MM iinimii ■ i.i wm ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY Cornell University Gift of Thomas Bass ^--=^:i>- :^--- ~ \. From Home Bakings, by Edna Evans San Francisco, 1912. CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 OSa 618 361 The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924089618361 THE WAY WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL, BY VIRGINIA HEED, Editor of "I^aily Vheer for All the Tear. NEW YORK AMERICAN PUBLISHERS CORPORATION 310-318 Sixth Avenue Copyright, 1896, BY VIRGINIA REEI> TmS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO th:e SI3: WHO, TOGETHER WITH VIRGINIA REED, COMPRISED THE NORMAL CLASS AT THE PHILADELPHIA COOKING SCHOOL FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR OF 1894-6. " Not to know at large of things remote rrom use, obscure and subtle, but to know That which before us lies in daily life, Is the prime wisdom." —Milton. PREFACE. Believing that the information acquired by some persons at the cost of considerable time and money would be interesting to others, and also be apprecia- ted and enjoyed by many who have not the time or money to spend in thus gaining knowledge, this vol- ume has been most carefully prepared, with the hope of gratifying those less fortunate in this respect than the writer. June, 1896. CONTENTS. LETTER I PAGS Description of tlie Sclioolrooms — Questions in regard to Stoves and Fuel 1 LETTER IL Report of Lecture on Fuel — Questions in regard to Cooliing Utensils and Water — Soup Stock — Vegetable Soup — Rib Roast in the Oven '. 9 LETTER III. Report of Lecture on Ventilation — Questions in regard to Boil- ing and Baking — To Broil Steak — Veal Cutlets — Tomato Sauce — Beef Stew with Dumplings — Boiled Leg of Mutton — Caper Sauce — Pressed Meat 19 LETTER IV. Report of Lecture on Ventilation, continued — Questions in re- gard to Frying, Broiling and Roasting — Quick Biscuits — To Corn Beef — Breakfast Bacon — Plain Hasb — Browned Flour — Corn Gems — Yeast Bread — Maslied Potatoes — Boiled Onions — Cream Sauce— Soft Gingerbread — Stuffed Potatoes — Corned Beef Hash — Stewed Turnips — Stewed Prunes 38 LETTER V. Diagrams of Animals and Questions as to Cooking tbe Various Pieces — Report of Lecture on Microbes — Stewed Cranberries —Rusk— Grafton Cake 39 LETTER' VI. Turkey Salad in Aspic — Mayonnaise Dressing — Swedish Salad — French Dressing — Russian Salad — Puff Paste — Shells for Patties — Lady Locks — Vol-au-Vent — To Cream Oysters 51 X OOnTeHTS. LETTER VII. PAoa Whole Wheat Bread — Beef Tea — Beef Juice — Albumin and Milk — Eggnog — Egg Flip — Barley Water — Egg Soup — Mulled Wine — Indian Gruel — Oatmeal Gruel — Plum Por- ridge — Plain Arrowroot Gruel — Arrowroot with Egg — Farina Gruel — Sago Gruel — German Gruel — Rice Flour Gruel — Carrageen Gruel — Apple Gruel — Peach Juice — Cocoa — Cocoa from the Nibs — Racahout Powder — Raoahout — Racahout Blanc Mange — Oatmeal for Breakfast — Wheat Granules — Farina — Rye Mush — Cracked Wheat 59 LETTER VIII. Report of the Doctor's Lectures on the Workings of the Digestive Organs and Diseases connected Therewith — Gluten Bread — Gluten Gems 68 LETTER IX. Diseases, continued — Rheumatism — Diabetes — Bright's Disease — Typhoid Fever — Lemon Jelly — Wine Jelly — Calf's-Foot Jelly — Dry Toast — Milk Toast — Cream Toast — Panada — Poached Eggs — Boiled Eggs — Apple Water — Toast Water — Cinnamon Tea 78 LETTER X. Diseases, continued — Phthisis — Cholera Infantum — Asthma — Cold — Paralysis — Scrofula — Bowel Trouble — Scarlet Fever — Wine Whey — Cup Custards — Apple Snow — Velvet Cream — Carrageen — Crystallized Eggs — Separated or Frothed Egg — Lentil Gruel — Suet in Milk — Leban 86 Letter xi. Report of Lecture on Plants and Starch — Questions on Classifica- tion and Composition of Vegetables — Tomato Soup with Stock — Croutons — Tomato Soup without Stock — Turkish Soup— Clear Vegetable Soup— Black Bean Soup— Cream of Potato Soup 93 LETTER XII. Report of Lecture on Digestion of Starch — Questions in re- gard to Vegetables, Oils and Wheat — Baked Rib of Beef with Yorkshire Pudding— Pot Roast of Beet — Brown Sauce — Boiled Fish IO3 GONTSlNTB. xi LETTER XIII. PAGB Report of Lecture on Starches and Ferments — Questions in re- gard to White Yeast Bread and Salt Rising Bread, and their Proper Baking — Trussing and Baking Poultry — Qiblet Sauce — Stewed Chicken , . 110 LETTER XIV. Report of Lecture on Sugars and Starches — Questions concern- ing Rye, Corn, Oats, Barley and Bucli;wheat, and making Bread from Rye, Corn and Buckwheat — To Boil Tripe — Stewed Tripe — Saute Fish — Kidney SautI 119 LETTER XV. Report of Lecture on Fermentation — Questions in regard to Fruits and Milk, Butter and Cheese — Cecils — Bechamel Sauce — Codfish Balls — French Fried Potatoes — Beef Cro- quettes — Fried Oysters — Care of Oil after Frying 128 LETTER XVI. Syrian Bread — Cabbage Bolls — Syrian Hash — Syrian Sweets — Fondant — English Walnut Creams — Cream Dates — Cream Cherries — Neapolitan Cream Blocks — Orange Glaces- Grape and Cherry Glaces — Cream Chocolates — Report of Lecture on OilsandFats 139 LETTER XVII. Report of Lecture on Oleomargarine — Questions in regard to Eggs and Fish — English MufiBns — I'op Overs — Plain Waf- fles — Chicken in Jelly — Mince-Meat 148 LETTER XVIII. Report of Lecture on Testing Butter — Questions in regard to Lobsters, Shrimps, Scallops, Mussels and Clams — Plain Paste — Pumpkin Pie — Apple Pie— Cranberry Pie — To Serve Boiled Lobster — Stewed Oysters — Fricassee of Oysters 158 LETTER XIX. Report of Lecture on Milk — Questions in regard to Terrapin, Poultry, Game and Nuts — Spinach — Drawn Butter — Boiled Cauliflower — Stewed Cabbage— Boiled Asparagus 167 Xii dONTENTS. LETTER XX. paoe Report of Lecture on Milk, continued— Questions in regard to Tea, Coffee, Cocoa, Tapioca, Arrowroot, Sago and Irish Moss — Baked Macaroni— Cream Macaroni — Cheese Ramakins — Welsh, Rarebit 177 LETTER XXI. Report of l^ecture on Proteids — Questions in regard to Sugar andVarious Spices — Plain Omelet — Spanish Omelet — Deviled Eggs — Beauregard Eggs — Omelet Souffle 186 LETTER XXII. Report of Another Lecture on Proteids — Questions in regard to Cinnamon, Pepper, Ginger, Mustard and Vanilla — New Cen- tury Pudding — Hard Sauce — Batter Pudding with Cherries — Fairy or Nun's Butter — Wafer Pudding — Foamy Sauce — Apple Sponge — Vanilla Sauce — Peacli Sponge — Coifee Bava- rian Cream — Caramel Bavarian Cream — Snow Pudding 195 LETTER XXIII. Report of Lecture on Disinfectants — Questions in regard to Lard- ing and Cake Baking — Layer Cake — Spice Cake — Chocolate Cake — Angel Food — Sand Tarts — Cream Puils — Calcutta Curry Powder — Curry Powder , 204 LETTER XXIV. Lesson on Scouring — Miscellaneous Questions — Bouillon — Cara- mel — Consomme — Mock Bisque Soup — Oxtail Soup — Mock Turtle Soup — Egg Ball — Soup a la Reine — Pepper Pot 213 LETTER XXV. Table Serving — Miscellaneous Questions — Canning Apples — Apple Jelly 223 LETTER XXVI. Coffee Cake — German Cake — Eggs jt la Newburg — Egg Cutlets — Cocoanut Milk — East India Curry of Chicken — Chicken Timbale — Swedish Timbale — Rice a I'Imperatrice — Tomato Aspic Moulded — Hygienic Fig Biscuits — Brioche — Jelly Roll — Mrs. Beeton's English Muffins — Mrs. Marshall's Cocoanut Cake — Mrs. Marshall's Ham Salad — Mrs. Mar- shall's Puff Balls — Cinnamon Buns — Quick Cinnamon Buns — CONTENTS. xiii PAGE Jumbles, No. 1 — Potato Biscuit — Compote of Apples — GS.teau St. Houore — Vienna Rolls — Miss N.'s Ginger Pud- ding — Breakfast Gems — Griddle Cakes — Sweet Milk Biscuits — Quick or Peptik Bread — Suet Pudding — Detecting Adul- terated Milk and Mustard Floiir 333 LETTER XXVII. "Left Overs" — Larded Fillet witli Mushroom Sauce — Fish Larded and Baked — Sauce Hollandaise — Stewed Beef's Heart — Stewed Kidney — Braised Calf's Liver — Beef a la Mode — Chicken Cutlets — Lobster Chops — Sauce Tartaie — French Crullers — German Crullers — Doughnuts — Mince Pie — Lemon Custard — Baked Chicken Pie — Philadelphia Stewed Terrapin — Sweetbreads a la Bechamel — Baked Sweetbreads and Peas — Boned Chicken 346 LETTER XXVIII. Fruit Cake — Plunkets — Cream Sponge Cake — Orange Icing — Meringues — Chocolate Eclairs — Chocolate Icing — English Plum Pudding — Cream Chocolate Pudding — Newport Pud- ding — Vanilla Ice Cream — Baked Ice Cream — Iced Rice Pud- ding with a Compote of Oranges — Montrose Pudding — Strawberry Waterlce — Montrose Sauce — Caramel Ice Cream — Orange Souffle— Lemon Water-Ice — Frozen Apricots — Frozen Strawberries — Charlotte Eusse — Orange Sherbet 263 THE WAY WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. LETTER L " Going to cooking school ? What put that idea in your head ?" "When I was at the Columbian Exposition I heard one of the Scientific Cooking Teachers say that the women are responsible for the greater part of the dys- pepsia and drunkenness in the world, because they do not cook the food properly, even when they do select the proper articles for cooking. Now, if that is true I would like to understand cooking from a scientific standpoint." "And so would L I am sure I would do all I could to prevent my baby boy from ever suffering from either cause. Are you not afraid to go so far away among strangers ?" " One thousand miles is a long way from home, I know, but the school officials have promised to meet me, so I feel easy about going." "How will they know you?" " I sent them a piece of my traveling dress and told them what train I would be on ; so that is all right. Grandma approves of my going. She said only this afternoon : ' I think it is a very, sensible idea. If more of the girls took an interest in such work they would benefit themselves as well as their home folks, and be happier and more contented.' " " I wish I too were to have the advantages of at- 'Z THE WAY WE DIB AT COOKING SCHOOL. tending such a school. I feel my incompetency so often." "Oh, never mind, Cousin Alethea ; I shall write and tell you every little thing," " Thank you. You are very kind, Indeed. I never would have dared to ask such a great favor of you. Eeally, I fear that with all your other duties you will not have time for so much writing." " Writing down everything will help to impress it on my own mind. So do not be uneasy ; I shall re- ceive as much benefit as any one." '* When do you leave for the East ?" " Day after to-morrow. Look out soon for letter number one." "I am glad you have one more day here. I shall see you again before your departure." October 15, 189-. Mt Dear Cousin Alethea : The long journey is over without an incident worth telling. They met me as they promised and accompanied me to a boarding place where three other of the cooking school pupils are boarding. It seems to be a very pleasant place and is near the school. The main schoolroom is longer than wide, with three windows on the west. In this room there are two long, narrow tables ; these tables are placed parallel with an aisle between them. At the south end of the aisle is the stool upon which the teacher sits in front of a small table. The long tables have drawers in them opening on the sides next the wall. Each one of us has a special drawer assigned her ; so her place is always by that drawer. Each drawer contains a salt dredge and pepper dredge ; two measuring cups, holding a half-pint each ; one cup is divided into thirds and the other into fourths ; two teaspoons ; one tablespoon ; one spatula* one common knife and fork ; one narrow, sharp-pointed knife for paring and boning ; a small sieve ; a flour dredge ; a rolling pin ; a glass lemon squeezer ; and a rna way we did at cooking school. 3 wooden spoon. A bread board slips in above each drawer. Under each table is a shelf on which are placed wooden and granite-ware bowls used in mixing, and the different dishes and pajis used in baking, and also whip-churns of various sizes. Against the wall, opposite the windows, stand the refrigerator and a dresser ; on the dresser and mantel are placed the molds and cutters of various fancy forms, and a few plates and other dishes. At the south tnere is a closet where we put our wraps. This closet also contains two cupboards, in which part of the provisions used in cooking are kept. On the north wall are two cabinets, where the food substances that have been analyzed are kept in bottles. Between these cabinets is a large arch, which opens into a small room containing a coal stove, of the variety which some people call a portable range. This stove has a gauze door. In this small room the flour bins are fastened to the wall. The saucepans, kettles, farina boilers, chopping tray and cutter, quart measure, funnel, meat grinder, and a tray containing trussing and larding needles are kept on shelves. Under the shelves are hung the frying pans, omelet pans, broilers, and gem pans. On the one long table this room contains stand boxes of sugar and spices. The other table in this room is a round marble-topped one. Still further to the north is a smaller room provided with hot and cold water and furnished with one table, upon which all the soiled utensils are washed by a colored girl. v You perceive everything is conveniently arranged? for us, and we are seven — six girls and one married* woman. Each day so far we have prepared a lesson from a small Question Book published by the principal of the school. We find the answers to these questions bv consulting various books of reference. We were told to provide ourselves with a copy of " The Handbook 4 THE WAT WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. of Household Science," bv Edward L. Youmans, M.D., and " A Treatise on Food and Dietetics," by F. W. Paw, M.D., F.R.S.,iin pint of boiling water over it, and covering it up closely let it stand until cold. When wanted we drained the water from the apple and added a little sugar for those patigijti§ ^b9 are permittied to use sugar. THE WAT WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. 85 Toast "Water. — In preparing toast water we cut a slice one-half inch thick from a five-cent loaf and toasted it over a slow fire until it was a dark brown and dried through. We were very particular not to let it scorch, as that would spoil the flavor. Having placed the toast in a bowl we poured over it one pine of boiling water. After having stood until cold we strained it and it was ready to be used. Toast water quenches thirst more quickly than plain water and contains a very little nutrition. Cinnamon Tea. — In making cinnamon tea we broke one-half ounce of stick cinnamon into small pieces, and having put them into a granite teapot we poui'ed on them one pint of boiling water. We let it steep on the stove for ten minutes and it was ready to use. This tea is good to warm up a patient having diar- rhoea. Your affectionate cousin, ViBGINIA EeEd. TEE WAT WE DID AT OOOKINO SCHOOL. LETTER X. December 12, 189-. My Deae Cousin Alethea : Phthisis, cholera infan- tum, mirasmus and consumption of the bowels are forms of non-assimilation. . The primary cause is fer- mentation in the stomach. If a person dislikes fats, then the lungs are the part to break down first; therefore such persons ought to build up their muscles and tissues. Children should not have the fat cut off from their meat. Old folks should be particular to eat some fruit and drink plenty of water. Consumptives should use an extra amount of nitro- fen and fats, and decrease the starches and sugars, 'ats create more heat than the starches and sugars. Never insist on any one using the fat of beef, because it is muscular and when cooked is changed. Mutton fat is much better. Some doctors recommend beef tea, meat and salad oil. One teaspoonful of oil daily is enough, and is best when taken with other food. Two-inch squares of whole wheat bread toasted and eaten with as much butter is good ; so, also, is rice with rich cream. Olive oil being a fruit oil is the best for consumptives. JNever give them seed oils, because they are drying. Give ,the oil on green salads. To one pint of beef tea add two ounces of dry albumin, and have the patient use one pint each day. A patient must have plenty of fresh air. If confined to the house, move the patient to another room and air his room three times a day, so he need not breathe the poisonous carbon monoxid. Be sure the temper- ature is right before the patient returns to the room. Many tbiak the air of pines, suoU as those of New TES WAY WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. 87 Jersey, is as good as that of Colorado, and the pine odor is healing. Never force a patient to take anything he does not want, but make everything agreeable, tasty and sightly. Never give candies, because they affect the liver. Be careful not to upset the stomach, and give food five times a day. Give liot milk before he gets up in the morning, and again before going to bed, as tiiat tends to draw the blood from the head and enables him to sleep well. Ahvays sip milk, and do not give it to a consumptive cold, unless as milk ])unch with raw egg in it. Give beef at least once a da3' — tenderloin broiled or chopped fine and baked, game occasionally, oysters and tripe with cream sauce is ex^ cellent. Never give fish, as it might upset the stom- ach. Keep the patient very warm. If he dislikes fats, rub him well with warm water till you get up a glow, then rub in about three tablespoonfuls of cod- liver oil, though almond oil would do. To the bath you can add alcoiiol, whisky, vinegar or cologne. Bathe with powdered alum dissolved in alcohol to pre- vent bed sores. The patient could have a slice of Brazilian nuts oc- casionally. Rice would be the best form of starch. Leban and koumiss are good ; so are green vegetables ; but give no potatoes or oatmeal. Egg, whipped, taken raw or cooked, is excellent; or, whip the white and yolk of an e^g separately and add sugar and sherry. You can add brandy to the whipped egg. To arrow- root gruel you can add lemon or brandy. Barthelow's food, with a little celery salt added, is an admirable food ; and Irish moss is also good. Let tiie stomach have a little rest between each feeding. Some doctors claim that the first stage is caused by the fermentation of sugars and acids. The stomach has become a yeast garden, producing sour yeast and alcohol; and if this condition is continued it passes into the blood and the blood becomes thinner, then ropy and sticky. There is a tendency to tire and get out of breath, and a marked tendency to have cold' 88 THE WAT WE DTD AT COOEINa SCHOOL. feet. This condition sometimes lasts two years. Sometimes the heart does not throw the blood to the head, so the patient becomes dizzy. After yeasty fer- mentation has continued for some time the pylorus be- comes so paralyzed that it cannot stay closed, so the blood becomes impaired, and after it is loaded with bile, the pulse will be slow, and in the last stage the feet swell. Before the last stage the heart becomes fatty, the liver and spleen amyloid, and though the yeasty products drop into the small intestine, there is still a chance of recovery. In the third stage many patients are troubled with a chronic diarrhoea. In all stages, diet, exercise and surrounding condi- tions are to he carefully attended to. Keep the bowels clear from yeasty fermentation. Sour yeasty spores, after they have entered the blood, multiply and can- not pass through in oxidization. At first consumption i^ confined exclusively to the digestive organs, but if continued long the mucous lining becomes paralyzed. In many cases Virginia claret is better than fruits arid sugar. Avoid tannin, because it causes constipa- tion. If a patient sinks quickly, give liquor to tide over. In miner's consumption the air cells are filled with coal. When the lungs are weak, protect the back across the shoulders with an extra flannel. In Asthma the local manifestation is in the eyes, laryrix, and bronchial tubes. The paroxj'sms are nervous in origin. The primary^cause is unhealthy feeding and overeating. Keep the stomach clean and the improvement will bejmore rapid. Fruit and meat are the best cure. The stomach is the hub where all