Principles of cookery

Flavor of Water If clear hot water is an unpalatable beverage, salt or lemon juice may be added to give a distinct flavor. There is a marked difference in flavor between water freshly boiled and that which has been kept hot for a long time. The latter has lost the gases which give life to fresh water. For any purpose in cooking stale water will injure the flavor of foods whether it be taken from a hot water faucet or from a teakettle where it has stood for hours. Other ill flavors come into our foods because of imperfect utensils, badly washed. A rough surface or seam will retain something from previous cooking to add to the next substance cooked therein, or greasy dishwater or soap may be left in sufficient quantity to give an appreciable change of flavor. Another important use of water essential in good cooking is for the cleaning of utensils. Dishwashing is not a popular occupation probably because repairing or setting to rights is never quite as interesting as the construction of something definite. Insufficient appliances and inconvenient conditions for the work are other causes for its unpopularity. With a convenient sink of the right height, ample table room for soiled and clean dishes, abundance of towels and hot water, dishwashing loses its terrors. A knowledge of the composition of each food and the way it is affected by different degrees of heat is as desirable in dishwashing as in cooking. For example, where gelatine has dried on a strainer it should be Soaking softened in cold water, but that treatment would not be helpful if the strainer had been used for fry fat, while an egg beater plunged in boiling" water would be all the harder to wash because the egg would be cooked. Time is saved by careful sorting and scraping of dishes before washing. Detergents are helpful but less important than abundance of water. Strong soda water boiled in a utensil will remove food that has burned on. Soaking is as helpful in Dishes dishwashing as in the laundry and dishes that cannot be washed as soon as used should be covered with water. After washing, any dishes are improved by rinsing in scalding water. The usual plan is to wash dishes in this order, glass, silver, crockery, cooking pans, or kettles. Often it is more desirable to get the large pieces out of the way first. It is half a century since the first dishwashing machine was invented and though they are in general use for hotels, hand work seems better adapted to most households. To illustrate the effect of the range of temperature from the block of ice at 32 ° F to the steaming kettle at 2120 F let us follow the process of making a simple gelatine jelly. The gelatine has been extracted for us in factories from bones of animals and needs no cooking, but must be dissolved and combined with liquid and flavoring. It is first softened in cold water, the time required varying according to the size of the parti- cles of gelatine. Then it must be dissolved with boiling liquid. Use only as much boiling liquid as is neces- Geiatine Sary to dissolve the gelatine. The sugar, if that is to be used, added next, because it will dissolve more rapidly in a warm medium, and then is put in the fruit juice or whatever is to flavor the jelly.