DISHES RECOMMENDED FOR FIRST LESSONS

To make beef stock for soups, page 88. To boil potatoes, page 201. To boil rice, page 222. To make a white sauce, page 277.

With one half the sauce make cream potatoes, add a little onion juice to the other half, and add to it meat minced very fine, making a creamed mince. Serve it on moistened toast; or make creamed chicken and serve a border of rice around it. When making a roux, and a white sauce is understood, it is easy to show the variations of it, such as to cook onion or vegetables with the butter before the flour is added; or to brown the flour if a brown sauce is wanted; or to use stock instead of milk, thus making a Bechamel sauce; or to add an egg to white sauce, making a poulette sauce, etc.

To poach eggs: Serve them on toast cut uniformly and moistened. Place symmetrically on dish and garnish with parsley; or, spread the toast with creamed mince, place a poached egg on each piece, and put a spot of pepper on the center of the yolk.

To make coffee, page 551.

To broil a steak, page 156.

To boil a leg of mutton, caper sauce, pages 163 and 164.

To roast beef and baste frequently, roast potatoes in the same pan, pages 146 and 204.

To draw and truss a chicken, pages 180 and 183.

To clear the beef stock for clear soup, page 86.

To make common stock, page 87.

To make potato soup, page 103.

To clarify drippings, page 74.

To try out all other fat, page 74.

To dry bread and roll it into crumbs, page 51.

To make bread and bread biscuits, page 340.

To make rice pudding, page 433.

To make bread pudding, page 434.

To make plain cornstarch pudding, page 397.

A compote to serve with cornstarch pudding, page 535.

Cottage pudding, sabayon sauce, pages 435 and 446.

Cup cake, page 470.

Cookies, page 481.

Plain pie-crust, page 451.

Baked apple-dumplings, hard sauce, pp. 429 and 448.

Some variations of cornstarch pudding, page 398.

Plain wine-jelly, page 415.

When a woman has learned to do these few simple things perfectly, she will have no difficulty in following any ordinary receipt, and having a knowledge of the first principles of cooking, can then advance to more elaborate dishes.

Frying should not be attempted until she can roast, broil, and bake.

Croquettes of various kinds can then be made; to mold them uniformly requires a little practice--the care of the fat and the right degree of heat are the essential things to emphasize in frying.

In one month a woman of ordinary intelligence, with the desire to learn, should be able to make perfectly, and serve attractively, enough simple dishes to supply the family table with sufficient variety, without troubling the mistress to plan and think for her.

An insistence upon system and exactness will insure immunity from failures.

ECONOMICAL LIVING

A very pleasant book called "$10.00 Enough" explains how a family of two lived well on that sum per week, including house rent and wages of one servant. Mrs. Rorer says $2.00 per head a week is a liberal allowance. Articles are published giving directions for living on ten cents a day; also of dinners for six people costing twenty-five cents. In examining these formulae it is evident that in order to accomplish this very small cost of living, one must first understand the comparative values of foods, so as to select those which at low prices furnish the necessary nourishment, and secondly, to be able to cook them in such a way as to make them acceptable; in fact the rule holds good, however high the scale of living, that the proper cooking of food counts for more than the cost of it. The cheap and the expensive articles can be equally spoiled in the cooking; while the cheap ones, well cooked, are more esteemed than the high-priced ones poorly prepared. The first thing excluded from the list of cheap nutritive foods is white bread. Refining the flour to the whiteness of the so-called best qualities takes out most of its nutritive elements, while the lower grades or brown flours retain the gluten, and make a bread which is preferred when one becomes familiar with it. Beans, peas, and corn-meal have an important place on the list of accepted foods. They supply the wastes of the system and afford a hearty meal. Meat, which is the most expensive food, has come to be regarded here as a necessity, but in the old countries the classes who perform the hardest labor consider it only as a luxury, and seldom use it oftener than once a week. Often the cost of living is more in the waste than in the actual consumption of food. Another needless and unwise expense is buying more than is required, providing for three persons enough for six; and still another extravagance is in buying articles which are out of season. For instance, in the spring veal is a very cheap meat; in the autu

Many pieces of meat of the best quality are sold at low rates because not in shapes to be served as boiling or roasting pieces. These serve well for entrees and made-up dishes; other pieces, which are tough, but well flavored, can by slow cooking be made as tender as the prime cuts, such as a round of beef braised.

On page 249 will be found a number of menus and receipts for very inexpensive dinners.

[Sidenote: Mushrooms.]

Mr. Gibson, in an interesting article on "Mushrooms," published in "Harper's Magazine" for August, 1894, calls attention to the vast amount of wholesome and nutritious food that lies at the door of every country dweller. City people pay at least a dollar a pound for mushrooms, which are served at the finest dinners, and are considered as among the best articles for use in high-class cooking. Therefore, why should they be scorned or overlooked by those who can have them for the gathering? Neglect to use them seems equal in wastefulness to the practice of some country butchers, who throw away calves' heads, brains, sweetbreads, fresh tongues, etc., because the people have not learned their value. A French family who moved into a western town reported that the cost of living there was nominal, because the foods which they most prized, not being recognized as belonging on the list of comestibles, were given away by the butchers as food for dogs. Mushrooms are very distinctive in feature, and by the aid of descriptions given in books and colored charts, one can easily learn the edible varieties which grow in his neighborhood. By taking no risks in eating those not perfectly recognized, there is no danger of being poisoned. It is not thought difficult to learn varieties of the rose, nor to discriminate between the poison and the innocuous ivy. The form, color, and habitat of mushrooms make them equally easy to recognize. Care should be taken, however, to avoid any mushroom which is old or partly decayed, as its condition then is analogous to that of putrid meat. In their season the edible fungi grow in great profusion; they are nitrogenous, containing the same nutritive elements as meat, and well serve as a substitute for it, giving a pleasant change to the limited bill of frugal fare. Mr. Gibson speaks of them as beefsteaks. They seem from circumstances, therefore, to have a place in the dietary of the poor as well as the rich. Receipts for cooking mushrooms are given on

