A Good Way to Dress Rice. — Soak the rice in
cold salt and water for an hour ; have ready a sauce¬
pan with boiling water, throw in the rice, and let it
boil briskly for ten minutes, then drain it in a colander.
Put it in the gas oven for a few minutes, and then
serve. The grains should be double the usual size,
and quite distinct from each other.
Potatoes. — Potatoes should always be first boiled
a little before being put into stews, etc., as the first
water in which they are cooked is of a poisonous
quality.
To Brown Flour. — Take the quantity of flour re¬
quired to be browned, put it into a frying-pan (kept for
the purpose) and hold it over the gas, shaking it con¬
tinually, until it is sufficiently brown, then put It into
a jar, with a paper tied tightly over it. Shake it from
time to time to prevent it caking.
To Prevent the Odour Rising in Boiling Greens
and Cabbage, etc. — Place on the top of the water a
thick slice of well toasted bread. The toast will absorb
GAS COOKERY BOOK.
24I
the unpleasant odours, which generally have an awk¬
ward way of sending their perfume all over the house.
Important to Cooks and Persons Eating Cab¬
bage. — If some common salt be put into the water
when washing cabbages and greens preparatory to
cooking them, the snails, slugs, worms, etc., which
they contain will leave the cabbages, etc., and fall to
the bottom, so that they need not be boiled with the
vegetables. It is impossible to wash them out except
the cabbages have been taken to pieces, although
many persons like to have them served up whole.
To Clarify Dripping. — Put the dripping into a
saucepan and let it come nearly to the boil ; pour it
off into a basin of boiling water ; stir it up three or four
times, and when cold remove the dripping to the vessel
it is to be kept in, and the impurities will remain in
the water. Lard may be clarified the same way.
If it is not clear enough, repeat the process again,
or even twice if necessary.
To Neutralise the Acid in Fruit Pies and Puddings.
— A large quantity of the free acids which exist in
rhubarb, gooseberries, currants, and other fruits, may
be judiciously corrected by the use of a small quantity
of carbonate of soda, without in the least affecting their
flavour, so long as too much soda is not added. To
any ordinary size pie or pudding as much soda may
be added as will cover a sixpence, or even twice such
a quantity if the fruit is very sour. This way a vast
quantity of sugar will be saved.
Cooking Vegetables. — The choice of water is very
important owing to the different effects produced in
their texture by hard and soft water. For this reason
salt is added to raise the temperature of the water
when greens are boiled.
9
242
THE HOUSEHOLD
X
PERSONAL HINTS.
To Make the Hair Glossy. — Rub it night and
morning with an old white silk handkerchief.
To Cure Corns. — A little sweet oil rubbed in night
and morning, if persevered in, will, after a fortnight,
quite cure them.
To Clean Suede Gloves.— -Place the gloves on the
hand, and have ready some very hot dried flour, and
with a piece of flannel rub the gloves with the flour
till the dirt is removed.
To Preserve Patent Leather Boots from crack-
ing, let them be rubbed every day with a little ordinary
salad oil, and then rubbed off again with a smooth
cloth.
Page 131
Presented as published in 1900. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
A Good Way to Dress Rice. — Soak the rice in cold salt and water for an hour ; have ready a sauce¬ pan with boiling water, throw in the rice, and let it boil briskly for ten minutes, then drain it in a colander. Put it in the gas oven for a few minutes, and then serve. The grains should be double the usual size, and quite distinct from each other.
Potatoes. — Potatoes should always be first boiled a little before being put into stews, etc., as the first water in which they are cooked is of a poisonous quality.
To Brown Flour. — Take the quantity of flour re¬ quired to be browned, put it into a frying-pan (kept for the purpose) and hold it over the gas, shaking it con¬ tinually, until it is sufficiently brown, then put It into a jar, with a paper tied tightly over it. Shake it from time to time to prevent it caking.
To Prevent the Odour Rising in Boiling Greens and Cabbage, etc. — Place on the top of the water a thick slice of well toasted bread. The toast will absorb
the unpleasant odours, which generally have an awk¬ ward way of sending their perfume all over the house.
Important to Cooks and Persons Eating Cab¬ bage. — If some common salt be put into the water when washing cabbages and greens preparatory to cooking them, the snails, slugs, worms, etc., which they contain will leave the cabbages, etc., and fall to the bottom, so that they need not be boiled with the vegetables. It is impossible to wash them out except the cabbages have been taken to pieces, although many persons like to have them served up whole.
To Clarify Dripping. — Put the dripping into a saucepan and let it come nearly to the boil ; pour it off into a basin of boiling water ; stir it up three or four times, and when cold remove the dripping to the vessel it is to be kept in, and the impurities will remain in the water. Lard may be clarified the same way.
If it is not clear enough, repeat the process again, or even twice if necessary.
To Neutralise the Acid in Fruit Pies and Puddings.
— A large quantity of the free acids which exist in rhubarb, gooseberries, currants, and other fruits, may be judiciously corrected by the use of a small quantity of carbonate of soda, without in the least affecting their flavour, so long as too much soda is not added. To any ordinary size pie or pudding as much soda may be added as will cover a sixpence, or even twice such a quantity if the fruit is very sour. This way a vast quantity of sugar will be saved.
Cooking Vegetables. — The choice of water is very important owing to the different effects produced in their texture by hard and soft water. For this reason salt is added to raise the temperature of the water when greens are boiled.
PERSONAL HINTS.
To Make the Hair Glossy. — Rub it night and morning with an old white silk handkerchief.
To Cure Corns. — A little sweet oil rubbed in night and morning, if persevered in, will, after a fortnight, quite cure them.
To Clean Suede Gloves.— -Place the gloves on the hand, and have ready some very hot dried flour, and with a piece of flannel rub the gloves with the flour till the dirt is removed.
To Preserve Patent Leather Boots from cracking, let them be rubbed every day with a little ordinary salad oil, and then rubbed off again with a smooth cloth.