scant cup of sugar, and eight cups of new milk, with a little grated
lemon rind for flavoring. Put all into an earthen pudding dish, and
place on the top of the range. Heat very slowly until the milk is
boiling, stirring frequently, so that the rice shall not adhere to the
bottom of the dish. Then put into a moderately hot oven, and bake
without stirring, till the rice is perfectly tender, which can be
ascertained by dipping a spoon in one side and taking out a few grains.
It should be, when cold, of a rich, creamy consistency, with each grain
of rice whole. Serve cold. It is best if made the day before it is
needed. If preferred, the milk may be first flavored with cocoanut,
according to the directions given on page 298.
RICE PUDDING WITH RAISINS.--Wash thoroughly one half cup of rice,
and soak for two hours in warm water. Drain off the water, add two
tablespoonfuls of sugar, one half cup of raisins, and four cups of milk.
Put in an earthen pudding dish and cook for two hours in a moderate
oven, stirring once or twice before the rice begins to swell, then add a
cup of hot milk, and cook for an hour longer.
RED RICE MOLD.--Take one and one half pints of red currants and
one half pint of red raspberries, and follow directions on page 209 for
extracting their juice. The juice may be diluted with one part water to
two of juice if desired. Sweeten to taste, and for each pint when
boiling stir in two tablespoonfuls of ground rice or rice flour rubbed
smooth in a little of the juice which may be retained for the purpose.
Pour into molds, cool, and serve with whipped cream.
RICE AND FRUIT DESSERT.--Steam a cup of good well-washed rice in
milk till tender. Prepare some tart apples by paring, dividing midway
between the stem and blow ends, and removing the cores. Fill the
cavities with quince or pineapple jelly; put the apples in a shallow
stewpan with a half cup of water, cover, and steam till nearly tender.
Put the rice, which should be very moist, around the bottom and sides of
a pudding dish; place the apples inside, cover, and bake ten minutes.
Serve with cream flavored with quince or lemon.
RICE AND TAPIOCA PUDDING.--Soak one half cup of tapioca over night
in a cup of water; in the morning drain off the water if any remains.
Add to the tapioca half a cup of rice, one cup of sugar, one cup of
raisins, and eight cups of new milk, with a little grated lemon rind for
flavoring. Put all in an earthen pudding dish on the top of the range,
where it will heat very gradually to the boiling point, stirring
frequently. When the milk boils, put the pudding in the oven, and bake
till the rice grains are perfectly tender but not broken and mushy. From
twenty minutes to half an hour is usually sufficient. When taken from
the oven, it will appear quite thin, but after cooling will be of a
delicious, creamy consistency. Serve cold.
RICE-FLOUR MOLD.--Braid two tablespoonfuls of rice flour with a
little milk and stir the mixture into a pint of boiling milk to which
has been added three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and a little salt if
desired. Let this boil until it thickens, then mold, and serve with
cream and sugar or with lemon, orange, or other fruit sauce.
RICE AND STEWED APPLE DESSERT.--Steam or bake some rice in milk
until tender, sweeten slightly and spread a layer of the rice half an
inch thick on the bottom of a pudding dish, then a layer of
lemon-flavored apple sauce, which has been rubbed through a colander and
afterward simmered on the range until stiff. If preferred, the sauce may
be prepared by first baking the apples, and then rubbing the pulp
through a colander. Add another layer of rice, then one of sauce, and so
on until the dish is full. Bake in a moderate oven and serve hot. If the
apples are not very tart, part stewed and sifted cranberries may be used
with them.
RICE AND STRAWBERRY DESSERT.--Soak a cup of rice in one and a half
cups of new milk; place all in an earthen dish, and steam an hour, or
until dry and tender, stirring occasionally for the first fifteen
minutes. When the rice is done, place in the bottom of cups previously
moistened with cold water, five nice hulled strawberries in the shape of
a star. Carefully fill the interstices between the berries with the
cooked rice, and put in a layer of rice. Add next a layer of
strawberries, then another of rice. Press firmly into the cups, and set
away to cool. When well molded, turn into saucers, and pile whipped
cream around each mold; sprinkle with sugar and serve.
A little care in forming the stars and filling the molds makes this a
delicious and pretty dessert. If preferred, the dessert may be prepared
in one large mold, and a larger number of berries arranged in the form
of a cross in the bottom of the dish, covering with rice, and adding as
many alternate layers of berries and rice as desired.