revolve. Asthmatic people are very apt to take cold, so they must- l^eep the extremities warm and avoid taking cold, because all colds travel downward, and a very heavy cold travels quickly ; so look out for the lungs. A person having indigestion with flatulency is apt to have a cold settle in the air passages. In asth- ma cut off all sugars and starclies for the time beino-. If taken off too long the kidneys would break down. TeM Wat We Dtn aT cOoKixg SciiOoL go Give grapes three times a (ky. Ctikes made from corn are more easily digested than those made from wheat. In acute paroxysms use strong coffee. Strong coffee sometimes produces tremblings Cold .causes indigestion. Clear the system by drink- ing hot water and do not overeat. Use meats, but never any of the cereals. Clergymen's Sore Throat is caused by improper use of the vocal cords, irritated by the impure air from the audience beating against the wall and then down on the speaker. Paralysis. — Remember that in paralj'sis fruit helps to keep the blood in a liquid condition. Scrofula. — The Indians do not allow those having a tendency to scrofula to use salt, sugar, spice, or con- diments. Take plenty of outdoor exercise, living in the open air as much as possible. Take little starchy food and no sweets. Use plenty of fats, but no shell- fish or anything that :s a scavenger. Do not touch a scrofulous swelling, but take oil to keep them down. Bowel Trouble. — Irish moss made into the form of blanc mange is good in bowel trouble, because it has a soothing effect on the mucous membrane. Leafy products having a full green color possess more or less purgative properties, while herbaceous articles have high antiscorbutic virtue. Apples, on account of con- taining salts and phosphorus, strengthen the lower bowel, and are good in diarrl)cea or constipation. Apple gruel and plum porridge are especially good for using in chronic diarrboea. Succulent, food, either fruits or vegetables, moves the bowels, \yhile farina- ceous seeds do not stimulate to action. Eggs are con- stipating. Those troubled with constipation should walk from five to ten miles a day and avoid sittmg. Fibre of meat sometimes causes diarrhoea. In diar- rhoea keep the patient still, even if you have to put him in splints. Too much sugar makes one bilious and the skin rough. Predigested food is given only when a person has not. strength to digest it. Leban will stay on the 90 TUB WA 7 WE DID A f COOKING SCHOOL, stomach when nothing else will. Those who cannot digest oil should rub it in over the abdomen. In ScAELET Fevee do not give egg or beef tea. Give starches. Whey would be [good. Give nothing that works on the skin or kidneys. Wine Whet. — In making wine whey we put one cup of milk in a double boiler, and when steaming hot we added one-fourtli of a cup, or four tablespoonfuls, of sherry wine quickly, and tlieii removed it at once from the fire and strained it through two thiciinesses of cheesecloth. This is lo ba used by weak persons needing stimulants, and can be served with or without sugar. We were very particular to see that every particle of curd was removed. Cup Costaeds. — In preparing cup custards we beat four eggs all together until light. (Four is the least number that will thicken one quart.) We added one- half cupful of sugar, one-fourth of a grated nutmeg, and one quart of sweet milk. Having stirred until the sug^r was dissolved, we poured it into custard cups. We placed these cups in a pan of boiling water and put it into the oven. We left them to bake until firm in the center. We tested thera by putting the handle of a spoon in the center ; when the custard did not stick to the handle it was pronounced done, and we removed the cups from the water and stood them away to cool. They are served in the same cups in which they were baked. Apple Snow. — In preparing apple snow we pared, cored and steamed six good-sized apples. When tender we pressed them through a sieve and left them to cool. When cold we added one cup of sugar and the juice of one lemon. We beat the whites of six eggs until very stiff and then added the apples, one spoonful at a time, and kept on beating till all the apples had been worked in. It was dipped into glasses and served at once. Velvet Ceeam. — In preparing velvet cream we put otle-fourtb of a box of granulated gelatin to soak ia TBi: Wat wb did at ooOkinci- school. 91 one-fourth of a cup of cold water. "When it bad soaked one half hour we added one cup of cream, and standing the saucepan over the teakettle of boiling water, having first removed the teakettle lid (a double boiler would do as well), we stirred until all the gelatin was dissolved. We added one-half cup of sugar and continued to stir until we had added another cup of cream and one gill of sherry wine. We strained it into a mould and put it in a cold place to harden. Caeeageen. — In preparing carrageen we washed one- fourth of a cupful of Irish moss through several waters and then added one pint of milk. When it was soft and white, in about thirty minutes, we turned it into a double boiler and stirred it until the milk was steam- ing hot. We added one-fourth of a cup of sugar and strained it into small moulds. It was to be served very cold with cream, sweetened and flavored with wine. Ceystallized Eggs.— In crystallizing eggs we separated them and spread the unbeaten white out on apiate and placed it where it would evaporate quickly. We bottled the thoroughly dried flakes. The whites of from three to six eggs can be added to one pint of clarified beef tea and used in fevers. By dissolving the crystallized eggs in cold water as we would gelatin they can be beaten stifif and used in cakes. Sepaeated Egg. — In preparing a separated egg the white was beaten until light, but not stiff. We then turned the white into a small bowl or cup and placed the unbroken yolk in a slight depression in the center. We placed the cup in a pan of hot water in the oven and covered" it over with another pan and baked it from one and a half to two minutes. When done we added a trifle of butter, a little salt, but no pepper. Lentil Geuel. — In preparing lentil gruel we soaked one-half pint of lentils over night, having previously looked them over and washed them. We drained off that water, and added fresh soft water and cooked them until tender, and after pouring off the water we pressed them through a sieve. It looked like a thick 9^ The WAT WM btb AT C00KIN& sdnooL. apple sauce. "We added butter and salt. Serve two tablespoonfuls in one cup of hot milk. This gruel is good sometimes for lying-in patients. So, also, is Indian gruel. SuKT IN Milk.— In preparing suet in milk, which is good lor those suifering from lung trouble, we chop- ped one ounce of suet fine and simmered it thirtj' minutes, in a double boiler, with one quart of milk. We strained it carefully through two thicknesses of cheesecloth. It should then be salted to taste. Leban. — In making, leban we boiled milk, and when it was cool enough for us to be able to hold a finger in it, we added one tablespoon ful of leban to each half pint of the boiled sweet mdk. "We covered it and al- lowed it to stand in a warm place foi" about four hours, until it was in a solid condition. "When cold we beat it up, bottled it and kept it in a cold place. Leban when beaten up as for bottling is called matzoon. Leban is ver}'' nutritive and tije stomach will take it when it can retain nothing else. Leban must be pre- pared each week, as it will not keep longer. 1 thought perhaps you would like to try this matzoon, so I inquired about it and found you could buy a bottle by sending to 272 and 274 Forty-second Street, near Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago. The Armenians grow very enthusiastic in speaking of leban. They declare that if men had leban and coffee served to them in a comfortable room, tiiey would not care for drink. They would liave a nourishing food and so would not crave a stimulant. Your affectionate cousin, Virginia Reed. THE WA T Win DIT) AT OOoKlNG SOSOOL. 93 LETTER XL December lY, 189-. My Dear Cousin Alethea : It is now about three weeks since the Food Exposition closed, and about two weeks since we finished the course of Invalid Cooker}'', so now we have one lecture from the professor of chemistry each week, and a few questions each day, and also cook some. It seems most delightful to liave the quiet and regular work of the schoolroom after the crowded rooms and excitement of the Exposition. Of a truth, too much even of a good thing grows wearisome. There were several otiiers who joined the school just for the health notes and invalid cookery. Now, again, we are only seven. I believe the last lecture from the professor, that T wrote off for you, was about " Microbes." The next lecture was about " Plants and Starch." Plants both feed and have a respiration. They help to complete the circle of nature, for, wherever there is decomposition or putrefaction, tlie microbes feed on the proteids. The nitrogen is sometimes set free, but generall}' it goes througii changes by which it is converted into ammonium compounds and then into nitrates. These nitrates are lodged in the soil, from which they are drawn by plants in feeding. The plant does not take in nitrogen as we do air. The green coloring matter of plants corresponds to the red corpuscles of our blood. This green coloring matter, or clilorophyll, receives carbon and water from the air, and its force comes from the sun. Plants which do not receive liglit are devoid of chlorophyll. All plants do not draw their sustenance from the ground, because some fasten themselves upon other 54 THE WAT M'a DID AT COOEtNG SCHOOL. plants and assimilate the food they have prepared. Such i)lants do not possess chlorophyll, because they have no need for it. There are many beautiful vari- eties of these parasites. Some plants are sa-id to be epiph^'tic, because while growing upon others they partly support themselves. To tbis class belong the mistletoe and orchids, and such, of course, have a little of the green color. To keep plants in a bedroom is not now considered especially advantageous, because it is known that they give off carbon dioxid in breathing and absorb some oxygen, as we do. even though we give off heat and they take it in. The professor explained for us the starch grains, and showed us that they are encased in cells, the walls of which are composed of a somewhat woody fibre called cellulose. The spot from which the granule grows is called the hilum. A granule grows in the sense that it increases in size, but it is not living like a microbe, because it has neither ancestry nor progeny'. The professor showed under the microscope several dif- ferent starch grains. ARROWROOT. TAPIOCA. CCRNSTAKCH Give the classification of vegetables. Give examples. THE WAT WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. 95 Roots, tuDers, bulbs, shoots, stalks, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, and fung The carrot is a root ; the potato is a tuber ; the onion is a bulb ; asparagus is a shoot ; celery is a stalk ; lettuce is a leaf ; cauliflower is a flower ; tomato is a fruit ; beans are seeds, and mushrooms are fungi. To what family does the potato belong? What condiment belongs to the same familj^? The SolanaceoB or Nightshade family. Capsicum, or cayenne pepper, is a condiment belonging to the same family. Give the chemical composition of potatoes. Water composes about seventy-live per cent, of a potato, the remainder being starch, albumin, fat, sugar, cellulose and saline matter, or silicates of lime, magnesia, potash and soda — citrates, phosphates and pectates, solanine and asparagin. How are they affected by heat? Heat causes the starch grains to absorb tiaeir own moisture and in swelling burst their cell walls. Which is the more liealthful, baked or boiled potatoes? Baked potatoes are more wholesome, be- cause they are drier, as the starch has absorbed its own moisture, and even a part of that has been lost by evaporation, and they have parted with none of the potash salts, which are soluble in water. Why do old potatoes wilt after sprouting? Old potatoes wilt because they have parted with a portion of their starch and water, which has been used in the growth of the sprout. Which are the more nutritious, old or new potatoes ? Why ? Old potatoes, because they are fully developed. What is the nutritious principle of potatoes ? Starch. Why are potatoes heavy and sodden if not properly boiled? When the water is not hot enough to cause the starch grains to burst their cell walls by absorbing their own moisture in swelling, they are heavy, and sometimes potatoes after being boiled are allowed to stand and absorb the water in which they were boiled, which makes them sodden. 96 THE WAT WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. Is the juice of potatoes acid or alkaline? Acid. Give the proper methods for cooking potatoes. Baking, steaming, and boiling. In boiling potatoes should you use hard or soft water ? Soft water. Why ? Because it softens the cellulose. Why are fried potatoes indigestible ? Because tiie heat is so great as to toughen the outside cellulose, so the heat cannot properly cook the inside starcli, and the fat has been partly changed into an irritating aci belong starch and dextrin, having the same composition but different arrangement. - To the second group belong cane sugar or sucrose, lactose, 112 THE WAY WE DID AT COOKINQ SCHOOL. maltose and tuoBkose. To the third group belong dextrose and levulose. The first and second groups can be changed to the third, but the third cannot be changed to either the lirst or the second. We tasted saccharine, a substitute for sugar made from coal tar. One grain of it is said to produce as much sweetness as three hundred grains of cane sugar. I did not like it. It was too sweet. What is farina ? Farina is a granulated form of the inner portion of the finest wheat grain. Give the best method of making white bread. Scald one pint of sweet milk and pour it into a mixing bowl containing two teaspoonfuls of sugar, one tea- spoonful of butter and one teaspoonful of salt. When the milk is lukewarm, add one cake of compressed yeast dissolved in two tablespoon fuls of lukewarm water, or one-half cup of liquid yeast, and sufficient flour to make a thick batter. Beat thoroughly, stand the bowl in a bread raiser partly filled with warm water, put on the cover, let it stand until the batter is liglit, and then add flour enough to enable you to knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, and does not sticli to the hands or board. Be careful not to use too much flour, as that would make the bread hard and dry. Put it back in the bowl and that in tlie bread raiser until it becomes light and doubles its bulk. Turn the dough out on the pastry board, and having divided the dough, mould it lightly into loaves and place the loaves in well-greased pans. Having stood the pans in a warm pkce until the loaves are light, bake them in a moderately quick oven for three- quarters of an liour. The length of time required for the baking depends somewhat on the size of the loaf. A Vienna loaf requires thirty minutes while a square loiif requires one liour. Wliat constitutes the perfect loaf? A loaf to be perfect must be elastic and have no odor of the yeast. It must be raised uniformlv without nny large cavi- ties, and while the shape of the loaf is symmetrical, it must be completely baked without overbaking the outside, and it must have a sweet taste.- THE WA T WE DID AT aOOEINO SCHOOL. 113 Besides good flour and water, or milk, what other element is necessary for bread ? Yeast or salt. "What is yeast? Yeast is a plant of the fungus family. It partakes of the nature of an animal in that it changes the elements before feeding on them. Give the best method of making yeast, and keeping it. Pare four good-sized potatoes, grate them, and put them as soon as grated into one quart of boiling water, and stir over the fire for live minutes. Ee- move from the stove and add one-half cupful of sugar and two tablespoonfuls of salt. When lukewarm add one cupful of good yeast. Cover and let it ferment for three or four hours. After stirring it down, cover closely, or bottle it and keep it in a cold place, but not where it could freeze. Why do you use potatoes for yeast ? Because the potatoes are peculiarly adapted to aid the growth of the yeast plant. To increase the growth of j'east, must you scald or freeze it ? If so, why ? Do neither, or you will kill the yeast plant. Can any other ferments be used in making bread ? If so, describe them. Leaven, which is dough that has soured, and salt added to a batter of flour and water and kept warm until decomposition begins. Give a recipe for salt-rising bread. To one pint of scalding water and one-half teaspoonful of salt add enough flour to make a thick batter, which must be beaten until smooth and full of air-bubbles. Cover closely after placing the bowl in the bread raiser partly filled with warm water. Keep in a warm place several hours, or over night. When tlie batter is very light scald one pint of milk, and when it is lukewarm add one teaspoonful of salt and enough flour to make a batter that will drop, not pour. Into this batter pour the one that has grown so light. Beat thoroughly for three minutes and stand it again in the closely covered bread raiser until light, which will be in about two hours. When liglit add flour enough to make a dough, which must be kneaded until smooth and 114 THE WAT WE DID AT GOOEINa SCHOOL. elastic. Divide it into loaves, and having moulded them, place them in. well-greased pans. Cover closely, and when light bake them one hour in a moderate oven (360" Fahr.). What is leaven ? Dough which has been allowed to ferment and turn sour when used to start fermenta- tion in other dough is called leaven. Why does bread made with leaven have an acid flavor? The acid flavor is partly caused by the acid of the leaven itself and partly by the sour or lactic fermentation which it induces in the dough. Which is the best and most healthy ferment for daily bread ? High yeast ; that is, yeast of quick growth. In what temperature should the sponge be kept? From 68° to T2° Fahr. Why must it be thoroughly beaten ? To make the gluten elastic and the dough. white. About what amount of liquid will moisten four quarts of. flour? About two quarts for whole wheat flour, and about three pints for spring wheat flour as now milled. About one quart for winter wheat flour and about two and two-thirds quarts for gluten flour. What may be added to make it hold more water ? Boiled rice, potatoes and salt. Why is dough elastic ? The elasticity of dough is caused by the tenacity of the gluten. Why do we knead bread ? Describe the whole pro- cess. The purpose of kneading is to intermingle the water with the flour so as to combine with and hydrate the starch, to dissolve the sugar and albumin, and to moisten the minute particles of dry gluten, so as to cause tliem to cement together and thus bind the whole into a coherent mass. Why are the hands the best instruments for this purpose ? The hands are best because by them you can tell when all the lumps have been removed. ilow do you know when to cease kneading ? When you can knead it on an unfloured dry board without its sticking, and it feels perfectly smooth. THE WAT WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. 