At the risk of repetition, it cannot be too strongly impressed on the amateur confectioner that real success depends in the very greatest degree on the quality and freshness of the materials used, and, though such excel- lence may apparently add to the expense in the beginning, it is really the truest economy in the end. The eggs used should be of the freshest, and should always be broken separately before adding them to the mixture to avoid the least risk of one being unsatisfactory, and so spoiling the batch. Even preserved eggs are to be avoided in delicate pastry-baking, as they are apt to acquire a strawey taste, which is destructive to the flavour of delicate cakes. There is a knack in egg-beating, which, however, is speedily acquired. To whip the whites break the eggs carefully into a bowl, being very particular to remove the “ speck,” and not to allow the smallest drop of yolk to get in ; then whisk steadily with a wire whisk or a Dover egg-beater (the latter takes the least time) till they are in a dry stiff froth. As soon as the whites have reached the proper stiffness stop beating at once (or they will become curdled and broken- looking, and will make anything to which they are added close and heavy) ; you will know when this stage is reached, as the froth will stand up in points as the whisk is drawn out, or if, as many cooks do, you use a knife for whisking, stop beating directly you can cut the mixture cleanly with the knife. At this stage, if the froth is to be used for meringue, add in the caster sugar very lightly, rather folding than beating it in. Always whisk eggs in a cool place, for the colder and fresher the eggs the quicker will they beat to a stiff froth. To beat the yolks, put them into a basin and whip them with a fork or a whisk till the yolks become quite light, will drop clean from the whisk without strings, and are of a lemon colour. This is the time to add in the CAKE DECORATION, &c. 189 sugar, and the two should be stirred together till the mixture becomes light and creamy. Remember when adding eggs to a cake mixture only to add them two or three at a time, or they will curdle and suddenly thin the mixture. Each lot should be well mixed in before adding the next. As the freshness of eggs is of such importance, it is well to give a method of testing them : I. Encircle the e™ with your finger and thumb, and then hold it up to the light ; if the egg is clear and transparent it is all right, but if cloudy or dark in patches it is, to say the least, suspicious ; any way, with bought eggs especially, always break each separately into a basin before mixing it with the rest of the materials. II. Dissolve 2oz. kitchen salt in a pint of warm water in a basin, and when this solution is cold put in the eggs to be tested. A new laid egg will sink at once to the bottom and stay there ; if a day or two old it will sink and then rise a little off the bottom ; if three days old it will float half way between the bottom and the surface ; getting nearer and nearer to the surface the staler it is, till what is called the “ shop egg ” will project right out of the water.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

At the risk of repetition, it cannot be too strongly impressed on the amateur confectioner that real success depends in the very greatest degree on the quality and freshness of the materials used, and, though such excellence may apparently add to the expense in the beginning, it is really the truest economy in the end. The eggs used should be of the freshest, and should always be broken separately before adding them to the mixture to avoid the least risk of one being unsatisfactory, and so spoiling the batch. Even preserved eggs are to be avoided in delicate pastry-baking, as they are apt to acquire a strawey taste, which is destructive to the flavour of delicate cakes. There is a knack in egg-beating, which, however, is speedily acquired. To whip the whites break the eggs carefully into a bowl, being very particular to remove the “ speck,” and not to allow the smallest drop of yolk to get in ; then whisk steadily with a wire whisk or a Dover egg-beater (the latter takes the least time) till they are in a dry stiff froth. As soon as the whites have reached the proper stiffness stop beating at once (or they will become curdled and brokenlooking, and will make anything to which they are added close and heavy) ; you will know when this stage is reached, as the froth will stand up in points as the whisk is drawn out, or if, as many cooks do, you use a knife for whisking, stop beating directly you can cut the mixture cleanly with the knife. At this stage, if the froth is to be used for meringue, add in the caster sugar very lightly, rather folding than beating it in. Always whisk eggs in a cool place, for the colder and fresher the eggs the quicker will they beat to a stiff froth. To beat the yolks, put them into a basin and whip them with a fork or a whisk till the yolks become quite light, will drop clean from the whisk without strings, and are of a lemon colour. This is the time to add in the CAKE DECORATION, &c. sugar, and the two should be stirred together till the mixture becomes light and creamy. Remember when adding eggs to a cake mixture only to add them two or three at a time, or they will curdle and suddenly thin the mixture. Each lot should be well mixed in before adding the next. As the freshness of eggs is of such importance, it is well to give a method of testing them : I. Encircle the egg with your finger and thumb, and then hold it up to the light ; if the egg is clear and transparent it is all right, but if cloudy or dark in patches it is, to say the least, suspicious ; any way, with bought eggs especially, always break each separately into a basin before mixing it with the rest of the materials. II. Dissolve 2oz. kitchen salt in a pint of warm water in a basin, and when this solution is cold put in the eggs to be tested. A new laid egg will sink at once to the bottom and stay there ; if a day or two old it will sink and then rise a little off the bottom ; if three days old it will float half way between the bottom and the surface ; getting nearer and nearer to the surface the staler it is, till what is called the “ shop egg ” will project right out of the water.

Bread, cakes, and biscuits