Chambers's cookery for young housewives

When rice is required for this purpose, it should not be soft or pulpy as when boiled for puddings ; each grain should retain its perfect individual form, though swelled to nearly its fullest size. After washing the rice, put it into boilingwater, and let it boil quickly for about twelve minutes, or until it is tender, stirring occasionally with a fork. Just before it is ready, put in a table-spoonful of salt. Drain the rice in a colander ; then shake it gently out upon a doubled cloth, and lay it before the fire for a few minutes, with a fold of the cloth over it. By this means the water from the rice will be absorbed, and it will be ready for use. Pour it lightly into a separate dish, or place it like a wall round the curry. HOMINY PORRIDGE. Hominy. | Water. i pint milk. | Sugar. Hominy porridge is a staple breakfast dish in America, and is recommended for those who lead a sedentary life, or who are dyspeptic. Hominy is a fine kind of Indian corn, 138 CLARIFIED FAT. ground roughly like Scotch oatmeal. In order to make the porridge, the hominy should be soaked in cold water all night, and boiled for half an hour in the morning, stirring frequently to keep it from burning. It can be served and eaten with milk and sugar, or with skim-milk and golden syrup. TO RENDER DOWN OR CLARIFY FAT. Any pieces of beef, mutton, or bacon hit may be used ; also the shimmings from stock, &c. Cut the fat into small pieces, removing all burnt or discoloured scraps. As it is cut up, put it into an iron stew-pan, with enough cold water to cover it, place it over the fire without a lid, and let it boil ; stir with an iron spoon occasionally, and skim away the froth or scum as it rises to the surface. Let it boil fast until all the water has evaporated or passed off in steam. The pan must then be drawn to the side of the fire that the fat may melt gradually. During this operation stir frequently, to prevent it from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan. When each piece looks shrivelled, the fat is ready. Lift the pan from the fire on to a pot-rest, and let it stand for a few minutes to cool ; for if the fat be put into an earthen vessel while too hot, it will be liable to crack, if not to break it. When it has stood for about five minutes, strain the fat through a piece of muslin or an old sieve ; let it get cold, and it will be ready for use. When cold, it should be quite white and hard. Fat thus clarified will keep good for many months. The dried scraps may be used to flavour pea or lentil soup. They should be put in a piece of muslin, thrown into the soup while it is cooking, and removed before it is served. They impart a crisp and slightly-burnt flavour. Another method of utilising these scraps is to return them to the saucepan with a handful of oatmeal, pepper and salt to taste ; they should then be stirred over a brisk fire until the oatmeal is parched, and served with bread. This method is often adopted in the north during the cold months, and an appetising dish, and one which is much liked by children, is thus prepared at little cost. The chief and most valuable use of clarified fat is for wet-frying. Lard, oil, and dripping are also used for this purpose, but it is more economical to utilise scraps than PREPARED BREAD CRUMBS FOR COVERING FISH. 139