STEWED FRUIT PUDDING.--Take a deep, square or oblong granite-ware
or earthen dish; cut strips of stale bread uniformly an inch in width
and three fourths of an inch in thickness, and place them in the mold
with spaces between them equal to their width. Or, fit the strips around
the bottom of a round, earthen pudding dish, like the spokes of a wheel,
with stewed or canned fruit, sweetened to taste; whortleberries are
best, but apricots, cherries, currants, strawberries, and gooseberries
may all be used. Separate the juice from the berries by turning them
into a colander. Fill the interstices between the bread with hot fruit,
using just as little juice as possible. Cover with another layer, this
time placing the strips of bread over the fruit in the first layer, and
leaving the spaces for fruit over the bread in the first layer. Fill the
dish with these layers of fruit and bread, and when full, pour over all
the hot fruit juice. Put a plate with a weight on it on the top to press
it firmly. Dip off any juice that may be pressed out, and set the
pudding in the refrigerator to cool and press. When cold, it will turn
out whole, and can be cut in slices and served with whipped cream or
cocoanut sauce.
STRAWBERRY MINUTE PUDDING.--Cook a quart of ripe strawberries in a
pint of water till well scalded. Add sugar to taste. Skim out the fruit,
and into the boiling juice stir a scant cup of granulated wheat flour
previously rubbed to a paste with a little cold water; cook fifteen or
twenty minutes, pour over the fruit, and serve cold with cream sauce.
SWEET APPLE PUDDING.--Pare, core, and slice enough ripe, juicy
sweet apples to fill a pint bowl. Heat a quart of new milk to scalding
in a double boiler. Pour it hot over one cup of good granulated
cornmeal, and beat very thoroughly to remove all lumps. Return to the
double boiler, and cook until the meal is set. The batter then should
be about the consistency of corn mush. Remove from the fire, add a pint
of cold milk, stir in the sliced apples, one third of a cup of sugar or
molasses, and a teaspoonful of flour rubbed smooth in a very little
milk. Turn all into a deep earthen crock or pudding dish, and bake
slowly from three to four hours, stirring frequently the first hour. It
should be moderately browned on top when done. Serve warm or cold.
WHORTLEBERRY PUDDING.--One quart of new milk, one quart of fine
bread crumbs, two quarts of fresh whortleberries, one or two
tablespoonfuls of sugar. Heat the milk to boiling; fill a pudding dish
with alternate layers of bread crumbs and berries, beginning and ending
with crumbs. Add the sugar to the milk, let it dissolve, and pour the
whole over the pudding. Cover closely, and bake in a slow oven within a
pan of hot water nearly an hour. Serve warm with cream or cocoanut
sauce.
DESSERTS WITH TAPIOCA, SAGO, MONICA, AND SEA MOSS.
Both pearl and flake tapioca are suitable for these desserts. They
should be soaked for some hours before using, and it is always best to
soak over night if convenient. The flake tapioca requires longer soaking
and cooking than the pearl tapioca. For soaking, use one and a half cups
of water for each cup of flake tapioca, and one pint of water for a cup
of pearl tapioca. For cooking, three or four additional cups of water
will be required for each cup of tapioca, depending upon, the articles
used with it. A double boiler should be used for the cooking.
_RECIPES._
APPLE TAPIOCA.--Soak a cupful of pearl tapioca over night. In the
morning simmer in a quart of boiling water until transparent and
thickened. Arrange in the bottom of a pudding dish four or five
good-sized tart apples, which have been pared, cored, and the cavities
filled with sugar. Squeeze the juice of a lemon and grate a very little
of the rind over the apples. Pour the tapioca over the fruit. Set the
dish inside a pan filled with hot water, cover, and bake one hour, or
until the apples are done. Serve with sugar and cream. It is best nearly
cold. Fresh peaches, pared and stewed, may be used in place of apples,
if preferred.
APPLE TAPIOCA NO. 2.--Soak a half cup of tapioca in a cap of tepid
water, for at least three hours. Pare, core, and quarter nice tart
apples to fill a two-quart pudding dish nearly half full. Add four cups
of water and one of sugar to the soaked tapioca, pour it over the
apples, and bake two or three hours in a slow oven. Serve with whipped
cream.
BANANA DESSERT.--Soak a cup of tapioca over night. In the morning
cook in a double boiler in a quart of water until transparent. When
done, add a cup of sugar and three or four sliced bananas. Serve cold
with cream.
BLACKBERRY TAPIOCA.--Soak a cup of tapioca over night. When ready
to cook, add three cups of boiling water and cook in a double boiler
until transparent and smooth. Sprinkle a quart of fresh blackberries
with sugar, and stir lightly into the tapioca. Pour into molds and serve
cold with cream and sugar. Other fresh berries may be used in the same
way.