115 What makes the dough rise ? The liberation of a gas throughout the glutenous dough. What is moulding? Moulding is the shaping of the dough iato forms for baking. How can you tell when bread is ready for baking? Bread is ready to be baked when it has doubled its bulk and feels light. At what temperature should the oven be ? At about 360° Fahr. when the breau goes in. It is the moderate heat before browning tliat gives a soft crnst. How can an oven be tested without a thermometer? The baker's method is to throw flour on the floor of the oven — if it browns quiclcly without burning the heat is right. How long should bread be baked ? A Vienna loaf requires thirty minutes and a square loaf requires one hour. What is the difference between the crust and the crumb, and what causes the difference ? The crumb is cooked by aqueous vapor, the temperature not rising above 212°. The crust is baked by the heat of the oven falling upon the surface of the loaf, causing first the rapid evaporation of its water and then producing a disorganization of the dough. The starch grains are ruptured and some of them are converted into dextrin and sugar, and if the heat is too intense the sugar is changed into caramel, which is bitter. How do you determine when the bread is done ? Bread properly baked when rapped on the bottom should sound hollow, should not tick loudly, and should feel light. - Why should bread be exposed to the air after it is removed from the baking pans? So that it would cool oflf quickly. The brown products of the roasting process attract moisture, so that the crust becomes softer. How should bread be cared for after it becomes cold? It should bo placed in a dry tin box, free from crumbs and stale bread. It should not be covered with a cloth or ]);iper, bat should have the box closed by its own tin I'nh 116 THE WAT WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. I Why does fermentation take place more quickly in brown bread than in white ? It is on account of the presence of the cerealin, or the natural ferment of the wheat, being present. Trussing and Baking Poultry. — The poultry sold in the market here has been bled to death and has had the feathers removed. In trussing and baking poultry the first thing we did was to singe the fowl by holding and turning it over a small alcohol lamp, then we placed it on a tiiick board, and with one stroke of a cleaver cut off the head. We placed the fowl on its back, witli the feet toward us, carefully cut the skin at the lirst joint, and with a skewer pulled out the tendons found above the joint, and then separated the bones by pressing the feet down and back. By so tloing a sheath containing several tendons is exposed to view. This sheath we carefully cut through and drew out the tendons. In drawing the tendons, hold t!ie leg with the left hand, pressing it back toward the boily, and having slipped the skewer under the tendon pull it out with the right hand. When done we had ten shining white tendons dangling from each foot. We then grasped the fowl firmTy by the skin of the neck with the left hand, and with the right cut the skin down, lengthwise, the back of the neck. We sep- arated the skin from the ■neck, drew it down over the breast, and took out the crop without breaking it. We placed the fowl again on the thick block and cut the neck off close to the bod}'. We did not cut off any more of the skin, because we wanted the skin to cover the place where the neck had been, and so keep the dressing in. We cut a vent under the rump large enough to draw out all the entrails. We slipped one finger in at the neck opening and at the vent just made, carefully detached the entrails from the boay framework, and, taking hold of the gizzard with th« thumb and two fingers, \ve drew out all the internal organs without breaking any of them. We cut around the outer opening of the intestine, removed the oil THE WAT WB DID AT COOEINQ SCHOOL. \Xt sack from the top of the rump, and the drawing was complete. We wiped the fowl inside and out with a dampened towel, and it was ready to use. We were going to stuff the chfcken,,so we took one cupful of stale breadcrumbs, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. We filled the space from which the crop was taken, folded the skin over, and fastened it to the back of tlie chicken with a trussing needle, and having put the remainder of the stuffing in the body of the chicken, we sewed up the vent. We placed the chicken on its back with the neck away from us; pushed the legs up under the skin, crossed them and fastened them with a stitch to the bone of the rump; turned the wings back, run the trussing needle through them and the body of the chicken and tied the cord, and then through the legs at the second joint and tied it tiglitly in order to keep the legs close to the body. We put two slices of bacon in the bot- tom of a baking pan, placed the chicken on them, and poured into the pan one-half cup of water containing one teaspoonful of salt. We baked it in a quick oven fiften minutes to every pound, basting it every ten minutes, at first with the water and then with its own drippings. Fifteen minutes before it was done -we basted the breast. with buttei and dredged it witli flour. When done we removed the strings, placed the chicken on a heated platter' and garnished it with parsley. GiBLET Sauce. — We made a sauce from the giblets to serve with the chicken. The giblets consist of the neck, heart, liver, and gizzard. We cut the heart open in order to remove the clotted blood, cut off tiie outer coat of the gizzard and left'the inner lining con- taining the sand unbroken to be thrown away, and cut the liver away from the gall-bag. We put the giblets, covered with cold water, over a raodera,te fire and left tiiem to simmer while the chicken was being roasted. We added one tablespoonful of flour to tJje drippings in the pan in which the cliicken v.'as roasted, and 118 THE WAY WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. stirred it until brown, then added one cup of the liquid in which the giblets were boiled, stirring continuousl}' until it boiled. We added the giblets chopped fine, and one-half teaspoonf ul of salt and one-eighth teaspoon- fal of pepper, and it was ready to be poured into a boat and served. Stewed Chicken. — In preparing a chicken for stew- ing we drew it as for baking and then cut it into eleven pieces. We took the legs from the body, separated them at the second joint, and then removed the wings. We cut through the ribs on each side, un- jointed the back from the breast, and cut the breast in two pieces lengthwise; unjointed the back and cut the lower back into two pieces ; put the chicken in a stewpan, partly covered it witli boiling water and left it to simmer until tender — from two to two and one-half hours if old, or about one hour and a quarter if young. When about half done we added one tea- spoonful of salt. When done we removed it to a heated dish, placing the neck piece, heart, liver and gizzard with the pieces of the back in the center of the dish, and the two pieces of the breast on top of them. We placed the second joints on one side of the plate, and the legs crossed on the other, with a wing at each end of the platter. We poured over all a sauce made by moistening two tablespoonfuls of flour with a little cold water and then stirring it into the liquid in which the chicken had been boiled. We stirred constantly until it boiled and then added one- fourth of a pint of cream and salt and pepper to taste. We removed it from the fire, added the beaten yolk of one egg and poured the sauce over the chicken, which was ready to be served at once. Your affectionate cousin, YiEGiNiA Eeed. TEE WAT WE DID AT OOOKING SCHOOL. 119 LETTEE XIV. December 27, 189-. My Deae Cousin Alethea: 1 returned yesterday frcm a pleasant visit with the married member of our class. Some weelvs ago she invited me to visit her as soon as school was out and stay until after Christmas. I had been dreading vacation and wondering what to do during the two whole weeks, so you may know the invitation was gladly accepted, ller home is about twenty minutes' ride by steam from the city. She lives in a large, quaint-looking house built of stone. The view is fine, and to the west the ground slopes down to a thickly wooded ravine. I had the pleasure of helping decorate the Christmas-tree for tlie chil- dren. She has four — two boys and two girls — very lovable children. Her mother and others also were there. Seeing so many around, and the colored servants moving about so quietly, made me think of the many changes that have come to us since the days when we were little children. In coming back I could not help feeling thankful that I had more notes to write out for you, because it is so decidedly lonesome staying in a large city witli- out having something special that you can do. The professor spoke next about the nature of sugars, and their relation to each other, and also about tiie relation between starch and sugar. Sugars and starches are divided into three sub-groups: Amyloses, Glucoses and Saccharoses. Starcii is readily converted into sugar, either by a ferment or by a dilute acid, but the sugar formed by a ferment acting on tlje starch is called mnltoso, while that formed by the dilute acilace a little roll of the vanilla fondant, and pressing the edges so only a line of the candy could be seen, we rolled the dates in gianulated sugar. Cream Cherries. — Cream cherries we made in the same manner as cream dates. For them we used candied cherries and vanilla fondant. Neapolitan Cream Blocks. — We made some Neapolitan cream blocks by using three pieces of fondant. One was white with vanilla flavoring, unolher had the grated rind of an orange added, and 144 THE WAT WE DID AT COO KINO SCHOOL. tlie other had enough cocoa added to give it a brown color. We rolled each piece untd lialf an inch thick, and placed the chocolate on tiie vanilla, and the orange on top of the chocolate, and rolled . them two or three times with a roiling pin. When inclined to stick we used confectioners' A.XX sugar to dust witli. We trimmed the edges of the three layers and cut all of it into diamond-shaped pieces. Oranges Glaces. — In making oranges glaces we first peeled the oranges very carefully, taking off ever}' particle of the white skin, and separated the car])els and put them on tin plates, which we placed where the skin of the carpels would soon dry. Wo then put one pound of sugar in a saucepan with h;ilf a pint of water and stirred until the sugar was dissolved. We wrung the sponge out of cold water, and wipeil the steam and crystals from the inside of sauce- pan. When tiie bubbles that formed on the syrup began to look tough, we added two tablespbonfuls of vinegar to keep the syrup from granulating. AVe tested this syrup by holding^two fingers in a basin of ice water until very cold, and then plunging them quickly into tiie boiling syrup, and then back again into the ice water. When the sugar- was stiff and brittle, and came off from the lingers easily, we watched carefully, and the moment it began to turn we took it from the fire and placed the saucepan in a basin of hot water on the table, and began to dip the orange carpels one at a time into the syrup and then placed tiiein on oiled paper. Geape and Cherry Glaces. — We dipped grapes into the syrup prepared for the oranges. We had first cut each grape from the bunch, leaving as long a stem as possible. The same syrup is used for cherries glaces. Cherries nre very easily dipped, because their stems are so long. If the syrup becomes too cold it can be reheated twice. Never attempt to glace on a damp day. Cbeam Cnocoi..\iE§. — In making cream chocolates THE WAY WE DID AI COOKING SVIIOOL. 145 we first worked one teaspoonful of vanilla sugar into one-half pound of fondant and formed it into balls the size of a marble, or into small pyramids, and stood them on oiled paper in a cool, dry place to harden for three or four hours. We melted one-half pound of unsweetened chocolate or cocoa in a small double boiler, and when melted we added an equal quantity of melted fondant. If the two together are too thick for a smooth covering, add one teaspoonful of vanilla and a little hot water one drop at a time until it is the proper thickness. In melting fondant we placed it in a small saucepan, which we placed in a vessel contain- ing boiling water and stirred constantly until it was the consistency of thick cream. We added this melted fondant to the chocolate in the double boiler and left it in the double boiler, which we placed on the table. We brushed the candy dipper with butter and with the left hand dropped the pyramids of fondant into the chocolate fondant and took them out quickly with the dipper, scraping it against the side of the boiler so as to remove any extra amount of covering, and placed it on the oiled paper, giving it the little twist or curl on top like those you buy. If, however, a darker, glossy covering was desired, we melted bakers' chocolate and added sugar to sweeten, and vanilla extract to flavor, and dipped the balls or pyramids in it. If the fondant cools before the dipping is completed, it can be reheated, but must be stirred all the time. When it was first placed on the table it might have had a lighted alcohol lamp placed under it, and in_that way have been kept at the same temperature until the dipping was completed. The professor's last lecture was on " Oils and Fats." In the first place there are several classes of bodies called oils and fats. The volatile oils are those which give the peculiarity to perfumes and flavors. A volatile oil which gives an agreeable perfume or flavor jnay be chemically the same, as ouq which gives a dig- 146 THE WA Y WE DID A T COOKING SCHOOL. agreeable odor. Indeed tlie volatile oil of some articles of the vegetable kingdom is at lirst offensive, but after a time we become so accustomed to it that we dnaily grow fond of the things containing it. Volatile oil leaves no permanent greasy stain. Such oils are also called essential oils, because they are the part for which we use the plants. These oils are divided into two divisions, one containing sulfur and the other con- taining no sulfur. These oils are a compound of car- bon and hydrogen, with or without sulfur. People have to become accustomed to sulfureted oils. The essential oil of the rose, orange, etc, contain carbon and hydrogen only, and have no food value, so little of them is taken, and when taken in large or concentrated doses they prove to be poisonous. Fats and oils are different from the volatile oils and are very abundant in both the animal and the vegetable kingdoms. Fats are oils that become solid at common temperature. Waxes are not exactly identical with oils and fats. They are indigestible, so we do not eat them. Fats and oils are fixed oils be- cause they leave a permanent stain which gathers dust and dirt; Fixed oils and fats are food products. About 1810 a Frenchman named Chevreul published a paper which brought up our chemical knowledge of this subject almost to its present slate. Oils and fats are mixtures of several things which are nearly, but not exactly, alike. Suet contains three, and, indeed, each of the oils as we know them has two or more in it. All become solid when kept on ice, and all become liquid when the heat is increased. Olein becomes liquid at a low temperature ; pnlmitin is obtained from the palm and is ordinarily solid ; stearin is solid in animal fat; butyrin is liquid in butter; caproin and caprylin have an odor like animals. Margarin is a solid of a pearly luster, and is an artificial product made in the laboratory. So when we combine two or three of these oils we obtain an article whose consist- ency depends on the quantity of the different oils used. Suet when solid contains olein, palmitin and stearin. THE WAY WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. 147 Heat the suet by steam to a certain temperature, draw off the liquid and cool to a certain degree, and we have oleo-oil, and after churning it with miik it is called oleomargarine. Tlie stearin left is made into candles. At first the olein and stearin were dechicted by them- selves, but instead of obtaining the paJraitin pure, it had some of the stearin in it, and tliey named it margarine. That is tiie way imitation butter received its name oleomargarine. Nov,' margarine means some- thing else. Oleomargarine is not a good substitute for butter; indeed, butter is a peculiar fat and no other fat can take its place. Butter is secreted for food for the young animal just as the oil in tlie cotton seed or olive is stored up for the young plant. Fat of butter has tlie function of supplying food for tlie yountj animal and is eminently successful in tliat work. When the animal secreting the milk is treated or fed with the purpose of increasing the quantity of fat globules, the linings of the miik ducts, or epithelium pavement, undergoes a transformation. Tlie cells of this lining are composed of nitrogenous matter, and as these cells are ivorn out their places are iilled by others. In producing such unusual quantities of fat globules the lining undergoes a fatly degeneration similar to that of a fatty heart. The fat of butter is decidedly dif- ferent from all other fats and has no odor. Butter contains olein, palmitin, stearin, butyrin, caproin and caprylin. It is believed that the fats in butter are more closely associated than in any other one article. Butter is the most highly nutritive of all fatty foods, and also one of the most dangerous, on account of the disease germs it may contain. Milk is the only animal food we take in a rau' state. Butter made from scalded cream taken from pasture-fed cows is the most healthful. The professor expressed the belief that tuberculosis and other disease germs will in lime be under as good control us smallpox is at the present time. Your affectionate cousin, Virginia REEn. 148 THE WAT WE DID AT UOOKINQ SCHOOL. LETTER XVII. January 11, 189- My Dear Cousin Alethea.: " Oleomargarin " was tlie title of the professor's lecture List week. Congress lias made a law by wliicli any substitute for butter, though it contain but one per cent, of oleomargarin, shall be called oleomargarin and be taxed as such. The name oleo-palmitin would have been more accurate, taking into consideration its com- position. "When it was first made lard was the fat used in couipounding it, now other fats are used in various ways. The professor thinks it is as much of a fraud as a counterfeit bill and should be dealt with as such, Pennsylvania and Iowa prohibit the sale of it, even though tlie United States laws require each package to be plainly marked. The ])rofessor tliinks it unsuit- able for food since it does not satisfy the appetite. Indeed, no fat has the same effect on the system as butter. It is not of advantage to the poor because it sells at the same price as true butter. Heat is t!ie usual test applied by the ordinary housekeeper to detect the genuineness of the article purcliased. True butter heats and foams and keeps t!ie foam. Oleomargarine makes more noise, does not foam, though it forms a few largo bubbles, which soon disappear. The stilt shows on top of an orange- tinged yellow oil which smells like lard. Clarified butter, or that whicli has been filtered, acts more like ol-^omargarinci, but tiie difference is easily detected by the following method : Boil butter with a solution of concentrated lye (made by dissolv- ing a piece the size of a cherry stone in alcohol). THE WAY WE DID AT COOKINO SCHOOL. 