It is sometimes thought to be an extravagance to serve a roast to a small family, because so much meat is left over. When there is no way known of presenting it again except as cold meat or as hash, it may indeed be disagreeable to have the same meat served four times. A good cook, however, served turkey acceptably at four dinners to a family of three persons in this way:

FIRST DAY'S DINNER

10 lbs. turkey at 16 cents per lb. $1.60 1 quart sweet potatoes boiled .10 2 quarts apples (of which she used three for baked apple dumplings, sabayon sauce, page 446) .15 1 egg .03 1 lemon .02 1/2 cup sugar .01 -- .06 -- Cost of first day's dinner $1.91

SECOND DAY'S DINNER

2 lbs. codfish boiled .20

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE (page 281).

2 eggs .06 1/4 lb. butter .08 1/2 lemon .01 -- .15 6 croquettes made of one cupful of turkey meat .00

SAUCE TO MIX THEM

1/2 cup milk .01 1/2 tablespoonful butter .01 1 egg .03 -- .05

1/2 tablespoonful flour (see croquettes, page 293) 1 pint cranberries .09 Sweet potatoes left from day before, cut in strips and browned (see page 206) .00

BROWN BETTY PUDDING

Apples from day before .00 Molasses and crumbs .05 -- .05 -- Cost of second dinner .54

THIRD DAY'S DINNER

Soup made from carcass of turkey .00

CHICKEN SOUFFLE (page 190).

1 cup turkey meat .00

SAUCE TO MIX IT

1 tablespoonful butter .02 1 cup milk .04 3 eggs .09 Other ingredients .02 -- .17

BAKED MACARONI

1/2 lb. macaroni .04 Cheese .05 -- .09

COTTAGE PUDDING

1 egg .03 1/2 cup sugar .01 1/2 cup milk .02 1 tablespoonful butter .03 Baking powder .01 -- .10

CHOCOLATE SAUCE (page 447).

3 oz. chocolate .08 1/2 cup sugar .02 -- .10 -- Cost of third day's dinner .46

FOURTH DAY'S DINNER

1 codfish steak, 1 lb. .10 4 smelts for garnishing .10 -- .20

CHARTREUSE OF CHICKEN (page 190).

1 cup rice .04 White sauce .07 What is left of turkey including giblets .00 Boiled potatoes .05 Scalloped tomatoes .15 Salad of water-cresses .05 Bread pudding .10 -- .46 -- Cost of fourth day's dinner .66

First day $1.91 Second day .54 Third day .46 Fourth day .66 Extras for bread, seasonings, etc. .30 ---- Total $3.87 Average per day 96-3/4 cents.

The turkey in this case gave three cupfuls of chopped meat after the dinner of the first day. Any kind of meat can be made into the same dishes, and will be liked if the meat is chopped very fine, is well seasoned, and made creamy by using enough sauce.

WASTEFULNESS

As a rule the family life of America does not represent opulence, yet it has become a familiar saying that a French family could live on what an American family throws away. Again, it is said that in American kitchens half the provisions are spoiled and the other half wasted. There is no need to-day of being open to such accusations. At small expense a woman can have the benefit of lessons in cooking-schools, and should not be accepted as a cook until she has some knowledge of the duties, and is qualified to bear that name. The gage of a woman's rank in her profession can be definitely determined by what she wastes or utilizes, and the high wages paid a first-class cook are often saved by the intelligent use she makes of all her materials. Many of her best entrees are but a combination of odds and ends which another cook would throw away. Her delicious sauce, which gives a very ordinary dish that requisite something which makes it highly esteemed, may be but the blending of many flavors obtained from little scraps.

The waste in foods need be so small as practically to have no waste material; not a crumb of bread, a grain of sugar, a bit of butter, a scrap of meat or fat, a piece of vegetable or leaf of salad, but can be utilized with profit. The soup pot is a receptacle for everything too small for other uses, and from this source can be drawn seasonings which will give richness and flavor to innumerable dishes, which are greatly improved by using stock instead of milk or water in their preparation.

HOW TO UTILIZE WHAT SOME COOKS THROW AWAY

[Sidenote: Bread.]

Trim such pieces of cut bread as will do for toast into uniform shape and serve at the next breakfast. Smaller pieces cut into croutons (page 81) for garnishing or for soup. Save unshapely pieces for bread pudding, Brown Betty, or stuffings. Save every scrap of bread for crumbs, to use for breading croquettes, chops, scallop dishes, etc. It is well to have two kinds of crumbs, using the white ones for the outside of fried articles, as they give a better color. To prepare the crumbs, separate the crumb from the crusts of bread and dry each of them slowly, on separate tins, on the shelf of the range. When dry, roll, sift and place them in glass preserve-jars until wanted.

[Sidenote: Fat.]

Clarify all beef fat and drippings, the grease which rises on soup stock, and fat from poultry, and keep in a clean jar or tin pail for use in frying; it is preferable to lard (see "frying," pages 72 and 59). Mutton, turkey, and smoked meat fat has too strong a flavor to be used for frying, but save it with other fat that may be unsuitable for frying, and when six pounds are collected make it into hard soap (page 259).

Use the marrow of beef bones on toast for a luncheon entree (page 159), or use it with bread to make balls for soup (page 94).

