HINTS AND RECIPES.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 130, 29 April 1926, Page 2

HINTS AND RECIPES.

Olive oil is one of the best cures for because it lubricates the machinery of the body. A teaspoonful should be taken three times a day. China and cooking utensils that have become stained can usually be cleaned by rubbing with ammonia. Stains on piano keys will disappear I if rubbed with a mixture of whiting and methylated spirit. To clean brass bedsteads, rub them with a cloth dipped in salad oil, then rub with a soft' clotli and with a chamois leather. To remove grease stains from silk, use cold water and a pure soap. Apply the soap with a soft clotli, and rinse off with clear water. To prevent a water ring from showing around the spot, shake the garment in the air while drying, and press on the wrong side with a warm iron. Always starch the corner of a sheet, tablecloth, or any linen article that you want to mark with indelible ink. Then (the nib will not catch on the threads. J Discoloured brass curtain rings may be boiled in soda and water, and afterwards enamelled in any colour desired. Permanganate of potash is a cheap and effective disinfectant. Use it in the proportion of one ounce to a quart of boiling water, a-nd pour a little down the drains occasionally. When scrubbing deal tables or shelves, add half an ounce of powdered borax to two gallons of water. Half a pint of paraffin mixed with half a pint of ordinary brown vinegar makes an excellent polish for furniture, tiles, marbles, linoleum, and paint work. Cheese wrapped in muslin that has been sprinkled with vinegar will not become dry. • When making beef tea add the salt j after the meat has cooked for some I time. If added earlier it hardens the | meat and prevents the goodness being transferred to the liquor. | To Freshen a Carpet.—When a carpet i has been swept in the ordinary way and yet does not look fresh and clean, wet a broom in warm salt water and go over it again. This will brighten the colours of the carpet and freshen it up. A faded carpet can be restored j to some of its former glory by rubbing | it all over with a damp cloth and warm 1 salt. | Tittle moistened powdered whiting j will remove stains which, even with i careful washing, frequently appear on tea-cups. Keep small safety pins at hand when working on material that does not hold . ordinary pins well. The loss of pins in ; [ gathers or drapings often means anI other fitting. The best way to cut a cork is to damp it slightly and then uso a sharp > k ni fe. jf the cor k i s not d am p e( j there is a danger that it may slip and the ’ fingers be cut. It is convenient for an invalid to have spools of cotton and silk, noodle , hook, scissors, and other sewing mater- : ] ials strung on a gay ribbon. The ribbon is readily seen and all these little Hungs which so easily become hid- , den m the folds of the bed coverings are brought to hand with one pull. 1 If the stained border to a carpeted room has become faded and shabby looking, wipe it over with paraffin. This simple method will restore the original , dark hue. Should the “.surround” become , !l ratch ,° d ’ , and white wood show through, paint the patches with a solu--1 tlon .°* permanganate of potash, dissolved in. hot water. This obviates the necessity for purchasing a quantity- of stain for a few small scratches. , A Substitute for Starch. „ Cor f;flour is much better than starch 1 for stiffening clothes. Make it the same way as you do for boiled starch; • put a little soap in when making, it makes the ironing smooth. For childI 1 ? U clothes corn-flonr is nicer than I starch and it is also cheaper than starch; the clothes do not crease so ' easily. When Motoring. Clean the wind-screen with one-part glycerine and 6 parts of methylated spirits; the rain does not stick on the glass or leave a stain. Polish well with cloth and then paper. Melon and Pineapple Jam. Take 41b of firm part of melon; 21b pineapple; 31b of sugar. Boil the fruit with half the sugar, add rest of the sugar and boil for one hour longer. Pineapple Jam. 1 To every lb of fruit add lib of sugar. Weigh the pineapple after it is skinned; then chop or cut it in very thin slices; put it in a preserving pan with the sugar, watch until it boils; then move on one side and allow it to simmer for four hours. When cold put into jars. Washing Chamois Gloves. Often chamois gloves, after washing, come out a faded, almost dirty white. They lose the nice yellow that originally characterises them and attracts us to them. A very good way, if you wish to keep this yellow colour, is" to soak slices of orange peel in water overnight, and use this water with soap to wash and rinse the gloves in. Use the soar) in the rinsing water, too, as it keeps the gloves soft and pliable, whereas if they are rinsed in clean water they often become hard and stiff. Baked Apples So often the children look at the applepie or stewed or baked apples on their plates contemptuously, and treat an apple pudding as we in our younger days treated rice and sago. “I am sick of apples, Mum,” one little girl has complained, 1 ‘they arc so mushy” and I am afraid her criticism is very often only too just. But I have lately been fortunate enough to meet a lady whose cooking is renowned throughout several districts, and really it is surprising how apples can be made appetis-

