FoodNet

The complete Indian housekeeper & cook

1898

Page 78

Presented as published in 1898. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
13. Rennet Curd or pure Casein Rennet.— Set three quarts of milk as for Devonshire cream, stand till every particle of cream has liseii. Skim Ccirefully. Add two tablespoons of vinegar to the niiJk^ and heat till it curds tlioroiii^lily. Al^asli the curd in several waters, kneading it thoroughly. Dress, dry, and powder. This is neaily puie casein, hut can he made purer still by dissolving' the povvder for twelve hours in a weak solution of carbonate of soda and then throwing it down again by adding sufficient vinegar. 14. Rennet, Essence of.— Is generally bought, hut, as a rule it IS only a solution of pepsine, which can be made at home. lunii or lUllKOt. II II4 The Complete Indian In regard to the diseases of cows it may be remarked that they are somewhat delicate animals, especially when artifici- ally fed, and that even slight ailments require to be promj)tly alleviated. Even imperfect digestion on the part of the cow cannot fail to render its milk less wholesome for consumption. The following facts will be useful in diagnosing any variation from the normal : — In health the cow’s temperature is from 100 to 102 degrees. The pulse, which is most conveniently felt (as in the horse) at the angle of the lower jaw, or just behind the fetlock in the metacarpal vein, beats about forty-six beats a minute in the adult animal. The resj)iration is fifteen per minute, and, as a rule, is very regular and deliberate. The cow goes 284 days in calf as a ride. In England it is con- sidered bad management if she does not calve every eleven months. In India, to ensure anything approaching this, the very strictest orders are necessary. The following is a brief list of the more ordinary ailments of both cows and calves, with apj^ropriate remedies 1. Calving. — Give oil-cake or the cliief grain food for a mouth before calving. It is laxative. As a rule, there is little trouble in the actual calving, and it is only necessary to give warm drinks for a day or two after calving, and keep the cow from chill. Sometimes, but not often, it is necessary to give an aperient, or an ergot of rye drench if the cleansing is not all right. 2. Chill. — Cows are very liable to chill and slight fever or shivering. Keep warmly clad, and give 1 wcrhot linseed gruel, in which 4 a chittack ginger and ujwuiri, and 1 chittavk (joor, have been boiled. Add 1 teacup country sjiirit if necessary. 8. Cud, Loss of. — Generally a symptom of the approach of other disease. If no seipiel comes on, treat by mild purgatives and the alterative powder. 4. Diarrhoea. — Change the food. Give a full dose of castor oil, and then the recipe for diarrhoea in calves, only four times the (juantity. 5. Diminution of Milk, sudden. — .Another constant fore- runner of active disease. If wlien this occurs causelessly the cow aiijicars sluggish, give 1 <)/.. nitre and 4 oz. powdered suljihur shaken u]t in a (|uart bottle of water. Housekeeper and Cook 115