A good recipe correctly followed always gives successful results. Good cooking is not a matter of luck. Whenever you fail, search for the cause until you find it. Be very careful then in all your measurements ; follow your directions exactly and you will become a good cook. MEASUBEMENTS OF DRY MATERIALS SUCH AS FLOUR, MEAL, POWDERED SUGAR, ETC. A Cupful, — Sift the material first, fill the cup with a spoon or a scoop, being careful not to shake the material down, and level it off with the back of a case knife. A Spoonful. — Fill the spoon by dipping it into the material. Lift it, and level it off with a case knife. A Part Spoonful, — Fill a spoon and divide the material with a knife lengthwise to measure one half spoonful, . Divide half spoonful crosswise to measure a quarter spoonful and a quarter spoonful crosswise to measure an eighth spoon- ful. A speck of anything is as much as will rest on the tip of a pointed paring knife, or, in other words, a few grains. Abbreviations tbs. stands for tablespoon. qt. stands for quart, ts. stands for teaspoon. pt. stands for pint. ss. stands for saltspoon. oz. stands for ounce, spk. stands for speck. lb. stands for pound. €• stands for cup. h. stands for hour. m. stands for minute. Digitized by Google 34 • FIRST YEAR Table of Measurements 4 ss. equal 1 ts. 3 ts. equal 1 tbs. 4 tbs. equal J cup. 4 c. equal 1 qt. 2 tbs. butter equal 1 oz. 4 tbs. flour equal 1 oz. 2 c. meat (finely chopped, packed solidly) equal 1 lb. 2 c. granulated sugar equal 1 lb. 2 c. butter (packed solidly) equal 1 lb. 4 c. flour equal 1 lb. 9 large eggs equal 1 lb. Food By food is meant something which can nourish the body, mjake it grow, or restore its tissues and furnish it with a supply of energy. Most food can do this work more easily after than before cooking, and most food is improved in appearance and in flavor by being cooked. In all cases cooking tends to kill germs. So it has become the custom to cook most of the food we eat. Ways of Cooking. — Boiling is cooking in boiling water or other liquid. Steaming is cooking over steam. In boiling and ordinary steam cooking the food cannot be heated above a certain degree (212*^ Fahrenheit). Stewing is long, slow boiling in a small amount of water. Broiling or grilling is cooking above hot coals, or directly over the fire. Pan broiling is cooking without fat in a hot frying pan or on a hot griddle. Roasting now generally means cooking in an oven. But Digitized by Google WATER 35 before stoves were used it meant cooking before a glowing open fire. Baking is cooking in a hot oven. Frying is cooking in fat enough to cover the food com- pletely. SaiU&ing is cooking in a small quantity of hot fat. It is often called frying. Braising and fricasseeing are combinations of saut^ing and stewing. Water Water constitutes about two thirds of the weight of the human body. It is most essential to life, aiding in the di- gestion and assimilation of food. From four to five pints should be taken daily into the system. Water exists in these forms : — Liquid. Gaseous — ^ vapor (steam), clouds, mist. Solid — ice. Water is spoken of as hard or soft ; pure or impure. Hard water contains much dissolved mineral matter. Perform experiments to show its solvent power. Try to make soapsuds in hard and in soft water. Lime is often foimd in hard water. Boiling causes some of the lime to come out of very hard water and settle in the bottom of the kettle. After this has happened the water is somewhat softened. Soft water has very little mineral matter in it. The water of different countries and of different parts of the same country differs very much in degrees of hardness and softness.

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A good recipe correctly followed always gives successful results. Good cooking is not a matter of luck. Whenever you fail, search for the cause until you find it. Be very careful then in all your measurements ; follow your directions exactly and you will become a good cook. MEASUREMENTS OF DRY MATERIALS SUCH AS FLOUR, MEAL, POWDERED SUGAR, ETC. A Cupful, — Sift the material first, fill the cup with a spoon or a scoop, being careful not to shake the material down, and level it off with the back of a case knife. A Spoonful. — Fill the spoon by dipping it into the material. Lift it, and level it off with a case knife. A Part Spoonful, — Fill a spoon and divide the material with a knife lengthwise to measure one half spoonful, . Divide half spoonful crosswise to measure a quarter spoonful and a quarter spoonful crosswise to measure an eighth spoonful. A speck of anything is as much as will rest on the tip of a pointed paring knife, or, in other words, a few grains. Abbreviations tbs. stands for tablespoon. qt. stands for quart, ts. stands for teaspoon. pt. stands for pint. ss. stands for saltspoon. oz. stands for ounce, spk. stands for speck. lb. stands for pound. €• stands for cup. h. stands for hour. m. stands for minute. Digitized by Google Table of Measurements 4 ss. equal 1 ts. 3 ts. equal 1 tbs. 4 tbs. equal J cup. 4 c. equal 1 qt. 2 tbs. butter equal 1 oz. 4 tbs. flour equal 1 oz. 2 c. meat (finely chopped, packed solidly) equal 1 lb. 2 c. granulated sugar equal 1 lb. 2 c. butter (packed solidly) equal 1 lb. 4 c. flour equal 1 lb. 9 large eggs equal 1 lb. Food By food is meant something which can nourish the body, mjake it grow, or restore its tissues and furnish it with a supply of energy. Most food can do this work more easily after than before cooking, and most food is improved in appearance and in flavor by being cooked. In all cases cooking tends to kill germs. So it has become the custom to cook most of the food we eat. Ways of Cooking. — Boiling is cooking in boiling water or other liquid. Steaming is cooking over steam. In boiling and ordinary steam cooking the food cannot be heated above a certain degree (212*^ Fahrenheit). Stewing is long, slow boiling in a small amount of water. Broiling or grilling is cooking above hot coals, or directly over the fire. Pan broiling is cooking without fat in a hot frying pan or on a hot griddle. Roasting now generally means cooking in an oven. But Digitized by Google WATER 35 before stoves were used it meant cooking before a glowing open fire. Baking is cooking in a hot oven. Frying is cooking in fat enough to cover the food completely. SaiU&ing is cooking in a small quantity of hot fat. It is often called frying. Braising and fricasseeing are combinations of saut^ing and stewing. Water Water constitutes about two thirds of the weight of the human body. It is most essential to life, aiding in the digestion and assimilation of food. From four to five pints should be taken daily into the system. Water exists in these forms : — Liquid. Gaseous — ^ vapor (steam), clouds, mist. Solid — ice. Water is spoken of as hard or soft ; pure or impure. Hard water contains much dissolved mineral matter. Perform experiments to show its solvent power. Try to make soapsuds in hard and in soft water. Lime is often foimd in hard water. Boiling causes some of the lime to come out of very hard water and settle in the bottom of the kettle. After this has happened the water is somewhat softened. Soft water has very little mineral matter in it. The water of different countries and of different parts of the same country differs very much in degrees of hardness and softness.

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