The encyclopaedia of practical cookery

Lard Cakes. — Rub 1 jib. of Lard and 6oz. of butter into 2lb. of Hour with h teaspoonful of salt mixed with it. Stir quickly to a stif paste with milk, and roll it out on a floured paste-board with a floured rolling-pin to fin. in thickness. Cut it into small cakes, and bake in a hot oven for ten or fifteen minutes. Lard Pastry. — For lib. of flour allow fib. of Lard; cut the Lard into thin slices, and roll each slice in a little of the flour; continue thus until all the Lard and flour are used, then mix in gradually sufficient very cold water to make a soft paste. Lay the paste on a floured cloth, and keep it in a very cold place for half-an-hour. Afterwards put it on a floured paste-board, and roll it out with a floured rolling-pin to the thickness of lin. Put the paste again on the floured cloth in a cold place and leave it for lialf-an hour longer. Roll the paste out very thinly, doubling it over six times. The paste should be touched as little as possible with the hands. LARDER. — It is rather a difficult problem to distinguish between the Larder and the pantry. According to its original meaning the Larder is that part of the culinary apartments set aside for preparing foods for cooking ; but custom has extended this signification until it represents the store-room for meats, poultry, and fish. The pantry takes its name from pain — bread, and should therefore be reserved for that and pastry ; but to the French cook all these together constitute the “office,” and are known to the German as the speisekammer. As the British Larder may be used for numerous purposes it should be in a very cool, airy position, with a good upper draught of air right through LARDING. — It has been suggested that larding is not for the poor, as it increases the cost of meat; but, as a matter of fact, larding enhances the nutritive value of fatless meat, and should rather be regarded as an addition to the economical working of the kitchen. The following instructions are very much to the point : Fig. 1043. Larding-needle. All that is required is a larding-needle (see Fig. 1043), which is a piece of steel from 6in. to 9in. long, pointed at one end and having four slits at the other to hold a small strip of bacon (lardoon) when put between them. Daubing is somewhat differently managed : A hole is made in the substance of the meat with Fig. 1044. Daubing-needle. a daubing-needle (see Fig. 1044), and a plug of bacon-fat is forced into the hole ; this is only done in large joints. Cut some tliin even slices, parallel with the rind, off a piece of young salted pork. Cut the slices into narrow strips to fit the larding-needle. For beef, veal, turkey or chicken, the strips should be about as large as a lead pencil, and about 3Jin. long ; for birds, sweetbreads and chops they should be about as large as a lucifer match. Three slices are all that can be cut from one piece of pork, as when cut more than lin. away from the rind, the fat is so tender that it will break in the needle. Put the strips in a basin and cover them with broken ice to harden. If veal or beef is to be larded, free it from all skin and gristle. Put a strip into the needle as far as it will go. With a sharp-pointed knife or a skewer, draw a line along both sides of the meat and along the upperpart.