Elements of the theory and practice of cookery

The omelet is puffed up with steam from the mois- ture in the eggs and the water added to them. What happens to steam when it cools? What will be the effect on the omelet? Fancy omelets. — French Omelet may have spread over it before it is folded a rounded teaspoonful of fine-cut parsley, a few teaspoon fuls of chopped ham or other cooked meat, or of grated cheese ; or cooked, chopped oysters or clams may be used, or peas or tomatoes, — almost any cooked food, in fact, this being a good way to utilize " left-overs." These fancy omelets are named according to the ingredient added. Cheese Omelet, Ham Omelet, etc. Have the filling hot when put into the omelet. Cup Custards Scalded milk, 1 quart. Sugar, yi cupful. Eggs, 4 to 6. Salt, % teaspoonful. Nutmeg. Beat the eggs slightly, stir in the sugar and salt, then, slowly, the hot milk. When the sugar has dis- 92 THEORY AND PRACTICE OF COOKERY solved, pour into cups (about six), and grate a little nutmeg over each cup. Set the cups in a pan of hot water, and bake in a moderate oven until a pointed knife inserted in the custards comes clean. Do not let the water in the pan boil. Why? Reading. — "Poultry and Eggs," American Kitchen Magazine, April, 1900. Vol. XIII, No. 1. P. 114, in Foods and Beverages. Section 2. Milk and other Dairy Products 166. What the seed is for the seedling, and the Qgg for the unhatched chick, milk is for the young of milk- giving animals, — that is, a perfect food. Why it comes nearer than eggs do to being a perfect food for any human being we shall see when we have found out its composition. A Study of Milk 167. — Analysis of milk ; experiments. — A. With a spoon remove the cream from one pint of milk that has stood over night. Drop a little of the cream on unglazed paper. Examine the paper after it has dried for a time. Can you tell from the spot one foodstuff that is present in milk ? B. Test a little of the milk with iodine. Is there any starch in milk? C. Boil the rest of the milk. What do you see on the top of it? What do you think this scum is? Is there water in milk? Air? How do you know? D. Remove the albuminous scum and put a little of the milk in a test-tube. Add a few drops of vinegar. What happens? Strain the milk through a cloth, and examine the solid substance {curd) and the watery liquid (wheg). TISSUE-BUILDING FOODS: EGGS AND MILK 93 E. Shake a little white-of-egg and water together in a test- tube ; add a few drops of vinegar, and note the coagulation. 168. If a drop of nitric acid be added to milk, what result would you expect ? What would this show ? 169. Composition of milk. — Cow's milk contains fat, albumin, and another substance that is not coagulated by heat, but is coagulated by vinegar. This substance is casein,^ a tissue-builder. What element must it con- tain ? What other tissue-builder can you name ? Coag- ulated casein, when dried, is a hard, horny, yellow solid. ^ Dissolved in the whey is a little milk-sugar and mineral matter. Sugar closely resembles starch in composition, and, like it, is energy-producing. What elements does it contain ?