CHERRY PUDDING.--Soak and cook a half cup of tapioca in a pint of
water until transparent. Have a pint of fresh pitted cherries in an
earthen pudding dish. Sprinkle them well with sugar, pour over them the
cooked tapioca, and bake for an hour in a moderate oven. Serve hot with
or without cream.
FRUIT TAPIOCA.--Cook three fourths of a cup of tapioca in four cups
of water until smooth and transparent Stir into it lightly a pint of
fresh strawberries, raspberries, currants, or any small fruit, adding
sugar as required. For variety a cup of canned quinces or apricots may
be substituted for fresh fruit. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or
mock cream.
MOLDED TAPIOCA WITH FRUIT.--Simmer one half cup of desiccated
cocoanut in a pint of milk for twenty minutes. Strain out the cocoanut,
and add milk to make a full pint. Add one half cup of sugar and one half
cup of tapioca previously soaked over night. Let the whole simmer until
the tapioca is transparent. Dip some cups in cold water, drain, and lay
fresh strawberries, currants, or cherries in the bottom of each in the
form of a star or cross. Pour the tapioca into the molds gently, so as
not to displace the fruit. When cold, turn out and serve with whipped
cream or fruit sauce. Raisins may be substituted for fresh fruit, or
bits of jelly may be placed around the mold after it has cooled, if
preferred.
PINEAPPLE TAPIOCA.--Soak one cup of tapioca over night in one and
one half cups of water. Add two and one half cups of water and cook in a
double boiler until transparent, then add one cup of sugar and one juicy
pineapple minced fine with a sharp knife. Mold, and serve cold with or
without cream.
PRUNE AND TAPIOCA PUDDING.--Soak one half cup of tapioca over
night. In the morning cook until transparent in two cups of water. Stew
two cups of well-washed and stoned prunes in a quart of water till
perfectly tender; then add the juice of a good lemon and two
tablespoonfuls of sugar, and boil till the syrup becomes thick and
rich. Turn the prunes into a pudding dish, cover with the cooked
tapioca, and add a little grated lemon rind. Bake lightly. Serve without
dressing or with sugar and cream or almond sauce. If preferred, the
prunes and tapioca may be placed in the dish in alternate layers, having
the top one of tapioca.
TAPIOCA AND FIG PUDDING.--Cook three fourths of a cup of tapioca as
for Apple Tapioca. Have ready two cups of finely sliced or chopped tart
apples, and one cup of chopped figs, which have first been lightly
steamed. If preferred, raisins may be used in place of half the figs.
Put the fruit in the bottom of the pudding dish, turn the tapioca over
it, and bake till the fruit is very soft. If the apples are not very
tart, sprinkle the juice of a lemon over them before adding the figs and
tapioca.
A nice fruit pudding can also be made by using half canned pears and
half apples, or canned quinces may be substituted for figs.
PEACH TAPIOCA.--For this will be needed a quart of nicely canned
peaches, a cup of tapioca, and from one half to three fourths of a cup
of sugar, according to the sweetness of the peaches. Soak the tapioca
over night in just enough water to cover. When ready to cook, put in a
double boiler with three cups of water, and cook for an hour. Remove
from the fire and add to it the juice from the peaches, of which there
should be a cup and a half, which has been secured by draining the
peaches in a colander, and stir it well into the tapioca. Place a layer
of this mixture in an oiled pudding dish, add the peaches, cover with
the remainder of the tapioca, and bake for an hour in a moderate oven.
TAPIOCA JELLY.--Soak a cup of tapioca in a pint of water over
night. Add another pint and cook until transparent and smooth. Add three
tablespoonfuls of lemon juice and four tablespoonfuls of sugar; beat
well together and tun into molds. Serve cold. No dressing is required.
This may be varied by using unsweetened currant, grape, or other acid
fruit juice in place of lemon. Fruit jelly may be used if the juice is
not easily obtained. Add when the tapioca is well cooked, and stir until
dissolved.
APPLE SAGO PUDDING.--Soak one cup of sago in six cups of water;
stew ten small apples, mix with the sago, and bake three quarters of an
hour. Serve with cream and sugar. It is better warm than cold, but
acceptable either way.
RED SAGO MOLD.--Take a quart of red raspberry juice, pure or
diluted with one third water, and sweeten to taste. Have ready one half
cup of best sago which has soaked for twenty minutes in just enough
water to cover. Drain off any water that may remain. Add the sago to the
juice, and cook until the sago is transparent, then turn into molds.
Serve cold with cream. Cranberry or strawberry juice may be used in
place of the raspberry, if preferred.