Grill wings and legs of fowls that are left over (page 188) for luncheon, or stuff the legs as directed (page 188). If the sinews are removed from the legs when the fowl is drawn, as directed (page 180), the meat of the leg will be as good as that of the second joint.

Use a ham bone for improving bean soup. Use the carcasses of fowls and the bones from roasts for making soup.

Try out chop bones and other meat taken from the plates for soap fat.

[Sidenote: Tough Pieces.]

Chop the tough ends of steak very fine, season, and form them into balls or cakes, saute or broil them, and serve for breakfast or luncheon (see "Hamburg steaks," page 151).

[Sidenote: Small Pieces, Cold Meats.]

Cut pieces of white meat into dice or strips, mix it with a white sauce, turn it into a flat dish, make a border of pointed croutons, sprinkle over the top a little chopped parsley, and garnish with hard-boiled egg; or mix the meat with aspic jelly in a mold and serve cold with salad.

Mix dark meats of any kind with a brown sauce, and garnish with lettuce leaves, hard-boiled eggs, and croutons. Any kind of cold meat may be chopped and used in an omelet, or combined with rice and tomatoes for a scallop. For cold mutton see "Ragout of Mutton" (page 165).

[Sidenote: Eggs.]

Save egg-shells to clear soup, jellies, or coffee. Boiled eggs that are left return to the fire and boil them hard to use for garnishing, to mix with salad, or to make golden toast (page 270) for luncheon. Cold poached eggs can be boiled hard and used in the same way. Cold fried or scrambled eggs can be chopped and mixed with minced meat, and will much improve it.

When an egg is opened for the white alone, drop the yolk carefully into a cup, cover the cup with a wet cloth, and keep it in the ice-box until wanted. When whites are left over make a small angel cake (page 467), angel ice cream (page 497), kisses (page 475), or cover any dessert with meringue, or serve a meringue sauce (page 448) with the next dessert, or make a meat souffle without yolks (page 190).

[Sidenote: General Odds and Ends.]

Everything too small to utilize in other ways put in the soup pot, and from this can be drawn sauces and seasoning for minces, scallops, etc., that will often be better than specially prepared stock.

[Sidenote: Cereals.]

Oatmeal, hominy, cracked wheat, and other cereals which are left over can be added next day to the fresh stock, for they are improved by long boiling and do not injure the new supply, or such as is left can be molded in large or in small forms, and served cold with cream, or milk and sugar. In warm weather cereals are nicer cold than hot. Cold hominy and mush, cut into squares and fried, so that a crisp crust is formed on both sides,--also hominy or farina, rolled into balls and fried,--are good used in place of a vegetable or as a breakfast dish.

Any of the cereals make good pancakes, or a small amount added to the ordinary pancake batter improves it.

Cold rice can be added to soup, or made into croquettes, or used in a scallop dish, or mixed with minced meat and egg and fried like an omelet. Cold rice pudding can be cut into rounded pieces with a spoon and served again on a flat dish; this may be covered with whipped cream or flavored whipped white of egg.

[Sidenote: Vegetables.]

A small amount of vegetables left over may go into the soup, or may be mixed with a ragout. Peas, tomatoes, or beans can be put in an omelet. A number of vegetables mixed together can be used for a salad. Cauliflower broken into flowerets, covered with white sauce, and sprinkled with grated cheese, makes "cauliflower _au gratin_," a dish which is much liked.

The coarse stalks and roots of celery make a good vegetable dish when cut in pieces and boiled, or they make a good cream-of-celery soup. The leaves are valuable in the soup pot for flavor; also are useful for garnishing.

[Sidenote: Sour Milk.]

Sour milk makes cottage cheese, or makes good biscuits.

For uses of stale cakes see page 411.

For jellies left over see page 418.

[Sidenote: Fruits.]

When fruits show signs of deterioration, stew them at once instead of letting them decay. See compotes. Stew apple parings and cores to a pulp and strain; this will make a jelly which, spread on apple tart, greatly improves it.

Boil lemon and orange peels in sugar, and dry as directed, page 527, for candied peels.

[Sidenote: Cheese.]

Grate cheese which becomes dry and use for _gratin_ dishes or soups; or it can be served with crackers the same as though in its original shape.

EMERGENCIES

There is to-day such a variety of well-preserved foods that a store-closet provided with these articles may be almost the equivalent of a full larder. With such a resource the housekeeper can meet without embarrassment the emergencies that may arise in any household, however well ordered. In the country, where tradespeople are difficult to reach, it will be especially useful at such times. The articles sealed in glass jars seem the most wholesome, and are sometimes so well preserved as to be a very good substitute for the fresh ones. Salted meats and fish are distinctive foods, which are occasionally very acceptable, and the dessicated foods are beyond suspicion of unwholesomeness. A few suggestions are offered of how to utilize some of the articles which can be recommended. Many of the soups are excellent; chicken gumbo is particularly good. Extract of beef can be quickly made into soup, beef-tea, or aspic jelly (page 322). Canned salmon and chicken, either of them, can be heated and covered with a white sauce, or be used for salad, or the salmon may be broiled and covered with a maitre d'hotel sauce (page 286).

