wipe the meat, set it in a dripping pan. skin side down. Rub with salt and pepper, then dredge with flour. Have the oven as hot as possible when meat is put in, so the outside will sear cjuickly and prevent the escape of the meat juice. As soon as the flour in the pan is brown, reduce the heat and baste with the fat in the pan. When the meat is half done, turn it on the other side and dredge with flour, allowing one hour for each five pounds if the meat is de- sired rare. An hour and twenty minutes is needed if you wish it well done. ROAST BEEF GRAVY Pour out most of the fat, leaving 4 tablespoon fuls; set the pan on top of the stove, add ^4 cupful flour, and stir it with the fat until well browned. Add gradually from 1 to 2 cupfuls boiling water, and beat the gravy smooth with a wire spoon; if it is not rich enough in coloring, brown with 1/2 teaspoonful kitchen bou([uet. Season with salt and pepper. BRAISED BEEF 3 pounds beef. 2 ounces fat salt pork. 2 tablespoon fuls flour. 3 teaspoon fuls salt. 1 teaspoonful pepper. 11/2 pints water. 2 tablespoonfuls mjnced onion. 2 tablespoonfuls minced carrot. 2 whole cloves. 1 sprig parsley. 177 THE HOUSEKEEPER Cut the pork into thin slices and fry until brown and crisp. Take out the pork, putting the vegetables in the fat remaining in the pan, and cook slowly fifteen minutes. Rub half the pepper and 2 teaspoon fuls salt over the piece of meat, and place it in a deep granite ware pan. When the vegetables are cooked, put them with the meat, first pressing from them as much fat as possible. Into the fat remaining in the pan put the flour, and stir until it becomes brown. Add the water gradually, stirring all the while. Season this gravy with the remainder of the salt and pepper, and boil for five minutes ; then pour over the meat in the pan. Add the cloves and parsley. Cover the pan and set in a very moderate oven. Cook for five hours, basting every half hour with the gravy in the pan. The oven must never be so hot that the gravy will boil. BEEF STEW WITH DUMPLINGS 2 pounds upper part of round steak with the bone. 3 pints boiling water. 1 turnip. 1 carrot. 1 onion. V2 tablespoon ful salt. Ys tablespoon ful pepper. 1/2 bay leaf. 1/3 cupful flour for thickening. Wipe meat and cut in one and one half inch pieces, sprinkle with a little salt and flour. Put some of the fat in a hot frying pan, and when tried out, add meat, turning often, till well browned. Then put in a kettle with the bones, add boiling water, rinsing out frying pan with some of it, that none of the fat will be wasted. Let meat boil for five minutes, then set back on the stove where it will cook slowly for two hours. Add onion, carrot, and turnip which have been cut in half-inch cubes, and cook for another hour. Twelve minutes before the stew is done, put dumplings on a perforated tin pie plate, or in a steamer, cover closely, and do not lift the cover until stew is cooked. 178 THE HOUSEKEEPER DUMPLINGS 2 ciipfuls flour. 4 teaspoonfuls baking powder. 2/3 cupful milk or a little more if needed. 14 teaspoon ful salt. 2 teaspoonfuls butter. Mix and sift the dry ingredients. Work in the butter with the tips of fingers, add milk gradually, roll out to a thickness of one-half inch and cut with biscuit cutter. In some countries it is customary to season the dumplings themselves with herbs, etc., or to stuff them with bread crumbs fried in butter instead of depending upon the gravy to season them. CASSEROLE FLANK STEAK A flank steak. 1 tablespoon ful vinegar. % cupful rolled oats. % cupful boiling water. 1 cupful browned corn bread or muffin crumbs. 1 teaspoonful salt. 1 teaspoonful fine sage. 1 tablespoonful chopped onion. 1 teaspoonful chopped green pepper. 1/2 teaspoonful pepper. 12 small potatoes. 12 tiny carrots. Water. 2 tablespoon fuls flour. Score the steak, being careful not to cut all the way through ; brush with vinegar and let stand while preparing the filling. Pour the boiling water over the oat flakes and cook until the water is all absorbed. Let cook and mix it with the crumbs, which have been browned in the oven, and the seasonings ; add enough water to moisten sufficiently to spread on steak. After spreading the filling on the steak. 179 THE HOUSEKEEPER ARMOUR 180 THE HOUSEKEEPER roll, skewer, or tie together; lard with trimmings from the steak. Place in a greased casserole, arrange potatoes and carrots around the steak, pour in one-half cupful of water, cover, and place in oven for about one hour. Remove meat and vegetables and use flour and water as needed in making gravy. Sliced large potatoes and carrots may be used if desired. STEWED SHIN OF BEEF 4 pounds of shin of beef. 1 medium-sized onion. 1 whole clove and a small bay leaf. 1 sprig of parsley. ll^ tablespoon fuls of flour. 1 small slice of carrot. 1/^- tablespoonful of salt. ^ teaspoon ful of pepper. 2 quarts of boiling water. 11/2 tablespoon fuls of butter or savory drippmgs. Have the butcher cut the bone in several pieces. Put all the ingredients but the flour and butter into a stewpan and bring to a boil. Set the pan where the liquid will just simmer for six hours, or after boiling for five or ten min- utes, put all into the fireless cooker for eight or nine hours. With the butter, flour, and one-half cupful of the clear soup from which the fat has been removed, make a brown sauce; to this add the meat and the marrow removed from the bone. Heat and serve. The remainder of the liquid in which the meat has been cooked may be used for soup. FILLIPING BEEF 1 pound round beef. ]/> pound lean fresh pork. 1 small onion. 1 green pepper. 1 teaspoon ful of salt. 181 THE HOUSEKEEPER 1 cup of soft stale bread crumbs. 1 ^gg- 2 cups of stewed tomatoes. 2 slices of bacon. 2 tablespoon fuls of butter. 4 tablespoonfuls of flour. Remove the seeds from the pepper and put it through the meat grinder with the meats and the onion. Add crumbs, tgg, and salt. Make into a roll, place in a shallow baking dish, pour the strained tomatoes around it, put the bacon on top, and bake forty minutes, basting with the tomatoes. Thicken the gravy with the flour cooked in the butter. A little seasoning such as a bit of bay leaf, a clove and a small piece of onion improves the tomato sauce. As the pepper and onion are not likely to be cooked as soon as the meat, it is well to fry them in a little fat before adding to the other ingredients. This dish will serve 6 to 8 people. HOT MEAT SANDWICHES Prepare the recipe for baking powder biscuit. Roll it into a thin, rectangular sheet. Have ready any variety or two varieties of tender cooked meat, chopped fine, li cold roast nleat be used, it nmst be cooked tender and all inedible portions removed before chopping. Moisten the meat with a very little cold sauce and spread it over the dough. Do not use too much. Roll like a jelly-roll ; cut into six pieces, and set these on end in a greased baking pan, with a bit of butter above each. Bake about twenty-five minutes. Serve at once with plenty of brown or cream sauce, according to the variety of meat. Corned beef with cream sauce is good. Chicken and ham with bechamel sauce (chicken broth and rich milk ) is another good combination. 182 THE HOUSEKEEPER MEAT TURNOVERS Almost any kind of chopped meat may be used in these, and if the quantity on hand is small may be mixed with potato or cooked rice. This fillins;" should l)e seasoned to taste with salt and pepper, onion, or whatever is relished, and laid on pieces of short biscuit dough rolled thin and cut into circles about the size of an ordinary saucer. The edges of the dough should be moistened with white of egg, the dough then folded over the meat, and its edges pinched closely together. If desired, the tops of the turnovers may be brushed over with yolk of egg before they are placed in the oven. About half an hour's baking in a hot oven is required. Serving with a brown sauce increases the flavor and moistens the crust. BOILED DINNER To Boil Corned Beef — Wi[)e the meat and tie securely in shape, if this has not been already done at market. Put in kettle, cover with cold water, and bring slowly to boiling- point. Boil five minutes, remove scum, and cook at a lower temperature until tender. Cool slightly in water in which it w^as cooked, remove to a dish, cover and place on cover a weight, that meat may be well pressed. The lean meat and fat may be separated and put in alternate layers in a bread pan, then covered and pressed. A boiled dinner consists of warm unpressed corned beef, served with cabbage, beets, turnips, carrots, and potatoes. After removing meat from water, skitu off fat and cook vegetables (with exception of beets, which require a long- time for cooking) in this water. Carrots re(|uire a longer time for cooking than cabbage or turnips. Carrots and tur- nips, if small, may be cooked whole; if large, cut in pieces. Cabbage and beets are served in separate dishes, other vege- tables on same dish with meat. 183 THE HOUSEKEEPER HUNGARIAN GOULASH 2 pounds top round of beef. A little flour. 2 ounces salt pork. 2 cupfuls tomato. 1 stalk celery. 1 onion. 2 bay leaves. 6 whole cloves. 6 peppercorns. 1 blade mace. Cut the beef into 2-inch pieces and sprinkle with flour; fry the salt pork until light brown; add the beef and cook slowly for about thirty-five minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover with water and simmer about two hours, season with salt and pepper or paprika. From the vegetables and spices a sauce is made as fol- lows : cook in sufficient water to cover for twenty minutes ; then rub through a sieve, and add to some of the stock in which the meat was cooked. Thicken with flour, using 2 tablespoonfuls (moistened with cold water) to each cup of liquid, and season with salt and paprika. Serve the meat on a platter with the sauce poured over it. Potatoes, carrots, and green peppers cooked until tender, and cut into small pieces or narrow strips, are usually sprinkled over the dish when served, and noodles may be arranged in a border upon the platter. AMERICAN CHOP SUEY 3 slices salt pork. 3 medium onions. 11/2 pounds hamburg steak. 1 can Campbell's tomato soup. 1 cupful hot water. 1 cupful cooked macaroni or spaghetti. 184 li THE HOUSEKEEPER Try out the salt pork and fry the onions in the fat until delicately browned. Place in a baking dish and add the meat. Spread on this the macaroni and over all pour the soup and hot water. Season with salt, pepper and paprika, cover and bake one and one-half hours in a moderate oven. STUFFED HEART Wash the heart thoroughly inside and out, stuff with the following mixture, and sew up the opening : one cupful broken bread dipped in fat and browned in the oven, 1 chopped onion, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover the heart with water and simmer until tender or boil ten minutes and set in the fireless cooker for six or eight hours. Remove from the water about one-half hour before serving. Dredge with flour, pepper, and salt, or sprinkle with crumbs and bake until brown. BOILED TONGUE Bend the tip of the tongue around and tie it to the root. Put it in cold water and place over the tire. When it boils, pour ofif the water, and put it on again in cold water. Boil until tender. Remove the skin, roots, and fat, and serve cold. Tongues may also be braised and served cold. (Mary J. Lincoln. ) SWEETBREADS AND MACARONI SAUCE 2 beef sweetbreads. 12 sticks macaroni. 2 tablespoon fuls butter. 2 tablespoonfuls flour. 1 cupful cream. Salt and pepper. Parboil the sweetbreads, cut into small pieces. Boil the macaroni ; when tender, cut it in tiny pieces, making little rings. Into a saucepan put butter and flour; stir, add the cream; when smooth, add the macaroni and sweetbreads. Season wnth salt and pepper. Boil up and serve. 185 THE HOUSEKEEPER TRIPE A LA CREOLE (Southern Recipe) 2 tablespoonfiils butter. 12 peppercorns. 2 cloves. • 1 blade mace. 1 onion chopped fine. 2 tablespoonfiils flour. 1/4 cupfnls strained tomato. Mi pound boiled tripe. Place in a saucepan the butter, peppercorns, cloves, mace, and onion chopped fine. Cook slowly until the butter is light brown; add the flour, and brown again. Add the tomatoes, strain, and return to the fire. Season to taste; add the boiled tripe, cut into inch strips ; cover, and simmer gently for twenty minutes. HUNGARIAN KIDNEY 1 beef kidney. 11/2 tablespoonfuls butter. Yi teaspoon ful salt. 1/3 teaspoon ful white pepper. 4 tablespoonfuls beef stock. 1 tablespoon ful chopped mushrooms. Yolks 2 eggs. 2/3 cupful milk. Wash the kidney, and with a sharp knife cut off the outer part of each lobe, rejecting the purplish portion and tubes. Put the butter, salt, and pepper in saucepan. When hot, add the kidney ; shake, and cook for five minutes ; add the beef stock and mushrooms; simmer for ten minutes. Mix the eggs and milk, add to the contents of the saucepan, stir until the sauce begins to thicken ; then take from the fire, and serve in a hot dish. SHEPHERD'S PIE Cover the bottom of a greased baking dish with hot mashed potato, add a thick layer of chopped roast beef 186 THE HOUSEKEEPER (seasoned with salt, pepper and onion juice) moisten with gravy. Cover with a layer of mashed potato and bake in a hot oven to heat thoroughly and brown the top. DRIED BEEF WITH CREAM y^. pound dried beef, thinly sliced. 2 cupfuls milk. 1 tablespoon ful fat. 2 tablespoonfuls flour. y^. teaspoonful salt. Speck of pepper. Remove the skin and separate the dried beef in pieces, Cover with hot water, let stand 3 minutes and drain. Make a white sauce by blending the fat and flour and adding the milk gradually. Cook until the sauce thickens, add the dried beef, season and serve on scpares of hot toast. TRYING OUT FAT A double boiler is the best utensil to use in trying out small portions of fat. There is no danger of burning the fat and the odor is much less noticeable than if it is heated in a dish set directly over the fire. CLARIFYING FAT Excepting where the purpose of clarifying fat is to re- mjove flavors, a good method to follow is to pour boiling water over the fat, boil thoroughly, and then to set it away to cool. The cold fat may be removed in a solid cake and any impurities clinging to it may be scraped off, as they will be found at the bottom of the layer. By repeating this process two or three times a cake of clean, white fat may be obtained. A slight burned taste or similar objectionable flavors often can be removed from fat by means of potatoes. After melting the fat, put into it thick slices of raw potato ; heat gradually. When the fat ceases to bubble and the potatoes are brown, strain through a cloth placed in a wire strainer. 187 THE HOUSEKEEPER VEAL ROAST BREAST OF VEAL 1 cupful stale bread. 3 tablespoonfuls butter substitute or drippiugs. 2 tablesjjoonfuls niiuced ouion. l/> teasi)()()uful salt. 1 pcrcr Small breast veal (about 3 pouuds). 1 tables[)oonful cornstarcb. Soak stale bread in cold water; when soft press out the water, place fat with minced onion over the fire stir and cook \'\\'t^ minutes without browning, then add the l)read, cook live minutes longer, season with salt and pepi)er, add beaten egg and mix. Have the butcher prepare the veal for ("ilUng, with a damp cloth wipe the meat, season inside and out with 1 tal)lespoonful salt and 1/2 teaspoonful pepper, tben stuff ibc breast, sew it up, la\' the meat in a roasting pan, with slices of pork under it and lay three small slices of pork on top. Place the pan in hot oven, roast until the meat l)ecomes light l)rown, basting fre([uently until done; add more water should the gravy brown too much. Ten minutes before serving, lay the meat on a platter, remove the fat from the gravy, mix cornstarch wdth ^ cupful cold water, add to it the sauce, stir and cook three minutes, then strain and j)()ur the sauce over the meat. BROWN STEW 2 pounds veal. 2 tablespoonfuls drippings. 2 tablespoon fids Hour. 1 pint water. 1 teaspoonful salt. Pepper. Slice onion. 1 teaspoonful kitchen bouquet. 1 bay leaf. 188 THE HOUSEKEEPER Cut the veal into cubes and roll in tlour. Put 2 table- spoonfuls tat into a pan; when hot. add the meat, and stir constantly until browned. Dust with the tlour, add the water and stir, add the salt and pepper, onion, kitchen bou- quet, and bay leaf. C\:)vcr, and sinuner gently for an hour or until meat is tender. VEAL LOAF 4 pounds raw lean veal. 14 pound ham. 54 pound salt pork. 1 cupful stale bread crumbs. % cupful melted fat. 1 teaspoonful salt. 1 teaspoonful paprika. 1 teaspoonful onion juice. y^. teaspoonful allspice. ^ teaspoonful nutmeg. % teaspoonful cloves. 1 lemon, juice and rind. 2 eggs. Chop very fine the veal, ham, and salt pork. Mix with meat the bread crumbs soaked in milk, butter, seasonings, and well-beaten eggs. Press into a buttered bread pan, bake one hour. Cut when cold into thin slices. VEAL BIRDS (English Recipe) Cut thin slices of veal into pieces two and a half by four inches. Chop the trimmings of the meat fine with one small slice of fat salt pork and half as m^uch cracker crumbs as there is meat. Season highly with salt, cayenne, and onion juice, moisten with beaten tgg and a little hot water. Spread each slice of veal with this mixture and roll tightly; fasten with a toothpick. Dredge wth flour, pepper, and salt, and fry slowdy in hot fat. Add I/2 cupful cream, and sim- mer twenty minutes. Remove the fastenings, put the birds on toast, pour the cream over them. 189 THE HOUSEKEEPER CURRY OF VEAL 2 tablespoonfuls butter or drippings. 1/^ pounds veal. 14 onion, chopped. 1 pint milk. 1 tablespoonful flour. 1 teaspoon ful curry powder. Salt and pepper. Fry the onions in the butter or drippings, remove and fry the veal, cut in pieces until it is brown. Transfer the meat to the double boiler, cover with milk and cook until the meat is tender. 20 minutes before the meat is cooked add the curry powder and the flour mixed to a paste with 2 tablespoonfuls cold water. Cook 20 minutes stirring until the mixture thickens. LAMB AND MUTTON ROAST LEG OF LAMB Remove the outer skin, then dredge the meat with salt, pepper, and flour. Place strips of fat pork over the top, roast in a hot oven basting with hot water as soon as flour is browned, dredge with more flour and baste every 15 minutes. Time required for leg of lamb, lj/2 hours, mut- ton 1% hours. STUFFED SHOULDER OF MUTTON 1 medium shoulder of mutton. 1 cupful bread crumbs. 1 tablespoonful chopped parsley. Grated rind of half a lemon. 1 tablespoonful chopped suet or drippings. Salt and pepper to taste. 1 ^gg- Have butcher remove the blade bone from the shoulder. Mix the bread crumbs with the parsley, lemon, suet, salt and pepper, and add the egg well beaten. Stuff the cavity from 190 THE HOUSEKEEPER which the bone was removed. Sew up the opening and roast, basting every fifteen minutes with a Httle hot water or the meat will be dry. Allow fifteen minutes to the pound. Serve with a thick, brown gravy. Other dressings may be used if preferred. BROILED LAMB OR MUTTON CHOPS Have the chops cut thick, wipe them and remove extra skin and fat. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Place on broiler, broil over very quick fire, turning frequently. Broil seven minutes for lamb and ten to fifteen minutes for mut- ton chops. Pile neatly on a hot platter and put a small piece of butter on each. Garnish with parsley or serve with green peas. BREADED CHOPS 6 loin chops. 1 cupful bread crumbs. 1 teaspoonful salt. Pepper. Have chops cut three quarters of an inch thick. Dip each in beaten egg and lay on a meat board. Mix bread crumbs with salt and pepper, and a little grated nutmeg. Roll the chops in the bread crumbs and fry in deep fat until light brown. Garnish with slices of lemon and sprigs of parsley. TOURNADOES OF LAMB Buy six kidney lamb chops cut 2 inches thick. Remove fat and bone. Coil around each chop a thin strip of bacon, having bacon overlap and fasten with a wooden skewer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, arrange in a baking pan and bake fifteen minutes in a hot oven. 191 THE HOUSEKEEPER MUTTON STEW 1^ pounds breast of mutton. 4 potatoes (medium sized, quartered and parboiled). 2 tablespoon fuls rice. Salt and pepper. 1 pint boiling water. 1 onion (sliced about 1^ inches in diameter). 1 cupful tomato, strained or 1 tablespoon ful tomato ketchup. Brown onions in a little fat in sauce pan. Put with them meat cut in j^ inch cubes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover meat with boiling water, let simmer two hours or until meat is tender. After one hour of simmering, add rice. Half an hour before serving the stew add potatoes. When they are cooked remove bones and pieces of fat and stir in tomato or ketchup. MUTTON STEW WITH BARLEY Cut two pounds meat from the neck or breast into small pieces and put into a kettle wnth enough water to cover. Use a cup and a half of water to a pound of meat. Add four medium onions cut in pieces, six diced carrots, salt and pepper. For each pint of licjuid add a third of a cup of pearl barley. Simmer gently for two to three hours or until meat is tender. HOT POT OF MUTTON AND BARLEY One pound mutton, one-half cup pearl barley, one table- spoonful salt, four potatoes, three onions, celery tops or other seasoning herbs. Cut the mutton in small pieces, and brown with the onion in fat cut from meat. This helps make the meat tender and improves the flavor. Pour this into a sauce-pan. Add two quarts water and the barley. Simmer for one and one-half hours. Then add the potatoes cut in quarters, seasoning herbs and seasoning and cook one-half hour longer. 192 THE HOUSEKEEPER LAMB FRICASSEE 2 pounds breast lamb. 2 tablespoon fills fat or drippings. 2 tablespoon fuls chopped onion. 2 teaspoonfuls salt. 2 tablespoon fuls flour. Yi tablespoon ful butter. Dip the lamb into boiling water, then into cold water; cut the meat into two-inch pieces. Melt the fat in a sauce- pan, add the onions, and cook five minutes. Season the meat with the salt ; add it to the fat and onions in the sauce- pan ; cook ten minutes, cover with boiling water, cover and cook until tender. Shortly before serving, melt ^ table- spoonful butter, add the flour, stir until smooth, add it to the fricassee, and boil five minutes longer. IRISH STEW 2 pounds mutton suitable for stewing. 8 medium-sized potatoes. About XYi pints water. 6 small onions. 1 small carrot. Salt and pepper. Cut the meat into pieces of convenient size for serving. Remove some of the fat and put the meat into a saucepan with the water which should be boiling; add the onions peeled and cut into thin slices, also the carrot scraped and sliced. Cook very gently — the water should only simmer, for hard boiling would toughen the meat — and at the end of an hour add the potatoes, peeled and cut in thick pieces. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and continue to cook till the potatoes are tender. Then serve all together in one dish. 193 THE HOUSEKEEPER PORK ROAST PORK Select a piece of loin pork three pounds in weight; score the rind across one eighth of an inch apart, season with ^ tablespoon ful salt and ^ teaspoon ful pepper; lay the pork in a covered roasting pan. place it in a medium hot ov^en, roast till light brown, then add \A cupful boiling water; con- tinue to roast until meat is crisp and brown and perfectly tender allowing about twenty-hve minutes to the pound. Transfer to a hot dish and make a gravy from three table- spoonfuls fat from the pan three tablespoon fuls flour and l/'2 cupfuls water. Strain, and serve with the meat. PORK TENDERLOINS WITH SWEET POTATOES Wipe tenderloins, put in a dripping pan and brown ((uicklv in a hot oven; then sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake forty-hve minutes, basting every fifteen minutes. Pare six potatoes and parboil ten minutes, drain, put in pan with meat, and cook until soft, basting when basting meat. ( Fannie M. Farmer. ) BAKED PORK CHOPS WITH APPLES Sprinkle the chops with salt, pepper and a little sage, then roll them in hnelv ground bread crumbs and place in a dripping pan. Set half of a cored apple on each one and bake thirty minutes in a moderate oven. When the crumbs are slightly browned, a little water should be added to the pan. (IdaC. B. Allen. ) 194 THE HOUSEKEEPER WEAR-EVER ALUMINUM You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 195 THE HOUSEKEEPER TO BOIL A HAM Scrub the ham thoroughly with cold water in which there is a little baking soda. Place in a large kettle, cover with cold water and bring to the boiling point. Simmer slowly until the ham is perfectly tender allowing about thirty min- utes to the pound. Cool in the water in which it is cooked. Remove from the water, peel ofT the skin and roll in three cupfuls dried bread or cracker crumbs in which three table- spoonfuls brown sugar is mixed. Stick with cloves, place in the oven and bake until the crumbs form a crisp brown crust. BAKED HAM IN MILK 2 pounds ham sliced 1 inch thick. Flour. 1 tablespoon ful butter substitute. Milk. Pepper. Soak the ham an hour in warm water, drain, place in a casserole, sprinkle thickly with flour, season with pepper, cover with milk and dot over with butter substitute. Bake until the ham is tender ^ — about forty- five minutes. (Ida C. B. Allen.) BREAKFAST BACON Place slices of bacon on a wire rack in a dripping pan. Bake in a hot oven about ten minutes or until crisp. Save the fat for cooking. BAKED SAUSAGES Prick the sausages, place in a dripping pan and bake in a moderate oven about twenty-five minutes. SELECTION OF POULTRY Chicken, turkey, geese, and domestic ducks are classified as poultry ; wild duck, wild geese, partridge, reed birds, quail, and other small birds, as game. Poultry is a staple 196 THE HOUSEKEEPER article of diet, being more or less available at every season of the year. The first broilers come into the market very early in the spring, and continue to become more plentiful, and to decrease in price during the spring and summer. The season for broilers may be said to be at its height in May and June. The so-called milk-fed and early spring chickens begin to become available in July, and continue in the market until August. They are commonly cooked, either a la casserole, or roasted. Philadelphia capons begin to come in about the same time as roasting chicken, namely, in September. They are commonly served at dinner, usually roasted. The capon has a somewhat larger and plumper carcass than other chicken, and is further dis- tinguished by its rich flavor. Chicken and other poultry is usually most plentiful before Thanksgiving, and the supply of local stock is generally exhausted on or before the holidays. After this the city markets are supplied chiefly with cold storage stock, and hold the local stock at an average level of about one-third higher. As the season advances, the tendency is for local stock to increase in relative price as the cold storage stocks shrink and deteriorate in c|uality. The season for turkey is now very similar to that for chicken. Not many years ago turkeys were thought to be at their best only on or after Thanksgiving Day, but young turkeys, comparable to chicken broilers and milk- fed chicken, are now commonly cooked and accepted as a sum- mer delicacy. Young Guinea hen broilers and roasting chickens are also very delicious, being even more tender when properly cooked, than chicken, and having a distinc- tive flavor that makes them an excellent substitute for game birds. The season for domestic ducks is the same as that for chicken. The c|viality of poultry depends upon the breed, the method of feeding, the age of the bird when killed, the manner in which the carcass is dressed, and the length of time that it has been upon the market. The best chickens 197 THE HOUSEKEEPER have soft, yellow feet, smooth, thick legs, and smooth yel- low or white skins. The yellow skinned birds are likely to be more plump, those having white skin more tender. The skin should be moist and tender, and the breast plump and firm. The cartilage of the breast bone should be soft and pliable but this cartilage is sometimes broken to deceive pur- chasers, a device which, however, if the purchaser is upon his guard, can be very easily detected. Grain-fed chickens are to be preferred to those fed upon table scraps or garbage. Fowls fed upon rice, as is quite customary in certain parts of the South, have white fat, and the Southern barnyard fed turkey, fattened on small rice, is among the finest of domestic fowl. Poultry fed on cornmeal have yellow fat. The so-called milk- fed chickens are presumed to be fed, or at least fattened, in large parts, upon meal, or other ground grain mixed with milk instead of water. The age of poultry, at the time of killing may usually be detected by the legs and feet, which in young birds are smooth, moist, and supple, and in older fowl hard and scaly. One test is to try the skin under the leg or wing, or to seize a pinch of the breast meat and twist it. If the skin and flesh is tender and breaks easily, the bird is young and fresh. Otherwise, it is probably old, and certainly is tough. Also turn the wing backward, if the joint yields readily it is tender. The eyes of fresh young fowls are full and bright. A growth of hair over the carcass is an indication of age in both chicken and turkey. Plentiful pin feathers denote a young bird. The flesh of the old turkey, where it shows under the skin upon the back and legs, is purplish. Observe in this connection that about March turkeys begin to deteriorate in quality. Great care should be taken to avoid poultry the flesh of which has become tainted and un- wholesome. All poultry should be promptly and propeily drawn, but the laws of some states permit of fowls being 198 THE HOUSEKEEPER kept for sale undrawn, a condition which is not only a serious menace to health, but is ruinous to their proper flavor. The partly, or otherwise improperly, drawn chicken is often as bad (and sometimes even worse ) than the undrawn one. The higher price charged in most markets for the so-called Philadelphia chicken is a premium paid for proper methods of killing and preparing them for market. The flavor of poultry is also impaired by scalding, as an aid in removing the feathers, hence the dry picked fowl sells at a higher price, and is to be preferred, although its appearance may be somewhat less attractive. A domestic duck or goose should never be more than a vear old. Young ducks and geese have white, soft feet and tender wings. The body should be plump and thick, the fat light and semi-transparent, the breastbone soft, the flesh tender. The beak should be flesh-colored and brittle. The wind-pipe should break when pressed between the thumb and fore-finger. Domestic ducks — commonly called in Eastern markets, Long Island duckling — and the domestic geese, are, at ordinary prices, as economical as chicken. The season is the same as for poultry. DRESSING POULTRY AND GAME Generally fresh killed poultry should not be cooked for twenty-four hours, although in hot climates, as, for example, in the Southern United States, broiling and roast- ing chickens are commonly sold alive, killed by the cook and immediately prepared for the oven. Poultry is better if the birds are picked dry, but the feathers will come ofi^ more easily if the fowl is plunged into a pot of scalding water. After the carcass is picked clean it should be held over the coals or over a roll of burning white paper or an alcohol flame, to singe otT all hairs. 199 tup: lion s i-: k v. i: r i: \< To (li'aw |i()nltr\' and iL;ainc, make a ciil anmiKJ the vent and make an incision up toward llu- breast honi". Insert 1\\() Iin.i4('rs. loosen the fat Ifoni the skin and separate the niemhianes Kint^ close to the l)od\. Keep the lingers up close lo the hreasihone until you can ri'ach in hexoud the liver and heart and loosen them upon eithef side, L;iaduallv vv()rkin<,^ the lin,i;ers around lowaid the hack. Mways re- ineiuher that the L^all bladder lies luidei" tin- li\'er at the left side, and that, il it is broken, the contents will make e\er\- part of the meat that it touches bitter and until for use. H the lin,i;t'rs are ke|)t up and everylhiuj;' is carefully loost'Ui'd before beinj; drawn out, (here will be less (lan<;cr of its breakiuf.^. The kidneys and lunj^s are not infre(|uentlv left in l)\' careless cooks, but e\-ei-\thin^' should be taken out that is mo\able. After the bird has bcn-u drawn, it should be washed thoroUi^hK', wipi'd dry, inside and out, with .i cle.ni towel. The head and lu'ck should then be cut oil, and the bird Irnsst'd foi' {\\v oxi-n. To truss a ( hicken or Tmktw draw the thighs up close to the l)o(l\ , cross the Ici^s oxer the \ent. ;nid tii' tirml\- with twine. rinust a skewer throuj^h oiu- thi,L;h, into the body, and out through the opposite thi^h, .and another in like m.unicr tbron^h tlu- w ni;;s. I )raw tlu' winL;s and thii;h clost'K' to,L;elhei', and tie lirmly with twine. Since poultry and <;ame birds have little or no fat in the meat under the skin tlu'\' should be larded b\- laying a thin strip of salt pork or b.icon o\ ci- the breast .after the c.arc.ass h.is been placed on its b.ick in the dripping p.m. W hen ro.astiui; a chicken or sm.tll fowl there is d;ui,L;er that the le.L;s m;i\' burn or becomt' too h;ii(l to be c-.iteu. To ;i\oid this, ;i strip of cloth dipped in .i littU' nu'lted f.il, or rubbed with f.al, m;i\' be woiuitl .about the le^s whiU' the he.it in the o\en is hiL;lu'st, .and aftei\\,ii-d remo\ ed in time to allow the k\ns to bi'owii sullicit-ntl\ . This dillicidl\- will be oxei'conie, how- ever, il the deep ro.istin.!; p.iu with .a close cover is used. These p.ins .are ni.ide double, with ouh- ;i sni.all openinj.;' in 200 1 'I" II I' II () II S I-: K l" K P I' R tlu" 1()|) as a \iMit tor tlu- aciinmilatiDi) ol steam and i^ascs, hul retain most ol tin- moistme and lla\(»r ol' the juices, that would otIuMwise he lost in lars^e measure I)\ e\ aporation. TO DKKSS A (MKKKN To di'ess a ihiekeii oi other hird foi- IiroiliiiL;, piek, siiij^e, vui oil the head and neck close to the hri'ast, and tlu' leju'S al tile knee joints. Sin_<;c', \vi])e {\yy and split down tlu- middle ol (he hack. Lay the cai"cass opi-n, and remo\ e the I'onti'nls. I'nt the (ondons in the thighs or hreak tlu- joints. La\ the carcass llal hetween tlu- donhle hroilei-, or upon the hars ol the ^rill, and hroil, I'or the scpiah i-hickeu. ton minutes, and t"or the sprmi; chicki-n, lilti'cn nnnntes. TO (HT IIP A CIIKIvKN To cut up a I'aw chii-ki'ii for frit'assi-eini;. pick and w ipi" dry as for a ro.astini; i-hickeii. hirst take oil the K\^s I roin llu" carcass, tluMi \\inL;s, then si-paiate the breast I rom the roiiiaiutU'r of the cariMss. .Split it into two and cut each half (d llu' hri'ast into i-itlu'r two or ihi'ee parts, aci'ordiuL; lo llie si/.e of the t-hicken. ( ut tlu- rest ol the carcass I'foss- wise, in three- piec(-s or, if tlu- chicki-n is \er\' hii;', split the carcass in two before- cnttini'' irossw ise. CAKVIN(; AND SKKVINCi I'Oll/l KY AND (iAlMK ('ai"\inj.; ToultrN To c;ir\c- a turkey or otlu-r larm' hird, .siu-li as a i^oose, diu-k, or roast im; chicken, placi- the carcass oil a platter oi- woodi-n car\in!4' l><>;ii''l. upon its hack, with (lie lu-ad to llu- k-ft, llu- carcass resliui;- diagonally rather than al ri^hl angles to llu- carver's hody. Insert ;i loik riniily across tlu- hre.ast hont-, ,^rasp llu- lork with the lelt liaiid, lirml)' enou,i;h to stc-ad\' the carcass, and with llu- kiiift- divide tlu- skin hi-lwcen the lei^" and the carcass, oil the side- neai'csl the cai\t-r, cntliui;' ilear down to (lie Icl; joint. I'orci- the \v<^ over shaiply from tlu- cart-ass. 201 THE HOUSEKEEPER so as to expose the joint, and completely sever the drum- stick and second joint in one piece from the carcass. Sep- arate the drum-stick from the second joint by cutting from the point of the angle between them upon the inside, straight in and directly across the joint. If the knife is drawn squarely across the joint, it will separate without resistance, whereas at any other point the knife will encounter solid bone. Make an incision along either side of the bone, in the second joint, tut under the bone, at the end, lift it up, and cut underneath and between the bone and the meat, so as to remove the bone from this joint entirely. Carve thin slices of the white meat from the breast, parallel with the breastbone, and similar slices of the dark meat from the face of the second joint, also parallel with the bone, and serve to each person a slice of the white and a slice of the dark meat, with a few sprigs of cress or parsley, a portion of the dressing, and a spoonful of gra\'}' upon the side of the plate. If the slices from the breast and second joint are suffi- cient to serve the entire company, the carver need proceed no further ; but if not, the wing should next be cut off, in the same manner as the leg, and similarly divided at the joint, the second joint of the wing being served as one portion. Should the whole turkey be required, the platter should be turned and the opposite side carved in the same fashion, but the carver should proceed no further than is necessary, leaving the remainder of the carcass intact, for another meal. ROAST STUFFED TURKEY* Selection — In, selecting a turkey choose one that is plump, with smooth dark legs, and with cartilage at end of the breast-bone soft and pliable. Cock turkeys are usually considered better than hen turkeys, unless the latter be *"The Woman's Home Companion," November, 1916, Number. 202 THE HOUSEKEEPER small and very plump. When preparing for a large num- ber mar!}^ prefer to cook two ten-pound birds rather than one large one, as tlie meat is finer grained. To dress and clean. — Remove hairs and down by hold- ing the bird over a flame ( from gas, alcohol or burning- paper ), turning it until all parts have been exposed to tlame. This is called singeing. Cut off the head and draw out pin feathers using a small pointed knife. Cut through the skin around the leg one and one-half inches below the leg joint, being careful not to cut tendons. Place leg at this cut over edge of board, press downward to snap the bone, take foot in right hand, holding turkey firmly in left hand, and pull off foot, and with it the tendons. In some birds tendons have to be drawn separately, which is done with a steel skewer. Poultry drawn at market seldom have the ten- dons removed unless ordered. It is an important step, for they become hard and bony when cooked. Make an in- cision through skin below breastbone, just large enough to admit the hand. Remove entrails, gizzard, heart and liver; the last three are known as giblets. The gall bladder, lying on the under surface of the right lobe of the liver is re- moved with the liver; this should not be broken, as the bile which it contains imparts a bitter flavor. On either side of the backbone may be found the lungs, red and of spongy consistency. Care must be taken to remove every part of them. The kidneys, lying in the hollow, near the end of the backbone, must also be removed. Remove the windpipe and the crop by inserting the first two fingers under skin close to neck. Cut ofi^ neck close to body, leaving skin long enough to fasten under the back. Cut ofif tips of wings. Remove oil bag and wash bird in cold water. To clean giblets — Remove thin membrane, arteries, veins, and clotted blood around heart ; separate gall bladder from liver, cutting ofif any of liver that may have a greenish tinge. Cut fat and membranes from gizzard and cut as far as inner lining, being careful not to pierce it. Remove 203 THE HOUSEKEEPER the inner sack and discard. Wash giblets, and cook until tender with neck and tips of wings, putting them in cold water and heating water quickly. This is used for making gravy. To stuff poultry — Put stuffing by spoonfuls in neck, using enough to fill the skin, so that bird will look plump when served. When cracker stuffing is used allowance must be made for the swelling of the crackers. Put some of the remaining stuffing into body and shape remainder into cakes. If the body is full, sew skin; if not filled, fasten with a skewer. To truss — Draw thighs close to body and hold by in- serting a steel skewer under middle joint, running it en- tirely through body. Cross drumsticks (legs) tie securely with a long soft string and then tie to tail. Place wings close to body and hold in place by inserting a second skewer through wings and body, and fasten neck skin under back with wooden skewer. Turn bird on its breast. Cross string attached to tail piece and draw it around each end of lower skewer; again cross string; fasten around upper skewer ; fasten string in a knot and cut off ends. To roast — Dress, clean, stuff, and truss a ten-pound turkey as directed. Place on side on rack in dripping pan. rub entire surface with salt, and spread breast, legs and wings with one-third cupful of butter, rubbed until creamy and mixed with one-fourth cupful of flour. Dredge bottom of pan with flour. Place in a hot oven, and when flour on turkey begins to brown, reduce heat, and baste every fifteen minutes until cooked, which will require about three hours. For the basting, use one-half cupful of butter melted in one- half cupful of boiling water, and after that is used, baste with fat in pan. Pour water in pan during the cooking as needed, to prevent flour from burning. During the cooking turn bird frequently that it may brown evenly. If turkey is browning too fast, cover with buttered paper to prevent burning. Place on hot platter, remove string and skewers, 204 THE HOUSEKEEPER and garnish with stuffing cakes, celery tips, a string of cran- berries and a skewer stuck with three cranberries in breast. Decorate legs with paper frills. Turkey Stuffing. — Melt one-half cupful of butter substi- tute in four cupfuls of scalded milk, and pour over four cup- fuls of cracker crumbs, seasoned with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning, then add two eggs, slightly beaten. After stuffing the turkey make remaining mixture into cakes, put in a slightly buttered pan and bake one hour, basting with a small quantity of liquid in pan in which turkey is roasting, when basting turkey. The eggs may be omitted if the stuffing is not to be served when cold. These cakes make an attractive garnish for the turkey, besides forming an excellent way to add to the amount of dressing. Brown Gravy. — Remove liquid in pan in which turkey has been roasted; skim off six tablespoonfuls of fat; re- turn fat to pan, place on range, add six tablespoonfuls of flour, and stir constantly until well browned; then pour on gradually, while stirring, three cupfuls of stock, (in which giblets have been cooked). Bring to the boiling point, and simmer five minutes. Season With salt and pepper; then strain. Add chopped giblets to gravy. ROAST CHICKEN Choose and clean the chicken as directed for Roast Stuffed Turkey. Stuff and bake the chicken until tender which will require about 1^ hours. CHICKEN PIE Cut up chicken and cook in boiling water to cover. Sea- son with salt and pepper. When parboiled, remove to a deep earthen dish and cover with a crust. Use a recipe for rich baking-powder biscuit. Instead of putting a large piece of the dough on top of the pie, cut it into rovmds, as for biscuit. Cover chicken and gravy with the crust. Bake 205 THE HOUSEKEEPER in a moderate oven until the crust is well risen and brown. This is an improvement on the old style of all-over crust, because it allows plenty of escape for steam, the biscuit can be easily served, and the paste is not made heavy by cut- ting with a knife. CHICKEN EN CASSEROLE 1 young- chicken. 3 tablespoonfuls butter. 1 small onion. 1 small carrot. 1 bay leaf. A few mushrooms, canned or fresh. 2 cupfuls stock or water. 3 potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Clean, singe and cut tlie chicken into pieces convenient for serving. Melt the butter in small frying-pan, add the onion and carrot, both cut in thin slices, also the pieces of chicken, and cook all till golden brown, placing them in the casserole as they reach this stage. Pour the stock over them, put in the bay leaf, and cover closely. When nearly done, add the potatoes sliced, the mush- rooms, and seasoning. Cover, and finish the cooking, and send to table in the casserole. 206 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XH Fish and Meat Sauces THIN WHITE SAUCE 1 tablespoon fill butter or butter substitute. 11/) tablespoonfuls flour. 1 cupful milk. Yx teaspoonful salt. Few grains pepper. Put butter in saucepan, stir until melted and bubbling; add flour mixed with seasonings, and stir until thoroughly blended. Pour on gradually the milk, adding about one- third at a time, stirring until well mixed, then beating until smooth and glossy. If a wire whisk is used, all the milk may l^e added at once. MEDIUM WHITE SAUCE 1 tablespoon ful butter or butter substitute 2 tablespoonfuls flour. 1 cupful milk. Yx teaspoonful salt. Few grains pepper. Make as Thin White Sauce. THICK WHITE SAUCE 2 taljlespoonfuls butter. 3 tablespoonfuls flour. 1 cupful milk. yi teaspoonful salt. Few^ grains pepper. Make as Thin White Sauce. 207 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 208 THE HOUSEKEEPER TOMATO SAUCE y2 quart can tomatoes. 1/2 a small onion. 1 spring parsley. Salt and pepper. 1 bay leaf. 2 tablespoonfuls butter. 2 tablespoonfuls flour. Put together in a saucepan the tomatoes, onion, parsley and bay leaf; cook gently for twenty minutes, then rub through a sieve. Press all the pulp possible through the sieve and scrape off all that clings to the under side. Melt the butter in another pan, add the flour, and when these are smooth add the strained tomato slowly, stirring con- stantly to prevent the sauce being lumpy. Cook five min- utes after the sauce boils; add seasoning, and serve. DRAWN BUTTER SAUCE 34 cupful butter or butter substitute. 3 tablespoonfuls flour. 1 V2 cupfuls hot water. 1/2 teaspoon ful salt. yk teaspoon ful pepper. Alelt half the butter, add the flour and seasonings and "stir until blended. Pour on gradually the hot water and boil 5 minutes. Add the remaining butter in small pieces. EGG SAUCE To drawn Butter Sauce add 2 hard cooked eggs cut in slices and 1 teaspoonful lemon juice. BECHAMEL SAUCE 2 tablespoonfuls butter. 2 tablespoonfuls flour. 1 cupful stock. 1/^ cupful cream. Seasoning to taste — Make as thin white sauce 209 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHEESE SAUCE To the recipe for thin White Sauce add 1/3 cupful grated cheese and y^ teaspoon ful mustard. Melt the cheese in tlie sauce after it begins to thicken. The mustard should be added with the flour, salt and pepper. HOLLANDAISE SAUCE y^ cupful butter or butter substitute. 2 egg yolks. 1 tablespoon ful lemon juice. y teaspoonful salt. Few grains cayenne. 1/3 cupful boiling water. Put butter in a bowl and wash with cold water, using a spoon. Divide in 3 pieces. Put one piece in a saucepan with the egg yolks and lemon juice, place over boiling water and stir constantly until butter is melted, add the second piece of butter, and as the sauce thickens add the third piece. Add the water, cook one minute and season with sa^t and cayenne. MINT SAUCE Yi cupful fresh mint leaves. 2 tablespoon fuls sugar. 2/2) cupful vinegar. Wash the mint well before stripping the leaves from the stalks, dry thoroughly and chop finely. Add the vin- egar and sugar and let the sauce stand till the sugar is dis- solved. Serve with roast lamb. 210 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER Xni ENTREES FRITTER BATTER 11/3 cup fills flour. 2 teaspoon fuls baking powder. yi. teaspoon ful salt. 2/3 cupful milk. Mix and sift dry ingredients, add milk gradually, and tgg well beaten. Oranges, bananas, prunes, apples, and clams or oysters may be used with this batter. Fruit — ^Cut fruit in small pieces, roll in powdered sugar, mix with the batter before sugar has time to dissolve. Fry in deep fat. Roll in powdered sugar just before serv- ing. Serve hot. For Clams or Oysters — Use 1 tablespoonful of lemon juice or vinegar and use liquor of clams or oysters instead of water in the batter. Tests for Frying Tciiiperatiirc — To prevent absorption of fat by foods when fried, the fat must be hot enough to form a crust over the food as soon as put in. The fat is never hot enough until it ceases to bubble. Then test by dropping in an inch cube of bread cut from the middle of a slice. For cooked mixtures, like croc[uettes or fish and oysters, the bread should turn a golden brown in 40 seconds. For uncooked mixtures, like fritters and doughnuts, the bread should turn a golden brown in 60 seconds. Cautions m Frving — 1. Do not let fat get so hot as to smoke badly. 2. Do not fry too large a quantity at one time, for it lowers the temperature of the fat. 3. Drain all fried foods on soft paper to absorb the fat. 4. Use egg and crumbs to cover mixtures that are likely to absorb too much fat. 211 THE HOUSEKEEPER MEAT CROQUETTES 2 cupfiils chopped, cooked meat. }i teaspoon fill pepper. A few drops onion juice. 34 cupful thick white sauce made of white soup stock or milk. 1/2 teaspoon fill salt. A few grains cayenne. Yolk of 1 egg. Mix ingredients in order given, cool, shape in cones. Dip into fine cracker crumbs, into egg, roll again in crumbs, and fry in deep fat. ^\:)r dipping croquettes beat egg slightly and add 1 tablespoon ful cold water. RICE CROQUETTES 1/2 cupful rice. 1 cupful scalded milk. Yolk of 1 egg. 1/2 cupful boiling water. ■ i/> teaspoonful salt. 1 tablespoon ful butter. Wash the rice, add to water with salt, and steam until rice has absorbed water. Then add the milk, stir lightly with a fork, cover and steam until rice is soft. Remove from the fire. Add the egg and butter. Spread on a plate to cool. Shape, roll in crumbs, roll in the form of nests, dip into egg, then into crumbs, fry in deep fat, and drain. Put a cube of jelly in the hollow of each crocpiette, or omit the jelly anilt (lu- llo\ir, bakinj; powder and sail and a^\A [o Inst nnxtniv- allrrnatoK' with the mdk. rnrn nito a i^rcascil mold. eo\ it and steam two horns. ri viN VMM ri i>i>iN(; 'j cuptnl linel\ chopped heet snet. ' J cuptnl sn^ar. 1 cuptnl seeded raisins. ' .> cuptid eiuaauis or seedless raisius. J euptnls tlour. J teaspoon tuls hakius.^' piwxder. 1 leaspoiuil'nl mixevl spiees. ' J teaspoon tnl salt, >>4 cuptnl milk. 1 eo^, Clcau the currants and add thetu to the seedless raisins and suet. Sit't the tlour with the spices, baking- powder and salt, and add to ihe tfuit with the sus^ar; moisten with the Ci^i;" and milk, and turn into a j^^reased puddiui; mold. Steam three hours, and ser\ e with hard or lemon sauce. 246 T ff K HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XVHI SAUCES FOR DESSERTS CREAM SAUCE 1 cupful thick cream. Yz teaspoon ful vanilla. 34 cupful powdered sugar. Beat the cream until stiff, using egg-beater, add the sugar and vanilla, and beat until thoroughly mi.xed. One egg white well beaten may be added to make more of the sauce. VANILLA SAUCE Y2 cupful sugar. 1 cupful boiling water. 1 tablespoonful cornstarch. 1 tablespoonful butter. I'ew grains nutmeg. Few grains salt. 1 teaspoon ful vanilla. Mix the sugar and cornstarch, add the water gradually, stirring all the time. Boil ten minutes, remove from the fire, add the butter, salt, nutmeg and vanilla. LEMON SAUCE y^, cupful sugar. 34 cupful corn syrup flight). 1 cupful boiling water. 34 teasf>oonful nutmeg. 1 tablespoonful cornstarch. 1 tablespoonful oleomargarine. 34 teaspoon ful salt. 2 tablespoon fuls lemon juice. 34 grated rind of lemon. 247 THE HOUSEKEEPER Mix sugar, salt and cornstarch. Add water gradually, stirring constantly; add syrup. Boil five minutes; remove from fire; add oleomargarine, nutmeg, lemon juice, and grated lemon rind. FRUIT SAUCE Heat i. cupful syrup of preserved or canned fruit, thicken with 1 teaspoonful cornstarch moistened with 1 tablespoon- ful cold water, and cook ten minutes, stirring all the time. Add a few grains of salt, 1 teaspoonful butter and 1 tea- spoonful lemon juice, and serve hot. HARD SAUCE 1/3 cupful butter. A few gratings nutmeg or 1 teaspoonful vanilla. 1 cupful powdered sugar. Cream the butter, stir in slowly the sugar, and beat until creamy. Pile on a plate, and grate over a little nutmeg. STERLING SAUCE 1/3 cupful butter or butter substitute. 1 cupful brown sugar. 1 teaspoonful vanilla. 4 tablespoonfuls cream. Cream the butter, add the sugar gradually and the cream and vanilla, a few drops at a time. Beat until creamy. CHOCOLATE SAUCE 1 cupful water. 3/2 cupful sugar. 1 stick cinnamon. 1 scjuare chocolate. 1^ tablespoonfuls cornstarch. Few grains salt. 1 teaspoonful vanilla. 248 THE HOUSEKEEPER Cook together the water, sugar and cumamon ; strain, add the chocolate, thicken with cornstarch, mixed with a Httle cold water. Cook ten minutes. Add the salt, and beat until creamy. After removing from the hre, add the vanilla and serve hot. This may be used with a hot plain pudding or with vanilla ice cream frozen hard. MAPLE SAUCE 2 tgg yolks. 2/3 cupful hot maple syrup. ^ cupful whipped cream. Few' grains salt. Beat the yolks of the eggs well and pour the hot syrup over them. Cook in a double boiler till of the consistency of thin custard. Remove from fire. \\'hen cold, add the salt and whipped cream, and serve at once. Or the beaten egg whites may be used in place of cream, but they should be added as soon as the sauce is removed from the fire. FOAMY SAUCE 1 cupful sugar. y2 cupful hot milk. Few grains salt. 1 tablespoon ful Imtter. 1 teaspoonful vanilla. Beat the egg, add the sugar and salt and beat well. Melt the butter in the scalded milk, and just before serving add the hot milk and vanilla to the first mixture. MARSHMALLOW SAUCE 1 cupful sugar. ]'2 cupful boiling water. 1 cupful marshmallows (cut in cjuarters). 14 teaspoonful vanilla. Boil sugar and water until the mixture spins a thread when dropped from the spoon. Remove from the fire, add the marshmallows, beat until they are melted, and add the vanilla. Serve hot or cold. 249 THE HOUSEKEEPER MOLASSES SAUCE 1 cupful molasses. 1 teaspoonful vinegar. 1 teaspoonful cornstarch. 1 teaspoonful cold water. 1 tablespoon ful oleomargarine. Eew grains salt. Slight grating nutmeg. lA teaspoonful vanilla. Boil the molasses and vinegar together for one minute. Add the cornstarch, diluted in the cold water. Allow the mixture to simmer slowly for fifteen minutes. Add the oleomargarine, salt, nutmeg and vanilla. Serve the sauce hot. 250 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 251 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XIX COLD DESSERTS CHOCOLATE CORNSTARCH PUDDING 2 ciipfiils skim milk. 3 tablespoonfuls cornstarch. ^ cupful sugar. 1^ squares chocolate. Yx teaspoon ful salt. 1 teaspoonful vanilla. Scald milk in the double boiler ; add cornstarch and sugar mixed with a little cold milk or water. Cook tw^enty min- utes ; add melted chocolate and salt. Remove from fire and cool slightly, then add vanilla. Pour in individual molds and chill. COCOANUT PUDDING 1 pint milk. 4 tablespoonfuls cornstarch. Yi cupful corn syrup (light). Yi teaspoonful vanilla. Yi cupful cocoanut. Y\ teaspoonful salt. To cornstarch add Ya cupful milk (cold to make a smooth •mixture). Scald the remainder of milk; add cornstarch mixture and corn s^rup, stirring constantlv. Add cocoanut and salt and cook in double boiler for forty minutes. The cooking mixture should be stirred until it thickens. When done, add vanilla and pour into molds which have been dipped into cold water. Chill. 252 THE HOUSEKEEPER NORWEGIAN PRUNE PUDDING 2 ciipfuls prunes. 2 cupfuls cold water. 1/3 cupful sugar. 1 inch piece stick cinnamon. 11/3 cupfuls boiling water. 1/3 cupful cornstarch. 1 tablespoon ful lemon juice. Pick over and wash prunes, then soak one hour in cold water, and boil until soft; remove stones; add sugar, cinna- mon, boiling water, and simmer ten minutes. Dilute corn- starch with enough cold water to pour easily, add to prune mixture, and cook five minutes. Remove cinnamon, mold, then chill, and serve with cream. PINEAPPLE REBECCA 2Y\ cupfuls scalded milk. Yx cupful cold milk. 1/3 cupful cornstarch. % teaspoon ful salt. 1>2 cupfuls grated pineapple. y^ cupful sugar. 1 ^gg white. Mix the cornstarch, sugar and salt, dilute with cold milk, add slowdy to the scalded milk, and cook over hot water, stirring all the time until the mixture thickens. Cook twen- ty minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the fire; add the pineapple and the tgg white beaten stiff. Mold and chill. JUNKET 2 cupfuls milk. 2 tablespoon fuls sugar. J/ junket tablet dissolved in 1 teaspoonful cold water. Few grains salt. Grated nutmeg. 253 THE HOUSEKEEPER Dissolve the junket tablet in the cold water. Heat the milk to a lukewarm temperature, add the junket, sugar, salt and nutmeg; pour into a serving dish and set in a warm place until thick ; then place on ice or in cold water at once. Serve with fresh fruit and whipped cream. SOFT CUSTARD 2 cupfuls scalded milk. 3 egg yolks or 1 egg and 1 yolk. % teaspoonful salt. jA teaspoonful vanilla. % cupful sugar. Beat the eggs slightly, add the sugar and salt. Add the hot milk graduallv, cook over hot water, stirring all the time until the mixture thickens and coats the spoon like cream. Remove from the hot water at once. Set in a pan of cold water, add the vanilla. If cooked too long, the custard will curdle; if this happens, beat with the Dover egg-beater. BAKED CARAMEL CUSTARD 3 cupfuls scalded milk. 3 eggs. 1 teaspoonful vanilla. 1/3 cupful sugar. }i teaspoonful salt. Melt the sugar in an omelet pan, stirring constantly, to a syrup of light brown color. Add gradually to the milk. When the sugar is melted in the milk, add the mixture gradually to the eggs, slightly beaten. Add the salt and vanilla, pour into buttered molds, set molds in a pan of hot water, and bake in a moderate oven until the custard is firm. Do not allow the water surrounding the molds to boil or the custard will whev. 254 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed tor it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 255 THE HOUSEKEEPER DATE CUSTARD 2 ciipfuls milk. 1/3 pound ( ■}4 ciipfnl) dates. ^ teaspoon fill salt. y2 teaspoon ful nutmeg. Wash dates, stone them and cook with milk fifteen min- utes in the top of double Ijoiler. Rub through a coarse sieve, then add to the beaten eggs, add salt. Pour into in- dividual custard cups, place cups in a pan of hot water, and bake in slow oven until firm (about forty minutes). MAPLE WALNUT CUSTARD 3 eggs. ]/> teaspoon ful salt. 2/3 cupful maple syrup. 2^ cupfuls scalded milk. Beat the eggs slightly, add the salt and maple syrup. Over this pour the scalded milk. Pour into custard cups and bake slowly, surrounded with hot water, until firm in the center. \\''hen cold, turn out in individual plates, pour over a little maple syrup, and sprinkle with chopped walnuts. STRAWBERRY WHIP 1 cupful strawberries. 1 tgg white. yi cupful powdered sugar. Crush the strawberries and rub through a sieve, add the sugar and tgg white, and beat with a wire whisk until the mixture is stifif enough to hold its shape. Pile on a serving dish, surround with ladyfingers, and serve with whipped cream. 256 THE HOUSEKEEPER TAPIOCA CREAM Yx cupful pearl or 2 tablespoonfnls minute tapioca. 2 cupfuls scalded milk. 2 eggs. 1/3 cupful sugar. Yx teaspoon ful salt. 1 teaspoon ful vanilla. If pearl tapicca is used, soak it one hour in cold water to cover, drain. Add the tapioca to the scalded milk and cook in the double boiler until the tapioca is transparent. Beat the tgg yolks slightly, add the sugar and salt. Pour the hot mixture slowly over the tgg yolks and sugar, return to the double boiler, and cook until thick. Remove from the fire, add the egg whites beaten stiff and the vanilla. Chill before serving. APPLE TAPIOCA y^ cupful pearl tapioca or 3 tablespoonfnls minute tapioca. \yi cupfuls boiling water. 34 teaspoon ful salt. Yz cupful brown sugar (light). ]/[ cupful raisins. 5 medium-sized apples. Yx teaspoonful cinnamon. 1 tablespoon ful lemon juice. Grated rind of 1/3 lemon. Soak pearl tapioca one hour in cold water to cover. Drain. To the tapioca and boiling water add salt ; cook in double boiler until transparent. Core and pare apples and cut into eighths. Arrange in a greased baking pan. To the tapioca add the raisins, lemon juice and grated rind. Pour this mixture over the apples, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and bake in a moderate oven about sixty min- utes. Rhubarb cut in pieces may be used in place of apples. 257 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHOCOLATE TAPIOCA PUDDING y^ cupful tapioca. ]/\. teaspoon fill salt. y^ cupful sugar. 1,^/2 cupfuls skim milk. 2 scjuares chocolate. 1 teaspoon ful vanilla. Mix tapioca, salt and sugar. Add milk, and bring to the boiling point ; add chocolate, and cook in double boiler twenty minutes ; beat well ; add vanilla and mold. Serve with custard or cream. PINEAPPLE TAPIOCA SPONGE Heat 2 cupfuls of grated (canned) pineapple in a double boiler; add half a cupful of boiling water and one-fourth teaspoonful of salt, then stir in half a cupful of minute tapioca. Stir occasionally and let cook twenty minutes, or until the tapioca is transparent; add half a cupful of sugar and the juice of half a lemon, then fold in the whites of two or three eggs be.aten very light. Serve cold with top milk and sugar. LEMON JELLY (Orange or Fruit Jelly) 2 tablespoonfuls gelatine (granulated). y2 cupful cold water. 