149 When you pour the solution into water the butter gives off the otlor of pineapple, while from the oleomargarin you only have the odor of alcohol. Of course there is a decided chemical difference between the two. The method of analvsis is to take about a thinil)lcful of the pure fat obtained by melting the sample and straining, or putting it in a filter which you stand in the oven till it all runs through, leaving the salt and residue in the Klter. Add a mixture of alcohol and soda to the fat and boil until it turns into soap. You have to go on boiling till all the alcohol has evaporated and the soap is dry. This required so much time that they devised another way in which, in five minutes, they could accomplish as much as they formerly did in two hours. In this way glycerol and soda are added to the pure fat, the mixture foams on account of the water present, and when it has boiled and the soap is done, they add cold water, drop by drop, till a certain amount has been added and it is all chilled; then they add a definite quantity of sulphuric acid and a piece of pumice stone the size of a common marble. The sulfuric acid decomposes the soap, which resolves it into oleic; palmitic, stearic, butyric and caproic acids. The presence of the butyric acid gives a strong odor of rancid butter. If the first three acids only are present the article was unquestionably oleoraargarin, but to detect the presence of butyric and caproic acids you subject the whole five to a pro- cess of distillation. If what distils into the glass is a decided acid it shows that it was butter, but if the acid is very faint it shows that oleomargarin was present, with a little butter. What is the chemical composition of eggs? The white contains water, albumin, mineral matter and a trace of sulphur. The yolk contains water, oil, a modified albumin cal!e) (k [^ '* rolledtoberounderandraorebroken. Which is more healthful, green or black tea? Why ? Black teas are moi-e healthlul, because they have been fermented and so lost some of certain properties. Orange Pekoe is the best we find in this country. Of the green teas gunpowder is the best imported into this country. Give recipe for making tea. Pour boiling watei" 180 THE WAT WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. into an earthen pot and stand it on the back part of the stove for ten minutes and then pour out the water. Put the tea in the pot, allowing one teaspoonf ul of tea for each cup of water, and pour on one-half of the water, which should be soft and freshly boiled. Let it draw for live minutes on the back of the stove. Add tJie remainder of the water and serve at once. Why should tea always be made in an earthen vessel ? So that the acid of the tea might not act upon the metal of the pot, thereby making unhealthful combinations. Why should it not be boiled ? Boiling extracts more of the tannic acid, which we do not want, and the characteristic flavor of tea being volatile is driven off in the steam. Name the different kinds of coffee, and describe each species. Mocha, Java and Rio. Mocha has small round grains of a dark greenish yellow. Java has lai'ge flat grains of a pale yellow color, while Rio is between the two in size. Tell where and how it grows. Coffee grows in Arabia, Abyssinia, Egypt, West Indies, Peru, Brazil, Java, Ceylon, and other warm countries. It is the seed of a berry which grows on a small tree, Coffea arahioa, of the Ruhiaceoe family. Give its chemical composition and' active principle. Coffee contains caffeine, legumin, gum and sugar, catfeo-tannic and caffeic acids, essential oil and volatile oil, woody fibre, mineral matter and water. Its active principle is caffeine. Give the best method of making coffee. Use soft water when it first boils. Stand the pot on the back of the stove and have the finely ground coffee in the biggin in the pot, allowing one tablespoonful of the coffee to each cup of water. Pour on the boiling water and when it ha.s drained through add more, until you have obtained the desired quantitj', then serve at once. AVhy should it not be boiled ? Are coffee and tea inf usious or decoctions \ W hy ? Coffee should not be THE WAT WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. 181 boiled, because that brings out the astringent principle and drives off the iiroma in the volatile oil. Tea and coffee are infusions, because boiling is required to make a decoction. Which is the more healthful, tea or coffee? Most authorities say coffee is the more healthful. What is chicory anil its uses? How do chicory and coffee differ in chemical composition? Chicory is a plant of the genus ClcJiorkom Intyius, of the composite family, and its long root is sliced, dried and roasted and used as a substitute for coffee. A little chicory gives the color and bitter taste to boiling water, the same as a large amount of coffee, and it contains a volatile oil, but in all other respects they are different. What is cocoa? Tell where and how it grows. Cocoa is a preparation made from the seeds of the Theobroma cacao. The seeds are arranged in rows in fruit having somewhat the outline of a pointed ellipse. The tree on which they grow is a native of tropical America. What is chocolate? Broma? Eacahout? Alka- threpta ?' Chocolate is the cacao bean or seed roasted, ground with cinnamon, sugar and vanilla and made into cakes'. Broma is chocolate deprived of the fixed oil and left in a powder. Alkathrepta is cocoa that has been deprived of the oil and had some sugar added. Eacahout is a food made from cocoa to which has been added sugar, salep, vanilla, arrowroot and rice fiour. Give their chemical composition. Water, starch, gum, tannin, glutin, oil, coloring matter, mineral matter, fibre and theobromine. What is the active principle of cocoa ? Theobro- mine. What is the best method of preparing each ? Boiled with water for a drink or with milk for a food. What is tapioca? Arrowroot? Sago? Tapioca and cassava are made from the tuberous roots of Manihot utilissima of the order Eupliorbiacew. The best arrowroot is from the West Indies and is made 183 '"HE WAY WE BID AT COOKING SCHOOL. from the roots of Marromta arundinacea. Sago is made from the pith of the sago palm. All are nutritive starches used for food. To what class of food do they belong ? Carbon- aceous. Name the dififerent kinds of arrowroots. Which is best? Brazilian arrowroot is made from tapioca meal or cassava. East Indian arrowroot is made from Curcuma augustifolia, a species of turmeric plant. English arrowroot is made" from the potato. Tous- les-mois is made from the tuberous roots of the Canna edulis. Portland arrowroot is made from Arxim maculatum. Tahitan arrowroot or Taoca starch, also sometimes called Otaheite salep, is made from the root of the Tacoa oceanica. The best arrowroot of all is the Bermuda, which is a West Indian, arrowroot obtained from the tuberous roots of the Maranta a/rundinacecB. Why called arrowroot? Because the Indians used the root of a variety of the Maranta plant as an antidote to the poison on their enemies' arrows, What is cornstarch ? What are its uses ? Corn- starch is the starch derived from maize. It is used to thicken puddings and sauces. How many tablespoon fuls of pure cornstarch will thicken a pint of milk for puddings? Four level tablespoonfuls. Give recipe for blinc mange. Chocolate pudding. Put" one quart of milk in a farina boiler on the stove. - Moisten eight level tablespoonfuls of cornstarch with a little cold milk, add it to the steaming hot milk and stir until it thickens. Add one-half cup of sugar and one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt. When it has thickened pour inio custard cups and stand away to cool and harden. Serve with cream. In making chocolate pudding, melt two ounces of chocolate, stir- ring it until smooth. Put one pint of milk on in a farina boiler, and wlien steaming add four level table- spoonfuls of cornstarch, Virhich have been moistened with one-fourth of a cup of cold water, and stir until THE WAY WE DID AT GOO KING SCHOOL. 183 thick and smooth, then add the stiffly beaten whites of four eggs and one-half cup of yugar. Beat well to- gether and add one teaspoonful of vanilla. To one- third of this mixture add the chocolate and stir well. Put one-half of the white mixture into a plain mould that has been rinsed in ice water, then pour in all containing the ciiocolate and then the remainder of the white. Stand it on ice until it stiffens, which will be in about three hours. Turn from the mould and serve with vanilla sauce poured around it. What is Irish moss? Iceland moss? Irish moss or carrageen is a seaweeil of the genus C/iromhis crispus. Iceland moss is a liciien of the genus Cetraria is- landlca. Give the chemical composition and their uses. Irish moss contains water, nitrogenous matter, mucilage, cellulose, mineral matter, iodine and sulphur, while the Iceland moss contains water, nitrogenous matter, lichenin which resembles starch, lichen acids, cellulose and mineral matter. They are used as foojl, Irish moss-being especially good on account of its soothing effect on the muc(;us membrane. Baked Macaboni. — In preparing macaroni for baking we broke one-fourth of a pound of Italian or- brownish-colored macaroni into convenient lengths and put it in a two-quart kettle containing three pints of boiling water ; after adding one teaspoonful of salt we allowed it to boil rapidly, so the macaroni wouki be kept from sticking together. When it had boiled twenty-five minutes we drained it, poured cold water on it, and let it stand ten minutes, so as to blanch it. We drained it in a colander while we grated one- fourth of a pound of cheese. We spread a layer of macaroni over the bottom of a taking dish, then a layer of grated cheese, and sprinkled it lightly with sale and pepper ; then another layer of macaroni and cheese, and so on until all the cheese and macaroni had been used, being particular to have the last layer macaroni. We cut into small pieces one ounce of butter and scattered it over the top; then poured on 184 THE WAY WE DTD AT COOKING SCHOOL. one-half cup of cream and baked it till a golden brown, which would require about twenty minutes in a moderate oven. It was served in the dish in which it was baked. Cream Macaeoni. — In preparing cream macaroni we took one-half pound of spaghetti, whicli is a delicate form of macaroni, and without breaking the sticks put one end of them down in a kettle well-filled witii boiling salted water ; as the spaghetti softened we pushed them further in the water, and at the same time gave it a round and round motion, so it would not all be in one bunch. We allowed it to boil rapidly for twenty minutes, then turned it into a colander to drain, poured cold water on it to blanch it, and then arranged it in a three-pint baking disli. In making the cream gravy to pour over the macaroni, we put three cupfuls of milk on in a double boiler. We mixed three tablespoonfuls of flour with three tablespoonfuls of butter ami stirred it into the steaming milk, and continued to stir until it thickened, and then stirred in three tablespoonfuls of strong ciieese (Parmesan is the best). We poured tiie gravy over the macaroni in the baking dish, sprinkled over the top more of the grated cheese, and put it in the oven to brown. If for any reason the macaroni could not be served as soon as browned, do not add the cheese to the gravy, but keep the gravy in good condi- tion by standing it in a covered vessel in a pan of hot water, and put. them together just before putting in tlie oven, because the gravy will curdle when kept long on the macaroni. Cheese Ramakins. — In preparing cheese ramakins we put one-half cupful of milk and two ounces of bread on to boil, and when we had stirred it smooth and it had boiled, we added two ounces of butter and four tablespoonfuls of grated cheese. We stirred until all was well blended and then removed it from the fire and stirred into it one-third of a teaspoonful of ground mustard, salt and cayenne to taste, and the beaten yolks of two eggs. We then added very care- TBE WAT WK DID AT COOKINO SCHOOL. 185 fully the whites of tliree eggs, which had been beaten until very stiff, and then poured it into a well-greased baking dish and baked it in a quick oven for fifteen minutes. Welsh Kaeebit. — In preparing a Welsh rarebit we first toasted squares of bread from which the crust 'had been cut, and buttered them while hot; then dipped them quickly into hot water and put tiiem on a heated dish in the oven, so they would keep warm until wanted. We put one-half cupful of milk in a granite saucepan, and when boiling we stirred in two cupfuls of grated cheese and stirred constantly until the cheese melted ; we then added salt and cayenne to taste and the beaten yolks of two eggs, and when well blended we poured it over the toasted bread. Old English dairy cheese is the best for this dish, because when cheese is not rich enougli.to melt, the rarebit will be tough and stringy. Your affectionate cousin, ViEGiNiA Keed. 180 -i'ilJi WAY WE DID AT COOKINO SCHOOL. LETTER XXI. February 28, 189-. Mt Dear Cousin Alethea : Still the order of lecture, questions and cooking continues, but we have counted the weeks and are beginning to realize that it will not be long until we siiall finish the course prescribed. The professor's last lecture was on " Proteids." Much has been written about proteids, but, in fact, we know little about them. AH forms of proteids contain nitrogen. Modern science looks on all life action as chemical effect. Nitrogen is in the tissues, so now they are trying to find out if we can use that from the atmosphere, because four-fifths of the atmos- piiere is nitrogen, and if it could be so utilized it would lessen the cost of living. The primary means of supply has been obtained from the land, so that agriculture was the first form of labor, or it was obtained from animals and thus indirectly from the land. It is only a limited period since we have learned the relation between plants and animal life. Proteids are very complex in their elements, and contain carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur and pliosphorus, and are capable of existing in soluble and in insoluble conditions. The condition under which the different proteids become insoluble differs with the different ones; for instance, the albumin of egg, one of the most common of the proteids, is rendered insoluble by heat. Albumin though coagu- lated by heat is also coagulated by many acids, but not by all acids. Nitric, picric or strong acetic acids renders the albumin insoluble, so these acids would also be destructive to all life or bodies containing albumin ; hence they are employed as antiseptics. Corrosive sublimate and zinc chloride are also very THE WAT WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. 187 I strong and coagulate albumin and fibrin. Tliey ai'e pumped through bodies which are to be kept for weeks, and preserve them, so that when a person dissects them they will not be poisoned. It has been found that albumin does not coagulate when an alkali is present. The coagulation of casein is different from that of albumin. In milk the casein evaporates from the surface — drys up and forms the scum when the milk has been heated sufficiently. This is not true coagulation. Any strong acid will make milk coagulate. There is one-third of one per cent, of albumin in milk and four per cent, of casein. The souring of milk is caused by the sugar being changed to lactic acid by a ferment. Tliis ferment is secreted by a mierobe and causes the sugar (CiaHjaOu) to be brought into closer union with water (IIjO) than any ^other means is capable of doing, and this compound is equal to four particles of lactic acid (CatljOa). This change is really a digestion, though a strong acid can also coagulate the milk. Eennet is different and acts on the casein itself, and when added to the casein, calcium phosphates and acid dissolves out the calcium phosphate, which falls as a precipitate. Casein is in milk in a jelly form. It is possible that casein is by itself insoluble in water. Fat is in suspension in milk. All proteids have a preliminary stage to pass through before we can get it. out, and the producer of the casein is called caseinogen, and the one that brings out the Kbrin, the fibrinogen. Vfhen albumin, fibrin and casein are placed in contact with pepsin and livdrochloric acid they are rendered soluble — tiie\' will disappear and the liquid will become clear. The pepsin iias transformed or digested the albumin, fibrin and casein, and after they have become soluble they wdl not return to their original forms. All this takes place b}' the taking up of water and is called hydrolysis. The intermediate stages through wliicii the albumin passes to became a peptone are called albumoses or proteoses. Starch under the influence of diastase be- comes converted into maltose, but between the time 18S THE WAY WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. of its being starcii and becoming maltose it is changed into an imperfect dextrin and glucose. It is known that the action of pepsin is very limited, so stomach digestion is incomplete. The pancreatic digestion is much more active, and unless checited it will cause putrefaction. Digestion is influenced by the action of liquids. Pepsin requires an acid and pancreatin requires an alkali ; diastase requires neither. There are ferments more active than those in our bodies. Bromelin in the pineapple is one of these. We are yet ignorant of the exact arrangement y^jK of these particles. Carbon atoms are y p f arranged in strings or chains. Coal oil 'Nv/\/« is in an open chain. Coal tar is in a closed e e chaiA. Carbolic acid is a constant production from pro- teids. Irregular putrefaction can be told by the carbolic acid sent forth by the kidneys. It is an excretion from a microbe, and since a microbe cannot live in its own excretion it kills that microbe and is used as an antiseptic to kill other microbes. What is sugar ? Give adulterations. Sugar is the sweetening principle found in the vegetable kingdom. It is called lactose when from the animal kingdom. The two main varieties are cane sugar and grape sugar. Cane sugar is sometimes adulterated with beet sugar and glucose. How can you tell grape from cane sugar ? Cane sugar is much the sweeter, and water will dissolve three times as much cane sugar as it will grape sugar. Chemically grape sugar is composed of CJIiaOe while CijIIj^Oji represents the elements in cane sugar. What is maple sugar? Sugar made from the sap of the sugar or hard maple tree, Acer saccharinuin of the Sapidacem order. What is caramel? Caramel is sugar that has been subjected to such a high heat that it has browned until it has lost its sweet principle and become bitter. Name the different kinds of sugar and tell their uses. Cane sugar, maple sugar, milk sugar or lactose, THE WAT WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. 189 beet sugar, Mexican sugar made from Indian corn, sugar made from the sugar cane of the North or Sorghum saccharatum,, a'nd jaggery made from the sap of various trees of the palm tribe. All are used in preparing food. How do you clarify sugar ? Boil the sugar and water and add a little cold water, with the crushed shell and slightly beaten white of egg, and when it boils again skim and then strain carefully through a woolen bag. "What is honey? Syru,p? Molasses? Honey is the nectar gathered by bees from flowers, and partly digested by the bee and deposited in combs. Manu- facturers also make it from glucose and glycerol. Syrup is the liquid that has drained from refined sugar and then been reboiled and filtered. Molasses is the drainings from raw sugar. What kinds of molasses are best for cooking pur- poses? Porto Rico or West India and New Orleans are the best. Porto Rico is the darkest and contains the most acid of all the kinds of molasses. It has a slight flavor of liquorice. New Orleans is lighter colored though still dark. Is sugar a preserver ? In large quantities it is, because when made dense the microbes cannot enter' it. What is the best method of determining the density of sugar? By using an instrument called a saccha- rometer, though the common way is to test the boiling liquid as in making candy. Can candy be made from uncooked sugar ? Yes, by using powdered sugar and the whites of eggs. What is salt ? What is its chemical composition ? Salt is a mineral, and being sodium chloride it contains both sodium and chlorine. What are condiments? Condiments are various articles used to make food more palatable or whole- some. Salt, pepper, spices and herbs are the most common condiments. Condiments are used as pre- servatives of food in hot countries. 