Potted meats spread on toast make excellent canapes for luncheon (page 368). Shrimps make a salad, or in a chafing-dish can be prepared _a la Newburg_ (page 333). Of the salted and smoked meats are ham, bacon, dried tongue, chipped beef, codfish, smoked salmon, and mackerel, all of which are much esteemed as breakfast dishes, and may be offered at luncheon or supper. Of the vegetables, string-beans and flageolets make good salads. Asparagus makes a good extra course served alone. Tomatoes, the cheapest of all, and perhaps the most useful, will make soup, sauces, a scallop dish, or may be added to an omelet, macaroni, or rice. Pilot bread, toasted bread in slices, and rusks make delicious cream-toasts for luncheon or supper. Noodles or macaroni boiled plain for a vegetable, or mixed with any sauce, tomatoes, or cheese. Cheese is useful for canapes (pages 368-371), cheese souffle (page 370), macaroni, etc. There are varieties of plain and fancy cracker biscuits which can be used in the place of cake. Plum-puddings wrapped in tin-foil will keep indefinitely. The canned whole apples can be used for dumplings (page 429) or pies. California apricots or cherries around a form of plain boiled rice, hominy, or other cereal, make a dessert; peaches make a shortcake (page 443); jams make delicious tarts, or, served alone with cracker biscuits, are a sufficient dessert for luncheon. Plain boiled rice may be used as a vegetable in place of potatoes; or, sweetened and mixed with a few raisins, or served with stewed prunes, makes a dessert.

There are prepared flours from which biscuits may be quickly made; prepared buckwheat which makes good pancakes for supper or for breakfast. A few cans of condensed milk should be in the store-room for use in case of real necessity only; it answers very well for puddings, sweet dishes, or chocolate.

Outside the store-room supplies, eggs furnish a variety of dishes quickly prepared. Eggs _a l'aurore_, or _Bourguignonne_, omelets with peas, tomatoes, mushrooms, minced meat, etc., are for luncheon, and cheese omelets, sweet omelets, and souffles for dinner dishes.

It is well to have fondant (page 513) in close jars ready for icing cakes or for bonbons, candied fruits for sweets or for ornamenting desserts, ginger and brandied peaches to serve with ice-cream. Lady-fingers are easily made, and will keep in a cracker-box indefinitely. If these are at hand, a Charlotte russe is quickly made, and is one of the simplest and most acceptable light desserts.

There are olives, gherkins, and chow-chow for _hors d'oeuvres_. There are catsups and condiments in variety to make barbecues (page 331), or to make cold meats acceptable.

The growing plant, the globe of gold fish, the bird-cage partly concealed with branches, may be utilized for table decoration. As circumstances alter cases, there are many expedients to which a housekeeper may resort in supplying deficiencies which might not be in rule, were the occasion a formal one. The chafing-dish on the luncheon or supper-table, or a dish more appropriate to a different meal, would not only be excused, but perhaps give to an embarrassing occasion the pleasant feature of informality.

THINGS TO REMEMBER

[Sidenote: Eggs.]

A dash of salt added to the whites of eggs makes them whip better.

Not a speck of the yolk must get into the whites which are to be whipped.

Fold the whipped whites into any mixture rather than stir them in, as the latter method breaks the air cells.

Break eggs one at a time into a saucer, so any can be rejected if necessary and the mixture not be spoiled.

Add a tablespoonful of water to an egg used for crumbing in order to remove the stringiness.

Use a double boiler for milk.

[Sidenote: Milk.]

Milk is scalded when the water in the lower pan boils.

A pinch of bi-carbonate of soda mixed with tomato before milk or cream is added prevents the milk from curdling.

With sour milk, or molasses, use soda instead of baking powder.

[Sidenote: Butter.]

Milk and butter should be kept in closely covered vessels, as they readily absorb flavor and odor from other articles.

Butter added slowly in small bits to creamy mixtures, or sauces, prevents a greasy line forming.

[Sidenote: Crumbs.]

Crumbs grated directly from the loaf give a more delicate color than dried crumbs to fried articles.

Dried crumbs absorb more moisture, and are better for watery dishes.

Crumbs spread over the tops of dishes should be mixed evenly with melted butter over the fire; this is a better method than having lumps of butter dotted over the crumbs after they are spread.

When the sauce bubbles through the crumbs on top of a scallop dish, the cooking is completed.

[Sidenote: Meats.]

Meat should not be washed. It can be cleaned by rubbing with a wet cloth, or by scraping with a knife.

Drippings are better than water for basting meats.

Meats should not be pierced while cooking.

Soak salt fish with the skin side up over night. Change the water several times.

To skim sauces, draw the saucepan to the side of the fire, throw in a teaspoonful of cold water, and the grease will rise so that it can be easily taken off.

A few drops of onion juice improve made-over meat dishes; not enough need be used to give a pronounced onion flavor.

[Sidenote: Drippings.]

The skimming from soups, drippings from any beef roasts, and trimmings from any beef, serve the same uses as lard, cottolene, or butter.

[Sidenote: Onion Juice.]

To extract onion juice, press the raw surface of an onion against a grater, move it slightly, and the juice will run off the point of the grater.

[Sidenote: Chopping Suet.]

Chop suet in a cool place, and sprinkle it with flour to prevent its oiling and sticking together. Remove the membrane before chopping it.

[Sidenote: Chopping or Pounding Almonds.]

Add a few drops of rose-water to almonds to prevent their oiling when chopped or pounded.

To loosen grated peel, or other articles, from the grater, strike the grater sharply on the table.

[Sidenote: Mixing.]

When mixing a liquid with a solid material, add but little liquid at a time and stir constantly to prevent lumping.

When adding cornstarch, arrowroot, or any starchy material to hot liquid, first mix it with enough cold water, or milk, to make it fluid; pour it in slowly and stir constantly until it becomes clear.

[Sidenote: Gelatine.]

Soak gelatine in a cool place for an hour in cold water or milk. It will then quickly dissolve in hot liquid and have no odor. If jellied dishes do not stiffen, add more gelatine; boiling down will not effect the purpose.

[Sidenote: Molds.]

Grease molds evenly with butter or oil, using a brush. Lumps of butter on the side of molds leave an uneven surface on the article cooked or molded in them. Molds for jellies are not greased.