2^ cupfuls boiling water. 2/3 cupful sugar. ^ cupful lemon juice. Soak the gelatine five minutes in the cold water, dissolve in boiling water, strain, add the sugar and lemon juice, turn into a mold, and allow to stand in a cold place several hours to stiffen. One and one-half cupfuls of orange juice may be sub- stituted for an equal measure of the water, when the jelly will be Orange Jelly. 258 THE HOUSEKEEPER Slices of banana, sections of orange and halves of walnut meats may be added to the jelly after it begins to thicken. Serve with whipped cream. COFEEE JELLY 2 tablespoonfuls gelatine. ^ cupful cold water. 3 cupfuls coffee. }i cupful sugar. Soak the gelatine in cold water five minutes and dissolve in the hot coffee ; add the sugar, stir until dissolved, strain into a mold, chill, and when stiff serve with whipped cream. SNOW PUDDING j4 cupful cold water. 1 tablespoon ful gelatine (granulated) 1 cupful sugar. 2 egg whites. 54 cupful lemon juice. 1 cupful boiling water. Let the gelatine soak five minutes in cold water, pour over it the boiling water, add sugar, and stir until dissolved; add the lemon juice, and strain; set in ice water. When cold, whip with an egg-beater until frothy. Beat the whites of eggs stiff' and add them to first mixture. Dip a mold in cold water, pour the pudding" into it, and set in a cold place till it hardens. Serve wnth soft custard. ORANGE SPONGE 1-1/3 tablespoonfuls granulated gelatine. 1/3 cupful cold water. 1/3 cupful boiling water. }i cupful sugar. 3 tablespoonfuls lemon juice. 1 cupful orange juice. 2 egg whites. 1 cupful W'hipped cream. 259 THE HOUSEKEEPER Soak the gelatine in cold water and dissolve in the boiling water; strain, add the sugar, lemon and orange juice. Chill in a pan of ice water; when quite thick, beat until frothy, then add the egg whites stiffly beaten, and fold in the cream. Mold and chill. SPANISH CREAM WITH DRIED FRUIT 1% tablespoonfuls granulated gelatine. ^ cupful cold water. .)4 cupful boiling water. 4 tablespoonfuls Karo. j/2 teaspoon ful salt. 3 egg yolks. 3 egg whites. 1 pint scalded milk. 1 . teaspoon ful vanilla. 4 cupful chopped candied cherries and pineapple. 1 tahlespoonful vanilla. 1 teaspoonful almond extract. 1 teaspoonful lemon extract. 2 cupfuls cream. 1 cupful sugar. Yi cupful chopped nutmeats. Beat the eggs. Boil the sugar and water five minutes, pour over the eggs and beat over hot water two minutes. Place the mixture over cold water and, when cool, add the cream and flavoring. Freeze to a mush, then add the fruit and nuts, and freeze solid. CONCORD MOUSSE 2 cupfuls heavy cream. Y\ cupful sugar. 1 cupful grape juice. 1 teaspoonful lemon juice. ^ teaspoonful salt. Add the lemon juice and sugar to the grape juice. Beat the cream, add the fruit juice slowly, turn into a mold, seal and bury in equal c[uantities of ice and salt for four hours. Unmold and serve with whipped cream. CAFE PARFAIT Make a syrup of ^4 cupful clear black cofifee and 1 cup- ful sugar. Beat 3 yolks of eggs and pour the hot mixture over them slowly stirring all the time. Cook in a double boiler until the mixture coats the spoon like cream. When cold, fold in a pint of cream, whipped. Turn into an ice- cold mold, and bury in equal parts of salt and ice three or four hours. 267 THE HOUSEKEEPER MAPLE PARFAIT 3 egg yolks. 2 cup fills maple syrup. 1 pint heavy cream. Beat the egg yolks and pour over them gradually the hot maple syrup. Cook until slightly thick in a double boiler, cool. Add the beaten cream slowly, pour into a mold and pack in equal quantities of ice and salt for four hours. MILK SHERBET 1 quart milk. 1/^ cupfuls sugar. Grated rind of 1 lemon. Juice of 2 lemons. Add the sugar to the milk and stir until dissolved ; turn into the freezer and freeze till just beginning to set; then add the juice and rind of the lemons, and finish freezing. PINEAPPLE SHERBET 1 pint fresh or 1 can grated pineapple. 1 pint water. 1 pint sugar. 1 teaspoon ful gelatine soaked in 1 tablespoon ful cold water. Juice of 1 lemon. Boil sugar and water two minutes. Add gelatine soaked in cold water. Add the fruit juice, and freeze. RASPBERRY SHERBET 1 pint raspberry juice. 1 quart water. 2 cupfuls sugar. Juice of 2 lemons. 268 THE HOUSEKEEPER Crush and heat the raspberries so that the juice may be extracted more easily; pass through a fine sieve or cheese cloth to keep back the seeds. Boil the sugar and half the water to form a syrup, add the remainder of the water, the raspberry and lemon juice. Freeze as soon as the mixture is cold and, if possible, stand aside for an hour or more to ripen. SICILIAN SORBET 1 c|uart can peaches. 1 cupful sugar. 2 cupfuls orange juice. 2 tablespoonfuls lemon juice. Press the peaches through a sieve, add the fruit juices and sugar, and freeze. {Fannie M. Farmer.) ORANGE WATER ICE 2 cupfuls boiling water. 1 cupful sugar. 2 teaspoon fuls granulated gelatine. 2 tablespoonfuls cold water. 3 tgg whites. Grated rind and juice of 2 oranges. Juice of 1 large lemon. Boil the water and sugar together for ten minutes ; add the gelatine, which has been previously softened in the cold water, and allow the mixture to become quite cold ; then add the beaten whites of the eggs, the orange rind and juice and the lemon juice. Freeze, turning the dasher slowly but steadily. 269 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXI PASTRY AND PIES FLAKY PIE CRUST 3 cupfiils flour. ^ cupful butter. ^ cupful lard. Ice water to moisten. Vi teaspoon ful salt. Sift the flour into a bowl, add the butter and lard, and chop with a knife, or rub with a fork, until of the con- sistency of coarse meal. Sprinkle the water here and there through the flour, and mix with a fork into a stiff dough. Drop on a floured board, dust lightly with flour, press down with the rolling-pin, and roll back and forth until the paste becomes an oblong sheet not more than half an inch in thickness. Slip a broad-bladed knife under each end of this sheet, and fold over toward the center, thus forming three layers of the paste. Life with the knife from the board, dust with flour; lay the paste down again, dust with flour, roll and again fold over as before. Repeat, and the paste is ready to use. Place the paste on ice, or in a cold place, for an hour before rolling it out for pies, as its equal- ity is improved by so doing; and if the weather is warm it may advantageously be placed on ice ten minutes between each rolling out. If a teaspoon ful baking powder be sifted with the flour, less shortening can be used, but the pastry will not be as crisp and delicate. PLAIN CRISCO PASTRY 1>4 cupfuls flour. ^ cupful Crisco. Yi teaspoon ful salt. Cold water. 270 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 271 THE HOUSEKEEPER Sift flour and salt and cut the Crisco into flour with a knife until finely divided. The finger tips mav be used to finish blending the materials. Add gradually sufficient water to make a stiff paste. W'ater should be added spar- ingly and mixed with the knife through the dry ingredients. Form lightly and quickly with the hand into dough ; roll out on slightly floured board about one-cjuarter inch thick. Use a light motion in handling rolling-pin, and roll from the center outward. Sufficient for one small pie. PIE CRUST (Mazola) 2 cupfuls flour. 1 teaspoon ful baking powder. 34 cupful Mazola. About ^ cupful ice water. 1 teaspoon ful salt. Put the Mazola near the ice till very cold. Sift the dry ingredients together until thoroughly mixed. Turn the Mazola into the dry ingredients and cut back and forth with a knife till w'ell mixed. Add the water gradually. Xo absolute rule for the amount of water can be given. The dough should be hard enough not to stick to the bowl, but soft enough not to crumble. Toss lightly on to a floured beard and roll very thin. TWO-CRUST PIES APPLE PIE Roll pie crust to the thickness desired. Place upon a pie pan, shaping it carefully, and cut around the edges with a sharp knife. Cover the bottom of the crust with a thin layer of sugar, dust with flour, then fill the crust with slices of pared and cored apples. Add one-third cupful sugar, one-half teaspoon ful cinnamon, and dot over with pieces of butter. Roll an upper crust, making an opening in the cen- ter for the steam to pass out, and place over the pie. Trim around the edges and press the upper and lower crusts to- gether. Bake until the apples are soft and the top and bottom crusts are nicelv browned. 272 THE HOUSEKEEPER BLUEBERRY PIE 3 cupfuls blueberries. Flour. Yo cupful sugar. y% teaspoonful salt. Line a deep plate with pastry, fill with l^erries, sprinkle with a little flour, salt and sugar, cover with pastry, make several incisions in the upper crust. Bake forty-five min- utes in a moderate oven. CRANBERRY AND RAISIN PIE 1/^ cupfuls cranberries. 1 cupful raisins. 1 tablespoon ful flour. lA cupful sugar. Paste. Wash and seed the raisins and chop the cranberries ; add the flour and sugar, and bake in a shallow pie plate between two crusts. MINCE MEAT 4 cupfuls chopped cold boiled beef. 8 cupfuls chopped apple. 2 cupfuls chopped suet. 1 pound currants. 2 pounds seeded raisins. Yz pound citron (cut fine). 5 cupfuls sugar. 1 cupful molasses. 2 lemons (juice and grated rindj. 1 quart boiled cider. 2 grated nutmegs. 1 tablespoon ful cloves 1 tablespoonful allspice. 3 tablespoonfuls cinnamon. 1 tablespoonful salt. 2n THE HOUSEKEEPER Mix all together and let cook slowly on the back of the range for three hours or more. Seal in fruit jars. TOMATO MINCE MEAT One peck green tomatoes chopped very fine. Drain off the juice, measure it, and discard. Add as much water to chopped tomatoes and cook until tender. Add 2 quarts sliced apples, 1 cupful molasses, 3 pounds brown sugar, 2 pounds chopped raisins, 2 tablespoon fuls each cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg and salt. Boil twenty minutes. Add 1 cupful vinegar and cook until of desired thickness. Keep in jars. RASPBERRY PIE To 2 cupfuls raspberries add 1 cupful ripe currants and 5^ cupful granulated sugar, with which a tablespoon ful flour has been mixed; stir together. Line a plate with flaky pie crust, put in the fruit, cover with sheet of paste, make several incisions for the escape of steam, and bake till the crusts are nicely browned. Serve cool. ONE-CRUST PIES CUSTARD PIE 2 eggs. y^ cupful sugar. 2 cupfuls milk. y^ teaspoonful salt. Nutmeg (grated). 1 teaspoonful vanilla. Line a pie tin with pastry, making a rim on the crust. Scald the milk and pour over the slightly beaten eggs ; add the sugar and salt. Strain the mixture into the lower crust, and grate a little nutmeg over the top. Bake in a hot oven to cook the rim well ; then reduce the heat and cook more slowly until custard is firm. Test with knife; if knife comes out clean, custard is done. Egg mixtures rec{uire a moderate oven. 274 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHOCOLATE PIE Mix 1 cupful sugar, 2 squares grated chocolate, 2 table- spoonfuls flour, beaten yolks of 3 eggs, stir into 1 pint of scalded milk and cook over hot water until thickened. Add 1 teaspoonful vanilla. Cool, and put into a baked crust. Beat the whites of eggs until stiff, add 3 tablespoonfuls sugar, spread over the top of the filling, and brown in a very moderate oven. SOUR CREAM PIE 1 cupful thick sour cream. 1 cupful sugar. 1 cupful chopped walnuts. 1 cupful chopped raisins. 2 eggs (well beaten). % teaspoonful salt. Mix the ingredients in the order given, and bake with an under crust only. Bake until firm and a rich brown in color. CURRANT PIE 1 cupful currants. 1 cupful sugar. ^ cupful flour. 2 Q:gg yolks. 2 tablespoonfuls water. Mix the flour and sugar, add the yolks of eggs slightly beaten and diluted with water. Wash the currants, drain, remove stems, then measure; add to the first mixture and bake in one crust; cool, and cover with meringue. Cook in slow oven until meringue is delicately browned. MERINGUE 2 tgg whites. ^ tablespoon ful lemon juice or ^ teaspoonful vanilla. 2 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar (granulated may be used). 275 THE HOUSEKEEPER Beat whites of eggs until stiff, add sugar gradually, then add flavoring. Spread over the pie, and bake in slow oven until delicately browned. DATE PIE Yi pound dates. 2 eggs. 1 teaspoonful cinnamon. 2 cupfuls milk. 54 cupful sugar. Wash and soak the dates in warm water over-night, then stew and strain the same as pumpkin. Into the pulp stir the beaten eggs, cinnamon, milk, and sugar. Bake in one crust until firm like custard. LEMON PIE y2 cupful sugar. 1 cupful water. 2 tablespoonfuls cornstarch. 1 teaspoonful butter. Yolks of 2 eggs. Juice and rind of 1 lemon. Mix the sugar and cornstarch and pour on slowly, stir- ring all the time, 1 cupful boiling water. Cook until trans- parent. Add the butter and lemon juice. Pour the mix- ture over the slightly beaten yolks of eggs. Cook over boiling water two minutes, stirring constantly. Fill the crust. Make a meringue of the whites and 2 tablespoon- fuls powdered sugar. Cover the pie with the meringue and brown in very moderate oven. PUMPKIN PIE XYi cupfuls stewed pumpkin. \yi cupfuls rich milk. M cupful molasses. y2 cupful brown sugar. 276 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 277 THE HOUSEKEEPER ^ teaspoon ful ginger. 1 teaspoonful salt. 2 eggs (beaten). Mix the ingredients in the order given and stir well to- gether, line a deep pie pan with paste rolled moderately thick, sift a little flour evenly over the bottom, and fill three quarters full with the prepared mixture. Bake until a knife inserted in the custard comes out clean. In pre- paring the pumpkin, use very little water. Cover the kettle in which it is cooking, and stew until the pumpkin is per- fectly soft, then remove the cover and continue the stew- ing, stirring frecjuently till the moisture evaporates and the pumpkin becomes a smooth paste. Rub through a fine sieve. SQUASH PIE 1/^cupfuls cooked and strained squash. Ya cupful brown sugar. ^ teaspoonful salt. %. teaspoonful each of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. }i cupful milk. Beat the egg slightly, add the sugar, salt, spices, squash and the milk gradually. Bake in one crust until firm. Cook in a quick oven at first to set the rim, then reduce the heat. PUFF PASTE Scald an earthen bowl, fill with ice water; and wash the hands first in hot water, then in cold. Work 1 pound of butter in a bowl of cold water until it is waxy and all the salt is washed out of it. Take out the butter, pat and squeeze till all water is removed. Measure from it 2 tablespoon fuls, mold the rest into an oblong cake, and set it where it will grow hard and cold. Sift 1 pound (4 cupfuls) of flour 278 THE HOUSEKEEPER with Yi teaspoon fill salt into the bowl. Cut in the 2 table- spoonfuls butter. Mix with ice water, to a stiff dough. Turn out on a marble slab which has been dusted with flour. Knead very slightly ; then cover with a bowl, and set away to "ripen" five minutes. When the dough is ripened put the paste on the slab and, rolling lightly with the rolling-pin, shape it about half as wide as it is long, keep the corners square. At the center of lower half lay the hardened piece of butter. Over this fold the upper half of the dough. Tuck lightly around the edges, t-nclosing all the air possible, fold right side of paste over and left side under the enclosed butter. Turn half way round. Rolling lightly with the rolling-pin break up the butter, spreading it and rolling the paste into a longer strip. Be careful to keep the sides and ends of the paste even, and to break as few air bubbles as possible. When the strip is long, fold ends toward center, making three layers. Turn half way round again, patting, rolling, folding, and turning until the process has been repeated six times. If the paste is soft, or the butter breaks through, set it away to chill before you finish the process. Roll always in one direction, from 3'ou, with a long motion. After the seventh rolling fold the ends toward the center, making four layers; chill. During the winter puff paste, wrapped and covered, may be kept for several weeks in a very cold place. Use it as de- .^ired, baking patties, vol au vents, or tarts as required. These will keep five or six days after making, being reheated before they are filled. The oven for baking puff paste should be hot, with the greatest heat underneath, so the paste can rise to its full height before browning. As heat touches the pastry, the bubbles expand, lifting the thin layers higher and higher. When it has reached its height, and is baked delicately brown, you have what is properly called puff paste. When using a cutter, always dip in flour between each cutting ; it will insure neat edges. 279 THE HOUSEKEEPER Rich pastry never makes a good iindercrust — it soaks. When baking small pieces such as pattie tops or cheese straws, do not put them in a pan with the larger pieces ; they bake in less than half the time required by the others. If you wish pastry to have a glazed appearance, brush over with beaten egg before putting it in the oven. Utilize trimmings for smaller things ; never add them to the larger pieces of paste. Use the sharpest knife for cutting pastry; if it is dragged ever so slightly in the cutting it will not rise well as it breaks the layers. Also, in making two layers of pastry adhere, never press it together or you will have a heavy spot. Always have puff ice cold when it is put in the oven. Let the heat be greatest at the bottom when the paste is put in ; it nuist rise before it begins to brown. VOL AU VENTS Lay a mold upon a round of puft' paste, rolled about half an inch thick, and cut out a circle as big as you think will be required to cover it. Set the mold upside down and tuck down the paste, handling carefully. Do not cover scantily anywhere or it will crack. Prick all over with a fork and set away in a cold place to chill thoroughly. Find a plate or saucer which fits the top of the mold and cover with puff paste. Cut from the trimmings stars, hearts, crescents, or any forms you can produce with a paste j agger. Brush the paste on the saucer lightly with cold water, and stick on the ornaments in any style desired. Chill the vol au vent and lid for half an hour, then bake in an oven which is very hot at first, but cooled slightly wdien the pastry has risen and is beginning to brown. Watch the baking with great care, as the paste will burn or become unshapely if not turned occa- sionally. A vol au vent may be filled with any creamed mixture or with a cooked, chilled fruit and rich syrup. 280 THE HOUSEKEEPER PATTIES Roll out the paste half an inch thick ; shape two rounds with a cutter. From one round cut a smaller piece. Use the ring left to lay on the other round, brushing with water to make it stick. Bake and fill with a creamed mixture, using the small round as a lid. CHEESE STRAWS Season some grated cheese with paprika and salt, then dust it over a piece of puff paste. Fold the paste and roll two or three times. Cut out in straws. The straws may be braided or baked singly. 281 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 282 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXn CAKE Cakes are divided into two classes : Cakes without but- ter; examples sponge cake, angel food, sunshine cake. Cakes with butter ; examples, cup and pound cakes. Use accurate measures. Utensils for Mixing — Use a deep, earthen mixing-bowl and a slotted wooden spoon. Do not grease pans for cakes without butter. Use a new pan which has never been greased and if kept for cakes of this class greasing will not be necessary. Pans for Butter Cakes — Grease pans thoroughly for but- ter cakes, sift a little flour in the pan after it is greased. See that the corners of the pan are well greased. Fill the pans only two-thirds full of the cake mixture. For fruit cake which requires long baking line the pan with greased paper. General Method for Cakes without Butter — Separate the yolks and whites of eggs. Beat the yolks until lemon-col- ored and thick, add the sifted sugar slowly while beating. Add the flavoring, then fold in the whites beaten stiff and dry. Sift the flour several times with the baking powder, cut and fold it into the mixture until all is well blended. Sponge cakes and others of the class are raised mainly by air and steam and, containing many eggs, need a moderate oven. Baking. — Oven test for sponge cake : Turns white paper yellow in five minutes. Method of Mixing Cakes ivith Butter — Measure ingredi- ents, dry first and then the liquids and butter. Cream the butter; then add the sugar and cream together until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is creamy. Beat tgg yolks with a Dover beater. Beat the whites with an tgg 283 THE HOUSEKEEPER whip. Add beaten yolks to creamed mixture. Sift the flour and measure it, being careful not to pack it down in the cup. Sift it again with the baking powder or soda, salt and spices if used. Then add liquid alternately with sifted flour, to keep the mixture about the same consistency. Add the flavoring and beat thoroughly. Add the whites beaten stiff at the last, by cutting and folding in very carefully. Do not stir the mixture after the egg whites are in. Oven Test for Butter Cakes — White paper turns light brown in 5 minutes. Butter cakes rec|uire a hotter oven than those without butter. If the oven gets too hot, place a cover of paper over the cake or set a pan of cold water in the oven. Cake is baked when it shrinks away from the sides of the pan and springs back in place when touched lightly with the finger. CHEAP SPONGE CAKE 1 cupful sugar. 5 tablespoon fuls cold water. 2 eggs. 1 tablespoon ful lemon juice. 1 1-3 cupfuls flour. 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder. ^4 teaspoon ful salt. Beat the yolks until thick, add the sugar and continue beating, then gradually add the water and lemon juice. Mix and sift the baking powder and salt with the flour and add to the yolks. Beat the tgg whites until stiff", and care- fully fold into the cake mixture. Bake in an unbuttered tin in a moderate oven. SPONGE CAKE 2 eggs. 1 cupful sugar. 1 cupful flour. 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder. 284' THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. La lira A. Hunt. 285 THE HOUSEKEEPER A speck of salt. 1 teaspoon ful vanilla. Yi cupful hot milk. Beat the eggs five minutes, add the sugar gradually and beat again. Mix and sift the flour, baking powder and salt and add gradually to first mixture, add vanilla and beat well. Then stir in the hot milk, pour at once into a round sponge cake pan and bake in a slow oven. POTATO FLOUR SPONGE CAKE 4 eggs. 1 cupful sugar. Yi cupful potato flour. Vi teaspoon ful salt. Y\ teaspoon ful baking powder. 1 teaspoonful vanilla. Beat the yolks of the eggs until light, add the sugar gradually and continue the beating until very creamy. Sift together the flour, baking-powder, and salt, and stir into the first mixture. Fold in the stifily beaten egg-whites and the vanilla. Bake in a sheet pan in a slow oven for about thirty minutes. ANGEL FOOD Whites 9 eggs. 1 ]/! cupfuls powdered sugar. 1 teaspoonful cream of tartar. y\ teaspoonful salt. 1 cupful flour. 1 teaspoonful vanilla. Beat the whites of the eggs until frothy, add the cream of tartar, and continue beating until eggs are stiff. Sift the sugar several times and then add gradually to the beaten eggs. Sift the flour and salt four or six times; then fold into the mixture, and lastly add the vanilla. Bake in an uu- buttered pan in a moderate oven for 45 to 50 minutes. 286 THE HOUSEKEEPER SUNSHINE CAKE (Part I) 5 egg whites. H cupful sugar. y2 cupful flour. 1 teaspoon ful cream of tartar. Speck of salt. 1 teaspoon ful vanilla. Beat the egg whites until stiff, add the sugar gradually, beating all the time. Mix and sift the flour, cream of tar- tar and salt several times and add to the first mixture. Add vanilla and bake in one layer cake pan in a moderate oven. SUNSHINE CAKE (Part II) 5 egg yolks. 1 cupful sugar. ^ cupful milk. 11-3 cupfuls flour. 1 teaspoon ful cream of tartar. j/^ teaspoon ful soda. Speck of salt. 1 teaspoon ful vanilla. Beat the egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored, add the sugar gradually. Mix and sift the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt and add to first mixture alternately with the milk. Add the vanilla and bake in two layer cake pans in a moderate oven. Put cake together with boiled frosting, having the white layer in the center. PLAIN CAKE ^ cupful butter, cupful sugar. k| teaspoon ful salt. /2 cupful milk. 11/2 cupfuls flour. 3 teaspoon fuls baking powder. 1 teaspoonful vanilla. 287 THE HOUSEKEEPER Cream the butter, add sugar gradually, and egg well beaten. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt and add alternately with the milk to first mixture, add the vanilla. This rule may be varied in many ways. J'ariations for Plain Butter Cakes.- — Many kinds of but- ter cakes may be made from a plain-cake recipe. The fol- lowing are examples : 1. \A'hite cake — Use 3 egg whites. 2. Yellow cake — Use 4 egg yolks. 3. Chocolate cake — Add one ounce melted chocolate, (use less tiour ). 4. Spice cake — Add V2 teaspoonful cinnamon, I/2 tea- spoonful mixed allspice, nutmeg, and cloves. 5. Fruit cake — Add ^ cupful raisins, ^ cupful cur- rants, % cupful cut citron. 6. Nut cake — Add i/o cupful cut w^alnuts or almonds. Make in layers and use different fillings and frostings. FAMILY CINNAMON CAKE 2 eggs. 5^ cupful sugar. 1 cupful milk. 2 cupfuls flour. 4 tablespoon fuls Wesson Oil. 1 teaspoonful salt. 1 teaspoonful baking powder. 34 teaspoonful nutmeg. Beat eggs, sugar, salt and oil together until very light. Then add milk, baking powder and ^ teaspoonful nutmeg. Mix 1 tablespoonful oil, 1 tablespoonful flour, 5^^ cupful of sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls of cinnamon and spread over top of cake. Bake in greased pan in a moderate oven. — Wesson Oil Cake Book. 288 THE HOUSEKEEPER ORANGE LAYER CAKE y2 cupful Mazola. 1 cupful sugar. 2 eggs. l^ cupful milk. 1/4 cupfuls flour. y^ cupful cornstarch. li/o teaspoonfuls baking powder. 1 teaspoon ful salt. Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt together, mix milk and Mazola together; beat yolks of eggs until thick, add sugar, then alternately add the milk and flour; fold in the well-beaten whites of the eggs and flavoring; bake in layer cake pans in a moderately hot oven. — Mazola Recipes. SPANISH CAKE 1 cupful sugar. ^ cupful butter or oleomargarine, ^ pcro'c !/_> cupful milk. \Y\ cupfuls flour. 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder. yx teaspoon ful salt. 1 teaspoonful cinnamon. Cream the butter and sugar, beat in the yolks of eggs. Add the flour, with which has been sifted cinnamon, salt, and baking powder, alternating with it the milk. The whites of eggs whipped to a stifle froth may be added the last thing. Bake in a large, shallow pan and cover the top with caramel frosting. CHOCOLATE LOAF CAKE \y>2 cupfuls sugar. yi cupful butter or oleomargarine. 2 eggs. 1 cupful milk. 289 THE HOUSEKEEPER 2 cupfnls flonr. 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder. 1 teaspoonful vanilla extract. 2 squares chocolate. Beat to a cream one cupful of the sugar with the butter : add the eggs well beaten, then half a cupful of the milk and the vanilla. Sift together the flour and baking powder, and beat them into the other ingredients. Put the remainder of the sugar and milk, with the chocolate, into a saucepan and cook till the chocolate is dissolved ; add to the cake batter, beat well, and bake in a moderate oven about three-quarters of an hour. DEVIL'S FOOD 1 egg yolk. 1 cupful sugar. 2 squares chocolate. 1 cupful milk. 3 tablespoon fuls butter substitute. 2 cup fuls flour. Yo teaspoonful soda. 1 teaspoonful baking powder. y2 teaspoonful salt. 1 teaspoonful vanilla. Melt the chocolate in I/2 cupful milk over hot water, add the egg yolk and stir until the mixture thickens. Add the rest of the milk, remove from fire, add the butter substitute and the sugar and beat well. Mix and sift the flour, soda, baking powder and salt and add to the first mixture, then add the vanilla. Bake in a greased sheet or layer cake pan in a moderate oven. Use the egg white for making frost- ing-. COCOA CAKE 1/2 cupful butter substitute. 1 cupful sugar. 1 cupful sour milk. 290 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 291 THE HOUSEKEEPER 1 teaspoonful soda. 1 teaspoonful baking powder. 14 teaspoonful salt. 2 cupfuls flour. 2 tablespoonfuls cocoa. 1 teaspoonful cinnamon. Cream the fat, add the sugar gradually, then the sour milk. Mix and sift the flour, soda, baking powder, salt, cocoa and cinnamon and add them to the first mixture. Beat .well, turn into a greased pan and bake in a moderate oven about 35 miutes. BARLEY CHOCOLATE CAKE 11/2 cupfuls barley flour. 3 teaspoon fuls baking powder. y^. teaspoonful soda. 1 tgg yolk. 1 cupful corn syrup. ^ cupful water. 2 tablespoonfuls cooking oleomargarine. 11^ scjuares chocolate. 1 teaspoonful vanilla. Mix and sift the dry ingredients. Beat tgg yolk, add sugar and water, beat well. Melt oleomargarine and choco- late together. Combine liquid and dry ingredients, mix thoroughly, add vanilla. Bake in greased muffin tins or as a loaf. RYZON DATE CAKE 2 eggs. V2 cupful milk. 1 cupful brown sugar. 1-3 cupful butter. 3 teaspoon fuls baking powder. 292 THE HOUSEKEEPER lyl cup fills flour. % teaspoonful salt. 1 teaspoonful ginger (powdered). % teaspoonful nutmeg (powdered). ^ pound stoned and sliced dates. Cream the butter, add the sugar gradually and the eggs well beaten. IMix and sift the flour, baking powder, salt and spices and add to first mixture alternately with the milk. Add the dates, pour into a buttered and floured square cake pan and bake 35 minutes in a moderate oven. GOLD CAKE J4 cupful butter. y^ cupful sugar. Yolks 5 eggs. 1 teaspoonful orange extract. % cupful flour. 1^ teaspoonfuls baking powder. 54 cupful milk. Cream the butter, add sugar slowly, and continue beating. Add the yolks of eggs beaten until thick and lemon-colored, and the orange extract. Mix and sift the flour with the baking powder, and add alternately with milk to the first mixture. Bake in a buttered and floured tin HONEY CAKE 2 eggs. y2 cupful butter. 1 cupful milk. 1 cupful honey. 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder. y teaspoonful salt. 3 cupfuls flour, 293 THE HOUSEKEEPER Cream the butter and gradually beat in the honey. Beat eggs and stir into this first mixture. Sift the baking powder with the flour; add the milk to the creamed honey and butter, and beat in the flour. Bake a rich brown in a moderate oven. Time about one hour. OLD-FASHIONED SOUR CREAM CAKES Sour cream. 1 cupful maple syrup. 2 cupfuls flour. 4 teaspoonfuls baking powder. 1 teaspoon ful cinnamon. y2 teaspoon ful salt. Break the egg in a cup and fill the cup with sour cream. To this add the maple syrup. Alix and sift the dry ingredi- ents and add to the first mixture. Bake in cupcake pans about 20 minutes. Makes 16 cakes. APPLE SAUCE CAKE 1/^ cupful lard or butter substitute. 1 cupful sugar. 1 cupful hot apple sauce. 2 cupfuls flour (scant measure). 1 teaspoon ful soda. 1 teaspoonful baking powder. % teaspoonful each of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. 1 cupful seedless raisins. Cream the fat, and the sugar gradually, mixing thor- oughly. Mix and sift the flour, soda, baking powder, salt and spices to the first mixture, add the raisins which have been washed and chopped. Bake in a greased loaf pan in a slow oven about one hour. 294 THE HOUSEKEEPER WAR CAKE (By Augustus NuUe and Rene Anjard of the Wal- dorf Astoria) Two cupfuls of brown sugar, two cupfuls of hot water, two tablespoonfuls of lard, one package raisins, one tea- spoonful of salt, one teaspoon ful of ground cinnamon, one teaspoon ful of ground cloves. Cook all these ingredients for five minutes after they begin to boil. \\ hen cold, add three cupfuls of flour, one teaspoonful baking soda dissolved in one teaspoonful hot water. Bake in two loaves for forty-five minutes in a slow oven. This cake is better at the end of a week or two. FRUIT CAKE 2 cupfuls dried apples. Cold water. 1 cupful molasses. 1 cupful sugar. 2-3 cupful butter substitute. 1 cupful seedless raisins. 1 teaspoonful soda. 2 cupfuls flour. 1 teaspoonful cinnamon. y^ teaspoonful cloves. % teaspoonful nutmeg. 34 teaspoonful salt. Soak the apples several hours in cold water to cover. Chop the apples and cook with the sugar and molasses until the apples are soft. Add the fat, cool, add the eggs well beaten and the flour mixed and sifted, with the soda, spices and salt. Add the raisins, turn into a loaf tin lined with oiled paper and bake one hour in a slow oven. 295 THE HOUSEKEEPER ^^3 PURITY ' STRENGTH PERFECTION/ You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer, Laura A. Hunt. 296 THE HOUSEKEEPER GINGERBREAD 34 cupful melted butter substitute. 1 cupful molasses. 1 cupful sour milk. 2^4 cupfuls flour. 1 teaspoon ful soda. 2 teaspoonfuls ginger. 3-2 teaspoonful salt. Melt the fat, add the molasses and sour milk. Mix and sift the dry ingredients and add to the liquid. Bake 15 minutes in greased mufiin pans, having" the pans 2-3 filled with the mixture. CREAM PUFFS 1 cupful boiling water. y2 teaspoonful salt. 1-3 cupful butter. 11/2 cupfuls flour. 4 eggs. Whipped cream or custard. Bring the water, salt and butter together to the boiling point ; stir in the flour and cook till the mixture leaves the sides of the saucepan clean. When cooled, add the eggs one at a time, beating each one in thoroughly. Drop by table- spoonfuls some distance apart on greased baking-pans, and bake one-half hour in a moderate oven. When cold, split and fill with sweetened whipped cream or thick custard. — Rurnford Complete Cook Book. 297 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXni CAKE FROSTINGS PLAIN FROSTING White of egg. 2 teaspoon fuls cold water. 14 teaspoonful vanilla, or y2 teaspoonful lemon juice. }i cupful confectioner's sugar. Beat the egg white stiff, add water and sugar, and beat well. Add flavoring and more sugar if needed. Spread on cake with a broad knife. CHOCOLATE FROSTING Chocolate frosting is made by adding a square of melted chocolate to the recipe for plain frosting when about half the sugar is in. BOILED FROSTING 1 cupful granulated sugar. 1-3 cupful hot water. 1 egg white. 1 teaspoonful flavoring. Boil the sugar and water together, without stirring, till a thread is formed, when a little is dropped from a spoon. Beat the white of the egg, and pour the hot syrup over it, beating all the time. Add the flavoring, and beat till thick enough to spread. . One square of melted chocolate may be added when the syrup is poured on the egg or brown sugar may be used in place of granulated. 298 THE HOUSEKEEPER MAPLE SYRUP FROSTING 1 cupful maple syrup. 1 white of egg, well beaten. Boil syrup until it spins a thread. Beat egg well and pour hot syrup over it, beating constantly with an egg beater. When it begins to thicken, spread on cake. This will frost a three layer cake. WHITE MOUNTAIN CREAM Put 1 cupful sugar, 3 tablespoon fuls water and 1 egg white unbeaten into the ui)per part of a double l)oiler. Have the water in the lower part of boiler, boiling, put the upper part of boiler in place and beat with the egg beater eight minutes or until the frosting feels sugary around the edge of the dish. Remove from fire at once, cool, add 14 teaspoon- ful vanilla and spread on cake. Double chocolate and white frosting. — Spread the cake with White Mountain Cream and pour on a thin layer of melted chocolate, spread quickly to cover the white frosting. FUDGE FROSTING 2 cup fuls sugar. 2 squares chocolate. •)4 cupful milk. 1 tablespoonful l:)utter. 1/2 teaspoon ful vanilla. Boil the sugar, chocolate and milk together until a little dropped in cold water will form a soft ball. Add the butter, remove from fire, cool, add vanilla, beat until creamy and spread on cake. CARAMEL FROSTING 11/^ cup fuls brown sugar. ■M cupful thin cream or milk. 1 tablespoonful butter. ^ teaspoon ful vanilla. 299 THE HOUSEKEEPER Put the sugar, cream (or milk ) and butter into a saucepan and cook gently till a little dropped in cold water forms a soft ball. Remove from the fire, cool, add the flavoring and beat till thick enough to spread. PLAIN ORANGE ICING Grated rind and strained juice of 1 orange. About 1^ cupfuls powdered sugar. Put the rind and juice of the orange into a bowl, add the sugar (sifted) till the mixture is thick enough to spread. ORANGE ICING Put yolk of 1 egg into a bowl and beat until light colored. Then add the strained juice from one orange and mix thor- oughly. Add gradually, beating continuously, enough fine powdered sugar to make an icing stilT enough to spread nicely. It will require 1 pound of sugar. MOCHA FROSTING 1 tablespoon ful butter. 2 tablespoon fuls cocoa. 2^ tablespoonfuls strong cofifee. 1^ cupfuls confectioner's sugar. 1/2 teaspoon ful vanilla. Cream the butter, add the cocoa and sugar gradually. As the mixture thickens, thin with the coffee, adding a few drops at a time. Add the vanilla, beat well and when creamy spread the frosting on the cake. MARSHMALLOW FILLING 1 cupful brown sugar. 1^ ounces marshmallows (about 12). White of 1 egg. ^ cupful water. Few drops vanilla. 300 THE HOUSEKEEPER I Cook sugar and water without stirring until it reaches the thread stage. Add syrup slowly to the beaten white. Add marshmallows cut in pieces. Beat mixture until cool enough to spread. Add flavoring. DATE AND FIG FILLING 1 cupful figs. 1 cupful dates. } cupful maple sugar or granulated sugar. 2 tablespoon fuls cornstarch. % teaspoon ful salt. 1 square chocolate. Scald the milk and sugar. Mix the cornstarch and sail with two tablespoonfuls of cold milk; add to the first mix- ture ; add the chocolate. Cook fifteen minutes, stirring all the time during first five minutes of cooking. Remove from fire and cool. Spread between layers of plain spice or chocolate cake. 301 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 302 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXIV COOKIES SUGAR COOKIES i/> cupful butter 1 cupful sugar. % cupful milk. 2 cupfuls flour. V2 teaspoon ful salt. 3 teaspoon fuls Ijaking powder. 1 teaspoon ful A'anilhi. Cream the butter, add the sugar gradually, and cream well with a wooden spoon. Sift the salt and baking powder with the flour. Add the milk gradually to the sugar mix- ture, then add the well beaten egg, the vanilla, and the flour gradually to make a soft dough. Turn out on a floured board and roll a small portion at a time to }i inch thickness. Cut with a floured cookie cutter, place on greased pan and Ijake in a moderate oven until slightly brown (about 10 minutes ) . Makes 4 dozen cookies. GINGER SNAPS y2 cupful shortening. 1 cupful molasses. 3)4 cupfuls flour. 1 teaspoon ful salt. 1/. teaspoonful soda. 1 tablespoon ful ginger. ^2 cupful sugar. 303 THE HOUSEKEEPER Heat the molasses to the boiHng point ; then add the short- ening, which may be vegetable fat or half vegetable fat and half lard. Mix and sift the dry ingredients and add to the liquid. Mix well and chill. Divide the mixture, turn on a floured board, using a small portion of dough at a time, roll very thin. Use as little flour as possible, cut and bake on greased baking sheets in a quick oven. Makes 5 dozen cookies. GINGER PUFFS 1 cupful molasses (or use Yo cupful molasses and ^ cupful Karo). ^ cupful sugar. 1 cupful hot water. 3 tablespoon fuls butter substitute. 1 teaspoon ful soda. % teaspoonful each of ginger, cinnamon and salt. Flour. Combine the molasses, sugar, hot water and melted short- ening. Mix and sift the soda, salt and spices with 1 cupful flour and add to the first mixture. Add enough more sifted flour to make the batter stiff enough to hold its shape when dropped from a spoon. Drop by spoonfuls on a greased baking pan and bake in a slow oven. OATMEAL DROP COOKIES 1>'4 cupfuls flour. 2 cupfuls rolled oats. 14 cupful brown sugar. }i teaspoonful cinnamon. ^ teaspoonful salt. 3/2 teaspoonful cloves. 54 teaspoonful nutmeg. 2^2 teaspoon fuls baking powder. 1/2 cupful corn syrup. 304 THE HOUSEKEEPER •}i cupful milk. y2 cupful melted fat. :X4 cupful raisins, seeded and cut into halves. Sift together the flour, salt, spices, and baking powder; add raisins and oatmeal. To the corn syrup add melted fat, milk and brown sugar. Add liquid mixture gradually to the dry ingredients. Stir well and drop by small teaspoon- fuls on a greased baking sheet. Bake about 15 minutes in a moderate oven. This makes about 72 cookies. HONEY DROP COOKIES ^4 cupful honey. 54 cupful fat. 1 ^gg- \y2 cupfuls white flour. f\ cupful rice flour. I/O teaspoon ful soda. 2 tablespoonfuls water. 1 cupful raisins, cut in small pieces. 34 teaspoon ful salt. Heat the honey and fat until fat melts. Sift together the flour, soda, and salt. To the cooled honey mixture add Q:gg well beaten, water and raisins. Add gradually to the dry ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls on a greased sheet. Bake in a slow oven for about 12 to 15 minutes. This makes about 42 cookies. 1/2 teaspoonful cinnamon and ^ teaspoonful cloves may be added to the honey mixture. CHOCOLATE COOKIES 1 cupful sugar. 2 eggs. Yz cupful milk. 1 cupful raisins and nuts. 1-3 cupful melted butter substitute. 305 THE HOUSEKEEPER 1 teaspoonful soda. 2 cupfuls flour. 1/4 teaspoonful salt. 3 squares chocolate. 1 teaspoonful vanilla. Mix the melted butter substitute with the sugar. Add the beaten yolks and melted chocolate to this. Sift the flour with soda and salt, add the milk and half the flour to the sugar and eggs. Mix well. Add the raisins with the re- mainder of the flour. Add beaten whites and vanilla and beat well. Drop from the spoon to bake on buttered baking sheets. May be frosted with fudge frosting. PECAN CAKES 2 eggs. y^ cupful molasses. y2 cupful corn syrup. Ya cupful flour. Ya teaspoonful baking powder. Yi teaspoonful salt. 1 cupful chopped pecans. Beat the eggs slightly and add the molasses and corn syrup to them. Mix and sift the flour, baking powder and salt and stir these ingredients into the first mixture. Add the chopped nuts and fill shallow, individual, greased tins half full of the mixture. Place a nut in the centre of each cake and bake them in a quick over for fifteen minutes, re- ducing the heat after they have baked five minutes. This recipe yields twenty-four cakes. HERMITS 1-3 cupful butter. 2-3 cupful sugar. 2 tablespoon fuls milk. \Y cupfuls flour. 306 THE HOUSEKEEPER 2 teaspoon fuls baking powder. 1-3 cupful raisins, stoned and cut in small pieces. }4 teaspoon ful cinnamon. ^ teaspoonful clove. ^ teaspoonful mace. y^. teaspoonful nutmeg. Cream the butter, add sugar gradually, then raisins, tgg well beaten, and milk. Mix and sift dry ingredients and add to first mixture. Drop by spoonfuls on a greased bak- ing sheet. (Fannie M. Farmer.) MARGUERITES 2 eggs. 1 cupful brown sugar. 1-3 teaspoonful salt. ^ teaspoonful vanilla. 1/2 cupful pastry flour. J4 teaspoonful baking powder. y^ cupful chopped pecan or walnut meats. Beat eggs until creamy, add the sugar and salt and beat until light with the egg-beater. x\dd the vanilla and the flour mixed and sifted with the baking powder, add the nut meats. Bake in shallow, individual pans in a moderate oven. (Ida C. B. Allen.) 307 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 308 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXV CONFECTIONS Candy is a useful food when eaten at the proper time, at the close of a meal. Homemade cand}' is cheaper and purer than that bought in many stores. EFFECTS OF HEAT ON SUGAR Sugar undergoes several changes during the process of cooking. The terms "soft ball," "hard ball," "thread," "the crack," or "brittle" and "caramel" are used in mak- ing candy to distinguish the different temperatures and changes. 1. "Soft ball" is the stage of heating sugar when a little dropped into cold water and then rolled in the fingers forms a soft ball. 2. "Hard ball" is the stage when sugar similarly tested makes a hard ball in the fingers. 3. "Thread" is a higher temperature stage when the sugar spins a thread when dropped from a spoon. 4. The "crack" or "brittle" stage is reached when the sugar immediately hardens and crackles when dropped into cold water. 5. "Caramel" is the stage at which the heat causes the sugar to turn brown. Utensils for candy-making are: 1. A large agate or iron kettle, as sugar burns very easily. 2. A wooden spoon or paddle for mixing. 3. Buttered tins or a marble slab for cooling. 309 THE HOUSEKEEPER At the following- stae^es the thermometer registers Soft ball stage Hard ball stage Crack stage Hard crack stage Caramel stage Centigrade 11314° to 117^ 1231/2° 127° to 135=^ 143 1-3° 149° to 176^ Fahrenheit 236° to 242° 254° 260° to 275° 290° 300° to 350° THERMOMETER SCALE Degrees Degrees The thread 226 Good crack 271 Good thread 236 Hard crack 310 Soft ball 240 High cook 330 Small ball 244 Extra high cook 345 Large or hard ball 250 Caramel 360 Slight Snap 261 SALTED NUTS Remove the skins from shelled nuts by placing in boil- ing water for few minutes when the skins may be rubbed off. Dry them. Put a little vegetable fat in a frying pan. Add nuts and fry until delicately browned, stirring con- stantly. Remove with small skimmer. Drain on paper and sprinkle with salt. PARISIAN SWEETS Put through the meat chopper 1 pound of prepared dates, figs and nut meats. Add 1 tablespoonful orange juice, a little grated orange peel, and /4 cupful of honey or syrup. Mold into balls and roll in chopped nuts or cocoanut or chocolate. This mixture may be packed in an oiled tin, put under a weight until firm, then cut in any shape desired. Melted chocolate may be added to the mixture before molding. 310 THE HOUSEKEEPER MOLASSES 311 THE HOUSEKEEPER POPCORN BALLS 1 cupful syrup, 1 tablespoon ful \inegar, and 2 to 3 quarts of popped corn. Boil together the syrup and vinegar until the syrup hardens when dropped in cold water. ( Crack- stage. ) Pour over the freshly popped corn and mold into balls or fancy shapes. Either honey, maple syrup, molasses, white cane syrup, or corn syrup may be used. MOLASSES CANDY 2 cupfuls molasses. 1 cupful brown sugar. 2 tablespoon fuls butter Yi cupful water. 2 tablespoon fuls vinegar. Put all the ingredients except the \inegar, into a large saucepan and coc^k quickly till a little of the mixture dropped into cold water feels brittle ; add the vinegar, cook two minutes more and pour into a greased pan to cool. As soon as it can be easily handled, pull with the fingers till white. Cut into pieces before it is too hard. BUTTER SCOTCH 1 cupful granulated sugar. 1 cupful Karo. 2 tablespoon fuls butter. Cook all the ingredients together without stirring until the mixture reaches the crack stage when tested in cold water. Pour into buttered pan in a thin layer and mark into squares while warm. PEANUT CANDY 2 cupfuls sugar. 1 cupful shelled and chopped peanuts. Put the sugar into a smooth frying pan and stir with the bowl of the spoon until melted, keeping the spoon flat. Remove immediately from the fire and stir in the nuts. When it begins to stififen pour upon the oiled bottom of an inverted pan, shape with knives, and cut into squares. 312 THE HOUSEKEEPER DOUBLE FUDGE, OR FUDGE AND PENOCHE (Fudge) 1 cupfuls sugar. 2 squares chocolate. y^ teaspoon fill vanilla. 2-3 cupful milk and 1 tablespoonful butter or l-l cupful cream. Boil the sugar, chocolate and milk or cream together to the soft ball stage. Add the butter, cool, add vanilla and beat until creamy. Spread in a buttered pan to cool (Penoche) 2 cupfuls brown sugar. ^ cupful cream, or 1/4 cupful milk and 1 tabespoonful butter. 1 teaspoon ful vanilla. 1 cupful walnut meats. Boil the sugar and milk or cream to the soft ball stage, add the butter and nuts, cool, add vanilla and beat until creamy ; then pour on top of the fudge already in the pan. When cool cut in squares. FIG FUDGE 14 teaspoon ful cream of tartar. >4 lb. chopped figs. U/, cupfuls brown sugar. Speck of salt. 1 tablespoonful butter. 1 cupful water. 1 teaspoon ful lemon extract. Wash and dry the figs, then chop them. Put the sugar and water into a saucepan, and dissolve, add the butter and cream of tartar, and when the mixture boils, add the figs. Boil to a soft ball when tried in cold water, or 240° F., stir- ring all the time. Remove the pan from the fire, add the lemon extract and salt, cool five minutes, then stir until it begins to grain and quickly pour into buttered tin. Mark in squares while warm. 313 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHOICE CARAMELS 1 pound sugar (2 cupfuls). ^ cupful Karo. 34 pound butter (l^ cupful). 1 pint cream (2 cupfuls). Put the sugar, Karo, butter and half of the cream over the fire and stir until the mass boils thoroughly. Then stir in gradually, so as not to stop the boiling, the second cup- ful of cream. Put the sugar thermometer in, let the mix- ture boil, stirring every three or four minutes, until the thermometer registers 250° F. Then stir in a teaspoonful of vanilla, and turn into two brick shaped bread pans, nicely buttered, or onto an oiled marble between steel bars, to make a sheet v)4-inch thick. When nearly cold cut in cubes. Roll them at once in waxed paper or let stand 24 hours to dry ofif. Without a thermometer boil the mass to a pretty firm hard ball. No better caramels can be made. In sum- mer the caramels will hold their shape better if boiled from 2 to 4 degrees higher. MAPLE KISSES 2 cupfuls maple sugar. }i cu])ful water. 2 tablespoonfuls butter. 1 cupful shelled pecan nuts. Cook the water, sugar and butter till a little dropped in cold w^ater forms a firm ball ; add the nuts, stir till the mix- ture begins to cool and thicken, and then drop, in small spoonfuls, on a greased paper or plate. COCOANUT KISSES 2 cupfuls sugar. 1 cupful milk. M cupful cocoanut. 1 teaspoonful vanilla. Speck of salt. 314 THE HOUSEKEEPER Boil the sugar, milk and salt to the soft ball stage. Re- move from the fire, set the saucepan in a dish of cold water and leave until thick. Remove from the water, beat, add the cocoanut and vanilla. When creamy pour into a buttered pan and mark in squares or drop by spoonfuls on greased paper. DIVINITY FUDGE 2 cupfuls brown sugar. 1/2 cupful water. 1 teaspoon fnl vanilla extract. 3/ cupful chopped nuts. 1 egg white. Boil the sugar and water together till a little dropped in cold water forms a soft ball. Pour the hot mixture over the stiffly-beaten white of the tgg, beating while pouring. Add nuts and extract and beat vigorously till the candy stiffens. When nearly set drop by spoonfuls on paper. When cold the candy will harden so that it can be easily taken from the paper. SYRUP NOUGATINES Boil 11/2 cupfuls light corn syrup and ^ cupful water to 246 deerrees F., or until it forms a firm ball when tried in cold water. Pour slowly onto the well-beaten white of an egg, beating constantly with a wire whisk. Place the bowl over water kept just below the boiling point and fold and turn 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from fire, add V2 tea- spoonful of vanilla or other flavoring and continue folding until the mixture is nearly cool. Add 1 cupful chopped salted peanuts or a mixture of any desired candied fruits and nuts. Spread ^ inch thick on wax paper, cover with wax paper and cut in squares. 315 THE HOUSEKEEPER TUTTI FRUTTI BALLS 1 cupful puffed rice or corn, 1 cupful seedless raisins, I cupful stoned dates, 1 cupful figs, 1/4 cupful chopped nut meats. 1 tablespoon ful chopped angelica or citron, ^ cupful chopped candied orange peel, and 2 teaspoonfuls vanilla extract. Put the rice, fruits, orange peel and nut meats through a food chopper, stir well adding the extract. Make into small balls and allow to dry. Roll in shredded cocoanut. CANDIED APPLE OR FRUIT One i)ound apples (which do not cook readily). Peel and cut into the size desired. Place in 1 cupful of syrup and boil slow!}' until the apple becomes transparent. Take the apple out one piece at a time and drain on a fork. Let stand on wax paper 3 to 4 hours, roll in finely chopped cocoanut. Other fruits : pineapple, pears and quinces may be used in place of apples. Syrups which ha\'e given good results with the above fruits : Sorghum honey, sorghum and glucose (half and half), corn, maple, cane. Fruit is improved if allowed to stand in the syrup overnight before draining. STUFFED DATES Use the best dates, wash and remove the stones, fill with peanuts, walnuts, hickory nuts or any nuts available. Peanut butter makes a good filling that is different. Press dates in shape and roll in chopped nuts, cocoanut or a mixture of cocoa and powdered cinnamon. STUFFED PRUNES Steam 1 pound of prunes and remove the stones. Stuff' part of the prunes, each with another prune, stuff others with chopped salted nuts, or stuff with a mixture of 1 cupful each of raisins and walnuts and a few candied cherries. Another suggestion is to stuff prunes with stiff orange marmalade. 316 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHOCOLATE DAINTIES OR BITTER SWEETS Alelt bitter sweet chocolate in double boiler, remove from the fire and beat until cool. In this dip nuts or sweet fruits and place on oiled paper. GLACE NUTS 2 cupfuls granulated sugar. 1/8 teaspoon ful cream of tartar. 2-3 cupful boiling water. Boil the sugar, water and cream of tartar together till a little dropped in cold water is brittle and clear. Do not stir while cooking. If the sugar becomes too hard, add a tablespoon of water and cook and test again. Dip the prepared nuts in the hot syrup, one at a time, using a candy dipper or sugar tongs, being careful not to shake or stir the syrup, place on paper or plate to harden. GLACE FRUITS The same mixture is used for fruits. Cut Malaga grapes from the bunch, leaving a short stem on each. Divide an orange into sections, use Maraschino cherries. See that the fruit is free from moisture, dip in the syrup and place on paraffin paper. FONDANT No. 1 5 cups (2>2 lbs.) sugar. 214 cupfuls of water. yi teaspoon ful cream of tartar. Place all in a saucepan and stir till dissolved. Boil with- out stirring to the soft ball stage (IHi/o C. or 238 F. if soft fondant is desired or 116 2-3 C. or 242 F. for harder fondant). To prevent crystallization, either boil for the first ten minutes with the cover on, or from time to time wash down the sides of the pan with a swab of cloth wet in hot water. Pour on an oiled platter and cool till it can 317 THE HOUSEKEEPER be handled. Beat with a knife or wooden spoon till creamy; then gather into the hands and knead till soft and velvety. Keep in a jar at least 24 hours before using. Or proceed as before but cool in a platter to 90 F., 32 C, and beat till creamy and pour into a jar. When wanted for use, melt in a double boiler over hot water. FONDANT No. 2 4 cupfuls granulated sugar. j4 teaspoonful cream of tartar, or 3 drops of vinegar. 11/4 cupfuls cold water. Stir the sugar and water in a saucepan, place at the back of the range until the sugar is melted, then draw the sauce- pan to a hotter part of the range ,and stir until the boiling point is reached; add the cream of tartar or vinegar and with a cloth wet in cold water, wash down the sides of the saucepan, to remove any grains of sugar that have been thrown there. Cover the saucepan and let boil rapidly three or four minutes. Remove the cover, set in the thermometer if one is to be used — and let cook very rapidly to 240 F. or the soft ball stage. Dampen a marble slab or a large platter, then without jarring the syrup turn it onto the marble or platter. Do not scrape out the saucepan or allow the last of the syrup to drip from it, as any sugary portions will spoil the fondant by making it grainy. When the syrup is cold, with a spatula or a wooden spoon, turn the edges of the mass towards the center, and continue turning the edges in until the mass begins to thicken and grow white, then work it up into a ball, scraping all the sugar from the marble into the mass. Knead it slightly, then cover closely with a hea\'y piece of cotton cloth wrung out of cold water. Let the sugar stand for an hour or longer to ripen, then remove the damp cloth and cut the mass into pieces ; press these closely into a bowl, cover with a cloth wrung out of water (this cloth 318 THE HOUSEKEEPER must not touch the fondant) and then with heavy paper. The fondant may be used the next day, but it is in better condition after several days, and may be kept ahnost in- definitely, if the cloth covering it be wrung out of cold water and replaced once in 5 or 6 days. Fondant may be used, white or delicately colored with vegetable coloring pastes, or as frosting for small cakes, or eclairs, or for making candy " centers," to be coated with chocolate or with some of the same fondant tinted and flavored appro- priately. CANDIES MADE FROM FONDANT CREAM MINTS Alelt fondant over hot water, flavor with a few drops of oil of peppermint, wintergreen, clove, cinnamon, or orange and color if desired. Drop from a spoon on oiled paper. BONBON FONDANT Let fondant stand twenty- four hours or more in an earthenware bowl covered with several thicknesses of wet cloth. To dip bonbons heat the fondant by setting it in a pan of hot water over the stove and stirring constantly. A double boiler may be used for this purpose. Dip the centers by transfixing them with a fork and set them to cool on sheets of waxed paper. This recipe is suitable for all sorts of nuts, fruits, and other centers. The fondant may be colored as desired. CREAM CANDIES CHOCOLATE CREAMS Mold fondant into cone-shaped balls with the hands or fingers. Let them stand overnight on waxed paper or a marble slab, or until they are thoroughly hardened. If they are allowed to stand twenty- four hours or more all the better. 319 THE HOUSEKEEPER COATING FOR CHOCOLATE CREAMS Melt a cake of chocolate in a double boiler. When melted add a lump of paraffin as big as a small walnut, half as much l)utter. and a few drops of vanilla. TO COAT CHOCOLATE CREAMS Place the pan of melted chocolate in a larger pan of boiling water. This keeps the chocolate melted. Place the creams on waxed paper at the left, and a sheet of waxed paper to receive the coated chocolates at the right. Take up the creams by thrusting them through with a two-tined fork, dip them quickly in the chocolate, and slip them ofif on the waxed paper. 320 THE HOUSEKEEPER FIRELESS COOKER 321 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXVI THE FIRELESS COOKER* INTRODUCTION The principle employed in the fireless cooker has long been known and may be briefly stated as follows : If a hot body is protected by a suitable covering the heat in it will be retained for a long time instead of being dissipated by radiation or conduction. In using a fireless cooker the food is first heated on the stove until the cooking has be- gun and then it is placed in the fireless cooker, a tight re- ceptacle in which the food is completely surrounded by some insulating substance, which prevents the rapid escape of the heat so that it is retained in the food in suf^cient Cjuantity to complete the cooking. Sometimes an addi- tional source of heat, such as a hot soapstone or brick, is put into the cooker with the food where a higher cooking temperature is desired. One of the chief advantages of the fireless cooker is that it accomplishes a saving in fuel, especially where gas, kero- sene, or electric stoves are used. Where coal or wood is the fuel, the fire in the range is often kept up most of the day and the saving of fuel is less. In summer or when the kitchen fire is not needed for heating purposes, the din- ner can be started on the stove early in the morning and then placed in the fireless cooker, the fire in the range be- ing allowed to go out. During hot weather the use of a kerosene or other liquid-fuel stove and a fireless cooker is a great convenience, since it not only accomplishes a saving in fuel but helps to keep the kitchen cooler. As would be expected, the saving in fuel resulting from the use of a fireless cooker is greatest in the preparation of foods like stews, which reciuire long and slow cooking. ^''Homemade Fireless Cookers and Their Use." Bulletin 17, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Z22 THE HOUSEKEEPER The great convenience of the fireless cooker is that it saves time, for foods cooked in it do not require watching and may be left to themselves while the cook is occupied with other duties, or the family is away from home, with- out danger from fires or overcooking the food. Its use, therefore, may enable a family to have home cooking in- stead of boarding, or hot meals instead of cold foods. Another advantage of the use of the fireless cooker is that it makes it easier to utilize cheaper cuts of meat, which, although not having as fine a texture or flavor, are fully as nutritious, pound for pound, as the more expensive cuts. Long cooking at relatively low temperature, such as is given foods in the fireless cooker, improves the texture and flavor of these tougher cuts of meat. HOW TO MAKE A HOMEMADE FIRELESS COOKER While there are many good fireless cookers .on the market, it is possible to construct a homemade cooker which, if properly built, will give very satisfactory results and is cheaper than one which is purchased. The mate- rials needed are a box or some other outside container, some good insulating or packing material, a kettle for hold- ing the food, a container for the kettle or a lining for the nest in which the kettle is to be placed, and a cushion or pad of insulating material to cover the top of the kettle. For the outside container a tightly built wooden box, is probably the most satisfactory. A small barrel, or a large butter or lard firkin or tin may be used. An- other possibility is a galvanized-iron bucket with a closelv fitting cover; this latter has the advantage of being fire- proof. A box, 15 by 15 by 28 inches, is convenient in size, since it may be divided into two compartments. The box should have a hinged cover, and at the front side a hook and staple or some other device to hold the cover down; an ordinary clamp window fastener answers the latter pur- pose very well. Whatever the container used, its size, which depends upon the size of the kettle used, should be THE HOUSEKEEPER large enough to allow for at least 4 inches of packing material all around the nest in which the kettle is placed. The kettles used for cooking should be durable and free from seams or crevices, which are hard to clean. They should have perpendicular sides and the covers should be as flat as possible and provided with a deep rim shutting well down into the kettle to retain the steam. It is possible to buy kettles made especially for use in fire- less cookers; these are provided with covers which can be clamped on tightly. The size of the kettle should be de- termined by the quantity of food to be cooked. Small amounts of food can not be cooked satisfactorily in large kettles, and it is therefore an advantage to have a cooker with compartments of two or more different sizes. Kettles holding about 6 quarts are of convenient size for general use. Tinned iron kettles should not be used in a fireless cooker, for, although cheap, they are very apt to rust from the confined moisture. Enameled ware kettles are satisfac- tory, especially if the covers are of the same material. Aluminum vessels may be purchased in shapes which make them especially well adapted for use in fireless cookers and, like enameled ware, they do not rust. Fireless cookers are adapted to a much wider range of cooking if they are provided with an extra source of heat, since a higher cooking temperature may thus be obtained than if hot water is depended upon as the sole source of heat. Obviously this introduces a possible danger from fire in case the hot stone or other substance should come into direct contact with inflammable packing material like excelsior or paper. To avoid this danger a metal lining must be provided for the nest in which the cooking vessel and stone are to be put. As an extra source of heat a piece of soapstone, brick, or an iron plate, such as a stove lid, may be used. This is heated and placed in the nest un- der the cooking vessel ; sometimes an additional stone is put over the cooking vessel. 