SAGO FRUIT PUDDING.--Soak a small cup of sago an hour in just
enough water to cover. Drain off any water that may not be absorbed. Mix
two thirds of a cup of sugar with this sago, and stir all into a quart
of boiling water. Let it boil until the sago is perfectly transparent
and pour in a pint of nicely hulled strawberries. Turn into molds to
cool, or serve warm with cream, as preferred. Tapioca can be used
instead of sago, but needs longer soaking. Raspberries, stoned cherries,
or currants can be used in place of strawberries.
SAGO PUDDING.--Soak a cupful of sago for twenty minutes in a cup of
cold water; then pour over it a quart and a cup of boiling water, add a
cup of sugar and one half cup of raisins. Cook till the sago is
perfectly transparent, flavor with vanilla, and set away to cool. Serve
with whipped cream.
MANIOCA WITH FRUIT.--Pare, core, and quarter six medium-sized tart
apples, and put them to cook in a quart of boiling water. Add a cup of
sugar, and cook without stirring until softened, then sprinkle into the
water in which they are cooking five tablespoonfuls of manioca, and cook
until it is transparent, which will be in about ten minutes. Flavor with
a little grated lemon rind, and serve hot with sugar and cream, or mold,
as preferred. Canned peaches, apricots, or cherries may be used in a
similar manner, adding boiling water if there is not sufficient juice to
properly cook the manioca. Or the manioca may be first cooked in boiling
water, using four scant tablespoonfuls for a pint of water, and when
transparent, turning it over sliced bananas, pineapples, or oranges,
molding and serving with cream and sugar.
RASPBERRY MANIOCA MOLD.--Heat a pint of water, and when boiling,
sprinkle into it four scant tablespoonfuls of manioca and cook for ten
minutes or until transparent, stirring continually. When transparent and
thickened, remove from the fire and add a tablespoonful of lemon juice
and one cup of sugar. Place a layer of the cooked manioca in the bottom
of a pudding dish, add a layer of freshly picked red raspberries, then
another of the manioca, filling the dish in alternate layers with one of
manioca for the top. Set away in some cool place until well molded.
Serve in slices with cream flavored with rose. Other fresh berries may
be used instead of raspberries.
SEA MOSS BLANCMANGE.--Wash the moss well in several waters, and
soak in a very little cold water for an hour before using. It is hardly
possible to give exact directions for making this blancmange, owing to
the difficulty of accurately measuring the moss, but in general, a small
handful will be ample for a quart of milk. Add the moss, when washed, to
the milk, and cook in a double boiler until the milk has become
thickened and glutinous. Add sugar to sweeten, flavor with vanilla or
rose water, and strain through a fine sieve into cups previously wet in
cold water, and mold. This may be varied by using boiling water instead
of milk for cooking, adding the juice of one or two lemons and a little
grated rind to flavor.
DESSERTS MADE WITH GELATINE.
Gelatine is an article largely employed in making delicate and dainty
dishes. It is economical and convenient, because the dessert can be
prepared several hours before needed; but it must be stated that it has
in itself little or no food value, and there is great liability of its
being unwholesome. A writer in the _Anti-Adulteration Journal_, a short
time since, speaking of the use of gelatine, says:--
"The nutritive value of pure gelatine has been shown to be very low in
the scale of foods. The beef gelatine of the markets that is used by
bakers, is far from being pure gelatine. It frequently has a very
disagreeable, fetid odor, and has evidently begun to decompose during
the process of manufacture. After a thorough drying, putrefaction does
not take place as long as it remains dry. But suppose that gelatine
which has thus begun to decompose during the drying process, containing,
perhaps, putrefactive germs in the dried state, be dissolved in water,
and in hot weather, kept in this condition for a few hours previous to
being used; the result would be rapid putrefaction. The putrefaction
would be checked by freezing; but the bacteria causing it are not killed
by the low temperature. As soon as the dessert is melted or eaten, they
resume their activity in the body, and may cause sickness. It is a
well-known fact that gelatine is an excellent medium in which to
cultivate various kinds of micro-organisms; and if the conclusions here
mentioned be correct, it seems that gelatine should be used with great
care in connection with food preparations. When used carelessly, it may
do a great deal of harm. I wish to impress those who use it with the
importance of guarding against its dangers. Gelatine should not be
allowed to remain in solution for many hours before using, especially in
hot weather.
"When used at all, the best varieties should be employed, and such as
are free from putrefactive odor."
A "box" of gelatine is used to signify a two-ounce package. If half a
box is called for, divide it by cutting the box and its contents in
halves rather than by emptying the box and then attempting to make a
division.