Invert a dish over a mold before turning it, so that the form will not break; also, place it in exactly the right spot before lifting off the mold.

[Sidenote: Strainers.]

It is desirable to pass all liquid mixtures through a strainer to make them perfectly smooth.

[Sidenote: To keep Dishes Warm.]

To keep dishes warm until time of serving, place the saucepan in a pan of hot water.

[Sidenote: Flavoring.]

Any flavoring is added after the mixture is cooked, excepting for baked dishes. Wine increases the taste of salt, therefore, where wine is used for flavoring, very little salt should be put in until after the wine is used, when more can be added if necessary.

Dishes which are to be frozen need an extra amount of sweetening.

[Sidenote: Raisins.]

Flour raisins before adding them to a mixture in order to prevent their settling to the bottom.

[Sidenote: Baking.]

Never slam the oven door, or jar any rising material while it is baking.

Anything being cooked for the second time needs a hot oven.

CARE OF UTENSILS

A very essential thing in doing nice cooking is to have clean utensils. The pans of a careless cook are encrusted outside and frequently inside with dry, hard grease, which ordinary washing will not remove; the broilers are black with burned grease, and the ovens are in the same state. If one sees this condition of things, or finds a woman putting a saucepan on the hot coals, one needs no further commentary on her work. The saying "You can judge a workman by his tools" is very true in this case. No good cook will abuse her utensils, or expect to get well-flavored sauces from saucepans which are not immaculately clean. To keep utensils clean, it is necessary to wash them thoroughly, after they are used, with soda to cut the grease, and with sapolio to scour off any blackened spots. Sand or ashes may be used on the outside of iron pots. The outside as well as the inside of every utensil should be clean, and never be allowed to approach that state where only scraping will clean them. When utensils do reach that unwholesome condition, the coat of burned and blackened grease can be removed only by boiling in a strong solution of sal soda for an hour or more, using a large boiler which will hold enough water to entirely cover them. After the grease is softened, it can be scraped off, the articles then scoured with sand, ashes, or sapolio.[61-*] This is a good day's work for a charwoman, which will change the aspect of things in the kitchen, and may awaken a pride for cleanliness where it has not before existed.

[Sidenote: Tins, Sieves, Woodenware.]

Tins should be well dried before being put away, or they will rust. Sieves should not be washed with soap, but cleaned with a brush, using soda if necessary. Wooden ware should not be put near the fire to dry, or it will warp or crack.

[Sidenote: Arrangement of Utensils in Closet.]

An orderly arrangement of utensils in the kitchen closet will greatly facilitate quick work. Everything of the same class should be in the same group: Saucepans and gridirons hung on hooks, measuring-cups, iron spoons, and strainers also hung in a place very convenient to hand. Molds and baking tins should be placed where they will not get bent or jammed. Practise strictly the system of a place for everything and everything in its place.

[Sidenote: Supply-Closet.]

[Sidenote: Refrigerator.]

Order in the supply-closet is also necessary. Have a number of tin boxes, and of glass preserve-jars of different sizes, to hold everything large and small in the way of food supplies. Stand them in rows, each one plainly labeled, that no time may be lost in searching for the article needed. The cost of these receptacles is small, while their use is not only a great convenience, but also a protection from dust and insects. A closet so kept is also easily supervised. In every large and well-ordered kitchen perfect order and system prevail. Were it not so, a hopeless confusion would soon ensue. In small households the same nicety can be the rule, and if the mistress makes a weekly inspection, order will soon become a tradition of the household, and be maintained without demur. The refrigerator must be kept scrupulously clean and dry to insure wholesome food, and its waste-pipe kept freely open. This should not be connected directly with the general waste-pipe of the house. Cases of diphtheria have been directly traced to this cause. There should be a free use of soda in washing out the refrigerator to keep it free from taint. As butter and milk readily absorb the flavors of other articles they should be kept by themselves, or with only the eggs, in the small compartment. Lemons or other fruit are particularly to be excluded. Fish may be laid directly on ice, the skin side down; but beefsteaks or other uncooked meats lose flavor if placed in direct contact with ice.

[Sidenote: Coal and Range.]

Proper care of the range and intelligent use of the coal are also essential factors of success in cooking. If the drafts are left open too long, the greatest heat is often lost before cooking begins. If they are closed the moment the coal is kindled, the heat will remain steady for a long time. When the coals look whitish, they are becoming exhausted and beginning to fall to ashes, and this condition arrives quickly when rapid combustion takes place from open draughts. Piling the coal above the level of the fire-box is another error generally practised by ignorant cooks. The heat does not increase from the depth of coal, but from the breadth of surface. Piling up the coal, in a mound which nearly touches the top of the range, results in heating the iron red-hot, warping the lids out of shape, destroying the saucepans, and very likely burning the food. No articles cooked on top of the range require excessive heat, and are usually spoiled by too rapid cooking.

[Sidenote: Ovens.]

When the ovens do not bake on the bottom or on the top, it means a layer of ashes shuts off the heat. The ashes are easily removed from the top, but to lift the plate from the bottom of the oven and clean it out requires a cold range, so this is often neglected or not understood, while the cook wonders why the bread will not bake on the bottom, and why the cake is spoiled.

FOOTNOTES:

[61-*] It can also be easily removed by soaking in a solution of Babbitt's lye--one tablespoonful to several gallons of water.--M. R.

METHODS OF COOKING EXPLAINED

[Sidenote: Simmering.]

