Cookery for every household

Frying Fat. — When after frequent use fat becomes brown and discoloured, it can be clarified in the following manner : Melt the fat and pour it into a large basin half full of warm water. Stir well to wash the fat, and put it aside to cool. When cold, the fat will have risen and formed a cake on the top of the water. Lift this off, scrape away any sediment which may lie underneath, wipe the fat dry, and put it aside for future use. The water may be poured away, as it was simply used for cleaning purposes and contains nothing of value. Dripping. — When a joint of meat has been roasted, the fat or dripping which runs from it should be carefully preserved, as this is one of the most valuable materials in the kitchen. Pour it from the roasting tin into a jar or basin containing about a cupful of hot water. When cold, the cake of dripping may be removed, and will be found useful for many purposes; while the water underneath, which will contain some of the juice from the meat, can be used in place of stock. 3068. To Clarify Butter Put some good salt butter into a small lined saucepan, and bring it slowly to the boil. Let it simmer gently a few minutes, then draw the saucepan to the side of the fire, and allow it to stand until the butter has ceased to bubble. Now remove all froth from the top with an iron spoon, and pour the clear oil into a dish ready for use, leaving the sediment in the saucepan. 3069. To Make White Bread-crumbs The simplest way to make these is to rub some rather stale bread through a wire sieve. Some cooks make them on a grater, but these are never so smooth and even. When crumbs have been used for egging and bread-crumbing, they should be re-sieved before being put away. 3070. To Make Browned Bread-crumbs Break some stale bread, or crusts of bread, into small rough pieces, put them on a baking tin, and bake them in a cool oven until brown and crisp. A good plan is to put the bread in the oven when the fire is going down in the evening, and to allow it to remain all night, as the more slowly it is dried the better. Crush the dried bread in a mortar, or on a sheet of paper with an old rolling-pin, or with a bottle filled with water, and when reduced to crumbs pass them through a wire sieve. These crumbs are useful for various purposes in cookery; if the bread is only slightly coloured, they will do very well for egging and bread-crumbing, and are more economical than fresh white crumbs. Dried crumbs should be stored in a tin box, or in a jar with a lid. 3071. Baking Powder, 1 2 oz. tartaric acid. I 2 oz. rice flour or ground 2 oz. carbonate of soda. | rice. The ingredients used, should be fresh and of the best quality. Pass them twice through a fine MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES wire sieve, in order to mix them thoroughly and make them free from lumps. Then put the mixture into a dry tin lined with paper, or into a glass jar with a good stopper, and store in a dry place. 3072. Baking Powder, 2 | lb. cream of tartar. I § lb. ground rice. £ lb. carbonate of soda. | Mix and store as in preceding recipe. 3073. To Preserve Eggs 2 qts. quicklime. I \ oz. cream of tartar. I lb. coarse salt. I 50 eggs. 1 gallon -water.