TRIALS OF THE COOK

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 July 1938, Page 8

TRIALS OF THE COOK

CAUSES OF FAILURE Sometimes a cream or a jelly for the sweet course will prove a disappointment. The creamy mixture may seem stodgy, or perhaps merely too stiff. Possibly the cream has been beaten too much, or, if the mixture is of cream and custard, the custard has been too thick. It may be, too, that too much gelatine has been added. A jelly-like consistency may be due to the addition of gelatine or custard to the cream when these were too hot. The reason for fruit, etc., sinking to the bottom of a creamy mixture is that the mixture has been turned into a mould before it began to set. But if it is allowed to set too much, then it will not take the shape of the mould properly. Another reason for the latter happening is the use of too hot water before turning out. And then there are the baked custards and the milk puddings, where failures should not occur and do so often. Those watery custards, for instance, which are full of holes, are caused by too long and too slow cooking, or perhaps by too rapid heat. The dryness and lack of creaminess in a milk pudding again is probably due to too rapid heat, or maybe that there is too much of the cereal for the liquid. Indeed, most of the faults in cooking milk puddings may be traced to quick cooking. Milk puddings made in moulds are a fruitful source of troubles, principally lumpiness. This is pos- , sibly due to insufficient stirring, or perhaps to the stirring in of a skin formed while the mixture is cooling. This type of pudding is often difficult to turn out, for the reason generally that it has not been sufficiently cooked.

Pastry making many people find to be one of the difficult departments of cookery, for not all women possess that light hand that is so essential to good pastry. But there are other causes of failure. A hard, tough crust is frequently found, and there is no one reason for this. Possibly too much water has been added, or the fat was skimped or not rubbed in properly. Too heavy a hand with the rolling pin will cause many troubles, while others again are caused if the mixture is not kept cold. As far as the rough puff and puff pastries are concerned it is quite a good idea to put it into the refrigerator before rolling it out finally. '

Whole pages and, indeed, books, have been written about omelettes, and why some people can make them and others cannot. Some minor failures are due to the omelette sticking in the pan, due possibly to the fact that there is moisture in the pan. Sometimes an omelette does not cook through, and the centre is raw because the omelette was cooked too quickly, while the reason for a greasy surface will be found in the use of too much fat in frying. And, finally, scrambled eggs present difficulty to some cooks, but most of them know that over-cooking is the reason for the eggs becoming watery and hard, and the only solution is to have the family at the table before starting to scramble them.