Twenty lessons in domestic science

Preparation : Beat the eggs and add to the milk. Heat the butter and blend with flour. Add the milk. When cooked creamy add the tomatoes. Then add the cheese with seasonings. Serve as soon as cheese is melted, on bread toasted on one side. Toasted Cheese Take a shallow stone pie plate or an old ironstone china plate. Spread over the plate thin slices of cream cheese. Sprinkle with salt and paprika, if desired. Place under broiler fire and allow to toast without turning. Serve hot on toasted bread. The cheese prepared this way makes a delicious and hearty sandwich. Lesson Number Seven Proteins Fish Fish belongs to the group of foods rich in protein or nitrogenous matter. The muscle building matter in fish, such as white fish, cod, haddock and halibut, is about the same as in beef or mutton. Phosphates are more abundant in fish than in meats ; there is also much more waste and the edible portion contains more water. Dark fleshed fish, as salmon, catfish, sturgeon and tuna, have the fat distributed through the body, and while more difficult of digestion, furnish more food value than the white fleshed fish — cod, haddock, etc. HOW TO SELECT FISH: Fish to be eatable must be fresh from the water or handled carefully in cold storage. Stale fish is a dangerous food. Fresh fish have bright scales and eyes, with gills that are pink. The flesh must be firm and free from unpleasant odor. Beware of the fish markets where channel cat and horned pout are to be found skinned, soaking in water and ice. To use a simile — how much egg albumen would you have remaining were you to break an egg into a quantity of water? — the albumen or protein would be dissipated or dispersed in the water. The same effect would be produced on the soluble proteins by soaking lean meat or fish in an abundance of water. HOW TO PREPARE FISH: Fish that have been out of the water long and dried over should be dipped in water a moment to loosen the scales. Make an incision on each side and the length of the fins, deep enough to draw the fins entirely out, leaving no small bones to embarrass the diner. Many fish like white fish, blue fish, pike, pickerel and Lake Superior trout have a layer of blubber or fat and a row of small bones that extend from the back fin to the head. In making the incision beside the fin, extend it to the head and remove the fat and the bones. In cooking some of the smaller fish, especially when broiling, the head and tail are not removed. In that case make the incision beside each fin, but do not draw out. Catfish, horned pout and fish without scales are often skinned. This is not necessary if the fish are dipped in very warm water and then scraped and scrubbed. HOW TO COOK FISH : It is well to bear in mind that the flesh of fish is largely composed of the same ingredients as meat, though in different proportions. Too much heat or too prolonged cooking render it tough and unpalatable. Fish require much the same methods in preparation as meat. The structure, however, is much more delicate and so also is the flavor. The flavor of fish is often destroyed by unskillful methods in cooking and serving. Domestic Science LESSON No. 7 Proteins TO STEAM FISH is better than to boil it.