Shell and blanch the almonds, spread them out on a
bright tin pie-plate, add a piece of butter the size of a
hickory nut✪ How to Use What is Saved, and set them in a hot oven until they are of
a golden-brown hue. Remove them from the oven, stir
well, dredge thickly with salt, and turn them out to cool.
HOW TO SCRAPE CHOCOLATE.
If but one square of chocolate is needed, draw a line
across the two squares at the end of the cake, dividing
them in halves. With a sharp knife shave off the choco-
late until the line is reached. In this way there is no
604
THINGS WORTH KNOWING. 605
waste of time or material. If two squares are needed,
shave off to the dividing line. The pound packages of
Baker's chocolate contain two cakes, each of which con-
sists of eight squares; one of these squares is, therefore, an
ounce.
HOW TO CLEAN ENGLISH CURRANTS.
Remove all the pebbles, bits of dirt and long stems
from the currants, add a pint of flour to two quarts of
the fruit, and rub the latter well between the hands ; this
starts the stems and dirt from the currants. Place the
fruit and flour in a coarse colander, and shake well until
the flour and stems have passed through ; then place the
colander and currants in a pan of water, and wash the
currants thoroughly, leaving them still in the colander.
Lift the colander and currants together, and change the
water until it becomes clear. Drain the fruit between
towels, pick it over carefully, and dry it in a sunny place.
Do not dry currants in the oven, as the heat hardens
them. When perfectly dry, put them away in jars. If
currants are prepared in this way as soon as purchased,
they will always be ready for use when wanted.
HOW TO STONE RAISINS.
Free the raisins from all stems, place them in a bowl,
cover with boiling water and let them stand two minutes.
Pour off the water and open the raisins, when the seeds
can be removed quickly, without the usual stickiness.
HOW TO BOIL SUGAR.
The degrees of boiling sugar are variously classified by
different cooks, some giving six degrees and others as
6o6 THE PA TTERN COOK-BOOK.
many as eight. The French boil sugar for nearly all of
their desserts. For all practical purposes, however, a
cook need understand but three degrees. Place a cupful
of granulated or loaf sugar and half a cupful of water on
the fire to boil, and when they have boiled fifteen minutes,
dip the forefinger and thumb in cold water and take up a
little of the syrup between them. If, upon drawing them
apart, the syrup forms a thread, it has reached the second
degree and is at the best stage for use in frozen fruits,
sherbets and preserves. If, after more boiling, some of
the syrup being taken up with a spoon and blown hard,
flies off in tiny bubbles, it is at the fourth degree, called
the souffle^ about twenty minutes of boiling being required
to reach this point. This syrup is used for biscuit glad and
various kinds of creams, and it gives sherbets and fruits
a much richer flavor than when used at the second degree.
If the boiling is still continued, and a little syrup on
being taken up on the point of a stick or skewer and
dipped in cold water breaks off brittlely, the sixth degree
has been reached. At this stage the syrup is used for
icing fruit and cake, the dishes being known as fruit
glace or gateau glace.
Page 260 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1890. 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
Shell and blanch the almonds, spread them out on a bright tin pie-plate, add a piece of butter the size of a hickory nut, and set them in a hot oven until they are of a golden-brown hue. Remove them from the oven, stir well, dredge thickly with salt, and turn them out to cool.
HOW TO SCRAPE CHOCOLATE.
If but one square of chocolate is needed, draw a line across the two squares at the end of the cake, dividing them in halves. With a sharp knife shave off the chocolate until the line is reached. In this way there is no
waste of time or material. If two squares are needed, shave off to the dividing line. The pound packages of Baker's chocolate contain two cakes, each of which consists of eight squares; one of these squares is, therefore, an ounce.
HOW TO CLEAN ENGLISH CURRANTS.
Remove all the pebbles, bits of dirt and long stems from the currants, add a pint of flour to two quarts of the fruit, and rub the latter well between the hands ; this starts the stems and dirt from the currants. Place the fruit and flour in a coarse colander, and shake well until the flour and stems have passed through ; then place the colander and currants in a pan of water, and wash the currants thoroughly, leaving them still in the colander. Lift the colander and currants together, and change the water until it becomes clear. Drain the fruit between towels, pick it over carefully, and dry it in a sunny place. Do not dry currants in the oven, as the heat hardens them. When perfectly dry, put them away in jars. If currants are prepared in this way as soon as purchased, they will always be ready for use when wanted.
HOW TO STONE RAISINS.
Free the raisins from all stems, place them in a bowl, cover with boiling water and let them stand two minutes. Pour off the water and open the raisins, when the seeds can be removed quickly, without the usual stickiness.
HOW TO BOIL SUGAR.
The degrees of boiling sugar are variously classified by different cooks, some giving six degrees and others as
many as eight. The French boil sugar for nearly all of their desserts. For all practical purposes, however, a cook need understand but three degrees. Place a cupful of granulated or loaf sugar and half a cupful of water on the fire to boil, and when they have boiled fifteen minutes, dip the forefinger and thumb in cold water and take up a little of the syrup between them. If, upon drawing them apart, the syrup forms a thread, it has reached the second degree and is at the best stage for use in frozen fruits, sherbets and preserves. If, after more boiling, some of the syrup being taken up with a spoon and blown hard, flies off in tiny bubbles, it is at the fourth degree, called the soufflé about twenty minutes of boiling being required to reach this point. This syrup is used for biscuit glace and various kinds of creams, and it gives sherbets and fruits a much richer flavor than when used at the second degree. If the boiling is still continued, and a little syrup on being taken up on the point of a stick or skewer and dipped in cold water breaks off brittlely, the sixth degree has been reached. At this stage the syrup is used for icing fruit and cake, the dishes being known as fruit glace or gateau glace.
Records on this page
How to Use What is SavedHow to Salt Almonds