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

STEAMED AND BAKED PUDDINGS 15 STEAMED AND BAKED PUDDINGS Steaming. Steaming is cooking in the steam coming from boiling water. It is an excellent method of cooking for cereals, vegetables and many puddings, and is superior to boiling for cooking fish and meat as no nutrients are lost in the water. Time. Allow rather more time for cooking by steam than water. Steamer. A tin steamer with perforated bottom, and with sides 6 to 8 inches high may be made to fit any saucepan. There should be no escape of water vapour from the steamer. A strip of dough, or a clean cloth, folded around a poor-fitting steamer or lid will prevent this loss of heat. Steamers with four sections may now be bought for about three dollars. They are made so that no flavour from one section can reach another, and a whole dinner may be cooked in the one vessel, Puddings. If a steamer is not available, puddings may be steamed in a bowl standing in a saucepan with boiling water coming only half way up the sides of the bowl. A kettle of boiling water should always be at hand to fill up the saucepan as the water boils away. Fish and Meat. Small pieces of fish and meat may be steamed between two buttered plates over a saucepan of boiling water. The plates should be inverted at half time, to cook both sides of food equally. The inner part of a double saucepan may also be used. In this case the heat of the surrounding water cooks the food. Suet Crust. 3. cups flour. YZ tsp. salt. 1 cup suet (chopped). 144 cups (about) cold water or milk. 3. tsp. baking powder. To Prepare Suet. Remove all skin and cysts from suet, flour it well (use the flour to go in pudding) and shave the suet in fine shreds, add more of the flour to keep it dry and chop until like fine breadcrumbs. Mix flour, suet, salt and baking powder together, add cold water to mix to a stiff dough. Roll to shape required. This pastry mixed a little moister and steamed two hours in a bowl makes a good, plain, wholesome pudding. Serve hot with golden syrup. Meat or Fruit Pudding with Suet Crust. Use the above quantities for a quart earthen bowl. Cut off two-thirds of paste, rool it to a circle large enough to line the bowl, which should be first greased. Bring the paste well up to the edges of bowl. Fill the bowl with prepared apples, blackberries or rhubarb, or meat with seasonings and water. Dampen the edges of the paste. Roll out the remaining third of pastry to exactly fit the top of the bowl, make the edges secure by rolling the double edges over. Cover with a greased paper. Steam fruit pudding 3 hours, meat pudding 4 hours. -See directions for preparing meat under Beef Steak Pudding. Roly Poly. Roll out suet crust to a long strip, spread with jam, golden syrup or a mixture of chopped apple, sugar, currants and a little nutmeg. Take care not to spread these too near the edge. Dampen edges, roll up the pastry, make the ends and sides secure by folding double. Place roly poly in a scalded and floured pudding cloth, or a large sheet of greased paper, tie with string. Steam two hours or longer. Variations of Suet Crust. Ginger Pudding. 1 cup suet (chopped). 1 tsp. soda. 3 cups flour. 1/2 cup molasses. 1/4 tsp. salt. 1 1/2 cups milk or water. 1 tsp. ginger. Prepare and chop suet, add to flour, salt, and ginger sifted together. Mix molasses with soda, add the milk and mix with dry ingredients. Steam three hours in a greased mould. Serve with sweet sauce. Fruit and Spice Pudding. 1 cup suet (chopped). % tsp. allspice. 3. cups flour. Y tsp. salt. 1% cup sugar. 1 cup chopped dates, raisins or figs. % tsp. nutmeg. 1% cup molasses. % tsp. cloves. 1 tsp. soda. Y% tsp. cinnamon. 1% cups milk.