FoodNet

Domestic science (Clark, Cornell home economics)

1911

Page 59

Presented as published in 1911. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
If a whole session is out of the question, the lesson may be arranged as follows. The sponge may be started by some one before the first morning class and may be ready to be made into the loaf and kneaded by the time that part of the recipe has been discussed. While the dough is rising in the pans, this class may make the sponge for the next class and set it to rise. The amount of yeast to be used will, of course, be determined by the time between classes. After the sponge has been made for the next class, the discussion may follow, and the baking as soon as the dough is ready; the dishes may be washed during the baking. This method is not so satisfactory, be- cause it is apt to be confusing for the pupils on account of the inverted order. Also there is not so much time for discussion, and the yeast experiments, if performed at all, will have to be done by the teacher entirely. The former method, in which each pupil performs the whole process in the proper order, is much more satis- factory, provided 2^ hours or more are allowed for the class. The discussion should be carried on between the processes of bread-mixing, kneading and baking. Order of Lesson 1. Discussion of individual recipe. 2. Making of the sponge. 148 DOMESTIC SCIENCE 3. Yeast experiments. 4. Discussion of the rest of the recipe. The whole process of bread-making, the method of mixing, the rising method and reason, the kneading methods and reason, and baking. 5. Kneading, and shaping into loaves. 6. Dish-washing during baking. TEA Lesson XXVIII Botanical origin. Tea is the dried leaves of a shrub. It is derived from two species of the same shrub, Thea sivensis, and Thea viridis. They belong to the same family as the camellia. History. Our traditions of tea are associated with China. The word is of Chinese origin, for tea was first cultivated in China. It was not used in India in the early days, for there is no Sanskrit word for it. In 350 A. D. it was cultivated and used in China, but not extensively until the 6th or 9th century. Its use in Japan dates back to the year 1598. There is a temple in Japan dedicated to the man who first introduced tea. When it was first imported into England in 1665, it was sold for $15 per poimd, excellent quality. Its cultivation has spread in other countries, but not so extensively, because cheap labor is as essential to successful tea-growing as favorable climate, soil and situation. A great part of its manufacture is carried on by hand. The increase in cultivation has been great of late years. Distribution for Commerce. China, Japan, India, Ceylon, some British provinces, and the United States are centres of distribution. In the United States TEA 149 tea from China was first used, then from India, on account of the modern methods of cultivation. The science has been brought to a fine point in soil prepara- tions and in the use of Peruvian traction-engines and agricultural machines. Now there is a tendency to return to Chinese tea again. On account of the severe competition of the last few years, modem machinery has been introduced; and modern agricul- ture is now necessary to the success of the cultivation. In 1851 a British government commission, composed of scientific men, was appointed to investigate the making of tea, and they reported that the water for tea should be allowed just to come to a' boil.