324 ■ THE HOUSEKEEPER The container for the cooking vessel, or the Hning for the nest in which it is to be put, should be cylindrical in shape; should be deep enough to hold the cooking kettle and stone, if one is used; and should fit as snugly as pos- sible to the cooking vessel, but at the same time should allow the latter to be moved in and out freely. If the cylinder is too large the air space between it and the kettle will tend to cool the food. For this purpose a galvanized iron or other metal bucket may be used or, better still, a tinsmith can make a lining of galvanized iron or zinc which can be provided with a rim to cover the packing material. In case no hot stone or plate is to be used in the cooker, the hning can be made of strong cardboard. For the packing and insulating material a variety of sub- stances may be used. Asbestos and mineral wool are un- doubtedly the best, and have the additional advantage that they do not burn. Ground cork (such as is used in pack- ing Malaga grapes), hay, excelsior, Spanish moss, wool, and crumpled paper may also be used satisfactorily. Of the inexpensive materials that can be obtained easily, crumpled paper is probably the most satisfactory, since it is clean anrl odorless and, if properly packed, will hold the heat better than some of the others. To pack the con- tainer with paper, crush single sheets of newspaper be- tween the hands. Pack a layer at least 4 inches deep over the bottom of the outside container, tramping it in or pound- ing it in with a heavy stick of wood. Stand the container for the cooking vessel, or the lining for the nest, in the center of this layer and pack more crushed papers about it as solidly as possible. If other packing, such as excelsior, hay. or cork dust, is used, it should be packed in a similar way. Where an extra source of heat is to be used, it is much safer to pack the fireless cooker with some non- inflammable material, such as asbestos or mineral wool. If a fireproof packing material is not used a heavy pad of asbestos paper should be put at the bottom of the metal nest 325 THE HOUSEKEEPER and a sheet or two of asbestos paper should be placed be- tween the lining of the nest and the packing material. What- ever packing material is used, it should come to the top of the container for the kettle, and the box should lack about 4 inches of being full. A cushion or pad must be provided to fill completely the space between the top of the packing and the cover of the box after the hot kettles are put in place. This should be made of some heavy goods, such as denim, and stuffed with cotton, crumpled paper, or excelsior. HOW TO USE THE FIRELESS COOKER Obviously the fireless cooker must be used with intelli- gence to obtain the best results. It is best suited to those foods which require boiling, steaming, or long, slow cook- ing in a moist heat. Foods can not be fried in it, pies can not be baked successfully in the ordinary fireless cooker, nor can any cooking be done which requires a high, dry heat for browning. Meats, however, may be partially roasted in the oven and finished in the cooker, or may be begun in the cooker and finished in the oven with much the same re- sults as if they were roasted in the oven entirely. The classes of food best adapted to the cooker are cereals, soups, meats, vegetables, dried fruits, steamed breads, and pud- ;]ings. When different foods are cooked together in the fireless cooker they must be such as require the same amount of cooking, since the cooker can not be opened to take out food without allowing the escape of a large amount of heat and making it necessary to reheat the contents. It would not do to put foods wdiich need aljout one and one-half hours to cook into the cooker with a piece of meat which would stay several hours. Thie size of the container used in cooking with the fireless cooker should be governed according to the amount of food to be cooked. Small quantities of food can not be cooked satisfactorily in a large kettle in the fireless cooker. If a large kettle must be used better results will be obtained if 326 THE HOUSEKEEPER some other material which holds heat fairly well is used to fill up the empty space. This may be accomplished in sev- eral ways. One is to put the small quantity of food to be cooked into a smaller, tightly closed kettle, fill the large kettle with boiling water and put the small kettle into it, standing it on an inverted bowl or some other suitable sup- port. This boiling water will take up and hold the heat better than air w^ould. Several smaller dishes (if tightly covered) may be placed in the kettle surrounded by boiling water. Baking-powder or other tins often are found use- ful for this [jurpose. Another way is to place one food in a basin which just fits into the top of a large kettle and to let some other material, some vegetable perhaps, cook in the water in the bottom of the kettle. Two or more flat, shal- low kettles placed one on top of the other so as to fill the cooker enables one to cook small amounts of different foods successfully. Such kettles, made especially for use in fire- less cookers, may be purchased. The time which each kind of food should stay in the cooker depends both on the nature of the food and on the temperature at which it remains inside the cooker, and before recipes for use with the fireless cooker can be pre- pared one must have some means of knowing how tem- peratures are preserved in it. In experiments made in this ofiice a 6-quart kettle was filled with boiling water and put into the cooker, the packing of which happened to be news- paper. The temperature of the water, which was 212° F. when put into the cooker, was found to be 172° F. after four hours had elapsed and 155° F. after eight hours had elapsed. This shows the advisability of the common cus- tom of allowing food to remain undisturbed in the cooker for at least six or eight hours, or in some cases overnight. If a soapstone, hot brick, or other extra source of heat is used, less time will be required. Materials which are denser than water ( sugar sirup as used in cooking dried fruit), and therefore can be heated to a higher degree, will keep up the temperature longer when put into the cooker. Thus the 327 THE HOUSEKEEPER RAPID FIRELESS COOKER Yon will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the mannfactnrer. Laura .-/. Hunt. 328 THE HOUSEKEEPER density of the food material, as well as the amount and the length of time that the apparatus retains the heat, must be taken into consideration in determining how long different materials must be cooked in the cooker. The recipes for dishes to be prepared in the fireless cooker differ somewhat from those for foods cooked in tlie ordin- ary way, chiefly in the amount of water or other liquids called for. Less licpiid should be put into the food to be prepared in an ordinary fireless cooker, since there is no chance for water to evaporate. The cook must be guided largely by experience in deciding how long the food should be heated before being put into the cooker and how long it should be allowed to remain there. Fortunately there are several good fireless cookbooks on the market whose direc- tions can be relied upon. RECIPES FOR USE WITH THE FIRELESS COOKER The following recipes, prepared by Miss Ola Powell and Miss Alary E. Creswell, have been used in extension work in the Southern States.. CREOLE CHICKEN 1 medium-sized chicken. 6 tomatoes or 1 No. 2 can tomatoes. 3 sweet red peppers cut into small cubes. 3 sweet green peppers cut into small cubes or 1 No. 2 can of peppers. y^, pound ham or 2 or 3 slices bacon chopped finely. 1 bay leaf. 1 tablespoon chopped parsley. 2 teaspoons salt. 1 onion (size of egg). 2 taljlespoons butter or bacon drippings. Cut chicken as for stew ; sear by dropping it into 1 pint boiling water, then let simmer gently for one-half hour. 329 THE HOUSEKEEPER Cook the chopped onion in the butter or meat drippings until Hght yellow. Simmer tomatoes for 15 minutes with the bay leaf, strain, and pour over the onions. Now add the minced ham and parsley and cook for 1 5 minutes longer. To this mixture add the chopped peppers and the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Put the chicken into the fire- less-cooker vessel, pour over it this mixture of vegetables and let boil 5 minutes. Put at once into the fireless cooker. With the hot soapstone, let the chicken stay in the cooker for 2 hours; without hot stone, for 3 hours. A ham bone may be substituted for the ham or bacon. If this is done, boil it for one-half hour in enough water to cover. Then add 1 cup of the ham broth to the tomato before cooking it with the bay leaf. This recipe gives a good way to use chicken too old to fry or broil. A similar dish can be made by using a c[uart of canning club soup mixture. \Mien necessary, thicken the broth with a little browned flour before putting the chicken into the cooker. CEREALS Hominy Grits. — Five cups water, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 cup hominy grits. Pick o\er and wash hominy grits. Have the salted water boiling and add the hominy slowly, so as not to stop the boiling. Continue to boil rapidly for 10 minutes over the fire, then put the vessel into the cooker as cjuickly as possible and allow to remain (overnight) for about 12 hours. The vessel of hominy mav be placed in another vessel of boiling water before being placed in the cooker. Samp {coarse hominy). — One-half cup samp soaked in 1 cup cold water 6 hours. Add 1^ teaspoons salt and 3 cups boiling water. Boil rapidly 45 minutes. Put into cooker for 8 to 12 hours. Oatmeal. — Three cups water, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup oat- meal. Carefully look over the oatmeal and remove any husks of foreign substance. Add gradually to the boiling, . 330 THE HOUSEKEEPER salted water and boil rapidly for 10 minutes, stirring con- stantly. Now it may be put into the cooker. After 2 or 3 hours it is soft, but a better flavor will be developed by longer cooking. It may remain in the cooker over-night in the same manner the hominy grits are cooked (about 12 hours ) . Next morning it may have to be reheated. To do this, set the cooker pan in a pan of water over the fire. When the water boils up well, the oatmeal may be served. Plain Rice. — One cup rice, 3 cups water, ly^ teaspoons salt. Look over and wash the rice through several waters, until cloudiness is removed. Bring the salted water to a boil. One-half teaspoon lard may be added. Then add rice gradually to the boiling water in the cooker vessel so as not to stop the boiling. The grains should be kept mov- ing in the boiling water and allow to boil 5 minutes before putting it into the cooker for 45 minutes or an hour. There is a considerable difTerence in rice. Old rice ab- sorbs more water than new rice and the time for cooking it will vary. An hour will be sufficient usually for this small amount. Rice is injvired by overcooking. When rice is tender, drain in colander and place in warm oven for about 5 minutes. Serve at once. Sometimes it is well after draining rice in colander to pour cold water over it. This will wash away the starchy substance between the grains, and keep them from adhering or sticking together. Then place the colander in a hot oven to heat and dry out the rice. If desired the lard may be omitted. It lends a bril- liancy to the rice grains when cooked. Rice in Pilaf (an oriental mixture). — Two cups stock, 1 cup rice, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 slices onion, 6 ripe tomatoes or 1 cup canned tomato juice, 1 tea- spoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon chopped green sweet pepper may be added. Look over and wash the rice. Chop the onion very finely and fry in 1 tablespoon of the butter until yellow. Add to it the boiling juice of the tomatoes and the boiling broth and allow all to boil before adding the rice gradually so 331 THE HOUSEKEEPER as not to stop the boiling. Boil mixture about 5 minutes and place in cooker 1 hour. When ready to serve, add 1 tablespoon butter. Stir with a fork to mix evenly. Pilaf is injured by overcooking. SOUPS : W^gctablc Soup (made without stock). — One-half cup carrots, ^ cup turnips, 1 cup potatoes, ]/> cup onions, ^ cup cabbage, 3 cups tomato juice or 1 No. 3 can tomatoes, 1 tablespoon flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 tablespoon celery seed (crushed), 1 quart water, 4 tablespoons butter, ^A table- spoon parsley, Yx 'teaspoon pepper. Cut all vegetables (except potatoes and onions and pars- ley) into small pieces. Cook them for 10 minutes in 3 tablespoons butter. Add potatoes and cook 3 minutes longer. Mix all ingredients (except parsley) in the cooker utensil and boil 5 minutes. Alix 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon flour; add enough of the licjuor to make it smooth and pour it into the mixture. Cook 5 minutes more and put into the cooker for 4 to 6 hours. Creole Soup (made with stock). — Stock: Two pounds shin beef (meat and bone). Ij/^ quarts water. Cut the meat from the bone into small pieces. Crack the bone and soak 1 hour in cold water. Bring to a boil slowly and when boiling place in the cooker for 5 to 7 hours. When cooked, strain and set away to cool. The cake of fat which forms on top when stock is cold seals the stock and keeps out air and germs and should not be removed until soup is to be made. Then fat is removed and stock heated and any sea- sonings or additions desired are put in. To 1 quart of this stock or 1 quart water in which chicken has been cooked, add 1 quart of canned soup mixture and 2 tablespoons rice or barley, bring to a boil and cook in cooker 2 to 3 hours. This will make a delightful soup. Meat and Vegetable Combinations. — With the less tender cuts of beef and mutton which require long, slow cooking, ZZ2 THE HOUSEKEEPER delicious dishes may be prepared by adding vegetables and cooking in the fireless cooker. Cut the meat into cubes, dredge with flour, and brown it in meat drippings or lard and butter. Then brown the onions in the same fat. For every 3 or 4 cups of meat use one of the following vegetable combinations or 1 quart of canning club soup mixture. Put into the fireless cooker vessel and add 1 cup boiling water with the first combina- tion or 2 cups water with the second one. Boil for 5 min- utes and put into cooker for 3 or 4 hours First 2 cups okra. 2 cups tomatoes. 2 onions. lyi teaspoons salt. 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Second 2 cups potatoes. 1 cup turnips. 1 cup carrots. 2 onions. 3/2 cup celery or 1 tablespoon celery seed, crushed. The following recipes, prepared by Mrs. K. C. Davis and Miss Angeline Wood, have been used in demonstrations in connection with the extension work in the Northern and Western States : CEREAL BREAKFAST FOODS Cereal breakfast foods should be prepared at night while the fire for supper is hot. Measure the required quantity of boiling water into the cooker kettle ; add salt and cereal ; let boil 10 minutes and place in box overnight. Reheating in the morning will probably be necessary. In winter enough for two or three breakfasts may be cooked at once and re- heated as wanted. The food in the inner kettle should be cooked about five minutes before placing in the outer kettle. Then the whole should stand over the flame until 333 THE HOUSEKEEPER the water boils in the outer kettle. Any other kind of breakfast cereal may be cooked by adopting these general directions. The raw cereal breakfast foods, such as plain oatmeal, hominy, cracked wheat, etc., cost less than those which are partly cooked by steam at the factory, but frequently house- keepers prefer not to use them because they require so many hours of cooking. A cooking box, however, is especially well adapted for cooking just this sort of material. Even the cereal preparations which are partly cooked at the fac- tory and are supposed to need only a few minutes cooking to make them ready for the table are much improved by long, slow cooking such as they get in the cooking box. The flavor and texture of cereal breakfast foods are in- fluenced by the length of time they are cooked, and with the cooking box it is easily possible to secure the texture and flavor dependent upon long slow cooking. SOUPS The cheap cuts of meats are rich in the food materials that make palatable dishes, and the bones and scraps are good for making wholesome soup. If care is taken to use material which might otherwise be wasted, the real expense for most meat soups is in the long cooking required. The long-continued, slow cooking which a tough piece of meat obtains in the cooking box and the thorough extraction to which bones and soup meat are subjected mean that the cooking box makes stews, ragouts, and similar dishes and soups cheap foods for the table. American families do not, as a rule, use as much soup as do foreigners, and thus they miss a useful and pleasant addition to the daily bill of fare, and one which may be served without much extra work or expense, if rightly prepared. For making soup stock or broth with the cooking box. the soup bones should be well split up, or the soup meat should be cut into small pieces. Wash the meat, place it in the kettle, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil 334 THE HOUSEKEEPER on the stove and boil 15 minutes. Do this at night if the soup is to be used at noon the next day. Place in the cooker overnight. In the morning remove meat and bones from soup. Strain and remove fat. Return soup and meat to kettle, adding whatever seasoning is desired. Bring to a boiling point again and return it to the box and let remain until noon. This stock may be used as a founda- tion for several soups, such as vegetable soup, clear soup, or noodle soup. Beef soup may be ^•aried almost indehnitely by the differ- ent seasonings which may be added. There is scarcely a vegetable grown which is not good in beef soup. In win-ter many of the dried vegetables, such as beans, peas, lentils, etc.. are excellent for this purpose. Dried Lima beans, peas, and lentils make excellent soup without meat. Since they require long-continued cooking, they are well adapted to fireless-cooker methods. These dried vegetables, cooked with less water and no meat, rubbed through a coarse sieve and made into the proper consistency with milk or thin cream, and seasoned to taste, make so-called "cream" soups. Soups made by thinning the cooked legumes with water and seasoning with onion (fried until pale brown), with celery tops, and other vege- tables are very palatable also. MEATS Some cuts of meats which are not so readily prepared for the table by the usual methods are especially palatable if cooked in the cooking box. The experimenter will soon learn that in cooking meats the amount of boiling over the flame and the time in the box will depend upon the size of the pieces of meat being cooked. Meat cut into pieces for stew will heat through more readily and cook in a shorter time than will a large ham, for example. Most recipes for stews, pot roasts, boiled meats, and similar dishes can be readily adapted to the fireless cooker and save time and 335 THE HOUSEKEEPER fuel. The following recipes are all well adapted to the cooking box, as all of them are dishes which require con- siderable time for their preparation by the usual methods. Pot roast. — Use any preferred cut. Sear in hot fat in a skillet. Place the meat in the cooker kettle with boiling water Boil gently for 30 minutes (20 minutes will suffice if the roast is 3 pounds or less). Place in the cooker over night Reheat in the morning, season, and return to the cooking box until noon. Thicken some of the liquor for gravy. If it is desired to slice cold for next dinner, return meat to liquor and let stand until wanted. Brozvn fricassee of chieken. — Joint the chicken and brown in fat after rolling in flour. As pieces brown pack them in the kettle. When all are browned make gravy in the skillet where the browning was done. Add this to the chicken with enough boiling water to cover. Salt and pep- per. Boil 20 minutes. Place in box over night. Reheat and return to box until noon. This length of time in the box will reduce the toughest old fowl on the farm to a state where the meat will fall from the bones. Roast meat. — Prepare a 4-pound rib roast as for oven roasting. It can be tied more compactly if the ribs are re- moved. Place in pan in very hot oven for half an hour, or sear the roast until brown in a frying pan and then place it in the oven for 20 minutes. Have ready a small pail into which the roast will fit as closely as possible. Place the seared and heated roast in this and set it into the large kettle used in the box, with enough boiling water to come well up around the small pail. Place in the box for three hours. Roasting tough poultry. — Many housewives make a prac- tice of stewing chicken or turkey which they think is likely to be tough, and the practice is a good one. It is, however, much easier to boil for 15 or 20 minutes and then put the fowl, boiling hot, into the cooker and let it remain 10 hours. It should then be drained, wiped dry, and stuffed, if stuffing is desired, and roasted long enough to brown it well. 336 THE HOUSEKEEPER Boiled dinner. — Cook a piece of corned beef and a piece of salt pork in the cooker overnight. In the morning pre- pare all the vegetables it is desired to use and place in the kettle with meat. The greater the variety the better the dinner. Boil 10 or 15 minutes and return to the cooker. It is best to leave potatoes until an hour and a cjuarter before serving, as they are the only vegetables likely to suffer from too long a time in the cooker. When they are added bring the contents of the kettle to the boiling point again. The liquid from the boiled dinner makes a good soup if the corned beef and salt pork have been parboiled to remove some of the salt. FRESH VEGETABLES Carrots, peas, string beans, onions, beets, turnips, pars- nips, salsify, and in fact all vegetables may be cooked in the cooking" box. They must be given time according to their age. A safe rule for all green vegetables is two and a half times as long in the cooker as if boiled on the stove. This method is particularly good for such vegetables as onions, cabbage, and cauliflower, as there is no escape of odor from the cooker. A further adxantage with cabbage, cauliflower, and other green \egetables is that overcooking is avoided. When green vegetables are cooked too long in boiling water they turn yellow and lose their fine flavor. This they do not do so readily at the same temperature of the cooking box. Boston beans and other dried vegetables. — In cooking dry beans, the time required either in the oven or the cooking box will vary with the length of time the beans have been kept ; the older the beans the more cooking required. Soak 1 quart of beans overnight ; in the morning drain them and cover with cold water and heat to boiling. Let boil until the skins will burst when touched very lightly, adding one- fourth teaspoon of soda a few minutes before taking from the fire. Drain through a colander. Return to the kettle 337 THE HOUSEKEEPER and add 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of mustard, 3 table- spoonfuls molasses, and one-half pound of salt pork, washed and scraped, and cover with boiling water. Let boil 20 or 30 minutes, then place in the cooking box. If the beans are new, six hours in the box will be long enough. Old beans require longer cooking and should be left in the box over- night, then reheated in the morning, and returned to the box. They will be ready to serve for the midday meal. Dried vegetables, such as peas, beans, Lima beans, lentils, or corn may be soaked in cold water several hours, and then after the preliminary boiling of a few minutes kept from 6 to 12 hours in the cooker. They may be cooked with salt pork, and thus prepared they are liked by many, or they may be cooked with vegetable oil, as olive oil, or they may be cooked plain and seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter or cream. The longer, then, dry vegetables are cooked in the box the more palatable and the more digestible they will be. DRIED FRUITS Li the case of dried fruits as well as dried vegetables long- continued slow cooking is desirable. A common method is as follows: Wash the fruit well and let it soak in cold water until it has regained its natural size, and then place on the back of the range and allow it to remain there for 20 minutes, but do not allow it to boil. When fruit is cooked in the cooking box, it should be washed and soaked in the way described, heated in the water in which it has been soaked, not quite to the boiling point, and then placed in the cooker for five or six hours. Because less water evaporates than when cooking on the stove, a smaller proportion of water will be needed for good results. If too much is used the sirup will not be quite so rich as usual. Fruit should always be cooked in an enamelware or an earthenware dish, as tin or iron may impart an unpleasant flavor to acid fruit, and also give it an undesirable color. 338 THE HOUSEKEEPER PUDDINGS AND STEAMED BREADS Steamed or boiled puddings, or such as require long, slow cooking, and steamed bread, like Boston brown bread, are the kinds best adapted to the cooking box. Every family has its favorite recipes and these may be used, as the method of procedure is the same for cooking all such foods. The steamed or boiled puddings or breads should be placed in molds well buttered. For this purpose pound bak- ing powder cans are excellent. Coffee cans or other tin boxes of suitable size with covers will do. After filling about two-thirds full to allow for the expansion or rising of the batter or dough, the cans are placed in the cooker kettle and should have the covers put on before the boiling begins. If any covers are missing, paper may be tied tightly over the tops. If there are not enough cans to fill the kettle so that they will not tip over when the boiling water is poured around them, an empty can or two may be wedged in, to hold the others in place. Fill the kettle as full as possible with boiling water, as the more water the longer the heat will be retained. Place the kettle on the stove and boil for a full half hour and then keep the kettle and contents in the cooking box three to six hours, or longer if the cans are large ones. This applies particularly to breads or puddings made with wheat flour. If they contain cornmeal or graham flour they should be cooked for a longer time in the cooker. On removing from the cooker it is a good plan to set the loaves of bread in a hot oven for 10 minutes to dry them a little. TIME TABLE FOR USE WITH FIRELESS COOKER TIME TABLE FOR CEREALS Kind Quantity Water Time on Stove Time in Cooker Without Soap- stone Farina Rice Macaroni 1 cupful 1 cupful 1 cupful 4 cupfuls 4 cupfuls 3 cupfuls 10 minutes 5 minutes 10 minutes 3 hours 3 hours 2 hours 339 THE HOUSEKEEPER TIME TABLE FOR MEAT Meat Time on Stove Time in Cooker Without Soapstone Beef Stew 1 hour 8 hours Boiled Ham 1 hour over night Year Old Fowl 30 minutes 6 hours Chicken 20 minutes 6 hours Veal Loaf 45 minutes 5 hours Boiled Dinner 1 hour 8 hours Roast Lamb 30 minutes 6 hours Pot Roast 1 hour 10 hours Roast Veal 30 minutes 6 hours Stuffed Steak 45 minutes 6 hours TIME TABLE FOR PUDDINGS Pudding Time on Stove Time in Cooker Without Soapstone Plum 1 hour over night Baked Custard 20 minutes 3 hours Rice Pudding 10 minutes 3 hours Apple Tapioca 10 minutes 3 hours Bread 30 minutes 2 hours Steamed Fruit 30 minutes 4 hours 340 THE HOUSEKEEPER GLASS JARS 341 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXVn PRESERVATION CANNING OF VEGETABLES AND FRUITS National War Garden ConWmission Bulletin. CANNING OF VEGETABLES AND FRUITS The preservation of foodstuffs by Canning is alway? effective Food Thrift. It enables the individual household to take advantage of summer's low prices for vegetables, even if no garden has been planted. It effects the saving of a surplus of foodstuffs that would otherwise be wasted through excess of supply over immediate consumption. It eliminates the cold storage cost that must be added to the prices of commodities bought during the winter. Of vital importance, also, is that it relieves the strain on transpor- tation facilities of the country. All this increases the need for Home Canning and proves that this is a national obligation. CANNING MADE EASY BY MODERN METHODS By the Single Period Cold-Pack method it is as easy to can vegetables as to can fruits and it is more useful. By the use of this method canning may be done in the kitchen or out of doors. It may be done in the individual house- hold or by groups of families. Community canning is important in that it makes possible the use of the best equipment at small individual outlay and induces Food Conservation on a large scale. 342 THE HOUSEKEEPER COMMUNITY WORK One of the best methods to follow in canning and dry- ing operations is for several families to club together for the work. The work may be carried on at a schoolhouse, in a vacant storeroom, at the home of one of the members or at some other convenient and central location where heat and water can be made available. By joining in the purchase of equipment each participant will be in position to save money as against individual purchases and at the same time have the advantage of larger and more com- plete equipment. The cost is slight when thus divided and the benefits very great to all concerned. STERILIZATION OF FOOD The scientist has proven that food decay is caused by microorganisms, classed as bacteria, yeasts and molds. Success in canning necessitates the destruction of these organisms. A temperature of 160° to 190° F. will kill yeasts and molds. Bacteria are destroyed at a temperature of 212° F. held for the proper length of time. The destruc- tion of these organisms by heat is called sterilization. METHODS OF CANNING There are five principal methods of home canning. These are : 1. Single Period Cold-Pack Method. 2. Fractional or Intermittent Sterilization Method. 3. Open Kettle or Hot-Pack Method. 4. Cold Water Method. Of these methods the one recommended for home use is the Single Period Cold-Pack Method. It is much the best 343 THE HOUSEKEEPER because of its simplicity and effectiveness and detailed in- structions are given for its use. The outlines of the various methods are as follows : — 1. Single Period Cold-Pack Method: The prepared vegetables or fruits are blanched in boiling water or live steam, then quickly cold-dipped and packed at once into hot jars and sterilized in boiling water or by steam pres- sure. The jars are then sealed, tested for leaks and stored. Full details of this method are given on the pages following. 2. Fractional or Intermittent Sterilization Method : Vegetables are half sealed in jars and sterilized for one hour or more on each of three successive days. This method is expensive as to time, labor and fuel and discour- ages the home canning of vegetables. 3. Open Kettle or Hot-Pack ?^lethod: Vegetables or fruits are cooked in an open kettle and packed in jars. There is always danger of spores and bacteria being intro- duced on spoons or other utensils while the jars are being filled. "The fruit is cooked in syrup until tender, then packed in sterilized jars. The jars should be filled to overflow- ing, the hot rubber adjusted and the tops fastened on^at once. To sterilize : Place clean jars and tops on a rack in a kettle of cold water, being sure that jars are completely covered by the water. Place the kettle over the fire, bring the water to the boiling point and boil 10 minutes. Dip the rubbers into boiling water. Do not remove jars from the water until you are ready to use them." This method should never be used in canning vegetables. Even with fruits it is not as desirable as the cold-pack. 4. Cold-water Method : Rhubarb, cranberries, goose- berries, and sour cherries, because of their acidity, are often canned by this method. The fruits are washed, put 344 THE HOUSEKEEPER in sterilized jars, cold water is added to overflowing, and the jar is then sealed. This method is not always success- fnl as the acid content varies with the ripeness and the locality in which the fruits are grown. ADVANTAGES OF THE SINGLE PERIOD COLD-PACK METHOD The Single Period Cold-Pack Method is a simple and sure way of canning. It insures a good color, texture and flavor to the vegetable or fruit canned. In using this method sterilization is completed in a single period, saving time, fuel and labor. The simplicity of the method com- mends it. Fruits are put up in syrups. Vegetables require onlv salt for flavoring and water to fill the container. Another advantage is that it is practicable to put up food in small as well as large quantities. The housewife w^ho understands the process will find that it pays to put up even a single container. Thus, wdien she has a small sur- plus of some garden crop she should take the time neces- sarv to place this food in a container and store it for future use. This is true household efficiency. SINGLE PERIOD COLD-PACK EQUIPMENT The Home-made Outfit : A serviceable Single Period Cold-pack canning outfit may be made of equipment found in almost anv household. Any utensil large and deep enough to allow an inch of water above jars, and having a closelv fitting cover, may be used for sterilizing. A wash-boiler, large lard can or new- garbage pail serves the purpose when canning is to be done in large quantities. Into this utensil should be placed a wire or wooden rack to hold the jars off the bottom and to permit circulation of w^ater underneath the jars. For lifting glass top jars use two buttonhooks or similar device. For lifting screw- top jars, suitable lifters may be bought for a small sum. 345 THE HOUSEKEEPER A milk carrier makes a good false bottom, and if this is used the jars may be easily lifted out at the end of the sterilization period. COMMERCIAL HOT-WATER BATH OUTFITS These are especially desirable if one has considerable cjuantities of vegetables or fruits to put up. They are convenient for out-door work, having firebox and smoke pipe all in one piece with the sterilizing" vat. As with the home-made outfit, containers are immersed in boiling water. Water Seal Outfits. — These are desirable, as the period of sterilization is shorter than in the home-made outfit and less fuel is therefore required. The outfit consists of two containers, one fitting within the other, and a cover which extends into the space between the outer and the inner container. The water jacket makes it possible for the temperature in the inner container to be raised above 212° . Steam Pressure Outfits. — Canning is very rapid when sterilization is done in steam maintained at a pressure. There are several canners of this type. Each is provided with pressure gauge and safety valve and they carry from 5 to 30 pounds of steam pressure. This type is suitable for home or community canning. Aluminum Pressure Outfits. — These cookers are satis- factory for canning and for general cooking. Each outfit is provided with a steam pressure gauge and safety valve. CONTAINERS. For home use glass jars are more satisfactory for can- ning than tin. Tin cans are used chiefly for canning on a large scale for commercial purposes. Glass jars prop- erly cared for will last for years. All types of jars which seal readily may be used. Jars having glass tops held in place by bails are especially easy to handle while they are hot. 346 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 347 THE HOUSEKEEPER Tops for Economy jars must be purchased new each year. Containers made of white glass should be used if the product is to be offered for sale or exhibition, as blue glass detracts from the appearance of the contents. Small-necked bottles can be used for holding fruit juices. Large-mouthed bottles can be used for jams, mar- malades and jellies. TESTS FOR JARS AND RUBBERS Jars should be tested before they are used. Some of the important tests are here given : Glass-top Jars. — Fit top to jar. If top rocks when tapped it should not be used on that jar. The top ball should not be too tight nor too loose. If either too tight or too loose the ball should be taken off and bent until it goes into place with a light snap. All sharp edges on top and jar should be filed or scraped off. Scrczv-top Jars. — Use only enameled, lacc[uered or vul- canized tops. Screw the top on tightly without the rub- ber. If thumb nail can be inserted between top and jar, the top is defective. If the edge is only slightly uneven it can l)e bent so that it is usable. Put on the rubber and screw on the top tightly, and then pull the rubber out. If the rubber returns to place the top does not fit properly and should not be used on that jar. Rubbers. — Be very particular aljout the rubbers used. Buy new rubbers every year, as they deteriorate from one season to another. It is always well to test rubbers when buying. A good rubber will return to its original size when stretched. When pinched it does not crease. It should fit the neck of the jar snugly and be fairly wide and thick. It is cheaper to discard a doubtful rubber than to lose a jar of canned goods. 348 THE HOUSEKEEPER GRADLNG Vegetables and fruits should be sorted according to color, size and ripeness. This is called grading. It in- sures the best pack and uniformity of flavor and texture to the canned product, which is always desirable. BLANCHING AND COLD-DIPPING The most important steps in canning are the preliminary steps of blanching, cold-dipping, packing in hot, clean con- tainers, adding hot water at once, then immediately half sealing jars and putting into the sterilizer. Spoilage of products is nearly always due to carelessness in one of these steps. Blanching is necessary with all vegetables and many fruits. It insures thorough cleansing and re- moves objectionable odors and flavors and excess acids. It reduces the bulk of greens and causes shrinkage of fruits, increasing the cjuantity which may be packed in a con- tainer, which saves storage space. Blanching consists of plunging the vegetables or fruits into boiling water for a short time. For doing this place them in a wire basket, or a piece of cheesecloth. The blanching time varies from one to fifteen minutes, as shown in the time-table. Spinach and other greens should not be blanched in hot water. They must be blanched in steam. To do this place them in a colander and set this into a vessel which has a tightly-fitting cover. In this vessel there should be an inch or two of water, but the water must not be allowed to touch the greens. Another method is to suspend the greens in the closed vessel above an inch or two of water. This may be done in a wire basket or cheesecloth. Allow the water to boil in the closed vessel from fifteen to twenty minutes. When the blanching is complete remove the vegetables or fruits from the boiling water or steam and plunge them once or twice into cold water. Do not allow them to stand 349 THE HOUSEKEEPER ALARM CLOCK 350 THE HOUSEKEEPER in the cold water. This latter process is the Cold Dip. It hardens the pulp and sets the coloring matter in the product. ESSENTIALS FOR CANNING It is important to plan your work so that whatever may be needed will be ready for use. Arrange everything con- veniently in advance. Preliminary provisions include : 1. A reliable alarm clock in a convenient place (set to ring when the sterilizing is done ) . 2. All the necessary equipment in place before begin- ning work. 3. Jars, tops and rubbers carefully tested. 4. Fresh, sound fruits and vegetables. 5. Reliable instructions carefully followed. 6. Absolute cleanliness. 7. If working alone, prepare only enough vegetables or fruits to fill the number of jars that the sterilizer will hold. Always blanch and cold-dip only enough product to fill one or two jars at a time. As soon as the jar is filled and the rubber and top bail adjusted the jar must be put into the hot- water bath. 8. In using the hot-water bath outfit, count the time of sterilization from the time water begins to boil. The water in the sterilizer should be at or just below the boiling point when jars are put in. \\'ith the W^ater Seal Outfit begin counting time when the thermometer reaches 214° F. W\th the Steam Pressure Outfit begin counting time when the gauge reaches the number of pounds called for in directions. STEPS IN THE SINGLE PERIOD COLD-PACK METHOD In canning by the Single Period Cold-Pack Method it is important that careful attention be given to each detail. 351 THE HOUSEKEEPER Do not undertake canning until you have familiarized yourself with the various steps, which are as follows : 1. Vegetables should be canned as soon as possible after being picked ; the same day is best. F^arly morning is the best time for gathering them. Fruits should be as fresh as possible. 2. Before starting work have on the stove the boiler or other holder in which tbe sterilizing is to be done, a pan of boiling water for use in blanching and a kettle of boihng water for use in filling jars of vegetables; or, if canning fruits, the syrup to be used in filling the jars. Arrange on the working table all necessary equipment, in- cluding instructions. 3. Test jars and tops. All jars, rubbers and tops should be clean and hot. 4. Wash and grade product, according to size and ripe- ness. (Cauliflower should be soaked 1 hour in salted water, to remove insects if any are present. Put berries into a colander and wash, by allowing cold water to flow over them, to prevent bruising.) 5. Prepare vegetable or fruit. Remove all but an inch of the tops from beets, parsnips and carrots and the strings from green beans. Pare scpiash, remove seeds and cut in small pieces. Large vegetables should be cut into pieces to make close pack possible. The pits should be removed from cherries, peaches and apricots. 6. Blanch in boiling water or steam as directed. 7. Cold-dip, but do not allow product. to stand in cold water at this or any other stage. 8. Pack in hot jars which rest on hot cloths or stand in a pan of hot water. Fill the jars to within ^ inch of tops. (In canning berries, to insure a close pack, put a 2 or 3 inch layer of berries on the bottom of the jar and press down gently with a wooden spoon. Continue in this manner with other lavers until jar is filled. Fruits cut in half should be arranged with pit surface down. 352 THE HOUSEKEEPER 9. Add salt and boiling water to vegetables to cover them. To fruits add hot syrup or water. 10. Place wet rubber and top on jar. 11. With bail-top jar adjust top bail only, leaving lower bail or snap free. With screw top jar screw the top on lightly, using only the thumb and little linger. (This partial sealing makes it possible for steam generated within the jar to escape, and prevents breakage.) 12. Place the jars on rack in boiler or other sterilizer. If the home-made or commercial hot water bath outfit is used enough water should be in the boiler to come at least one inch above the tops of the jars, and the water, in boiling out, should never be allowed to drop to the level of these tops. In using the hot-water bath outfit, begin to count sterilizing time when the water begins to boil. Water is at the boiling point "when it is jumping or rolling all over. \\'ater is not bailing when bubbles merely form on the bottom or when they begin to rise to the top. The water must be kept boiling all during the period of steril- ization. 13. Consult time-table and at the end of the recjuired sterilizing period remove the jars from the sterilizer. Place them on a wooden rack or on several thicknesses of cloth to prevent breakage. Complete the sealing of jars.. \\'ith bail-top jars this is done by pushing the snap down, with screw top jars, by screwing cover on tightly. 14. Turn the jars upside down as a test for leakage and leave them in this position till cold. Let them cool rapidlv, but be sure that no draft reaches them, as a draft will cause breakage. (If there is any doubt that a bail-top jar is perfectly sealed a simple test may be made by loosen- ing the top bail and lifting the jar by taking hold of the top wath the fingers. The internal suction should hold the top tightly in place when thus lifted. If the top comes off put on a. new wet rubber and sterilize 15 minutes longer for vegetables and 5 minutes longer for fruits.) With screw- top jars try the tops while the jars are cooling, or as soon 353 THE HOUSEKEEPER as they have cooled, and. if loose, tighten them by screwing on more closely. 15. Wash and dry each jar, label and store. If storage place is exposed to light, wrap each jar in paper, preferably brown, as light will fade the color of products canned in glass. The boxes in which jars were bought affords a good storage place. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR CANNING VEGETABLES The addition of 1 teaspoon ful of salt to a jar of vege- tables is for cjuart jars. For pint jar use Yi teaspoonful. For 2 cjuart jar use 2 teaspc^onfuls. ASPARAGUS Wash, scrape off scales and tough skin. A\'ith a strmc; bind together enough for one jar. Blanch tough ends from 5 to 10 minutes, then tiu-n so that the entire bundle is blanched 5 minutes longer. Cold-dip. Remove string. Pack, with tip ends up. Add 1 teaspoonful of salt and cover with boiling \\ater. Put on rubber top and adjust top bail. Sterilize 120 minutes in hot water bath. Re- move, complete seal and cool. \Vith Steam Pressure Outht sterilize 60 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. BEETS Use only small ones. Wash and cut off all but an inch or two of root and leaves. Blanch 5 minutes, cold-dip and scrape off skin and stems. They may be packed in jar sliced or whole. Add 1 teaspoonful of salt and cover with boiling water. Put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. Sterilize 90 minutes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 60 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. 354 THE HOUSEKEEPER CABBAGE AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS The method is the same as for caiiHflower. except that the veg'etables are not soaked in saUed water. Blanch 5 to 10 minutes. SteriHze 120 minutes in hot-water bath. \\'ith Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 60 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. CARROTS Select small, tender carrots. Leave an inch or two of stems, wash, blanch 5 minutes and cold-dip. Then remove skin and stems. Pack whole or in slices, add 1 teaspoon tul of salt and cover with boiling water. Put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. Sterilize 90 minutes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 60 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. CAULIFLOWER Wash and divide head into small pieces. Soak in salted water 1 hour, which will remove insects if any are present. Blanch 3 minutes, cold-dip and pack in jar. Add 1 tea- spoonful of salt and cover with boiling water. Put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. Sterilize 60 minutes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 30 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. CORN Canning corn on the cob, except for exhibition purposes, is a waste of space. For home use remove the husks and silk, blanch tender ears 5 minutes, older ears 10 minutes, cold-dip, and cut from cob. Pack lightly to within \-2 inch of the top of the jar, as corn swells during sterilization. Add 1 teaspoonful of salt and cover with boiling water, put 355 THE HOUSEKEEPER on rubber and top, adjust top bail. Sterilize 180 minutes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 90 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. GREENS Wash until no dirt can be felt in the bottom of the pan. Blanch in steam 15 minutes. (Mineral matter is lost if blanched in water.) Cold-dip, cut in small pieces and pack or pack whole. Do not pack too tightly. Add 1 teaspoon- ful of salt to each jar and cover with boiling water. Put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. Sterilize 120 min- utes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 60 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. LIMA BEANS Shell. Blanch 5 to 10 minutes. Cold-dip, pack in jar, add 1 teaspoonful of salt and cover with boiling water. Put on rubber and top, and adjust top bail. Sterilize 180 minutes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 60 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. OKRA Wash and remove stems. Blanch 5 to 10 minutes, cold- dip and pack in jar. Add 1 teaspoonful of salt and cover with boiling water. Put on rubber and top, adjust top bail. Sterilize 120 minutes in hot water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 60 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. PARSNIPS The method is the same as for carrots. 356 THE HOUSEKEEPER PEAS Those which are not fully grown are best for canning. Shell, blanch 5 to 10 minutes and cold dip. Pack in jar, add 1 teaspoon ful of salt and cover with boiling water. H the jar is packed too full some of the peas will break and give a cloudy appearance to the liquid. Put on rubber and top and adjust top-bail. Sterilize 180 minutes in hot- water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 60 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. PEPPERS Wash, stem and remove seeds. Blanch 5 to 10 minutes, cold-dip and pack in jar. Add 1 teaspoonful of salt. Cover with boiling water, put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. Sterilize 120 minutes in hot- water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 60 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. PUMPKIN, WINTER SQUASH Remove seeds. Cut the pumpkin or squash into strips. Peel and remove stringy center. Slice into srnall pieces and boil until thick. Pack in jar and sterilize 120 minutes in hot- water bath. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 60 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. SALSIFY Wash, ])lanch 5 minutes, cold-dip and scrape off skin. It may be packed whole or in slices. Add 1 teaspoonful of salt, and cover with boiling water. Put on top and adjust top bail. Sterilize 90 minutes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 60 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. 357 THE HOUSEKEEPER STRING BEANS Wash and remove ends and strings and cut into small pieces if desired. Blanch from 5 to 10 minutes, depend- ing on age. Cold-dip, pack immediately in jar, add 1 tea- spoonful salt and cover with boiling water. Put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. Sterilize 120 minutes in hot- water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 60 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. SUMMER SQUASH Pare, cut in slices or small pieces and blanch 10 minutes. Cold-dij), pack in jars, add 1 teaspoonful of salt, cover with boiling water, put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. Sterilize 120 minutes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 60 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. TOMATOES Take medium-sized tomatoes. Wash them, blanch until skins are loose, cold-dip and remove the skins. Pack whole in jar, filling the spaces w^ith tomato pulp made by cooking large and broken tomatoes until done and then straining and adding 1 teaspoonful of salt to each quart of the pulp. Put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. Ster- ilize 22 minutes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 15 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. Tomatoes may be cut in pieces, packed closely into jars and sterilized 25 minutes in hot-w^ater bath. If this is done do not add any licjuid. 358 THE HOUSEKEEPER THE CANNING OF FRUITS For fruits, as well as for vegetables, the Single Period Cold-Pack Method is best. With some exceptions, as shown in the table, fruits should be blanched before can- ning. Wdien fruits are intended for table use. syrup should be poured over them to hll the jars. In canning fruits to be used for pie-filling or in coijking, where unsweetened fruits are desirable, boiling water is used instead of syrup. When boiling water is thus used the sterilization period in h"i-water bath is thirty minutes. SYRUPS In the directions given various grades of syrup are men- tioned. These syrups are made as follows : Thin — 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. Medium — 1 part sugar to 2 parts water. Thick — 1 part sugar to 1 part water. Boil the sugar and water until all the sugar is dissolved. Use thin syrup with sweet fruits. Use medium syrup with sour fruits. Thick syrup is used in candving and preserv- ing. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR CANNING FRUITS APPLES Wash, pare, quarter or slice and drop into weak salt water. Blanch 1 1< minutes, cold-dip. pack into jar and cover with water or thin syrup. Put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. Sterilize for 20 minutes in hot-water bath. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 8 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. Apples shrink during sterilization and for this reason economy of space is obtained by canning them in the form of sauce instead of in quarters or slices. In canning sauce fill the jars with the hot sauce and sterilize 12 minutes in hot-water bath. 359 THE HOUSEKEEPER APRICOTS Use only ripe fruit. Blanch 1 to 2 minutes. Wash, cut in half and remove pit. Pack in jar and cover with medium syrup. Put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. Steril- ize 16 minutes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal, cool and store. W ith Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 10 minutes at 5 to ] ^ pounds pressure. BLACKBERRIES Wash, pack closely and cover with medium syrup. Put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. Sterilize 16 minutes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 10 minutes at 5 to U) pounds pressure. Blueberries Loganberries, Currants Raspberries The method is the same as for l^lackberries. Sterilize 16 minutes in hot-water bath. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 10 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. CHERRIES Cherries should be pitted l)efore being canned. Pack in jar and cover with medium syrup. Put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. Sterilize 16 minutes in hot- water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 10 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. PEARS Peel and drop into salt water to prevent discoloration. Blanch 1 V2 minutes. Pack in jar, whole or in quarters, and cover with thin syrup. Put on rubber and top and a'ijust top bail. Sterilize 20 minutes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. A slice of lemon may be added to the contents of each jar for flavor. 360 THE HOUSEKEEPER With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 8 minutes at 5 to ]() pounds pressure. PEACHES Blanch in boiling water long- enough to loosen skins. Cold-dip and remove skins. Cut in half and remove stones. Pack in jar and cover with thin syrup. Put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. H soft ripe, sterilize 16 minutes in hot-water bath; if flesh is very firm, 25 minutes. Re- move, complete seal and cool. Some peaches do not peel readily even if dipped in lioil- ing water. In such cases omit dipping in boiling water zrxl pare them. \Mth Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 10 minutes at 5 to '0 pounds pressure. PLUMS \\'ash, pack in jar and cover with medium syrup. Put en rubber and top and adjust top bail. Sterilize 16 minutes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With vSteam Pressure Outfit sterilize 10 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. PINEAPPLES Pare, remove eyes, shred or cut into slices or small pieces, blanch 3 to 5 minutes, and pack in jar. Cover with medium syrup. Put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. Sterilize 30 minutes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 10 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. QUINCES The method is the same as for apples. They may be canned with apples. Sterilize 20 minutes in hot-water bath. 361 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Miss Laura A. Hunt. 362 THE HOUSEKEEPER With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 8 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. RHUBARB Wash and cut into short lengths. Cover with boiling water or thin syrup. Put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. Sterilize 20 minutes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 15 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. STRAWBERRIES Wash and pack closely in jar. Cover with medium syrup, put on rubber and top and adjust top bail. Sterilize 16 min- utes in hot-water bath. Remove, complete seal and cool. With Steam Pressure Outfit sterilize 10 minutes at 5 to 10 pounds pressure. TIME TABLE FOR BLANCHING & STERILIZING The following time-table shows blanching time for vari- ous vegetables and fruits, and also sterilizing time, not only in the hot-water bath outfit, but-also in equipment for ster- ilization by the water-seal method, the steam-pressure method and the aluminum steam-cooker method. 363 THE HOUSEKEEPER >j rt c T3 o O +J 4J o 0) c s OJ 0) s Vl 3 -tJ ro hr lU c Ph N s ^ cS (IJ (i; -l-> W rh o 0) r/l ■C rt 1— 1 N 1— 1 T3 C k3 ^3 O 1— 1 D2 -u h W =3 t4 "m H =t-4 a> CD T3 C S-( Q CS ^ 01 01 2 0) > CO 3 'in > 'S M o a> 54H r/5 P^ OJ u O B ^ ;^ +J -tJ c 0) s '5 H _o OJ CO c w s o CO ^ o hH CO rt OJ -9 -S QJ « s 3 +-> O be c rt > XJ o ca c 01 4J o 3 H cS 01 OJ s: -C bx) > OQQOOOOOOOOOOOOQOOO OOpQOOOOOOOOOOOOQOOO 00000Q00000000Q000(M lO OO O OO OOi- O OO O OO OO in 22 c s .2i2 '"Q 2 in \j-) 1) (nH o ^-/^ ™ -*-• en -^ ^^ a. u 3 ^ 3 _ . - "3 *- u ^ =« cr o in-' 8 -n j: E d 0! « at Ml m J3 <« Jj *^ 01 S^ S » 3 be 3 o is 5 15« ^ « ■0 ca gt 0! B I.) 0! 3 m > "5 '5 3 m OJ 3 ca ^O •" n « ^E 01 > 3 £ QD 01 9 J= e la :^^ n B §^- B ca (U ca oD a C4 3 "ca 01 w .«:^ ^ X £ B 0) Is ca ca !h 3 C pi, 1 !« .?, ^1 § S -M 01 2 t i la 5 B 01 > B 01 T3 .B ^ fe rn bo a 01 3 iu -^ ?( » J3 > fi o> d 3 3 01 01 ca £ 01 (I'l H E fa .5 £ B *^ ca fc rM 1. '^ ^ be _B ■3 X O] ^ ■a .