The Oven. — The heat of the oven is important. If too hot, the top will become scorched before the pastry is risen; if too cold, it will melt, spread, and the paste become heavy and sodden. It is best, therefore, to keep the pastry out until the oven is right. Exper- ience will guide in this, but a good plan is to try the heat of the oven first with a small piece of paste; the heat should be strong enough to cause the cold air in the paste to expand, and so make it rise, and then quickly set it in the form given by this expansion of the air. The heat should be strong underneath at first, to make the paste rise well before browning on top; then turn the heat from below, or to prevent bu.rning, put a grate or pan under the baking- tin, and quicken the heat on top. The Two Crusts. — In making pies with an upper crust always make small holes in it to allow for the escape of steam, or that will burst the crust. These holes may be made in any fanciful shape de- sired An excellent plan is to use a rich paste for the top crust, and a plainer one, with much less shortening, for the under one. Have the under crust a little the thicker. If there is no uj^per crust, have a heavy edge on the pie. Mixing the white flour with 3 to ^ its bulk of cornmeal is said to make pie crust lighter and more digest- ible. A fine brown color will be given to the upper crust of pies if, just before putting them in the oven, they are brushed over with milk. PASTKY 299 To Prevent Juice from Running out. — To prevent the juices of fruit pies from running over, which is so annoying to cooks, various plans have been employed. (1) Make a small tube of writing paper about ^ inch in diameter, and let it set through the upper and rest on the lower crust; or a short piece of macaroni set on end makes a good tube. The juice will bubble up in this instead of running out. (2) In all fruit fillings stir the flour into the fruit, so that all the fruit may be covered, instead of sx)rinkling it on top. Also avoid having too much fruit in the 5)ie, and add no water, as the fruits make their own juices. (3) Have a pie tin deep enough to allow a wall of crust deep enough to hold in the juice. (4) Fasten the upjper crust securely by turning the edge of it under the under crust, first wetting the latter with a little beaten white of egg or water. Sometimes the white of egg is used and the two firmly pressed together without turning the upjper under the lower crust. All the small juicy fruits, like strawberries, raspberries, blueber- ries and blackberries, can be made to retain their juices in the crust by mixing with the sugar used for sweetening them a heap- ing tablespoon of either flour, corn=starch, arrowroot or cracker dust. These act simply by absorbing the surplus juice, and so keep it from running out. The mixture should be well shaken down through the berries before the top crust is. put on; as the sugar draws out the juice, it is better not to sprinkle it on the fruit until that is put in the crust. The under crust in these pies will be raw and clammy, unless there is a good heat at the bottom of the oven. If the under crust in fruit and custard pies is rubbed over, just before filling the pies, with a mixture of egg, well beaten, it will prevent the juice from soaking into it.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The Oven. — The heat of the oven is important. If too hot, the top will become scorched before the pastry is risen; if too cold, it will melt, spread, and the paste become heavy and sodden. It is best, therefore, to keep the pastry out until the oven is right. Experience will guide in this, but a good plan is to try the heat of the oven first with a small piece of paste; the heat should be strong enough to cause the cold air in the paste to expand, and so make it rise, and then quickly set it in the form given by this expansion of the air. The heat should be strong underneath at first, to make the paste rise well before browning on top; then turn the heat from below, or to prevent burning, put a grate or pan under the bakingtin, and quicken the heat on top. The Two Crusts. — In making pies with an upper crust always make small holes in it to allow for the escape of steam, or that will burst the crust. These holes may be made in any fanciful shape desired An excellent plan is to use a rich paste for the top crust, and a plainer one, with much less shortening, for the under one. Have the under crust a little the thicker. If there is no upper crust, have a heavy edge on the pie. Mixing the white flour with 3 to ^ its bulk of cornmeal is said to make pie crust lighter and more digestible. A fine brown color will be given to the upper crust of pies if, just before putting them in the oven, they are brushed over with milk. PASTKY 299 To Prevent Juice from Running out. — To prevent the juices of fruit pies from running over, which is so annoying to cooks, various plans have been employed. (1) Make a small tube of writing paper about ^ inch in diameter, and let it set through the upper and rest on the lower crust; or a short piece of macaroni set on end makes a good tube. The juice will bubble up in this instead of running out. (2) In all fruit fillings stir the flour into the fruit, so that all the fruit may be covered, instead of sprinkling it on top. Also avoid having too much fruit in the 5)ie, and add no water, as the fruits make their own juices. (3) Have a pie tin deep enough to allow a wall of crust deep enough to hold in the juice. (4) Fasten the upper crust securely by turning the edge of it under the under crust, first wetting the latter with a little beaten white of egg or water. Sometimes the white of egg is used and the two firmly pressed together without turning the upper under the lower crust. All the small juicy fruits, like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, can be made to retain their juices in the crust by mixing with the sugar used for sweetening them a heaping tablespoon of either flour, corn=starch, arrowroot or cracker dust. These act simply by absorbing the surplus juice, and so keep it from running out. The mixture should be well shaken down through the berries before the top crust is. put on; as the sugar draws out the juice, it is better not to sprinkle it on the fruit until that is put in the crust. The under crust in these pies will be raw and clammy, unless there is a good heat at the bottom of the oven. If the under crust in fruit and custard pies is rubbed over, just before filling the pies, with a mixture of egg, well beaten, it will prevent the juice from soaking into it.

The household cook book