Method. Stir vigorously whilst sprinkling coarse grains into boiling salted water, stir and cook five minutes. Then cook ina double boiler, without stirring, from 1 to 4 hours, or overnight. People’s tastes differ as to the length of time they like oatmeal porridge cooked. Fine, granular cereals are first mixed to a liquid with twice as much cold water as cereal used, add this to the boiling salted water, stir and cook five minutes and finish by cooking 30 minutes in double boiler. Serving. Serve porridge with cold or hot milk, or cream. Dates or raisins may be added to porridge, especially cream of wheat. Sliced bananas or other fruit are also served separately with porridge. Boiled Rice. quarts water. I cupenice: 4 tablespoon salt. Look over rice to detect chaff, wash it well and add slowly to fast boiling, salted water. Boil quickly 12 to 15 minutes. Test a large grain; it should be soft, but slightly firm. Pour rice into a strainer, pour over boiling water to separate the grains; return to the saucepan and dry at the back of range with the lid off, or place strainer in oven with the door open. Stir rice with a fork whilst drying to keep the grains separate. Serve as a vegetable or with curry, or with stewed fruits. Steamed Rice. 1 cup rice. 1. tsp. sale : 4 cups (about) boiling water. Examine rice and wash well, sprinkle slowly in fast boiling, salted water (use top part of double saucepan). Stir with a fork and boil 3 minutes, then place over boiling water, cover and steam from 45 to 60 minutes. Serve as a vegetable or sweet, or with cheese. Half milk and water may be used if preferred. 22 GIRLS’ HOME MANUAL CHAPTER VII. STARCH Source. Starch is found in most vegetable foods, particularly in cereals and potatoes. Laundry starch is prepared from rice, wheat, Indian corn, and potatoes. Cornmeal is prepared from Indian corn; arrowroot, the purest form of starch, from the stem of a West Indian plant; tapioca from the roots of a South American plant; and sago from the pith of the sago palm tree. Rice is 76 per cent. starch. Animal starch is found in some meat and fish, ex.: liver of meat and oysters. Nature. As seen under a microscope, starch powder is made up of minute grains, each starch grain consists of layers of cellulose and layers of pure starch. These grains, differ in size and shape in different plants. “They are held together by a cellulose framework. Food Value. Starch is a valuable food. It provides heat and energy, and is a cheaper fuel food than fat, and yields its heat more quickly. Starchy foods should be eaten with food rich in protein and fat, such as eggs and milk; ex., rice pudding. Effects of Cooking. Starch is insoluble in cold water, this merely separates the grains and prevents lumping. Sugar or butter will separate them also. When boiling water is poured on the grains, they swell up and burst the cellulose envelope and the true starch escapes from between the layers of cellulose and forms with the water a thick, jelly-like substance. The cellulose is also softened. If dry heat be applied to starch, it changes it to dextrine, a gummy substance more digestible than starch. This is what occurs on the crust of a loaf of bread. Digestion of Starch. Cellulose and raw starch are incapable of digestion, therefore it is very important that all foods containing these should be thor- oughly cooked either in boiling liquid or by dry heat, and that time should be allowed for the heat to reach the centre of such starchy foods as potatoes. All starch must be changed into sugar by the digestive system before it is of use to the body, and unless thoroughly cooked the digestive system cannot make this change. Sauces for Vegetables and Fish.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Method. Stir vigorously whilst sprinkling coarse grains into boiling salted water, stir and cook five minutes. Then cook ina double boiler, without stirring, from 1 to 4 hours, or overnight. People’s tastes differ as to the length of time they like oatmeal porridge cooked. Fine, granular cereals are first mixed to a liquid with twice as much cold water as cereal used, add this to the boiling salted water, stir and cook five minutes and finish by cooking 30 minutes in double boiler. Serving. Serve porridge with cold or hot milk, or cream. Dates or raisins may be added to porridge, especially cream of wheat. Sliced bananas or other fruit are also served separately with porridge. Boiled Rice. 2 quarts water. 1 cup rice. 4 tablespoon salt. Look over rice to detect chaff, wash it well and add slowly to fast boiling, salted water. Boil quickly 12 to 15 minutes. Test a large grain; it should be soft, but slightly firm. Pour rice into a strainer, pour over boiling water to separate the grains; return to the saucepan and dry at the back of range with the lid off, or place strainer in oven with the door open. Stir rice with a fork whilst drying to keep the grains separate. Serve as a vegetable or with curry, or with stewed fruits. Steamed Rice. 1 cup rice. 1 tsp. salt. 4 cups (about) boiling water. Examine rice and wash well, sprinkle slowly in fast boiling, salted water (use top part of double saucepan). Stir with a fork and boil 3 minutes, then place over boiling water, cover and steam from 45 to 60 minutes. Serve as a vegetable or sweet, or with cheese. Half milk and water may be used if preferred. STARCH Source. Starch is found in most vegetable foods, particularly in cereals and potatoes. Laundry starch is prepared from rice, wheat, Indian corn, and potatoes. Cornmeal is prepared from Indian corn; arrowroot, the purest form of starch, from the stem of a West Indian plant; tapioca from the roots of a South American plant; and sago from the pith of the sago palm tree. Rice is 76 per cent. starch. Animal starch is found in some meat and fish, ex.: liver of meat and oysters. Nature. As seen under a microscope, starch powder is made up of minute grains, each starch grain consists of layers of cellulose and layers of pure starch. These grains, differ in size and shape in different plants. “They are held together by a cellulose framework. Food Value. Starch is a valuable food. It provides heat and energy, and is a cheaper fuel food than fat, and yields its heat more quickly. Starchy foods should be eaten with food rich in protein and fat, such as eggs and milk; ex., rice pudding. Effects of Cooking. Starch is insoluble in cold water, this merely separates the grains and prevents lumping. Sugar or butter will separate them also. When boiling water is poured on the grains, they swell up and burst the cellulose envelope and the true starch escapes from between the layers of cellulose and forms with the water a thick, jelly-like substance. The cellulose is also softened. If dry heat be applied to starch, it changes it to dextrine, a gummy substance more digestible than starch. This is what occurs on the crust of a loaf of bread. Digestion of Starch. Cellulose and raw starch are incapable of digestion, therefore it is very important that all foods containing these should be thoroughly cooked either in boiling liquid or by dry heat, and that time should be allowed for the heat to reach the centre of such starchy foods as potatoes. All starch must be changed into sugar by the digestive system before it is of use to the body, and unless thoroughly cooked the digestive system cannot make this change. Sauces for Vegetables and Fish.

Girl's home manual of cookery, home management, home nursing and laundry