-0 365 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XX\Tn PRINCIPLES OF JELLY MAKING* To be satisfactory, jelly must l)e made from fruit juice containing pectin and acid. Pectin is a substance in the fruit which is soluble in hot water and which, when cooked with sugar and acid, gives, after cooling, the right con- sistency to jelly. Fruits to be used should be sound, just ripe or slightly under-ripe, and gathered but a short time. Wash them, remove stems and cut large fruits into pieces. With juicy fruits add just enough water to prevent burning while cooking. In vising fruits which are not juicy cover them with water. Cook slowly until the fruits are soft. Strain through a bag made of flannel or two thicknesses of cheese- cloth or similar material. TEST FOR PECTIN To determine if the juice contains pectin, boil 1 table- spoonful and cool. To this add 1 tablespoonful of grain alcohol and mix, gently rotating the glass. Allow the mix- ture to cool. Ha solid mass — which is pectin — collects, this indicates that in making jellv one part of sugar should be used to one part of juice. If the pectin collects in two or three masses, use 2/3 to -v-j as much sugar as juice. If it collects in several small particles use ^4 as much sugar as juice. If the presence of pectin is not shown as de- scribed it should be supplied by the addition of the juice of slightlv under-ripe fruits, such as apples, currants, crab- apples, green grapes, green gooseberries or wild cherries. *National War Garden Commission Bulletin. 366 THE HOUSEKEEPER Measure the juice and sugar. The sugar may be spread on a platter and heated. Do not let it scorch. When the juice begins to boil add the sugar. Boil rapidly. The jelly point is reached when the juice drops as one mass from the side of a spoon or when two drops run together and fall as one from the side of the spoon. Skim the juice, pour into sterilized glasses and cool as quickly as possible. Currant and green grape require 8 to 10 minutes boiling to reach the jelly point, while all other juices require from 20 to 30 minutes. When the jelly is cold pour over the surface a layer of hot paraffin. A toothpick run around the edge while the pariffin is still hot will give a better seal. Protect the paraffin with a cover of metal or paper. Three or more extractions of juice may be made from fruit. When the first extraction is well drained cover the pulp with water and let it simmer 30 minutes. Drain, and test juice for pectin. For the third extraction proceed in the same manner. The juice resulting from the second and third extractions may be combined. If the third extraction shows much pectin a fourth extraction may be made. The first pectin test should be saved for comparison with the others. If the second, third or fourth extraction of juice is found thinner than the first extraction, boil it until it is as thick as the first ; then add the sugar called for. JELLY MAKING WITHOUT TEST The test for pectin is desirable, but is not essential. In some states it is inconvenient because of the difficulty of obtaining grain alcohol. A large percentage of house- wives make jelly without this test, and satisfactory results mav be obtained without it if care is taken to follow direc- tions and to use the right fruits. For the inexperienced jellv-maker the safe rule is to confine jelly-making to the fruits which are ideal for the purpose. These include cur- rants, sour apples, crab-apples, under-ripe grapes, ciuinces, 367 THE HOUSEKEEPER raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, wild cherries and green gooseberries. These contain pectin and acid in sufficient quantities. In making jelly without the alcohol test, with the juice of currants and under-ripe grapes use 1 cup of cugar to 1 cup of juice. With raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, sour apples, crab-apples, quinces, wild cherries and green gooseberries use }i cup of sugar to 1 cup of juice. This applies to the first extraction of juice and to the later ex- tractions when they have been boiled to the consistency of the first extraction. Fruits which contain pectin but lack sufficient acid are peach, pear, quince, sweet apple and guava. With these acid may be added liy the use of juice of crab-apples or under-ripe grapes. Strawberries and cherries have acidity but lack pectin. The pectin may be supplied by the addition of the juice of crab-apples or under-ripe grapes. DIRECTIONS FOR JELLY MAKING Wash, remove stems, and with the larger fruits cut into quarters. Put into a saucepan and cover with water. Al- low^ to simmer until the fruit is tender. Put into a bag to drain. H desired, test juice for pectin as described. Meas- ure juice and sugar in proportions indicated by the test for pectin or as directed under "Jelly Making Without Test." Add the sugar w'hen the juice begins to boil. The sugar may be heated before being added. When the boiling juice reaches the jellv point skim and pour into sterilized glasses. TO PREPARE GLASSES FOR JELLY Wash glasses and put them on a rack or folded cloth in a kettle of cold water. Heat the water gradually to the boiling point and let boil ten minutes. Remove glasses, drain and place in a pan containing a little hot water, while filling; or place them on a cloth wrung out of hot water. 368 THE HOUSEKEEPER lo Cover Jelly Glasses. Melt paraffin and pour over the top of the jelly. Put on covers. APPLE JELLY* Wipe the apples, remove stem and blossom ends, and cut in quarters. Put in a preserving kettle, and add cold water to come nearly to top of apples. Cover, and cook slowly until apples are soft; mash, and drain through a coarse sieve. Avoid squeezing apples, which makes jelly cloudv. Then allow^ juice to drip through a double thick- ness of cheesecloth or a jelly bag. Boil twenty minutes, and add an equal measure of heated sugar; boil five minutes, skim, test and turn into hot sterilized glasses. Put in a sunny window and let stand twenty- four hours. Cover, and keep in a cool, dry place. To Heat Sugar. Put in a granite dish, place in oven, leaving oven door ajar, and stir occasionally. CURRANT JELLY* Currants should not be picked directly after rain. Cherry currants make the best jelly. Equal proportions of red and white currants are considered desirable, and make a lighter colored jelly. Pick over currants, but do not remove stems ; wash and drain. Mash a few in the bottom of a preserving kettle, using a wooden potato masher, and continue until berries are used. Cook slowly until currants are broken and look white. Strain through a coarse strainer, then allow juice to drip through a double thickness of cheesecloth or jelly 1)ag. Pleasure, heat to the boiling point and boil five min- utes ; add an ec{ual measure of heated sugar, boil three minutes, skim and pour into hot sterilized glasses. Let stand twenty- four hours. Cover and keep in a cool, dry place. *Starred recipes are not quoted from National War Garden Commission Bulletin. 369 THE HOUSEKEEPER GRAPE JELLY* Grapes should be picked over, washed and stems removed before putting into a preserving kettle. Heat to boiling point, mash and cook twenty minutes, then proceed as for making currant jelly. WINTER JELLY MAKING Fruit juices may be canned and made into jelly as wanted during the winter. Allow 1 cup of sugar to 6 cups of juice. Boil juice and sugar for 5 minutes. Pour into sterilized bottles or jars. Put into hot-water bath, with the water reaching to the neck of the containers. Allow to sim- mer 20 to 30 minutes. If jars are used half seal them during the simmering. Put absorbent cotton into the necks of bottles and when the bottles are taken from the bath put in corks, forcing the cotton into the neck. Corks should first be boiled and dried to prevent shrinking. They may also be boiled in parafiin to make them air-tight. After corking the bottles apply melted paraffin to the tops with a brush, to make an air-tight seal. Each bottle should be labeled and the label should specify the amount of sugar used. In making jelly from these juices during the winter follow the "Directions for Jelly Making," adding enough sugar to give the amount called for. FRUIT BUTTERS Fruit butters may be made from good sound fruits or the sound portions of fruits which are wormy or have been bruised. Wash, pare and remove seeds if there are any. Cover with water and cook 3 or 4 hours at a low tempera- ture, stirring often, until the mixture is of the consistency of thick apple sauce. Add sugar to taste when the boiling is two-thirds done. Spices may be added to suit the taste when the boiling is completed. If the pulp is coarse it should be put through a wire sieve or colander. Pour the *Starred recipes are not quoted from National War Garden Commission Bulletin. 370 THE HOUSEKEEPER butter into sterilized jar, put on rubber and cover and ad- just top bail. Put into a container having a cover and false bottom. Pour in an inch or so of water and sterilize quart jar or smaller jar 5 minutes after the steam begins to es- cape. Remove, push snap in place and cool. APPLE BUTTER WITH CIDER Four quarts of sweet or sterilized cider should be boiled down to 2 quarts. To this add 4 quarts of apples peeled and cut in small pieces. If the texture of the apples is coarse they should be boiled and put through a strainer before being added to the cider. Boil this mixture until the cider does not separate from the pulp. When two- thirds done, add one pound of sugar. One-half teaspoon- ful each of cinnamon, allspice and cloves may be added. Pour into sterilized jars and sterilize 5 minutes in steam. Apple and pear butter may be made by following the directions for apple butter with cider, but omitting the cider. PEACH BUTTER Dip peaches in boiling water long enough to loosen the skins. Dip in cold water, peel and stone them. Mash and cook them without adding any water. Add half as much sugar as pulp and cook until thick. Pour into sterilized jars and sterilize 5 minutes in steam. Plum butter may be made following the directions for peach butter. APPLE BUTTER WITH GRAPE JUICE To every 4 quarts of strained apple sauce add 1 pint of grape juice, 1 cup of brown sugar and %. teaspoonful of salt. Cook slowly, stirring often, until of the desired thickness. When done, stir in 1 teaspoonful of cinnamon, pack in hot jars and sterilize 5 minutes in steam. 371 THE HOUSEKEEPER DRIED PEACH BUTTER Soak dried peaches over night. Cook slowly until ten- der. To each 2 pounds of dried peaches add 1 quart of canned peaches and 1^ pounds of sugar. If a fine texture is desired, strain pulp through a colander. Cook slowly, stirring often, until thick. Pack in hot jars and sterilize 5 minutes in steam. JAM, CONSERVES AND MARMALADES RASPBERRY JAM* Pick over the raspberries. Mash a fe\v in the bottom of a preserving kettle, using a wooden spoon, continue until all the fruit is used. Heat slowly to boiling point, add gradually an equal measure of sugar which has been heated. Cook slowly forty-five minutes. Seal in sterilized jelly glasses. CRANBERRY CONSERVE* 2 pints cranberries. j/2 pound English walnut meats. 1 large orange. 1 1/3 cupfuls water. 1 cupful Sultana raisins. 1 Yi pounds sugar. Pick over and wash cranberries, put them into sauce- pan with half of the water and boil until the skins break. Rub through a strainer and add the remaining water, sugar, raisins and grated rind and pulp of the orange. Bring slowly to the boiling point and allow to cook slowly for twenty-five minutes, then add the nut meats broken in small pieces and cook for five minutes longer. Divide into jars and seal. (Marion Harris Neil.) ^Starred recipes are not quoted from National War Garden Commission Bulletin. 372 THE HOUSEKEEPER GRAPE CONSERVE* 2 pounds grapes, 3 cupfuls sugar. 1 pound seedless raisins, y2 pound walnut meats. Remove pulp from grapes and boil five minutes. Rub through a colander to remove seeds. Add pulp to the skins and boil it ten minutes. Add the raisins, sugar and nut meats chopped fine and boil twenty minutes, or until thick. Pour into sterilized glasses and seal. RHUBARB CONSERVE 4 pounds rhubarb, 4 pounds sugar, 1 pound seeded raisins, 2 oranges, 1 lemon. Wash and peel stalks of rhubarb and cut in one-inch pieces. Put in kettle, add the sugar, raisins and grated rind and juice of orange and lemon. Mix, cover and let stand one-half hour. Place over fire, bring to the boiling point and let simmer forty-five minutes, stirring occasionally. Fill jellv glasses with the mixture, cool and seal. SPICED GRAPES* 7 pounds Concord grapes, 1/^4 pounds brown sugar, 15^ pounds white sugar, 2 cupfuls vinegar, 1 tablespoon ful cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ful clove, ^ teaspoon ful white pepper. *Starred recipes are not quoted from National War Garden Commission Bulletin. 2>7Z THE HOUSEKEEPER Wash grapes, remove pulp and cook until the seeds are easily removed, put through a colander. Add the pulp to the skins, add the sugar and vinegar and cook one and one-half hours or until the skins are tender. Add spices and cook ten minutes. Remove from fire and seal while hot. ORANGE MARMALADE* 1 dozen oranges, 6 lemons 1 grape fruit, sugar. Weigh the fruit and slice it in thin slices. To each pound of fruit add one quart cold water. Let the mix- ture stand 24 hours. Cook slowly two hours. Weigh the cooked fruit, add an equal weight of sugar. Cook for one hour or until it stiffens. Pour into sterilized glasses and seal. TOMATO AND ORANGE MARMALADE* 3 cupfuls ripe tomatoes cut in pieces. 1 orange. 1 lemon. Yz cupful Karo. lj/4 cupfuls sugar. Wash the fruit and put through meat chopper. Com- bine all the ingredients and cook forty-five minutes or until mixture thickens. Pour into sterilized glasses and seal. PEAR AND GINGER MARMALADE (Mary Green)* 8 pounds hard pears, Grated rind of 4 lemons. Juice of 4 lemons, y^ pound preserved ginger, 6 pounds sugar. *Starred recipes are not quoted from National War Garden Commission Bulletin. 374 THE HOUSEKEEPER Quarter and core the pears and put through the food chopper; add lemon rind, juice and chopped ginger; mix fruit with sugar, heat graduany to boihng point and cook slowly about two hours or until thick. Pour into sterilized glasses and seal. SPICED PRUNES^ 4 cupfuls cooked prunes, Yz cupful chopped cranberries. 1 cupful prune juice, ^ cupful sugar, Rind of ^ orange, Juice of 1 orange. 1 teaspoon ful cinnamon, 3^ teaspoon ful cloves. Remove the stones from the prunes and cut them in small pieces, add the cranberries, prune juice, sugar, rind and juice of the orange and the spices. Cook twenty min- utes or until thick, pour into sterilized glasses, cool and seal. *Starred recipes are not quoted from National War Garden Commission Bulletin. 375 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXIX HOME DRYING OF VEGETABLES AND FRUITS* Winter buying of vegetables and fruits is costly. It means that you pay transportation, cold storage and com- mission merchants charges and protlts. Summer is the time of lowest prices. Summer, therefore, is the time to buy for winter use. \ egetable and fruit drying have been little practiced for a generation or more. There is no desire to detract from the importance of canning operations. Drying must not be regarded as taking the place of the preservation of vegetables and fruits in tins and glass jars. It must be viewed as an important adjunct thereto. Drying is im- portant and economical in every home, whether on the farm, in the village, in the town, or in the city. For city dwellers it has the special advantage that little storage space is required for the dried fruit. One hundred pounds of some fresh vegetables will reduce to 10 pounds in dry- ing without loss of food value or much of the flavor. DRYING IS SIMPLE A strong point in connection whh vegetable and fruit drying is the ease with which it may be done. Practically all vegetables and fruits may be dried. The process is simple. The cost is slight. In every home the necessary outfit, in its simplest form, is already at hand. EiYective drying may be done on plates or dishes placed in the oven, with the oven door partially open. It may be done on the back of the kitchen stove, with these same utensils, while the oven is being used for baking. It may also be done on sheets of paper or lengths of muslin spread in the sun and protected from insects and dust. *Xational War Garden Commission Bulletin. 376 THE HOUSEKEEPER METHODS OF DRYING For home drying, satisfactory results are obtained by any one of three principal methods. These are : — 1. Sun Drying. 2. Drying by Artificial Heat. 3. Drying by Air-blast. ( With an electric fan. ) These methods may be combined to good advantage. SUN DRYING Sun Drying has the double advantage of recjuiring no expense for fuel and of freedom from danger of overheat- ing. For sun drying of vegetables and fruits the simplest form is to spread the slices or pieces on sheets of plain paper or lengths of muslin and expose them to the sun. Muslin is to be preferred if there is danger of sticking. Trays may be used instead of paper or muslin. Sun Drying rec|uires bright, hot days and a breeze. Once or twice a day the product should be turned or stirred and the dry pieces taken out. The drying product should l:>e covered with cheesecloth tacked to a frame for protection from dust and flying insects. If trays are rested on supports placed in pans of water the products will be protected from crawling insects. Care must be taken to provide protection from rain, dew and moths. During rains and just before sunset the products should be taken indoors for the purpose of protection. DRYING BY ARTIFICIAL HEAT Drving by artificial heat is done in the oven or on top of a cook stove or range, in trays suspended over the stove or in a specially constructed drier built at home or pur- chased. OVEN DRYING The simplest form of Oven Drying is to place small cpiantities of foodstuffs on plates in a slow oven. In this 377 THE HOUSEKEEPER way leftovers and other bits of food may be saved for winter use with sHght trouble and dried while the top of the stove is being used. This is especially effective for sweet corn. A few sweet potatoes, apples or peas, or even a single turnip, may be dried and saved. To keep the heat from being too great leave the oven door partially open. For oven use a simple tray may be made of galvan- ized wire screen of convenient size, with the edges bent up for an inch or tw^o on each side. At each corner this trav should have a leg an inch or two in length, to hold it up from the bottom of the oven and permit circulation of air around the product. AIR BLAST-ELECTRIC FAN The use of an electric fan is an effective means of drying. Sliced vegetables or fruits are placed on travs 1 foot wide and 3 feet long. These trays are stacked and the fan placed close to one end, with the current directed along the trays, lengthwise. The number of trays to be used is regulated by the size of the fan. Drying by this process may be done in twenty-four hours or less. \\^ith sliced string beans and shredded sweet potatoes a few^ hours are sufficient, if the air is dry. SOME OF THE DETAILS OF DRYING As a general rule, vegetables or fruits, for Drying, must be cut into slices or shreds, with the skin removed. In using artificial heat be careful to start at a comparatively low temperature and gradually increase. Details as to the proper scale of temperatures for various vegetables and fruits are given in the directions. To be able to gauge the heat accurately a thermometer must be used. An oven thermometer may be bought at slight cost, li the ther- mometer is placed in a glass of salad oil the true tempera- ture of the oven may be obtained. 378 THE HOUSEKEEPER The actual time required for Drying cannot be given, and the person in charge must exercise judgment on this point. A Httle experience will make it easy to determine when products are sufficiently dried. When first taken from the Drier vegetables should be rather brittle, but not so dry as to snap or crackle, and fruits rather leathery and pliable. One method of determining whether fruit is dry enough is to scjueeze a handful; if the fruit separates when the hand is opened, it is dry enough. Another way is to press a single piece; if no moisture comes to the surface the piece is sufficiently dry. Berries are dry enough if they stick to the hand but do not crush when sciueezed. Raspberries, particularly, should not be dried too hard, as this will keep them from resuming their natural shape wdien soaked in water for use. Material will mold if not dried enough. PREPARING FOOD MATERIAL FOR DRYING A sharp kitchen knife will serve every purpose in slicing and cutting vegetables and fruits for Drying, if no other device is at hand. The thickness of the slices should be from an eighth to a Cjuarter of an inch. Whether sliced or cut into strips, the pieces should be small so as to dry quickly. They should not, however, be so small as to make them hard to handle or to keep them from being used to advantage in preparing dishes for the table such as would be prepared from fresh products. Food choppers, kraut slicers or rotary slicers may be used to prepare food for drying. Vegetables and fruits for Drying should be fresh, young and tender. As a general rule, vegetables will dry better if cut into small pieces with the skins removed. Berries are dried whole. Apples, quinces, peaches and pears dry better if cut into rings or quarters. Cleanliness is impera- tive. Knives and slicing devices must be carefully cleansed before and after use. A knife that is not bright and clean will discolor the product on which it is used, and this should be avoided. 379 THE HOUSEKEEPER BLANCHING AND COLD-DIPPING Blanching is desirable for successful vegetable Drying. Blanching gives more thorough cleansing, removes objec- tionable odors and flavors, and softens and loosens the fibre, allowing c[uicker and more uniform evaporation of the moisture, and gives better color. It is done by placing the vegetables in a piece of cheesecloth, a wire basket or other porous container and plunging them into boiling water. The time required for this is short and varies with different vegetables. Blanching should l)e followed by the c(jld-dip, which means plunging the vegetables into cold water for an instant after removing from the boiling water. Cold-dipping hardens the pulp and sets the coloring mat- ter. After blanching and dipping, the surface moisture may be removed by placing the vegetables between two towels. DANGER FROM INSECTS In addition to exercising great care to protect vegetables and fruits from insects during the Drying process, pre- cautions should be taken with the finished product to pre- vent the hatching of eggs that may have been deposited. One measure that is useful is to subject the dried material to a heat of 160° F, for from 5 to 10 minutes before stor- ing it away. By the application of this heat the eggs will be killed. Be careful not to apply heat long enough to dam- age the product. CONDITION BEFORE STORING It is important to "condition"' Dried Products before storing them for the winter. This means that they should be placed in boxes and poured from one box to another once a day for three or four days to mix thoroughly. If any part of the material is then found to be too moist, return to Drier for a short Drying. Practically all dried products should be conditioned. 380 THE HOUSEKEEPER STORAGE FOR DRIED PRODUCTS Of importance equal to proper Drying is the proper packing and storage of the finished product. With the scarcity of tins and the high prices of glass jars it is rec- ommended that other containers be used. Those easily available are baking powder cans and similar covered tins, pasteboard boxes having tight-fitting covers, strong paper bags and patented parafiin paper boxes, which may be bought in c[uantities at comparatively low cost. A paraffin container of the type used by oyster dealers for the delivery of oysters will be found inexpensive and easily handled, li using this, or a baking powder can or similar container, after filling adjust the cover closely. The cover should then be sealed. To do this paste a strip of paper around the top of the can, covering the joint between can and cover, for the purpose of excluding air. Paste- board boxes should also be sealed in this way. Paraffin containers should be sealed by applying melted paraffin with a brush to the joint. If a paper bag is used, the top should be twisted, doubled over and tied with a string. IMoisture may be kept out of paper bags by coating them, using a brush dipped into melted paraffin. Another good precaution is to store bags within an ordinary lard pail or can or other tin vessel hav- ing a closely fitting cover. The products should be stored in a cool, dry place, well ventilated and protected from rats, mice and insects. In sections where the air is very moist, moisture-proof con- tainers must be used. It is good practice to use small con- tainers so that it may not be necessary to leave the contents exposed long after opening and before vising. For convenience label all packages. WINTER USE OF DRIED PRODUCTS In preparing dried vegetables and fruits for use the first process is to restore the w^ater which has been dried out of 381 THE HOUSEKEEPER them. All dried foods require long soaking. After soak- ing the dried products will have a better flavor if cooked in a covered utensil at a low temperature for a long time. Dried products should be prepared and served as fresh products are prepared and served. They should be cooked in the water in which they have been soaked, as this utilizes all of the mineral salts, which would otherwise be wasted. There can be no definite rule for the amount of water required for soaking dried products when they are to be used, as the quantity of water evaporated in the drying process varies with different vegetables and fruits. As a general rule, from 3 to 4 cups of water will be reciuired for 1 cup of dried material. In preparing for use, peas, beans, spinach and like vege- tables should be boiled in water to which there has been added soda in the proportion of J'^ teaspoonful of soda to 1 quart of water. This improves the color of the product. In preparing to serve dried vegetables season them care- fully. For this purpose celerv. mustard, onion, cheese and nutmeg give desirable flavoring, according to taste. From 3 to 4 quarts of vegetable soup may be made from 4 ounces of dried soup vegetables. DIRECTIONS FOR VEGETABLE DRYING ASPARAGUS The edible portion should be blanched from 3 to 5 min- utes, cold dipped, the stalks slit lengthwise into two strips if of small or medium size or into four strips if of large size. Drying time, 4 to 8 hours. Start at temperature of 110° F. and raise gradually to 140°. The hard ends of the stalk, which are not edible, should be dried for soup stock. Blanch 10 minutes, cold dip, slice into 2 to 6 pieces, according to size, and dry as described above. 382 THE HOUSEKEEPER BRUSSELS SPROUTS The drying process is the same as with cauliflower, with the addition of a pinch of soda to the blanching- water. BEETS Boil whole until more than three-fourths cooked, with- out removing skin. After dipping in cold water, peel and cut into % to ^inch slices. Drying time, two and one- half to three hours. Start at temperature of 110° F. and raise gradually to 150°. BEET TOPS AND SWISS CHARD Select tops of young beets or Swiss chard suitable for greens. Wash carefully, cut leaf-stalk and blade into pieces % of an inch long, spread on screens and dry. CABBAGE Take heads that are well developed. Remove all loose outside leaves. Shred or cut into strips a few inches long. Cut the core crosswise several times, and shred it for dry- ing with the rest of the cabbage. Blanch 10 minutes, cold dip, drain, remove surface moisture. Drying time, 3 hours. Start at temperature of 110° F. and raised gradually to 145°. CARROTS AND PARSNIPS Clean thoroughly and remove outer skin, preferably with a stiff bristle brush ; or the skin may be removed by paring or scraping. Slice into thickness of j/s of an inch. Blanch 6 minutes, cold dip and remove surface moisture. Drying time, 2V2 to 3 hours. Start at temperature of 110° F. and raise gradually to 150°. Kohl-rabi, Celeriac and Salsify are dried in the same way as Carrots and Parsnips. 383 THE HOUSEKEEPER CAULIFLOWER After cleaning, divide into small pieces. Blanch six minutes and cold dip. Drying time, three to three and one- half hours. Start at temperature of 110° F. and raise to 145°. Although turning dark, while drying. Cauliflower will regain part of its original color in soaking and cooking. Dried Cauliflower is specially good for soups and omelets. CELERY After washing carefully, cut into 1-inch pieces, l)lanch three minutes, cold-dip and remove surface moisture. Dry slowdy. Drying time, three to four hours. Start at tem- perature of 110° F. and raise to 140°. GARDEN PEAS Garden peas with non-edible pod are taken when of size suitable for table use. Blanch 3 to 5 minutes, cold-dip, re- move surface moisture and spread in single layers on trays. Drying time, 3 to 3^ hours. Start at temperature of 110° F., raising slowdy, in about 1 or 1^2 hours, to 145°, and then continue 1 and 1>4 to 2 hours at 145°. For use in soups or puree, shell mature peas, pass them through a meat grinder, spread the pulp on trays and dry. With young and tender sugar peas use the pod also. After washing, cut into Y^ inch pieces. Blanch 6 minutes, cold-dip and remove surface moisture. Drying time, 3 to 3;|/2 hours. Start at temperature of 110° F. and raise grad- ually to 145°. GREEN STRING BEANS Select only such beans as are in perfect condition for table use. Wash carefully and string. If full grown, they should be slit lengthwise or cut — not snapped — into pieces ^4 to 1 inch long. H young and tender, dry them whole. Blanch 6 to 10 minutes. To set color add one-half tea- 384 THE HOUSEKEEPER spoonful of soda to each gallon of boiling water. After blanching, dip quickly into cold water, then drain thor- oughly to remove surface moisture. Drying time for young beans, two hours; for those more mature, three hours. Start at temperature of 110° F. and raise gradually to 145°. GREENS AND HERBS After washing carefully and removing leaves, slice, and dry in sun or by artificial heat, following directions for cabbage, li steam is not easily available, dry without blanching or cold dipping. These directions apply to spinach, kale, dandelions and parsley. Celery tops, mint, sage and herbs of all kinds for flavor- ing are treated in the same way. LIMA BEANS If lima beans are gathered when young and tender, shell them, wash, and then blanch 5 to 10 minutes, the time varying with maturity and size. Cold-dip. Remove sur- face moisture. Drying time, 3 to SjA hours. Start at temperature of 110° F. and raise gradually to 145°. OKRA After washing, blanch three minutes in boiling water with one-half teaspoonful of soda to each gallon. Cold- dip. With young and tender pods dry whole ; cut older pods into 34 inch slices. Drying time, two to three hours. Start at temperature of 110° F. and raise gradually to 140°. Okra may also be dried by being strung on a string and hung over the stove. This should not be done except with young and tender pods. Heat in oven before storing. 385 THE HOUSEKEEPER ONIONS AND LEEKS After washing, peeling and cutting into >,s and^ inch sHces for onions, and ^ inch strips for leeks, blanch in boiling water or steam for 5 minutes, cold-dip and remove surface moisture. Drying time, 23/2 to 3 hours. Start at temperature of 110° F. and raise gradually to 140°. PEPPERS Steam until skin softens; or place in biscuit pan in oven and heat until skin blisters. Peel, split in half, take out seed. Start drying at temperature of 110° F. and grad- ually increase to 140°. Thick fleshed peppers, such as pimentoes, must be dried very slowly and evenly. Small varieties of red peppers may be spread in the sim until wilted and the drying finished in a drier, or they may be entirely dried in the sun. Another plan for drying peppers is to split them on one side, remove seed, start with air drying and finish in a drier at 140°. PUMPKIN AND SUMMER SQUASH Cut into j/S inch strips and pare. Blanch three minutes. Cold-dip, remove surface moisture and dry slowly. Dry- ing time, three to four hours. Start at temperature of 110° F. and raise to 140°. 11ie strips may be hung on strings and dried in the kitchen above the stove. RHUBARB Slit the larger stems lengthwise, cut into y'l to Yx inch lengths. Do not use the leaf. Blanch three minutes and cold-dip. Drv thoroughly. Start at temperature of 110° F. and raise gradually to 140°. SOUP MIXTURES Vegetables for soup mixtures are prepared and dried separately. These are mixed as desired. 386 THE HOUSEKEEPER SWEET CORN Select ears that are young and tender and freshly gath- ered. Blanch on cob in steam or boiling water — preferably steam — for 5 to 10 minutes to set milk. H boiling water is used, add a teaspoonful of salt to each gallon. Cold-dip, drain thoroughly, and with a sharp knife cut off in layers or cut ofif half the kernel and scrape ofif the remainder, tak- ing care not to include the chaff. Drying time, 3 to 4 hours. Start at temperature of 110° F. and raise grad- ually to 145°. In using field corn it should be taken at the roasting ear period of ripeness, and the ears should be plump. To prepare for sun-drying, corn may first be dried in the oven for 10 or 15 minutes. After sun-drying is completed the corn should again be heated in oven to 145° F. to kill possible insect eggs. SWEET POTATOES Wash, boil until almost cooked, peel, slice or run through meat chopper, spread on trays and dry until brittle. Sliced sweet potatoes may be dried without boiling. If this is done, dipping in cold water just before drying will brighten color. TOMATOES Blanch long enough to loosen skin, cold-dip, peel, slice to thickness of % of an inch. Start at temperature of 110° F. and gradually raise to 145°, continuing until thor- oughly dried. Another method is, after peeling, to cut orosswise in center, sprinkle with sugar and dry at tem- perature as above until the finished product resembles dried figs. WAX BEANS These are dried in the same manner as orreen string: beans. 387 THE HOUSEKEEPER DIRECTIONS FOR FRUIT DRYING Fruit may be dried in the sun until the surface begins to wrinkle, then finished in the drier. With stone fruits, such as peaches, plums, apricots and cherries, none but fruits that are fresh, ripe and in perfect condition should be used. With apples, pears and quinces, effective thrift calls for using the sound portions of fruit that may be par- tially wormy or imperfect. When properly dried, fruits should be entirely free from moisture when pressed be- tween the fingers on removal from drier. Line trays with cheesecloth or wrapping paper before spreading fruit on them. BERRIES Pick over, removing all leaves and stems, wash, if necessary, and remove surface moisture, handling with care to prevent bruising. Spread in thin layers and dry slowly. The total drying time is four to five hours. Start at temperature of 110° F., raising to 125° in about two hours. Then raise temperature to 140° and maintain two to three hours longer. CHERRIES After washing and removing surface moisture, spread unpitted in thin layers. Drying time, two to four hours. Start at temperature of 110° F. and raise gradually to 150°. If preferred, the pits may be removed, although this causes loss of juice. PLUMS AND APRICOTS Select fruits which are ripe. Remove pits by cutting fruit open with a sharp knife. Arrange halves on trays. Start drying at temperature of 110° F. and raise gradually to 145°. These fruits are usually dried with skins on. 388 THE HOUSEKEEPER APPLES, PEARS AND QUINCES Pare, core and slice, dropping slices into cold water con- taining eight teaspoon fills of salt to the gallon, if a light colored product is desired. Leaving them a minute or two in the salt water will prevent discoloration. (If preferred, core the whole fruit, after peeling, and slice into rings, dipping these for a minute or two into cold salted water as described above.) Remove surface moisture. Drying time, 4 to 6 hours, or until leathery and pliable. Start at temperature of 110° F. and raise gradually to 150°. Pears may be steamed ten minutes after slicing and before drying. Quinces are treated in the same way as pears. PEACHES Dip peaches into boiling water long enough to loosen skins. Then dip in cold water and peel. Cut into halves or quarters, remove stones and dry as directed for apples. 389 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXX PICKLING AND SALTING* Pickling is an important branch of home preparedness for the winter months. Pickles have little food value, but they give a flavor to a meal which is liked by many. They should not be given to children. In pickling, vegetables are usually soaked over night in a brine made of 1 cup of salt and 1 quart of water. This brine removes the water of the vegetable and so prevents weakening of the vinegar. In the morning the brine is drained off. Alum should not be used to make the vegetables crisp as it is harmful to the human body. A firm product is ob- tained if the vegetables are not cooked too long or at too high a temperature. Spices, unless confined in a bag, give a dark color to the pickles. Enameled, agate or porcelain-lined kettles should be used when cooking mixtures containing vinegar. Pickles put in crocks should be well covered with vinegar to prevent molding. Instructions for some of the most commonly used methods are given herewith. CATSUP 2 quarts ripe tomatoes, boil and strain. Add 2 tablespoon fuls of salt, 2 cupfuls of vinegar, 2/3 cupful of sugar, 1 teaspoon ful of cayenne pepper. ♦Extract from "National \\'ar Garden Commission Bulletin." 390 THE HOUSEKEEPER Boil until thick. Pour into hot sterilized bottles. Put the corks in tightly and apply hot paraffin to the tops with a brush to make an air-tight seal. CHILI SAUCE 2 dozen ripe tomatoes, 6 peppers ( 3 to be hot ) , 3 onions, y^. cupful of sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls of salt. 1 teaspoon ful each of cloves, nutmeg and allspice, 1 quart of vinegar. Simmer 1 hour. Pour into sterilized jars or bottles and seal while hot. CHOW CHOW 2 pints cucumbers ( 1 pint to be small ones), 1 cauliflower soaked in salted water for one hour, 2 green peppers, 1 quart onions. Chop the al)ove in small pieces. Sprinkle 1 cup of salt over them and let stand all night. Drain well in the morning". The sauce for Chow Chow is made as follows : — 2 quarts vinegar, 34 pound of mustard, 1 tablespoonful of turmeric, 2/3 cupful of sugar, 5' 2 cupful of flour. Make a paste of the mustard, turmeric, sugar, flour and a little vinegar. Stir this into the warm vinegar and boil until thick. Then add the vegetables and simmer for ]/> hour. Stir to prevent burning. Put in cans while hot. 391 THE HOUSEKEEPER COLD TOMATO RELISH 8 quarts firm ripe tomatoes; scald, cold-dip and then chop in small pieces. To the chopped tomato add : 2 cupfuls chopped onion, 2 cupfuls chopped celery, 2 cupfuls sugar, 1 cupful white mustard seed, V2 cupful salt, 4 chopped peppers, 1 teaspoonful ground mace, 1 teaspoonful black pepper, 4 teasoonfuls cinnamon, 3 pints vinegar. Mix all together and pack in sterilized jars. CORN RELISH 1 small cabbage, 1 large onion, 6 ears of corn, 2 tablespoonfuls of salt, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 1^ cupfuls of brown sugar, 1 pint of vinegar, 2 hot peppers, X^A tablespoonfuls of mustard. Steam corn 30 minutes. Cut from cob and add to the chopped cabbage, onion and peppers. Mix the flour, sugar, mustard and salt — add the vinegar. Add mixture to the vegetables and simmer 30 minutes. Pour into sterilized jars or bottles and seal while hot. CUCUMBER PICKLES Soak cucumbers in brine made of 1 cupful of salt to 2 quarts of water for a day and night. Remove from brine, rinse in cold water and drain. Cover with vinegar, add 392 THE HOUSEKEEPER 1 tablespoonful brown sugar, some stick cinnamon, and cloves to every quart of vinegar used; bring to a boil and pack in jars. For sweet pickles use 1 cupful of sugar to 1 quart of vinegar. GREEN TOMATO PICKLE Take 4 quarts of green tomatoes, 4 small onions and 4 green peppers. Slice the tomatoes and onions thin. Sprinkle over them ^ cupful of salt and leave overnight in crock or enameled dish. The next morning drain off the brine. Into a separate dish put 1 quart of vinegar, 1 level tablespoonful each of black pepper, mustard seed, celerv seed, cloves, allspice and cinnamon and }i cupful of sugar. Bring to boiling point and then add the prepared tomatoes, onions and peppers. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Fill jars and seal while hot. GREEN TOMATO PICKLE ^\'ash and slice tomatoes. Soak in a brine of 34 cupful of salt to 1 quart of water aver-night. Drain well. Put in a crock and cover with vinegar, to which has been added stick cinnamon and 1 cupful of sugar for every quart of vinegar used. Once a day for a week pour off vinegar, heat to boiling and pour over tomatoes again. Cover top of crock with a cloth and put on cover. This cloth should be frequently washed. MUSTARD PICKLES 2 quarts of green tomatoes. 1 cauliflower, 2 quarts of green peppers, 2 quarts of onions. 393 THE HOUSEKEEPER Wash, cut in small pieces and cover with one quart of Ivoiling water and % cupful of salt. Let stand 1 hour, bring to the boiling point and drain. Mix yS pound mus- tard, 1 cupful of flour, 3 cupfuls of sugar and vinegar to make a thin paste, add this paste to 2 quarts vinegar and cook until thick, stir constantly to prevent burning. Add vegetables, boil 15 minutes and seal in jars. PICCALILLI 4 quarts of green tomatoes (chopped), 1 cjuart of onions (chopped), 1 hot red pepper, 3^ pound of sugar, Yi cupful of salt, 1 ^ ounces each of mustard seed, cloves and allspice, 2 cupfuls of vinegar. Simmer 1 hour. Put into a covered crock. PICKLED ONIONS Peel, wash and put in brine, using 2 cupfuls of salt to 2 quarts of water. Let stand 2 days, pour ofT brine. Cover with fresh brine and let stand 2 days longer. Remove from brine, wash and pack in jars, cover with hot vinegar, to which whole cloves, cinnamon and allspice have been added. SPICED CRAB-APPLES Wash, stick 3 or 4 whole cloves in each apple and cover with vinegar to which have been added stick cinnamon, and 1 cup sugar for every cjuart of vinegar used. Cook slowly at a low temperature until apples are tender. These may be put in jars or stone crocks. SWEET PICKLED PEACHES Wipe and stick 3 or 4 whole cloves in each peach. Put in saucepan and cover with hot vinegar, allowing 2 cupfuls of sugar to each quart of vinegar used. Cook slowly until peaches are tender. Seal in glass jars. 394 THE HOUSEKEEPER TABLE RELISH Chop : 4 quarts of cabbage, 2 quarts of tomatoes, 1 (|uart to be green, 6 large onions, 2 hot peppers. Add : 2 ounces of white mustard seed, 1 ounce of celery seed, y^ cupful of salt, 2 pounds of sugar, 2 quarts of vinegar. Simmer 1 hour. Pour into sterilized jars or bottles and seal while hot. SALTING The use of brine in preparing vegetables for winter use has much to commend it to the household. Preserving cab- bage, string beans and greens for winter use by salting is a method which has long been used. To do this the vege- tables should be w'ashed, drained and weighed. The amount of salt needed will be one-fourth of the weight of the vege- tables. Kegs or crocks make satisfactory containers. Put a layer of vegetables about an inch thick on the bottom of me container. Co\'er this with salt. Continue making alternate layers of vegetables and salt until the container is almost filled. The salt should be evenly distributed so that it will not be necessary to use more salt than the c[uan- tity required in proportion to the vegetables used. Cover the surface with a cloth and a board or glazed plate. Place a weight on these and set aside in a cool place. If sufficient liquor to cover the vegetables has not been extracted by the next day, pour in enough strong brine ( 1 pound of salt to 2 quarts of water) to cover surface around the cover. The top layer of vegetables should be kept under the brine to prevent molding. There will be some bubbling at first. 395 THE HOUSEKEEPER As soon as this stops set the container where it will not be disturbed until ready for use. Seal by pouring very hot paraffin on the surface. THE USE OF BRINE This method is used for cucumbers, string beans, green tomatoes, beets, corn and peas, as these vegetables do not contain enough water for a good brine using only salt. Wash and put in a crock or other container within 3 or 4 inches of the top. Pour over them a brine made by adding to every 4 quarts of water used Yi pint of vinegar and ^ cup salt. The amount of brine needed will be about ^ the volume of the material to be fermented. When fermenta- tion is complete the container should be sealed. TO FERMENT CUCUMBERS Wash the cucumbers carefully. Pack them in a keg, bar- rel or crock, leaving space at the top for the cover. Cover them with a brine made by adding to every 4 quarts of water used ^ pint of vinegar and ^)4 cup of salt. The amount of brine needed will be one-half of the volume of the material to be fermented. Place a wooden cover or glazed plate on top of the contents and press it down by weighting it with a stone or other weight, to keep the cu- cumbers under the brine. Fermentation will require from 8 to 10 days in warm weather and from 2 to 4 weeks in cool weather. It is complete when bubbles cease to rise when the container is lightly tapped or jarred. When this stage is reached remove any scum which may have col- lected, pour hot paraffin over the cover and around the weight and store in a cool place. GREEN TOMATOES The process for green tomatoes is the same as that for cucumbers. 396 THE HOUSEKEEPER BEETS AND STRING BEANS RemoA^e the strings from beans. Beets should be washed thoroughly and packed whole. Spices may be used, as with cucumbers, bvit these may be omitted if the vegetables are to be freshened by soaking, when they are to be used. The method is the same as with cucumbers. PREPARING FOR USE To prepare these vegetables for use the brine should be drained oft" and the vegetables soaked in clear, cold water for several hours with one or two changes of water. They may then be cooked as fresh vegetables, with at least one change of water while cooking. With salted vegetables it may be necessary to change the water once or twice while boiling. This is a matter of taste. Fermented vegetables should be rinsed in fresh water after removing from the container. To retain the acid flavor do not soak in water before cooking. If cooked without soaking, fermented dandelions, spinach, kale and other greens will have a flavor similar to that of the greens in their fresh state. Fermented corn should be soaked several hours, with three or four changes of water. During the cooking also there should be one change of water. The corn may then be used in chowder, pudding, omelet, fritters or waffles. Salted string beans should be soaked to remove the salt and then prepared and served as fresh beans are prepared and served. Fermented string beans may be cooked with- out soaking and served as the fresh beans are served. Young and tender string beans mav be eaten raw. 397 THE HOUSEKEEPER HORLICK'S P * REO. W. S. OAT. orr. ^^ THE ORIGIIMAL '^^Pa % /v. '^^^. ^y Dissolving in NG^OR MALTED g -JE, WIS., V. ««itain; slough, bucks c^ ACINE. WIS., t. S. A^^s.^ Y(3n will find the alcove article to be all that is claimed for it bv the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 398 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXXI FOOD FOR THE SICK 'Tn preparing food for an invalid the tray should be of correct size, so that when set it will not have the appear- ance of being overcrowded. If a small amount of food is to be served, use a small tray. The tray cloth should be spotless and fit over edge of tray. If the correct size is not at hand, a napkin may be utilized by folding it to fit the tray. Select the choicest china, silver and glassware, mak- ing changes as often as possible. In setting a tray, after laying the tray cloth, place the plate. Have the knife at the right of the plate, sharp edge toward plate. Place the spoon at the right of the knife, bowl up. Place the fork at the left of plate, tines up. A bread and butter plate or individual butter is placed over fork a little to the left. The napkin is always placed at the left of the fork; then the cup and saucer at the right of spoon, with cup so placed that it may be easily raised by handle. The water glass is placed over the knife a little to the right. Arrange the other dishes to suit the con- venience of the patient." (Fannie M. Farmer.) In cases of severe illness the physician gives advice con- cerning the diet and his instructions should be implicitly obeyed. However, the physician's advice is often very gen- eral where the diet is not a prominent factor in the treat- ment of the case; and, too, manv minor illnesses where the advice of a physician is not necessarv require some modifi- cation of the ordinary food for the family. So the home nurse should thoroughly understand the general principles of feeding. Invalid diets are classified as Fluid Diet, Soft or Semi- Solid Diet and Light or Convalescent Diet. 399 THE HOUSEKEEPER Fluid Diet. "Since all food must eventually be reduced to fluid form for absorption, a liquid diet is usually re- garded as the type easiest to digest and is often prescribed by the physician." Liquid diet includes : — 1. Milk, plain or modified to make it more digestible, more nutritious, or more attractive. 2. Broths and clear soups. 3. Beef juice and beef tea. 4. Cereal gruels. 5. Raw eggs combined with water, milk, fruit juice, etc. Soft or Semi-Solid Diet. This is the intermediate diet between the fluid diet and the simple mixed diet and is generally more acceptable to the patient. It includes everything that is found in the liquid diet, and, in addition, soft cooked eggs, soups, broths, toast, delicate cream soups, chicken broth, soft custards, fruit gelatines, light puddings. Light or Convalescent Diet. During convalescence the digestive tract participates in the weakness of the rest of the body and special attention should be given the diet. "The diet should be simple^ — only a few kinds of food at a time and those plainly but carefully cooked and seasoned. Meals should be served with strict regularity. The appetite should be tempted by the appearance of the tray." Convalescent diet includes foods from the fluid and soft diets with other easily digested and nourishing foods added. The amount and variety may be increased from day to day. Special Diets- — are those ordered by the physician for individual cases, such as for diabetes, gout, tuberculosis, etc. 400 THE HOUSEKEEPER RECIPES ACID BEVERAGES Beverages made from fruit juices are cooling and re- freshing and especially grateful to fever patients. Wash lemons and oranges, and when using the juice re- move the seeds. Whenever cold water is to be used instead of very hot or boiling water in preparing drinks, it is better to use sugar syrup for sweetening in place of sugar, which re- quires time to dissolve. SUGAR SYRUP Yj cupful sugar, y2 cupful boiling water. Mix the sugar and water and stir until the sugar is dis- solved. Boil for 15 minutes without stirring, cool_ and bot- tle until ready to use. LEMONADE 1 lemon ;>4 cupful boiling water, 2 tablespoon fuls sugar, lA thin slice lemon. Wash and wipe lemon ; cut a very thin slice from middle. Scjueeze juice into a bowl (keeping back the seeds), add the sugar and boiling water; cover and put on ice to cool. Strain and pour into a glass or sherbet cup. Cut half the slice of lemon into two pieces, and use as garnish in glass; or a few berries or slice of orange may be used. Note. — The c|uantitv of sugar used depends upon the acidity of fruit. FRUIT LEMONADE Add fresh fruit of all kinds to strong lemonade, using boiling water for the beverage, cool and chill on ice. 401 THE HOUSEKEEPER BRAN LEMONADE y^ cupful wheat bran, 2 cupfuls cold water, Juice 1 lemon. Allow the bran and water to stand overnight. Strain and add the juice of the lemon. SODA OR APOLLINARIS LEMONADE Juice of 1 lemon,, 1 or 2 tablespoonfuls sugar, y^ cupful cold water, y\. teaspoonful soda. Prepare the lemonade to taste, cool, add the soda, stir thoroughly, and drink while effervescing. Water and soda may be omitted and Apollinaris water substituted. PINEAPPLE LEMONADE J/ cupful grated pineapple or juice. Juice of 1 lemon,, 2 tablespoonfuls sugar, 5-2 cupful boiling water, 1 cupful ice-cold water, and soda may be omitted and Apollinaris water substituted. Mix pineapple, lemon juice and sugar, and add the boil- Note.— Put glass on plate when soda is added. Water Juice of y2 orange, ing water. Cool, add ice-cold water, strain and serve. Note. — Canned pineapple may be used or Hawaiian pine- apple juice. GRAPE LEMONADE Make one cupful lemonade, rather sweet, add one-fourti cupful Grape Juice. EGG LEMONADE See "Albuminous Beverages" for recipe. 402 THE HOUSEKEEPER ORANGEADE I. 1 sour orange, Yz cupful boiling water, 2 tablespoon fuls sugar. Yj sliced orange. Prepare as for lemonade. If orange is not very sour, add a little lemon juice or use less sugar. ORANGEADE 11. Put two tablespoonfuls of crushed ice in a glass, and pour the juice of one orange over it. Sweeten if desired. FRUITADE Ya cupful grated pineapple. Juice of Y^ lemon. Juice of ^ orange. 1 cupful boiling water, Sugar. Prepare fruit juice. Add the boiling water and one tablespoonful sugar; let stand until cool. Add more water or sugar if necessary. Strain and serve cold. MALTED MILK AND CURRANT JELLY 1 tablespoonful Horlick's Malted Milk, Ya cupful boiling water, 1 tablespoonful currant jelly, Ya cupful cold water. Cracked ice. Mix the malted milk powder with enough of the boiling- water to make a smooth paste, add the jelly and the rest of the water, and stir until the jelly is dissolved. Add the the cold water and ice, strain and serve. 403 THE HOUSEKEEPER CURRANT WATER ^ cupful currant juice or 4 tablespoon fuls currant jelly, y^ cupful boiling water, Yz cupful cold water, Lemon juice and sugar. Dissolve the jelly in the boiling water, add the cold water, sweeten to taste and add a little lemon juice if de- sired. Serve cold. APPLE WATER 1 sour apple, 1 cupful boiling water, Lemon juice and sugar. Cut the apple without paring into small pieces. Add the boiling water and one tablespoonful sugar. Cover, let stand until cold, then strain, add lemon juice and sugar to taste. Serve cold. TEA PUNCH Tea Punch is an excellent hot weather beverage. Pour boiling lemonade (sweetened to taste) over tea leaves and allow licjiuid to stand until cold. Strain and serve in a tall glass with crushed ice and a slice of lemon. Use 1 tea- spoonful tea to 1 cupful lemonade. ALBUMINOUS BEVERAGES \\'hen a large amount of nourishment is required the aluminized drinks are valuable. Often the white of t%g dissolved in water or milk is given when the yolk cannot be digested. 404 THE HOUSEKEEPER EGG-NOG }i tablespoon fill sugar, Few grains salt, 1^ tablespoon fills sherry, or y2 teaspoonfiil vanilla, 2/3 cupful cold milk. Beat egg slightly, add the sugar, salt and slowly the flavoring, then add gradually the milk. Strain and serve. COFFEE EGG-NOG 1 ^gg- 1 teaspoon ful sugar. Few grains salt. 2/3 cupful filtered coffee. Beat the egg slightly, add the sugar, salt and coffee grad- ually, set in a pan of hot water and continue stirring until hot enough to be agreeable to the taste, taking care to keep the mixture below the point at which the albumin coagu- lates. EGG BROTH 1 egg yolk. 1 tablespoon ful sugar. Few grains of salt. 1 cupful hot milk. Flavoring. Beat the egg yolk, add the sugar and salt. Pour on care- carefully the hot milk. Flavor as desired. The whole egg may be used. Hot water, broth or coffee may be used in place of the hot milk. Nutmeg may be used for flavoring. 405 THE HOUSEKEEPER EGG LEMONADE 1 tablespoon fill powdered sugar. }4 cupful cold water. 2 tablespoon fuls lemon juice. 2 tablespoon fuls crushed ice. Beat the egg slightly, add the sugar, water, and lemon juice. Strain over crushed ice. ORANGE ALBUMEN 1 egg white. 1/3 cupful orange juice. 2 tablespoon fuls crushed ice. Syrup. Stir white of egg, using a silver fork, add gradually the orange juice, and strain over crushed ice; add syrup if necessary. ALBUMINIZED MILK 1 egg white. yi cupful milk. Few grains salt. Stir egg, using a silver fork. Add the milk gradually, and the salt. Strain and serve. A CUP OF TEA 1 teaspoonful tea. }i cupful boiling water. Heat a cup. Put in the tea, pour on the water which is boiling, cover and let stand in a warm place three minutes. Strain into a hot cup, and serve with sugar and cream or milk. 406 THE HOUSEKEEPER BREAKFAST COCOA 1 teaspoon fill cocoa. \y2 teaspoonfuls sugar. 1-3 cupful boiling water. 1/2 cupful scalded milk. Few grains salt. Mix cocoa, sugar, and salt, and add water, gradually stirring constantly. Bring to boiling point and let boil one minute. Turn into the scalded milk and beat one minute, using a Dover Egg Beater. This is known as milling, and prevents the forming of scum, which is so unsightly. FLAXSEED TEA 2 tablespoon fuls flaxseed. 1 quart boiling water. 1^2 tablespoon fuls cream of tartar. Syrup. Slices of lemon. Pick over and wash the flaxseed. Add boiling water and cream of tartar, and let simmer until the licjuid is reduced one-half. Strain cool and sweeten and serve with lemon. GINGER TEA y2 teaspoon ful ginger. lA cupful boiling water. ^4 cupful milk. Add the boiling water to the ginger and let boil one min- ute, then add the milk. Serve very hot. TOAST WATER 2 slices stale bread. 1 cupful boiling water. Cut stale bread in slices and remove crusts. Bake in a slow oven until thoroughly dry and brown. Break in pieces, add water, cover and let stand one hour. Squeeze through cheese cloth. Season with salt and serve hot. Good in extreme cases of nausea. 407 THE HOUSEKEEPER LIME WATER 1 tablespoonful slacked lime. 1 quart boiling water. Put the lime and water in a corked bottle and shake two or three times during the first hour. The lime should then be allowed to settle and after 24 hours the upper clear fluid poured otT. Keep in a tightly corked bottle in a cool place. MILK For directions for sterilizing and pasteurizing milk, see "The Care of Children," page 534. MALTED MILK Mix one tablespoonful Horlick's Malted Milk powder with enough warm water to make a smooth paste ; add }'4 cupful hot water, stirring all the time. Hot milk may be used in place of water. PEPTONIZED MILK (COLD PROCESS) Fairchild's Peptonizing Powder 1 tube. ■/> cupful cold water. 1 pint fresh milk. Put the powder in to a sterilized quart bottle, add the water, and shake until the powder is dissolved ; then add the milk, co\er. shake and place on ice. Use as needed, always returning to ice at once. If ice cannot be obtained make only enough for one serving, for if allowed to stand artificial digestion will go on to such an extent that the milk will have a bitter taste. PEPTONIZED MILK (WARM PROCESS) Make like peptonized milk (cold Process) ; set the bottle in a pan of warm water (115° F) and keep at this tem- perature 10 minutes. Serve at once. Put remainder on ice or bring quickly to boiling point to check digestion. 408 THE HOUSEKEEPER KOUMISS 1 quart milk. 1^2 tablespoonfuls sugar. y^ yeast cake. 1 tablespoonful lukewarm water. Heat the milk to lukewarm, add sugar and yeast dissolved in lukewarm water. Fill sterilized bottles to within one and one-half inches of the top. Cork and shake. Place bot- tles, inverted where they can remain at a temperature of 70° Fahrenheit for ten hours ; then put on ice for 48 hours, shaking occasionally to prevent cream from clogging the mouth of the bottle. Koumiss is often retained bv those suffering from gastric troubles. WINE WHEY 1 cupful milk. 2 teaspoon fuls sugar. y2 cupful sherry wine. Pour the wine into the warm milk and cook over hot water about five minutes, or until the curd separates from the whey. Strain through cheese-cloth and sweeten. Serve hot or cold. LEMON WHEY 1 cupful milk. 2 teaspoonfuls sugar. 3 tablespoonfuls lemon juice. Prepare in the same manner as whine whey. RENNET WHEY 1 cupful milk. 2 teaspoonfuls sugar. 1 teaspoonful rennet. Heat the milk until lukewarm, add the sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved, add the rennet; leave until firm in a moderately warm place ; allow it to stand twenty minu- tes. Break the curd and strain through double cheese- cloth. Flavor if desired. 409 THE HOUSEKEEPER GRUELS Gruels are cooked mixtures of cereals and water, or milk and water. In preparing gruel the cereal should be thor- oughly cooked for several hours. Milk or cream when used should be added just before serving as milk subjected to a high temperature for a long time is made difficult to digest. CRACKER GRUEL 3 tablespoon fuls cracker crumbs. Yi cupful boiling water. Yi cupful milk. y^ teaspoon ful salt. Add the powdered cracker crumbs to the milk and water, cook for ten minutes over hot water, add salt and serve. The flavor is improved if the crackers are browned before rolling. CORN MEAL GRUEL 1/^ cupfuls water. 1-6 teaspoonful salt. 1 tablespoonful corn meal. Pour the milk into the boiling salted water ; cook directly over the heat fifteen minutes, stirring constantly, then over boiling water for three hours. Thin with hot milk just before serving. OATMEAL GRUEL ^ cupful rolled oats. 1/^ cupfuls boiling water. 34 teaspoonful salt. Milk or cream. Add cereal and salt to the boiling water, let boil two minutes, then cook over hot water 1 hour or longer, strain, bring to boiling point, add milk or cream. 