Household Hints

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 253, 23 April 1910, Page 3

Household Hints

CHATS WITH THE COOK. A large clean marble boiled in milk, porridge, custards, and sauces, will automatically do the stirring as the liquids cook, and so prevent burning. When plates arid dishes have to be warmed on oven top or in oven, if a newspaper is put underneath it will break the heat and prevent plates from cracking. When boil'ng new "milk, to prevent a "skin" from forming on th« top as it cools, add two tablespoonsful of cold milk to every pint when at boiling heat and stir briskly for a few minutes. The so-called "skim" will then be re-absorbed and the milk will not be impoverished. When buying coal also buy a load of coke —which can be bought cheaply at the gasworks. Use to a make a fire half coal and half coke putting the coke on top of the coal. You will find that a fire made in that way will last twice the time of one made in the ordinary way. If the coke should have a sulphur odour pour over a quantity of cold water. In choosing tinned meat or fruit always select the tins whose ends are slightly bent inwards. This indicates that no air was let in when the tins were sealed, and hence the contents will be wholesome. Tins with bulging ends must always be avoided. If vegetables are cooked in a steamer over hot water (like you would a pudding), and sprinkled with salt when nearly done, then served in very hot tureen, they will be iound very much better and also much more nutritiuos than when boiled in the ordinary way. v When a goose is freshly killed and young the feet are pliable, and the bills and ieet yellow. In old geese the feet'are red and stiff. Geese should be cooked from one and a half to two and a half hours if very large. Always put a cauliflower in plain water so as to draw out any insects. If salt is placed in the water it kills the insects and they are left in the vegetable. When buying nutmegs choose small ones in preference to large ones, as they have a nicer flavour. To test the quality prick them with a needle. If they are good the oil will instantly spread round the puncture. Always beat the yolks and whites of eggs separately in puddings, and use the whites as the last ingredient. When tin moulds are used for boiling or steaming puddings, remember to grease the cover of the mould as well as the mould itself. Lard is better for such greasing purposes, and cheaper than salt butter. In order to get the pudding to come easily from the mould plunge the latter in cold water for a moment. SOME EASY RECIPES, Whiting au Gratin. —Cut the heads and fins off three whiting, split them and remove the bone, and curl them round into fillet form. Mix well together three tablespoonsful of fine brown breadcrumbs, two teaspoonsful of chopped parsley, the grated rind of half a lemon, a tablespoonful of oiled butter, two small chopped shallots and a seasoning of pepper and salt. Bind these ingredients with an egg, and fill each cavity of the whiting with it. V/ell butter a baking dish, put the fish in, and sprinkle some breadcrumbs and small pieces of butter over the centres. Bake till cooked, and serve with brown gravy thickened with flour. Apple Pudding.—Peel, core and slice the apples. Make a nice suet crust with half pound of flower, four ounces of suet, half a teapsoonful of baking powder, a pinch 06 salt, and cold water to mix the whole to a stiff dough. Line a small pudding basin,, or, if a large sized one is used, make double the amount of crust. Put in the apples with some sugar, lemon rind, or two or three- cloves. Cover with more crust, tie in 5 a scalded and floured cloth, and boil for two hours. Serve with custard.