When the fondant is barely lukewarm begin to stir it with
long steady strokes and continue this until the mixture becomes
creamy and thick and begins to break away from the sides of
the dish and the spoon. Then gather it all together into a
round mass and knead like bread until it becomes pliable. It
may then be wrapped in oiled paper or put into a covered
bowl or fruit jar and kept until wanted.
Fondant is the foundation for all bon bons and may be made
' up into a great variety of shapes and with many flavors. It
may be mixed with chopped candied fruits or nuts or coated
with chocolate.
EXERCISES
1. What is meant by a fuel food?
2. Why should fat be taken daily?
3. Compare the cost of different kinds of fat.
4. Why is beef fat less expensive than butter ?
5. How is fat mixed with other ingredients in a sauce ?
6. What is the chief point to consider in the cookery of fat ?
7. What is the difference between cane sugar and honey ?
8. Compare the cost of a pound of homemade candy with that
of good quality bought at a shop.
9. How is fat changed in digestion?
10. How is sugar changed in digestion?
Laboratory management. — The holiday time is the natural season for
the candy-making lesson. It is not worth while to spend much time on
this topic, at the sacrifice of others. .
CHAPTER XI
MUFFINS, BISCUIT, CAKE, AND PASTRY
Wheat flour is the important material in this group, but
muffins and biscuit may be varied by the use of com meal,
rye, and Graham flour, and cooked cereals may also be uti-
lized. The ingredients are flour, salt, a liquid, sometimes a
fat, eggs, and sugar. The flavorings are spices, essences,
fruit juice, dried fruits, nuts, chocolate. The mixture must
be smooth, but it is also necessary to make it porous or
" light." This is accomplished by means of leavening agents,
'* to leaven " meaning " to make light."
Leavening agents. — The batter, or dough, is leavened by
introducing into it air or a gas that expands when heated in
the oven, thus making the whole more porous and larger in
bulk.
Air. — This is introduced into the batter by beating, or by beat-
ing air into the white of egg and stirring the beaten white into the
batter.
Steam. — The water in the batter turns to steam in the oven,
and as it expands it assists in the leavening of the mass. See
Popovers.
Carbon dioxide gas. — .This is introduced in three ways.
(1) By using an acid with a carbonate.
(2) By yeast fermentation.
(3) By machinery.
Yeast fermentation is studied in the chapter on bread making
(Chapter XII), and the mechanical method is a commercial process
exclusively. Only the first method will be treated in this
chapter.
When an acid and any alkaline carbonate are dissolved together,
171
172 FOODS AND HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT
a chemical action takes place, a gas is g:iyen off (carbon dioxide)
and another substance is formed that is neutral, being neither acid
nor alkaline, and known as a '* salt/' In selecting the two sub-
stances we must bear in mind this neutral substance that remains
in the batter and insure its harmlessness.
The lactic add of sour milk is probably the earliest used, being a
domestic product. The lactic acid is neutralized by bicarbonate
of sodium, the latter being also called " baking soda.'* The resulting
salt is harmless.
Page 90
Presented as published in 1914. 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
When the fondant is barely lukewarm begin to stir it with long steady strokes and continue this until the mixture becomes creamy and thick and begins to break away from the sides of the dish and the spoon. Then gather it all together into a round mass and knead like bread until it becomes pliable. It may then be wrapped in oiled paper or put into a covered bowl or fruit jar and kept until wanted.
Fondant is the foundation for all bon bons and may be made ' up into a great variety of shapes and with many flavors. It may be mixed with chopped candied fruits or nuts or coated with chocolate.
1. What is meant by a fuel food?
2. Why should fat be taken daily?
3. Compare the cost of different kinds of fat.
4. Why is beef fat less expensive than butter ?
5. How is fat mixed with other ingredients in a sauce ?
6. What is the chief point to consider in the cookery of fat ?
7. What is the difference between cane sugar and honey ?
8. Compare the cost of a pound of homemade candy with that of good quality bought at a shop.
9. How is fat changed in digestion? 10. How is sugar changed in digestion?
Laboratory management. — The holiday time is the natural season for the candy-making lesson. It is not worth while to spend much time on this topic, at the sacrifice of others. .
CHAPTER XI
Wheat flour is the important material in this group, but muffins and biscuit may be varied by the use of com meal, rye, and Graham flour, and cooked cereals may also be utilized. The ingredients are flour, salt, a liquid, sometimes a fat, eggs, and sugar. The flavorings are spices, essences, fruit juice, dried fruits, nuts, chocolate. The mixture must be smooth, but it is also necessary to make it porous or " light." This is accomplished by means of leavening agents, '* to leaven " meaning " to make light."
Leavening agents. — The batter, or dough, is leavened by introducing into it air or a gas that expands when heated in the oven, thus making the whole more porous and larger in bulk.
Air. — This is introduced into the batter by beating, or by beating air into the white of egg and stirring the beaten white into the batter.
Steam. — The water in the batter turns to steam in the oven, and as it expands it assists in the leavening of the mass. See Popovers.
Carbon dioxide gas. — .This is introduced in three ways.
(1) By using an acid with a carbonate.
(2) By yeast fermentation.
(3) By machinery.
Yeast fermentation is studied in the chapter on bread making (Chapter XII), and the mechanical method is a commercial process exclusively. Only the first method will be treated in this chapter.
When an acid and any alkaline carbonate are dissolved together,
a chemical action takes place, a gas is g:iyen off (carbon dioxide) and another substance is formed that is neutral, being neither acid nor alkaline, and known as a '* salt/' In selecting the two substances we must bear in mind this neutral substance that remains in the batter and insure its harmlessness.
The lactic add of sour milk is probably the earliest used, being a domestic product. The lactic acid is neutralized by bicarbonate of sodium, the latter being also called " baking soda.'* The resulting salt is harmless.