A manual of home-making

18 generally tboup;lit. If handled skillfully in the preparai the product*? are not only satisfactory but excellent. Tests for the use of mutton fat gave the following results *' It would make for ec*onomy if mutton fat were more monly used in the kitchen. For this reason, te^sts were made of difTerent ways of nKxlifying the flavor so that the mutton fai, might be more generally used in cooking. The most satisfy tor>^ method foimd was to nnx some leaf lard wnth the suet ani render with milk* The sunt and leaf lard mixture was fin* divided l*y passing it ihrougli a meat grinder, and Wfis hentod in a double toiler with almut one-half of its weight of whole mlLk, The fat was quickly released from the tissues, and, when &] lowed to cool, formed a cake on the surface of the liquid, whirl wiis easily removed. Mutton suet and leaf lard, fresli nnd good quality, 'tried out' in this way, posscsseil little, if any, of the charact eristic mutton odor antl flavor. The best results were obtaine<l with a mixture of two parts of mutton suet and one of leaf lard, finely ground, rendered with whole milk in pro- portion of ono-half pint to two pounds of the mbcetl mutton and lard. This fat had an exceptionally good odor and flavor, which it retained when kept for weeks in an ordinary refrigerator. It w^as also of gmxl color and texture, being softer than the mut ton fat alone, owing to the milk fat and lard which it contait»e<K If such fats are rendered in an open kettle, a inoiieratc hea is desirable, since they 'bum out ' very readily. Rendering in double boiler is much more convenient. In numerous test such fat proved satisfactory either alone or with a little but for use in cooking vegetables and for other purposes." Clarified fat Various methods are used to clarify fat. A pinch of bakinit^ 80<la whitens the fat and also helps to keep it swt^t. Baking * LttogwortUy, C. F., mid Hunt, Curoline L. Mutton and its Value im tbr Dirt. Farmers' Bull 52C, U. S. Dept. of Agr, ? of fa|_ b Uc. ::| MEAT AND POULTRY 523 80(la is used to wluteii lard in the proportion of about IH ounces to 100 pounds of lard. It is stirred into the hot lard after the crai'klinj^s are strained out. The following direi'tiona may be founti useful in clarifying fat:* ''Excepting when the purpose of clarif>ing fat is to remove flavors, a good melhod to follow is to pour boiling water over the fat, to l>oil tiiorougldy, and then to set it away to cool. The cold fat may be removed in a solid cake antl any impurities clinging to it may be scraped off, as they will l>e found at the bottom of the layer. By repeating this process two or three times a cake of clean, white fat may be ol>tained/' "A slight burned taste or similar objectionable flavors often can be removed from fat by means of potatoes. After melting the fat, put into it thick shces of raw potatoes; heat gradually. When the fat ceases to bubble and the potatoes are brown ^ strain through a cloth placed in a wire strainer/' Savory fat,1i