I said that the gridiron should be held slantwise over the fire, and the object of this is that the fat which drops from the meat should run downwards instead of dropping into the fire, where it would be likely to make a smoky flare. This flare is not entirely objectionable, because it helps to harden the outside of the meat. If, however, there should be too much of it, the gridiron should be lifted up for a minute and a little salt sprinkled upon the coal, and this will do as much as anything to get rid of the blaze. As to the time that a steak✪ Broiled Steak will take to broil, it is im- The Gridiron. 37 possible to speak exactly. If the steak were an inch thick, and the fire fierce and clear, and the gridiron were placed from two to five inches above the embers, and the steak were turned every two minutes, perhaps it would be safe to say it would take twelve minutes. But experience alone can decide this for a certainty, and there are details which must cause variation. What is wanted is that the steak should look a ver>’ dark brown, almost black, outside, and a deep red, not blue, within. If when pressed the meat feels perfectly firm without being hard, it is most likely done. All that now remains is to raise the steak from the gridiron for a minute to let the fat drop from it, put it on a hot dish, and send it to table hot. It will be a dish fit for a king. Broiling is sometimes carried on before, instead of over a fire. The arrangement is necessary because with some closed ranges it cannot be done any other way. The sam.e precautions need to be observed in the one case as in the other. And now we have gone through the five principal processes of cookery. I have tried to describe them to you clearly, and I hope I have succeeded in showing you not only that we should do so and so, but why we should do it. A little later I hope to go further into detail on the subject, and to give one or two particulars as to the cooking of various dishes. In all of them, however, we must remember to carry out these useful general principles. If any departure from them is desirable, there is a reason for the change, and it will be well worth our while to find out what this is. There is a good deal of talk at the present time about the higher education of women, and girls now pursue studies that would never have been dreamt of twenty-five years ago. I am very glad of it. I hope the result will be that they will do their work in the world better than their mothers and grandmothers have done before them. Judging by those of my own acquaintance, I believe the girls of to-day are earnest in purpose and wish to make the most of their opportunities. But amongst these other studies, I do hope they will take an interest in, and endeavour to obtain a knowledge of, cookery and needle- work. Latin and mathematics may strengthen their ill” 38 The Girl’s Owft Cookery Book. minds, and enable them to take broader views of things, and so make them intelligent companions and friends ; but cookery and needlework will teach them to do a woman’s special work ; which is to provide for the comforts of every-day life, and thus to render home happy. VII. PUDDINGS.

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I said that the gridiron should be held slantwise over the fire, and the object of this is that the fat which drops from the meat should run downwards instead of dropping into the fire, where it would be likely to make a smoky flare. This flare is not entirely objectionable, because it helps to harden the outside of the meat. If, however, there should be too much of it, the gridiron should be lifted up for a minute and a little salt sprinkled upon the coal, and this will do as much as anything to get rid of the blaze. As to the time that a steak will take to broil, it is im- The Gridiron. 37 possible to speak exactly. If the steak were an inch thick, and the fire fierce and clear, and the gridiron were placed from two to five inches above the embers, and the steak were turned every two minutes, perhaps it would be safe to say it would take twelve minutes. But experience alone can decide this for a certainty, and there are details which must cause variation. What is wanted is that the steak should look a ver>’ dark brown, almost black, outside, and a deep red, not blue, within. If when pressed the meat feels perfectly firm without being hard, it is most likely done. All that now remains is to raise the steak from the gridiron for a minute to let the fat drop from it, put it on a hot dish, and send it to table hot. It will be a dish fit for a king. Broiling is sometimes carried on before, instead of over a fire. The arrangement is necessary because with some closed ranges it cannot be done any other way. The sam.e precautions need to be observed in the one case as in the other. And now we have gone through the five principal processes of cookery. I have tried to describe them to you clearly, and I hope I have succeeded in showing you not only that we should do so and so, but why we should do it. A little later I hope to go further into detail on the subject, and to give one or two particulars as to the cooking of various dishes. In all of them, however, we must remember to carry out these useful general principles. If any departure from them is desirable, there is a reason for the change, and it will be well worth our while to find out what this is. There is a good deal of talk at the present time about the higher education of women, and girls now pursue studies that would never have been dreamt of twenty-five years ago. I am very glad of it. I hope the result will be that they will do their work in the world better than their mothers and grandmothers have done before them. Judging by those of my own acquaintance, I believe the girls of to-day are earnest in purpose and wish to make the most of their opportunities. But amongst these other studies, I do hope they will take an interest in, and endeavour to obtain a knowledge of, cookery and needle- work. Latin and mathematics may strengthen their ill” 38 The Girl’s Owft Cookery Book. minds, and enable them to take broader views of things, and so make them intelligent companions and friends ; but cookery and needlework will teach them to do a woman’s special work ; which is to provide for the comforts of every-day life, and thus to render home happy. VII. PUDDINGS.

The girl's own cookery book