There is an erroneous impression that articles cook faster when the water is boiling violently, but this is not the case; the ebullition is caused by the escaping steam, which is lost heat, and the water at this time is at 212 deg. (except in high elevations), however fast or slow it may be boiling. If, however, a little sugar or salt is added to the water it increases its density, and the heat rises to 224 deg. before the steam escapes. The heat can be raised also by covering the pot and confining as much of the steam as possible. Where violently boiling water is recommended, as for rice and green peas, the object is not greater heat, but to keep the grains and peas separated by the turbulence of the water. There is waste of fuel in unnecessarily fast boiling, and economy can be easily practised here, especially where gas is used, as the boiling point, once reached, can be maintained with but little heat. Where the juices and color are to be retained, the articles are put into already boiling salted water. The albumen on the surface is then at once coagulated and the juices shut in. Where the object is to extract the juices, as for soups, they must be cut into pieces so as to expose more surface, and put into cold water, and the heat of the water gradually raised to the simmering point only. The slow, long cooking obtained in simmering water best destroys the fiber of meat, and tough pieces cooked in this way are made tender. To render tough pieces tender, the meat is first put into boiling water in order to fix the albumen on the surface, the heat then reduced, and the cooking done at the simmering point, which is 185 deg.. Hence, water at different stages of heat is used, according to the object in view, and the result is as definite as that of the different degrees of heat in an oven, so this point should not be considered as of little importance.

The flavor of meats and vegetables is volatile, and much of it can be carried off by escaping steam, as is demonstrated by the odors which sometimes pervade the house. To prevent the latter, and also to make the article tender and retain all its flavor, the pot should be covered and the water kept at the simmering point only.

[Sidenote: Vegetables.]

[Sidenote: Meat.]

[Sidenote: Fish.]

An exception to this rule is made in the cases of cabbage and cauliflower. These strong-flavored vegetables will be much less objectionable when cooked in rapidly boiling water in open vessels (see page 212). Green vegetables should be boiled in open vessels, as high heat destroys their color. All meats should be well tied and skewered, to keep them in good shape while boiling, and, when possible, be placed with the bone side up, so if any scum settles it will not spoil the appearance of the dish. For fish a little vinegar should be put into the water, as it hardens the meat and helps to prevent its falling apart (see page 113).

Salt water is used where the object is to keep the flavors in, fresh water where it is to draw them out as in soup, where the salt is not added until the cooking is completed. The rule of not piercing meat, thus letting out its juices, applies to boiling as well as to other methods of cooking. Fifteen minutes to the pound is the rule for mutton or tender meat, a much longer or indefinite time for tough meat.

Ham is done when the skin peels off easily.

The scum should be taken off the pot when boiling meat.

Milk boils at 196 deg. and easily burns, therefore it is safer to use a double boiler for anything containing milk. When using a double boiler, the liquid in the inner pan is scalded when the water in the outside vessel boils.

[Sidenote: Asbestos paper.]

The baking of many articles is a more important matter than the mixing. There are no definite tests for ovens, therefore one has to learn by experience and careful watching the capabilities or faults of the ovens used. A common trouble is from not having them thoroughly cleaned of the ashes which settle under the ovens and prevent the heat reaching the bottom part. It is usual to have them hotter on the fire side. In this case it is necessary to turn frequently the articles being baked, or, where this cannot be done, to interpose a screen to protect them from burning. Asbestos paper, which is now sold at very low cost at house-furnishing stores, is a convenient thing to place against the side of the oven, or on the shelf of the oven if the excessive heat is on top. A tin, or a piece of brown paper, will, however, ordinarily serve the purpose. Directions for baking bread and cake are given at the heads of those chapters.

To lower the heat of an oven, if closing the damper is not sufficient, open the lid of the range over the oven a little way. Sometimes a pan of cold water put on the shelf of the oven will effect the purpose. When baking meats, the oven should be very hot at first, and after the meat is seared the heat should be lowered, so the cooking will be done slowly.

Roasting is done before the fire, and should not be confused with baking, which is done in the oven. Roasted meats have a distinctly better flavor than baked ones. The latter are likely to taste of smoke unless the oven is frequently opened for basting, as few of them are sufficiently ventilated to free them of smoke and steam. Baking is the method generally employed in small households, but where the grate of the range is sufficiently large, and the front can be exposed, it will be found no more trouble to roast than to bake the meats, and the improvement will well repay the trouble of changing a habit. Tin ovens (Dutch ovens) are made for this use, with a clockwork to turn the spit, so the only care is to baste, which has to be done in either case, and to keep the fire bright, which is done by adding a few coals at a time if necessary.

The meat should at first be placed near the coals to sear the outside, and then be drawn back where it will cook at lower heat.

Meat cooked by broiling is exposed to a greater heat than in any other manner of cooking, and to prevent its burning, requires constant watching. Meats for broiling are cut thin, and much surface is exposed, therefore they must be at once exposed to intense heat to sear the surface and retain the juices. Frequent turning not only prevents burning, but gives slower cooking and also prevents the grease dripping into the fire, making a smoke which destroys the flavor of the meat. The rule for broiling is to have bright coals without flame, drafts open to carry off smoke, and meat turned as often as one counts ten (see broiling beefsteak, page 156). In this way the result will be satisfactory, the meat will be puffed and elastic from the confined steam of the juices, will have a seared crust, and the rest evenly cooked through and of the same color. When the puffed appearance of broiled meats begins to disappear it means the moisture is evaporating through the crust, which will leave it hard and dry.

Chops wrapped tight in oiled paper before being broiled are especially good (see page 166). The paper will not burn if turned as directed above.

Although broiling with a double wire-broiler over or under bright coals is the approved way, it can be accomplished in a hot pan when coals are not accessible. In this instance a frying-pan is heated very hot, then rubbed with suet to prevent the meat from sticking, and the meat is turned frequently as in the other method. This manner of broiling is recommended only as an expedient, as hot iron does not give the same result as hot coals.

