Household Hints

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 224, 12 January 1910, Page 3

Household Hints

We share the opinion of an authority who says that for a dozen batches of pastry spoilt in making a hundred are spoilt in baking.. A good heat to start with is a necessity, and in the baking of small pastry generally, a sharp heat may be maintained to the end. For pies, etc., of a plan sort, and with a thick paste, the heat must be moderated after the pastry has risen, that the contents may have time to cook properly. More care is needed in baking raised pastry, both sweet and savoury, as there is more or less fear of scorching, and should an article become brown enough before it is sufficiently cooked, a sheet of slightly wetted or greased paper should be twisted or laid over it. A tray of salt is used by some for putting under a pie, should the oven-be too fierce. To test the heat of the oven, a little dry flour may -be sprinkled on the shelf or baking-tin; should it turn brown at once, the oven is too quick even for small goods; a pale strawcolour is indicative of the right heat for pies and solid pastry generally, while for small things the tint should be a trifle deeper. Should the flour not turn colour at all for the first minute, the articles must be put by for a time, as the oven is too slow for anything in the pastry line.

To know when pastry is done appears to trouble some beginners, though it is really very simple. The time when one is most likely to be misled is in the case of a pie or "anything else becoming prematurely brown, as, of course, the surface of the pastry appears to be baked. When any doubt exists, the point of a steel skewer or small knife should be inserted in the centre of the crust; if it can be withdrawn clean the paste is done. Should soft particles stick to the skewer, it is not baked enough. This method of testing should not be commonly resorted to, only until experience has been.gained. There is a very pronounced odour which is inseparable from well-cooked crust, and which is readily detected after a few bakings. There is, in fact, as much difference between raw and cooked pie crust as between dough and bread.

We will now suppose that the pastry has been brought to a fairly successful issue with regard to the making and the baking; there is yet left a way of damaging, if. not of actually spoiling it. That Hto take it straight from the oven to the pantry or cellar, and this is often done from want of thought. The change in temperature is too sudden, and the pastry will be far less light than if left in the place it is baked in for a time before removal.

In the summer a pie is often made one day for consumption the next, and this hint is worth remembering. Acting on the same nrinciple,- pastry should never be stored in a cold, damp place. Take, for instance, a batch of mince pies; these, if made with a rich short crust, will be good in a week's time if kept in a moderately warm place, say the top of the kitchen cupboard. Try this, and put one of the same batch in the cellar for the same time, and note the difference.

CULINARY HINTS. After trussing a fowl, always clean the feet thoroughly and put them in the. stock-put, together with the neck. Wipe greasy pans with paper as soon as done with, then fill with cold water, with a lump of washing soda in it. Boil, and then clean. .To preserve parsley, dry it in a cool oven, then place in airtight bottles Apple and. pear pips when bruised and added to tarts greatly improve the flavour of the cooked fruit. . Old cake tins that have become thin at the bottom should stand on a layer of dry sand in the oven. This will prevent the cake burning. When using tinned' vegetables, open the tin and immediately plunge a bright steel knife amid the vegetables. If copper be present, it will discolour the knife; in which case the vegetable is unfit for human consumption. There is no art that repays attention so much as that of dishing up in an appetising • form the remains of cold meat, fish, or vegetables. Use the trimmings of meat and vegetables to make the strongest broth possible for your rechauffe. The success of all minces or hashes depends largely upon the composition of the sauce.in which it is warmed. Never make the mistake of letting cooked meat be boiled or stewed fast. You can only retain the flavour by gently warming it. Carefully cut off all parts that have been browned in the previous cooking, and slice all meat into pieces of a uniform size.

A NICE PUDDING. One cupfull of each of flour, ground rice, finely chopped suet, milk, raisins, or currants, a teaspoonful each of carbonate of soda, and ground ginger, and a tablespoonful of vinegar. Put this mixture into a basin, tie it over and boil the Send to table with wTk@"gauce.