How to buy. — Investigate by question and inspection, if possible, the available milk supply. Be sure to do this in the country in the summer. Always buy bottled milk. Where the income is small, good quality milk should be used for the little children and invalids, and skim milk purchased for cooking. In many places skim milk is supplied in bottles by reliable firms. The usual price for bottled milk in the city is 8 to 10 cents, and this is of good average quality. Keep milk cold. If there is no ice, use an ice substitute (page 74), and in very hot weather pasteurize or sc^ld the milk, cooling afterward as quickly as possible by placing in cold water and stirring the water. GENERAL METHODS AND RECIPES Principles of cookery. — Clean, sweet milk is an ideal food, which requires no cooking. Heating milk to 212° F. changes its proper- ties in some way, so that it is not considered an ideal food for babies' regular diet. If it must be used, for reasons of safety, some uncooked food, such as orange juice, should also be given. This is the reason for pasteurizing milk instead of boiling it. Heating milk in an open vessel causes some of the protein to harden into a thin " skin " on the top. This can be prevented by stirring the milk until it is cool. I. To pasteurize milk. — This cannot be done accurately without a thermometer. The milk bottle should be placed upon a rack in a kettle of water, with a clean thermometer inserted through the cover of the bottle. Heat the water slowly, and watch the thermometer. When it reaches 155° F., see that the water becomes no hotter. Set the kettle on a rack on EGGS, MILK, AND CHEESE 153 the stove top, or use a simmering burner with rack and as- bestos mat. It is difficult to keep the temperature even, but it should remain at 140-155° F. half an hour. At the end of half an hour, the bottle should be removed, and cooled as rapidly as possible in running cold water. 2. Rennet custard. — 1 quart milk, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, a shake of salt, flavoring, 1 rennet tablet. The flavoring may be: 1 teaspoonful vanilla, or a few tablespoonfuls of orange juice, or the vanilla, plus three or four tablespoonfuls of cocoa✪ Rennet Custard to suit the taste. To prepare. — This is a process without cooking. Rennet tablets are made from the stomach of the calf, and contain the digestive enzyme, rennin, which results in the solidifying of the curd of the milk. Rennet custard has passed the first stage of milk digestion. Put all the flavoring substances into the milk, and warm it slightly, not more than 100° F. The cocoa when used should be " dissolved " in a small amount of hot water. Dissolve the rennet in a tablespoonful of cold water, and stir this very thoroughly into the milk. Pour the milk into the cups in which the custard will be served, and set the cups in a warm but not hot place. A good method is to place them in a pan of warm water (100° F.). The milk becomes firm in a half hour or an hour, and as soon as it is set, should be put in the ice box, other- wise the process continues and the custard becomes watery as the curd shrinks and forces out the whey. Serve very cold with fruit on the top, or whipped cream with the cocoa flavoring ; or put grated nutmeg or powdered cinnamon on the top. This is a simple and delicious dessert, and one of the most whole- some.

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How to buy. — Investigate by question and inspection, if possible, the available milk supply. Be sure to do this in the country in the summer. Always buy bottled milk. Where the income is small, good quality milk should be used for the little children and invalids, and skim milk purchased for cooking. In many places skim milk is supplied in bottles by reliable firms. The usual price for bottled milk in the city is 8 to 10 cents, and this is of good average quality. Keep milk cold. If there is no ice, use an ice substitute (page 74), and in very hot weather pasteurize or scald the milk, cooling afterward as quickly as possible by placing in cold water and stirring the water. Principles of cookery. — Clean, sweet milk is an ideal food, which requires no cooking. Heating milk to 212° F. changes its properties in some way, so that it is not considered an ideal food for babies' regular diet. If it must be used, for reasons of safety, some uncooked food, such as orange juice, should also be given. This is the reason for pasteurizing milk instead of boiling it. Heating milk in an open vessel causes some of the protein to harden into a thin " skin " on the top. This can be prevented by stirring the milk until it is cool. I. To pasteurize milk. — This cannot be done accurately without a thermometer. The milk bottle should be placed upon a rack in a kettle of water, with a clean thermometer inserted through the cover of the bottle. Heat the water slowly, and watch the thermometer. When it reaches 155° F., see that the water becomes no hotter. Set the kettle on a rack on the stove top, or use a simmering burner with rack and asbestos mat. It is difficult to keep the temperature even, but it should remain at 140-155° F. half an hour. At the end of half an hour, the bottle should be removed, and cooled as rapidly as possible in running cold water. 2. Rennet custard. — 1 quart milk, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, a shake of salt, flavoring, 1 rennet tablet. The flavoring may be: 1 teaspoonful vanilla, or a few tablespoonfuls of orange juice, or the vanilla, plus three or four tablespoonfuls of cocoa to suit the taste. To prepare. — This is a process without cooking. Rennet tablets are made from the stomach of the calf, and contain the digestive enzyme, rennin, which results in the solidifying of the curd of the milk. Rennet custard has passed the first stage of milk digestion. Put all the flavoring substances into the milk, and warm it slightly, not more than 100° F. The cocoa when used should be " dissolved " in a small amount of hot water. Dissolve the rennet in a tablespoonful of cold water, and stir this very thoroughly into the milk. Pour the milk into the cups in which the custard will be served, and set the cups in a warm but not hot place. A good method is to place them in a pan of warm water (100° F.). The milk becomes firm in a half hour or an hour, and as soon as it is set, should be put in the ice box, otherwise the process continues and the custard becomes watery as the curd shrinks and forces out the whey. Serve very cold with fruit on the top, or whipped cream with the cocoa flavoring ; or put grated nutmeg or powdered cinnamon on the top. This is a simple and delicious dessert, and one of the most wholesome.

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Rennet Custard

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