190 THE WAT WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. How many kinds of pepper are used ? Two true peppers, tbe black and the long and the capsicums. What is white pepper? Black? Cayenne? Bird? White pepper is the black pepper deprived of its outer covering. Black pepper is the dried berries of a climbing plant, Piper nigrum, native of the East Indies. Cayenne is a capsicum of tlie order Solanaceoe. Bird pepper is of another genus called Capsicum iao- catum. What are peppercorns ? Peppercorns are the whole berries of the pepper plant dried and kept unground. To what family does cayenne belong? Solanacece or Nightshade family. The best comes from the West Indies.' Which nutmegs are best ? Those which contain the most oil. What are nutmegs? Tell where and how they grow. Nutmegs are seeds of a variety of Myristica, an evergreen tree native of the Spice Islands. There are thirty-six varieties of the wild nutmegs. Why are nutmegs limed before exporting? Nut- megs are limed in order to keep away insects and to destroy the power of vegetating. What is mace ? Mace is the aril of the nutmeg, that is a membranous covering which surrounds the nut- meg. What is curry powder ? Curry powder is a condi- ment composed of various strong spices, of which turmeric and fenugreek predominate. What are coriander seeds? Cumin seeds? Fennel seeds? Anise seeds? Coriander seeds are spherical iij^ht brown seeds of the genus Coriwndrum sativum of the Parsley family. Fennel seeds are dark-colored, about one-fourth of an inch long, and slender, of the genus FmniGulum vulgwre, and are also of the Parsley family or Umbelliferce. Cumin seeds are seeds from a dwarf umbelliferous plant somewhat resembling fennel, and have a bitterish, warm taste. Anise seeds are oblong swelling seeds having a pleasant, warm taste, and are of the genus Pimpinella anisum,, which is also an umbelliferous plant. THE WAT WE I)IV AT COOKING SCHOOL. 191 What is turmeric ? Turmeric is the root or rno't- stock of an East India plant of the genus Curcuma longa. The root is grayish on the outside, but internally it is. a deep yellow or saffron color, and has a slight aromatic smell, and a bitterish, slightly acrid taste. It is the turmeric in the curry powder that works on the liver. What are cloves? Describe the structure of the clove. Cloves are the dried calyx and unexpanded flower buds of the genus Caryophyllus, an evergreen tree belonging to the Myrtle order. It is native of the Spice Islands. What is allspice ? By what other name is it known ? Allspice is a small dry berry, the fruit of the genus Pimetita, an evergreen tree of the Myrtle order. It is sometimes called pimento. The best comes from Jamaica. What gives the grains their shriveled appearance ? The shriveled appearance is caused by drying. The best are picked so green that they do not shrivel. Plain OMELET.--In making a plain omelet we selected a sheet-iron pan having a diameter of about eight inches, and to make sure the bottom was as smooth as it could be, we scoured it with a piece of paper and common salt and then wiped it out, but did not wash it. We broke four or six eggs in one bowl and gave the eggs from twelve to fifteen good beats, using a fork so the eggs were mixed together, but not frothy or light. We then added one tablespoonful of boiling water to each egg and gave them a few more strokes to mix the water through them, and then added a piece of butter about as large as a hickory nut. We put the remainder of an ounce of butter in the fryins' pan, and when it had melted, but not browned, we poured in the eggs, and shook the pan constantly with the left hand, and with a spatula in llie right hand we lifted the edge of the omelet as tlio eggs began to solidify, and let the liquid portion run 193 TEE WAT WE DID AT GOOKINO SCHOOL. under. We continued to lift first one part of the edge and then another until all the omelet was set. We dusted it quickly with salt and pepper and then rolled the omelet over from the handle of the pan to the opposite side, making the omelet semicircuhir in outline, and while holding the omelet in plaoe with the spatula we with the left hand inverted the pan over a heated dish; after removing the spatula the omelet was ready to be served immediately. We were told never to use milk in an omelet, as milk would cause it to be tough ; neither should we allow it to become darker than a golden brown, as that spoiled the flavor of the eggs. Spanish Omelet. — In making a Spanish omelet we cut one-fourth of a pound of bacon into very small pieces and fried them ; that is, panned them until brown, and then added one medium-sized tomato, one small onion and five mushrooms chopped fine, and stirred and allowed all to cook for fifteen minutes. We broke six eggs in a bovv'l, gave them twelve beats to mix them, and added three tablespoonfuls of water. Having melted a piece of butter as large as a walnut in a frying pan we tilted the pan one way and another so the bottom and sides of the pan w.ere well greased ; then poured in the six eggs and shook the pan and lifted the edge of the omelet the same as in making the plain omelet. When the omelet was set, we poured the tomato and other ingredients from the other frying pan over the omelet, folded it the same as we did the plain omelet, and turned it at once on to a heated platter. Omelets must be served im- mediately, as they are not so nice if they stand even but a few minutes. Deviled Eggs. — In preparing deviled eggs vre covered twelve eggs with vi^arm water and boiled'them fifteen minutes, after which v*'e placed them in cold water for thirty 'minutes in order to prevent them from becoming discolored. After removing the shells we cut the eggs lengthwise into two equal parts and removed the yolks without breaking the whites. We THM WA 7 WTS BID A T COOKING SCHOOL. ■ 193 rubbed the yolks smooth and mixed with them one large teaspoonful of French mustard, one tablespoon- ful of olive oil, and then added two heaping table- spoonfuls of cold boiled ham or tongue finely chopped, and salt and cayenne to taste. We filled the whiles with this mixture and pressed the corresponding' halves -together. We fringed the opposite ends of six- inch squares of white tissue paper and rolled one ej^g- in each square and twisted the fringed ends the same as in candied secrets. They are very attractive at a picnic or garden party, served on a napkin in a dainty basket garnished' with smilax or myrtle. We might have arranged the halves when filled on a bed of cress or salad and so served them. Beauregard Eggs. — In preparing Beauregard eggs we covered five eggs with boiling water, and after boiling them twenty minutes we removed the shells, chopped the whites fine, and run the yolks through the vegetable press, being careful not to mix the whites with the yolks. We put one-half pint of milk on to heat and rubbed one tablespoonful of cornstarch with a piece of butter as large as a walnut and added to the steaming milk, and tuen added the whites of the eggs and salt and pepper to taste. We toasted five squares of bread, which we placed on a heated dish and covered each piece with a layer of the white sauce, then a layer of the yolks, and then the rest of the white sauce, and on that the remainder of the yolks. We sprinkled the top lightly with salt and pepper and heated it in the oven a minute or two be- fore serving. Omelet Souffle. — The very first thing we did in preparing an omelet souffl6 was to brush a quait baking dish withbutter and then to examine the oven to be sure it was hot. We then beat the whites of six eggs to a very stiff froth, and after beating the yolks of three eggs we added the yolks to the whites, and then added three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar and the juice of one-half of a lemon ; after stirring carefully we quickly turned it into the baking dish 194 THE WA Y WE DID A T COOKING SVIIOOL. and dredged it with powdered sugar. We allowed it to bake until a golden brown — about fifteen minutes. It must be served at once in the dish or paper cases in which it was baked, as the least draught of cold air will cause it to fall. Your affectionate cousin, V^iEGiNiA Eeed. THE WAT WE DID Al VOOKING SCHOOL, 195 LETTEE XXII. March 22, 189-. My Dear Codsin Alethea: The professor gave us another lecture on " Proteids." Dr. Chittenden is the American authority on Pro- teids. Proteids are the nitrogenous food that goes to the building up of tissues in animals. Plants take their food in the form of nitrates. For plant crops 3'ou stimulate by top-dressing, which acts like apredigested food would on us — gives quick returns. The work of making nitrates for plants is done by the microbes. Between the dead animal and living plant comes the microbes which feed directly on nitrogen. Nitrogenous food makes tissue. The proteids com- prise globulin, coagulated albumin, coloring matter of the blood, mucin, a tough substance in mucus. The nucleins contain phosphorus. There is also a nuclein in yeast. There is another group of proteids called collogins or glue formers. Tliey are similar to the albumins, but are not nourishing, and are not subject to the same laws as blood, though they are interesting on account of their chemical composition. The proteids comprise albumin, found in blood, milk, eggs and plants ; vitellin, found in yolk of egg and squash; myosin, in muscles ; zein, in corn; nuclein, found in brain corpuscles and yeast ; also casein or calcium phosphate in milk, and elastin from tlie neck band of the ox. The proteids are transformed under the influence of ferments by the taking up of water. A proteid having taken up water splits. In the solution of a proteid in water tlie particles are not so close as when a ferment acts on theni and brings them together; 196 THE WA T WE DID J 3' COOKING SCHOOL. tlien they split and become new substances. This taking up of water is called hj'drol^'sis, and the split- ting is called cleavage. Whenever a ferment has produced cleavage it slips away from that part and is ready to attack another. Stomach indigestion is not the same as intestinal. Starch is acted on by the ferment, ptyalin, in tiie saliva. The digestive fluid of the stomach is acid, but not decidedly so until after digestion has commenced — sometimes not for thirty minutes, so starch has a chance to become digested. Lactic acid not resulting from the food, but as secreted by the stomach, is an indication of cancer of the stomach. The Ewald " trial-meal," for detecting lactic acid in the stomach, consists of a Vienna roll and weak tea. This would cause lactic acid, so is no test of cancer. The stomach digestion is preparatory, while the intestinal is thorough. After starch is converted into maltose and passes througli the wall of the digestive tract, it goes back to dextrose, not the same as it was, but another. There are six forms of dextrose. There are ten forms of glucose and thirty forms of sugar known. After proteids are converted into peptones, and are absorbed by the lacteais, the same as the sugar, they are changeil into albumin. The liver is a filter to cleanse the blood, but cannot take out everything. Hydrochloric is the acid of the stomach, and when it is deficient, substances rot and cause headache and eructation. Acetic, lactic and butyric acids are only formed from food during digestion. These acids are some- times formed there by microbes, but in other cases they are not so formed. What is cinnamon ? How is it prepared ? Cinnamon is the dried inner or true bark of a small evergreen THE WAT WE DID AT COOKING SOHQOL. 197 tree of the Laurel family, native of Ceylon. The bark is stripped from two-year-old shoots and slightlj"- fermented and then dried. Cassia buds are the unex- panded flower buds of the cinnamon laurel, and are thought to retain the flavor better than cinnamon when heated. There is also another variety of the laurel whose bark, when treated as cinnamon, retains the strength of the cinnamon flavor longer than the true cinnamon, and is called cassia. Where is it principally cultivated? In the East Indies and China. What other spice is usually mixed with cinnamon before exportation ? Black pepper. What is ginger! Where and how does it grow,? Ginger is the rhizome of Zinsiber offiehialis, a reedlike plant now grown in the East and West Indies and Africa. Fresh or green ginger consists of the young shoots of the rhizome, which are scraped and boiled in a syrup. What is Jamaica ginger? Jamaica ginger is ginger from Jamaica, and is considered the best. When prepared for medicine, an extract is made from the whole root which makes it dark colored, and alcohol is added. The best ground ginger is made from the center of the root or rhizome, after the outside has been scraped off; it is then washed and dried, which causes the ground ginger to be light-colored. What are its principal uses? Ginger is used prin- cipally in medicine and as a flavorer in cooking. What are mustard seeds? Seeds obtained from Brojssica dlha and Brassica nigra, members of the Mustard family, which are found growing wild in many parts of this country and Europe. What is the difference between brown and white mus- tard ? Brown mustard is the seed of the Brassica nigra, wiiich have a more pungent taste and are much Siiialler than the seeds of the white mustard or Bras- sica alha. What is mustard flour, and what are its principal uses? Mustard flour is obtained by grinding the 198 TEE WAY WE DID AT OOOEINO SCHOOL. black and whfte mustard seeds. It is used as a condi- ment, and also as a medicine. What are hops ? For what are they used ? Hops are the strobiles ot ihe Humulus lupulus, a. gen\xs oi the Nettle family. Plops abound in a bitter principle, and also contain an astringent principle, and are used in brewing. Young shoots or buds of hops are used like asparagus. What is the difference between isinglass and gelatin ? Isinglass is made from the swimming bladder of fish, usually of the sturgeon. Gelatin is made from the bones, skin and tendons of animals. What is glycerin ? Glycerin is an alcohol, a color- less, viscid liquid, whose solvent power ranges next to water. It has a sweet taste and absorbs water from the air, but does not exist in fats, though it is obtained from their decomposition. What is potato starch ? Flour ? Potato flour or starch is the starch obtained from the potato. What is oat-flour ? Oat-flour is obtained by grind- ing the seeds of the Avena sativa after they have been deprived of their husk or outer skin. It is not so white as whoaten flour and tastes at first sweet and then rough and somewhat bitter. How many tablespoonfuls of wheaten flour will thicken a pint of milk for sauce ? Two. liow do you make French salad dressing? French salad dressing is made by shaking in a jar until prop- erly emulsified three tablespoonfuls of olive oil with one tablespoonful of vinegar, one-half teaspoonful of salt and one- fourth teaspoonful of black pepper. What is mayonnaise ? Mayonnaise is a dressing for salads. The general rule is to serve mayonnaise dressing with cliicken and fish salads and French dressing with vegetable salads. How do you pull candy ? After the candy has been boiled and cooled somewhat by being poured on a marble slab or platter, take the candy in the hands and throw it over a hook and pull, continuing so to do until the candy appears creamy. The hand§ must be THE WAY WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. 199 well oiled before beginning or they will blister in holding on to the candy while pulling. How do you thaw meat or poultry ? Place the meat or poultry in a moderate temperature, say 40° or 50°. After being thawed it must be cooked soon, as it is liable to spoil easily. How do you use a salamander? A salamander looks like a lid with a long handle. Heat the round or lid part until red-hot, then hold it over whatever you are preparing until it is browned the shade desired. What is gumbo fillet powder ? It is a powder made from the finely pulverized leaves of Sassafras offiieinale of the Laurel family, which have been gathered and dried while very young and tender. What is vanilla, and for what used? Vanilla is a preparation made from the seeds of an orchid called FaTC«7to^ZlUs of threi; eggs that" liad been beaten vei'y light, and afterward added the well-beaten whites of two eggs. When e first scraped off all the scales, then made an opening down the belly, removed the S50 THE M'AT WE Din AT COOKING SCHOOL. insicles, washed it well inside and out, and at once wiped it drv witli a clean, dry cloth, and then rubbed it well with salt. We stulTed the fish with a dressing made of one cupful of stale broad crumbs, one table- spoonful of melted butter, one-half teaspoonful of salt, a little black pepper and one tablespoonful of finely- chopped parsley, all well mixed together ; then we sewed the fish up with soft yarn. We scored one side of the fish with a sharp knife, making the scores parallel about one inch apart, and in each score we placed a strip of salt pork. We greased a tin sheet and put it in the bottom of a baking pan, and having dredged the fish thickly with salt, pepper and flour, placed the fish on the tin, and covering the bottom of the pan with boiling water put it in the oven. We basted it every ten minutes with the gravy in the pan and baked it fifteen minutes to the pound. If all the water should evaporate from the pan, add more. When done we removed the tin sheet and slid the fish ■ carefully from it to the platter on which it was to be served. We garnished it with slices of lemon, fried potato balls and parsley, and served sauce Plolland- aise with it, though roe sauce would have been as nice. Sauce Hollandaise. — In preparing sauce HoUand- aise we rubbed two ounces of butter with one table- spoonful of flour until smooth, put it in a double boiler and added gradually one-half pint of boiling water, stirring constantly until it thickened. We removed it at once from the fire, added one-half teaspoonful of salt, and gradually stirred in the beaten yolks of two eggs, then the juice of one-half lemon, one teaspoonful of onion juice and one tablespoonful of chopped parsley. This sauce is also served with boiled fish and fish croquettes. It must be made of good butter and used at once. Stewed Beef's IIeaet. — In preparing a heart for stewing we soaked it three hours in cold water, re- moved the muscles and blood from the inside, and then stuffed it with a forcemeat made of one cupful of TEB WAY We did AT COOKING SG'HOOL. Jj-51 bread crumbs, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, one-half teaspoonful of marjorjun, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one-half teaspoonful of salt and two dashes of black pepper mixed together. We wrapped the heart securely with a cloth and sewed the ends together so the stuffing could not escape. We placed the heart point downward in a stewpan, nearly covered it with boiling water and left' it to simmer until tender, about three hours. When done there should still be about one pint of water in the stewpan. We removed the cloth and dished the heart. We put one ounce of butter in a frying pan, and when brown added two tablespoon fuls of flour, mixing them well; then added the pint of water in which the heart was boiled, stirring continuously until it boiled ; then added salt and pepper to taste. We removed it from the fire, added four tablespoonfuls of sherry and poured the sauce over the heart, which must be served while it is very hot. Currant jelly ought also- to be served with beef's heart. Stewed Kidney. — In preparing kidneys for stewing we split thein in two equal parts and with a sharp- pointed knife cut out all the sinews and fat ; then cut the kidneys into small pieces, which vv,e put in a stew- pan and covered with cold water ; then placed it over a moderate fire until it came to the steaming point ; then drained off that water and put on fresh cold water and heated it again.' We did this three times, being careful not to allow the water to boil, as that would cause the kidney to become hard and tough. We put one ounce of butter in a frying-pan, and when it was a nice brown \m.q added one tablespoonful of flour and then one cupful of stock or boiling water, stirring continhously until it boiled. \¥e then added one tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce, one table- spoonful of mushroom catsup, salt and pepper to taste, and the kidney. We stirred until the kidney was heated, and then removed it from the fire, added four tablespoonfuls of sherry, and served it at once. Bbaised Calf's Livee. — In braising a calf's liver we 252 THE WA y WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. first washed it well and then larded it, with lardoons made from one-fourth pound of larding pork, in the same way as we did the fillet of beef. We pared and cut into slices one carrot, one onion and one turnip, put them on the bottom of a braising-pan, and added one stalk of celery cut in pieces, two sprigs of parsley and one bay leaf. We put the liver on the bed of vegetables and added one pint of stock or water, and having put the cover on the pan we put it in a moder- ate oven for two hours. We placed the liver on a heated dish. We stirred one ounce of butter in a saucepan till a nice brown, and then added one table- spoonful of flour ; when well mixed we strained in the liquid from the braising-pan — about one-half pint. We stirred constantly until it boiled, and then added one tablespoonfui of Worcestershire sauce and one tablespoonful of mushroom catsup, poured the sauce around the liver, and it was ready to be served. Beef a la Mode. — We prepared beef a la mode from a four-inoh slice of the round weighing about seven pounds. We took out the bone and then sewed a new strip of muslin around the beef to keep it in good shape. We cut deep gashes in the meat about one inch apart, being careful not to- cut all the way through. We mixed one teaspoonful of salt, one-half teaspoonful of black pepper, one-half teaspoonful of ground cinnamon, one-fourth teaspoonful of ground mace and one-fourth teaspoonful of ground cloves, and rubbed the mixture into the meat on both sides and put a little in each gash. We cut fat salt pork into pieces the size of tlie gashes and put one in each gash. We chopped one Rmall onion very fine, added it to one cupful of stale bread crumbs and one tablespoonful of finely chopped parsley, and moistened all with vinegar. Wo pressed a little of this forcemeat into each gash with the salt pork. We then mixed three tablespoon- fuls of vinegar with three tablespoon fuls of olive oil and moistened well both sides of the meat. We next put two large tablespoon fuls of butter in a braisino-- pan, and when melted and hot we added one onion, THE WAT WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. 