ing. When baking apples try some of these variations. Core six large apples and place them in a fireproof dish which has a cover. Put a little water at the bottom of the dish and fill up the centre of the apple with brown sugar and butter. Sprinkle butter and brown sugar liberally in the dish as well and squeeze generously with lemon juice. A few cloves are a great improvement and the dab of apricot jam. on each apple makes the dish. Bake, with the cover on, in a slow oven for at least an hour. Another way of baking apples is to peel and core them and brush them over with white of egg well beaten. Mix together equal.quantities of castor sugar and ground almonds with a few breadcrumbs and coat the apples with the mixture. A fairly quick oven is required for this dish. Apples pooled and pared are delicious baked if the centres are filled with almond paste, made by mixing together equal quantities of sugar and ground almond and binding with white of egg. Strawberry jam is another filling that makes a good change, and a date or French plum stuffed into the centre is a good idea. Apples peeled whole and cored can be gently stewed in a covered dish in the oven after being sweetened to taste and tinted a delicate pink with cochineal. Take care that the apples remain whole, and when they are cold fill the centres with red current jelly and serve with whipped cream. The Value of Olive OU.

Olive oil should always be kept in a dark place. In Italy, where the oil is grown, it is the custom to fill the flask with the newly-made oil and place a litlle tow on top. A cork is necessary when the oil is expected, but when opening a new bottle of oil never replace the cork; just put a piece of tissue paper or muslin to keep the dirt out. Oil is a valuable toilet preparation, a splendid application for burns, and necessary for cooking. On the Continent olive oil is used to a much larger extent in cooking than in Britain. Yet the largest oil-producing country between Leghorn and Lucca belongs to a Britisher, who has owned the Lucca forests for a couple of generations. The family live at Leghorn, and derive great wealth from their possessions. Oil can bo used when cooking as a substitute for butter, and mustard made with oil is an improvement on the ordinary way of mixing it. In cases of burns and scalds oil is invaluable, and dry hair becomes lustrous and silky when the scalp is well massaged with a little oil. This method is in vogue among the Italian peasantry who are noted for their beautiful hair. Stains on the hands vanish when

rubbed with a paste of olive oil and castor sugar. Brittle nails should ba treated by soaking the fingertips in oil. To soften hands that have been roughened by housework or gardening, oil is invaluable. It makes a splendid polish when added to a little vinegar, or oil and black coffee are excellent for removing the stains or unsightly marks caused by hot dishes on a polished table. The oil that becomes stale for table ust can then be utilised. To Restore The Colour of Tarnished Silver.

Boil the goods, either silver or plated, in enough water to cover them. For every pint of water put into it two ounces of carbonate of potash and a quarter of a pound of whiting. After boiling for about half an hour, clean them with a leather. They will then look as good as new. In fighting the wood-borer, the use of kerosene or creosote, although effective in cases of minor attack, does not give any permanent degree of immunity, and treatment now being adopted is of such a nature as to leave a residuary poison which will give some degree of immunity. One of the most satisfactory and effective treatments is to spray or coat the affected timbers with a preparation containing benzol, creosote and arsenic in solution.