FoodNet

Principles of food preparation

1914

Page 54

Presented as published in 1914. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Method. Heat the water. Mix the sugar thoroughly with the cornstarch, and stir into the hot or boiling water. If the mixing of the sugar and cornstarch has been thorough, and if the water is kept stirred while these are being added, there will be no danger of lumping. Allow to boil for a minute or less, stirring all the time, then re- move from the fire, stir in the butter, let cool a little, and add the lemon juice. Make another portion of this sauce by cooking the lemon juice in with the other ingredients, and see what will happen. Almond Butter Pour boiling water over shelled almonds, and let them stand in this for two or three minutes. Drain, put into cold water for an instant, and then rub off the skins. Stand the blanched nuts in a warm place until dry, grind them finely in a food chopper, season very slightly with FATS 125 salt, and use as you would peanut butter for sandwiches, etc. (See charts for richness of almonds in fat. This fat is said to be easier digested than the fat of any other nuts, with the exception of the fat of pecans.) Broiled Bacon Method I. Cut off the rind, and cut the bacon into very thin, delicate slices. Cook these in a hot pan, turn- ing when the slices become transparent, and removing as soon as well curled. Drain off the fat immediately, place the cooked bacon slices on absorbent paper, and serve either as a breakfast dish or as a garnish for omelet, steak, etc. Method 2. Place the bacon slices in an oyster broiler over a dripping pan in a very hot oven, and cook until transparent and beginning to brown at the edges. Serve as before. Compare the flavor of the two. Which of the principles of cooking is illustrated here? Deviled Marrow Bones Bones from the shin (the fore leg), or the shank (the hind leg), of beef should be cut into pieces from one to three inches long and scraped clean. Seal the ends with a paste made of flour and water in the proportion of four to one, tie securely in cheesecloth, and boil for 15 m. for the shorter, 25-30 m. for the longer bones. Remove the paste, season with salt and cayenne, and serve the smaller pieces on toast, the larger neatly wrapped in small folded doihes, and garnished with parsley or cress. Note. Marrow is a very easily digested and wholesome form of fat, and served in this way is often greatly relished as a supper dish. The marrow from the shank is thought to be firmer and less oily than that from the shin. 126 PRINCIPLES OF FOOD PREPARATION Experiments to Aid or Confirm Inferences I Emulsification of Fat 1. Shake up a small amount of olive or cod-liver oil or cottonseed oil in a test tube with a few drops of a solu- tion of sodium hydroxide or carbonate of soda. Does the whitish substance which results remind you of a food you have recently studied? Examine a drop of this whitish mass under the microscope. 2. Shake up as before a small amount of oil with a little egg albumin dissolved in water. Examine under the microscope as before. II Solubility of Fat 1. Shake up small portions of fat in a test tube with the following, respectively: Water, alcohol (both cold and hot), turpentine, ether. Determine which are solvents of fat, and to what extent. Ill Decomposition of Fat