The use of oil requires the taking of some precautions ; every new portion of oil to be used should be heated for at least half an hour on a moderate fire, to avoid the rising of the oil and the loss of the fritter by ejection. This pheno- menon is perhaps due to the sudden evolution of water from one of the constituents at high temperatures. The evolutiou of this gas is promoted by agitating the hot oil — a.g., by dashing in a fine spray of water, which bursts explosively, and is called ‘ screaming the oil ’ — f.c., making it scream. It causes loss of oil, and the scattered CULINARY FATS AND THEIR COMPOSITION 283 droplets cause pain and blisters. It is not a logical pro- ceeding; A number of other animal fats and vegetable oils are used for cooking in many parts of the earth ; but they are not abundant, and not of refined taste. Nut, almond, and X)oi}py-oil, when fresh, are excellent. Other oils — such as colza, cotton-seed, etc. — can be purified so as to be of no particular taste ; they may be good nutriment, but they do not possess the essence of attraction which we term flavour. Eastern nations use much sesame-oil, the flavour of which is repugnant to Western palates. Cacao butter, of which much is isolated in the manufacture of certain descriptions of chocolate, might be used, but is practically neglected. Gocoanut-oil also furnishes a kind of butter, which has a very fine flavour when pure; but it is used more for soap-making than for culinary purposes. Dumas, in his Dictionary, curiously enough, speaks of lard with the contempt of a Mahometan or of an unin- formed person ; while under the article Cochon he quotes, with evident approval, the hyperbolic sentence of Grimod de la Eeyni^re ; ‘ Sans le cochon, point de lard, et par con- sequent, point de cuisine.’ Here it must be pointed out that the French word lard, in the first place, signifies bacon ; while what in England is termed lard, the fused, clarified, and recongealed fat of the hog, is by the French termed saindoux. The composition of animal fat tissues is complicated by the presence of membranes, and particularly of water, besides the fats. The fat tissue of the sheep varies much according to the part of the body from which it is taken. Thus, mutton suet (kidney fat) contains from 91 to 92 per cent, of pure fat, besides from 6 to 7 per cent, of water, and about 1 per cent, of membrane ; the fat fuses at from 50 to 52 C. The omentum (net, caul) contains 94 per cent, of fat, and from 5 to 7 per cent, of water, and only 0'7 to 284 THE SPIRET OF COOKERY 0‘9 per cent, of membrane. The fat tissue underneath the skin contains from 12 to 20 per cent, of water, and from 84 to 79 per cent, of pure fat, and from 3 to 4 per cent, of membrane. Good suet from the ox contains 91 to 95 per cent, of fat, 5 to 7 per cent, of water, and from 0-8 to IT per cent, of membrane. The fat from the breast or sternum (brisket fat) of sheep and oxen is richest in water, 15 to 30 per cent., contains from 4 to 5 per cent, of membrane, and 70 to

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The use of oil requires the taking of some precautions ; every new portion of oil to be used should be heated for at least half an hour on a moderate fire, to avoid the rising of the oil and the loss of the fritter by ejection. This phenomenon is perhaps due to the sudden evolution of water from one of the constituents at high temperatures. The evolution of this gas is promoted by agitating the hot oil — a.g., by dashing in a fine spray of water, which bursts explosively, and is called ‘ screaming the oil ’ — f.c., making it scream. It causes loss of oil, and the scattered CULINARY FATS AND THEIR COMPOSITION 283 droplets cause pain and blisters. It is not a logical proceeding; A number of other animal fats and vegetable oils are used for cooking in many parts of the earth ; but they are not abundant, and not of refined taste. Nut, almond, and Poppy-oil, when fresh, are excellent. Other oils — such as colza, cotton-seed, etc. — can be purified so as to be of no particular taste ; they may be good nutriment, but they do not possess the essence of attraction which we term flavour. Eastern nations use much sesame-oil, the flavour of which is repugnant to Western palates. Cacao butter, of which much is isolated in the manufacture of certain descriptions of chocolate, might be used, but is practically neglected. Coconut-oil also furnishes a kind of butter, which has a very fine flavour when pure; but it is used more for soap-making than for culinary purposes. Dumas, in his Dictionary, curiously enough, speaks of lard with the contempt of a Mahometan or of an uninformed person ; while under the article Cochon he quotes, with evident approval, the hyperbolic sentence of Grimod de la Reynière ; ‘ Sans le cochon, point de lard, et par consequent, point de cuisine.’ Here it must be pointed out that the French word lard, in the first place, signifies bacon ; while what in England is termed lard, the fused, clarified, and recongealed fat of the hog, is by the French termed saindoux. The composition of animal fat tissues is complicated by the presence of membranes, and particularly of water, besides the fats. The fat tissue of the sheep varies much according to the part of the body from which it is taken. Thus, mutton suet (kidney fat) contains from 91 to 92 per cent, of pure fat, besides from 6 to 7 per cent, of water, and about 1 per cent, of membrane ; the fat fuses at from 50 to 52 C. The omentum (net, caul) contains 94 per cent, of fat, and from 5 to 7 per cent, of water, and only 0'7 to 0‘9 per cent, of membrane. The fat tissue underneath the skin contains from 12 to 20 per cent, of water, and from 84 to 79 per cent, of pure fat, and from 3 to 4 per cent, of membrane. Good suet from the ox contains 91 to 95 per cent, of fat, 5 to 7 per cent, of water, and from 0-8 to IT per cent, of membrane. The fat from the breast or sternum (brisket fat) of sheep and oxen is richest in water, 15 to 30 per cent., contains from 4 to 5 per cent, of membrane, and 70 to

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