Meat cooked by braising is shut in a closely-covered pot with a few slices of salt pork (laid under the meat to prevent its sticking to the pot), a mixture of vegetables, cut into dice, a little soup stock or water, and a bouquet of herbs, and cooked slowly in the confined steam. This method of cooking tough or dry meats makes them tender and of good flavor. Braised dishes are much esteemed.

FRICASSEEING

Meat cooked in this way is first sauted to keep in its juices, then stewed until tender and served in a white or brown gravy, made from the liquor in the pot in which the meat is stewed. Toasted bread and sometimes dumplings are served with it. In the latter case it is called a pot-pie.

A little fat is put in a shallow pan; when this is hot, the articles to be cooked are laid in and browned on both sides. This manner of cooking is by many miscalled frying, and is largely responsible for the disrepute of frying, as sauted articles are likely to be greasy and indigestible.

[Sidenote: Heating the fat.]

[Sidenote: To extinguish fire from grease.]

[Sidenote: Spattering.]

[Sidenote: Color of fried articles.]

Frying is cooking by immersion in very hot fat. The success of frying depends upon the fat being sufficiently hot, and enough fat being used to completely cover the articles cooked in it. A kettle for frying should be kept for that purpose alone, and started with enough fat to fill it two thirds full. Olive-oil, lard, cottolene, drippings, or any mixture of them, serve the purpose. When properly used but little fat is consumed, and the pot can be easily replenished with the right quantity for its next use. Each time, after using the fat, a slice of raw potato should be dropped in to clarify it; it should then be strained through a cloth and returned to the pot, be covered when cold, and set away until again wanted. This fat can be used for potatoes, and anything which is coated with egg and crumbs. If fish without this coating are fried in it, it will then be unsuitable for other purposes. A pot of fat will with care last for months, but should be clarified as often as necessary (see below). When the fat is to be used, the frying-kettle should be placed on the range an hour before the time it is needed. It will then become gradually hot, and at the right moment can be quickly raised to the smoking heat needed for frying. It takes some time for fat to reach this temperature; and if this preparatory measure is not taken, a cook, when hurried, is likely to use it before the right heat is attained, or to place it on the open fire, which is attended with great danger. Many persons are seriously burned from this imprudence. When fat boils over and takes fire, the best extinguisher is ashes. If the cook's clothes take fire, the best thing to do is to wrap the skirts together and roll on the floor until assistance comes. With ordinary care there need be no accidents. Dropping grease on the range or clothes can be avoided by holding a tin plate under the frying-basket when removing it from the kettle. When the articles to be fried are prepared, the wire basket should be dipp

1. Frying Kettle. 2. Wire Basket and Iron Spoon for lifting the Frying Basket. (See page 72.)]

TO CLARIFY FAT

[Sidenote: Bubbling fat.]

When fat becomes discolored and unfit for use, stir into it when melted one half teaspoonful of baking soda and a quart of water. Let it boil for a little time, take off the scum that rises, and set the pot aside until cold. Remove the cake of grease, scrape off all the impurities, put it again on the fire, where it will melt but will not be agitated, and let it remain undisturbed until all the water has evaporated and the remaining impurities have settled to the bottom; then pour off the clear grease. When fat bubbles it means there is water in it, not that it is hot.

TO TRY OUT SUET AND OTHER FATS

Cut the fat into pieces, place it in a shallow pan over moderate heat until the fat is melted, then strain it through a cloth. There will be no odor from the fat if not placed where it becomes too hot. All kinds of fats are good for frying except mutton fat, turkey fat, and fat from smoked meats; these can be used for making soap, as directed on page 259.

TO PREPARE ARTICLES FOR FRYING BY COVERING THEM WITH EGG AND CRUMBS

[Sidenote: The Crumbs.]

All scraps of bread should be saved for crumbs, as directed on page 51, the crusts being separated from the white part, then dried, rolled, and sifted. The brown crumbs are good for the first coating, the white ones for the outside, as they give better color. Where a very delicate color is wanted, bread grated from a stale loaf or rubbed through a coarse sieve gives better results; the fresh crumbs need not be very fine. Cracker crumbs give a smooth surface and are better for oysters than bread crumbs, but for most things bread crumbs are preferable. For meats a little salt and pepper, and for sweet articles a little sugar, should be mixed with the crumbs. Crumbs left on the board should be dried, sifted, and kept to be used again.

[Sidenote: The Egg.]

[Sidenote: Molding.]

The whole egg is generally used. The white alone will serve, but not the yolk alone, as it is the albumen which is needed. The albumen quickly coagulates when put into the hot fat, and forms a coating through which the grease will not penetrate. To one egg is added one tablespoonful of water, so as to make it thin enough to run and remove the stringiness of the egg; these are beaten lightly together, but should not be foamy, as bubbles break and leave holes for the grease to enter. Where delicate color is wanted, it is better to use the white of the egg only and fresh crumbs. Turn the crumbs on to a board; roll the articles first in the crumbs to dry them well, then place them in the beaten egg one at a time, and with a spoon pour the egg over and moisten them thoroughly; return them to the board, and completely cover them with crumbs. Soft, creamy mixtures like croquettes require delicate handling, and are easier to manage if first made into a ball,--molding them into shape being left until the second crumbing, at which time they can be rolled into cylindrical form and the ends flattened by dropping them lightly on the board. They will keep their shape better if, after being prepared, they are allowed to stand an hour or more before being fried. (See croquettes, page 293.)

[Sidenote: Cutting lardoons.]