To prepare gelatine for desserts, first soak it till soft in a small
quantity of cold water (a cupful to one box of gelatine is sufficient);
fifteen minutes will suffice if it is stirred frequently; then dissolve
in boiling liquid. Do not cook the gelatine, and after it is dissolved,
always strain through a cloth strainer before using.
In winter, a two-ounce package will solidify two quarts of liquid,
including the water in which the gelatine is soaked. In summer, a little
less liquid should be used. Gelatine desserts must be left on ice or in
a cool place until hardened, but they should not be served at the table
so cold as to interfere with the digestion of other foods.
_RECIPES._
APPLES IN JELLY.--Pare and core without cutting open, a half dozen
medium-sized tart apples of the same degree of hardness. Fill the
centers with a little grated lemon rind and sugar. Steam until tender
but not broken. Have ready half a package of gelatine which has been
soaked for an hour in just enough water to cover. Prepare a syrup with
one cup of sugar and a pint of water. When boiling, turn the syrup over
the gelatine, stirring well to dissolve it, and add the juice of half a
lemon. Strain, place the apples in a deep dish with a little space
between each; turn the mixture over them, and set in the ice box to
cool. Serve with or without a little whipped cream.
APPLE SHAPE.--Steam some nice tart apples. When tender, rub through
a colander. Have two thirds of a box of gelatine soaked in just enough
water to cover; pour over it a cup and a half of boiling water; when
well dissolved, strain and add a pint of the sifted apples sweetened to
taste, and one half cup of grated fresh or canned pineapple, or if
preferred, one half cup of the juice of canned pineapple. Turn into cups
previously wet in cold water, and mold. Serve with a little cream.
Canned peaches, apricots, and other fruit may be used the same as
apples, if preferred. Rub the fruit with but little juice through a
colander, and proceed as above.
BANANA DESSERT.--Dissolve half a box of gelatine in a half cup of
warm water. Heat three cups of rich milk to boiling, and add to it one
cup of sugar and turn over the well-dissolved gelatine and strain. Let
it partly cool, and mix in three or four bananas, sliced thin or chopped
fine. Turn all into a mold previously wet with cold water, and leave
till hardened, which may require several hours unless the mold be placed
on ice. When well molded, turn into a glass dish, serve with whipped
cream flavored with vanilla or lemon.
CLEAR DESSERT.--Soak a box of gelatine in a large bowl with half a
cup of cold water. When soft, pour over it three pints of boiling water,
add the juice of three large lemons and two cups of sugar. Stir well,
strain, and pour into molds previously wet with cold water. Put into the
refrigerator until hardened. Serve with whipped cream. Quince, apricot,
orange, or pineapple juice may be substituted for lemon, and thus a
variety of desserts may be made.
FRUIT FOAM DESSERT.--Soak half a package of gelatine in half a cup
of cold water until soft. Heat to boiling two and one half cups of red
raspberry, currant, strawberry, or grape juice, sweetened to taste, and
pour over the soaked gelatine. Stir until perfectly dissolved, then
strain, and set the dish in ice water to cool. When it is cold and
beginning to thicken, beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth and
stir into the thickening gelatine. Beat thoroughly for fifteen minutes
with an egg beater, or whip till the whole is of a solid foam stiff
enough to retain its shape. Turn into molds previously wet with cold
water, or pile roughly in large spoonfuls in a glass dish. Set away in
the refrigerator until needed. Serve with a little whipped cream piled
lightly around it.
FRUIT SHAPE.--Take a quart of nicely canned red raspberries,
sweetened to taste; turn into a colander and drain off the juice, taking
care to keep the fruit as perfect as possible. Put two thirds of a box
of gelatine to soak in just enough of the juice to cover. When the
gelatine is ready, heat the remainder of the juice to boiling and pour
over it. When well dissolved, add the fruit, turn into cups, and mold.
Serve with cream. Peaches, strawberries, apricots, and other canned
fruit may be used in place of the raspberries, if preferred.
GELATINE CUSTARD.--Soak a quarter of a box of gelatine in one
fourth of a cup of cold water till soft; then pour over it three fourths
of a cup of boiling water, and stir until dissolved. Beat the yolks of
two eggs and three tablespoonfuls of sugar to a cream; pour over it
slowly, stirring continuously, a pint of boiling milk, and cook in a
double boiler until it thickens. Then add the gelatine mixture, which
should first be strained, the whites of the two eggs beaten stiff, and a
little vanilla for flavoring. Beat all well together, turn into molds
previously wet in cold water, and place on ice to harden. Serve with
fruit sauce.