410 THE HOUSEKEEPER FARINA GRUEL Yi tablespoon ful Farina. Yx cupful boiling water. ^ cupful milk. 1 egg- yolk. ^ teaspoon ful salt. Add Farina and salt to the boiling water, boil 20 minutes. Add the milk and reheat. Beat the ^^g yolk slightly, dilute with two tablespoonfuls of the mixture, add the remaining mixture, season and strain. MILK PORRIDGE \y\ cupfuls milk. 1 tablespoon ful flour. 2 raisins. ^ teaspoon ful salt. Mix the flour gradually with the one-fourth cupful cold milk and stir into the one cupful hot milk; if raisins are used, cut them in quarters and cook with the porridge; it should be cooked over boiling water one hour. The salt should be added just before serving. BROTHS BEEF JUICE Broil a slice of the round of beef one minute over a clear fire. Cut the meat into small pieces, and press out the juice, using a lemon squeezer or meat press. The press should be heated. Season with salt and serve in a colored glass. BEEF TEA 1 pound beefsteak cut from the round. 2 cupfuls cold water. Salt. 411 THE HOUSEKEEPER Remove fat, wipe the beef and put through meat chop- per. Put in a glass jar, add cold water, cover, and let stand twenty minutes. Place on a rack in kettle of cold water, having the water surround the jar as high as the contents. Heat the water gradually, keeping temperature at 130"^ Fahrenheit for two hours, then increase temperature slightly until the liquid becomes a chocolate color and the albumi- nous juices are slightly coagulated ; otherwise the tea will ha\e a raw taste. CLAM BROTH 3 large clams (in shell). 3^2 cupful water. Wash the clams thoroughly with a brush, and place them in water over the fire. As soon as the shells open, the broth is done. Strain through muslin and serve. CHICKEN BROTH 3^ pounds chicken. 1 y2 quarts cold water. 2 tablespoon fuls rice. \y2 teaspoonfuls salt. Few grains of pepper. Clean the chicken; remove the skin and fat, disjoint, and wipe witii a wet cloth. Put in a kettle, add cold water, heat to boilmg point, skim and cook slowly until meat is tender. Add salt and pepper when half cooked. Strain and remove fat. Add the rice and cook until rice is tender. SOFT COOKED EGG Place the tgg in one pint boiling water, remove from the fire, cover and allow it to stand from five to eight minutes. 412 THE HOUSEKEEPER HARD COOKED EGG Place the egg in cold water, cover, and heat slowly to the boiling point. Remove from the fire and allow it to stand twenty minutes on the back of the range ; then put into cold water. POACHED EGG Break the egg into a saucer, slip the egg into boiling water, cover, remove to cooler part of the fire, and cook five minutes or until white is firm, and a film is formed over the yolk. Take up with a skimmer, drain, trim off the rough edges, and serve on a slice of toast. Season. OMELET 1-16 teaspoonful salt. White pepper. 1 tablespoonful milk. ^ teaspoonful butter. Beat the yolk of the egg until light and creamy, add the seasoning and milk ; beat the white until stiff, but not dry, cut it into the yolk ; heat die omelet pan and rub it all over with the butter, turn in the omelet, spread it evenly on the pan. When the omelet is set put it into a hot oven tor a tew minutes to dry slightly on top, fold and serve immediately. CREAMY OMELET 1 tablespoonful milk. % teaspoonful salt. Pepper. y2 teaspoonful butter. 413 THE HOUSEKEEPER Beat egg slightly, add milk and seasonings ; put butter in hot omelet pan, when melted turn in the mixture; as it cooks draw the edges toward the center with a knife until the whole is of a creamy consistency. Place on the hotter part of the range that it may brown quickly underneath; fold and turn on hot platter. BREAD OMELET 2 tablespoonfuls bread crumbs. yi teaspoon ful salt. Pepper. 2 tablespoonfuls milk. 'Y2 teaspoon ful butter. Soak the bread crumbs in the milk for fifteen minutes, then add the salt and pepper. Separate the yolk and white of the egg and beat until light. Add the yolk to the bread and milk and cut in the white. Cook as a plain omelet. CREAMY EGG 1 ^gg- % cupful hot milk. % teaspoon ful salt. y2 tablespoon ful butter. Pepper. Toast. Beat the egg slightly, add the butter and seasoning. Pour the milk over the egg and cook in a double boiler. As it thickens scrape it away slowly with a spoon. Continue in this way until only a small amount of liquid remains. If over heated it will curdle. Serve on toast. BAKED EGG Butter slightly a saucer or small shallow dish, slip into this one or two eggs, being careful not to break the yolk. Place the dish in a pan of hot water and cook in the oven until the white is set, season with salt and serve, 414 THE HOUSEKEEPER SHIRRED EGG A Shirred Egg is prepared in the same manner as a Baked Egg and cooked on top of the range instead of in the oven. EGGS Eggs to be readily digested should be cooked in water below the boiling point. EGGS IN A NEST Break egg and separate yolk from the white. Beat the white until stiff, then add a few grains of salt. Pile on a circular piece of toasted bread first dipped in hot salted water. Make a depression in the center of the white and drop in the yolk. Bake in a moderate oven until delicately brown. Serve with white sauce or tomato sauce. DESSERTS SOFT CUSTARD 1 cupful milk. 1 egg yolk. 1^/2 tablespoon fuls sugar. Salt. 5 drops vanilla. Beat the egg slightly, add the sugar and salt. Scald the milk and pour over the first mixture. Return to double boiler, stirring constantly until it thickens, strain, and when cool, flavor. BAKED CUSTARD 1^ tablespoon fuls sugar. Few grains salt. 2-3 cupful scalded milk. A few gratings of nutmeg. 415 THE HOUSEKEEPER Beat egg slightly, add sugar and salt. Pour on slowly the hot milk, strain into small buttered molds, sprinkle with nutmeg, set in pan of hot w^ater, and bake in a slow oven until firm. Remove from molds for serving. BAKED COFFEE CUSTARD 2/3 cupful milk. 1 tablespoonful ground coffee. Few grains salt. y2 teaspoon ful vanilla. 1 Vj tablespoonfuls sugar. Scald the milk with the coffee. Strain, and make like Baked Custard. Omit flavoring, if desired. JUNKET CUSTARD ^4 cupful milk. 1 tablespoonful sugar. % teaspoonful vanilla. j4 Junket tablet. 1 teaspoonful cold water. A few grains of salt. Heat the milk until lukewarm, add the sugar, salt, flavor- ing, and tablet dissolved in cold water. Pour into small molds, let stand in a warm place until set, then put in a cold place to chill. Remove from molds, and serve with or without suffar and cream. CARAMEL JUNKET -)4 cupful milk. 1/4 tablespoonfuls sugar. Few grains salt. 416 THE HOUSEKEEPER Heat the milk until lukewarm. Caramelize the sugar by stirring over heat until melted to a light brown syrup, add boiling water, and cook until reduced to one tablespoon ful. Add to the milk, and when well mixed add tablet dissolved in cold water and vanilla. Mold, chill when set, and serve. CUSTARD PUDDING 1 tablespoon ful minute tapioca or 1/8 cupful pearl tapioca or rice. 3^ cupful milk, y^ ^g% (yolk). Salt. y. tgg (white). 3 drops vanilla or other extract. 1 tablespoonful sugar. If pearl tapioca is used, soak the tapioca in enough cold water to cover it, until it absorbs the water, add the milk, and cook until the tapioca is soft and transparent, add the the yolk of ^gg, sugar and salt, cook three minutes, remove from the fire ; add the beaten white and flavoring, and when cold serve. Rice must be cooked until soft. The white of tgg may be used as a meringue, and put on the pudding, then browned slightly in the oven. Minute tapioca requires no soaking. LEMON JELLY 1 teaspoonful granulated gelatine. 2 tablespoonfuls cold water. ]/i cupful boiling water. 2 tablespoonfuls sugar. 1 tablespoonful lemon juice. Soak the gelatine in cold water, add the boiling water, sugar and fruit juice, stir until the sugar is dissolved, strain. Set in a cool place to stiffen. 417 THE HOUSEKEEPER ORANGE JELLY 1 teaspoon fill granulated gelatine. 2 tablespoon fills cold water. 34 cupful boiling water. 3 tablespoon fuls sugar. ^ cupful orange juice. 2 teaspoonfuls lemon juice. Soak the gelatine in the cold water, add the boiling water, sugar and juice, stir until the sugar is dissolved, strain. Other fruit juice may be used. COFFEE JELLY 1 teaspoon ful granulated gelatine. 2 tablespoon fuls cold water. 34 cupful strong coffee. 2 tablespoonfuls sugar. 34 cupful boiling water. Soak the gelatine in the cold water, add the boiling licfuid and sugar, stir until the sugar is dissolved, strain. Set in a cold place to harden. Serve with cream. SNOW PUDDING 1 teaspoon ful granulated gelatine. 2 tablespoonfuls cold water. 34 cupful boiling water. 34 cupful sugar. 1 tablespoon ful lemon juice. 1 white of egg. Prepare as for lemon jelly; 1)eat the white of the egg until light, and when the jelly begins to thicken, add the white to it. Beat until smooth and nearly hard, then pour into custard cups or sherbet glasses to harden. Serve with Soft Custard. 418 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHARLOTTE RUSSE Ij/j teaspoontuls granulated gelatine. 3 tablespoon fills cold water. J4 cupful scalded cream. 2>< tablespoon fuls powdered sugar. j/2 teaspoonful vanilla. •)4 cupful cream (whipped j. 6 lady fingers. Soak the gelatine in cold water until soft; add the hot cream and sugar. Place the bowl in ice water and stir constantly. When the mixture forms a thick syrup add fla\"oring and pour slowly on the whipped creani. The utensil holding the whipped cream must be surrounded by ice water. Trim the sides and ends of the lady fingers and place them one-half inch apart around the sides of the mold, the crust side next to the mold, and fill with the mixture. When thoroughly chilled, turn out on a glass dish. ICE CREAM General Rules A pint freezer may be used or the following utensils may be substituted : a half pound baking-powder can, a wooden spoon, a bowl or a small wooden tub to form out- side of freezer. The tin can should be water tight. The ice must be broken into fine pieces and mixed with the rock salt ; use three times as much ice as salt for freezing. Pour the mixture which is to be frozen intr^ the can. Sur- round the can with ice and salt, beat the mixture, and as it freezes scrape from the sides of the can with a wooden spoon; cover and turn can back and forth, scraping cream from the bottom and sides every five minutes. When it is frozen throughout, beat well, and pack in a smaller can or ice cream mold, if desired. In serving, wash salt from the mold with cold water, \\ipe, remove cover and slip a knife around the inner edge of the mold ,and invert the mold over serving plate. 419 THE HOUSEKEEPER VANILLA ICE CREAM ^ cupful cream. 1 tablespoon ful sugar. Yi teaspoonful vanilla. Scald the cream in the top of double boiler and dissolve the sugar in it; when cool, add vanilla and freeze. CARAMEL ICE CREAM 1/2 cupful cream. 2 teaspoonfuls sugar. 2 tablespoonfuls caramelized sugar. Scald the cream and dissolve the sugar and caramel in it; when cold, freeze. STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM Yi cupful cream. ^ cupful sugar. Yi cupful strawberries. Rinse, hull and mash the strawberries, add the sugar and scalded cream and freeze. MILK SHERBET Yi cupful milk. 1 tablespoon ful lemon juice. Ya cupful sugar. Dissolve the sugar in the strained lemon juice, add the milk and freeze. ORANGE ICE Y2 cupful water. Ya cupful sugar. Rind of Ya orange. Yi cupful orange juice {^Y^ oranges). Y2 tablespoon ful lemon juice. 420 THE HOUSEKEEPER Boil the water, sugar and rind of one-quarter orange for three minutes. Cool. Cut the top off the whole orange, and with a silver spoon remove the inside. When the syrup is cool, add the orange juice and strain. Freeze, and when ready to serve, fill the orange shell with the ice. MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES FOR CONVA- LESCENT DIET CREAM OF CELERY SOUP cupful celery, cupful water. 14 cupful milk (heated). ^ cupful cream (heated) or ^ cupful milk, tablespoon ful butter, tablespoon ful flour. 4 teaspoon ful salt. Pepper. % teaspoonful Onion Juice. Cook the celery in the boiling water until very tender; rub through a sieve and add the hot milk and cream. Melt the butter, add the flour, and when well blended, add the hot liquid. Cook until thick, season, strain and serve. POTATO SOUP ^ cupful potato. ^ cupful milk (scalded). ys teaspoonful onion juice, y2 teaspoonful butter. y2 teaspoonful flour. % teaspoonful salt. White pepper. ^4 teaspoonful parsley, chopped fine. Cook the potatoes until soft, drain, mash, add the hot milk and seasoning, strain, and use this with the butter and flour to make a white sauce. Add the chopped parsley just before serving. 421 THE HOUSEKEEPER STUFFED POTATO 1 teaspoon fill butter. 3/2 tablespoon fill hot milk. ys teaspoon fill salt. 1 baked potato. Pepper. Cut the potato in half, lengthwise; then without breaking the skin remove the inside; mash, season and return to wells, place in a pan in a hot oven until light brown. POTATO BORDER Serve creamed meat with a border of mashed potato. Place a cup inverted in the centre of a plate. Pile mashed potatoes around the cup, remove cup and fill potato border with creamed meat or fish. HAMBURG STEAK 2 tablespoonfuls scraped beef. 1-6 teaspoonful salt. j/g teaspoonful onion juice. ys teaspoonful chopped parsley. Pepper. Use beef cut from the round. Scrape the meat from the connective tissues with a dull knife and mix the sea- soning with it. Form into a cake and broil or pan-broil. Garnish with parsley and serve hot. VEAL CUTLET 1 cutlet, breaded (dipped in beaten egg and fine bread crumbs). Brown the cutlet in a hot omelet pan using one- quarter tablespoonful of butter. 422 THE HOUSEKEEPER SAUCE FOR VEAL CUTLET Yx tablespoon fill butter. Yz tablespoon fill flour. y% teaspoon ful salt. 1/2 cup fill stock or water. 34 teaspoon ful Worcestershire sauce. 34 tablespoon fill chopped parsley. Prepare as a brown sauce, and pour over the cutlet, cover and cook at a low temperature until very tender. SQUAB IN PAPER Singe, remove the pin feathers, head, feet, tips of wings and crop, split through the back ; clean and wdpe inside and out with a damp cloth. Fold in a buttered paper, place in a pan and bake in a hot oven for tw^enty-five to forty minu- tes. It should be turned frequently while cooking. It may be broiled over the coals in fifteen minutes. SWEETBREADS Soak the sweetbreads in cold water for ten minutes. Parboil fifteen minutes in boiling salted water ,then place in cold water. Remove the skin and membranes. The sweetbreads ma}- be served with a cream sauce, or broiled. SCALLOPED FISH 34 cupful halibut or other w^hite fish. 34 cupful sauce. 3/2 cupful buttered crumbs. SAUCE 34 tablespoon ful butter. y'l tablespoonful flour. Salt and pepper. y\ cupful milk. Parsley may be added if desired. 423 THE HOUSEKEEPER Flake the fish, and season with salt and pepper. Butter a shell or individual baking dish, sprinkle with some of the crumbs. Add the fish and then the sauce, made accord- ing to directions for white sauce. Cover with the remain- ing crumbs and bake until brown. DRY TOAST Cut stale bread in slices and remove crust. Place in toaster and hold over the fire to dry one side, turn and dry the other side. Hold nearer coals to brown first on one side, then on the other. The moisture in the bread should be nearly evaporated, thus making the toast dry and crisp. By this means of toasting some of the starch becomes dex- trinized, and the bread is thus rendered easier of diges- tion. Toast should never be piled one slice on another. If a toast rack is not at hand, balance toast against cup placed in warm plate until serving time. If toast is desired in finger-shaped pieces, triangles, or fancy shapes, it must be cut as desired before being toasted. WATER TOAST 2 slices dry toast. 1 cupful boiling water. ^ teaspoonful salt. Yi teaspoonful butter. Dip the toast, each piece separately, in boiling salted water, remove to a hot dish, spread with butter, and serve at once. MILK TOAST 2 slices dry toast. y2 tablespoon ful l^utter. y^ cupful scalded milk. y^ teaspoonful salt. 424 THE HOUSEKEEPER Butter bread, arrange on hot dish, and pour over milk to which salt has been added. BRAN 3IUFFINS ^ cupful flour. 1/2 teaspoonful soda. ^ teaspoonful salt. 1 cupful bran. j/2 cupful milk. 2^ teaspoonfuls molasses. Mix and sift flour, soda and salt. Add the bran, molasses and milk ; then egg well beaten. Bake in hot buttered gem pans twenty-five minutes in a moderate oven. RECIPES FOR THE DIABETIC (Fannie M. Farmer) COFFEE WITH EGG Use recipe for boiled coffee. Beat one egg slightly and place in a cup, add coffee gradually stirring all the time to fill the cup. Sweeten with ^4 to^ gram saccharine dissolved in half teaspoonful cold water. CREAM EGG-NOG 1 egg. 1 tablespoon ful cream. % cupful cold water. ^ grain saccharine dissolved in 1 teaspoonful water. Few grains salt. Few grains nutmeg. Beat the egg slightly, add the cream and water, then the dissolved saccharine, salt and nutmeg. 425 THE HOUSEKEEPER GLUTEN MUFFINS 1 cupful Gum Gluten self-raising. 1 cupful milk. Yi teaspoonful salt. Beat the ^gg, and add the milk. Sift the gluten and salt and add gradually to the tgg and milk. Beat thoroughly. Pour into greased muffin tins and bake in a moderate oven. SALT CODFISH WITH CREAM Pick salt codfish into pieces, there should be two table- spoonfuls. Cover with warm water, let soak until soft. Drain, add three tablespoonfuls cream and as soon as hot add the slightly beaten yolk of one ^%%. ASPARAGUS SALAD Drain and rinse four stalks of canned or cooked fresh asparagus. Arrange on lettuce and serve with French Dress- ing. FRENCH DESSERT Yi cupful cream. 1 ^gg white. Few grains salt. Y% teaspoonful vanilla. Fruit. Scald the cream in top of double boiler. Beat the ^gg white until stiff, add the salt, vanilla and cream. Turn into a buttered mold, set in a pan of hot water and bake until firm. Serve with sliced fruit. 426 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXXU TABLE SERVICE Rules for laying the table and all methods of serving have been formulated to bring about neatness, convenience, and order. The occasion, size of the dining room, the num- ber of guests, and the servants, all have to be considered in planning for serving a meal. Therefore the method of serving is governed by conditions. Three styles of table service are in use in American homes. These are known as the Russian, the English, and the American styles. The Russian style of service is the most formal. All food is served from the side table or pantry by the atten- dants, upon whom falls the entire responsibility of the service. Upon the table are placed only decorations and the individual covers and, sometimes, such dishes as olives, nuts, almonds, bon-bons, which may very properly form a portion of the table decorations. This form of service is best adapted for formal dinners and luncheons. It may also be used for all meals by those who care for form and have a full staff of well-trained servants, but it should not be carried out unless there is at least one waitress for each eight persons. The English style of service breathes hospitality rather than formality. It permits personal attention on the part of the host and hostess to the needs of those about them. The food is served from the table, the hostess serving the soup, the salad and the dessert, and the host carving and serving the fish and roast. The vegetables may also be placed upon the table and may be served by some one at the table or passed by the waitress. Except for relishes, bread 427 THE HOUSEKEEPER and butter, and such foods as pertain alike to all courses, only one course appears at a time on the table. Everything pertaining to one course is removed before another course is served. This is the style of service often emploved in homes where no servants, or only one, is kept. The American style of service is a combination of the Russian and the English styles. In some courses, the food (especially if it presents an attractive appearance) is served from the table according to the English custom; in other courses, the food is served in the Russian manner. It is a simpler and more home-like service than the Russian and somewhat more formal than the English. The dining room should be cleaned, aired and dusted. Care should be taken that it is well lighted and that the tem- perature is comfortable, about sixty-eight degrees Fahren- heit. Table Coverings. There are, in general use, two ways of covering the table : one, covering the whole table; that is, using a tablecloth; the other, covering only portions of the table by the use of a center piece and doilies, or a lunch- cloth. Sometimes the tablecloth is used for dinner, and doilies or lunchcloth for the other two meals. The use of small pieces of linen in place of the larger tablecloth is often a great saving of labor. Tablecloths must be ironed when they are very damp, in order to give them a smooth, glossy finish. To iron a three-yard tablecloth well means the work of at least forty-five minutes. When one or two spots are made on the cloth it necessitates washing it, while in the case of doilies, the soiled ones may be removed and others substituted, which means comparatively little w^ork to keep the linen on the table clean. Unless, however, the table is well finished, a tablecloth is preferable. It is correct to use at any meal a cloth that entirely covers the table. But for a breakfast, luncheon or supper, a bare table, carefully polished, may be used wath a luncheon cloth, runners, or doilies placed upon it. If doilies are used, a doily is placed where each plate is to be set. The doilies 428 THE HOUSEKEEPER and the centerpiece should be of the same pattern. The doily on which a hot dish is to be placed should have a flannel lining under it to preserve the polish of the table. If a tablecloth that entirely covers the table is to be used, first place a thick cloth of felt, canton flannel or asbestos to cover the table. This is called the " silence cloth " and not only protects a polished table but prevents noise in set- ting silver and china in place. Put on the tablecloth, folds up, with the center of the cloth in the center of the table, and the folds straight Vk'ith the edge of the table, li possible, have flowers, a ""crn o; plant in the center of the table. Napkins should be folded and placed at the left of the plate. A dinner napkin is folded four times; a luncheon napkin is folded twice to form a square or three times for either a triangle or oblong. The arrangement of the table in general and of each cover in particular is of the utmost importance. All articles should be systematically and regularly placed upon the table and covers should be placed opposite each other. Dishes of olives, celery, radishes, pickles, are sometimes placed upon the table, though they are, as are the nuts, bon- bons, and relishes, more commonly offered at proper times by the waitress. They are often passed between courses. As a general thing, the host and hostess should be seated directly opposite one another and the " covers " arranged symmetrically on either side. The Cover A "cover " is the place at the table for each person and consists of the plate, napkin, glass, silver, and other articles needed for the meal. At least twenty-two inches of space should be allowed for a cover. On formal occasions the " place " or " service " plate which is usually an ordinary dinner plate, is the basis of each cover. 429 THE HOUSEKEEPER The oyster plate and soup plate may be placed in turn upon it and later it is exchanged for the plate upon which the first hot course after the soup is served. llie quantity of china on the table depends upon the occa- sion and style of serving. In any form of service, the first course, if cold should be placed on the table before the guests are seated. If the first course is a hot food, it is always placed upon the table after the guests are seated. For informal occasions, the bread and butter plate is used, this is placed above and a little to the left of the tines of the fork. Glasses are filled three-quarters full and placed just beyond the tip of the knife. A salt and pepper should be placed so as to be convenient for each two covers. If the serving is to be done without a maid, it is advisable to place all of the china (except that which must be kept warm), glass, and silver to be used for the meal either on the table or on the serving table. Setting the Table The silver is placed in the order in which it is to be used beginning with that piece farthest from the plate. All silver is placed one inch from the edge of the table and at right angles to it. The knives are placed at the right of the plate with the sharp edge turned toward the plate; the spoons at the right, outside the knives with the inside of the bowl turned up, the soup spoon being outside the others with the exception of the oyster fork which is placed out- side the knives and spoons at the right. W hen the number of courses is such that little silver is required, all silver may be placed on the table before the meal is announced ; when more than that placed on the table is required it is laid quietly with the course with which it is to be used. The table is not often set with more than three pieces on each side of the plate. It is best to lay dessert spoons and forks and coffee spoons by the plate at the time of serving. All silver should be kept at an ecjual dis- tance from the edge of the table, on a line with the plate and napkin. Bread and butter spreaders, when used may be 430 THE HOUSEKEEPER placed at the right with the other knives, or across the right side of the hread and hutter plate with the blade turned toward the center of the plate. Though bread is not always served on formal occasions, sometimes a roll, a bread stick or a square of bread cut two inches thick is either laid upon the napkin or slipped between the folds of the napkin. At formal dinners the place card is often used for con- venience in seating the guests — a plain card inscribed in the hostess' hand with the name of the person for whom the seat is intended is most often used. These cards may have in the upper left hand corner, or in the center, the mono- gram, or initials of the hostess, or a dainty painting. They are placed upon the napkins. The side table should be laid with care. Extra silver and a napkin like that pertaining to an individual cover — to be used in case of an emergency — are placed on the table. Any other extra china, glass, serving silver or cutlery which mav be rec[uired should be ready on a side table as well as the napkin and tray to be used for crumbing. A napkin for handling hot plates and dishes should be at hand also. Just before the meal is announced see that the glasses are filled and the water pitcher is refilled. Place butter on each bread and butter plate and see that a supply is at hand. See that bread is cut. Serve hot food on warm dishes, cold food on cold dishes. Arrange all dishes in order for each separate course. Place the finger bowls on dessert plates with doilies and fill one-third full before the meal is announced. The guest himself will remove the bowl and doily before the dessert is passed. Have a small tray with a doily ready for passing sugar, cream, and small dishes and for removing salt, peppers and extra silver in clearing the table. General Rules for Serving : Work noiselessly. Never pile dishes. 431 THE HOUSEKEEPER Have a reason for everything you do. Bring in serving dishes first, then the food. Remove the food first, then soiled china and silver, and last clean china and silver. Everything needed only for one course should be removed before serving another course. Crumbs are removed before the dessert course and be- tween other courses if necessary, a clean napkin and plate being used for this purpose. Dishes which admit of choice are passed at the left, held in left hand low enough so that the guest may serve himself easily. This is done so that the guest may con- veniently use his right hand. Dishes which do not admit of choice may be placed from the right but everything may be passed, placed, and re- moved from the left, excepting that drinks which are to be kept at the right side of the plate should always be placed there. When the Russian style of serving is observed, the fol- lowing plan of removing and placing plates at the close of a course is followed : Carry the clean or served plate of the following course in the right hand and go to the left of the guest. Remove the soiled plate of the course just concluded with the left hand and then place the empty or served plate before the guest with the right hand. Then go to the kitchen or pantry with the soiled plate, return with a clean or served plate and proceed as before. In following the English or American style of serving, if the first course is cold it may be on the table when the guests are seated. If the soup is the first course, place the soup plates on the place plates from the right, holding them in the right hand. Next remove the soup plates from the left of the guest (or remove soup and service plate and replace with a hot sen'ing plate). In serving the main course, first place the dish to be sensed (the platter of meat, for example) in front of the host. An 432 THE HOUSEKEEPER empty plate is placed before the host. Next get another clean plate, return to the left of the host, take up the served plate in the left hand and place the empty plate before him. Then go to the left of the guest and exchange the filled plate for place plate, return to side table to leave place plate. Again go to the left of the host, place a plate before him and proceed as before. Serve the hostess first, then the guest at the host's right, then all on that side of the table, then the guest at the left of the host and all on that side. When all the guests have been served to meat take the potatoes in the left hand ( on a napkin ) place a serving spoon and fork in the dish, and pass to each guest at the left. Pass the other vegetables in the same way. Pass vegetables a second time. See that glasses are filled. \Mien are all finished remove the roast; if a carving cloth is used, fold and remove it. Remove the plates as before, re- placing them with salad plates. When all are finished re- move salad plates and bread and butter plates. Remove all silver not used, salts and peppers and relislies, using the tray. Remove every thing from the table except the glasses, nuts or bon-bons. Crumb the table. Place the dessert plates ( with finger bowls ) at each cover. The silver may be placed at the right or may be laid on the plate with the finger bowl. Bring dessert and place before the hostess. Place the serving spoon and fork. Standing at the hostess' left, replace filled dessert plate with an empty one. Serve the guest at right of the host first, exchanging a filled dessert plate for the empty one. Return to the hostess and repeat until all are served. Pass the cake or wafers. The cofi:'ee may be served by the hostess either in the dining room or living room. Refill water glasses by handling from the bottom, draw to edge of table and fill, then put back in place. 433 THE HOUSEKEEPER Number of Courses Two or three courses are enough for every day comfort and heahh. In formal serving, it is good taste not to have too many courses. A first course of grape fruit, fruit or oyster cocktail, a soup, a fish course, or some substitute for it, the main course with meat or fowl, a salad, dessert and coffee are sufficient. The guests of honor sit at the right of the host and hostess. Either the hostess or the guest of honor may be served first. SUGGESTED MENUS BREAKFAST MENUS Hominy with Cream Soft Cooked Eggs Toast Apple Sauce Coffee Orange Scrambled Eggs with Bacon Corn Muffins Coffee Cream of Wheat, Sliced Banana, Top Milk Milk Toast Cocoa Coffee Puffed Rice, Top Milk Broiled Mackerel, Baked Potatoes Toast Coffee Cocoa Cream of Wheat with Dates Corned Beef Hash Popovers Coft'ee Corn Flakes, Top Milk, Bananas Salt Codfish Balls Barley Muffins Coffee 434 THE HOUSEKEEPER Baked Apples Oatmeal, Cream Omelet Popovers Coffee Grape Fruit Wheatena with Cream Creamed Fish Baked Potatoes Corn Cake Coffee Strawberries Farina with Cream Warmed over Lamb Creamed Potatoes Biscuits Griddle Cakes, Maple Syrup Coffee Cantaloupe Pettijohn's with Cream Dried Beef Creamed Hashed Brown Potatoes Baking Powder Biscuits Coffee Sliced Peaches Rolled Oats — Top Milk Hamburg Steak Baked Sweet Potatoes Cinnamon Rolls Coffee Grapes Cracked Wheat with Top Milk Baked Beans Brown Bread Fish Cakes Coffee 435 THE HOUSEKEEPER Baked Bananas Puffed Wheat — Top Milk Creamed Finnan Haddie Boiled Potatoes Twin Mountain Muffins Doughnuts, Coffee Grape Fruit Oatmeal — Top Milk Fried Eggs Ham Baked Potatoes Toasted Graham Bread Coffee Stewed Prunes Cereal with Cream Scrambled Eggs Barley Drop Biscuits Coffee Sliced Bananas Cream of Wheat — Cream Creamed Dried Beef on Toast Coffee Baked Apples Cereal and Cream Fried Bread Maple Syrup Coffee Apples Hominy — Top Milk Bacon Fried Eggs Parker House Rolls Coffee Raspberries Cereal with Cream Boiled Ham Fried Sweet Potatoes Cocoa 436 ^ THE HOUSEKEEPER DINNER MENUS Cream of Corn Soup Croutons Ham Baked in Milk Baked Potato Apple Jelly Lettuce with French Dressing Chocolate Bread Pudding Roast Pork Roasted Brown Sweet Potatoes Boiled Onions Parker House Rolls Snow Pudding Steamed Custard Tomato Soup Lamb Chops Green Peas Mashed Potato Baking Powder Biscuits Banana and Date Dessert Consomme Beef Steak Stuffed Potatoes Baked Squash Chopped Pickle Pineapple, Cheese and Date Salad CofTee Jelly — Whipped Cream Roast Beef Mashed Potato Stewed Tomato Celery, Apple and Nut Salad Parker House Rolls St. James Pudding — Foamy Sauce Ox-Tail Soup Toasted Crackers Meat Loaf Scalloped Potatoes Harvard Beets Grape Jelly Plain Muffins Chocolate Blancmange — Sponge Cake Cream of Celery Soup Brown Stew of Veal Macaroni and Tomato Cinnamon Rolls Apple Brown Betty Sterling Sauce 437 THE HOUSEKEEPER Berkshire Soup Baked Halibut Duchess Potatoes Brussels Sprouts Graham Bread Steamed Chocolate Pudding — Cream Sauce Beef Stew with Dumplings Mustard Pickles Stuffed Tomato Salad — Hot Cross Buns Strawberry Shortcake Tomato Bisque Broiled Mackerel Scalloped Potato with Cheese Lettuce Salad Crackers Strawberry Ice Cream Chocolate Cookies Cream of Corn Soup Broiled Ham Spinach Glazed Sweet Potatoes Bread Pudding Lemon Sauce Bean Soup Salmon Loaf Egg Sauce Baked Potatoes Carrots and Peas Bread Tapioca Cream Roast Chicken Stuffed Potatoes Boiled Onions Cranberry Jelly Mashed Turnips Pineapple and Cheese Salad Caramel Ice Cream Sunshine Cake Coffee Chicken Soup Tournadoes of Lamb Mashed Potatoes String Beans Corn Fritters Orange Sponge Orange Cake 438 THE HOUSEKEEPER Cream of Pea Soup Stuffed Shoulder of Mutton Baked Potatoes Asparagus on Toast Grape Conserve Date Custard Mullagatawny Soup Sausages Boiled Potatoes Scalloped Cabbage Cocoanut Pudding Potato Soup Crisp Crackers American Chop Suey French Fried Potatoes Dressed Lettuce Cinnamon Rolls Apple Tapioca Hamburg Steak Succotash Mashed Potatoes Parker House Rolls Rhubarb Conserve Cornmeal Fruit Pudding Halves of Grapefruit Roast Beef Roasted Brown Potatoes Scalloped Tomato Nut Bread Dressed Lettuce Strawberry Sponge Sour Cream Cakes Fruit Cup Lamb Chops Green Peas Scalloped Potato with Cheese Vegetable Salad Lemon Jelly Honey Drop Cookies MENU FOR FORMAL DINNER Oyster Cocktail Jellied Consomme Cheese Crackers Olives Celery Creamed Halibut in Pattie Shells Roast Lamb Mint Sauce Mashed Potatoes Green Peas Lettuce French Dressing 439 THE HOUSEKEEPER Caramel Ice Cream Fancy Cakes Mints Crackers Cheese Cafe Noir EVENING RECEPTION Jellied Bouillon Tiny Sandwiches Chicken Salad Rolls Macaroon Ice Cream Lady Fingers Coffee Consomme Bread Sticks Oyster Patties Coffee Concord Mousse Little Cakes Fruit Punch Chicken Patties Coffee Graham Bread Sandwiches Cafe Parfait Macaroons LUNCHEON OR SUPPER MENUS Rice Croquettes Tomato Sauce Entire Wheat Bread Apple Porcupine Apple Sauce Cake Creamed Chicken on Toast Lettuce and Cucumber Salad Orange Jelly Chocolate Cookies Fish Chowder Crisp Crackers Popovers Cocoa Baked Pears Hermits Ham Timbales Baked Macaroni Date Muffins Fruit Salad Crackers Lobster a la Newburg Rolls Raspberries and Cream IMarguerites Tea 440 THE HOUSEKEEPER Salmon Croquettes Cucumber Sandwiches Strawberries and Cream Spanish Cake Chicken Salad Twin Mountain Muffins Gingerbread and Whipped Cream Cofifee Baked Beans Brown Bread Chopped Pickle Canned Cherries Devil's Food Cake Oyster Stew Dry Toast Pickles Norwegian Prune Pudding — Custard Sauce Cold Sliced Corned Beef Scalloped Corn Bread Currant Jelly Date Cake Cofifee Scalloped Potato with Cheese Corn Mufifins Cranberry Conserve Tea Cocoa Cake Beef Stew with Dumpling Sliced Oranges Ginger Puffs Banana and Nut Salad Parker House Rolls Graham Pudding Cream Sauce Split Pea Soup Crackers Egg Salad Bread Sliced Peaches Cocoa Scalloped Oysters Pickles Rolls Squash Pie Cheese Meat Turnovers Graham Mufifins Pineapple and Cheese Salad Strawberries and Cream 441 THE HOUSEKEEPER Baked Sweet Potatoes Boiled Tongue Apple Pie Tea Tuna Fish Salad Potato Chips Chopped Pickle Blueberry Pudding Toasted Cheese Sandwich Cocoa Sliced Oranges and Bananas Pecan Cakes 1 442 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXXHI FOODS The choice, care, preparation and serving of food are topics of vital interest to every homemaker. Until within the last few years experience — as represented by the prac- tice of the best housekeepers — has been the chief source of information on these subjects, and such experience is in many respects a good and safe guide. But many scientific investigations as to the composition and nutritive value of food have been carried out so that we now have much authoritative knowledge on the subject. NEEDS OF THE HUMAN BODY The human body has often been compared to a steam en- gine in which the food we eat takes the part of fuel. This comparison is partly true, but is inadec|uate. A steam en- gine gradually wears out with use. Then the worn or broken parts must be replaced from some source without it- self. The human body also wears away, but — unlike the steam engine — it has the power of rebuilding its own parts from the fuel (food) which it consumes. It can also bring about certain chemical changes whereby its fuel (food) is converted into new forms either for immediate use or for storage within the body against future needs. Hence the value of food depends in part upon its capacity to produce needed heat and energy, and in part upon its capacity to supply material for growth and repair of body waste. Food is any substance which, when taken into the body, supplies it with energy or builds tissue. Foods are oxidized or burned in the body and that oxidation produces energy. They produce just as much energy when burned in the body as fat or sugar would produce if burned in a stove. The 443 THE HOUSEKEEPER energy produced in the body by the oxidation of foods is used to maintain the normal temperature of the body; to carry on the vital processes, — as digestion, circulation, respiration ; and for work and activity. The body is made up of a collection of cells, and groups of these cells, having special functions, make up the tissues and organs of the body. The cells and tissues of the body are being constantly worn out. and new ones must be built up from the food taken into the body. The oxidation of food and cells in the body constitutes the vital process called life. The cells and tissues contain nitrogen and hence the only foods that will build tissues are those which contain nitro- gen. A food which contains carbon will yield heat and energy when oxidized. Foods are grouped into five classes — proteins, carbohy- drates, fats and oils, mineral matter and water. Many foods contain most of the constituents named above ; some few. such as sugar and oil, contain only one. The same chemical elements which are found in the body are found in the food which is necessary to growth and maintenance of life. The wise selection of food is based upon a consideration of its composition, its ease and com- pleteness of digestion, its cost, and palatability. CARBOHYDRATES The carbohydrates are the most important constituents of our foods in point of bulk. The well-known carbohydrates are sugars, starches, and cellulose. The carbohydrates are found in the plant kingdom with very few exceptions, such as lactose in milk and glycogen in the body. Starch occurs more abundantly in vegetables than in fruits, and sugar is found in both. A woody substance, cellulose, forms the framework of the plant. Cellulose because of its bulk is an 444 THE HOUSEKEEPER aid in digestion. Starch and sugar are both valuable foods • they do not build the tissues of the body, but they furnish energy. Since plant foods are less expensive than animal foods, the carbohydrates are generally less expensive than proteins and fats. FATS There are many substances chemically related which are known as fats. Those which are licjuids at ordinary tem- peratures are called oils. Fats, like carbohydrates, yield energy and are frequently stored in considerable cjuantity in the body. Weight for weight, the fats yield two and a quarter times the energy that carbohydrates or proteins do. Fats are highly concentrated foods and are obtained from both plant and animal sources. The common animal sources are cream, butter, and fat of meat, and the common vegetable fats are olive oil, cottonseed oil, and the fat of nuts. Fat from most sources is expensive. PROTEINS The term "protein" includes a group of substances chemi- cally related, and all containing nitrogen. Some of the well-known members of the protein group are gluten of wheat, albumen of egg and meat, casein of milk, legumin of peas and beans. Protein is derived from both plant and animal sources. Some plant foods rich in protein are wheat, corn, oats, peas, beans, peanuts, lentils, and nuts. The animal sources of proteins are meat, milk, eggs, and cheese. Plant foods are cheaper than animal foods, and consequently they are a cheaper source of protein. Protein, like fat and carbohydrate, may serve as a source of energy to the body, but it differs from these in that it also builds tissue which is its chief office. Although protein is very necessary in the diet, it should 445 THE HOUSEKEEPER not be eaten in too great quantities for its excessive use may overtax the organs of excretion. Heavy eating, and par- ticularly heavy eating of meat, may easily furnish more protein than is desirable. WATER Water furnishes the fluid necessary for the body and en- ters into the composition of all the tissues. Approximately two-thirds of the weight of the body is water, consequently the supply must be liberal. All foods contain water. Fruit green vegetables and milk are especially high in water con- tent, but the body needs more than occurs in the food, and water should be freely used as a beverage. MINERAL MATTER The body contains several pounds of mineral matter, the bulk of which is in the bones and teeth. Some mineral salts are in solution in the body fluids, and some are found in other body tissues. Mineral matter occurs in practically all our foods, both plant and animal, but it varies in amount and kind. While a freely chosen, normal diet may contain enough mineral matter to supply the demands of the body, it is not always in the form or amounts needed. Fruit and vegetables are especially valued for their mineral content. The outer coats of the cereal grains, so often discarded, are also rich in mineral matter. Care is necessary, especially with children, to provide foods supplying mineral. * Vitaniincs are certain newly discovered substances in very small amounts, which are believed to play an important part in keeping people well and in promoting the growth of child- ren. Without milk in the diet some of these substances, par- ticularly those necessary for children, would be lacking, and without meat, milk, eggs, fruits, and vegetables others needed by persons of all ages might not be present in suffi- cient amounts. (^Extract from Farmers' Bulletin No. 808, "How to Select Foods : What the Body Xeeds.") 446 THE HOUSEKEEPER Flavoring and condiments. In most families some ma- terials are used in preparing or serving food which add to the attractiveness of the meals without furnishing the body any nourishment. Among these are salt, pepper, vinegar, lemon juice, spices, seasoning herbs, horse-radish, flavoring extracts, and many other materials often spoken of as "con- diments." These are not discussed at length, because they are not absolutely needed by the body. They may, how- ever, be very useful in making an otherwise unattractive diet taste good. In fact, the secret of making inexpensive meals attractive lies largely in the skillful use of seasoning and flavors, and in this way they may be worth the cost they add to the diet even if they do not increase its actual food value. Any kind of food contains one or more of the substances just described, and they are combined in as many different ways as there are kinds of food. A satisfactory diet con- tains all of them and each in its proper proportion, and the problem of planning meals is, really that of choosing foods which will do this. Food Wastes. The relation between the cost of food and its actual value to supply bodily needs is affected by at least three different kinds of wastes. These dift'er greatly in different kinds of food. They are among the things which should be most carefully studied by the housewife. There is considerable loss between some kinds of foods as pur- chased and as cooked or served. Familiar examples are the shells of eggs, skins and seeds of fruit and vegetables, bones and offal of meat, and the like. These are commonly known as refuse. Some are of no value since they are wholly in- digestible ( for example egg shells ) . Others may be utilized in various ways, as meat bones, which may be used for soup stock. A second kind of waste is that caused by cooking. This is less important since, in most cases, it cannot be helped. But with some of the more expensive kinds of food, the 447 THE HOUSEKEEPER choice among methods of cookery may be affected by the fact that some ways are more economical than others. A third waste is due to the fact that a part of the food actually eaten is not taken up into the lymph and blood channels, but passes through the digestive tract and is ex- creted from the body. This is not "available" to digestion. The products which finally reach the blood are called nutritive material or nutrients. DIGESTION, ASSIMILATION, AND EXCRETION* "We live not upon what we eat. but upon what we di- gest." Food as we buy it in the market, or even as we eat it, is not usually in condition to be made into body structure or used as body fuel. It must first go through a series of chemical changes by what is called digestion, which prepare it to be absorbed, taken into the blood and lymph, and car- ried to the parts of the body, where it is needed. Digestion takes place in the alimentary canal, partly in the stomach, but more in the intestine. As the result, the useless por- tions are separated and rejected, while the parts which can serve for nutriment are changed into forms in which they can be absorbed, taken into the circulation, and utilized. DIGESTION The alterations which tlie food undergoes in digestion are brought about by substances called ferments, which are secreted by the digestive organs. The saliva in the mouth has the power of changing insoluble starches into soluble sugar, but as the food stays in the mouth only a short time, there is generally little chance for such action. The saliva, however, helps to fit the food to be more easily worked on by the stomach. The gastric juice of the stomach acts upon protein, and the pancreatic juice in the intestine upon protein, fats, and carbohydrates. The action of all the fer- ments is aided by the fine division of the food by chewing *Extract from Farmers' Bulletin Xo. 142, "Principles of Nutrition and the Nutritive \'alue of Foods." 448 THE HOUSEKEEPER and by the mitscular contractions, the so-called peristaltic action, of the stomach and intestine. These latter motions help to mix the digestive juices and their ferments with the food. The parts of the food which the digestive juices can not dissolve, and which therefore escape digestion, are periodi- cally given off by the intestine. Such solid excreta, or feces, include not only the particles of undigested food, but also the so-called metabolic products, i. e., residues of the digestive juices, bits of the lining of the alimentary canal, etc. ABSORPTION AND ASSIMILATION The digested food finds its way through the walls of the alimentary canal, and at this time and later it undergoes remarkable chemical changes. When finally the blood, sup- plied with the nutrients of the digested food and freighted with oxygen from the lungs, is pumped from the heart all over the body it is ready to furnish the organs and tissues with the materials and energy which they need for their peculiar functions ; at the same time it carries away the waste which the exercise of these functions has produced. It is a characteristic of living tissue that it can choose the necessary materials from the blood and build them into its own structure. How it does this is one of the mysteries of physiology. The body, as we have learned, has also the power of consuming not only the materials of the food, but also parts of its own structure for the production of muscu- lar work, or heat, or to protect more important parts from consumption. How it does this is another mystery, still to be explained. 449 THE HOUSEKEEPER HOW TO SELECT FOODS^ Grouping Foods to Show Their Uses Perhaps as easy a way as any to select the right foods is to group the different kinds according to their uses in the body and then to make sure that all the groups are repre- sented regularly in the meals. Fortunately no more than five groups need be considered : ( 1 ) Fruits and vegetables ; ( 2 ) meats and other protein-rich foods ; ( 3 ) cereals and other starchy foods; (4) sweets ; and (5) fatty foods. The materials under each of these heads have their special uses. It will be helpful, therefore, for the housekeeper to form the habit of thinking of the many different kinds of food which she handles as grouped in some such way as the following : Group 1. — Fruits and vegetables, such as apples, bananas, berries, citrus fruits, spinach and other greens, turnips, to- matoes, melons, cabbage, green beans, green peas, green corn, and many other vegetables and fruits. Without these the food would be lacking in mineral substances needed for building the body and keeping it in good working condition ; in acids which give flavor, prevent constipation, and serve other useful purposes ; and in minute cjuantities of other sub- stances needed for health. By giving bulk to the diet they make it more satisfying to the appetite. Group 2. — Meat and meat substitutes, or protein-rich foods : Moderately fat meats, milk, poultry, fish, cheese, eggs, dried legumes (beans, peas, lentils, cowpeas, peanuts), and some of the nuts. These are sources of an important body-building material, protein. In the case of children part of the protein food should always be whole milk. Group 3. — Foods rich in starch: Cereals (wheat, rice, rye, barley, oats, and corn) and potatoes (white and sweet). Cereals come near to being complete foods, and in most diets they supply more of the nourishment than anv other kind of food. It is not safe, however, to live only on cereals. The grains may be simply cleaned and partially *Extract from Farmers' Bulletin Xo. 808. "How to Select Foods: What the Bodv Needs." 450 THE HOUSEKEEPER husked before cooking, as in cracked wheat and Scotch oat- meal ; they may be ground into flour and used as the basis of breads, cakes, pastry, etc. ; or they may be partially cooked at the factory, as in many breakfast preparations ; or they may be prepared in the form of such pastes as macaroni, noodles, etc. In all these forms they furnish the body with the same general materials, though in different proportions. Group 4. — Sugar (granulated, pulverized, brown, and maple), honey, molasses, syrup, and other sweets. Unless some of the fuel is in this form the diet is likely to be lack- ing in flavor. Group 5. — Foods very rich in fat : Bacon, salt pork, butter, oil, suet, lard, cream, etc. These are important sources of body fuel. \Mthout a little of them the food would not be rich enough to taste good. Some food materials really belong in more than one group. Cereals, for example, supply protein as well as starch ; potatoes supply starch as well as the mineral mat- ters, acids, cellulose, and body-regulating substances, for which they are especially valuable; and most meat supplies fat as well as protein. For the sake of simplicity, how- ever, each material is here grouped according to the nutrient for which it is usually considered most valuable. The lists given below show some of the common food materials arranged in these five groups. If the house- keeper will consult them in planning meals until she has learned where each kind of food belongs, she will have taken the first step toward providing a diet which will supply all the food needs of her family. It will be only one step, to be sure, but it should prevent two mistakes — that of serving meals that have not sufficient variety, and that of 451 THE HOUSEKEEPER cutting down in the wrong places when economy either of time or money is needed : Group 1. — Foods depended on for mineral matters, vegetable acids, and body-regulating substances. Fruits Vegetables Apples, pears, etc. Salads — lettuce, celery.etc. Bananas Potherbs or "greens" Berries Potatoes and root veg- Melons etables Oranges, lemons, etc. Green peas, beans, etc. Etc. Tomatoes, squash, etc. Etc. Group 2. — Foods depended on for protein. Milk, skim milk, cheese, Fish etc. Dried peas, beans, cow- Eggs • peas, etc. Meat Nuts Poultry Group 3. Foods depended on for starch. Cereal grains, meals, Macaroni and other pastes flours, etc. Cakes, cookies, starchy Cereal breakfast foods puddings, etc. Bread Potatoes and other starchy Crackers vegetables Group 4. — Foods depended on for sugar. Sugar Fruits preserved in sugar, Molasses jellies, and dried fruits Sirups Sweet cakes and desserts Honey Candies Group 5. — Foods depended on for fat. Butter and cream Salt pork and bacon Lard, suet, and other Table and salad oils cooking fats 452 THE HOUSEKEEPER Thinking of foods according to the group to which they belong or according to the nutrient which they supply in largest amount will help the housekeeper to see whether in the meals she plans she has supplied all the different materials needed, especially whether there is the necessary, though small, amount of tissue-building mineral matters and body-regulating materials (group 1), and of tissue-building protein (group 2). When she has made sure that these are present, she may safely build up the bulk of the diet from whatever materials from the other groups seem economical, wholesome, and appetizing. By means of this grouping she will be reminded that meals consisting only of cereal mush (group 3) served with butter (group 5) and sirup (group 4) would not be complete ration, and would almost surely be lacking in body-building material, because there are no foods from either group 1 (fruits and vegetables) or group 2 (protein rich). It will become clear, also, that a school lunch of a kind far too frequently served, consisting of bread and cake, is lacking in the same way, and that a glass of milk (group 2) and an apple or an orange (group 1) would make it far more nearly complete. She will learn the wisdom of serving fruit (group 1) rather than a whipped cream dessert (group 5) or a suet pudding (groups 3 and 5) after a course including a generous portion of fat meat (groups 2 and 5). The grouping will also help the housekeeper who wishes to save money or time to simplify her meals without making them one-sided or incomplete. For example, if she has been serving bread, potatoes, and rice or hominy in one meal, she will see that one or even two of them may be left out without omitting any important nutrient, providing a reasonable cjuantity of the one or two remaining is eaten. It will show her that a custard which is made of milk and eggs, two foods from group 2, would hardly be needed after a meal in which a liberal supply of meat had been served, provided one ate heartily of all, and that a child does not need milk at the same meal with an egg or meat. It will 453 THE HOUSEKEEPER suggest that baked beans or other legumes, or thick soups made of legumes, are substitutes for meat rather than foods to be eaten with meat. This method of planning prevents substituting one food for another which has an entirely dififerent use. It prevents the housekeeper, for example, from trying to give a pleasant variety by using an extra amount of cakes or sweet desserts in the place of fruit and vegetables when the latter seem dif- ficult to obtain. Sugar is nutritious and has a valuable place in the diet, but the nourishment it furnishes is fuel and not the body-building and body-regulating materials which are found in fruits and vegetables, and it is not safe to cut them out, even if the meals can be made attractive without them. Fortunately, they are not always so hard to obtain as it seems, and the wise housekeeper will make every effort to supply them. In general, economy within each group is safer than using an inexpensive food from one group in place of an expensive one from another group. Thinking in terms of these groups will also help when laying in supplies. Dried peas and beans and dried fish, canned fish, and meat, and some kinds of cheese keep for a long time and can be used in place of fresh meat in an emergency. Fruits and vegetables put up when they are abundant will help to supply this important group in winter. Farm women can look even farther ahead, and often can plan to raise a variety of foods for use when it is difficult to buy at reasonable prices ; for example, enough beans to give the family a generous supply. Though navy beans have been most largely used in this country, there are many other good and easily grown kinds that can be chosen to give variety. In the South cowpeas should not be overlooked. If sugar is high in price honey can be produced, and home- made or purchased sorghum, maple, or cane sirup can be used. 454 THE HOUSEKEEPER HOW TO TELL WHETHER OR NOT THE DIET IS ADEQUATE It is very hard for a housekeeper to know exactly how much of each of the food substances or nutrients her family needs or exactly how much of each set she is giving them. The exact amount which eacli person needs depends upon age, sex, size, and amount of work done with the muscles. An elderly person, or one of quiet habits, needs less food than a vigorous, young one ; a large person more than a small one ; a man more than a woman ; grown persons more than children ; and a farmer working in the hayfield, a mechanic, or a football player more than a man who sits at his desk all day. In order to calculate exacdy how much starch, sugar, fat, protein, etc. (or, what is equivalent to this, how much protein and energy ) the family needs one would have to know exactly how much muscular work each member was performing and also exactly how much of the different nu- trients each food contained and exactly how much each per- son would eat. This, of course, would mean a great deal of figuring. Fortunately, such exactness is not necessary in ordinary life. If a little too much or too little of one nutrient is provided at a single meal or on a single day a healthy body does not suffer, because it has ways of storing such a surplus and of using its stored material in an emergency. The danger would come if the diet taken week in and week out always provided too much or too little of some one nutrient. Against this danger the housekeeper can more easily protect her family. Habit and custom help greatly, because they usually are based on what the experience of generations has proved is wise and healthful, though, of course, there are bad habits and outgrown customs in food as in everything else. Good food habits, it must be remembered, include more than cleanliness and order in everything that has to do with food and meals and leisurely ways of eating. Equally important are a liking for all kinds of wholesome foods, even if they 455 THE HOUSEKEEPER have not always been used in one's home or neighborhood, and eating reasonable amounts, without being either greedv or overdainty. Every effort should be made to train chil- dren in such good food habits. If older people have not learned them, they, too, should try to do so, for this is very important not only to health, but also to economy. To refuse to eat some wholesome dish simply because one is not accustomed to it may prevent the use of some very desirable and economical food. To feel that there is any virtue in providing more food than is needed shows poor taste as well as poor economy." It is a great help in planning food for the family group if the meals can be standardized. This standard will have to be determined for each family according to its activity and needs. If the adults are all sedentary, and have ample noon meals, breakfast