Larding is simply drawing small pieces of salt pork through the surface of meat. It is easily done, and so much improves lean, dry pieces of meat as to well repay the trouble. The pork for larding is best cut lengthwise with the rind, and that nearest the rind is the firmest. Cut it into slices, one quarter inch thick, and then into strips one quarter inch wide and two inches long. The lardoons can be made firmer by placing them on ice, but ordinarily this is not necessary. The larding needle holding a lardoon is pressed through the surface of the meat, taking a stitch about a quarter inch deep and an inch long, then drawn through, leaving the lardoon projecting on both sides. The stitches should be taken at regular intervals, so as to appear ornamental, and when all the lardoons are in they should be cut even. For birds or small pieces, the lardoons would of course be cut of a size to suit the needle used.

Daubing is cutting through the entire thickness of the meat in several places and inserting lardoons of salt pork. The cut is made with a thin, sharp knife.

[Sidenote: Fowls.]

[Sidenote: Meats.]

Cutting the meat free from the bones, leaving the meat whole, is called boning. This is easily done with a sharp-pointed knife, and requires but little practice to accomplish successfully. Directions for boning fowls are given on page 181. Boned fowls are usually made into galantine, but they are also good when stuffed and pressed into natural shape, or to imitate a duck or a rabbit and served hot. The butcher will remove the bones from joints of meat when requested. Boned meats make an agreeable change, and in the case of shoulder pieces make them suitable to serve as roasts (see pages 163 and 168). Chops with the bones removed, the tail ends wrapped around the meat and secured with wooden toothpicks or with small skewers until cooked, resemble in form filets mignons.

[Sidenote: Measuring-cup.]

Exact measurements are an important factor in the success of cooking, therefore a definite understanding of what a cupful or a spoonful means is requisite. A cupful means one half pint. A tin cup holding this amount is as necessary as a quart measure in every kitchen. They can be bought for ten cents apiece in any house-furnishing store. A spoonful of butter, lard, sugar, or flour means a rounding spoonful, as much rising above the spoon as is held in the bowl. A spoonful of salt or spices means only as much as the bowl holds, the top being smoothed off with a knife.[77-*] One half spoonful means the half of the contents of the bowl divided lengthwise. A heaping spoonful means as much as the spoon can be made to hold. A table giving comparative weights and measures is given on page 387.

1. Tin measuring cup holding one half-pint. 2. Spoonful of salt, pepper or spices. 3. One half spoonful. 4. Spoonful of flour, sugar, or butter. 5. Heaping spoonful. (See page 77.)]

STIRRING AND BEATING

These two methods should not be confused. The object of stirring is to mix the materials. The spoon is held on the bottom of the dish, and the materials rubbed and pressed together as much as possible. It is not essential to always stir one way. The object of beating is to get air into the mixture to make it lighter, which is done by continuously lifting it up in the same way; therefore a beaten mixture must not be stirred, or the imprisoned bubbles of air will be broken and the result of the beating lost.

HOW TO STONE OLIVES

With a sharp-pointed knife cut through the olive to the stone on the blossom end and pare off the meat, turning the olive around three times, keeping the knife at not too sharp an angle close to the stone. The meat will then be in one curled piece, which can be pressed into its original shape again.

HOW TO CUT BACON

Place the bacon on a board with the rind down. With a very sharp knife slice the bacon very thin down to the rind, but do not try to cut through it. When enough slices are cut, run the knife under, keeping it close to the rind, and the slices will be free.

HOW TO EXTRACT ONION JUICE

Cut an onion across and press it against a coarse grater, moving it a very little; the juice will then run off the point of the grater.

Caramel is used to color soup, gravies, etc., and serves also as a flavoring for desserts. It must be used with care for coloring, as it also sweetens. The flavor of caramel depends upon the degree to which the sugar is cooked before the water is added. It grows stronger as it becomes browner.

Put one half cupful of granulated sugar and two tablespoonfuls of water into a granite-ware saucepan, stir until the sugar has melted, then let it cook without stirring until it has turned dark brown, but not black, then add one half cupful of hot water, and let it simmer until the sugar is dissolved and cooked to a thin syrup.

TO MAKE ROUX

Put one tablespoonful of butter into a saucepan. When it bubbles add one tablespoonful of flour and let them cook together for a few minutes, stirring all the time. If it is to be used as thickening for a white sauce or soup, do not let it color. If for brown soup or sauce, let it become brown. This amount is sufficient to thicken one cupful of milk or of stock, to make a sauce, or to thicken one pint or more of soup.

Roux can be prepared and kept in jars ready for use. The proportion of equal quantities of butter and flour is usually taken, and is the rule, but in some cases double the flour is used. The flour cooked in this way gives a better result than when rubbed with the butter and stirred into the liquid. Cooking flour in hot fat seems to more surely burst the starch-grains, which removes the raw taste it is likely to have if cooked only in the boiling liquid.

TO MARINATE

Make a mixture in the proportion of three tablespoonfuls of vinegar to two of oil, one teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, one bay-leaf, one teaspoonful onion juice, and a sprig of parsley. Put it on a flat dish and lay any cooked or raw meat in the marinade for an hour or more before using, turning the pieces often. Enough flavor is absorbed to much improve meats or fish to be used for salads, fish to be fried or boiled, and other cases given in receipts. The onion juice may be omitted if desired.

A salpicon is a mixture of cooked meats, which are cut into dice and combined with a sauce, mushrooms, and truffles. Chicken, sweetbreads, and tongue mixed with mushrooms and truffles and moistened with a Bechamel sauce, is a combination often used. Salpicon is used in timbales, patties, and vol-au-vent. A mixture of fruits seasoned with sugar and wine is also called a salpicon.