What is the best method of greasing bread, cake, and
muffin tins, etc.? Use a small 5 or 10 cent paint brush
kept for the purpose, with a little fresh snowdrift or lard.
There should never be enough used to make the outside
of the food greasy when baked. Muffins which grease
the fingers in handling are very unattractive.
What is the best way to grease the griddle? Use a
little piece of salted pork, or a small piece of fat from
roasted meat. This will grease the griddle sufficiently,
and the cakes will be much more wholesome than where
a lump of butter is put on the griddle and brushed around
with a knife.
If the cakes stick to the griddle what should be done?
Put on a spoonful of salt, and rub thoroughly with a
crust of bread.
96 First Aid to Good Cooking
TEA AND COFFEE.
In making tea or coffee why should one use fresh water
just brought to the boiling point? Because parts of the
gases of which water is made up are lost in boiling, and
this will make the tea or coffee have a flat taste; it will
lack that delicious freshness, and it will not draw out the
flavor of the tea or coffee so well.
What is the first thing necessary in making tea or
coffee? To have a perfectly clean tea or coffee pot; then
scald it thoroughly.
Is it better to have the coffee pulverized? It is; for
more of the strength is thereby saved.
Is boiled tea injurious? It is; for it is full of tannin,
which is very injurious to the stomach and very bad for
the nerves.
Should tea or coffee stand long on the leaves or grounds
after making? Never but a few minutes; if any is left
over it should be poured off and used as cold tea, or as
coffee flavoring for jellies, custards or puddings; if
allowed to cool and then be reheated it will never have so
fine a flavor.
What kind of a tea pot should be used? A stone or
earthenware one — never a tin one ; because as soon as a
bit of the tin is worn off the tannin will act on the iron
on which the tin is plated and form tannate of iron,
which is very injurious.
How can a coffee pot in daily use be kept free from all
stale coffee odor? Keep it well aired in the sun and once
a week fill it up with boiling water, add one teaspoon ful
of soda and boil several hours ; wash out thoroughly with
a cloth, rinse and dry.
BUTTER.
Does butter need to be kept covered? It does, for it
quickly absorbs the odors around it, which will spoil its
flavor, besides it will become contaminated with bacteria
from the air.
First Aid to Good Cooking 97
SOUPS.
Why should meat for making soup be cut into very
small pieces? Because more of the surface of the meat
is brought in contact with the water and more juice is
drawn out in the soup.
Why should it, then, stand in cold water one-half
hour? It will help very much in drawing the juices out,
which is what we want in making, soup.
Why should meat for soup always be put in cold water
to cook ? Because hot water will sear over the outside of
the meat and stop the juices from coming out.
W hy should soup meat always be cooked very slowly
just at the bubbling point? More of the goodness of the
meat will be drawn out.
Page 51
Presented as published in 1915. 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
What is the best method of greasing bread, cake, and muffin tins, etc.? Use a small 5 or 10 cent paint brush kept for the purpose, with a little fresh snowdrift or lard. There should never be enough used to make the outside of the food greasy when baked. Muffins which grease the fingers in handling are very unattractive.
What is the best way to grease the griddle? Use a little piece of salted pork, or a small piece of fat from roasted meat. This will grease the griddle sufficiently, and the cakes will be much more wholesome than where a lump of butter is put on the griddle and brushed around with a knife.
If the cakes stick to the griddle what should be done? Put on a spoonful of salt, and rub thoroughly with a crust of bread.
96 First Aid to Good Cooking
TEA AND COFFEE.
In making tea or coffee why should one use fresh water just brought to the boiling point? Because parts of the gases of which water is made up are lost in boiling, and this will make the tea or coffee have a flat taste; it will lack that delicious freshness, and it will not draw out the flavor of the tea or coffee so well.
What is the first thing necessary in making tea or coffee? To have a perfectly clean tea or coffee pot; then scald it thoroughly.
Is it better to have the coffee pulverized? It is; for more of the strength is thereby saved.
Is boiled tea injurious? It is; for it is full of tannin, which is very injurious to the stomach and very bad for the nerves.
Should tea or coffee stand long on the leaves or grounds after making? Never but a few minutes; if any is left over it should be poured off and used as cold tea, or as coffee flavoring for jellies, custards or puddings; if allowed to cool and then be reheated it will never have so fine a flavor.
What kind of a tea pot should be used? A stone or earthenware one — never a tin one ; because as soon as a bit of the tin is worn off the tannin will act on the iron on which the tin is plated and form tannate of iron, which is very injurious.
How can a coffee pot in daily use be kept free from all stale coffee odor? Keep it well aired in the sun and once a week fill it up with boiling water, add one teaspoonful of soda and boil several hours ; wash out thoroughly with a cloth, rinse and dry.
BUTTER.
Does butter need to be kept covered? It does, for it quickly absorbs the odors around it, which will spoil its flavor, besides it will become contaminated with bacteria from the air.
First Aid to Good Cooking 97
SOUPS.
Why should meat for making soup be cut into very small pieces? Because more of the surface of the meat is brought in contact with the water and more juice is drawn out in the soup.
Why should it, then, stand in cold water one-half hour? It will help very much in drawing the juices out, which is what we want in making, soup.
Why should meat for soup always be put in cold water to cook ? Because hot water will sear over the outside of the meat and stop the juices from coming out.
W hy should soup meat always be cooked very slowly just at the bubbling point? More of the goodness of the meat will be drawn out.