353 one carrot and one turnip, which had been pared and cut in slices. We stirred until they were lightly browned, and added two tablespoon fuls of vinegar, two bay leaves, one sprig of parsley, two quarts of boiling stock or water, and let it boil two minutes ; we then put in the round of beef and one knuckle of veal well cracked. We put the cover on the braising-pan and baked it for six hours in an oven at about 220° Fahr. When done we removed the meat and put it to cool. We strained the liquor from the braising-pan into an oblong granite pan, and having added salt and pepper to taste, left it to harden. The meat was served cold, with squares of the jelly, which should be amber-colored, around it, and garnished with parsley and small radishes cut to represent tulips. If put in a cold, dry refrigerator, this meat will keep two weeks. Chicken Cutlets. — In preparing chicken cutlets we removed the skin from the breast of a young chicken that had been singed and drawn. We cut off the wings at the middle joint ; that is, the second from the body, then run the knife along the breast bone, taking off one-half the breasu with the first joint of the wing as a handle. We removed the other side for a cutlet in the same way. The dark meat when cooked is used for other dishes. We put the dark meat in a stewpan, nearly covered it with boiling water, and added one small onion peeled and sliced, one bay leaf, four whole cloves and one sprig of parsley. We placed the cutlets in good shape on the top, and having covered the pan, left them to simmer until tender, which is told by piercing them with a fork. When done we removed the cutlets, dusted them with salt and pepper, and basted them with one tablespoonful of melted butter. When ready to use them we dipped them first in beaten egg and then in bread crumbs and fried them in steaming oil until a golden brown. We trimmed the bones with a frill of paper, placed them near the edge of the meat dish, poured cream sauce in the center of the dish, and they were ready to be served. 334 THE WAY WE DID AT COO KING SCHOOL. ' Lobster Chops. — In preparing lobster chops we julJed one tablespoonful of chopped parsle}^ one- fourtl- of a grated nutmeg and salt and cayenne to tajte to two cupfuls of boiled lobster. We put one c.ipful of cream or milk on to heat, and rubbed one ounoe of butter with three tablespoon fuls of flour and added them to the steaming cream, stirring constantly, and then added the beaten yolks of two eggs. When it had cooked about two minutes it liad thickened suf- ficiently, so we removed it from the fire and stirred in the seasoned lobster, and when well mixed we turned it out on a platter to cool. When cold we formed it into chops and dipped them in beaten e^g and then in bread crumbs. We put them in the frying basket and immersed them in heated oil, and in about two minutes they were a nice brown. After draining them we arranged them on a heated dish, using a small claw to represent the bone, and garnished them with parsley. They can be served with either cream or tartare sauce. Sauce Tartaee. — in preparing sauce tartare we chopped three olives, one gherkin and one tablespoon- ful of capers very fine, and added them to one cupful of mayonnaise dressing. We could also have added one-half teaspoonful of powdered coriander seed or one tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar. French CRU^.LEEs. — In making French crullers we cut up two ounces of butter and put it with one cupful of cold water in a stewpan over the fire ; as soon as it boiled we added four ounces of flour quickly and stir- red until the flour all left the pan and adhered to the wooden spoon in a bail. We removed it from the fire, and after giving it a thorough beating, stood it in a warm place for thirty minutes. We then added one unbeaten egg, beat the mixture smooth, and then added another unbeaten egg and beat again until smooth, and so continued to do until we had added four small eggs, or three large ones. We beat the mixture for five minutes and then covered and kept it in a warm place for another thirty minutes. We THE WAT WE DTD AT GOOKING SCHOOL. 255 mixed one cupful of powdered sugar with one tea- spoonful of powdered cinnamon. We floured the baking board, put one tablespoonful of the cruller mixture on it and rolled the mixture until it was one- ■fourtii of au inch thick ; we cut it with a round cutter and then removed the center with a smaller cutter. We lifted carefully with the cake turner and slid it into steaming hot oil. When one side had fried uni,il ■ brown we turned it and let the other brown. After draining we rolled it in the cinnamon and sugar. This mixture seemed exceedingly soft, but before we had made it all into crullers we got so that we could manage it without adding much flour. The less flour added the nicer — more delicate — they are. Gekman Ckullers. — In making German crullers we beat two eggs until light and continued to beat while we added one cupful of sugar; then added one cupful of thick sour cream, one-half teaspoonful of salt, and one teaspoonful of vanilla ; when well mixed we added gradually three cupfuls of sifted flour which- had been sifted with one heaping teaspoonful of baking powder. When well mixed we rolled it out on the board, cut it with a large round cutter and removed the centers with a smaller cutter. We dropped them into the steam- ing hot oil and fried them brown, first on one side and then on tiie otiier. When done and drained we dusted them with powdered sugar. This dough also was ex- ceedingly soft, but we soon learned to manage it with the spatula, and so did not touch the cut dough with our hands. Doughnuts. — In making doughnuts we scalded one pint of milk and added to it two ounces of butter; when it had cooled we added one-half cupful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, one-half cake of compressed yeast dissolved in lukewarm water, and flour enough to make a soft dough. We beat it thoroughly and kept it in the covered bread-raiser until light ; we then stirred in three well-beaten eggs and added flour enough to make a soft dough, which after kneading lightly we covered and kept in a warm place until 25ti THE WA T WE BID A T COOKINQ SCHOOL, light. We then took out part of the dough, which we rolled and cut into doughnuts with holes in the center. We spread a clean cloth on the table, and having placed the doughnuts on it, covered thera up and let them be for thirty minutes, in which time we rolled out the remainder of the dough. We were careful to put the doughnuts upside down into the steaming hot oil, be- cause a crust formed over the surface while standing which if left uppermost would prevent the doughnuts from puffing up properl}'. When browned on both sides and drained we dusted them with powdered sugar. When oil is kept expressly for frying mixtures of dough, mutton suet can be added, as many think it makes a nicer crust. We used the " butter oil" alone and everything fried was very nice. Mince Pie. — In making mince pie we lined a deep pie dish with puff paste, made as 1 told you in my sixth letter, and filled it with the mince-meat I told about in my seventeenth letter. The mince-meat was thinned a little with cider or wine. We covered the pie with an upper crust of the paste and brushed the center of the top of the pie lightly with the beaten yolk of eg(r. We lifted the edges of the paste from the disii with a knife, being careful not to press the paste along the outer edge of the riin of the dish, as that would prevent it from puffing up properly. In- deed, we never touch puff paste when it can be avoided. The pie was baked one-half hour in a quick oven. Lemon Citstaed. — In making a lemon custard we lined a deep pie plate with puff paste and placed it in the refrigerator while we made the custard. We beat the yolks of three eggs with one cupful of sugar and added'the juice and grated yellow rind of one lemon. We put one tablespoonful of flour in a bowl and added gradually one cupful of milk, stirring all the time, and when well mixed we poured it through a small sieve into the eggs and sugar. We stirred and then poured this mixture into the paste lined plate, and baked it lialf an hour in a quick oven. We beat the whites of THE WAT WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. 257 three eggs until stiff, tlien gradually beat in three tablespoonfuis of powdered sugar and continued to beat until it was stiff and glossy. When the pie was done we placed this meringue by spoonfuls over the pie and returned it to the oven to brown. . Baked Chicken Pie. — In baking a chicken pie we used one chicken, weighing about four pounds, that had been drawn, singed and cut into eleven pieces as for a fricassee. We put the chicken in a stewpan, covered it with boiling water and left it to simmer until the meat was tender when pierced by a fork. We cut one-half pound of ham into small squares, pared four medium-sized potatoes, cut them into cubes, parboiled them fifteen minutes and drained them, and chopped one tablespoonful .of parsley. We lined a two-quart tin pan or basin with puff paste and cut the pieces that came from trimming the edge into squares. We put potato blocks over the bottom of the pan and then a layer of chicken, a sprinkling of ham, tlie squares of paste, a sprinkling of chopped parsley, salt and pepper and bits of butter. We repeated these layers until all the ingredients were used. We used for the filling one ounce of butter. We rolled out a crust for the top, cut a, hole in the center, moistened the edge of the pie with cold water, put on the top crust, pressed the edges together and baked it in a quick oten until tiie crust was done— about one-half hour. While the pie was baking we made a sauce from one ounce of batter, with which we rubbed two level tablespoonfuis of flour without letting it brown. We added one cupful of the liquor in which the chicken was cooked and one cupful of milk, stirring contin- uously until it boiled ; then added salt and pepper to taste, removed it from the fire and added the beaten yolk of one egg and one tablespoonful of chopped parsley. When the pie was done we poured this sauce into the pie through a funnel placed in the hole in the top crust. The pie was served in the dish in which it was baked. Eabbitj veal and squirrel pies are made ia the samj 258 TEE WA T WE DID A T COOEINQ SCHOOL. way, using two rabbits or four squirrels in the place of one chicken. Philadelphia Stewed Teeeapin. — In stewing terra- pin the Philadelphia way we put two terrapins, alive, into a large kettle of boiling water and^ boiled them until we could pull off the outer skin and toe nails — about fifteen minutes. Having removed the skin and toe nails we put the terrapins into fresh boiling water, added one heaping teaspoon ful of salt and left them to boil slowly until the shells parted easily and the flesh on tlie legs was tender. When done we took them from the water, removed the under shell and let tliem stand until cold enough to handle. When cold we took them from the upper shells and carefully re- moved the sand bags, bladders, the thick, heavy part of the intestines, and also the gall bag, which was found imbedded in one lobe of the liver, and threw them away. We were exceedingly careful about re- moving tlie gall bags, because if they should get broken the gall would spoil tlie whole terrapin. We broke the terrapins into small pieces and out the small intestines, or pipes, as they are called, into short pieces, and also broke up the liver and added it, with the eggs found in the terrapins, to the meat! We put all into the stewpan and added the juice or liquor they had given out while being cut. We rolled eight ounces of butter in flour and added it to the terrapin, which we placed over a very moderate fire until heated through. We removed the yolks from six eggs which we had boiled fifteen minutes, and made a smooth paste with the yolks and two tablespoonfuls of wine, and added to the terrapin, together with one cupful of thick cream, one-fourth teaspoonful of powdered mace, and salt and pepper to taste. We re- moved it from the fire and added one gill of sherry or Madeira. More wine can be added if desired, biit it mast not boil after the wine is added. Sweetbreads ALA Bechamel. — In preparing sweet- breads la Beclmrael we put them in cold water as soon as they cainQ from market. After soaking one TUK WAY WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. 259 hour we removed all the fat, put them in boiling water in a porcelain kettle, added one teaspoon ful of salt, and let them parboil over a moderate fire for fifteen minutes. We then put tliem in cold water for five minutes, after which we removed all the fibrous skin and fat and picked them into small pieces. We put one ounce of butter in a saucepan, and when molted but not brojvned we added one tablespoonful of flour, mixed it smooth and added ond gill of white stock and one gill of cream, stirring constantly until it boiled. We then added one-half can of mushrooms chopped fine and the sweetbreads. We removed it from the fire and added the beaten yolks of two eggs, one-half teaspoonful of salt, two dashes of white pepper and one tablespoonful of sherry. It was served in a small heated dish, though it could have been served in in- dividual cases. A calf's brains could have been par- boiled, mashed and added to the sauce, as many persons consider them a great improvement. Baked Sweetbeeads and Peas. — In preparing the sweetbreads we put five lardoons in each of them after soaking them one hour in cold watery then par- boiled them fifteen minutes. We placed them in a small baking pan, dredged them with salt, pepper and flour, and covered the bottom of the i)an with stock or water, and baked them forty-five minutes in a moderate oven, basting them every ten minutes. When they were almost done we put one ounce of butter in a saucepan, and when it had melted but not browned we added one tablespoonful of flour; when we had mixed it smooth we added one cupful of milk •and stirred constantly until it boiled. We then added one can of French peas drained free from liquor, and stirred until they boiled. We placed the sweetbreads in the center of the dish and poured the peas around them. Boned Chicken. — In boning chickens we used two one year-old chickens. After singeing them we cut off the heads, and after rem&ving the tendons at the third joint from the body- we cut off the feet. Wq 2C0 THE WAY WIS DID AT CVOKING SCHOOL. placed a chicken witli its breast on the table, and taking a firm hold of the skin under the neck we cut the skin down the whole length of the neck and back to the rump, and then carefully slipped the knife be- tween the bones and flesh toward one of the wings.^ We unjointed the thin bone and joint heaiest the body, and- running the knife between the flesh and bone, tooJc out each bone as we came to the joint. The small bones at the tip of the wings cannot be taken out, so they are left, tiiough sometimes they are cutoff. We then kept the knife close to the bones until we came to tiie joint of the leg next the body. This joint required the leg to be turned and twisted considerably before we found just where the tendons were that held it. The bones of the leg were removed in the same way as the wing, only much easier, be- cause there is more flesh on them and so less likelihood of cutting the skin. The second joint can be turned wrong side out and the bone stripped down. We re- moved the flesh from the bones till we came to the breast bone. We then boned the other side of the chicken and, after pulling out the crop, we removed the flesh from the breast bone with the finger till we came to the edge of the bone ; then having started to se]>arate the gristle from the bone with a knife we took the neck in one hand, iind the skin and flesh in the other, and gently pulled them apart. After re- moving the carcass we cut off the rump, leaving it attached to the flesh and skin. We wiped the skin with a dampened towel, to be sure it was clean ; then spread the chicken out flesh side up and dredged it with salt and pepper. We chopped the meat of the other chicken fine and mixed with it one-half pound of sausage meat, one lablespoonful of chopped parsley, one cupful of stale bread crumbs, one teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of onion juice and one- fourth teaspoonful of pepper. We put a small portion of this forcemeat in the cavity made in the wings and legs by the removal of the bones. The remainder of the forcemeat we made into the shape of the carcass THE WA 7 WE DID AT COOKING SGHOOL. 