may be very light or light, (see table below for suggestions). If, however, the workers take a light luncheon at noon, they should have a medium breakfast. If the family are engaged in active muscular exercise the breakfast should be heavy. In a similar way the other meals for the day may be planned. BREAKFAST Very Light Fruit Some kind of bread toast or rolls Beverage ( c o flf cocoa or milk) as ce, Light Fruit Cereal Bread Beverage Medium Fruit Cereal Eggs or meat Bread Beverage Heavy Fruit Cereal Eggs or meat One other hot dish Bread Beverage LUNCHEON Cocoa or Soup Sandwiches \ Hot dish Bread, butter Dessert or Soup Hot dish Bread, butter One or two hot dishes Bread, butter Beverage Dessert Beverage Dessert (sub- stantial) 456 THE HOUSEKEEPER Meat Vegetable Bread and Butter Dessert DINNER Meat Green Vegetables Vegetables Bread and Butter Dessert Soup Meat Green Vegetable Starchy Vegetable Bread and Butter Dessert The sedentary worker eating at a table with active work- ers can pass by the extra dishes and confine himself to the light or medium type of meal. Thus one table may be made to serve all. 457 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXXIV FIRST AID It is better and easier to prevent disease than to cure it. Most of the sickness of today is preventable and due prim- arily to carelessness in living habits. Health depends upon strict adherence to a few simple rules. Plenty of fresh air, a sane and simple diet and regular exercise, combined with a care-free state of mind are the secrets of a nomal, healthy life. They are so simple that people overlook them. Every one knows that a doctor, as he has given years to studying the subject, is best qualified to care for the ill and injured, but accidents and sudden illness often occur where the services of a physician cannot be immediately obtained. The necessary delay may cause serious results. Everv one should know the principles of first aid, for it is a valuable form of insurance. Knowledge of first aid enables one to put the patient into the doctor's hands in the best possible condition, and also to recognize the severity of an injury so that prompt treatment may follow. Treatment except for minor cases of injury or illness and care of the injured is not first aid and should not be prac- ticed without consulting a physician. Prevention is better than cure in injury as well as disease and it is the duty of every person to practice every precau- tion for preventing accident. GENERAL DIRECTIONS In case of injury keep all persons away from the patient except those required to help. Give the patient plentv of air. Be calm and do not be hurried. In giving first aid it is as necessary to know what not to do as what to do. It is 458 THE HOUSEKEEPER usually best to send for a doctor immediately and let him care for the injury from the first, but it would be foolish to wait for a doctor if there were danger of death from bleeding. Remember that if there is any doubt in your mind as to the severity of the injury it is best to consult a doctor for in- juries which apparently are trivial may sometimes, if not promptly treated, cause serious results. Loosen any tight clothing and get the patient into a com- fortable position, usually on the back with the head low. With a flushed face the head may be raised on a small pil- low, with a pale face, it should not the raised at all. Unconscious persons cannot swallow and so should not be given water, stimulant, etc., as these will choke them by entering the wind pipe. Before moving a person from the place where his accident occurs be sure that he is not going to be injured further by moving. Cold water may be given with safety. Stimulants are often given, but are not necessary for every case and should never be given in injuries of the head. Use aromatic spirits of ammonia as a stimulant in preference to any alcoholic liquor. Small quantities of liquor act as a stimulant, large ones are depressing. In cases of injury it is generally necessary to remove clothing. This is likely to be painful and should be done as carefully as possible. Rip up seams of outside clothing and cut or tear underclothing. When there are several injuries the most severe should be cared for first. . SHOCK More or less shock is caused by all injuries and should be treated if necessary. "Shock is more or less profound de- pression of the nervous system." Symptoms of shock — face is pale, eyelids droop, eyes are dull and pupils are large, the skin is cold and moist. The injured person is more or 459 THE HOUSEKEEPER less stupid and may be partly or totally unconscious, breath- ing is feeble, pulse is rapid and weak. Warm and stimulate the person in every way before the arrival of the doctor. Place patient on back with head lov,'. Give hot coffee or tea or half a teaspoonful of aromatic spirits of ammonia in half a glass of water. Keep the patient warm, place hot water bottles around him, rub his arms and legs to quicken the circulation. The symptoms of severe bleeding are very like shock and if shock only is treated in such a case and the bleeding is not checked serious results may follow. Bandages — The triangular bandage is best suited for gen- eral first aid. as it can be easily made and applied and is not likely to be put on too tightly. The bandage is made from cloth about one yard square, is folded diagonally and cut across the fold, making two bandages. It may be applied unfolded or folded. To fold — the point of the triangle is brought to the middle of the opposite side and the bandage is folded lengthwise to the desired width. Triangular bandages are usually fastened by tying the ends securely or they may be pinned with small safety pins. Knots should be placed where they do not cause discomfort. Care must be taken that the bandage is not put on too tightly, but it should be put on firmly. In bandaging a limb, leave the tips of fingers or of the toes uncovered. Place part to be bandaged in the position in which it is to be left, as change of position may result in cutting ofif circulation by drawing the bandage too tight. TREATMENT FOR STRAINS Strains are caused by overstretching the muscles, blood vessels in the muscles may be broken so that blood escapes into the muscles in the same way that with a bruise blood escapes into the subcutaneous tissue. Alcohol and water, witch-hazel or arnica may be rubbed on to deaden the pain. 460 THE HOUSEKEEPER TREATMENT FOR SPRAINS "Sprains result from stretching, twisting, and partial breaking of the ligaments about a joint." For severe sprains call a doctor; keep the patient quiet, elevate the injured joint and apply cloths wrung out in hot water. For hot applications have two or three towels in service. While one is applied to the wound, the other is made ready; the removal of the one being followed immedi- ately by the application of the other. In this way the hot water is kept on the bruised parts continuously, giving the best results. The next step is absolute rest. The part should be band- aged in such a way that it is kept absolutely quiet. Fre- quent bathing with tincture of arnica, or witch-hazel, will assist in reducing the swelling and promoting absorption. FRACTURE Send for a doctor and treat for shock. Keep the patient quiet so that there will be no danger of the sharp edges of the broken bone puncturing the skin. If the patient must be moved a little to make him comfortable, the broken bone should be firmly supported by the hands, placing the hands on each side of the break so that the bone w411 not bend. WOUNDS Wounds are injuries in which the skin is broken. The outside layer of the skin protects the body from the en- trance of pus germs, the small parasites which cause in- flammation, matter or pus and blood poisoning. Pus germs are found on the surface of our bodies on knives and other objects which cause wounds, in the dust of houses, in water, etc., but they do not float about in the air. There is no danger from them in exposing a wound to the air. If pus germs do not enter a wound, there is no inflamma- tion and it will heal quickly, but if the wound is infected by 461 THE HOUSEKEEPER pus germs inflammation will follow, more or less matter will form and blood poison even may result. If only a few pus germs are carried into the body certain cells will dispose of the germs and no harm will result, while the blood from the injury will often wash out the germs and the cells and dis- pose of those that are left. Therefore a wound which bleeds freely is not likely to prove so dangerous. Every precaution must be taken to keep the wound and everything which comes in contact with it in an antiseptic condition. KINDS OF WOUNDS There are three varieties of wounds, — the cut wound, made by a sharp instrument, the skin and tissues are cleanly divided and there is likely to be severe bleeeding. Torn wound in which the tissues are torn as from the blow of a blunt instrument. Dirt is apt to be ground into the tissues and inflammation may follow. Punctured wounds are deep small wounds as from a bayonet or bullet. Infection is common as pus germs may increase rapidly in them. Send for a doctor and treat for shock. Do not allow clothing to touch the wound ; exposure to the air is much safer than the application of anything which is not surgically clean. If you have an antiseptic dressing, apply it at once. Water contains pus germs and so should not be used. Strong antiseptics as carbolic acid will destroy the cells of the tissues, peroxide is not strong enough to kill germs and may wash them into unaffected parts. Therefore do not use these but cover the wound to keep out pus germs. For slight cuts or scratches, peroxide may be used before dressing — do not use plaster as this seals in any germs that are present. If the head be injured, the patient should lie down with the head resting upon a pillow or cushion covered with a clean towel, taking care that the injured part be kept from contact with surrounding articles. 462 THE HOUSEKEEPER If the arm l)e injured, it should, as a rule, be brought across in front of the chest and supported in a sling. H the lower limb be wounded, it may be supported in a comfortable portion by resting upon a cushion or blanket. In wounds of the chest, the head and shoulders should be raised by one or more pillows until the patient is able to breathe comfortably. If the abdomen be wounded, the patient should be made to lie down, with his knees drawn up, and turned over toward the uninjured side ; or upon the back if the wound be in front. Before dressing the wound the nails should be thor- oughly cleansed with a brush and rings removed from the fingers. After cleansing the hands, do not touch anything not al)Solutely clean. BLEEDING To stop a hemorrhage, it is necessary to know that blood comes from two sources, arteries and veins. It must also be remembered that blood in an artery comes from the heart, and that blood in a vein is on its way to the heart. Thus, in stopping the l)leeding from an artery, pres- sure must be made between the heart and the wound, while in bleeding from a vein pressure must be made on the distant side of the wound. It is not difficult to determine whether the bleeding is from an artery or a vein, as in an artery the blood spurts and pulsates, while blood from a vein oozes and flows with- out pulsation in a steady stream. Bleeding from an artery, especially one of considerable size, is very serious, and prompt efforts must be made to stop it. Genteral Rules eor Treatment Send for a physician immediately. Have the injured person lie down and elevate the wounded part. This can be done readily if an arm or leg is affected. Remove cloth- ing from the affected part — it may be necessary to cut it 463 THE HOUSEKEEPER off. Keep the patient as quiet as possible. Apply pressure directly upon the bleeding point by pressing the finger, covered with gauze, upon it. H the bleeding is fro.n an artery, make pressure above the wound, that is, between it and the heart. This can be done with an elastic band or tightly wound bandages. In severe cases a tourniquet must be used. This can be made by first strapping the limb with a bandage, making a knot in it, which should be placed at a point above the wound directly over the artery supplying the bleeding point. The artery can be located with the index finger, as its pulsa- tions can be detected. When the knot is made, a loop should be also directly over it, through which a small stick can be placed. This can be twisted, and thus pressure is brought to bear upon "the artery until the bleeding ceases. The bleeding point must be watched in the event that the flow may recur. Such a tourniquet must not be left on the arm or leg for too long a time. In minor wounds the bleed- ing will be arrested in 15 to 20 minutes, when the pressure can be reduced. In severe cases of bleeding, apply cold by means of ice bandages; in ordinary bleeding pressure by means of gauze upon the wound is sufficient to stop it. In excessive bleeding, general treatment of the patient is necessarv. The patient may faint or become very weak. In the latter case heat should be applied to the extremities and the patient kept warm by wrapping in blankets. NOSEBLEED Place patient in a chair with his head hanging back. Place a cloth wrung in cold water at the back of the neck. Use one teaspoonful salt to one cupful water and snuff this liquid up the nose. Packing the nose with gauze usually is effective in severe cases. If bleeding continues, summon a physician. 464 THE HOUSEKEEPER BURNS Reddening of skin. Exclude the air by applying thin paste of water and a liberal amount of baking soda. Apply any oil, such as olive oil, sweet oil, fresh lard, unsalted butter, vaseline, etc. One of the best oils to use is a solution of equal parts of linseed oil and limew^ater. One of these substances should be smeared on a cloth to cover the burn. Cover the wound with cotton or some soft material. If the wound is wet, always see to it that oil has been used freely before using cotton, as when dry the latter will stick and reopen the burned surface when an attempt is made to remove it. Burns caused by acids should be thoroughly washed with water, then with a solution of baking soda and water, and then treated like an ordinary burn. Burns caused by alkalies, such as caustic potash, caustic soda, or ammonia, should be washed with vinegar or some other dilute acid, when blisters have formed treat as for other burns but if the blistering is extensive it is best to show the injury to a doctor. For severe burns. — These recjuire the prompt attention oi a [)h}'sician. h'irst remove the clothing by cutting it av.ay with a pair of scissors. If it sticks, do not pull it off, buit saturate it with oil. Cover severe burns as ijuicklv as possible, so as to exclude the air. An application should be ready to apply immediately. The bicarbonate of soda and oils are best applied by dipping cloths into them, ointments by spreading on cloths and then applying. In burns of the mouth or throat, apply the oil or white of an tgg by drinking them. If caused by chemicals, the mouth and throat should be rinsed by the proper antidote — vinegar or dilute acid in case of caustic soda, potash, ammonia, or lye, and a solution of baking soda for acid burns. 465 THE H O U S E K E E P E i< A person whose clothing is burning should be made to lie down — if necessary, thrown down — as the tendency of the flames is to rise upward. When the patient is lying dow'n the flames have less to feed on. and there is not so much danger of their reaching the face or of the patient inhaling the fumes. The person should be quickly wrapped in a shawl or blanket and the fire smothered by pressing on the burning part. SUNSTROKE The attack is usually preceded by giddiness, weakness, and nausea; eyes bloodshot and contracted; skin hot and dry ; subject unconscious, breathing quick and loud ; heart rapid and tumultuous. Treatment Place the patient on his back in a cool place with the head raised. The chief object is to reduce the excessive heat. Bags of cracked ice may be applied to the head and under armpits. The patient should be wrapped in cold sheets or placed in a tub containing cold water. Continue until patient is conscious or the heat greatly diminished. If this is done the patient must be rubbed continually to prevent shock and to bring blood to the surface. When consciousness returns the patient may be allowed to drink cold water freely. FAINTING Due to lack of blood to the brain. Caused by weakness as in recovering from illness, some people faint easily. Treatment Lay the patient on his back. If the face is white and bloodless, have his head low^er than his body. Let him have plenty of fresh air. Loosen the clothing. Apply cold water to the face. This in most cases will bring a return to consciousness. Aromatic spirits of ammonia is a good 466 THE HOUSEKEEPER thing to use as a smelling salts and to give internally when consciousness returns. The above treatment is applicable in all cases of simple tainting due to weakness, mental emotions, and close, warm atmosphere of crowds. In the event of fainting from shock following an accident, there may be more marked symptoms, such as coldness of the skin, dilation of the pupils, and weak heart action. In addition to the above treatment, the skin should be rubbed briskly and bleeding, if any, controlled, DROWNING Loosen the clothing. Empty lungs of water by laymg the body on its stomach and lifting it by the middle so that the head hangs down for a few seconds. Do not waste time before beginning artificial respiration. The Shaefer method is called the " prone pressure method " because the patient lies at full length face down, and pressure is made with the hands of the operator on the back over the lower ribs and then the pressure is relaxed. This is continued alternately about twelve times a minute. Thus the air is forced out and sucked in, making a frecjuent exchange of air in the lungs. The advantages mentioned for this method are that it is exceedingly simple, can be done by one person and without fatigue, and that because of the position of the patient allows the tongue to fall for- ward and the mucus and the water to escape from the mouth and thus not block up the throat. The patient's head may be turned slightly to one side so that the ground will not block the air from the nose and mouth. When breathing begins, get the patient into a warm bed, give warm drinks in tea- spoonfuls. Keep the patient very quiet. POISONING Delay is hkely to prove fatal in cases of poisoning so whatever is done must be done promptly. Send for a doctor at once. An emetic is not the best treatment in every case, 467 THE HOUSEKEEPER but it should always be given if you do not know what poison has been taken or the proper antidote. Running the finger down the throat or drinking a large quantity of warm water will usually cause vomiting. (1) Eliminate the poison from the stomach; (2) neutral- ize the poison b)^ giving an antidote; (3) treat the general symptoms produced by the poison. The material is eliminated by being vomited. Vomiting can be induced in the following ways; use mustard and warm water, beginning with a glassful and repeating if necessary. If you have ipecac in the house — and it is a good thing to have — give about a teaspoonful of syrup of ipecac to a child or a tablespoonful to a grown person every few minutes until vomiting results. Antidotes In nearly all cases of poisoning, olive oil, if available can be given in large doses, namely, a pint or more, as it neutralizes most poisons except phosphorus. This can be followed by the whites of two eggs. When in doubt, use the oil followed by the eggs. In giving antidotes, two general principles should be observed : namely, that acids tend to neutralize alkalies and alkalies neutrahze acids. For poisoning from acids, such as muriatic, oxalis, acetic, sulphuric (oil of vitriol), nitric, or tartaric, use soapsuds, magnesia, limewater, whiting, plaster scraped from the wall, milk, oil, and baking soda. Give large cjuantities of oil. For poisoning from alkalies, such as ammonia, potash, or soda, use acids as an antidote, such as vinegar, lemon juice, and orange juice, follow'ed by large doses of olive oil, castor oil, and emetics. Another group of poisons are the narcotics. In this class are chloroform, chloral, ether, and the opium preparations, such as opium, morphine, laudanum, paregoric and sooth- ing syrups. Provide plenty of fresh air, induce artificial 468 THE HOUSEKEEPER breathing, apply ammonia to nostrils, give cathartics and stimulants, such as coffee, brandy, and strychnine. Compel the patient to move about. If unconscious, keep the head low. CARBOLIC ACID Rinse mouth with alcohol, give 3 tablespoonfuls in equal measure of water to adult. Follow in five minutes with two tablespoonfuls Epsom Salts. Give oil or eggs. Keep patient warm and stimulated. ALCOHOL (TREATMENT) Keep the patient active by pinching, slapping with wet towel, or hot and cold douches to head; give plenty of strong coft'ee ; inhale ammonia cautiously, and use artificial respira- tion if unconscious. INSECT BITES For mosquito bites, stings from gnats, wasps, bees, and spiders, washing with dilute with ammonia is the best treat- ment. Oil may follow, or the parts may be washed in salt water. Baking soda dissolved in warm water is also good. The sting should be removed. SNAKE BITE When bitten by a snake first prevent the poison from get- ting into the general circulation. This can be done by immediately sucking the wound. Precaution must be used in seeing that the mouth is not sore or the poison swallowed. Shut oft" the circulation from the part by bandaging the limb — if such it be — tightly, or if in another part, by pres- sure over the vein. Squeeze the poison out and wash with warm water. If ammonia can be had, burn out the wound with it. Keep the bandage on several hours, and when re- leasing it do so gradually. 469 THE HOUSEKEEPER Whiskey is recommended as a stimulant or give a large drink of aromatic spirits of ammonia at once and repeat as often as seems necessary to keep up the strength. Do not be afraid to give too much, for persons bitten by poisonous snakes require a large amount of stimulants. NAUSEA AND VOMITING These are generally due to indigestible food but may be caused by nervousness. A soda mint tablet or baking soda in water will usually stop nausea. When due to indigestible food, several drinks of lukewarm water will usually cause vomiting and will wash out the stomach. Patient should lie down — apply hot cloths to abdomen. SUPPLIES SUGGESTED FOR A HOUSEHOLD MEDICINE BOX Alcohol. Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia (2 oz.). Castor Oil. Epsom Salts or Seidlitz Powders. Lime Water. Mustard (powdered). Syrup of Ipecac. Witch Hazel. Calomel Tablets (one-tenth grain). Carbolized Vaseline. Soda Mint Tablets. Antiseptic Gauze. Absorbent Cotton. Roller Bandages. Glass and Spoon. Scissors. Pins — ordinary and safety. PREPARATION OF THE SICK ROOM Generally speaking the patient's own room is best as he is apt to be more contented there. 470 THE HOUSEKEEPER Tlie room selected however should not be on the ground floor as such a room is likely to be noisy. A toilet nearby will save steps in serious illness and will be safer in cases of contagiovis disease. The room should be well ventilated and all unnecessary furnishings should be removed. A narrow, high bed is to be preferred as it is much easier for a nurse to lift a helpless patient when she does not have to bend very low. If obliged to use a double bed, try to have the patient sleep on one side during the day, leaving the other side comfortable for night. The lower sheet should be smooth and kept in place by safety pins at the corners of the mattress. Over this a draw sheet should be placed. This is a sheet folded and placed across the bed so that it extends from the patient's back to his knees. It should be pinned in place to the mattress. The top covering should consist of a sheet and double blanket with the sheet well turned back. Extra sheets and pillow cases should be ready. It is well also to have hot water bottles ready for use. 471 THE HOUSEKEEPER DR. HUBBAOT-S YEGETABIE PROPHYLACTIC APEO0ORIZ£R ropt GENERAtUf Use With Asmii^ You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 472 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXXV PERSONAL HYGIENE THE SKIN The human skin has two principal functions : to protect the body, and to remove, by perspiration, the results of cer- tain bodily changes. The surface of the skin, the part which raises over a blister is the epidermis. The permanent color of the skin is due to certain pigment granules found in the deeper layers of the epidermis. The transient red color, as in blushing, depends upon the amount of blood in the blood vessels and the thickness of the epidermis or outer skin, most of the blood vessels themselves lying in the inner skin. Beneath the epidermis is the " true skin " which gives the skin its peculiar lines and marks. The true skin is per- forated by blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerves; it affords lodgment to hair roots and gives passages to the ducts of the sweat glands and oil-glands. The third layer of the skin is the connective tissue which contains fat, arteries, veins and lymphatics. This fatty layer gives the skin its smooth- ness and acts as a protective covering for the body. The skin contains sweat glands w^hich secrete perspira- tion, and sebaceous glands, which secrete a fatty substance that tends to keep the skin smooth and to prevent it from drying by too great evaporation. This fatty substance also gives the hair its natural gloss. Obstruction of the sweat glands gives rise to pimples, black-heads and the like. It is well known that the skin becomes soft by immer- sion in a hot bath or by having the hands for a considerable time in suds and that this softening extends to the nails and 473 THE HOUSEKEEPER calluses. After a warm bath a considerable cjuantity of the horny scales of the skin can be removed by the use of a rough towel. Nails, corns, and the like when wet can be readily cut or scraped ofif. A considerable amount of water remains in the skin after bathing, and unless care is exer- cised it tends by rapid evaporation to remove heat and cause colds. But normally a certain amount of water should remain in the skin, and if too much of this evaporates, the skin chaps and cracks. There is a direct and reciprocal action between the con- dition of the skin and the general bodily health. The two watchwords in the preservation or improvement of the com- plexion are, therefore, cleanliness and hygiene. Plenty of outdoor exercise, good ventilation, a well-regulated appetite, and a cheerful habit of mind are essential. As to diet, an excess of butter, fat meat, and greasy food should be given up or used with great moderation. Fruit and vegetables should be the staples of diet; sweets, cake, and pastry, and acid foods should be dispensed with. Hardening the Skin. — The power of the skin to adjust itself to changes in temperature varies greatly. It can be increased by measures which improve the circulation of the blood, as nourishment and exercise ; also by what is some- times called the " hardening" process." The skin may be hardened by living an out-of-door life, wearing light but sufficient clothing, sleeping with open windows but avoid- ing draughts, and taking daily baths, first with warm, after- wards with cold water. These steps should be taken grad- ually, and increased in severity as the body becomes accus- tomed to them. Nervous persons, especially children, may be overstimu- lated by these measures, which may thus lead to nervous difficulties. The danger is minimized by giving the warm bath first. Cold baths alone should not be taken except by persons of strong constitution. The human skin contains millions of pores. The business of these pores is to bring to the surface the waste materials 474 THE HOUSEKEEPER of the body, which otherwise pass off principally through the kidneys. Colds are often caused by lack of proper contraction of the pores of the skin when the body is exposed from draughts or otherwise. As a result the blood is cooled too rapidly and has a tendency to chill and congest the internal organs, as the mucuous surfaces of the head and nose, and also of the alimentary canal, the kidneys, etc. The resulting symptoms show in acute form the bad effects of neglect of bathing. In fact, frequent bathing is a good preventive of colds. If the pores are kept clean they are active, and resist the chills which tend to produce cold. Certain portions of the body, as the armpits and feet have many more pores to the square inch than the rest; hence these perspire more freely and should be cleansed often. A clean person, clean clothing, a clean house, clean premises, clean streets, a clean town, are so many forms of the habit of cleanliness which is one of the characteristics of high civilization, one of the fundamental elements of self-respect and proper living. The principal hygienic purpose of bath- ing may be stated as cleanliness. Temperature of the Bath. — The temperature of the bath for cleanliness should be about 95° Fahrenheit. A cold shower bath to follow the warm bath should be about 77° Fahrenheit. A cool bath should be about 77° Fahrenheit, but the temperature at the start may be lowered for those who are accustomed to it. The water for a person in ordinary health should be drawn as hot as is agreeable ; but care should be taken not to remain too long in a hot bath. This applies especially to persons who are thin-blooded, nervous, or neuralgic. After the body has been thoroughly cleansed, it is a good idea to gradually introduce cold water into the tub until a perceptible chill is felt. The shower bath is the best means of cooling the body after a hot bath. When this is done, 475 THE HOUSEKEEPER or after a cold bath, a reaction should be brought about by a vigorous rubbing with a Turkish towel until the body is in a warm glow. Cold Sponge Bath. — Many persons make a practice of taking a cold sponge bath every morning, followed by vigorous rubbing with a coarse towel or flesh brush. The best method of doing this is to fill a washbowl or basin with water and let it stand in the room over night, so as to acquire the same temperature as the air in the room. Rub with the bare hands rather than with a cloth or sponge, wetting only a small portion of the body at a time and rub- bing that portion until a reaction is experienced. After the rub-down with a coarse towel, the skin should be pink, all in a tingle, and the whole surface of the body should be in a warm glow. Some persons cannot endure this regime, although it is highly beneficial to others. A few days or weeks of experience will test its expediency. This is worth trying because it often results in a life habit which is exceedingly beneficial. Those who are less robust may obtain some of the benefits of the cold sponge bath by a vigorous rubbing with a towel or flesh brush each morning when the bath is not taken. When bathing in winter, the shock from cold water is lessened by standing a minute in the cold air after removing the clothing and before applying the water. When one takes vigorous daily exercise the best time for the bath is immediately after the exercise. One is then per- spiring and it is best to change the clothing. The skin is most readily cleaned in this condition, and most persons find a hot bath, with or without the use of soap, followed by a short, cold needle bath, shower, or plunge, preferable to other forms of bathing. . . Salt Water Bath. — Add sea salt, which can be purchased of any druggist, to a full bath at a temperature of 65° Fahrenheit. The patient should remain in this bath from ten to twentv minutes, and afterwards should rest for half 476 THE HOUSEKEEPER an hour in a recumbent position. Such baths are useful in general debility produced by diseases. The Complexion, — The object of attention to the com- plexion should be to preserve the skin in its normal condition of health, and to remove all abnormal effects and conditions. Among these may be mentioned excessive dryness or evap- oration, by exposure to dry and biting winds, of the water normall}^ contained in the skin ; the opposite extreme of excessive perspiration; and the oljstruction of the pores by dirt or grime or other causes. Many persons regard attention to these matters as evidence of vanity and light-headedness, and others go to the opposite extreme and give much more time and thought to the niceties of the toilet than is either wise or necessary. Doubtless the wise and sane course lies between the two extremes. The normal condition of the skin resulting in a firm, smooth, and soft texture and a pink-and-white com- plexion, not only contributes to personal attractiveness, but also to the sense of comfort, included in the general term " good health." Every one has a natural right to a good complexion. The contrary is evidence of some improper or diseased condition, and it is perfectly natural and proper to seek and apply suitable remedies. Many of the standard preparations widely advertised for sale contain the most injurious mineral drugs, such, for example, as mercury arsenic, lead bismuth, etc. These are freely used by many " beauty doctors," and most unfortu- nately recipes containing them have been published without caution. All such preparations have been carefully excluded from this volume. Approved recipes have been given which will accomplish every desirable object without the possibility of injurious consequences. To preserve the Complexion. — To prevent the excessive evaporation of water normally present in the skin, it is well to rub a small quantity of cold cream over the face before 477 THE HOUSEKEEPER going out in the hot sun or wind. Just enough should be used to cover the surface without its being noticeable. In hot climates the use of similar preparations to prevent the drying of the skin is practically universal. To zvash the face. — When the face is red or dry from ex- posure to sun and air, or grimed with dirt and smoke, it is well to put on it a quantity of cold cream and rub thoroughly with a soft cloth. After the irritation has been somewhat lessened, the face should be thoroughly washed and cleansed. Fill a basin two-thirds full of fresh soft water. If your source of water supply is hard water, put a teaspoonful of powdered borax into the basin. Dip the face in the water, and afterwards the hands. Soap the hands well, and rub with a gentle motion over the face. Dip the face a second time, rinse thoroughly, and wipe with a thick, soft towel. After the bath a slightly astringent lotion is very refreshing. The use of a good cleansing cream before the face bath and a suitable lotion afterwards has a really wonderful effect in improving the complexion. The effect of a clean face, however, is itself altogether delightful. Such a bath tends to rest and refresh the bather. Many a bad complexion is due to neglect of a proper cleansing process. If more faces were kept really clean, a great improvement in the com- plexion would be noticed. Face Cloth. — The hands themselves, in the judgment of many persons, are the most effective means of washing other portions of the body. To those who prefer face cloths we suggest scrim as the most sanitary material. Scrim is porous and free from lint, so that the air circulates through it freely. It is so thin that it can be quickly washed and dried. BLACKHEADS The sebaceous glands supply an oily substance which keeps the skin soft and pliable and serves as a natural oil for the hair. When the duct of a sebaceous gland becomes 478 THE HOUSEKEEPER obstructed with dust and dirt, such as covers even the clean- est looking skin, a black head is formed. Enlarged pores are dilated or inactive se1)acous glands. When these black- heads are numerous they become very unsightly. To correct pimples and blackheads, — each second night bathe the face with hot water containing one tablespoonful of boric acid. This tlushes the skin with fresh blood and softens the caps of pimples and the hardened contents of the blackheads. Gently scjueeze the pimple or blackhead with the fingers covered with a clean cloth. Dry the face thor- oughly and rub in about each pimple a very little of one- half of one per cent, ammoniated mercury ointment on the finger tip. If the skin is very tender the U. S. P. boric acid ointment may be used instead of ammoniated mercury oint- ment which sometimes irritates. FRECKLES Freckles are discolorations formed in the deeper layers of the skin by the action of sunlight. Hence to affect them directly it is necessary to work through the outer layers of the skin with a remedy that will change the deposits of coloring matter. Freckles, accordingly, offer great resist- ance and are not amenable to ordinary treatment. As a preventive, attention should be paid to diet and exer- cise to promote the normal secretions. The skin should be kept scrupulously clean by daily bathing, and the activity of the pores should be promoted by friction with a coarse towel. These methods are safer than the use of astringents or mineral emulsions, and the latter should never be employed without the advice of a competent physician. The only certain preventive is the wearing of a veil whenever the complexion is exposed to sunlight. MOTH PATCHES Apply a solution of common baking soda to the patches with a soft cloth several times a day for two or three days. Allow this to dry on. This treatment is usually sufficient. 479 THE HOUSEKEEPER Afterwards cleanse the face with a bran bath and the skin will usually be found clear and brilliant. Or keep alum at hand and rub occasionally on the moth patches. This will usually cause them to disappear. SUPERFLUOUS HAIRS The natural causes of excessive growth of hair are ob- scure. There is but one dependable agent for destroying hair, and that is the electric needle. The needle is tedious, expensive, but efficient and comparatively painless. It should be applied only by a physician. The X-ray is some- times used with success where a large number of hairs are to be destroyed. Hairs may be made less noticeable by bleaching with peroxide and ammonia (3 pans peroxide to 1 of weak am- monia water). A good many alleged " complexion beauti- fiers "' appear to stimulate hair growth. There seems to be no harm in shaving the hairs under the arms or removing them by chemical depilatories, pro- ■v'ided the chemical does not inflame the skin as many depi- latories do. But no chemical will permanently destroy hair. Toilet Soaps. — There are two principal kinds of soap; those containing free alkali in the form of soda lye, and the so-called neutral or fatty soaps. The former increase the swelling and softening of the horny parts of the skin. When these are removed they of course take the dirt with them. The latter are better adapted to persons of sensitive skin, although their detergent eiTects are not so marked. Among these are castile and glycerine soaps. Purchase for household use only well-known soaps which have an established reputation for purity. Toilet prepara- tions which may have good effects on one skin are some- times injurious to another. This shows hom important it is for a woman to know what ingredients are used in making up her toilet preparations. It is not always safe to " try " 480 THE HOUSEKEEPER some compound because it is highly recommended by others. No preparation can give satisfactory results in the absence of absolute cleanliness. CARE OF THE HANDS Nothing betrays lack of daintiness in personal care more than neglect of the hands and nails. Of course it is more difficult for some women to keep their nails clean and their hands soft, white, and free from blemishes than for others. The hands should not be washed except when it can be done thoroughly. Constantly rinsing them in cold w^ater grinds the dirt in and ruins the texture of the skin, making it rough, coarse and red. When exposed to hard usage, as in the routine of housework, instead of frequently washing the hands in water, a few drops of oil should be rubbed into them. They should then be dusted over with talcum powder and wiped with a coarse towel. This will cleanse them and protect the flesh from growing callous. Lemon juice will remove stains. The hands should always be washed with tepid water and a good soap. Avoid washing the hands frecpiently with cheap laundry soap, washing powders, soft soap, or other powerful detergents. They tend to roughen, redden, and chap the skin. The best soap is none too good for the toilet. Any hard, white, pure, or neutral soap is suitable for the toilet.. Hence it is not necessary to purchase special toilet soaps, which are usually expensive, however desirable they may seem to be. To remove stubborn stains. — Mix oxalic acid and cream of tartar in equal proportions, and keep the mixture in a box with the other toilet articles. This box should be marked " Poison " and kept out of the reach of children. Wet the stain with warm water and sprinkle with this preparation rubbing until the stain disappears. Then wash the hands with soap and rinse well. This will remove the most stubborn ink and dye stains. 481 THE HOUSEKEEPER To Soften the Hands. — Keep on hand a dish of oatmeal, and rub it freely on the hands after washing. This will cleanse and soften the skin. Or use corn meal in the same manner. In cold weather or when the hands are very dirty rub a little cold cream over them, and afterwards wash them with soap and water in the usual way. This has a tendency to keep the skin from cracking or chapping. The use of gloves, especially when gardening, driving or walking in sun or wind, helps to preserve the softness of the hands and keep them clean. Sprinkling the hands with orris root or talcum powder before drawing on the gloves will counteract excess- ive perspiration. // hands are stained -zcith vegetaMes. — Rub some lemon peel on them before washing. // fingers become black from tJie pans. — Rub them with a little boiled potato and the black will disappear. THE NAILS The nails like the hair are modified skin. It takes about four or five months to grow a finger nail. INGROWING NAILS The finger nails do not often grow in, but when this hap- pens a notch cut in the middle of the nail will have a ten- dency to draw it up from the sides. White marks on the nails are usually caused by air bubbles in the substance of the nail, and they do not indicate ill- ness. The condition of the finger nails is one of the best tests of the care given to the toilet. Well-groomed finger nails are a mark of refinement. Needless to say, the toilet is not complete until the nails have been thoroughly cleaned, trim- med, and, if possible, manicured. The best article for use on the nails is a small orange stick, which can be obtained at any drug store. With this the nails can be cleaned each time the hands are washed and 482 THE HOUSEKEEPER the skin which adheres to the nails carefuhy pushed back. This may also be done with a dry towel. It will prevent the skin from cracking about the roots of the nails and forming hangnails. This method practiced daily will greatly improve the general appearance of the hands. It takes only a few minutes each day to put the nails in perfect condition. A manicure outfit w-ill cost two or three dollars. Buy good instruments to begin with. You will need a flexible file, emerv boards, buffer, orange sticks, cuticle knife, nail scissors, some red paste and white nail powder, and a good bleach of glycerin, rose water, and oxalic acid. Begin hx shaping the nails with the file. Wdien vou have finished one hand, the fingers should be dipped into a bowl of lukewarm water, into which has been poured a few drops of some pleasant antiseptic as listerine or peroxide of hydro- gen. Let them remain in this some time to soften the cuticle, and then dry them with a soft towel. With the point of the orange stick clean the nail, dipping the stick in the bleach if this is necessary. Loosen the skin around the nail with the cuticle knife. This skin should be lifted up, and not pushed down and back, as the latter move- ment cracks and splits the cuticle. Keep dipping the knife in the water, as it helps to lift up the cuticle, which must be well raised before it is cut. Do not cut the cuticle unless absolutely necessary. To do so use the cuticle scissors, and try to trim the cuticle in one piece, otherwise you are likely to have ragged edges and hangnails. Be extremely careful about this special part of the treat- ment, for the nail may be altogether spoiled by a too zealous use of the cuticle knife and scissors. Use red paste sparing- ly, and rub it well into the nails with the palm of the hand. It is better to dip the fingers in the water again and dry thoroughly, for you cannot polish a wet nail. Smooth the edge of the nail with the emery boards . Dip the buffer or polisher in the nail powder. Place the center of the buffer on the nail, and rub slightly. 4S3 THE HOUSEKEEPER TO POLISH THE NAILS Apply, with a chamois buffer, a mixture of one ounce each of finely powdered emery and cinnabar, softened with olive oil, almond oil, or the essention oil of bitter almonds. CARE OF THE HAIR The hygiene of the scalp determines the preservation of the hair. Falling hair and baldness follow dandruff, but dandruff' may be prevented or cured by proper care. The hair should be shampooed as often as necessary to keep the scalp clean — once a month or even once a week. Washing the scalp and hair can do no more harm than wash- ing the body. The proper care of the hair under normal conditions is very simple. The objects to be kept in mind are to pre- serve its natural luster and texture by means of absolute cleanliness, and to massage the scalp sufficiently to remove any dandruff that may adhere to it, and thereby promote the active circulation of the blood. All this must be done with- out injury to the scalp or the hair by pulling, scratching or tearing. Cutting the hair frequently has a tendency es- pecially in youth, to promote growth. To thoroughly cleanse the hair it should be brushed suc- cessively from partings made in all directions upon the scalp, the utmost care being taken that foreign matter accumulated on the brush is removed and not returned by the next stroke to the hair. Care should be taken on the one hand, not to scratch the scalp, tear the roots of the hair, or cause it to split; and on the other, not to neglect the stimulating eft'ects of massaging the scalp and removing dandruff. In other words, a vig- orous brushing should be directed to the head or scalp, the gentler stroke being employed in brushing the hair itself. Brush the hair free from dust each night before retiring. Applications of tonics and restoratives should also be made at this time, as they have the best opportunity of doing their work during sleep. 484 THE HOUSEKEEPIiR CARE OF HAIRBRUSHES Brushes should be cleaned very often and thoroughly, as a surprising amount of dust and dirt gathers in the hair. This quickly accumulates in the brushes and fills them. Hence the brush should be cleaned immediately after using. Wash the brush in warm water to which a little ammonia is added. Neither hot water nor soap should be used, and the bristles should be allowed to dry thoroughly before using them. The effect of hot water and soap is to soften the bristles and also the glue with which they are commonly fastened into the brush, and when soft, the bristles are likely to split and break off or fall out. DANDRUFF Dandruff is a common disease. It is caused by the forma- tion of a scurf on the scalp which becomes detached in fine, dry scales. Unless these scales are removed from the hair by frequent brushing they give it a dry and lusterless appear- ance. Among the causes of dandruff may be mentioned weak- ness of the scalp from infectious diseases, pressure of heavy and close hats, or of the hair matted upon the scalp, excess- ive use of hair oils. These conditions should be avoided as much as possible, and the scalp should be kept per- fectly clean, with due attention to instructions already given for its care. Hygienic measures for the improvement of the general health are also very important. SHAMPOOING For shampooing plain toilet soap, ivory or tar soap may be used. The important thing is to make sure that all the soap is thoroughly rinsed away when the shampoo is fin- ished. The following preparation is good : Dissolve one ounce of salts of tartar in one and one- half pints of soft water. Add one ounce of castile soap in shavings and 4 ounces of bay rum. The salts of tartar will 485 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 486 THE HOUSEKEEPER remove dandrnti and the soap will cleanse the hair and scalp. Apply about one tablespoon ful of the shampoo mixture, rubbing it into the scalp with the tips of the fingers and working it in thoroughly. Massage with the hands until a fine lather is produced. Afterwards rinse with clear soft water, first hot then cold, dry the hair with a coarse towel, and apply a little oil if desired, to take the place of the natural oil which has been removed from the hair by this process. DRY HAIR SHAMPOO Mix four ounces of powdered orris root with one ounce of talcum powder, and sprinkle freely through the hair. This absorbs the superfluous oil and gives the hair a very thick and fluffy appearance. It is especially useful to per sons whose hair is heavy and oily. It is also cooling and cleansing to the scalp. LOOSENING AND FALLING OUT OF THE HAIR This often takes place as the result of infectious diseases, on account of the weakening of the scalp. Hygienic meas- ures to improve the health come first in importance. The use of tar soap and the yolk of egg is beneficial. To plunge the head into cold water night and morning, and after- wards to drv the hair, brushing the scalp briskly to a warm glow, is beneficial for men so affected. The recipes for \ arious tonics and lotions will be given containing specific remedial agents. DRY HAIR This condition of the hair may be improved by sham- pooing the scalp with yolk of egg, as recommended for dan- druff, or the scalp may be washed with a weak solution of green tea applied cold, or with an emulsion of castile soap containing a small quantity of tannin. Alcohol in any form is highly objectionable, as it tends by rapid evaporation to increase the dryness of the scalp. 487 THE HOUSEKEEPER ''Sktoj.^o You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 488 THE HOUSEKEEPER Shampooing the scalp with a good shampoo mixture is also useful. This condition may occur from too frequent washing of the scalp with soap or other substances that de- prive it of its natural oils. CARE OF THE TEETH Good teeth are necessary to health and beauty. From the standpoint of health, it must be remembered that the process of digestion begins in the mouth. The saliva of the mouth has the property of converting starchy foods into sugar, thus aiding digestion. And food finely divided by proper chewing is more readily acted upon by the gastric juice of the stomach. Good teeth are, of course, necessary to good mastication. If any of the teeth are lost, part of the food is likely to be swallowed without being properly chewed, and the ill effects are no less certain be- cause they are not always immediately noticed or attributed to the true source. Teeth of children. — One of the most common causes of trouble with the teeth in after life is the mistaken notion that children's teeth do not require much attention be- cause they will soon be lost and replaced by others. Children on the contrary should be taught to clean their teeth at a very early age partly because they will thus acquire a habit which it will afterwards be more difficult to teach them, but especially because the lack of proper development or decay of the teeth has a direct effect upon the health of the child, and an indirect efifect upon the permanent teeth themselves. The appearance of the milk teeth about the seventh month is a signal that the child should commence to have solid food and should no longer be fed exclusively on milk and other soft foods. Care of the teeth. — There are two important rules in the care of the teeth : keep them clean and consult a good dentist at least twice a year. 489 THE HOUSEKEEPER By keeping" the teeth clean, filhng small cavities A\hen they first appear, correcting any malformation of the teeth and giving advice as to suitable mouth washes and other treat- ment when abnormal conditions are present, a positive saving in future dentist's bill will be affected ; toothache will be avoided, and the teeth themselves will be better pre- served. The accumulation of tartar in the form of a yellowish incrustation, which is usually most plentiful on the inner side of the lower jaw is almost universal. But the deposit is much more pronounced in some cases than in others. The accumulation of tartar cannot always be prevented by brush- ing the teeth, although the use of suitable tooth powders, pastes or mouth washes will assist, but in all cases where the tartar is plentiful, the teeth should be thoroughly cleaned by a competent dentist several times a year. The teeth should be thoroughly brushed and cleaned at least once a day or better still, when possible after each meal and es- pecially before retiring at night. A toothbrush having medium soft bristles is preferable to one having stiff bristles which mav tend to injure or in- flame the gum. The shape of the brush is not particularly important, although the so-called " prophylactic " brush assists in dislodging food from the teeth in the back of the mouth. What is more important is the manner in which the brush is handled. In addition to the sidewise strokes, the brush should also be worked up and down so as to remove from between the teeth particles of food that would only be crowded in more tightly by rubbing back and forth. This is very important. The inner surface of the teeth should be brushed in the same manner, care being taken to cover, in brushing, every portion of the teeth that can be reached. Clean the space between the teeth with a piece of dental floss. The mouth should then be thoroughly rinsed. 490 THE tlOUSE KEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 491 THE HOUSEKEEPER To Whiten the Teeth. — Salt combined with peroxide of hydrogen is a powerful bleach. Apply by wetting the brush with the pure peroxide and sprinkle with dry salt, but do not use oftener than is necessary. Tooth powders containing charcoal assist in whitening the teeth. A little dry charcoal powder may be rubbed gently into the crevices between the teeth on retiring at night, and brushed or rinsed out thoroughly in the morning. The use of bicarbonate of soda as a tooth powder has the same property. Foul breath is most often caused by decayed teeth, in- flammation of the gums, or neglect to use the toothbrush. It may also be caused by catarrh or various diseases of the throat and stomach or other internal organs. One of the most effective remedies for foul breath is a mouth wash composed of a teaspoonful of concentrated solution of chloride of soda in a tumbler of water. This should be used as a gargle and also forced back and forth between the teeth. 492 THE HOUSEKEEPER PALMOLIVE SOAP 493 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXXVI TOILET PREPARATIONS Practical suggestions and instructions for preparing all kinds of toilet preparations are of interest and value. Many toilet preparations made according to recipes given in this section are sold in the market. The cost of advertising these articles make up a large percentage of their retail price. The purchaser has to pay all this in addition to the original cost of the ingredients and the labor of compounding. More- over, it is not always possible to tell what the ingredients are or whether they are of good quality. One can save money in compounding them himself. He will know exactly what the preparations are composed of, and also that the ingredients are fresh and of good ciuality. Composition. — The standard basis for solid and semifluid preparations, as pastes, creams, and emulsions, are w^hite wax, spermaceti, suet, lard, yolk or white of tgg, and various soaps. Animal fats, as lards, suet, and the like, must be specially refined and prepared for toilet purposes. This may be done at home by melting and simmering the fat slowly in w^ater with gentle heat, and straining it through linen one or more times. On cooling the fat will form a cake on top of the water. Unless alcohol or other preservatives are mixed with the fats they tend to become rancid. Hence small quantities at a time should be prepared, and care should be taken not to employ such preparations when they become in the least rancid. The same caution applies to compounds containing the white or yolk of eggs and honey. 494 THE HOUSEKEEPER ^3i^-a^^-v^— ^ggfj You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 495 THE HOUSEKEEPER White wax, spermaceti, Castile and other soaps as bases are free from these objections, and recipes containing them are to be preferred when such ingredients can conveniently be obtained. In compounding recipes having these sohd unguents as bases they are first melted slowly with gentle heat, and while in a melted condition the other ingredients are added. They may also be " cut " or dissolved in alcohol and spirits. Liquid Bases. — Certain toilet preparations, as emulsions, lotions, washes, and the like, omit the above solids or employ them only in small quantities, and in their place use certain oils and other liquids as bases. The principal liquid bases are almond oil, olive oil, glycerin, honey, and the like. These have a double value : they tend to soothe and also to feed the skin. They are, therefore, among the most deservedly popular of all ingredients. Bases of Pozvders. — Wheat starch is the standard base for homemade toilet powders, but other materials often em- ployed are Fuller's earth, French chalk, and pearl white. Almond meal, like almond oil, has the double property of serving as a base and also as a remedial agent. Remedial Agents. — This term is employed to describe cer- tain ingredients used in toilet preparations which have spe- cific curative properties. Some of the bases already men- tions, as almonds, are included also under this heading. Among others of especial value may be mentioned substances which soothe and feed the skin, as the yolk of tgg, honey, and cocoa butter ; substances which are mildly astringent, as lemon juice, alum, spirits, and benzoin; and other specifics, as glycerin, camphor and sulphur, whose action varies with different persons. These agents are in most cases of a harm- less character. Mineral Agents. — The use of mineral drugs in toilet pre- parations cannot be too earnestly deprecated. In many cases they are immediately harmful and defeat the very object for which they are intended. Mineral drugs in toilet pre- parations are dangerous and, they are not necessary. The 496 THE HOUSEKEEPER simple and harmless remedies here given, if patiently and skillfully applied according to directions, will, in due course of time, accomplish the results intended. The use of mineral drugs, on the other hand, whatever the immediate benefits derived from them may appear to be, will in the end defeat its own object by producing after effects harmful to the complexion. Diluents or J\'Iiiclcs. — Distilled water, various perfumed toilet waters, as rose water, together with alcohol and other spirits, are the liquids most often recommended for diluting toilet preparations to the consistency of creams, lic[uids and the like. Distilled water may be prepared at home by attaching a tube to the spout of the teakettle, immersing as much of its length as possible in a basin of water shielded from the fire and kept cold, if convenient, with ice, and collecting the con- densed steam at the opposite end of the tube in a fruit jar or other receptacle. The object of this process is to remove all impurities held in suspension, as lime and other minerals which are found in hard water; also vegetable and animal matter and other impurities. The ordinary water supply, softened if necessary will usually answer every purpose. Rose water or plain distilled or soft water may be used in all cases. Perfumes. — Substances used as perfumes commonly occur in several forms, i. e.. the attar or essential oil, the essence, and the tincture or the " water," depending upon the degree of dilution. They can also be obtained in powdered form, as in sachets. The most convenient form in which to pur- chase perfumes is the attar, i. e., the essential oil. This may be purchased in small quantities and employed according to taste, a few drops being sufficient to perfume most toilet preparations in quantities suitable for domestic use. Utensils Required. — The utensils required in compound- ing the following recipes are usually found in every house- hold. A small pair of scales, a graduate glass, marked for the measurement of fluid ounces, a small spatula or thin 497 THE HOUSEKEEPER broad-bladed, flexible knife, a small mortar and pestle, and one or two short pieces of glass tube or rod for stirring, will be found convenient. Ordinary porcelain-lined saucepans are the best receptacles in which to melt and mix the neces- sary ingredients. A double boiler is convenient. Directions for Compounding. — First place the solid or liquid constituent used as a base in a double boiler or sauce- pan. Simmer without boiling until the solids are melted and the mass is warm enough to flow freely. Strain through linen while still hot. Return the mixture to the double boiler, and while hot add such specific remedial agents as the oil of bitter almonds, honey, glycerin, benzoin, lemon juice, alum, etc. li rose water or distilled water is to be added to form an emulsion, lotion, or wash, take the mixture off the fire and add the water gradually, stirring briskly with a spoon or egg beater to insure forming a perfect emulsion. The last ingredient to be added is always the perfume, and this should be done after the mixture has cooled somewhat, but before it sets. Perfumes are volatile, and if added to a heated mixture are likely to be wasted by evaporation. Compaunding of Pastes and Powders. — The above in- structions apply especially to licjuid compounds. The solid constituents of pastes may be rubbed together in a mortar, and kneaded with the hands or with a spatula on a marble or a kneading board. In some cases an tgg beater can be employed if the consistency of the mixture will allow it. Almonds for pastes may be reduced in a mortar to the proper consistency by moistening them with rose water and grinding them with a pestle, or by heating them with water in a saucepan until the mass assumes a granular consistency, somewhat similar to cooked oatmeal. Both methods are employed, but the former is the more common. The ma- terials for toilet powders may be compounded by simple mixture in a mortar or other suitable receptacle. 