3 heaping teaspoonfuls of baking-powder to 1 quart of flour.

1 even teaspoonful of baking-powder to 1 cupful of flour.

1 teaspoonful of soda to 1 pint of sour milk.

1 teaspoonful of soda to 1/2 pint of mola.s.ses.

MATERIALS

[Sidenote: Gelatine.]

Cooper"s gelatine costs eight cents a box, holding two ounces. Unless perfectly transparent jelly, without clarifying, is required, it serves as well as the more expensive brands. c.o.x"s gelatine costs fifteen cents a box, containing one and one half ounces. It is clear, and needs only to be strained to make a transparent jelly.

Isingla.s.s comes in thin sheets, is very clear, and makes a brilliant jelly. It costs ten cents an ounce, and there are eight and one half sheets of the white, thirteen sheets of the red, to an ounce.

For dissolving and proportions, see page 412.

[Sidenote: Chocolate.]

Unsweetened chocolate costs about thirty-eight cents a pound. It is usually divided into squares weighing one ounce each. Sweetened chocolate costs about fifty cents per pound, and is usually divided into bars, each weighing a little less than one and a quarter ounces.

[Sidenote: To melt chocolate.]

Break the chocolate into pieces, and put them into a dry pan on the fire, where the heat is moderate. The chocolate melts quickly, and must be carefully watched, or it will burn. Add a few spoonfuls of milk to melted chocolate to dissolve it before adding it to custards.

[Sidenote: To whip eggs.]

Do not let a particle of the yolk get into the whites. Add a little salt, and they will whip more quickly. The "daisy beater," with the handle bent, as shown in ill.u.s.tration, is an excellent one for whipping eggs. Hold it flat, and whip with an upward motion.

[Sidenote: Sweetening.]

One tablespoonful of powdered sugar to the white of one egg is the right proportion for sweetening meringue. Add but one spoonful of sugar at a time, place it on the side of the dish, and beat it in gradually from below. This will destroy the air-cells less, and leave the egg lighter than sprinkling the sugar over the top.

[Sidenote: To whip cream.]

To whip cream, see page 408.

[Sidenote: Milk.]

Milk is scalded when the water in the outside double kettle boils.

[Sidenote: Raisins.]

Raisins are more easily stoned if soaked a few minutes. Roll raisins and currants in flour before adding them to cake or puddings. If added the last thing they will then hold in place, and not sink to the bottom.

[Sidenote: Thickening.]

Use arrowroot to thicken fruit juices. It cooks perfectly clear, and does not destroy the color or cloud the transparency of the fruit.

[Sidenote: Flavoring.]

Where essences or wine flavorings are used they are put in the last thing, and after the mixture is cooked. For cold desserts the mixture should be partly or entirely cold before adding them.

[Sidenote: Molding.]

In molding mixtures be careful that bubbles of air do not form on the sides of the molds, as they leave holes and destroy the smoothness and beauty of the form. This can be prevented by pouring the mixture very slowly into the center of the tin.

FLAVORS

Vanilla has long held first place in American cooking as flavoring, but is no longer highly esteemed, and by many it is considered injurious. The essences of fruits, flowers, and nuts are preferable. They cost twenty cents per bottle of two ounces.

[Sidenote: Liqueurs.]

Cordials or liqueurs give by far the most delicate and pleasant flavor to jellies, creams, and many other desserts.

They are rich syrups of different flavors, and contain only enough spirits to preserve them. Maraschino has the flavor of bitter cherry, curacao of orange-peel, noyau of peach-kernels or nuts. They cost about $1.50 per bottle, holding nearly a quart, and last so long a time that the expense of using them is really not greater, if as much, as for vanilla, which costs twenty-five cents for two ounces.

[Sidenote: Wines.]

Kirsch, rum, and sherry are also much used in high-cla.s.s cooking, and, like the liqueurs, need not be excluded from use on the score of temperance. The slight flavor they impart to cooked dishes does not suggest the drink or create a taste for liquors. Wine augments the flavor of salt, and so the latter should be used sparingly until after the flavoring is added.

[Sidenote: Eau de Vie de Dantzic.]

Eau de Vie de Dantzic is made of brandy, is highly flavored, and contains gold-leaf. It is used for jellies, making them very ornamental. There is seldom enough gold-leaf in it, however, and more should be added. A book of gold-leaf costs less than fifty cents.

[Sidenote: Vanilla bean.]

In French cooking the vanilla bean is generally used instead of the extract. The bean is split and infused in the liquid.

Half of one bean is sufficient to flavor one quart, but its use is not always economical, as one bean costs twenty cents.

It is said the Tonquin bean, which is much less expensive, very closely resembles the vanilla bean in flavor and can be subst.i.tuted for it.

[Sidenote: Vanilla powder.]

Vanilla powder is used for ice-creams.

[Sidenote: Vanilla sugar.]

Vanilla sugar is better than the extract of vanilla for meringues, whips, etc., where a liquid is not desirable.

[Sidenote: Flavoring sugars.]

Flavoring sugars can be made as follows:

[Sidenote: Vanilla sugar.]

Cut one ounce of dried vanilla beans into pieces and pound them in a mortar with one half pound of granulated sugar to a fine powder. Pa.s.s it through a fine sieve. Pound again the coa.r.s.e pieces that do not go through at first. Keep it in a well-corked bottle or preserve jar.

[Sidenote: Orange sugar.]

Cut from six oranges the thin yellow rind, or zest, taking none of the white peel. Let it thoroughly dry, then pound it in a mortar with a cupful of granulated sugar and pa.s.s it through a fine sieve. Keep it in an air-tight jar. One tablespoonful of this sugar will flavor a quart of custard.

The Mandarin orange makes a good flavor.