Foods and home making

If chocolate is used, the sugar should be increased to f of a cup. Mix and cook the sugar, cornstarch, and milk as for the plain dessert. Cut into pieces 1 square (i.e., 1 ounce) of bitter chocolate. Put it in a very small saucepan. Add \ cup of water. Stir and heat the mixture over a low flame until it is smooth. Add this chocolate mixture to the corn- starch just before taking from the stove. Mix well. Remove from the flame. Then add salt and ^ teaspoon of vanilla. Mold. Serve with cream. Why are custards wholesome desserts? From all you have learned about the value of milk and eggs as foods, you will realize that a food made chiefly of milk and eggs must be wholesome. Custard is such a food. To the milk and eggs used in custard making, there is added a small quantity of sugar. Less sugar is used in making a plain custard than in making most other desserts. The small quantity of sugar is an advantage. Too much sugar irritates the stomach, as has been explained on page 224. Custards are so wholesome that children and invalids may eat them. They are among the most wholesome desserts for young persons as well as for those who are not so young. There are many delightful dishes made by using a custard as the basis and adding different foods and flavoring. Let us learn how to make custards. How are custards made? We learned that eggs are cooked best at a temperature lower than that of boiling water. Milk 3 Luncheon or Supper scorches readily when cooked directly over the flame. Milk and egg mixtures or custards should be cooked over hot water or in a double boiler. When a custard is cooked just right, the egg is really soft- cooked. Of course a custard does not look like a soft-cooked egg because the egg is mixed with the milk. The custard has a creamy appearance. The particles of egg exist in a jelly-like condition through the milk. Sometimes one is unfortunate enough to overcook a custard. When this is the case the custard curdles. That is, the egg par- ticles form lumps. The egg proteins shrink and separate from the liquid. It is usually possible to remedy a curdled custard. To do this, work quickly : 1. Stop the cooking at once — replace the hot water in the lower part of the double boiler with cold water and set the pan containing the custard in it. 2. Immediately beat the custard, using a wheel egg beater. There are several ways of cooking a plain custard. It may be cooked in a steamer, in the oven, or in a double boiler. No matter how it is cooked, the method of mixing is the same. This is described on the following page. The methods of cook- ing the custard in a steamer, oven, and double boiler are also given. Custard cooked in a double boiler is soft or stirred custard. How is soft custard used? With soft custard many whole- some and tasty desserts may be made. As stated on page 56, it may be used as a sauce and poured over cooked rice. This makes a delicious rice pudding. Another palatable pudding may be made by pouring it over cake. A very good way to make stale cake taste good is to soften it with custard. Using soft custard rather than cream over sliced bananas or peaches makes a good dessert. How can we save eggs in making custard ? We have learned that eggs will thicken milk. Flour also will thicken milk. When eggs are high in price, it may be a good plan to use flour Luncheon or Supper Desserts 317