The home cook book

Rolled Wheat . . . Quaker Oats .... Gluten Grits .... California Wheatine . Ralston Barley Food Hominy Grits . . . Health Food .... 5 Minute Food . . . DING BREAKFAST FOODS Quantity Water Time I cup 3/^ cups 6 " 4 hours 5 " 4 " 5 " \% " 4 " 4 " 2 " 4 " I «' I " I " 2 " I " 2 " I «' 2 " I " 2 " I " 3 " 2X " 6 " 40 minutes 40 " I hour I " z cups I cup (( << 3 " 5 " 8 " 2 " 6 " 40 minutes I hour 30 m. (soak over night) 30 minutes S THE WAY TO COOK A CEREAL To cook any of these cereals, set the upper half of a doubleboiler over the fire and bring the water to boil. Add one teaspoon of salt for one quart of water. For any coarsegrained cereal, the Scotch method of adding the meal — "mirlin' it in," as it is called — can scarcely be improved upon. Measure the oatmeal into a bowl, hold it in the left hand, and slowly with the right hand sprinkle it into briskly boiling water. Until every grain of the meal separates stir constantly. In five minutes the cereal will have begun to thicken slightly. Now set the upper half in the lower part of the double-boiler half filled with hot water. Put on the lid and allow the cereal to steam till the grains are perfectly swollen. Do no stirring after the steaming process begins, or the cereal will be starchy, the grains broken and the fine nutty flavor destroyed. In cooking a small-grained cereal, such as farina, wet it with cold water, add to the boiling water, tben cook like the oatmeal except that it may be stirred occasionally. Indeed, before it is fully cooked a brisk beating with a wire whisk will improve it, breaking any lumps which may have formed. A SECRET One secret of making a cereal as delicious as possible lies in proper measurements of the grain and the water. Always use the same cup for measuring, and follow directions exactly. Adding water to thin a cereal when it is half cooked or pouring it off to thicken it will ruin the flavor completely. When a cereal has cooked the required time and is still too moist, it may be thickened in ten minutes by taking off the lid of the boiler and allowing evaporation to thicken it. The flavor of many cereals is much improved by using half water and half milk in the cooking. Any one who has tasted the milk porridge of Scotland will realize this. When the milk is used the cereal must be very carefully cooked ; it will burn readily if set over the fire. Hominy, farina, and oatmeal are especially improved by the addition of milk.