Household Hints.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 156, 17 May 1909, Page 4

Household Hints.

Why Home Made Jam is the Best. Housekeepers who adhere to tbe old fashioned practice of potting op their own preserves will be gratified to learn, says an American writer, that science recognises the superiority of their home-made product to that of factories. No less an authority than the London Lancet testifies to this. Every booswife who makes jam knows that the keeping powers of the several batches may vary. Some samples will go mouldy in a short time, while others will keep in good condition almost indefinitely. The differences observed may be due to some jams being mora concentrated than others, as, of course, it is only a concentrated solution of ?upar which is antiseptic. It seems certain, also, that cane sugar is a much more satisfactory preservative than glucose, and the argument of jam makers that glucose is necessary in order to keep jam from crystallizing is pot out of court by tbc'fact that if the jam is well made the acids of the fruit should change enough cane sugar into invert sugar to'insure against sugar crystals separating. This involves, however, long boiling, and nowadays jams, we arc told, must be made as cheaply as possible. Hence the superiority of the home-made jam which contains a larger proportion of digestible sugar, and it may be added, more fruit too. than as a rule does the commercially prepared article. It would be a somewhat curious fact if it proved that, after all, jam owed its keeping power* not entirely to sugar but in part to what may be regarded as an artificial preservative—namely, formaldehyde. It has been agreed that formaldehyde is an objectionable preservative for foods on account of its toughening effect upon foods in general and upon protein in particular. And yet it would appear that formaldehyde is readily formed in small quantities by merely boiling solutions of cane sugar the amount produced depending possibly on the duration of the boiling. According to this, it would not be surprising to find formaldehyde present in many jams as a perfectly unintentional, or even normal constituent Its presence, indeed, may be essential to the keeping powers of tbe jam. Tbe subject deserves further investigation, since analysts may be put off their guard and be the means of instituting proceedings for fraud where no fraud exists.

Apple Charlotte.—This is a seasonable dish. Take 21b apples, pare and core, and slice them into a pan, and add lib of sugar, the juice of three lemons and the grated rind of one. Let these boil until they become a thick mass, which will require about two hours; pour into a mould, and when cold turn out on a dish. Serve with either custard or cream.

Apple Croquettes.—One would hardly recognise the bumble apple in this guise. Put over tbe fire in a saucepan one cup stale breadcrumbs and add half cup milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until tmooth, then add one large apple chopped fine, and a dozen almonds ground, the yolks of two eggs beaten with a tablespoonful of sugar,a tablespoonful of lemon juice, and the grated yellow rind of half a lemon. Cook until thickened, then turn out on to a dish to cool. When quite cool form into croquettes, roll into fine breadcrumbs and fry in smoking hot fat. Serve with syrup or powdered sugar.

Empress Pudding.—Boil half a pound of rice in enough milk to cover, and at soon as soft stir in 2oz of butter. When a little cool add three well beaten eggs and stir well. Place a layer of bread in the bottom of the baking dish a layer of rice, a layer of jam, and alternate layers of rice and jam until the dish is foil. Bake 40 minutes and serve hot or cold with sweetened cream.

Old Podding.-Place three quarters of a pint of breadcrumbs in a pudding dish, a layer of fruit jam together * egg** 2oz of sugar, 3oz of butter, loz of almonds or chocolate may be substituted, and a pint of milk. Beat well, poor over the crumbs, and bake one boor in a moderate oven Prince of Wales Sponge. Foor yolks of eggs beaten well, with 6oz castor sugar, seven leaves of gelatine, dissolved in a gill of water. Add to this a gill of rum and the joice of a lemon, and add to the well beaten eggs. Whip the whties to a stiff froth, stir them very lightly into the rest of the ingredients, and stir gently until nearly set. Then poor the mixture into a mould previously rinsed with cold water, and serve with cold fruit sauce. Mould of Iced Rice.—Put a quarter of a pound of rice with loz fresh butter, and half a stick of vanilla in a saucepan and set it over a slow fire until the rice has swelled which may take from two to three hours; then turn out to cool. Dissolve half an ounce of isinglass and whip half a pint of rich cream and add the isinglass and cream to the rice. Freeze it and add sugar to taste. If preferred this can be prepared without being frozen, and in that case sent to table with stewed or fresh fruits. Chicken Pie.—Put in a saucepan one quart of water, one onion, a little chopped parsley with pepper and salt; simmer for one hour then add tbe chicken cut into small joints. Stew until tender and thoroughly cooked. Line a piedish with a good crust, put in the chiken in layers, with sliciw of ham and hard boiled eggs between each layer, add the gravy and a small piece of butter rolled in flour ami a quarter of a pint of boiled milk. Pot on the top crust and bake until the pastry is done. Some people prefer the pie without the ujiuetera»t.„

Black and Brown Boot Polishes.— Four ounces white curd soap, 8 ounces white Japan vegetable wax, 8 ounces of oil of turpentine, one pint of water. Cut soap into strips and dissolve by boiling in a clean saucepan, with sufficient water to cover. Place wax and oil of turpentine in a jar, place the jar in a pan of boiling water, and -rtir contents until dissolved. When soap and wax are in a liquid state, pour into a clean jar or tin, mix well, and add a small quantity of bismarck brown for tan boot*, until of the desired shade. This polish may be left in its natural colour, white; in fact, many people believe it to be superior to the shaded. For a black cream, add to liquid soap and wax 4oz lamp black, loz powdered indigo, and mix well together. If deaired, the above polish may be perfumed by adding 30 to 40 drops of oil of cloves, peppermint or almonds. Pour cream into tins while in the liquid form, leaving the lids off until the contents have hardened.

Raspberry and Red Currant Cream. —Put lib of raspberries and lib of red currants into a basin. Of course remove the stalks and stems. Put into a saucepan half pound! of sugar, and quarter pint of water, and bring to boiling point and boil for six minutes. Skim, and pour right over the fruit. When cool fill some upright custard or jelly glasses three quarters full with the fruit, adding a little of the juice, but of course, not sufficient to make tbem float in it. Now whip quarter pint of cream and either spread it prettily over the top, or put it into a bag and rose forcer and squeeze a large rose out on each. A little wine may be added to the fruit syrup if liked.