498 THE HOUSEKEEPER Tables. — A number of tables have been prepared which contain practically all the standard recipes fof the toilet. An exception to this statement has already been noted; all recipes containing preparations of lead and other injurious mineral drugs have been omitted. A list of the different in- gredients is given at the left of the table, and the name of each preparation is quoted at the top. Under each name and opposite the names of the different ingredients will be found the amount of each to be employed. General direc- tions for compounding the recipes have already been given. Milk for the Skin. — New milk, skimmed milk, butter- milk each possess properties peculiar to itself, and they all make useful and simple washes having a general emolient action on the skin. If used daily they tend to make the skin soft, smooth, and white, and to preserve it from the effects of exposure to weather. Buttermilk is useful for freckles and relieves itching. Lotions for Tan or Sunburn. — These are based princi- pally on oil of almonds, with the addition of castile soap and rock candy, and contain various remedial agents, including astringents, as alum and lemon juice, also benzoin, tincture of tolu, tartar oil, and the like. They are diluted usually with alcohol or any perfumed toilet water, for which plain distilled or soft water may be substituted. And they may be perfumed with any essential oil or essence preferred. Apply any of these lotions to the face with a small sponge or a soft linen rag. Let it dry on without rubbing, and afterwards wash the face with soft warm water. The following is a simple remedy for tan or sunburn: apply peroxide of hydrogen, pouring a teaspoonful or more in the palm of the hand, and applying it equally over the hands, arms, and face. Let it dry without rubbing. After it is thoroughly dry, apply any good lotion. This will rapidly bleach the skin without injuring the most delicate complexion. 499 THE HOUSEKEEPER Lotions for Tan and Sunburn Castile Soap Ox Gall Borax Almonds, Bitter Alm'ds, Bitter, Oil of Sweet, Rock Candy " Salt Camphor Benzoin Tine. Tolu Alum Lemon Juice Tartar Oil Limewater Alcohol (95%) Rose Water An; Essential Oil . . . 1 lb. 2 dr. Idr. 1 pt. h pt. i pt, ipt. •i oz. 4 oz. 3 dr. dr. Idr. 1 qt. Igal. 4 dr. 1 pt. i pt. igill { oz. * cz. i oz. 3 dr. dr. 1 dr. 2 qt. ;20m. 8 oz. 2 oz. In scr. Ih scr. 4 oz- Idr. 8 oz. 2 dr. 1 qt. Remedy for Freckles. Grate a fresh horse-radish root very fine, cover with fresh buttermilk, and let stand over night. Strain through cheese cloth, and wash the face night and morning with the result- ing liquor. Or squeeze the juice of a lemon into half a cup of water, and use two or three times daily as a face wash. Honey for the Hands. — This may be used when the skin is dry, hard, and rough. Moisten the hands and rub the honey in well. After a while wash them thoroughly in bran water or some other liquid preparation and they will be per- fectly clean and soft. Camphor for CJiapped Hands. — Camphor cakes or balls, to prevent chapped hands, may be made as follows : Melt 3 drams of spermaceti and 4 drams of white wax. Add 1 ounce of almond oil. Moisten 3 drams of camphor with spirits of wine, and mix all together. Pour this into molds or make into balls. 500 THE HOUSEKEEPER POMPEIAN COLD CREAM AND POWDER 501 THE HOUSEKEEPER ■oiuoj^ ■EOiuiy a a ■uoijoq s,uos]!;V\ omox sapuBqiUBQ 03 C; 03 'S.2 S - > o E pa Jb ^ U ^ c C5 4) O O o o o I ra _r^ -^ ra ■■-• ra -^ ••-< .h .h >ph .^ IPQ^^mCIiqOOHOOH 502 THE HOUSEKEEPER ■jop.woj c^i -r c-i ?^ ^ uap-woj moox opnqjoaspuY' ■jap.ttoj qioox Uiaiiaaxji o o o o iOpMOfJ ■jap.woj H500X s.icag ■jap-ttOjj Biutnf) •japAiOj; •japAvoj qjoox d^Oj^ XJOOOQ •jap.vioj suiQ ■jap.ttoj^ MS) N IM O C5 uap.wojj qioox ajBg o. a ■sjap.MOj pa5'BJoqduiB3 pa^ ^ 5 ^ S 03 w. 'o x e c « C3 £ IS .S 3 "s w' c o _ > E S <0 0) E 2 C 2 « "m 2 o « u o JS a; s 0) E 2 E >1 o c E E i E (3 o o o u ^ .2 '5 "3 to c 8 E White Wax.. Spermaceti . . Lard Suet Quince Seed Mucilage. . . Cocoa Butter Almond Oil. . Soap Glycerin Borax Stearic Acid. Sub. Carbonate Potash Alcohol Rose Water. . . . Any Essential Oil 4 oz. h oz. 2 OZ. 10 dr. 5 OZ. 5 dr. 5 OZ. 10 dr. 8 oz. 2 OZ. 5 dr. 16 oz. 4 OZ. 2 oz. 15 gr. 2oz. 2 cz. 10 oz. 12 oz. 2 OZ. 2 oz. 4 oz. 3J oz. 10 m. 10 m. 15 m. 1 oz, 5 oz, 1 oz. 1 oz. i oz. 4 dr. J oz. 6 dr. 3 oz. 2 1b. 16 oz. lib. i lb. 8oz. \ lb. 20 gr. 2 dr. 8 oz- 4 oz. 12 m. 30 m. 10 m. 1 oz. 10 oz. 2oz. 3oz. 15 m. Shaving Creams E « u O u B IS i 2 o C 01 fa E 2 o £ Ph 75. '5 a- 3 a 0) a: c >2 E 2 o _>> 1-5 S a > C o S 2 o "en C m p: O White Wax.. i oz. Idr. 2oz. 4 OZ. Spermaceti . . \ oz. 2.0Z. \ OZ. Hard White Soap 3 oz. 2 oz. 3 1b. 3 1b. 2 oz. 2 oz. 2oz. 2 oz. 2oz. 3 1b. Castile Soap. lib. 4 oz. loz. 4 oz. lib. Soap Jelly . . . lib. 4 oz. 3 oz. Almond Oil . . i oz. 2 oz. 2 OZ. Olive Oil 1 oz. 2 oz. Palm Oil lib. Honey 1 oz. 4 OZ. 1 oz. Alcohol 8 oz. lipt. Rose Water.. 4 oz. q. s. 12 oz. Iqt. 4 oz. 1 oz. q. s. q. 8. q. 8. 12 oz. Sal. Soda .... 1 oz. 2 dr. 1 oz. 2oz. Carb. Potassa 1 dr Sp. Turp 1 gill 1 oz. Beefs Gall . . Apt. Any Essential Oil 10 m. 120 m. q. 8. 20 m. 30 m. 10 m, 10 m. 18 m. 100 m. 505 THE HOUSEKEEPER TOILET POWDERS The foundation for toilet powders are compounds of magnesia, including talc or talcum — which chemically is magnesium silicate ; and which is mined in large quantities, and French chalk, which is ground soapstone; fuller's earth, a greenish clay found in many parts of England and on the continent of Europe; and starch, especially rice and wheat starch, which is sometimes mixed with cornstarch, potato starch, etc. These preparations usually contain pulverized perfumed woods, as orris root, sandalwood, and other per- fumes. The following are standard preparations which contain no injurious ingredients : For plain face powder without perfume, pure white starch can be used. Mix together equal quantities of rice fiour, fuller's earth, and white starch, and perfume with any essential oil as rose or violet. For violet powder, mix 3 ounces of white starch with 1 ounce of powdered orris root, rub together in water, and perfume with the essential oils of lemon, bergamot and cloves, using twice as much lemon as bergamot and cloves. For a rose face powder, mix 8 ounces of pulverized rose leaves with 4 ounces of pulverized sandalwood, and add 1 dram of the attar of roses. Or to 3^ pounds of powdered rose or white starch, add % dram of rose pink and 1 dram each of rose oil and santal oil. Perfumes. The use of strong perfumes is rapidly grow- ing out of fashion, but the natural fragrance of flowers, spices and perfumed woods — the sources of the ingredients used in perfumery — is, however, so delightful that those substances are likely always to be employed to a certain extent in the toilet. 506 THE HOUSEKEEPER The various forms in which perfumes are placed upon the market are, according to the degree of dikition, the attar or essential oil, the essence or extract, and the perfumed toilet water. Innumerable compounds are sold under various names as colognes, scents, spirits, (French esprit), and the like. The substances from which these perfumes are ob- tained may also in some cases be purchased, as the dry leaves or flowers of plants and various kinds of wood or roots. Perfumes are also used in the form of sachets or dry powder, to be placed among garments or linen, either in sachet bags or scattered loosely in chests and drawers. They are likewise employed to perfume the atmosphere of a room by putting in open jars, or burning them. Generally speaking, the most convenient form in which to obtain perfumes is the attar or essential oil. A few drops of these concentrated substances, usually about 5 or 6 drops to the pint or pound, will yield any desired odor. When the essence, the perfumed water, or the original substances themselves are prescribed in recipes, the essential oil can be substituted in most cases. 507 THE HOUSEKEEPER janlmoa ap nug a a o ^ n f •auSojoQ [-BSruJoj ■auSojoQ 'cuu'cj •jaju^ au3oio3 auSojoo ;saa ^ ^ \- (>'i ^ ■ja5^^\ auSo[o_3 •auSopQ ap ni!3 ■a 13 o o ■ja^t'y^ augojo J ■OQ ■jajTj.w augo(oQ rt 00 X ua5B;V\ -as T3 -^ , •lajB^W au3o(0Q au3o[03 3P '^^3 :^ N C <-• o 'S " ^ ounces of pure glycerin; add 16 ounces of rose water. This may be used regularly as a face wash. Cotnplexion Creams ALMOND CREAM, MILK OF ROSES, ETC. oi 'o "o ^ c c3 -d a -d '0 o C O g < E d § a § . P c a 3 c m r= "0 f* a ■3 t £ so s B . u m s < (V m c E I.' OS Almonds, Sweet. 16 oz. IJ^oz 1 OZ 7 1b. 5 1b. 3 lb. 16 oz. 6 1b Bitter 3oz. .5 oz. 16 oz. 1 oz. 80Z. Oil . . 1 oz. 1 dr. 5d. 16 oz. 4 oz. Idr. 1 oz. Milk . Paste. 3 dr. 3 dr. White Wax 7 dr. ,'i oz. >2 oz. 1 oz. Spermaceti .... 3 dr. yi oz. yi oz. 1 oz. Castile Soap . . . 1 oz. 1 dr. ■4 oz. 12 oz. ;4 lb. 1 oz. White Sugar . . . : 1 Vz lb. Alcohol Ipt. 2Koz. 6 oz. Igal 3qts. 2 qts. 1 gal. 1 OZ. Rose Water .... 7pts ^4 Pt. Iqt. Ipt. 5 gal. q. s. 10 qts. Iqt. 80Z. 3 gal Ipt. Kpt. 4oz. Rosemary Water H pt. Elder-Fl. Water. 1 oz. 60Z. Lavender Water Tin. Storax 2 dr. Tine. Benzoin . . K dr. 1 dr. K fl- OZ Pearlash 8oz. 2 oz. Oil of Rose . . . . fim. 60 m.. 20 m 20 m. Oil of Lavender. Kdr. 1 oz. 4 dr. K oz. 1 OZ. Oil of Tartar . . . 1 dr. 20 m. 20 m. Oil of Bergamot. Balsam of Peru . 20 m. 5n THE HOUSEKEEPER 81SB(J IBJOQ ■OQ aisvj (B00JBq3 •OQ ajSBj uoqjBQ ■Boajy oi^muojy s,pAo]'j a;sBj^ asoy •ajSBj^ aoqduiBQ ajsBjj auTumf) o tc CO m •a^SBj ii;oox T3 -C O T3 ■ \^\^ CXI 1-H •a;sT3d i{loox s.pJByv\ a^sBj qouaj j^ •}api\ H o o S s ■^ ta uu 03 S O D-i S O D. 3 j:3 O c) 0) -^ "tS c3 ' O c« CO C3 C t. rt r?^ r" '-> Ph ^ , 'WW S S a >.-n >> >> o - - „ los-SS.SvjCcCi-ODo-i! 512 THE HOUSEKEEPER ROUGE The base of rouge for the Hps and cheeks is usually French chalk, almond oil, or other animal fat, or oil, or one of the gums, as gum tragacanth, colored with cochi- neal, carmine, vermillion, alkanet, or other red coloring matter, and perfumed. To this may be added a mild astringent, as alum, acetic acid, and the like. For carmine rouge, bring to the boiling point in an alum- inum or copper vessel one cjuart of distilled water, to which add one ounce of the best pulverized cochineal. After five or six minutes stir in carefully thirty grains of powdered Roman alum. Continue boiling three to five minutes and set aside to cool. When lukewarm, but before the mixture settles, pour off the clear liquid from the sediment through a piece of white silk or chiffon into a glass fruit jar. Let stand three or four days and again pour off through white silk into another vessel. Allow the liquor to settle ; pour off the clear liquor from the top, and dry the sediment care- fully in a cool place. The result is a very finely divided powder, making a rouge of the best quality. TOILET SOAP One pound Cotton Seed oil. H pound lard. 1 tablespoonful lye. F)4 cupful cold water. 5 drops lavender or oil of geranium. Dissolve the lye in cold water stirring with a stick, add the melted fats slowly stirring until the soap begins to thicken. Add the perfume and pour into small boxes lined with greased paper to become firm. Agate and wooden utensils should be used in soap making. It is more eco- nomical to dry the soap for sometime before using. 513 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. i14 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXXVn CARE OF CHILDREN The health of the mother during pregnancy is of the greatest importance for the normal development of the un- born child dei)ends very largely upon her physical strength and mental balance. Wholesome food, a pleasant envi- ronment, congenial associates, plenty of exercise and fresh air should all be secured for the expectant mother if pos- sible. The exercise involved in housework and walking is beneficial but violent exercise such as laundry work, hill climbing, etc., should be avoided as it may be positively injurious. The clothing should be loose and comfortable. The heavy demands made upon the energy of the mother in supplying nourishment not only for herself but for the unborn child require an increased amount of food and extra sleep. A nap in the afternoon is beneficial if it does not interfere with sleep at night. A liberal sui)ply of nourishment and easily digested food should be eaten. Plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables should make up a part of the diet as these tend to overcome constipation and furnish the necessary supply of mineral matter. If materials for the growth of the baby are lacking in the food they will be used as far as oossible from the mother's body. For example, if the diet is deficient in calcium and phosphorous for; the formation of bones, the mother's bones and teeth are likely to sufTer loss. For the most part the same kinds of food which are adapted to the mother under ordinary conditions are suitable for the mother and child. 515- THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 516 THE HOUSEKEEPER The preparation for the advent of the baby should be simple and completed before the last weeks of pregnancy thereby avoiding undue work. The mother should be under the care of a physician during the period of gestation. CARE OF THE CHILD Since the life of the infant and his entire future health depend upon his early care intelligent study of the hygiene and care of infants is the duty of every mother. BATHING Give the baby a bath every morning, preferably at a certain regular hour, but never bathe within an hour after feeding. The first full bath should not be given for a week or ten days after birth. The water should be 98° to 100° Fahrenheit during the first few weeks. If the infant is vigorous the temperature may gradually be reduced to 95° at six months and 85° to 90° during the second year. Bathe the baby in a warm room. The head and face should first be washed and dried, then the body should be soaped and the baby placed in the tub. Hold the baby so that he will be firmly supported and bathe him quickly. Dry the body cjuickly by patting with a soft towel but do not rub. Use only the best and mildest soap sparingly and rinse the body carefully. At birth the physician cleanses the baby's eyes with an antiseptic. Every morning at the time of the bath the baby's eyes should be gently cleansed with a piece of ab- sorbent cotton soaked in a solution of salt or boric acid using one teaspoon ful boric acid to one pint of water. Also swab out the baby's mouth with the boric acid solution using a bit of absorbent cotton on a tooth pick. This is not necessary after every feeding but should be done twice a day. 517 THE HOUSEKEEPER Yon will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 518 THE HOUSEKEEPER Keep the baby's skin from chafing by dusting with powder under the arms, about the neck, and in the groin. This is especially important with very fat babies. If the baby is chafed do not use soap for his bath but give him a bran bath. Place one pint of wheat bran in a cheese cloth bag and put this in the bath water,' scjueezing the bran until the water looks milky. The greatest care should be taken that all napkins are removed as soon as wet or soiled and the groin kept scru- pulously clean and well powdered. If the skin becomes chafed apply sweet oil. CLOTHING While dressing the baby let him lie upon the lap until he is quite old enough to sit alone. Draw the clothing over his feet as this is easier than putting it on over his head. The clothing of infants should be simple, warm, light in weight and not too tight fitting. For the first four or five months provide an abdominal band of thin, soft wool or fiannel. This will prevent serious efifects from sudden changes of temperature. The band should be smooth and free from creases or folds and fastened with safety pins, or preferably with a few stitches of soft darning cotton. It must not be pinned so tightly as to interfere with the free movements of the chest in breathing. In healthy infants the flannel band may be replaced after the third or fourth month by the knitted band which should be worn at least to the eighteenth month. All the baby's clothing should be loose enough to allow it to breathe and move its limbs easily and to admit of the free circulation of blood. Never use clothing with tight waistbands. Skirts should be supported from the shoulders by straps. Do not put stiff or uncomfortable clothing on a baby. Infants are very susceptible to changes of temperature. The clothing should be modified with each change in the weather. Either overheating or sudden chill tends to pro- duce stomach or intestinal complaints. Cool outdoor air 519 THE HOUSEKEEPER will not harm children even in winter or in cold climates, if they are well wrapped up, protected from changes of temperature and kept out of drafts. Clothing worn during the day which is to be worn again should be hung up to air, preferably out of doors. Gar- ments worn at night should be hung up to air during the day. Both the baby and its clothing should be kept at all times clean, sweet and free from odor. Napkins For the very young baby napkins made from pieces of old table linen will prove most satisfactory. . They are soft and easily washed. Napkins should immediately be removed from the nur- sery when soiled or wet. Soiled napkins should be kept in a covered receptacle and roughly washed as soon as possible, then soak them in clear water until a convenient time for washing. After washing them in hot suds they should be boiled for fifteen minutes. Clean napkins, changed as soon as they are wet or soiled are essential in keeping the skin healthy. . Fresh Air This is important to the baby's health. As soon as the baby is accustcmed to outdoor air, keep one or more win- dows open in his sleeping room winter and summer, during both night and day. Many children take their naps in the open air and often these children are stronger and less apt to take cold than others. When the baby is outdoors see that he is dressed warm enough, that the wind does not blow in his face and that the sun does not shine directly in his eyes. NATURAL DEVELOPMENT A child should never be urged to walk, he will do so when his bones and muscles are strong enough. The aver- age child walks at fifteen months. Children can generally say a few single words at one year of age. 520 THE HOUSEKEEPER DENTITION The two lower center teeth usually come first, followed bv the four upper center teeth. The child may be expected to have these six teeth by the first year. Then come the other two lower central teeth and the four front double teeth. Next the eye and stomach teeth come usually be- fore the child is two years old. The four back double teeth come about the time the child is two years and a half old. INFANT FEEDING Alother's milk is the best food for an infant. Statistics show that the mortality of bottle-fed babies during the first year is three times that of breast-fed babies. Put the child to the breast every six hours the first day, and every four hours the second day after birth, or oftener if it fails to nurse or obtain nourishment. Usually a good flow of milk is not established until the fourth, fifth or sixth day. The nursing should not last more than twenty minutes. Never let the baby go to sleep with the nipple in its mouth. After the milk comes, usually from the third day on, the frecjuency of nursing during the first year is shown in the following table from Holt: Night N ursings nursings Period in 24 Interval (10 P.M. hours by day to 6 A.M.) 1st and 2d day 4 6 hrs. 1 3 days to 6 weeks 10 2 " 2 6 weeks to 3 months 8 2^ " 2 3 to 5 months 7 3 " 1 5 to 12 months 6 3" The baby should not be allowed to nurse except at the regular intervals. It is a great, but very common mis- take to put the baby to the breast every time it cries. It is 521 THE HOUSEKEEPER BABTS^SSING ^""'"'''^Fnn^^TOR Food Co ^^ j0HKS0NED«i.^^ ^^ EOUCATOH,? o f^ You will liiid the aljove article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 522 THE HOUSEKEEPER more likely to be thirsty or sutfering from over- feeding than to be hungry. Give it a drink of water, but do not nurse it until the regular time. The water should be boiled at least ten minutes, then cooled and kept in a cov- ered jar and given to the baby luke warm. Have water boiled for the baby each day. CARE OF THE NURSING MOTHER A nursing mother must take care of herself in order to keep her baby well. Breast-fed babies often vomit or have diarrhoea because the mother is sick or tired out, or be- cause the milk is poor. Causes which weaken the mother and injure her milk are improper food, irregular meals, exhaustion from over-work or lack of sleep, and too fre- cjuent or prolonged nursing. She should sleep as much as possible in a room with windows wide open. It is well to sleep for at least one hour during the day. Nursing mothers should keep themselves well and their milk in good condition, by eating at regular hours three plain, well-cooked meals a day, consisting of milk, meat, vegetables, and cereals. They should drink freely between meals of pure cold water. The notion that large quantities of tea, coffee and beer improve the quality of the mother's milk is mistaken. Beer and tea are always harmful and large quantities are positively dangerous. The mother should keep her bowels regular, as constipation in a nurs- ing mother often causes colic in her child. If the mother is ill or run down, or the baby has diarrhoea and vomiting, she should consult a doctor at once, before giving the baby other foods or bottle feeding. WEANING Usually a child is weaned at the ninth or tenth month. Reasons for weaning earlier are failure of child to develop normally and gain in weight, or the serious illness or preg- nancy of the mother. The time for weaning the baby will 523 THE HOUSEKEEPER depend partly upon the state of the mother's heaUh, and partly upon the season of the year. Some mothers ought to wean their infants at six months, others may nurse them a full year. The average is about nine or ten months. Nursing the child too long is an unnecessary drain upon the mother. There is also great danger of injury to the child. Consult a physician as to the time for weaning the baby. Wean gradually by giving one breast, feeding less each day and teach the baby to drink from a cup or bottle. With the advice and consent of the physician, you may begin during the fifth or sixth month to teach the baby to take food and water from a bottle. Thus the baby will be fed for some time with both breast milk and artificial food, and there will be time for his stomach to adjust itself to the change. This plan will materially decrease both the difficulties and dangers of weaning. In changing from breast milk to cow's milk, the milk used first should be very much diluted and modified. unless the baby has been given a bottle in addition to the mother's milk. In weaning a six months' old baby give the milk usually given to an infant three months old. The quantity should be larger and the food can be gradually increased so that in a few weeks the usual strength for the age can be taken. ARTIFICIAL FEEDING All doctors of experience agree that the problem of the artificial feeding of infants is one of the most serious which they are called upon to face. Some babies have to be put on the bottle at birth or during the first few weeks or months of life. All must be weaned sooner or later. Hence, this is a problem which must be worked out for every single child. There are certain facts and principles which every mother should know because they are of im- portance in all cases. But every mother should clearly un- derstand that no set of rules can be laid down which will be adapted in all respects to any child. Each baby needs a 524 THE HOUSEKEEPER combination suited to his digestion. The mixture upon which some other baby is thriving may be too strong or too weak for your baby. The only way to learn what food will agree with your baby is by experience. There is no perfect substitute for mother's milk. The milk of the cow and other animals, condensed milk, and artificial manufactured foods are unnatural and unsatis- factory makeshifts. All of these substitutes have been often anaylzed and the difference between them and the natural food of infancy is clearly understood. Condensed milk contains too much sugar and not enough fat. None of the manufactured foods most commonly used contain suffi- cient fat ; some contain too much starch, others too much sugar. At times some of these substitutes may be used to advantage, but none of them can take the place of mother's milk. Cow's milk is the best available substitute for mother's milk. Milk to be fit for infant feeding should come from healthy cows, milk from a herd is better than that from one cow, as it is less likely to vary from day to day. The milk should be handled only by healthy persons and be kept clean and free from contamination. The cows, stables and milkers should be clean, the milk should be cooled rap- idly as soon as drawn and it should be transported in sterile bottles which are sealed. If certified milk can be obtained this is best for infant feeding; but milk as it is ordinarily handled should not be used for infants after it is forty-eight hours old in winter and twenty-four hours old in summer. When the milk is received in the home it should at once be placed in the refrigerator or where it will be kept at a temperature of 50° Fahrenheit. Milk purchased in bulk should never be used for infant feeding when bottled milk can be obtained. Even if the milk is clean, fresh and cool when it is delivered at your door, or if you then kill the germs which it may contain by home pasteurization, it may 525 THE HOUSEKEEPER afterwards become unfit for food, especially for babies, by improper treatment. This may occur if you place it in un- clean vessels, expose it unnecessarily to the air, or fail to keep it cool up to the time of using, hence the following suggestions. Buy bottle milk, at least for your baby. Keep milk in the original bottle till needed for immediate consumption. Carefully wipe or rinse the bottle, especially the mouth, before pouring any milk from it, so that dust or dirt which may have gathered thereon or on the cap will not get into the milk. Do not pour back into the bottle milk which has been exposed to the air by being placed in other vessels. Keep the bottle covered with a paper cap as long as milk is in it and when not actually pouring from it. H the paper cap has been punctured, cover the bottle with an inverted tumbler. COMPARISON OF COW'S MILK AND HUMAN MILK Human Milk Cozv's Milk Water 87.5% 87% Fat 4% 4% Milk Sugar 6.7% 5% Mineral Matter 0.2% 0.7% Protein 1.5% 3.2% By comparing the tables showing the composition of hu- man and cow's milk, it will be seen that cow's milk contains more protein and mineral matter and less sugar of milk, the fat and water varying but little. The calf grows faster than the baby, therefore needs more building material. The baby, having a relatively larger surface exposed, loses more heat. The protein of milk is composed of lactalbumin and caseinogen. Lactalbumin is soluble in water, and as there is a larger percentage of this constituent in human than in cow's milk, the former during digestion forms into succu- lent curds; while the latter, containing more caseinogen, forms into dense cheesy curds. 526 THE H O U S E K E E P F: R In addition to the difference in composition of human and cow's milk it must be remembered that mother's milk is fed fresh and is practically sterile, while cow's milk is generally kept twenty- four hours or longer and is to a greater or less degree contaminated by bacteria. Cow's milk to form a typical infant food needs to be "modified" or changed so that its composition resembles as closely as possible that of the mother's milk. Cow's milk has about half as much sugar as human milk, has nearly three times as much protein and mineral matter, and its protein and fat are different and harder to digest. Lime water is sometimes used when the baby's digestion is disturbed to overcome the acidity of cow's milk and to lessen the consistency of the curd. There are some infants with whom it does not agree, and if used too freely it may cause constipation. One ounce of lime water to twenty ounces of food is the usual proportion. Cow's milk is diluted to obtain the proper proportion of protein — this of course dilutes the sugar and fat also. In some cases top milk is used to increase the fat percentage and sugar is always added. Only boiled water should be used for diluting the milk. The sugar is required to give energy; usually 3 level table- spoonfuls of milk sugar to 20 ounces of food are used. The sugar should be dissolved in the boiled water. Cane sugar may be used in place of milk sugar, and in this case 2 tablespoonfuls to 20 ounces of food are used. Malt- ose, another form of sugar, is often used, it is easily digested and is useful if there is constipation. Use 3 tablespoonfuls Maltose to 20 ounces of food. Milk usually contains about 4% of fat. We speak of this as whole milk. Top milk is the thin cream removed from the top of a bottle of milk after it has stood several hours. Seven per cent milk contains 7% fat and is obtained by re- moving the upper 16 ounces, or one-half, from a quart bottle. 527 THE HOUSEKEEPER The top milk should not be poured from the bottle, but should be removed by a small dipper known as the "Chapin dipper" which holds one ounce; or it may be taken oft with a spoon. Upper \y2 ounces well shaken will yield approximately 32% cream. Upper 4 ounces well shaken will yield approximately 20% cream. Upper 6 ounces well shaken will yield approximately 16% cream. Upper 8 ounces well shaken will yield approximately 12% cream. Upper 1 1 ounces well shaken will yield approximately 10% cream. The lowest 8 ounces will yield practically fat free milk, the middle milk is not used. The providing of formulas for home modifications of milk is plainly the work of the physician. He not only can recommend the best formula for the individual child, but can watch the child's growth and progress and can make an}' necessary changes in the food. However, for examples we give the following formulas and directions for infant feeding, quoting from Dr. Emmett Holt's book, ''The Care and Feeding of Children,'' which we consider to be one of the most reliable sources for information on this subject. The simplest way of modifying milk is to use whole milk in the required amounts, diluted and changed according to the directions given. Fonuiilas From JJlioie Milk (4 percent fat) for the Early Months Formula 1 23 45 67 89 Milk (oz.) 6 6i 7 74 8 8J 9 9i 10 Sugar (oz.) 1111111 -I I Water (oz.) 14 Uh 13 12i 12 Hi 11 lOi 10 Flour (tahlespoonfuls). 0000000 *1 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 Xote. — The sugar is 1 ounce by weight ; this is equivalent to 3 level tahlespoonfuls of milk sugar or maltose, and 2 level tahlespoonfuls of granulated sugar. 528 THE HOUSEKEEPER The flour may be barley, oat, rice or wheat flour, or arrowroot cooked for thirty minutes in part of the water in the formula. Level tablespoon fuls should be used. Beginning at birth. Formula 1 might first be given, and strength of the food increased about once a week up to No. V, after that every two weeks until No. IX is reached. Such a fornuila as No. IX will be reached by an average healthy infant at about three months of age. After this the next group of formulas may be used, but the increase should l)e made more slowly, about once a month up to XII, then about every two months, reaching X^o. XIV at about ten months. This may be continued up to twelve months. Foninilas from lllwle Milk for the Later Months Formula 9 10 11 12 13 14 Milk (oz.) 10 11 12 13 14 15- Sugar (oz.) I i i ^ ^ i Water (oz.) 10 9 8 7 6 5 Flour (tablespoonfuls) 1 U U U 2 3 20 20 20 20 20 20 Foninihu from / Per Cent Top Milk In Formula No. I use 4 ounces top milk in 20 ounces. In Formula No. II use 4^ ounces top milk in 20 ounces. In Formula No. Ill use 5 ounces top milk in 20 ounces. In Formula Xo. IV use SjA ounces top milk in 20 ounces. In Formula Xo. \' use 6 ounces top milk in 20 ounces. In Formula Xo. \T use GjA ounces top milk in 20 ounces. In Formula Xo. VII use 7 ounces top milk in 20 ounces. In Formula X^o. VIII use 7^ ounces top milk in 20 ounces. 529 THE HOUSEKEEPER In Formula No. IX use 8 ounces top milk in 20 ounces. In Formula No. X use 9 ounces top milk in 20 ounces. In Formula No. XI use 9]^. ounces top milk in 20 ounces. In Formula No. XII use 10 ounces top milk in 20 ounces. In Formula No. XIII use lOj-2 ounces top milk in 20 ounces. In Formula No. XIV use 11 ounces top milk in 20 ounces. For the first two or three weeks it is well to use the form- ulas of the whole milk series and then those of the top milk series beginning with No. III. The food is increased in strength at about the same intervals in both series of formulas. After No. XIV instead of taking the upper 16 ounces, one may take off 20, and use 12 ounces of this in 20 of food ; then take oft' 24 and use 13 ounces of this in 20 of food; which is the same as No. XIV of the whole milk series. The number of feedings in twenty- four hours, the quan- tity for a single feeding and the daily quantity are given in the following table : SchcdiUc for Hcaltliy Infants for the First Year Interval Night No. of Quantity Quantity between Feedings Feedings for one for 24 meals (6 p.m. to in 24 Feeding hours by day 6 a.m.) hours Age 2d to 7th day 3 2 7 1-2 7-14 2nd and 3rd weeks.... 3 2 7 2 -3i 14-24 4th to 6th weeks 3 2 7 3-4 21-28 7th week to 3 mos 3 2 7 3J-5 25-35 3 to 5 mos 3 1 6 4^-6 27-36 5 to 7 mos 3 1 6 5i-6i 33-39 7 to 12 mos 4 1 5 7 -8i 35-43 530 THE HOUSEKEEPER This schedule gives the averages for healthy children. The smaller c(iiantities are those required by small children whose digestion is not very vigorous. The larger cjuantities are those required by large children with strong digestion; in very few cases will it be advisable to go above these figures. MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR MILK MIXING It is good economy to equip yourself at the outset with a full set of proper utensils for mixing the baby's milk. You will require an eight-ounce glass graduate, a glass funnel, a cream dipper, a dozen nursing bottles, a half dozen black rubber nipples, and a bottle brush for washing out the bottles, li you buy milk in bottles and measure it in a glass graduate you will not need to use pitchers, cups, or other measures. But whatever utensils you do use for mixing the baby's food should be kept by themselves, washed separately, boiled and drained without wiping, and not put into the dish water or wiped with a dish towel in the ordinary way. All utensils used in preparing baby food should be of glass, china, porcelain or granite-ironware. These will not rust nor present crevices for the accumulation of dirt. Never use vessels or utensils which are cracked or have rough edges or surfaces. Select nursing bottles with round bottoms and free from angles. The best bottles are marked with a scale of ounces so that the exact amount given may be measured at each feeding. It is advisable to purchase a dozen bottles because it is much more convenient to mix in the morning the food for the entire day. Put enough for each feeding in a separate bottle and then place the bottles on ice. Ten feedings will be required for small infants and it is well to have extra bottles on hand in case of breakage. Fewer bottles may be used, but no mother should attempt to get along with less than two. It is better to have plenty of bottles so that the same bottles will not have to be used too frequently. 531 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 532 THE HOUSEKEEPER Place the nursing bottles and all utensils used for prepar- ing the baby's milk in a pan, cover them with cold water, heat to the boiling point and boil for ten minutes. This should be done once a day. Nipples when purchased should be sterilized in boiling water for ten minutes. Wash the nipple after each feeding and keep it in a glass containing water in which boric acid is dis.solved. using 1 teaspoonful boric acid to 1 pint water. Clean the nursing bottle immediately after each feeding. First rinse with clear cold water. Wash with hot water, fill the bottle with clean boiled water and a little piece of cook- ing soda the size of a pea and let the water stand in the bottle until the next feeding. Never let the bottle stand with milk in it. Never try to save what is left from one feeding until the next. BOTTLE FEEDING Prepare each morning enough food to last for twenty- four hours and place the required quantity for each nursing in a separate nursing bottle. Plug the bottles with baked absorbent cotton or antiseptic gauze. Or, if you do not have enough nursing bottles, prepare enough food for twenty- four hours and place it in a clean, freshly boiled fruit jar with a glass clamp top. Do not use the screw-top jars, they are not so easy to keep clean. Do not use the rubber ring, it is hard to keep clean and is not necessary. Use only freshly boiled water for mixing the food. Keep it until ready for use, in the same vessel in which it was boiled. Now mix the food exactly as the doctor directs, in accordance with the formula you have adopted. Always mix it exactly the same way. As soon as the food has been placed in nursing Ijottles or fruit jar, and stoppered prop- erlv, put these on ice or in the coolest place you can find. Work quickly and do not let the milk or prepared food stand in a warm room any longer than is necessary. 533 THE HOUSEKEEPER Feeding the Baby. — Keep the food on ice until ready for use and heat it when the baby needs it. Never let the bottle stand in a warm room with milk in it. Do not attempt to keep milk at a luke-warm temperature at night or any other time in a thermos bottle or by any other arrangement. Such a device simply acts as a incubator for germs which, at this temperature, quickly grow to enormous numbers and render the milk dangerous. Place the nursing bottle in hot water when needed and warm the food to body heat. Do not give the baby cold milk. Do not give the baby hot milk. Make the tempera- ture just right, ^^'ash your hands in soap and water before adjusting the nipple. Never put the nipple in your own mouth to find out whether the milk is warm enough. Try it on your wrist, or taste a little from a spoon. Shake the bottle before using it. Do not feed a baby under six months of age from a cup or spoon. Sucking is the natural way by which a baby takes its food. It needs the sucking action of the lips, mouth and tongue to mix its food with the fluids of the mouth. Feeding Problems. — If a bottle-fed baby does not thrive the difficulty may be that the food is too rich, or not rich enough; that the amount fed is too much, or too little; or that the food spoils before it is fed from not being kept clean and cold. The food must be kept clean and cold to be whc^ilcsome at any age. But the quality of the food, the amount to be given at each feeding, and the frequency of the feeding must be modified and adapted to the needs of the .growing child. It is usual to give rules for feeding accord- mg to the age of the child, but regard must also be given to its weight in pounds. HOW TO PASTEURIZE MILK Put milk in sterile, small-mouthed glass bottles, stop with cotton batting or absorbent cotton, place bottles in wire basket, immerse in kettle of cold water, and heat water 534 THE HOUSEKEEPER gradually, to a temptraeure of from 150° to 155° Fahren- heit. Keep at same temperature thirty minutes. Remove bottles, cool quickly, and put in a cold place. By this process almost all of the disease germs are killed ; also those germs which produce souring; but the spores, which are not killed, will develop after a few days. If one is obliged to obtain milk from a doubtful source it may be necessary to resort to this method during the hot weather. The health of the child is the only guide to decide when its use may be discontinued. Fannie M. Farmer. OTHER FOODS FOR INFANTS Keep the baby largely on milk, about 1 quart a day, until well into the second year. This is the chief secret of suc- cessful infant feeding. There is far less necessity for a mixed diet of ordinary foods than is generally supposed. No other food than properly modified milk should be given until the end of the sixth or seventh month, except on the order of a physician. The appearance of teeth at a moder- ately early age is simply an evidence of health. It is not an indication that the baby should be taught to eat solid food. As a rule no solid food whatever should be given during the first year. After the seventh month, gruel made with barley, arrowroot or oatmeal may be given, beginning with very small quantities. At first four ounces of thick strained oatmeal and one-half ounce of orange juice may be added to the daily allowance of food. The cjuantity of gruel may be gradually increased as the child grows older. The addi- tion of a pinch of salt will make the food more palatable, and it is essential that the cereal be thoroughly cooked. For oatmeal, cooking three hours in a double boiler is not too long and over night cooking is preferable. After the ninth month pure whole milk may be allowed in some cases and the child may have a crust of bread, or a small piece of zwieback. An egg yolk or a soft cooked egg may be given when the baby is about one year old . 535 THE HOUSEKEEPER pS5Sl!513gSspiiE. y:P ^J^^^ Intomal Cleanser, '^'^set digestion ^vipiug. You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 536 THE HOUSEKEEPER During the second year milk is the chief article of diet, and the following foods may be given : well-cooked cereals (first strained but later unstrained), fruit juice, egg yolk, stale bread, and vegetable pulp. Throughout the whole period of infancy, food other than milk should be selected and prepared with care and given in moderation. During the second year children are almost in- variably overfed. DIET OF OLDER CHILDREN Milk should continue to be an important article of diet even to the age of ten years. The simple well cooked foods are best for children and a larger variety of foods being given until the range of food materials for the twelve year old child available is practically the same as for the adult with the exception, of course, of rich pastry, preserves, and fried foods. CONTAGIOUS DISEASES OF CHILDREN Mothers, and other persons in immediate charge of small children should be constantly upon the look-out for symp- toms of communicable diseases and other common con- ditions requiring medical attention. Never expose children to any contagious disease in order that thev may have it at once and b^e over it. Even the so- called simple children's diseases, as whooping cough and measles have a high death rate. Young children contract these diseases readily while the normal adult is not so easily susceptible to them. SCARLET FEVER Scarlet fever is highly contagious, but, like other germ diseases, is wholly preventable. It is. or should be, among the most dreaded of all the acute diseases of childhood. It attacks chiefly children between the ages of one and ten 537 THE HOUSEKEEPER years, although about five per cent of all cases occur in adult life. After childhood the liability to take the disease is very much lessened. Many persons who escape the disease in childhood have been immune to it, although many times exposed in later life. SYMPTOiMS The period of incubation after exposure varies from one to fourteen days. Hence a child exposed to scarlet fever should be carefully watched during the following two weeks. Upon the first symptoms of shivering, lassitude, headache, rapid pulse, hot, dry skin, flushed face, coated tongue with much thirst and loss of appetite, the patient should be isolated until a positive diagnosis can be made by a physician. Vomiting is usually among the first positive symptoms. Other symptoms are sore throat, intense fever with head- ache or backache, and the characteristic scarlet rash. This usually appears in from twelve to twenty-four hours, first upon the lower part of the neck and adjacent parts of the chest and afterwards gradually spreading over the entire body. The chief danger from contact infection is from scales from the skin, the spittle from the throat and mouth and the nose and ear discharges. But all the discharges of the patient should be disinfected. MEASLES Measles is the most contagious eruptive disease of child- hood. It is probably a germ disease. German measles is not a form of measles nor is it a mild type of scarlet fever, it is a distinct disease. Measles may occur at any time dur- ing the year, but it is most prevalent in the fall and winter months. 538 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 539 THE HOUSEKEEPER SYMPTOMS The period of incubation is from ten to fourteen days after exposure. The symptoms for the first two days are very much hke those of an ordinary cold in the head. The eyes become red and watery and are sensitive to Hght. The nose is stopped up or there is a discharge from the nose, with sneezing. The throat is sore, and there is a dry, hard, cough. The tonsils may be swollen or red, headache, fever, loss of appetite, drowsiness and irritability are usually observed. The characteristic skin eruption appears on the fourth day on the face and neck and thence over the whole body, as dull red blotches a little raised, and later running to- gether. It gives the skin a peculiar appearance. Before this occurs one cannot be positive that the case is one of measles. The danger from measles is chiefly due to complication with other diseases such as whooping cough and bronchial pneumonia. Modes of I nfccf ion.— Measles is contagious from the be- ginning of the symptoms usually three or four davs before the eruption occurs. It is during this first stage of the disease, when the symptoms can hardly be distinguished from those of an ordinary cold in the head, that the disease is most often communicated. The disease is usually con- veyed to others by the discharge of the nose and throat. MUMPS Mumps is a glandular swelling in the angle between the jaw and the ear. It is a highly contagious but wholly un- necessarv and preventable disease. It chiefly afifects chil- dren, but may attack older persons who have not become immune from having had the disease in childhood. It usually develops in from two to three weeks after exposure. 540 THE HOUSEKEEPER WHOOPING COUGH This is a contagious disease characterized by severe in- flammation of the bronchial tubes and accompanied by a pecuHar cough ending in the famiHar "whoop." It has all the characteristics of a germ disease. Persons of all ages are liable to the attacks of this malady. Children should never be knowingly exposed to whooping cough and great care should be taken to protect children under five years of age from infection. After this period the likelihood of in- fection is much lessened and the danger of death from this disease is practically over. Many persons escape this malady altogether. 541 THE HOUSEKEEPER BUSTER BROWN SHOES Natural shape, best for growing children You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 542 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXXVni FOOD FOR YOUNG CHILDREN* {Caroline L. Hunt.) A little child who is carefully fed in accordance with his bodily needs (as these are now understood) receives every day at least one food from each of the following groups : 1. Milk and dishes made chiefly of milk (most import- ant of the group as regards children's diet) ; meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and meat substitutes. 2. Bread and other cereal foods. 3. Butter and other wholesome fats. 4. Vegetables and fruits. 5. Simple sweets. BREAKFAST Baked apple (pulp and juice only for the youngest chil- dren and for those with whom the skin disagrees) (group 4) ; cereal mush (group 2) ; milk (group 1) ; toast and but- ter (groups 2 and 3). DINNER Lamb chop (group 1) ; baked potato (group 4) ; spin- ach (finely chopped for youngest children) (group 4); bread and butter (groups 2 and 3); rice with milk and sugar (groups 1, 2, and 5). (* Farmers' Bulletin No. 717, "Food for Young Children.") 543 THE HOUSEKEEPER SUPPER Milk (group 1 ) ; bread (group 2) ; stewed prunes (pulp and juice only for youngest children) (group 4) ; plain cookies (omit in case of youngest children) (group 5). In these meals (breakfast, dinner, and supper) each of the groups is represented by a food which is suitable for a little child, each food being numbered to indicate the group to which it belongs. The purpose is to show a day's ration containing enough different kinds of foods to meet all the child's needs. Many other meals might have been given, for there is no food in the menus, except milk, which could not have been replaced by some other wholesome food. Milk, if it can be procured, should form part of the food of every child, ex- cept when for some special reason the doctor objects, and this he seldom does. As to the amounts that should be served, a good rule is to provide three or four glasses (1^ pints to 1 cjuart ) of milk a day; an egg or its ecjuivalent in moderately fat meat, fish, poultry, or meat substitute ; fruit and vegetables each once a day; 1 to 2 ounces of butter or other wholesome fat; and all the bread or other cereal food the child will eat. One or two ounces of sugar, candy, or other sweet ( including the sugar used in cooking) may also be allowed, if this does not prevent eating the other foods mentioned. The foods shown in the menus are simple and simply cooked, but are the kind liked by most healthy children. The service should be orderly and neat in every way. This is important because it helps to form neat and orderly habits. The following bills of fare, like those in the menus, are simple, easy to prepare, sufficiently varied, and. if well prepared, should taste good. They are so planned that milk and another food from group 1 and a food from each of the other groups will be served at least once a day. 544 THE HOUSEKEEPER SUGGESTED BILLS OF FARE BREAKFAST Orange (juice only for the youngest children). Farina with milk. Bread and butter. Apple sauce. Oatmeal with milk. Toast and butter. Baked pears (pulp and juice only for the youngest chil- dren). Milk toast. Cocoa. Stewed prunes (pulp and juice only for the youngest children). Corn-meal mush and milk. Toast and butter. Grape fruit (juice only for the youngest children). Milk toast with grated yolk of hard-boiled egg. Apple (scraped for very little children). Toast. Hot milk. In each case enough milk should be given to make up the required daily amount, which is about a quart. DINNER Meat soup. Egg on toast. String beans. Rice pudding. 545 THE HOUSEKEEPER Roast beef. Baked potato. Asparagus. Bread and jelly. Lamb stew with carrots and potato.. 1 wice-baked bread. Tapioca custard. Creamed potatoes. Green peas. Stewed plums with thin cereal-milk pudding. Baked halibut. Boiled potatoes. Stewed celery. Boiled rice with honey or sirup. Broiled meat cakes. Grits. Creamed carrots. Bread, butter, and sugar sandwiches. In each case enough milk should be given to make up the lequired daily amount, which is about a cjuart. SUPPER Baked potatoes served with cream and salt, or with milk gravy. Cookies. Bread and milk. Apple sauce. Sponge cake. 546 THE HOUSEKEEPER Potato-milk soup. Twice-baked bread. Marmalade sandwiches. Graham crackers and milk. Baked custard. Milk toast. Stewed peaches. Cup cake. Celery-milk soup. Toast. Floating island. In each case enough milk should be given to make up the required daily amount, which is about a quart. Though all the foods mentioned in the bills of fare may be included under five heads, the diet need not be monoto- nous, for many foods come under each class. The differ- ent 'groups are described in the pages that follow. FOOD GROUP NO. 1.— MILK AND DISHES MADE CHIEFLY FROM IT; FISH, POULTRY, EGGS, AND MEAT SUBSTITUTES. The different foods mentioned in the heading of this group have enough in common to warrant bringing them together. Hovrever, milk is such an important food for children that it is desirable to speak of it by itself. MILK SERVED IN VARIOUS WAYS Milk is the natural food of babies and the most import- ant food for young children. A quart of milk a day is a good allowance for a child. The greater part of this is usually given as a drink or served on cereals or in the form of bread and milk. Milk may also be served on fruits that are not very acid (baked apples or pears, berries, and 547 THE HOUSEKEEPER others), in soups, gravies, custard, junket, and other pud- dings, and may be used in place of water in cooking cereals. Milk, being a liquid, is sometimes classed with water, tea. and coffee, simply as a beverage, by those who do not understand its value as food. This is a great mistake. If all the water were to be driven off from a quart of tea or coffee, almost nothing would be left, and the little that re- mained would have little or no value as food. If, on the other hand, the water were driven off from a quart of whole milk, there would be left about half a cupful of the very best, food substances, including butter fat, a kind of sugar not so sweet as granulated sugar and known as "milk sugar," and also materials which are needed to make muscles, bones, teeth, and other parts of the body. All these valuable food substances are ordinarily either dis- solved or floating in the water of milk. Besides all this nourishment, milk contains a very small amount of a substance or substances now thought to help the body of the child to make good use of other foods. For this reason milk is often called "growth promoting." Apparently nothing can serve so well as the basis for the diet of the healthy child. Good whole milk is desirable, but if a mother is obliged to choose between clean milk and rich milk, she had better take the clean milk. Best of all, of course, is clean whole milk, but if that cannot be obtained it is better to use clean fresh skim milk than dirty or questionable whole milk. A cjuart of skim milk, even separator skim milk, contains about a third of a cupful of solid food, which is nearly all there was in the whole milk, except the butter fat. When it is absolutely impossible to get fresh milk, con- densed, powdered, or evaporated milk may be used, but before doing this parents should try in every way to get fresh milk for their children. Compared with most other foods milk contains much lime but very little iron. Spinach and other green vegeta- bles and egg yolks are, on the other hand, very rich in 548 THE HOUSEKEEPER iron. This is one reason why combinations of egg yolks and milk and of vegetables and milk are mentioned so often. When milk is given to babies the chill is usually taken from it. It is safe to do this for all young children. When milk is used as a drink it should be sipped, not gulped down. Besides being served as a beverage, milk is often com- bined with many other foods, as follows : BREAD AND MILK This may well be the chief, if not the only, dish in the supper of little children, li the milk is not very rich, the bread should be spread with butter. Use well-baked bread, at least a day old, or toast, or occasionally crackers. CEREALS AND MILK Thoroughly cooked cereals served once a day for the first course and once a day for dessert encourage the use of milk. Any cereal may be cooked in milk besides being served with it. Skim milk which might otherwise be thrown away may be used for the purpose. Rice, cooked in an uncovered double boiler, or in a pan in a very slow oven, can be made to absorb about six times its volume of skim milk. To cook a cupful of rice in this way instead of in water may be considered equivalent, so far as tissue- forming qualities are concerned, to serving it with half a pound of lean beef. MILK TOAST The following is a good method for making milk toast. Put on the table hot crisp toast or twice baked bread and a pitcher of hot milk, slightly srlted. One-fourth teaspoonful of salt to a cupful of milk is sufficient. Pour the milk over the toast as needed, using hot bowls or deep saucers for serving. This is the easiest way of serving milk toast, and, if care is taken to have all the dishes hot and to salt 549 THE HOUSEKEEPER the milk, it is usually acceptable. A supply of twice-baked bread can be kept on hand and heated as needed to crisp it. Another way to make milk toast is to thicken milk and pour it over toast. For one cupful of milk allow one and one-half level teaspoonfuls of flour and one-fourth tea- spoonful of salt. Make a smooth paste out of the flour, salt, and a little of the milk. Heat the rest of the milk, add the flour and milk mixture and boil for about five minutes, stirring constantly, or cook twenty minutes in a double boiler, stirring constantly at first and frequently later on. If skim milk is used, a level teaspoonful of butter or bacon fat should be added after the gravy is prepared. An easier and quicker method of making the sauce or " milk gravy " is to cook the flour thoroughly in a table- spoonful of fat before adding the milk. This, however, is not thought to be so wholesome as the kind of gravy in which the flour is cooked in the milk. Milk gravy may be combined with dried beef or salt cod- fish which has been cut into small pieces and soaked in warm water, or with small pieces of tender meat, chicken, fish, or vegetables. Such gravy may be served with toast, with baked or boiled potatoes, or with boiled rice or other cereals. Dishes of this kind are more suitable for dinner than for supper. Milk toast with the yolk of a hard-boiled egg grated over it makes an attractive dish. The whites of the hard-cooked eggs are not suitable for a young child nor for any child unless they are finely chopped or unless the child can be made to chew them well. COCOA For variety, milk flavored with cocoa may be served. Prepared cocoa is the most convenient, but cracked cocoa shells or nibs, which require long boiling, may be used. A warm drink, made chiefly of cocoa and water, is not to be 550 THE HOUSEKEEPER confused with the more nourishing drink made by flavor- ing milk with cocoa, but it has its uses. Like clear soups, which contain little food in themselves, it may lead the child to eat freely of bread and other needed foods. MILK SOUPS Another good way to serve milk to children is in soups. Milk-vegetable soups are made from cooked vegetables, chopped or strained, which in this form may be given to even the voungest children, and milk (whole or skim) slightly thickened. The vegetable may be asparagus, peas, beans of various kinds, celery, potatoes, turnips, carrots, spinach, kale, chard, beet roots or greens, parsnips, lettuce, cress, cauliflower, or almost any other. GENERAL RECIPE FOR MILK-VEGETABLE SOUPS 2 cupfuls of milk. 1 tablespoon ful of flour. 1 tablespoon ful of butter. Salt. 2/3 a cupful of a thoroughly cooked vegetable, finely chopped, mashed, or put through a sieve. Thicken the milk with the flour as for milk gravy, add the other ingredients. If the soup is too thick, as it may be if the vegetable is starchy, thin it with milk or water. Milk tomato soup is not recommended for the youngest children. When it is served a little soda should be added to prevent the milk from curdling. MILK STEW 1 cjuart of milk. 1 cupful raw potatoes cut into small pieces. 