English and French cookery

Baking1 Powder. — Sir Henry Thompson gives the following as ‘a simple and excellent formula,’ which has been long used : Tartaric acid, 2 ounces ; bicarbonate of soda, 3 ounces ; arrowroot, 3 ounces. Mix thoroughly ; place in a wide-mouthed cork bottle, and keep perfectly dry. Blancmange. — (1) 4 tablespoonfuls, or 3 ounces, of Oswego Prepared Corn to 1 quart of milk, 2 eggs. Dissolve the prepared corn in a little milk. Put into the remainder of the milk 4 ounces sugar, a little salt, a piece of lemon-rind or cinnamon stick, and heat to near boiling. Then add the mixed prepared corn, and boil (stirring briskly) 4 minutes ; take out the rind, and pour into a mould or cup, and stand until cold. When turned out, pour round any kind of stewed or preserved fruits, or a sauce of milk and sugar. Be careful not to use more of the corn than is directed. — (2) Dissolve in a little cold water 1 ounce Petroleum Oil Stoves are the cheapest, safest, and most efficient way of cooking known. Pastry done in Wright and Butler’s Patent Stoves is much nicer and more digestible than if done in ordinary ranges. One gentleman writes that 1 ho can now eat pastry.’ Illustrated Catalogue free from Wright and Butler, Limited, Birmingham. — See Advertisement. isinglass or Nelson's gelatine, and pour over it 1 pint boiling milk. Stir till quite dissolved. Simmer 2 ounces sweet and 1 ounce bitter almonds in an additional i pint milk or cream, until pleasantly flavoured. Sweeten to taste ; then mix with the dissolved gelatine. Strain into a mould, and leave till cold, or freeze. Garnish. — (3) Stir | pound of Marshall's semolina into 1£ pints milk. Add 2 ounces sugar, a small piece of butter, and a little lemon or other flavouring. Boil for 3 minutes, and pour into a mould. Leave to cool. Turn out and serve with jelly or stewed fruit. May be varied by using water instead of milk, with the addition of \ pound red currant jelly for flavouring and to colour the shape. Should be served with milk or cream. Black Currant Jelly. — To each pint of juice obtained, after pressing and straining, from well- ripened fruit, allow 1 pound preserving sugar. When the juice has come to the boil, skim well, and add the sugar ; stir steadily till the sugar entirely disappears, and boil, not simmer, for, say, 10 minutes, or until thick enough, which can be ascertained by dropping some on a cold plate. When cold, put into pots for use, and fasten down with adhesive jam -papers. N.B. — The white of egg will make ordinary writing-paper adhere. Cheesecakes, Lemon. — 1 pound sifted sugar, the juice of 2 lemons, with the peel finely grated, a small piece of butter about the size of a walnut, and 2 eggs. Beat the whole into a paste ; a little of it put into puff -paste makes a nice side-dish for a supper.