261 and placed it in the boned chicken ; then drew the skin together and sewed it with an over and then an under stitch. We tucked the wings back and drew the legs down to the side of the body, and pressed it with our hands into the shape of a chicken before being boned. We wrapped the chicken in a piece of cheesecloth and then wrapped it securel\'^ with twine and tied it so the forcemeat conld not get out. We put the bones of both chickens, and the skin of the one, into a kettle and added cold water enough to little more than cover them. We added a knuckle of veal, one bay leaf, one onion, four whole cloves, one sprig of parsley, twelve peppercorns, one small-sized carrot that had been pared and sliced. We put the kettle over a moderate fire, skimmed as soon as it boiled, and then added salt. We placed the boned chicken on top of the bones and left it to simmer four hours. When done we removed the cloth, placed the chicken in a baking pan, and having dusted it with salt and pepper, browned it half an hour in a quick oven. It was garnished with parsle}'^ and served with sauce tartare. This is the best way for hot weather. White celery tops also make a pretty garnish. After the chicken had sijnmered four hours and been removed, we simmered the bones two hours longer, and then strained the liquor and put it to cool. There should be two quarts of liquor for the jelly ; if there was not so much, water would have been added to make the quantit}'. When a knuckle of veal has not been added a box of gelatin can be dissolved in one pint of cold water and used. After the fat was removed from the jelljr, the jelly should be melted, and if gelatin was to be used it should have been added and stirred until thoroughly dissolved, and seasoned with salt and pepper. The jelly should then be poured into a pan until it was one-half inch deep; when cold and firm it should be chopped and scattered over the chicken till it was one-half inch thick — the chicken having pre- viously been placed on a flat dish on which it was to be served. The remainder of the jelly should be cut 2e-Z 27/ff WAr WE BID AT COOKING SCHOOL. into one-inch blocks, or some fancy shape, and used to ornament the edge of the dish or platter. Or, the jell}' might have been placed in a mould and when set, the chicken, which was cold, could have been "placed on it, the rest of the jelly poured over and around it, and then placed where it would soon harden. When wanted, the mould could have been wiped quickly with a cloth wrung out of warm water, and the chicken in jelly turned out carefully, garnished with parsley, and served with sauce tartare. Chicken served in or with this jelly must be served as soon as arranged, as this jelly will not remain firm long in warm weather. If jelly had not been made from the liquor in which the chicken was boiled, it could have been used for soup. Your affectionate cousin, YiEGiNiA Eeed. THE WAT WtJ DID AT VO&KINO SCHOOL. 263 LETTER XXVIII. April 30, 189-. My Dear Consm Alethea : I will now write out the remainder of the recipes we have had. Feuit Cake. — In making fruit cake we seeded two pounds of raisins, looked over two pounds of " Purity " currants and cut line three-fourths of a pound of can- died citron. We mixed the raisins, currants and citron together, floured them well, and then beat ten eggs together until very light. We beat one pound of butter to a cream, added one pound of sugar and beat again, continuing to beat wliile we added the ten eggs and then one pound of flour, one grated nutmeg, one teaspoonful of powdered allspice, one-half teaspoonful of powdered cloves, one-half teaspoonful of powdered mace and one teaspoonful of [)0wdered cinnamon ; we gave the whole a thorough beating and then added the floured fruit. We also added the juice and rind of one orange and one lemon, mixed all well together, and then poured the mixture into two round cake-pans which we had lined with paper and oiled well. They require to be baked four hours in a very moderate oven. When liquor is used one gill of brandy is added before the frnit. Plunicets. — In making' plunkets we selected four eggs, weighed out their weight in powdered sugar, their weight in butter and their weight in rice flour ; but when rice flour cannot be obtained one-fourth of their weight could be cornstarch and three-fourths pastry flour. We tlien beat the butter to a cream and continued to beat wiiile we gradnall}' added the pow- dered sugar, then tiie beaten yolks of the four eggs, 364 THE WAT WE DID AT GOOEIN& SCHOOL. then the stiffly beaten whites, after which we added the flour a little at a time. We added one teaspoonful of vanilla, though we might have used the juice and grated rind of one lemon instead. After everything had been added we continued to beat until the mixture was very fine and light, then we poured it into small, well-oiled tins and baked them about twenty minutes in a moderate oven. Fluted oval tins are the correctly shaped tins for plunkets. Oeeam Sponge Cake. — In makingcream sponge cake we made the filling first. "We put one cupful of milk on to heat. We beat the yolks of three eggs until light, together with two tablespoonfuls of sugar and one and one-half tablespoonfuls of cornstarch, and poured over them the steaming milk and stirred' until it thickened. We removed it from the fire and added two tablespoonfuls of orange juice and the grated rind of one-half orange. We put the filling away to cool while we made the cake. We selected six eggs and weighed out their weight in sugar and one-half their weight in flour. We broke and separated the six eggs very carefully, beat the yolks until light, added the sugar and beat until very light, then added the stiffly beaten whites, and after mixing carefully we slowly sifted in the flour. We stirred one-fourth teaspoonful of baking soda into one tablespoonful of vinegar, and when it was dissolved we stirred it quickly into the cake ; after mixing thor- oughly we turned the mixture into a well-oiled shallow pan and baked it fifteen minutes in a quick oven. When the cake was done we turned it upside down and while warm spread it with the filling. We cut the cake into two equal portions and folded the bottoms together, thereby having a two layer cake with a thick layer of filling between. We then iced the cake with orange icing. Oeangb Icing. — Orange icing was made by putting one-half pound of powdered sugar in a bowl and adding the grated rind of ono orange, one tablespoonful of boiling water, and orange juice enough to moisten. The icing was very stiff and was spread on at once. THK WA T Wn DTD A T COOKING SCHOOL. 365 Meeingues. — In malcing meringues we beat the whites of four eggs until very stiff and dry, and tlien added carefully one-fourth pound of powdered sugar whicii had been sifted and one teaspoonful of vanilla sugar. We mixed them thoroughly but ver}'' liglitly. We heaped the meringue by tiie tablespoonful upon greased paper and placed the paper upon a board one inch thick. We dusted them lightly with sugar, then fanned off what sugar we could and put them in a moderate oven until a lig!it-fawn color. We opened wide the oven door, but left the meringues in the oven one hour longer to dry. When done we removed them from the paper with a spatula, and then using a teaspoon we scooped out the bottom and center, whicli were still soft. They were inverted and returned to the oven to dr}' the interior, for when thoroughly dried and put in a box they will keep a long time. When wanted for use they can be liiled with whipped cream or ice cream and two pressed together. Chocolate Eclairs. — In making chocolate eclairs we made a batter the same as for cream puffs, which I wrote about in my twenty-third letter. We put the batter in a pastry bag and made the eclairs about five inches long by pressing firmly, all the time squeezing the bag while drawing it toward us. We left a space at least two inches wide between them. We used a well-oiled baking pan and baked them about twenty minutes in a quick oven. When done they felt light when lifted, for in fact thoy were hollow. When cold we filled them with the cream puff filling and then iced the bottom of them with chocolate icing. Chocolate Igin®. — We melted two ounces of choco- late, added four tablespoon fuls of powdered sugar and stirred until it formed a paste. We had the icing in a broad, shallow vessel, which we placed in another con- taining hot water while we dipped the bottom of each eclair flat down in the icing and then stood it away to dry. 'Eclairs are also nice if filled with whipped cream or preserved fruits and iced v>-ilh orange icing. 266 27/£? WAT WE BID AT COOKING SCIIOOL. English Plum Pudding. — In making English plum pudding we first seeded one pound of raisins, looked over one pound of "Purity" currants, chopped line one pound of suet, and minced one-half pound of can- died orange peel. We mixed well together the one pound of seeded raisins, the one pound of currants, one pound of chopped suet and one-half pound of can- died orange peel linely cut, with the one-fourth pound, of brown sugar, one pound of flour, three-fourths of one pound of stale bread crumbs, one-half of a grated nutmeg and the grated rind of one lemon. We then beat Ave eggs together until very light, added to the eggs one-half pint of brandy, poured it over the dry ingredients and mixed them together thoroughly. We packed the mixture to within one inch of the top of small tin pails which had been well-greased, and having put on their lids, boiled them six hours after making and another six iiours just before using. They could have been boiled longer at the making and so would only have required to be thoroughly reheated. When removed from the boiling water we took off the lids to let the steam escape. They can be served with hard sauce, flavored with brandy, or with Our Cooking School sauce. Our Cooking School Sauce. — In making this sauco we beat six ounces of butter to a cream, then beat in one-fourth of a pound of sugar and added the j'olks of three eggs. When we had beaten until it was very light and frothy we added one-half pint of wine, one gill of boiling water and grated nutmeg to taste. We placed the bowl containing all the ingredients in a pan of boiling water over the fire and stirred constantly for five minutes. It was served hot. Cream Chocolate Pudding. — In preparing a cream chocolate pudding we put two ounces of chocolate in a double boiler and stirred it until perfectly smooth. We put one pint of milk on in another double boiler and moistened four level tablespoonfuls of corn- starch with about four tablespoonfuls of cold water und added it to the steaming milk, stirring it until TBM WA r WB DID AT COOtCWQ /SGMOOL. 26? thick and smooth. We added one-half cupful of sugar to" the milk, then the stiffly beaten whites of four eggs, and beat well together before removing the mixture from the fire. After removing from the fire we added one teaspoonful of vanilla. We took out one-third of the mixture and added it to the chocolate, mixing it well. We chilled a plain pudding mould by dipping it in cold water; we poured one half of the white mix-, ture into the mould, then all the chocolate mixture, and after that the remainder of the white mixture. Wo put it in a cold place or on the ice to harden. When served it had been turned from the mould and had had vanilla sauce poured around it. The vanilla sauce was made from the yolks of the four eggs, with one pint of milk, two tablespoonfulsof sugar and one teaspoonful of vanilla, in the same way I wrote you in my twenty-second letter. Newport Pudding. — For the Newport pudding we pared and cored six medium-sized apples and steamed them until tender. While tliey were steaming we boiled the fourth of a cupful of water with one-half capful of sugar and the juice of one orange for five minutes. When the apples were tender we placed them in the bottom of a two-quart baidng-dish, poured the boiling syrup over them and let them stand to cool while we put one pint of milk on to heat. We beat the yolks of three eggs with one-half cupful of sugar, stirred them into the heated milk, and after removing it from the fire we added six macaroons, pounded fine, and one teaspoonful of vanilla. We filled the space left by the removal of the cores with preserves, then poured the custard over the apples and baked them fifteen minutes in a moderate oven. We beat the w^hites of three eggs with three tablespoonfuls of pow- dered sugar until very stiff, and tiien heaped them over the top of the pudding and returned it to the oven to brown. This pudding was served very cold in the dish in which it was baked. Vanilla Ice Ceeam. — In making vanilla ice cream we put one pint of cream in a double boiler over the 268 I'HE WAY WM DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. fire, and added one-half pound of granulated sugar and one vanilla bean split into halves, and stirred continu- ously for ten minutes. We removed it from the fire and took out the bean, which we scraped with a blunt knife, and put the seeds and soft part from the inside of the bean into the heated cream ; after mixing thor- oughly we stood it away to cool. When cold we added another pint of cream, and having seen that the can and dasher were in tlie proper position, we poured the cream into the freezing-can, put on the cover, fastened the crank, and gave it a turn to be sure that it was all right. We used a "Crown" ice chipper in chipping the ice. We put a three-inch layer of fine ice around the can, then a one-inch layer of coarse oi" rock salt, and continued to alternate the ice and salt till we reached the top of the can. We turned the crank slowly and steadily. It took about twenty-five min- utes to freeze. When frozen we removed the crank, and after wiping the lid took it off carefully, so that no salt.could get into tlie can. We took out the dasher and scraped it off, and then with the wooden spatula scraped the cream from the side of the can, and beat and worked the cream steadily for ten minutes to make it smooth. We then put the lid back on the can and put a cork in the hole from which the dasher was taken. We drained the water from the tub and re- packed with salt and ice and covered the tub with a piece of carpet and stood it away in a cold place for one or two hours to ripen. When ready to be served the can was dipped quickly into cold water, and after being wiped off the cream was turned out on a dish. It takes about ten pounds of ice and two quarts of salt to properly freeze a four-quart freezer of cream. Baked Ice Cream— One of the class asked about baked ice cream ; so they told us that after ice cream had been made, moulded and left to ripen, we should see that the oven was very hot, and then make a meringue by beating the whites of eggs until very stiff. When tlie ice cream had been turned from the mould upon the dish on which it was to be served, it T3E WAY WE DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. 269 should be quickly covered witli a tliiclc meringue and the dish placed on a thick board and put into a very hot oven and left there until tlie meringue becomes a light brown. It is also sometimes called an Alaska bake. Iced Eice Pudding with a Compote of O ranges. — III preparing this pudding we rubbed one-half cupful of rice in a clean towel and put it on to boil in one pint of cold water ; after it had boiled thirty minutes we drained off that water,.poured one pint of milk over the rice and left it to boi! thirty minutes longer. We whipped one quart of cream, which we kept in a cold place till wanted, and added the small portion tliat would not whip to tlie rice and milk. When the rice was done we pressed it through a sieve and put it back in the double boiler. We beat the yolks of six eggs with one and one-half cupfuls of sugar until light, and poured over the boiling rice, and after stirring well we placed it over the tire until it began .to thicken — about two minutes. We removed it from the fire and added one tablespoonful of vanilla, or one-half as much vanilla sugar, and turned it out to cool. When cold we put it in the freezer and froze it the same as the vanilla ice cream. When frozen we stirred in the whipped cream, and after removing the dasher we smoothed it down and let it stand two hours, packed in the salt and ice, to ripen. For the Compote. — We put one pound of sugar on with one gill of water, and as it boiled we skimmed it. When it had boiled ten minutes we added the juice of one-fourth of a lemon to keep the sugar from granu- lating. We had peeled one dozen sweet oranges and cut them in halves crosswise, removing the cores with a sharp knife. We put a few pieces of the oranges at a time into the hot syrup, and then placed them singly on a flat dish, and when all had been po treated we poured over them the remainder of the syrup and stood them on the ice to cool. In dishing the pudding we removed the can from the ice, wiped it carefully with a dry cloth, then wiped 'Z70 rim WAT WE inn at cooking school. the bottom of the- can with a towel dipped in boiling water, and having removed the lid and placed a round dish over the can, we inverted the can and left the frozen rice upon the dish. "We arranged the oranges around the base and over the top of the pudding, poured the syrup over them, and it was served at once. MoNTEosE Pudding. — In making Montrose pudding we heated one pint of cream in a double boiler. We beat together the yolks of six eggs and one cupful of granulated sugar until light, then stirred them into the steaming cream and stirred until it thickened — about one minute. We removed it from the fire and added another pint of good cream and one tablespoon- ful of vanilla, and when it had cooled we put it in tlie freezer and froze it. When frozen, instead of smooth- ing it down and letting it ripen in the can, we packed it in a round mould, leaving a well in the center, which we filled with strawberry water-ice, and then covered the water-ice with pudding taken from the center, being careful to entirely fill the mould. We then bound the edge of the mould with letter paper, put on the lid, covered the joint with a strip of muslin dipped in melted butter, and then packed it in salt and ice and left it to ripen until wanted, at least two hours. This pudding was served with Montrose sauce poured around it. Steawbeeey Watee-Ice. — The strawberry water-ice was made by adding one pound of sugar and the juice of two lemons to one quart of strawberries, and after they had stood one hour, one quart of water was added, and they were strained through a cloth and frozen slowly ; when the dasher can no longer be turned it is removed, the sides of the can scraped down and the water-ice thoroughly beaten. It was then put in the well left in the pudding in the center of the mould. MoNTEosE Sauce. — In making Montrose sauce we covered one heaping tablespoonful of gelatin with two tablespoon fuls of cold water and let it soak thirty minutes. We put one pint of cream to heat in a TEE WAY WK DID AT COOKING SCHOOL. 271 double boiler, while we beat the yolks of three eggs with one-fourth cupful of powdered sugar until light. We stirred the eggs into the steaming cream and stir- red until it thickened — about a minute — and then added the gelatin and continued to stir until it dis- solved. We removed it from the fire and added one teaspoonful of vanilla. Wiien liquor is used two tablespoonfuls of brandy and four tablespoonfuls of sherry would be added. When well mixed we stood it away to cool. Caramel. — In making caramel, which is a N'eapolitan ice cream, and differs only from the Philadelphia ice cream in having eggs added to the cream, we beat the yolks of six eggs until creamy, added one-half pound of granulated sugar, beat until very light, and then stirred in the stiffly beaten whites of the six eggs. We put one quart of cream on to heat in a double boiler, and when steaming we added the beaten eggs and sugar and three tablespoonfuls of caramel, made as I told you in my twenty-fourth letter. We stirred constantly until the mixture began to thicken, then removed it from the fire, strained it through a fine sieve and let it stand until cold; then added one tea- spoonful of vanilla, poured it into the freezer and froze it the same as any Philadelphia ice cream. Orange Souffle.