2 tablespoonfuls of butter or bacon fat. 1 cupful of codfish cut into small pieces or just enough to flavor the stew. 551 THE HOUSEKEEPER Soak the fish in kikewarm water until it is soft and the salt removed. Cook the potatoes in water until tender, drain them, add the milk and codfish, and bring to the boiling point; add the butter, and salt to taste. In place of the codfish any other salt or fresh fish, oysters or a little chipped beef may be used. Or the fish may be omitted and the soup made savory and palatable by adding a few drops of onion juice, or a vegetable cut into small pieces and cooked thoroughly. CEREAL-MILK PUDDINGS Puddings made with milk and bread, rice, or some other cereal food, have long been recognized as desirable in the child's diet. Such milk puddings as old-fashioned rice or Indian pudding may be the means of serving much milk in a whole- some way. From the following recipe for rice pudding other recipes can be easily made, the proportions in all cases being about the same : RICE PUDDING 1 quart of milk. ^cupful of rice. Yz cupful of sugar. Yi teaspoonful of salt. y% teaspoonful of ground nutmeg, or cinnamon, or the grated rind of Va^ of a lemon. Wash the rice thoroughly, mix the ingredients, and bake three hours or more in a very slow oven, stirring occasion- ally at first. GENERAL RECIPE FOR CEREAL-MILK PUDDINGS For a quart of milk allow one-third of a cupful of any coarse cereal (rice, corn meal, cracked wheat, oatmeal, or barley) and one-third of a cupful of brown, white, or maple sugar, syrup, honey, or molasses; one-half teaspoonful of 552 THE HOUSEKEEPER salt; one-eighth teaspoonful of spice. The flavoring may be omitted when honey or molasses is used. The above recipe makes quite a large pudding. It is often convenient to make a smaller one, and enough for a child's dinner can be made in the double boiler, allowing two level or one rounding tablespoonfuls each of cereal and of sugar (or other sweet) to a cupful of salted and flavored milk. Cook an hour or more without covering. These puddings, if made thin, may be poured over stewed prunes or other cooked fruits, and are a good and economi- cal substitute for the cream or soft custard usually used for that purpose. CUSTARD AND OTHER MILK PUDDINGS There are many other milk dishes which are used in the same way as this milk and cereal pudding. Recipes for some of them follow : Junket, or " rennet custard," is milk that has been coagulated or curdled, a process not unlike one of the steps in digestion. The curdling is brought about by the addition of " junket tablets '' to the milk. Milk contain- ing rennet will, if not disturbed, " set " in one piece re- sembling a custard. Junket differs little from milk in food value except for the presence of the sugar used for flavor- ing, but it gives variety to the diet. H served very cold it is refreshing in warm weather. .lUNKET 2 cupfuls of milk. j4 cupful sugar, honey, or syrup. 1 junket tablet. Ys teaspoonful of salt. A few grains of nutmeg or cinnamon. Warm the milk to about the temperature of the body, crush the tablet, and add it with the other ingredients to 553 THE HOUSEKEEPER the milk. Pour into one large or several small dishes and place in a warm (not hot) place to harden. Cool before serving. BOILED CUSTARD 3 egg yolks. 2 ciipfuls of milk. y^ cupful of sugar, honey, or syrup. y^ teaspoonful of salt. Flavoring. Heat the milk in a double boiler. Thoroughly mix the eggs and sugar and pour the milk over them Return the mixture to the double boiler and heat it until it thickens, stirring constantly. Cool and flavor. If the custard curdles remove it from the fire and beat with a Dover tgg beater. This custard may be served in place of cream on many kinds of dessert. FLOATING ISLAND In this dish the whites of eggs left over from boiled custard can be used to serve with it. Beat the whites until stiff, sweeten them a little, and cook them in a covered dish over water which is hot but not boiling, or cook them on top of the hot milk which is to be used in making custard. Lift them out with a wire tgg beater or split spoon, and place on top of the custard. Decorate with small bits of jelly. TAPIOCA CUSTARD Tapioca custards may be made as follows : Add to the list of ingredients for boiled custard one-fourth cupful of pearl tapioca. Soak the tapioca in water for an hour or two, drain it, and cook in the milk until it is transparent. Proceed as for boiled custard. 554 THE HOUSEKEEPER BAKED CUSTARD In making allow one egg and two level teaspoonfnls of sugar and a few grains of salt and of nutmeg for each cup- ful of milk. Beat the eggs slightly and add the other in- gredients. Bake in cups set in a pan of water in a moderate oven. SIMPLE ICE CREAMS In the way they are used, ice creams and frozen custard may be grouped with the puddings. Plain ice cream made out of thin cream, sweetened and flavored, or out of cream and custard mixed, may be given to children occasionally. A good ice cream may be made as follows : Allow one- fourth cupful of sugar to each cupful of thin cream (half milk and half cream) ; flavor and freeze. A frozen custard, commonly called by housekeepers "ice cream" or "French ice cream," which contains eggs as well as milk and cream, may be made as follows: For each half cupful of milk allow one-fourth cupful of sugar, one or two egg yolks or one whole egg, and a half cupful of cream. Make a custard out of all the ingredients but the cream. When it is cool, flavor it, add the cream, and freeze. CARAMEL FLAVORING FOR USE IN CUSTARDS, ICE CREAMS, AND OTHER DESSERTS An economical flavoring for any of the above desserts may be made by browning or caramelizing ordinary sugar. To each cupful of sugar add one-fourth of a cupful of water. Heat until well browned, stirring constantly, even after the dish has been taken from the fire, and until the danger of burning in the hot dish is passed. Before the mixture hardens, add hot water and cook until it is about the consistency of thick syrup. Bottle and save for use as needed. 555 THE HOUSEKEEPER MEAT, FISH, POULTRY, EGGS, AND MEAT SUBSTITUTES The other foods incKided in group one with milk (con- sidered by far the most important of them ah for children) are meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and meat substitutes. In some families children do not get enough meat and eggs ; in others they get too much. A good general rule com- monly followed is to give a child two years old or over, an egg every other day and about the same amount (2 ounces) of meat, fish, or poultry on the days that come between. If for any reason meat is omitted from the child's diet special care must be taken to see that other suitable foods take its place — preferably an extra amount of milk or eggs. Broiling or roasting are the best methods of preparing tender meat. Tough meat should be stewed or prepared in a fireless cooker, or first chopped and then broiled. It is important to teach children to chew meat and other foods properly. Fried meats, particularly those which are pan fried or cooked in a small amount of fat, should not be given to young children. One reason for this is that they are likely to be overcooked and tough, at least on the out- side, and are likely not to be properly chewed and to be swallowed in large pieces. Another reason is that the fat used in frying and also that w'hich tries out of the meat is likely to be scorched and changed in composition. When this is the case, it is almost certain to be harmful. Some recipes for cooking meat for children follow : BROILED CHOPPED MEAT Many cuts of meat too tough to be broiled whole may be prepared very satisfactorily by being chopped, salted, and broiled. Allow about one-half teaspoonful of salt to a pound of meat. For very little children the meat should be scraped instead of being chopped, for in this w^ay the con- nective tissue is taken out. An egg or a litle milk may also be added. The most important point is careful handling, 556 THE HOUSEKEEPER for if the meat is pressed together it becomes tough and hard. Ha wire broiler is used, the cakes should not be scjueezed between the two sides ; to avoid this, lay them on top of the broiler and turn them with a knife and fork. MEAT STEWS Stews made out of meat and vegetables offer a very great variety of dishes, good in themselves and good also be- cause they encourage the eating of bread. The meat used should, of course, be in good condition but need not be from a tender cut. The lower-priced cuts may be used with good results, provided they are made tender by long, slow cooking. Any vegetable may be added, including the tougher parts of lettuce and the leaves of celery. Rice, barley, macaroni, or even crusts of stale bread may be used in the stew to give variety. A stew containing a little meat, with one or more vegetables and a cereal, comes near to supplying all the needed foods, other than milk. MEAT STEW 2 pounds of one of the cheaper cuts of beef. 4 cups of potatoes cut into small pieces. 2-3 cupful each of turnips and carrots cut into half -inch cubes. y2 onion, chopped. ^ cupful of flour. Salt. Cut the meat into small pieces, cover with boiling water, boil for five minutes, and then cook at a lower temperature until the meat is tender. This will require about three hours on the stove or five hours in the fireless cooker. Add the carrots, turnips, and onions, and salt during the last hour of cooking, and the potatoes twenty minutes before serving. Thicken with the flour diluted with cold water. H the dish is made in the fireless cooker, the mixture must be reheated when the vegetables are put in. 557 THE HOUSEKEEPER There is much to l)e said in favor of keeping a soup pot on the stove all the time, provided great care is taken not to allow the contents to grow stale. Into this pot can go clean portions of uncooked food and also clean foods left from the table, such as meat, milk, mashed potatoes, or other vegetables, crusts, cold cereal mushes, and even fruits. Soups made from such materials may not have great nu- tritive value, but, like those made out of materials bought for the purpose, they encourage the use of a large amount of bread, particularly if carefully seasoned. POULTRY Chicken or turkey can be used for variety in a child's diet and are palatable stewed and served with rice. H roast chicken is used, select portions which are tender. It is well not to give a young child either highly seasoned stuffing (dressing) or rich gravy. FISH The use of cured fish, fresh fish, and oysters in stews has been spoken of above. Boiled or stewed fish is also good for variety. EGGS Eggs are especially useful food for young children. The chief point to remember in preparing them for children is that they must not be overcooked or they are likely to cause indigestion, as experience has shown. Every one knows how the heat of cooking hardens the egg, and it is easy to understand wiiy the digestive juices might have difficulty in penetrating such hard substance as the white of a hard-boiled egg. Overcooked yolks are also thought to be hard to digest. However, when eggs are cooked in the shell, the heat reaches the white before it does the yolk, and so there is more danger of the white being overcooked 558 THE HOUSEKEEPER than of the yolk. The best ways of serving eggs for children are poached, soft-boiled, or coddled, though they may be scrambled for a change if one is careful not to scorch the fat used or to overcook the egg. CODDLED EGGS Many means have been suggested for cooking eggs in such a way that the yolks will be cooked and the whites will not be overcooked. One of the most satisfactory is by coddling and is done as follows : Allow a cupful of water to each egg, bring the water to the boiling point, remove it from the fire, put in the eggs, cover the dish closely, and leave the eggs in the water for about seven minutes. There is some uncertainty about this method, for eggs differ in weight and also in temperature at the time the cooking begins. On the whole, however, this method can be more depended on than others. Good results can be obtained by pouring hot water over eggs, if the same dish with the same amount of water is always used, but each cook must make her own rules. MEAT SUBSTITUTES Milk and eggs, as stated above, are common meat sub- stitutes. Among vegetable foods, dried beans, peas, len- tils, and cowpeas, which are often classed together and called legumes, are the best substitutes for meat in the diet of older people, chiefly because they have large amounts of nitrogen needed for muscle building. In this respect they have some advantage, though not a great one, over cereals. Beans and the other legumes are not to be recommended for voung children except when milk, meat, eggs, fish, and poultry are not to be obtained. When used they should be cooked until they are reduced to a mush. Since the skins are likely to be tough, it is well to put the cooked legumes through a sieve. 559 THE HOUSEKEEPER -1 A general recipe for soups made from beans, peas, len- tils, cowpeas, and other legumes follows: SOUP FROM DRIED BEANS OR OTHER LEGUMES 1 cup dried legumes. 1 quart of water or soup stock. 2 tablespoonfuls of butter or savory fat. 2 tablespoonfuls of flour. Salt and other flavoring. Soak the dried legumes in water overnight. Drain, add the water or stock, cook slowly on top of the stove for three hours or in fireless cooker for four or five hours, or until tender. Renew the water as it boils away. Strain and thicken with the fat and flour rubbed together. These soups may be flavored in many ways. Sometimes a tomato, onion, a few celery tops, a sprig of parsley, or mixture of vegetables is boiled with the beans or peas, or just before serving a few drops of onion juice, a little celery salt, or one-fourth level teaspoonful of curry powder is added. Sometimes the water used is that in which ham or other meat has been boiled, but in such cases care must be taken not to have the liquid too fatty. FOOD GROUP No. 2— BREAD AND OTHER CEREAL FOODS Cereal foods of some sort are used by children prac- ticallv all over the world. Bread is the commonest cereal food in this country, though cereal mushes are also very generally used. Well-baked bread and thoroughly cooked breakfast cereals are both good for children and with milk should make up a large part of the diet. These two foods, bread and breakfast cereals, provide almost the same kind of nourishment. Bread may therefore take the place, to a certain extent, of cereal mushes, and cereal mushes may take the place of bread, but neither can take the place of milk, meat, eggs, fruit, and vegetables. 560 THE HOUSEKEEPER An ordinary slice of bread (a 94-iiich slice cut from an ordinary loaf, ) is equal in food value to about half a cupful of boiled or steamed cereal and to about a cupful of pulfed or flaked cereal. The mother who must feed her child very economically should calculate the cost of each and decide which is the cheapest. The relation of food to the condition of the bowels is an important matter. Grains, particularly those containing the outer or branny layers or coats, are laxative; so, too, are such, mildly acid fruits as apples, oranges and grape- fruit. So far, therefore, as the important matter of pre- venting constipation is concerned, coarse grains and mildly acid fruits serve the same purpose. When fruits are to be obtained in abundance, the kind of cereal served is not of great importance. When they are not, the coarser cereals should be used. In the case of both cereals and fruits, it is possible to overdo. Sometimes the coarser parts, such as bran and skin, do not agree with the child and, under these circumstances, they should be removed from the food before it is served. Some mothers find it necessary to strain oatmeal porridge, for example, and to remove the skins of apples. BREAD The yeast-raised bread given to young children should be at least a day old or should be toasted or twice baked. Most hot breads are likely to be swallow^ed in large pieces and are therefore not desirable. Hot breads which are almost all crust, like thin tea biscuits or crisp rolls, are least likely to cause trouble. MILK TOAST This very common bread dish has been discussed under milk. 561 THE HOUSEKEEPER TWICE-BAKED BREAD Bread cut or torn into small pieces and heated in a very slow oven until thoroughly dried and very delicately browned is good food for children. The warming oven of a coal stove is al)out hot enough for the piu'pose. In the case of gas ovens it is often difificult to get the gas low enough without having the door open a little way. The advantage of tearing instead of cutting the bread is that it makes it lighter in texture and easier to eat. The crust can be torn off from all but the ends of the loaf of bread in one piece. This crust should be torn into pieces, about two inches wide. The inside of an ordinary loaf of bread will make sixteen pieces of convenient size. Tear first across the loaf and then tear each half into eight pieces. It is usually necessary to make a small cut first in order to start the tearing. It is well to keep the crusts separate, as otherwise they are likely to get too brown. Such bread will need to be reheated before serving unless it is kept in a warm place, like a warming oven. The above is also a good way to use stale bread. Some people crush it and use it with milk as a breakfast food. BREAKFAST CEREALS Cereal mushes and other breakfast cereals are very com- mon foods. Almost all of the well-known grains are used for this purpose, and there are many such products, owing to differences in manufacture. Except when used for dessert, cereal mushes and ready- to-eat cereals should be served with milk and with very little, if any, sugar. If the cereals are heavily sw'eetened, children are likely to eat so much that they neglect other and much-needed foods. If carefully salted, mushes are more likely to satisfy the taste without sugar than other- wise. Well-cooked cereals with milk or stewed fruit or a little molasses, syrup, honey, or sugar make good desserts 562 THE HOUSEKEEPER for dinner, lunch, or supper, li preferred, dried fruits, like dates and raisins, may be cooked with the cereal to sweeten it and to give flavor. COOKING CEREAL BREAKFAST FOODS It is hard to give general rules for cooking cereals, for there are so many kinds, but it is safe to say that there is no danger of overcooking and much danger of undercook- ing them. Some grains need longer cooking than others — corn meal, for example, needs at least three hours and rice hardly more than half an hour. In general, whole grains, like whole wheat, or grains more or less finely broken, like cracked wheat, recjuire longer cooking (three hours at least J than more finely ground grains, such as farina (which should be cooked one hour at least. ) Breakfast foods made from grains with the outer coverings left on require more cooking than those with the outer covering removed — whole barley, for example, more than pearl barley. Many cereal foods, particularly the rolled and flaked types, have been partially cooked at the factory. These require less cooking in the home than those which have had no such treatment; but if they are to be served to children such cereals should be cooked at home for at least an hour. There are also cereal breakfast foods which have been still more thoroughly cooked at the factory, either by parching in addition to flaking or by some other special method. These are improved by putting them into the oven long enough at least to crisp them. Oatmeal, corn meal, and many other granular cereals can be put directly into cold water and cooked satisfactorily in a double boiler without stirring, the method being parti- cularly good in the case of corn meal, which is likely to be lumpy if stirred into hot water. A convenient method for cooking cereals is to mix with the usual quantity of water, bring to the boiling point, boil for three or four minutes, and then put into the fireless cooker and leave ten or twelve 563 THE HOUSEKEEPER hours. Porridge or mush made in this way must be reheated before serving. The quantity of water required dilTers with the cereal. A cupful of rolled oats requires at least two cupfuls of water, oatmeal or corn meal, four cupfuls; and rice, three cupfuls. A level teaspoonful of salt to a cupful of cereal will usually be right, but it is well to experiment a little with an unfamiliar cereal, since failure to salt mushes properlv very often leads children to dislike them. FOOD GROUP No. 3— BUTTER, CREAM, TABLE OIL, AND OTHER FATTY FOODS Fat is an important part of the food of children. This is not surprising for it is found in considerable amounts in human milk, the natural food for babies. Butter, which consists chiefly of separated milk fat, and cream, which is rich in milk fat and also in the other nourishing substances of milk, are both wholesome. Salad oils of various kinds (olive, cotton-seed, peanut, and others) may be given to children in small amounts. Those who are not used to table oil must often be trained to like it. This can usually be done by introducing it very gradually into the diet. A good way to serve it is on spinach and other greens or on tender salad vegetables. There is more than an ounce of fat (at least 2^^ level tablespoonfuls ) in a quart of whole milk. H the healthy child is given a cpiart of milk, has butter on its bread, and meat or an egg once a day, he gets enough fat and that which he receives is in wholesome form. It is well, there- fore, not to give such fatty foods as pastry, fried meats and vegetables, and doughnuts or rich cakes, for in these the fats are not in so good a form for children, as exper- ience has shown. H the child is constipated, the occasional use of cream or salad oil is desirable, for fat in abundance is laxative. 564 THE HOUSEKEEPER Bacon or salt pork, cut very thin and carefully cooked, mav be given occasionally, but thick pieces with much lean are not desirable. In preparing bacon or salt pork it is very important not to burn the fat. To avoid this they should be cooked in one of the following ways: Put the slices on a broiler or wire frame over a pan ; place the pan in a hot oven and cook long enough to remove most of the fat. Or keep a pan on purpose for cooking bacon on top of the stove and let the fat which fries out of it collect in the pan. taking care that none is burned. In time so much fat will collect that bacon can be dropped into this hot fat and will be less likely to burn than if placed on a hot pan. FOOD GROUP No. 4— VEGETABLES AND FRUITS Two very valuable kinds of food are here grouped together, namely, vegetables and fruits. This is done be- cause they are similar in that both kinds supply iron, lime and other mineral matter to the body, and also mild acids (not always in such amounts that one can taste them), such as those which are found in oranges, apples, and tomatoes. Vegetables are an important but often a neglected part of a child's diet. They should be served at least once a day, as they help to keep the bowels in good condition. Several of the ways of accustoming the child to the taste of unfamiliar vegetables have already been suggested here. They may be used as flavoring for meats and stews, may be added to milk or meat stews, or served with meat gravy. If gravy is used, it should not be too fat nor made with scorched fat. Young children may be given the young and tender parts of celery and lettuce, a satisfactory way of serving being in the form cf sandwiches. For this purpose they should be slightly salted and the celery should be chopped or cut into small pieces. All vegetables, whether served raw or cooked, should be washed with great care. Large vegetables like potatoes and 565 THE HOUSEKEEPER carrots should be scrubbed with a brush. Greens should be washed leaf by leaf under running water, or in a large amount of water. In the latter any sand which clings to them is likely to sink. To prevent it from again getting on the vegetables lift them from the water instead of pouring the water off. Most vegetables when served as a separate dish should be either steamed, boiled, baked, or stewed. If the supply of fresh vegetables is not generous, the juice in which they are cooked should be used with them as far as possible, or put into soups or stews. Experience has shown that vegetables, particularly green vegetables are at their best when cooked until tender, but not until completely wilted. Spinach requires cooking from twenty to thirty minutes. Vegetables should be served either quite simply or with a little milk, cream, or butter, to improve or vary the flavor. As said before, oil may be served on greens instead of butter. These simple methods are better than complicated ones like frying or scalloping. For the smallest children such vegetables as greens should be finely chopped, and if the tougher portions of other vegetables, the skins of green peas, for example, are found to disagree with a child, these portions should be removed by putting the cooked vegetable through a sieve. No such vegetables as raw radishes or cucumbers, which might easily be swallowed in large pieces, should be given to small children. Fruits, which with vegetables make up group 4, are also very important in the child's diet. They supply mild acids, and they are important for their flavor, for their laxative effects, and no doubt for other reasons also. The laxative effect is well recognized in the very general use of orange juice, prunes and apples. Then, too, the fruits, like the vegetables, have mineral elements which the body re- quires. Frviits should be served in some forms at least once a day. In general, the same rule should be followed as for 566 THE HOUSEKEEPER vegetables in deciding in what form they should be served. Fruit juices and the pulp of cooked fruit, baked apples and pears, and stewed prunes, for example, are safest. Whether the skins should be given depends partly on the age and health of the child and partly on the way the fruit is pre- pared. H the skins are very tender, they are not likely to cause trouble, except with very young children. When apples and pears are baked the skins can be made tender by frequent bastings. FOOD GROUP No. 5— SIMPLE SWEETS Simple sweets are such things as lump sugar, maple sugar, syrups, honey, and plain candy, and those foods in which sugar is combined in simple forms with fruit juices (in lemonade, water ice, jelly, etc.), with flour or starch, as in plain cakes (cup cake, sponge cake, cookies), and with fruit, as in jams, marmalades, and in similar things. Sweets which contain much fat, like rich cakes and pastry, and foods which are made rich with nuts or dried or candied fruits, or those which are highly flavored or spiced, can not be classed as simple sweets. Sugar is a desirable part of the diet, and the only objec- tion which can be raised to its use in reasonable amounts in a mixed diet is that it is sometimes allowed to take the place of foods whch come under the first four groups men- tioned in this bulletin, and so spoils the child's appetite for those other important things. Under these conditions it is harmful, because its improper use has led to bad habits. Sweets should not be given between meals or during the first course of a meal. Careful mothers who forbid their children eating candy at odd times sometimes give one or two pieces of wholesome candy as a " treat " with dessert at dinner, SUMMARY In the foregoing pages some general principles which should govern the young child's diet have been stated and 567 THE HOUSEKEEPER facts given about foods the child should have and about cooking them. At the close of the day the mother might ask herself questions like the following to make sure that she has taken into account the things to which her attention has been directed. Did the child take about a quart of milk in one form or another ? Have I taken pains to see that the milk that comes to my house has been handled in a clean way ? HI was obliged to serve skim milk for the sake of cleanliness or economy, did I supply a little extra fat in some other way? Were the fats which I gave the child of the wholesome kind found in milk, cream, butter, and salad oils, or of the unwholesome kind found in doughnuts and other fried foods ? Did I make good use of all skim milk by using it in preparation of cereal mushes, puddings, or otherwise? Were all cereal foods thoroughly cooked? Was the bread soggy? li so, was it because the loaves were too large, or because they were not cooked long enough ? Did I take pains to get a variety of foods from the cereal group by serving a cereal mush once during the day? Did I keep in mind that while cereals are good foods in themselves, they do not take the place of meat, milk, eggs, fruit, and vegetables? Did I keep in mind that children who do not have plenty of fruit and vegetables need whole wheat bread and whole grains served in other ways? Did each child have an egg or an equivalent mount of meat. fish, or poultry? Did any child have more than this of flesh foods or eggs? H so. might the money not have l)een better spent for fruits and vegetables? 568 THE H O U S E K E E P P: R II 1 was unable to get milk, meat, fish, poultry, or eggs, did I serve dried beans, or other legumes thoroughly cooked and carefully seasoned? Were vegetables and fruits both on the child's bill of fare once during the day? If not. was it because we have not taken pains to raise them in our home garden ? Did either the fruit or the vegetable disagree with the child? If so, ought I to have cooked it more thoroughly, chopped it more finely, or have removed the skins or seeds? Was the child given sweets between meals, or anything that tempted him to eat when he was not hungry? Was he allowed to eat sweets when he should have been drinking milk or eating cereals, meat, eggs, fruit, or vegetables ? Were the sweets given to the child simple, i.e., unmixed with much fat or with hard substances difficult to chew, and not highly flavored ? Was the child made to eat slowly and chew his food pro- perly ? A young child may be considered well fed if he has plenty of milk, bread, and other cereal food; an egg once a day or its ecjuivalent in flesh foods ; a small amount each of carefully prepared fruits and vegetables, with a small amount of sweet food after his appetite for other foods is satisfied. If there is too much or too little of any of these, his diet is one-sided. 569 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 570 THE HOUSEKEEPER CHAPTER XXXIX CLEANING Proper arrangement of equipment in the kitchen is essential to easy, quick and satisfactory work. In general, the furniture at one side of the room should be placed as follows : storage for food supplies, table, stove and serving surface. At the other side of the room should be placed the sink having a stacking space at the right and draining space at the left, with shelves or closet for keeping dishes between meals. All cupboards should have doors to keep dust from the contents. The small tools should be kept near the place where they are to be used, the paring knives, scrubbing brushes, soap, etc., near the sink; egg-beater, measuring cups, spoons near the work table ; pancake turner, holders, asbestos mats near the stove. Another important consideration is that of having all working surfaces of proper height. A sink that is too low will make dish washing a drudgery. Have a high stool at hand as many tasks may be done while sitting. THE KITCHEN RANGE Coal Range. — When buying a range select one of the most suitable size for the needs of the family. A com- bination coal and gas range is very convenient. Select a stove with little or no nickel trimming and one that sets on the floor rather than one with legs, as dirt collects under the latter. The stove should be placed upon a sheet of zinc. The ordinary kitchen range has the following essential parts : 571 THE HOUSEKEEPER Firebox. — The top opens into the air space over the oven and it is divided by a grate The fuel is placed upon the grate and beneath is the ash box. The grate which divides the firebox is movable so that the whole fire may be dropped into the ashpan. Oven. — This is beside the firebox and both the firebox and oven are surrounded by a larger box which forms the out- side of the range, with air spaces called flues between. Dampers. — Chimney damper which when closed nearlv shuts ofif the opening into the chimney. When this damper is closed the heat passes around the oven and heats it, when this damper is open the heat goes up the chimnev. Draff. — The lower draft is below the firebox and when open allows a current of air to pass up through the fuel causing the fire to burn rapidly. Check. — A small door above the firebox which when open lets cold air on the fire, forcing the heat back and deadening the blaze. Heater Connection. — This consists of coils of pipe or metal front for water in the firebox — the other sides of the firebox are made of firebrick. To Build a Fire.~ln starting a fire lay paper (crumpled) on the grate, over this place kindling wood, light the fire from underneath, when it burns well add a little coal. There must be free circulation of air through the fuel. Air entering the stove under the fire makes the fire burn faster. Air entering over the fire checks it. To heat the oven, close the chimney damper after the fire is well started. Keep the air space above the oven free from ashes and coal, empty the ashpan daily. Clean the top of the range by washing with hot water to which a little washing soda is added. The range may be kept in good condition without blacking it by rubbing it fre{|uently when warm, but not hot, with a cloth on which 572 THE HOUSEKEEPER there is some animal fat as lard, or the cloth may be wet with kerosene. Care of course must be taken that the stove is cool enough so that there will be no danger from fire. Stove polish should be mixed with turpentine instead of water to make it stay on. To rcz'k'c the fire in the kiteheii range, put on a few tea- spoonfuls of sugar. \Vhen it burns up add more coal. To obtain more heat from coal, sprinkle some water on it. Wet coal burns better and gives more heat — that is, provided you get your fire started before you put the wet coal into it. THE GAS RANGE Select a range with oven high enough so that it will not be necessary to stoop to light it. The oven may be at the side, above or below the top burners. The flame for heating is usually below the oven and just below' this is the space for broiling oven. Both ovens are surrounded by a steel case. The heat and odors from the oven should be carried to the chimney by a connection at the top of the stove. The gas range has from four to six burners with a rack above to hold the cooking utensils. There is also a small burner for simmering. Burners are removable so that they may be cleaned. They have an opening to admit air and this has to be adjusted to obtain the right mixture of air and gas. There is a removable pan under the burners. Each burner is connected by a pipe to the front of the range where the flow of gas is controlled by a stop-cock. To light a gas burner, strike a match and hold it away from the stove, open the cock in the burner and apply the match. If the match is applied before the stop-cock is opened the gas is liable to light back in the pipe. In this case turn ofT the gas and light again. 573 THE HOUSEKEEPER You will find the above article to be all that is claimed for it by the manufacturer. Laura A. Hunt. 574 THE HOUSEKEEPER ■ftp Varnish that wont turn wtiite' A rcmarfeaWe Finish for a!) EXTERIOR .ur^ faces on Ves»<-k Bu,!rJingB. etc.. exposed to the weather, and for all INTER OK m,hc.> exrwed to moisture, or har Aluminum pressure outfit for canning 346 Aluminum, washing 581 American style of table service 428 Ammoniated mercury ointment 479 Ammonia, use in laundering 596 Amounts of food for young children 544 Animal fibers 604 Antidotes Acid poisoning 468 Alcohol poisoning 469 Alkali poisoning 468 Narcotic poisoning 468 Ants 594 Arm, injury to 463 Arrangement of kitchen equip- ment 571 Arrangement of small tools in kitchen 571 Arranging menus from food groups 456 Artificial feeding of infants 524 Artificial respiration 467 Baby Natural development 520 Abdominal band for 519 Weaning 523 Bathing 517 Bacteria 592 Care of eyes 517 Baking 17 Care of mouth 517 Baking powders 72 Chafing 519 Alum 73 Clothing for 519 Cream of Tartar 73 Dentition 521 Phosphate 73 Drinking water for 523 Baking, testing oven for 17 Feeding 521 Balsam pillow, to restore 638 Fresh air 520 Bandages 460 Napkins 520 Bases of powders 496 664 Index Basting long seams 635 Bath Best time for 476 Cold 476 Cold shower 475 Cold sponge 476 Hot 475 Salt Water 476 Temperature of 475 Time for 476 Warm 476 Bathing, neglect of 475 Bathing, in winter 476 Bathing the baby 517 Bran bath, temperature for 519 Bath tub, to clean 637 Batters, proportion of flour and liquid for 14 Beating 12 Beating eggs 14 Bed for sick room 471 Beef, cuts of 171 Benzine, for cleaning 622 Beverages 29 Bills of fare for children J)43 Black heads, to remove 478 Blanching (canning) 349 Blanching in steam 349 Bleaching, hair 480 Bleeding, to stop 463 Bleeding, from nose 464 Blood, stain (to remove) 621 Blueberry pie (juice in) 629 Blueing clothes 606 Body, cellular structure of 444 Body compared to engine 443 Body linen 605 Boil fish, to 154 Boiling 16 Boiling clothes 60S Boiling water (for removing stains) 620 Borax 598 Boric acid ointment 479 Bottles, uses for empty 633 Brass, to clean 582 Bread 38 Bread, Baking 41 Bread flour (when used) 17 Bread, stale 55 Breakfast menus 434 Breast feeding of infants 521 Broiling 15 Broiling, pan 15 Button holes, to prevent ravel- ling 635 Buttons, to restore pearl 634 Cake 283 Baking 283 Butter, method of combin- ing ingredients for 283 Oven test 284 Pans 283 Sponge, method of combin- ing ingredients for 283 To prevent sticking to pan 631 Utensils for mixing 283 Camphor Ice SCO Candle, use for 637 Candy 309 Cane sugar, for infant feed- ing 527 Canning Advantages in cold pack method 345 Blanching 349 Cold dipping 349 Cold pack iTiethod 344 Cold water method 344 Community Canning 343 Containers 346 Equipment for 345 Essentials for 351 665 Index Franctional or intermittent sterilization method 344 Fruits 342 Grading product 349 Jars 348 Alethods of 343 Open kettle method 344 Outfits for Aluminum pressure 346 Commercial hot water bath 346 Home made hot water bath 345 Steam pressure 346 Water seal 346 Packing jars 352 Rubbers, test for 348 Sterilization of food 343 Storing canned product 354 Test for jars 348 Test for leakage of jars 353 Time table for blanching and sterilizing 364 To sterilize 344 Vegetables 342 Carbohydrates 444 Carpet, to clean 587 Celery leaves 627 Cellar, care of 593 Cellular structure of body 444 Cereals 75 Time table for cooking 78 Cereals 340 Time table for cooking in fireless Chemicals for stain removal 617 Chemicals for stain removal (methods of applying) 617 Children (young) Amount of food for 544 Bread for 561 Cereals for 562 Eggs for 558 Fat for 564 Food for 543 Food groups outlined 560 P^ruits for 565 Meat, fish, poultry for 558 Menu for breakfast for 543 Menu for dinner for 543 Menu for supper for 544 Milk in diet of 547 Milk served in various ways for 547 Simple sweets for 567 Value of milk for 547 Children's diseases 537 Chimney, lamp (to temper) 639 Chloroform for removing stains 622 Chocolate stain (to remove) 620 Classes of food 444 Cleaning A room 583 Bathtub 637 Brass 582 Cane furniture 590 Carpet 587 Cellar 593 Copper 582 Feathers 624 Finished woods 589 Furniture 589 Gas range 573 Hardwood floor 589 Lard pails 633 Leather cushions 637 Matting 587 Nickel 583 Nursing Bottles 533 Paint spots on window sill 637 Range 571 Refrigerator 577 Silver 582 Stained window sill 637 Teeth 489 Unfinished wood floor 587 Wall paper 637 Windows 592 Woodwork 589 Zinc 583 666 Index Cleansing properties of soap 598 Cloth for table 428 Cloth, silence 429 Cloth, to cut under insertion 635 Clothing for baby 519 Cocoa stain, to remove 620 Coffee stain, to remove 620 Cold bath, effects of 476 Cold cream 505 Cold pack method of canning 344 Colds, cause of 475 Cold shower bath 475 Cold sponge bath 476 Cologne Colored clothes (laundering) 610 Colored clothes (sorting) 605 Color, to set in cloth 610 Complexion 477 Compounding toilet prepara- tions 498 Convalescent diet 421 Cooking, methods of 14 Cook's complete time table 22 Cork, fitting to bottle 638 Cornmeal, for removing stains 621 Cotton, removal of stains from 615 Courses, number of 434 Courses, order of 434 Cover, a 429 Coverings for table 428 Cream of tartar, for removing stains 620 Cream stain, to remove 620 Cream, to keep sweet 628 Crumbing the table 433 Cupboard, contents of laundry 602 Curtains, to hem 635 Cuts of meat 171 Cuts or scratches, treatment for 462 Cutting and folding 12 Sterilizing utensils 533 Testing temperature of milk 534 Time for nursing 521 Dampers, in range 572 Dentition in infants 521 Details in canning 351 Diet Adequate 455 Convalescent 400 Diabetic 425 For active person 456-457 For muscularly active per- son 456-457 For sedentary person 456-457 Liquid 400 Mixed, for younger children 535 Of older children ' 537 Soft or semi-solid 400 Digestion 448 Diluents for toilet prepara- tions 497 Dining room 428 Dining room, temperature of 428 Dinner menu for child 543 Dinner, menus 437 Dinner, menus for formal 439 Dishes in serving 430 Dishes passed at left 432 Dishes passed at right 432 Diseases of children 537 Communicable 537 Measles 538 Mumps 540 Scarlet fever 537 Whooping cough 541 Dish Washing 580 Dish Washing, hints for 580 Dish W'ashing, Order of 580 Distilled water 497 Doilies 428 Double boiler, uses for 627 Dough, proportions of flour and liquid for 14 667 Index Drainage of refrigerator E 577 ) Cold dipping 380 Draw sheet 471 Conditions before storing 380 Dress a chicken 201 Dangers from insects 380 Dress and clean turkey 203 Details 378 Dressing a wound 464 Methods 377 Drinking water for baby 523 Oven Drying 377 Driving nails in plaster 637 Preparing food for 379 Drowning 467 Simple process 376 Dry hair 487 Soaking 382 Dry hair shampoo 487 Storage 381 Drying Clothes (laundering) 608 Sun drying 377 Clothes line 608 Winter use of product 381 Hanging Drying cake, to prevent Drying of fruits and vege- tables 608 629 376 Duck and goose (to cook) Dusting Dusting utensils for 199 590 592 Blanching 380 Dyes, adjective 610 By airblast, electric fan 378 Dyes, substantive 610 Effects of heat on sugar 309 Emetic 468 Eggs Energy from food 443 Composition 123 English style of table service 427 Cooking 126 Epidermis 473 Dessicated 124 Equipment for home laundry 600 For child feeding 558 Room 600 Powders 124 Stove 600 Preservation of 123 Tubs, portable 602 Serving 126 Tubs, stationary 602 Substitutes 125 Essentials for canning 351 Tests for freshness 123 Ether 621 Waterglass 124 Excretion 448 Electric range 577 Exposing children to disease 537 Elements in food 444 Eyes, care of baby's 517 Fabrics Fabrics stained Face cloth Face powder Face, to wash Fainting 604 615 478 506 478 466 Fat Compound Foods depended on for In food Substituting a cheaper for butter fat 631 451 445 17 668 Index To measure F 633 Containers 325 Feathers (to clean) 624 Convenience 323 Feeding — Infant Meats 335 Artificial feeding 524 Principles of 322 Bottles, care of 531 Recipes 329 Breast feeding 521 Soups 332 Care of milk 525 Time in cooker 327 Cane sugar 527 Use 326 Comparison of cow's milk First aid and human milk 526 Abdomen (injury to) 463 Cow's milk as substitute for Antidotes 468 mother's milk 525 Arm (injury to) 463 Food for one day 533 Artificial respiration 467 Formulas for modified milk Bandages 460 528-529 Bleeding 463 Heating milk 534 Burns 465 Intervals between nursing 521 Burns severe 465 Lime water 527 Chest (injury to) 463 Maltose 527 Cuts and scratches 462 Milk sugar 527 Dressing, wound 462 Mixing milk 531 Drowning 467 and human milk 526 Emetic 463 Conditions of milk produc- Fainting 466 Modified milk 528-30 Fracture 461 Mother's milk 526 General directions 458 Nipples 533 Insect bite 469 Other foods 535 Limb (injury to) 463 Proprietary infant foods 525 Top milk 528 Utensils for modifying milk 531 Water for modifying milk 533 Weaning 523 Feeding the Sick Acid beverages 401 Acute cases 399 Convalescent diet 421 Liquid diet 400 Soft or semi-solid diet 400 Fibres, animal 604 Fibres, vegetable 604 Fire, to build 572 Fire, to revive 573 Firebox 572 Fireless cooker Advantages 322 Cereals (cooking) 330 Medicine box (contents of) 470 Nausea 470 Nosebleed 464 Poisoning 467 Preparation of sick room 470 Prevention of accident 458 Pus germ 461 Shock 459 Snake bite 469 Sprain 461 Strains 460 Sunstroke 466 Tourniquet 464 Wounds 461-462 Fish Bake 154 Boil 154 Conditions affecting market value 150 669 Index F Cooking 153 Nitrogen in 445 Fresh water 151 Nutritive value of 455 Fry 154 Oxidation of 443 Kinds 149 Proteins 445 Preparing for table 152 Uses in body 444 Salt water 151 Vitamines 446 Shell 152 Wastes 447 Flannels to launder 612 Water in 446 Floor, hardwood 585 Foods, depended on for fat 45 Floor, hardwood (wax for) 585 Floor, spots on 589 Flour, bread (when to use) 17 Proportions with baking powder 14 Sifting 14 Substituting bread for pastry 17 To measure 14 Flowers to arrange 638 Folding Clothes 610 Food Needs of the body 443 Arranging menus from food groups 456 Assimilation 448-449 Carbohydrates 444 Classification of 444 Digestion of 448 Elements in 444 Energy from 443 Excretion 448 Fats 445 Food, flavoring and condi- ments 447 For children after ninth month 535 For children after seventh month 535 For children during second year 537 For expectant mother 515 For older children 537 (See "Children") Grouping to show uses 450 Habit and custom in 455 Mineral matter 446 Depended on for mineral matter, vegetable acids and body regulating sub- stances 450 Depended on for protein 450 Depended on for starch 450 Depended on for sugar 451 Formal dinner menu 439 Fowl Carving 201 To cut up 201 Serving 201 Freckles 479-500 Free alkali 598 Freezing ice cream 262 Freezing ice cream (to hasten) 262 Freezing mousse and par fait 262 French chalk 621 Fresh air for baby • 520 Frozen desserts 262 Frozen desserts to pack 262 Fruit butters 370 Fruit stains, to remove 621 Fruits, care of 215 Points in choosing 149 Composition of 215 Nutritive value 215 Purchase 216 Serving 215 Frying odor from 627 Frying test for 15 Furniture, mission 589 Furniture to clean 589 Furniture to remove stains from 589 A\'icker 590 670 Index Game 199 Gas burners, to light 573 Flame 577 Gas, oven 577 Gas, oven to light 577 Gas range to clean 573 Gasolene, for cleansing 623 Gasolene, to prevent leaving a ring 623 Germs, pus 462 Glands, sebaceous 473 Glands, sweat 473 Glasses, to refill 433 Goose 199 Grading product for canning 349 Grass stain, to remove 620 Grate 572 Grease stain, to remove 621 Grease stain, to remove from leather 637 Groups, food 547 Guest of honor, place at table 433 H Hair Brush, care of 485 Care of 484 Dry 487 Dandruff 485 Falling 487 Shampooing 485 Superfluous 480 Superfluous (to remove) 480 Tonics 502 Hands, care of 481 Manicuring 482-484 Nails 482 Remove stains 'rom 481 Soften 482 Washing 481 Hanging clothes, \ aundering 608 Hardening the sk in 474 Hard water, permanently 596 Hard water, to so ften 596 Hard wood floors, cleaning 589 Hard wood floors. wax for 585 Health, rules for 474 Heat from coal 573 Heavy meals 456 Hind quarter cuts of beef 171 Home laundry 600 Home made toilet preparations 494 Home made toilet preparations 494 Home made toilet preparations composition of 494 Honey for the hands 500 Host, duties of 432 Host, seat for 432 Hostess, duties of 433 Hostess, seat for 433 Household hints 621 Afeasurements 20 Hydrochloric acid (for remov- ing stains) 621 Hydrogen peroxide (for re- moving stains) 619 Hvgiene and care of infants 515 Ice cream, to freeze 262 ing") Ice cream, to pack 262 Injury to abdomen Ice, to remove from steps 637 Injury to arm Iceless refrigerator 633 Injury to chest Infant, care of (see "Baby") 517 Injury to limb Infant, feeding (see "Feed- Ink stain (to remove) 521 463 463 463 463 621 671 Index Insect bite 469 Intervals between nursing baby 534 Ironing board 609 Ironing clothes 609 Iron rust stain (to remove) 621 Irons 609 Irons testing 609 Javelle water, recipe for 618 Javelle water, to remove stains 618 Jell}- making 366 Kerosene, for removing stains 620 Kitchen, conveniences 571 Kitchen, equipment (arrange- ment of) Kitchen, range Buynig Parts 571 571 571 572 Water connection 572 Kitchen tools (arrangement of) 571 Kitchen working surface in height 571 Knife, position in setting table 429 Knives, to put away 637 Lamps, care of 638 Soil in garments 598 Lamps, to fit wick to 639 Sorting 605 Lard, for removing stains 622 Sprinkling 608 Laundering Stain removal 614 Airing 610 Starch 607 Bluing 606 Starching 607 Boiling 605 To set color 610 Colored clothes 610 Water for 606 Cotton 604 Wool 612 Drying 608 Laundry Fabrics 604 Cupboard, (contents of) 602 Flannels 612 Equipment for 600 Folding 610 Room 600 Hanging 608 Utensils for 600 Ironing 609 Leather (to remove grease Linen 604 from) 637 Mildew 604 Lemon juice, for removing Processes 604 stains 621 Rinsing 605 Level measurements 11 Rubbing 605 Life 444 Silk 614 Light meals 456 Soaps 598 Light meals, very 456 672 Index Lime water, for infant feed- ing 527 Linen 614 Linen, body 605 Table 605 To launder 614 To remove stains from 615 Lingerie, to prevent turning yellow 635 Linoleum, care of 585 Liquid bases of toilet prepara- tions 496 Liquid measure, table of 20 Lunch menus 440 M Machine oil stain, to remove 622 Preparing for table 168 Magic cover 631 Roasts 170 Maltose for infant feeding 527 Texture and flavor 167 Manicuring 481 Time for cooking 170 Marks pencil, on woodwork 589 Time table for cooking in Marks, white on nails 481 fireless cooker 340 Matches, to scratch safety 638 Medicine box, supplies for 470 Matting, care of 587 Medicine dropper, used in re- Meals for Natural devlopment of (baby) 520 Active person 456 moving stains 617 Muscularly active person 456 Medicine stain, to remove 62 Sedentary person 456 Mend laces, to 635 Meals, heavy 456 Mend umbrella, to 635 Light 456 Menu for breakfast for a child 543 Medium 456 Menu for dinner for a child 543 Very light 456 Menu for supper for a child 544 Measles 538 Menus Measure, Dry (U. S.) 20 Breakfast 434 Measure, liquid 20 Dinner 437 Measurements, for household Evening reception 440 Measurements, level Formal dinner 439 Measuring cup Lunch 440 Measuring cupfuls, etc. Suggested 434 Measuring flour Supper 440 Measuring spoons Mice 594 Meat Mildew stain, to remove 620 Basting and larding 169 Milk bottles, to wash 533 Beef 171 Care of in the home 525 Buying 166 Certified 525 Cheaper cuts 166 Composition of cow's versus Cook's time table for cooking 26 human 526 Cuts 171 Dipper 531 Larding 169 For the skin 499 Methods of cooking 170 Growth promoting sub- Poultry 196 stances in 446 673 Index M In children's diet 549 Mixing 531 IModification formulas 528-530 Modification utensils for 531 Modified 528 Nourishment in 548 Served in various ways 547 Skim 548 Stain, to remove 620 Sugar for in fant feeding 525 Temperature for in fant feeding 534 To heat for infant f ceding 534 Top 527 To pasteurize 534 Whole 527 [ineral matter , foods depend on for 450 ]\I ineral matter in food 446 Molasses, for removing stains 620 Mold on bread, to prevent 629 Mosquitoes 594 Mother, expectant 515 Food for expectant 515 Food for nursing 523 ^Mother's milk 526 Mother's milk, substitutes for 525 Moth patches 479 Mouth, care of baby's 517 Mouth wash 492 Moving, injured person 459 Mucous stain, to remove 622 Mud stain, to remove 622 -\Iumps 540 N Nails, finger 482 Nails, finger, ingrowing 482 Nails, finger, manicuring 483 Nails, finger, white marks on 482 Nails, to drive in plaster 637 Naphtha, for removing stains 622 Naphtha, soap 600 Naphtha, use of 6O0 Napkins, for baby 520 Napkins, table 429 Naps, for baby 520 Narcotic poisoning, treatment for 468 Nausea, treatment for 470 Nickel, to clean 583 Ninth month, food for child after 535 Nipples, care of 533 Nitrogen, a tissue builder 445 Normal condition of skin 473 Normal condition of skin 473 Number of courses at a meal 434 Nursing bottles, cleansing 531 Nursing bottles, sterilizing 533 Nursing mother, care of 523 Nursing, time for 521 Nutritive material in food 444 Odor from cigar 638 Odor from lamp 638 Odor from paint 638 Odor from refuse burning 638 Older children, diet for 537 Order food by weight 18 Oven, drying of fruits and vegetables 377 Oven, in coal range 572 Oven, in gas range (to light) 577 Oven, to test for baking 17 Oxalic acid for removing stains 621 Oxidation 444 674 Index Paint brushes, to soften 637 Paint, odor from 637 Paint stains, to remove 622 Pan broiling 15 Paraffin paper 637-633 Parts of coal range 571 Parts of gas range 573 Paste, for removing" stains 620 Pastes, toilet 498 Pastes, tooth 512 Pastry, cook's time table for cooking 23 Patches, moth 479 Patent clothes sprinkler 608 Perfumes 508 Perfumes directions for com- pounding 497 Permanent color of skin 473 Perspiration stain, to remove 622 Piano kejs, to whiten 635 Piano polish 589 Pickling, soaking vegetables for 390 Pie crust, soggy 629 Pie pastryless 628 Pimples 479 Pimples, ointment for 479 Pinholes in hat 635 Pitch stain to remove 62 Place cards 431 Placing first course of meal 432 Placing silver for a meal 430 Placing table cloth 429 Poisoning, antidotes for 468 Acid 469 Alcohol 469 Alkali 468 Narcotic 468 Polish nails 483 Popcorn 627 Pores 474 Portable, laundry tubs 602 Potash (to soften water) 598 Potassium permanganate for stain removal 618 Potatoes Composition of 113 Methods of cooking 113 Watery 628 Potted plants 638 Poultry Carving 201 Milk fed 198 Season for 197 Serving 201 To cut up 201 To distinguish best fowl 198 To dress 199 To truss 200 Powder, use of for baby 519 Powders, soap 513 Powders, toilet 498-506 Powders, tooth 492 Precautions in purchasing food 18 Preparation of sick room 471 Preparations, toilet 494 Prepairing infant food for one day 533 Principles of fireless cooker 322 Problems in infant feeding 534 Protective covering for body 473 Proteins in food 445 Proteins foods depended on for 450 Puddings, cooking in fireless 339 Puddings, time table for cook- ing 23 Punctured wound 462 Pus germs 462 Quinces (to preserve color) 628 675 Index R Raincoat, uses for 635 Drainage 577 Raisins in cake 631 Iceless 633 Range, electric 577 Points in selecting 577 Gas 573 Remedial agents 496 Burners 573 Removal of stains 614 Cleaning 573 From cotton 615 Flame 577 Linen 615 To light burner 573 Silk 615 To light oven 577 Wool 615 Range, (kitchen) coal 571 Removing clothing from in- Buying 571 jured person 459 Cleaning 572 Rhubarb pie, juice in 629 Parts of 572 Roasting 17 Rats 594 Room, to clean a 583 Reagents for removing stains 617 Roots (vegetables) 92 Reception, menu for refresh- Rouge 513 ments 440 Rubbers, for canning 348 Refrigerator 577 Rugs, to clean 387 Care of 577 Rules of health 474 Cleaning 578 Russian style of table service 427 Sachet 509 Setting the table 430 Salads, directions for making 223 Side table 431 Salads, dressings 224 Styles of 428 Salads, kinds 226 Table linen 428 Sal soda 598 Tray 431 Salting vegetables 390 Without a maid 430 Salt water bath 476 Set color in clothing (launder- Sandwiches, rules for making 232 ing) 610 Sauteing 15 Seventh month, food for chile Scales 18 after 535 Scarlet fever 537 Shampooing 485 Scratches, treatment for 462 Shampoo, dry 487 Scratch, to remove from ma- Shaving cream 505 hogany 589 Sheet, draw 471 Screw top jars for canning 348 Sheets, uses for worn 635 Sea foods (cooks' time table Shock, treatment for 459 for cooking) 124 Shower bath (cold) 475 Season for poultry 197 Shrinking of woolen 612 Sebaceous glands 472 Sick room, bed for 471 Second year, food during 537 Sick room, preparation of 471 Serving 427 Silk 614 Service plate 429 Silks, to launder 614 676 Index Silver, to wash 633 Silver to clean by electrolysis 582 Simmering 15 Simple sweets for child feed- ing 567 Single period cold pack meth- od of canning 344 Sink, care of 579 Sink, kinds of 579 Sink, prevent stoppage of wa- ter pipe 579 Skin 473 Condition of and body health 473 Functions of 473 Hardening of 474 Permanent color of 473 Pores 474 Protective covering 473 True 473 Water in 474 Skirt, to hang 635 Sleeveboard cover 634 Slight cuts, treatment for 462 Snake bite, treatment for 469 Soaking clothes (laundering) 605 Soap, action of in removal of soil 598 Toilet 513 Soda and sour milk, propor- tions of 14 Soften hard water 596. Soil in garments 598 Sorting clothes (laundering) 604 Soups 135 Accompaniments 147 Without stock 141 With stock 135 Spatula, uses for 627 Sponge bath, cold 476 Spoons, measuring 11 Spoons, wooden 12 Spots, to remove from wall paper 637 Sprains, treatment for 461 Sprinkler, patent 608 Sprinkling clothes (launder- ing) 608 Squeak in door 638 Stain removal Cotton, from 615 Fabrics, from 615 Furniture, from 589 Grease from leather 637-590 Hands, from 481 Laundering 616 Linen, from 615 Sedentary person, meals for 457 Serving a meal American 428 Articles on table when meal is served 431 Bread 431 Serving Courses, order of 432 Cover, a 429 Crumbing the table 433 Dining room 428 Dishes passed at left 432 Dishes passed at right 432 Dried fruits and vegetables 381 English style of 427 General rules 431 Guest of honor 434 Host, duties of 432 Hostess, duties of 433 Napkins 429 Number of courses 432 Place cards 431 Placing cloth 429 Placing first course 432 Placing silver 430 Quantity of china 430 Refill water glasses 433 Russian style of 427 Stain removal Medicine dropper for 617 Silk, from 615 Sponging 616 Wool, from 615 677 Index Stain removal, reagents for Alcohol 620 Ammonia 620 Benzine 622 Boiling water 621 Borax 620 Chloroform 622 Cornmeal 622 Cream of tarter 620 Ether 622 Hydrochloric acid 621 Hydrogen peroxide 619 Javelle water 618 Javelle water, recipes for 618 Lard 622 Molasses 620 Naphtha 622 Oxalic acid 619 Paste 620 Potassium permanganate 618 Salt 620 To apply reagents 619 Turpentine 622 Stains Blood 621 Chocolate 620 Cocoa 620 Coffee 620 Cream 620 Fruit 621 Grass 620 Grease 622 Ink 621 Iron rust 621 Machine oil 622 Medicine 620 Mildew 620 Milk 620 Mucous 622 Mud 622 On polished table 589 Paint 622 Perspiration 622 Pitch 622 Scorch 622 Tar 622 Tea stain 620 Varnish 622 Standards in meals 456 Starch, cooked 607 Starch, foods depended on for 452 Starch, to make 607 Starching clothes (launder- ing) 607 Steaming IS Steam pressure outfit for can- ning 346 Steel knives, to wash 581 Sterilization of food for can- ning 343 Sterilization of jars for can- ning 344 Sterilizing utensils for prepar- ing infant's food 533 Stewing 15 Stimulants, administering 459 Stirring 12 Stove laundry 600 Stove polish 573 Strains, treatment for 460 Substantive dyes 610 Sugar, foods depended on for 452 Sun drying of fruits and vege- tables 377 Sunburn, lotions for 500 Sunstroke, treatment for 466 Supplies for household medi- cine box 470 Supper menus 440 Sweat glands 473 Sweeping, carpet 586 Sweeping, utensils for 585 Syrup for canning fruits 459 678 Index Table linen 428 Table for preparation and cooking of vegetables 95 Table, to protect polished 637 Tan, lotion for 500 Tea pot, to wash 582 Tea stain, to remove 620 Teeth Care of 489 Children's 489 Cleaning 490 To whiten 492 Temperature of bath 475 Testing fat for frying 15 Testing irons (laundering) 609 Testing oven for baking 17 Timetable, cook's complete 22 Timetable for canning fruits and vegetables 364 Timetable for cooking food in the fireless cooker 339 Tinware, to wash 581 Toaster 628 Toilet preparations 494 Almond cream 511 Bases for powders 496 Camphor ice 500 Cold cream 505 Cologne 508 Composition of pastes 494 Composition of pastes for complexion 498 Comoosition of powders 506 Diluents for 497 Directions for compounding 498 Distilled water for 497 I'ace powders 506 Hair tonics 502 Honey for the hands 500 Liquid bases of toilet prep- arations 496 Milk for skin 499 Mineral agents in 496 Perfumes 497 Remedial agents in 496 Rouge 513 Sachet 509 Shaving cream 505 Sunburn lotions 500 Tables for compounding 499 Tan lotions 500 Toilet powders 506 Tooth pastes 512 Tooth powders Utensils for compounding 497 Toilet soaps, recipe for 513 Tooth brush 490 Tooth pastes 492 Tooth powders 492 Tourniquet 464 Towel, use of coarse 476 Turkey Clean 203 Dress 203 Roast 204 Selection of 202 Stuff 204 Stuffing 205 Truss 204 Turpentine for stain removal 622 U Umbrella (to mend) 635 Utensils for ironing 609 Utensils for laundering 600 Utensils for mixing cake 283 Utensils for cleaning 585 679 ^. Index Value of simple knowledge of first aid 458 Varnish stain, to remove 622 Vegetable fibers 615 Vegetables 92 Canning 354 For child feeding 565 Classification of 92 Cooking, principles of 95 Drying 382 Method of cooking 95 Pickling 390 Potatoes 113 Preparing for table 95 Salted — preparing 397 Salting 395 Time for cooking 95 Time for preparation and cooking of 95 Timetable for cooking (cook's) 22 Timetable for cooking in fireless cooker 340 W Wash, face 478 In laundering 596 Washing Lime in 596 Agate ware 581 Soft 596 Aluminum 581 To soften hard 596 Coffee Pot 582 Waxed floor, to clean 585 Cooking utensils 581 Weaning the baby 523 Cut glass 580 Weaning the baby, method of 524 Dishes 580 Weaning the baby, time foi - 524 Hands 481 Weight, order food by 18 Milk bottles 582 Whitewashing 593 Silver 580 Whooping cough 541 Steel knives 581 Windows, to clean 592 Tea pot 582 Wood, hardwood floors to Tinware 581 clean 589 Wooden ware 581 Wood, unfinished floors to Woolen 612 clean 587 Water Drinking for baby For diluting milk for feeding 523 infant 527 Wood work, to clean 589 Wool, to remove stains from 615 Woolen, to wash 612 Hard, permanently 596 Wounds 462 Yeast 43 Zinc, to clean 583 680 LRBS27 ¥ I