the table, make a hollow in the centre, and pour into it half a pound of
well-washed butter, a saltspoonful of salt, and a gill of cold water✪ Pate-a-Foucer, Foundation Paste. Knead
well the salt, butter, and water, using the hand, for two minutes, then
incorporate the flour gradually, which will take three minutes more, and
knead sharply with the hands. Detach it from the table, and roll it into
a ball, then press it again on the table in different directions for two
minutes ; remove again from the table. Flour the table slightly, lay the
paste over, and with the fingers of the right hand press down the paste in
the centre, and with the left bring up the edges all around to the centre,
repeat this three times, and when finished the paste must have its original
shape ; lay it on a dish, cover with a towel, and set it in a cool place to
rest for twenty minutes.
1079. How to Make a Pastry-bag, for General Use.— Cut a piece of
white duck-cloth as follows: twenty-four inches wide at the top, twenty
inches deep, and three inches at the lower end. Fold, and sew up length-
wise, so as to make a perfect cornet-bag. Hem the top and the bottom,
and the pastry bag will then be ready for use.
The accompanying design will show how it should be made.
PASTRY-BAG.
This pastry-bag is essential and useful for kitchen and pastry use, being
both facile and economical, but care must be taken to wash it thoroughly,
and immediately after using it, and to let it dry perfectly, otherwise it
will soon become useless.
1080. How to Clean and Prepare Sultana Currants and Raisins for
Pastry. — To avoid the trouble of preparing them each time they are
needed, it were better to clean many at a time, for they will keep in
perfect condition for five or six months, if put away in a well-closed tin
box. Procure ten pounds of currants or Sultana raisins, lay them on a
table, and should they be damp, dredge a little flour over to prevent them
adhering to the hands. Rub them thoroughly, then take a wire sieve,
No. 3 (or as fine a one as will prevent them passing through), place the
DESSER TS.
319
currants on it, and shake them well for two or three minutes, so that they
be perfectly free from flour and stalks. Lay the sieve containing the
currants in a large dish-pan, filling it to the level of the sieve with hot
water, then, with a skimmer, stir them, so that they get washed thoroughly
for at least five minutes. Lift up the sieve, and let them drain in the
same for three minutes. Cover an iron oven-pan with a- sheet of brown
paper, pour the currants on it, spreading them out evenly, and set it in a
very slow oven for ten minutes; remove, and lay them aside in the warm-
est spot on the kitchen shelf, and leave them to dry thoroughly for at least
two days. If in the country, the pan can be left out in the sun during the
day. When dry, lay them on the table, and should any more foreign
matter be found. among them, pick it out carefully with the fingers, and
examine them well to see whether they be free of stones, stalks, stems,
sand, &c. When finished, put them away in a closed tin box, and they
will then be ready for use.
The table
1889Page 260 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1889. 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
the table, make a hollow in the centre, and pour into it half a pound of well-washed butter, a saltspoonful of salt, and a gill of cold water. Knead well the salt, butter, and water, using the hand, for two minutes, then incorporate the flour gradually, which will take three minutes more, and knead sharply with the hands. Detach it from the table, and roll it into a ball, then press it again on the table in different directions for two minutes ; remove again from the table. Flour the table slightly, lay the paste over, and with the fingers of the right hand press down the paste in the centre, and with the left bring up the edges all around to the centre, repeat this three times, and when finished the paste must have its original shape ; lay it on a dish, cover with a towel, and set it in a cool place to rest for twenty minutes.
1079. How to Make a Pastry-bag, for General Use.— Cut a piece of white duck-cloth as follows: twenty-four inches wide at the top, twenty inches deep, and three inches at the lower end. Fold, and sew up lengthwise, so as to make a perfect cornet-bag. Hem the top and the bottom, and the pastry bag will then be ready for use.
The accompanying design will show how it should be made.
PASTRY-BAG.
This pastry-bag is essential and useful for kitchen and pastry use, being both facile and economical, but care must be taken to wash it thoroughly, and immediately after using it, and to let it dry perfectly, otherwise it will soon become useless.
1080. How to Clean and Prepare Sultana Currants and Raisins for Pastry. — To avoid the trouble of preparing them each time they are needed, it were better to clean many at a time, for they will keep in perfect condition for five or six months, if put away in a well-closed tin box. Procure ten pounds of currants or Sultana raisins, lay them on a table, and should they be damp, dredge a little flour over to prevent them adhering to the hands. Rub them thoroughly, then take a wire sieve, No. 3 (or as fine a one as will prevent them passing through), place the
currants on it, and shake them well for two or three minutes, so that they be perfectly free from flour and stalks. Lay the sieve containing the currants in a large dish-pan, filling it to the level of the sieve with hot water, then, with a skimmer, stir them, so that they get washed thoroughly for at least five minutes. Lift up the sieve, and let them drain in the same for three minutes. Cover an iron oven-pan with a- sheet of brown paper, pour the currants on it, spreading them out evenly, and set it in a very slow oven for ten minutes; remove, and lay them aside in the warmest spot on the kitchen shelf, and leave them to dry thoroughly for at least two days. If in the country, the pan can be left out in the sun during the day. When dry, lay them on the table, and should any more foreign matter be found. among them, pick it out carefully with the fingers, and examine them well to see whether they be free of stones, stalks, stems, sand, &c. When finished, put them away in a closed tin box, and they will then be ready for use.
Records on this page
Pate-a-Foucer, Foundation Paste