— In making orange souffl6, we let one-half box of gelatin soak with one-half cupful of cold water for one hour, then added one-half cupful of boiling water and stirred until it dissolved. We mixed one pint of orange juice with one pound of sugar, and the next thing we did was to whip one quart of cream. We beat the yolks of six eggs to a cream and then mixed the orange juice and sugar witii the yolks of eggs in a tin or thin granite vessel, whici) we placed in a pan of ice water. We strained tiie gelatin into the granite vessel arid stirred until it began to thicken, then we quickly stirred in th6 whip- ped cream and turned it into an ice cream mould, which we packed in salt and ice and let it freeze for two hours. It should not be frozen as hard as ice 272 THE yVAY WE DID AT COOKING SGHOOL. cream. It is served vritli Montrose sauce poured around it. The above quantity will serve ten. An endless variety of souffles can be made from this rule by changing the tiavoring and adding sugar to correspond. Lemon Watek-Ice. — In making lemon water-ice wo put one and one-fourtli pounds of sugar on to boil witli one quart of water. Wlien it boiled we skimmed off the scum and added the chipped yellow rind from three lemons and one orange to tiie syrup, let it boil five minutes and put it aside to cool. We squeezed out the juice from four lemons and one orange, being careful to reject all the seeds, and mixed this juice with the syrup, wliich we strained through a fine cloih. We turned it into a freezer which we packed as for ice cream. We turned the crank slowl}-^ for a few minutes, then rested for about five minutes, tlien turned again for a short time and stopped for five minutes, and continued so to do until the water- ice was frozen pretty hard. It took much longer to freeze a water-ice than it did an ice-cream. When we could turn no longer we removed the dasher, scraped down the sides of the can, and gave the waterice a thorough beating with a wooden spatula or paddle. V/e put the cork in the lid of the can, drew the water from the tub and repacked it, then covered with carpet and left it two or three hours to ripen — to become mellow and smooth. This quantity will serve six. When fruit jolly is used instead of fresh fruit, one pint of jelly and one half pound of sugar are used to each quart of water. Fkozen Apricots. — In preparing apricots for freez- ing we drained one quart can free from juice, and with a silver spoon removed the stones and cut up the apricots. We added one cupful of sugar to the syrup and enough water to make one and one-half pints. We covered two tablespoon fuls of gelatin with' cokl water and let it soak thirty minutes. We boiled tiie sugar, syrup and water for live minutes, skimmed THE WAY WE DID AT COOKIMQ SCHOOL. 273 carefully, added the gelatin, stirred until it dissolved, and then strained all throuo;h a sieve to be sure no gelatin was undissolved. We then added the apricots and stood the mixture aside to cool. When cold we turned it into the freezer and froze it. When frozen we added one pint of cream wliich we had whipped, and after blending the two we removed the dasher and linislied in the same way as a water-ice, leaving it two hours to ripen. This quantity was sufficient for ten persons. Frozen Steawbeeries. — In preparing frozen straw- berries we addfcd one pound of granulated sugar to one quart of strawberries and tlie juice of two lemons, iind let it stand one hour. We then mashed the berri3sand added one quart of water and stirred until the sugar was dissolved. We then turned the mixture into a freezer and froze it slowly, having packed the freezer as for ice cream. Fresh fruits require twice as much sugar as canned. Charlotte KnssE. — In preparing charlotte russe we first put one-half box of gelatin to soak with about one fourth cupful of cold water for thirty minutes. We wliipped one quart of good cream, which we put on a sieve to drain. We lined two plain two-quart moulds with one-fourth pound of lady fingers. We made tliem stay in place by touching them lightly to dissolved gelatin and then pressing them against the mould. We turned the whipped cream into a thin granite vessel, which we placed in a pan of ice water or on ice. We next added a little boiling water to the gelatin — just enough to dissolve it. We added three-fourths of a cupful of powdered sugar to tiie cream, and also one teaspoonful of vanilla and one- half gill or four tablespoonfuls of sherry, and then strained in the gelatin. We commenced at once to stir, and stirred from tlie sides and bottom of the vessel until it began to thiciien and would retain the outline of the beater, tlien we poured it into the mould* and placed them on the ice to harden. n ■J74 THE WAY WE BID AT COOKING SCHOOL. Oeange Sherbet. — In making orange sherbet we covered two tablespoonfuls of gelatin with cold water, and when it had soaked thirty minutes we added one quart of boiling water and one pound of sugar, whicli we stirred over the fire until it boiled and was skimmed, and then put it aside to cool. When cold we.added the juice of twelve oranges and strained it through a line sieve. When cold we turned it into a freezer, packed it as for ice cream, and turned the crank rap- idly and steadily until the mixture was frozen rather hard. We then took out the dasher and added the meringue made by beating the white of one egg to a froth and adding to it one tablespoonful of powdered suijar and beatino; again until it stood alone. After stirring the mermgue into the sherbet we beat it well, tiien covered and repacked the freezer and let it stand to ripen. If we had wanted the sherbet served in a form we would have chilled the mould by dipping it in cold water, and tiien have tilled the mould with the frozen mixture, packing it well into the designs. We would have put white letter paper over the open end, put the lid on, pressed it down tightly, and then have packed it in ice and salt. When wanted we would have washed the mould in cold water, and, after removing the lid, turned the sherbet out on a plate. If it had happened to stick we would have waited a short time or have washed it again in cold water., Under no consideration would we have dipped the mould con- taining sherbet into hot water, as that would certainly have spoiled the shape of the form, no matter how quickly it was done. The instruction is ended and examination has begun. We have had written examination for several morn- ings, and among other things have had to make out the menus for three meals for four days for an editor, and those for a student for three days, as well as those for an over-fat man and for a consumptive for two days. We have had certain marketing to do, and THE WAT WE DID AT COOKING SGBOOL Z% have had such dishes to prepare as they haye assigned us; that, in fact, means the preparing of an entire meal ; and to show our knowledge of table serving we have also had to serve a meal prepared by another member of the class. In a few more days we will have received our diplomas and be ready to begin instructing others in the science of preparing attractive and palatable viands. It seems to me that the main worlc now to do is to educate people to know what is the suitable food for them. Cooks and housekeepers would then not re- ceive so much undeserved blame, for the health of tiie household depends greatly upon the individuaVs selec- tion of the food placed before him. Wliat good or help to a person can all tlie delectable concoctions amount to when he will not touch them, and, for instance, persists in eating nothing in the vegetable line but boiled greens and potatoes, as I recentl}'' heard the lady of a house state was the case with her husband. I certainly think a housekeeper ought to know that she has the proper articles properly prepared for her family, and that the young are instructed as to what is best under the various conditions of iiealth and en- vironment; but beyond that I think each person should be held accountable for the use or abuse of nnture's provisions. I am expecting to make two short visits on the way home, but hope to see you within two weeks at the furthest. Your affectionate cousin, YiEGiNiA Reed. INDEX. FAOB ioetio Acid 10 How Made 129, 130 Acids, Vegetable 815 j^ip 29 Albumins ..'..'..'.'. ..'..70, 187 Albumin in Vegetables 96, 97 Difters from Oil 230 Albumin and Milk 61 Aliments 14 Simple 14 Compound , 14 Nitrogenous. 15 Atkattirepta 65, 181 Allspice 101 Almonds, To Blanch 206 Amylopsin 69 Angelica 54, 93 Anise 190 Anthracite 6, 9 Apees 208 Appendix 69 Apples 131 To Bake 138 To Can 231 Apple Jelly 231 Pie 165 Sauce 132 Snow 90 Water 84 Arrowroot 181 Varietie o£ 182 WithEgg....' 64 Artichokes, Jerusalem .98 Methods of Cooking 96^ French 98 How Used 98 Asparagus 98 Composition of 98 To Boil 176 Asparagin 81, 216 Asthma 88 Barley 134 Water 62 Baking Powder 807 Formula for 207 Baking 22, 23 Proper Temperature 30 Poultry and Game .30 Beans, Composition of 105 Beef, To Tell and Divide 39 ForWhatUsed 40, 44 Digestibility of 45 Corned 47 Dried 47 PAGR Beef Croquettes 187 Heart, Stewed 260 Juice 61 a La Mode 252 Pot Roast 107 Rib Roast 17 Rib Baked with Yorkshire Pud- ding 107 Stew with Dumplings 25 To Corn 33 Beef Tea, ToMake 60 When to Use 61 Beets 54, 96 Method of Cooking 96 Bile .' 69 Birds in Common Use 173 Methods of Cooking 174 Biscuits, Hygienic Fig 38 Potato 241 Quick !i8 Sweet Milk 243 Boiling 22, 23 Temperature of 23 Boiler, Double 13 Books of Reference 4 Borage 97 Bouillon 217 Braising 30 Brass, To Scour 213 Bread, Gluten 76 Quick or Peptik 243 Eye 122 Salt Rising ; 113 White, To Make 118 Whole Wheat 59 Yeast 34 How it Should be Kept 115 Breakfast Bacon 8;i Breakfast Gems 243 Bright's Disease 80 Brioche 238 Broccoli 98 Broiling, Proper Method of 89 Krussels Sprouts 104 Buckwheat 124 Cakes 124 Cakes, Quick Way 185 Bunsen's Burner 10, 11 Buns 208 Cinnamon '. 840 Quick Way 840 Butter, Making 134 Rancid .' 134 To Clarify 134, 148 378 INDEX. PAGE Butter, Testing ..; 134, 168 As Food 147 Spoiling of 159 Cabbage 97 COQiposition of 97 Stewed 175 Cacao Butter 230 Cake, To Bake 207 Angel Food 210 Chocolate 210 Chocolate Eclairs and Chocolate Icing 2G5 CoBfee 803 Cream Puffs and Filling 811 Cream Sponge witli Orange Icing 264 Fruit 2G3 German 234 Grafton 50 Layer 209 Mrs. Marshairs Cocoauut 239 Plunkets 263 Without Eggs 208 Spice 209 Cakes, Griddle 243 Candy 198 Cream Cherries 143 Cream Dates 143 Chocolate Creams 144, 14S English Walnut Creams 143 Neapolitan Cream Blocks 143 Cherry Glac6s 144 Grape Glacis 144 Orange GlacSs 144 Capers 98 Capons 172 Caramel 138, 8)8 Carbolic Acid 188 Carbon 9, 19,20, 188 Carrageen 91 Carrots 90 Cauliflower 98 To Boil 175 Cecils 135 Cinnamon 196 Charcoal 6, 8, 9 Cheese 135 Digestibility of 135 Ramakins 184 Chervil 97 Chicory 97, 181 Chicken, To Select 170 To Boil and Roast 171 To Broil 172 Boned 259 Brown Fricassee 171 White Fricassee 172 In Jelly 155 East India Curry of 236 Cutlets... 253 Stewed 118 Timbale 8.% Chickpeas 104 Composition of 105 Chimney, New 5 Chives 97 Chocolate 181 Clabber, Bonny 134 , PASS Clams 153, 163 To Prepare 163 Cleansing, Principle of 230 Cloves 191 Coal 5 To Kindle 5 Varieties of 5 For Cooking Purposes 6 Coal Oil 7 Coal-Oil Stove 7 Cockles 153 Cocoa 181 Composiiion of 181 Active Principle 181 Cocoa 65 From the Nibs 65 Cocoanut Milk 235 Codfish Balls ' 1.36 Coffee 180 Composition of 180 To Make 180 Coke 6, 8, 9 Compotes 132 Compote of Apples 241 Condiments 189 Consomm6 218 Consumption — 75 Primary Cause 86 Treatment for 86, 87 Cookies 808 Copper 13, 14 To Scour 213 Coriander Seeds 180 Corn 128 To Prepare 122 Corn Gems 34 Corn Meal 123 Why it Spoils 183 Cornstarch 188 Crabs 153 To Boil and Open 161 To Prepare 161 Soft-shelled 162 Cranberries, Stewed 49 Crayfish 168 Cream, To Whip 199 .Caramel Bavarian 803 Coffee Bavarian 202 Clotted 817 Creosote lO Cress 97, 98 Croutons 99 Crullers, French '. . 254 German : 255 Cumin Seed 190 Currants, To Clean 806 Curry Powder 190 Calcutta 218 Daisy 97, 98 Dampers, Position of 4, 83 Dandelion 98 Desserts: Apple Snow 90 Blanc Mange 188 Caramel Bavarian Cream 203 Coffee Bavarian Cream 803 Charlotte Eusse 873 manx. m „ PAGE Desserts: Cup Custards 90 Sponge Apple 808 Sponge Peach 808 Velvet Cream 90 Frozen Apricots 372 Frozen Strawberries 873 Baked Ice Cream 868 Caramel Ice Cream 871 Ijemon Water-ice 278 Montrose Pudding 870 Orange Sherbet 874 Orange Soufflfi 271 Strawberry Water-ice 270 Vanilla Ice Cream 267 Dextrin 217 Diabetes 78, 79, 80 Digestion of Starch 108, 103 Digestibility of Cake and Bread. . . 229 Pastry and Puddings 208 Dish Mop 228 Disinfectants 20J, 205 Dock 98 Dougii,' Why'l't Rises! '.!!!!'..!!!!'.'. 115 When Ready to Bake 115 When Properly Baked 115 Why Sour 21 6 Doughnuts 255 Draught of Chimney 4 Duck, To Select 170 Varieties / 173 Salmi of 173 Dumplings, Fruit 132 Dyspepsia 74 Eczema 74 Eels 152, 153 Eggs, To Boil 84 To Crystallize 91 To Poach 84, 150 Composition of 149 Compared with Beef 150 Digestibility of 150 Why Become Lighter 150 Why Produce Lightness 808 Eggs d. la Newburg : 835 Egg Ball 220 Eggs Beauregard 193 Deviled 193 Egg, Cutlets 235 Flip 68 Seoarated 91 Soup 63 Eggnog 01 Endive 97 Fabrics, Difference in Texture 3:30 Farina 67, 113 Fat 46 To Clarify 31 Changed by Heat 308 fennel Seeds 190 Fermentation 70, 87, 128 Ferment for Daily Bread ,. 114 Fibrin 46, 310, 828 Fillet, Larded 249 Fish 151 Composition of 151 Nutrition 151 PAGB Pish, Compared with Beef. 15S To Determine Freshness of 15] Without Scales 16S Salt, to Freshen and Cook 153 To Boil 10^ To Lard and Bake 249 Fish Saut6 186 Fire, To Fix 6 To Kindle 5, 8 Flame 9 Flour, Browned 34 Flour 106, 107 Why White or Dark 107 Affected by Age 107 To Measure 207 Flue 3 Fondant. 148 Pood Classified 70 Liquid, Semi-solid, Solid 229 Proportions of 71 Frogs 158 Fruits 131 Decay 216 Difference Between Ripe and Unripe 316 How Prepared 131 Fruit of Vegetables 104 Composition of 104 Fruit, Canned 381 Dried 138 Evaporated 132 Glae6 20S Jam 138 Fruit Stains, To Remove 213 Frying. 30 Best Material for 30, 31 Fuel 5, 7 Report of Lecture on P Garlic 54 Family of 9? Gas 7, S Gas Stove 7 Gasoline 7 Gasoline Stove 7 GS.teau St. Honor6 245 Gelatin 46 Why Toughened 206 Japanese 7S Giblets 171 Ginger 197 Gingerbread, SoCt 36 Glass, to Clean 214 Glucose 121 Glutin loe Gluten Gems 77 Glycerin 198 Grains, Table of 126 Gravel 80 Groats 124 Gruel,' Apple 65 Arrowroot, Plain 68 Carrageen 63 Farina 64 German 64 Indian 63 Lentil 91 Oatmeal 68 S80 MDWl. PAGE Gruel, Rice Flour 65 Sago 64 Guinea Fowl 173 To Cook 173 Gumbo Fillet Po-trder 199 Haggis 47 Hash, Plain 33 Corned Beef 37 Syrian 141 Heads of Animals 47 Hominy 183 Honey : 189 Hop Buds 98 Hops 198 Hydrogen 9, 10, 11, 145 Iceland Moss 183 Ice Water 289 Indigestion 73 Intestinal 74 Stomach 76 Caused by Cold 89 Irish Moss 183 Composition of 183 Iron 13 Isinglass 198 Jelly Bag 199 To Wash 230 Jelly, Calf's Foot 82 ■Fruit 132 Adulterations of 133 Vegetable or Pectin 138 Lemon 83 Wine.. 88 Jelly Roll 838 Jumbles, No. 1 241 Kale 97 Kidney Sautfe 186 Stewed 851 Kneading, How and Why 114 Knives, to Keep 214 Of Steel, Why Blacken .. 216 Kohl-rabi 105 Koumiss 87, 134 Digestibility of •. . 134 Lactic Acid 133 Lactose 133 Lady Locks 56 Lamp, Davy's 10, 11 Larding 206 Larding Needle 206 Lai-doon 206 Leaven 114 Leban 87 To Make 92 '■ Left Overs " 846, 247, 248 Lentils 104 Lettuce 78, 81 Composition of 97 Lignite 6 Liver. 69 Braised 251 Loaf, Perfect 112 Lobster, To Boil and Open 159 When to Use.. 160 Coral 160 " Tomalley " 100 "Lady" 160 PASS Lobster, To Prepare 160 TiObster Chops 254 Macaroni, Baked 183 Cream 184 Mace .' 190 Mayonnaise 1P8, 830 Meat, Chemical Composition of . . . 23 Classed as 43 Tough 22 Basted with 23 To Warm Over 47 Pressed 26 Meringues ,..< 265 Microbes 47 To Cultivate 48 To Kill Ill Milk 49 Composition of 133 Nutrition and Digestibility of. . . 133 Boiled 133 As Food 168 Changed by Heat 177 Microbes in 178 To Pasteurize 178, 179 Adulterations of 245 Mince-Meat 156 Molasses 189 Morels 105 Muffins, English 154 Mrs. Beeton 's English 238 Mush 123 Oatmeal 124 Mushrooms 105 Mussels .,..,,... 153 In Season 163 To Prepare •. '. 163 Mustard..., 97 Mustard Flour 197 Adulterations of 245 Mustard Seeds 197 Mutton 39 To Divide and Cook 41, 44 Digestibility of 46 Nitrogen 71, 75 Nitrogenous Matter 69, 70, 72 Nutmegs 190 Nuts, Brazilian 87 ■ Nuts in Use 174 How They Grow 174 DigestibiUty of 174 Oat Flour 198 Oatmeal Mush 124 Oats 183 Nutritive Vahie 123 Oil 105 Digestibility of 106 Fixed and Volatile 105 In Fish 153 In Vegetables 106 Oil, Care of 138 Oils and Fats 145, 146 Oleomargarin 134 147 To Test 148 Omelet, Plain 191 Spanish 193 Omelet SoufBfi 193 Onions 38 INDEX. 281 PAGE Onions, Varietiesof 97 For Garnishing 54 To Obtain Juice from 97 Orange Baslcets 206 Osmazone <& Oysters 153 Wlien to Use 154 To Cream 57 To Fry 137 Fricassee of 166 To Stew 165 Panada 83 Pancreas 69 Paralysis 89 Parsnips 96 Paste, Plain 163 Puff 54 Pastry Bag 199 Pastry, Lightness Caused by 808 Patties, Shells tor 55 Peachtluice » 65 Peaches to Stew 38, 132 Pepper 190 varieties of 190 Peppercorns 190 Periwinkles 1 j3 Phosphorus -. 229 Phthisis 86 Pie, Chicken, Rabbit, Veal, Squirrel, Baked 857 Plants 93 To Keep 94 Plum Porridge 63 Plumbing, Correct 28 Pneumonia 61, 75 Poke Shoots 81 Pop Overs 154 Pork 39 To Divide and Cook 43, 44, 45 Digestibility of 46 Potatoes 95 Composition of 95 Why Heavy or Sodden 95 To Boil 96 To Fry 96 French Fried 136 Mashed 34 Stuffed 37 Potato Starch 198 Potpie 209 Poultry, To Truss and Bake. . .116, 170 To Thaw 199 Prawns 153, 162 To Prepare 162 Proteids ; .186, lf.7, 195 Prunes, To Stew 38, 132 Ptyalin 68 Puddings and Pies; Apple 165 Cranberrj' 165 Mince 256 Pumpkin 164 Batter Pudding with Cherries. . . 200 Chocolate 182 Cream Chocolate 866 Ginger, Miss N.'ft "843 Lemon Custard. , , S5S Puddings and Pies; page Iced Rice Pudding with Compote of Oranges 269 New Century 200 Newport 267 Plum Pudding, English 866 Puff Balls, Mrs. Marshall's 839 Snow 203 Suet 844 Wafer SOI Quill, To Make 20 Rabbits 173 Baked in Pie 25? Racahout 66, 181 Blanc Mange 66 Powder 65 Range 4 Refrigerator gjs Rennet ,, 817 Rheumatism 78 Rice 124 To Boil 184 Rice k 1 Imperatrice 2.37 Rolls, Vienna 248 Roastii^, Proper Method 29 Roast, Rib 17 Rusks 49, 308 Kye 188 Rye Bread 188 Rye Mush 67 Saccharine 112 Sago 181 Salads; Ham, Mrs. Marshall's 839 Russian S3 Swedish 53 Tomato Aspic. 837 Turkey in Aspic 51 Salad Dressings; French 53, 198 Mayonnaise 58, 198 Salamander 199 Salep 66 Salsify 96 Salt 189, 828 ■ When to Add 46 Samp 123 Sand Tarts 211 Sauces; Meat and Fish. Bfichamel 136 Brown 108 Caper 2 i Cream 36 Drawn Butter 175 Giblet 117 HoUandaise 2,50 Mushroom 249 Tartare 254 Tomato 24 Sauces: Pudding. Fairy or Nun's Butter 801 Foamy 201 Hard 200 Montrose : 870 Our Cooking School 266 Vanilla 202 Sauerkraut 104 Saut^ing , 31 283 INDEX. PAOE Scallops 162 To Prepare 163 Scarlet Fever 90 Schmierk&se 184 To Make 135 Scrofula 89 Seeds, Leguminous 216 Shrimps 133, 168 To Boil and Open 162 To Prepare 162 Silver, To Scour 213 Simmering Point 23 Skin 71, 72 Sorrel 97 Souse 45 Soup: Black Bean 101 Bouillon 217 Consommg 218 Cream of Potato 101 Mock Bisque 219 Mock Turtle 219 Oxtail 219 Pepper Pot 221 A fa Reine 221 Tomato with Stock 98 Tomato without Stock 99 Turkish 99 Vegetable, Clear 100 Vegetable without Meat 17 Soup Stock 16 Spinach 80 Composition of 97 To Cook 174 Stains, To Remove: Fruit 213 Grass 213 Grease 214 Oil on Wood 230 Starch 93, 208 Forms of 94 Affected by Heat 1C6 Starches and Ferments 110, 111 Starvation: 229 St(!ak, to Broil 83 Steapsin 69 Stomach 69 Indigestion 169 Stove 4 Suet 46 Suet in Milk 92 Sugar 15, 119, 120 Various Kinds 188 How Adulterated 188 To Clarify 189 To Dissolve 15 To Tell Cane Sugar from Glucose 188 Sweetbreads 45 A la Bfichamel 258 Baked, Served with Peas 259 Syrian Bread 139 Syrian Cabbage Rolls 140 Syrian Hash 141 Syrian Sweets 141, 142 Syrup 189 Table Serving..823, 884, 225, 826,227, 228 Tannin 88 PAOE Tapioca 181 Tea.... 179 To Make 180 Tea, Cinnamon RT ' Terrapin 169 Varieties of 169 To Boil and Open 169 Philadelphia Stewed 258 Maryland Method 170 Test for Starch 104 Timbale, Chicken 236 Swedish 237 Tin, To Scour 214 Toast, Cream 83 Toast, Dry 83 Milk 83 Tripe 45 To Pi-epare and Boil 126 To Stew 126 Trituration 69 Truffles 105 Truffle Needle 206 Trussing Needle 206 Turkey, To Select 170 ' Galantine of 172 Turmeric 191 Turnips, Composition 96 For Garnishmg 54 Stewed , 37 Trypsin 69 Typhoid Fever 74, 75, 81 Utensils, Best , 13 Cleaning 14 Necessary 12, 13 Vanilla 199 To Make Sugar 199 Veal 39 To Divide and Cook 42 Digestibility of 46 Veal Cutlets 24 Vegetables, to Cook 20 Venison 173 To Prepare 173 Ventilation 19,20, 88, 29 Vinegar '. . . .130, 229 Mother of. 230 Vol-auVent 57 WafiBes, Plain 154 Water.... 1,5 To Make Hard 20 To Make Soft 21 Bubbles Caused. 21, 22 Apple , „ 84 Tbast 85 Weeds, Edible 216 Welsh Rarebit 185 Wheat Cracked 67 Wheat Grain lofl Wheat Granules 66 Whey 317 Windows, To Clean 214 Wine, Mulled 62 Wine Whey 90 Yeast J j3 Yeast Plant, to Grow 120, 121, 189 Yeast with Molasses 217 Zinc 14