Foods and household management

Boiling. — Measure the coffee and water. Stir the white or the shell of an egg with the coffee, adding a little of the water, put this into the pot, add the remaining water cold, stir thoroughly, allow the water to rise slowly to the boiling point, and to boil one minute, remove the pot from the fire, pour in a small amount of cold water, and let the coffee stand for five minutes or until the grounds settle. During the cooking close the lip with clean soft paper if it has no lid. The actual boiling is continued for a brief period only, and coffee made by this method is considered by some people to have a flavor lacking in drip or percolator coffee. The Qgg is added to clarify the coffee. Pour off the liquid coffee from the grounds, and keep hot until it is time to serve it. A second method differs from this in that the water is poured on at the boiling temperature, allowed to reach the boiling point in two or three minutes, and boiled for five minutes. The first gives uniformly better results. It is true, however, that different kinds of coffee need different treatment, and there is room here for much experimenting. Method 2. Drip coffee. — In this method the coffee is put in a receptacle above, the water passes slowly through, collecting in the pot below, from which it is served. Stand the lower part of the pot in a pan of hot water, or where it will keep hot. Measure the water, and bring it to the boiling point. Heat the ground coffee slightly, put it in the upper section of the pot, and pour on the water very slowly. Of course, the water is not actually boiling when it touches the coffee. If the liquid coffee is not strong enough, pour it from the lower part and pass it through the grounds again. This is the French method, and is an excellent way to prepare after-dinner coffee. Method 3. Percolator coffee. — In the percolator the water boils within the pot, and passes through the coffee at the boiling temperature. The exact method depends upon the pattern of the pot, and directions always accompany a given pot. For those who can use electricity, the electric percolator certainly gives an excellent coffee. Coflfee is served " black," or with cream, milk, or evaporated milk and sugar. If milk is used for breakfast coffee, serve it hot 6. Tea. Principle, — To extract flavor by allowing the leaves to remain for a few minutes, in water which has been poured on at the boiling temperature, and to avoid the extraction of tannin by making the period of steeping short. Tea must never be boiled. Utensils. — An earthen pot, measuring cup, teaspoon, strainer. Sometimes a tea ball or piece of cheesecloth. Proportion, — One teaspoonful of tea to about 1 cup of water, the amount depending upon the kind of tea. Method, — Measure the water and bring it to the boiling point. Heat the tea slightly in the pot, pour on the water rapidly, allow to stand three to five minutes, strain into a heated pot for serving. The length of the steeping depends also upon the kind of tea. If there is an astringent flavor, the tea has stood too long.