food chopper, using the coarsest blade. Moisten with molasses just
enough so that the mixture can be molded into a loaf. Chill, cut and
serve as candy. Chopped English walnuts combined with chopped dates or
figs make a very delicious loaf sweetmeat.
POPCORN BALLS AND FRITTERS
1 cup corn syrup
2 tablespoons vinegar
Popcorn
Cook syrup for fifteen minutes, add vinegar, then when a little snaps
when dropped in cold water turn over popped corn, mix well, and form
into balls with oiled hands, or if fritters are desired, roll out the
mass while warm and cut out with a greased cutter.
COCOANUT LOAF
1 cup shredded cocoanut
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon mapline
Mix corn syrup and mapline. Add enough to the dates and cocoanut to
form a stiff cake. Mold into neat square at least an inch thick. Let
stand in the refrigerator for one hour, then cut in squares and roll
each in cornstarch.
STUFFED DATES
Mix one-half cup each of chopped peanuts and raisins. Add a teaspoon
of lemon juice and two tablespoons of cream cheese. Remove stones from
fine large dates, and in their place insert a small roll of the cheese
mixture. These are nice in place of candy or can be served with salad.
FRUIT LOAF
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup nuts
2 tablespoons honey, maple syrup or corn syrup
1/2 cup figs or dates
Put fruit and nuts through the food chopper, using the coarsest
blade. Add enough syrup or honey to make a stiff loaf. Place in the
refrigerator for one hour; slice and serve in place of candy, rolling
each slice in cornstarch.
STUFFED FIGS
Cut a slit in the side of dried figs, take out some of the pulp
with the tip of a teaspoon. Mix with one-quarter cup of the pulp and
one-quarter cup of finely chopped crystalized ginger, a teaspoon of
grated orange or lemon rind; and a tablespoon of lemon juice. Fill the
figs with mixture, stuffing them so that they look plump.
SUGARLESS PRESERVES
QUINCE OR PEAR PRESERVES
1 lb. fruit
1 cup corn syrup
1/4 lb. ginger root or 2 oz. crystalized ginger
Steam or cook sliced and pared fruit in small amount of water until
tender. Add ginger and corn syrup. Cook 20 minutes slowly. Lemon skins
may be used instead of ginger root.
APPLE, QUINCE, PEACH, PEAR OR PLUM JAM
1 cup left-over cooked fruit or pulp from skins and core
3/4 cup corn syrup
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 teaspoon mixed ground spices, allspice, cloves and nutmeg
Cook slowly until thick.
PUMPKIN OR CARROT MARMALADE
Reduce 1 pint grape juice one-half by boiling slowly. Add 1 cup
vegetables (pumpkin or carrot). Add 2 teaspoons spices and 1 cup corn
syrup. Boil until of consistency of honey and place in sterilized jars
or glasses.
GRAPE JUICE
5 lb. grapes
1 pint water
1 cup corn syrup
Cook grapes in water until soft. Mash; drain through jelly bag or
wet cheesecloth. Add corn syrup. Boil 5 minutes. Put into sterilized
bottles. If cork stoppers are used cover them with melted sealing wax.
SYRUP FOR SPICED APPLES, PEARS, PEACHES, GRAPES
1 cup corn syrup
2 oz. stick cinnamon
12 allspice berries
6 whole cloves
1/4 cup vinegar
Boil 5 minutes. Add any fruit and cook slowly 20 minutes or until
fruit is clear and syrup thick. If hard fruits, such as pears,
quinces, etc., are used, steam for 20 minutes before adding to syrup.
SYRUP FOR CANNED FRUIT
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup water
Bring to boiling point. Use same as sugar and water syrup.
SYRUP FOR PRESERVED FRUIT
2 cups crystal corn syrup For each three pounds of fruit
1/2 cup water
Use same as water and sugar syrup.
CRANBERRY JELLY
1 pint cranberries
1/2 cup water
About 1 cup corn syrup
Cook cranberries in water very slowly until tender. Leave whole or
press through colander. Measure amount of mixture and add equal amount
of corn syrup. Cook slowly until mixture forms jelly when tested on
cold plate. Turn into mold which has been rinsed in cold water.
APRICOT AND RAISIN MARMALADE
1 cup of apricots
1-1/2 cups cold water
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup chopped seeded raisins
1 teaspoon orange rind
Soak apricots and raisins in the water two hours. Cook slowly until
very soft. Add other ingredients and cook slowly (about 30 minutes)
until slightly thick. Place in sterile jars or glasses and seal.
[Illustration]
SAVE FAT
_REASONS WHY OUR GOVERNMENT ASKS US TO SAVE FAT, WITH PRACTICAL
RECIPES FOR FAT CONSERVATION_
With the world-wide decrease of animal production, animal fats are now
growing so scarce that the world is being scoured for new sources of
supply. Our Government has asked the housewife to conserve all the
fats that come to her home and utilize them to the best advantage. To
this end it is necessary to have some knowledge of the character of
different fats and the purposes to which they are best adapted.
The word fat usually brings to one's mind an unappetizing chunk of
meat fat which most persons cannot and will not eat, and fatty foods
have been popularly supposed to be "bad for us" and "hard to digest."
Fats are, however, an important food absolutely essential to complete
nutrition, which repay us better for the labor of digestion than any
other food. If they are indigestible, it is usually due to improper
cooking or improper use; if they are expensive, it is merely because
they are extravagantly handled. The chief function of fatty food is
to repair and renew the fatty tissues, to yield energy and to maintain
the body heat. The presence of fat in food promotes the flow of the
pancreatic juice and bile, which help in the assimilation of other
foods and assist the excretory functions of the intestine. These are
badly performed if bile and other digestive fluids are not secreted in
sufficient quantity. The absence of fat in the diet leads to a state
of malnutrition, predisposing to tuberculosis, especially in children
and young persons.
It is claimed that the most serious food shortage in Germany is fat;
that the civilian population is dying in large numbers because of
the lack of it, and that Von Hindenburg's men will lose out on the
basis of fat, rather than on the basis of munitions or military
organization. Worst of all is the effect of fat shortage on the
children of the nation. Leaders of thought all over Europe assert
that even if Germany wins, Germany has lost, because it has sapped the
strength of its coming generation.
The term fat is used to designate all products of fatty composition
and includes liquid fats such as oils, soft fats such as butter, and
hard fats such as tallow. While all fats have practically the same
energy-value, they differ widely from each other in their melting
point, and the difference in digestibility seems to correspond to the
difference in melting point. Butter burns at 240 degrees Fahrenheit,
while vegetable oils can be heated as high as 600 degrees Fahrenheit,
furnishing a very high temperature for cooking purposes before they
begin to burn. The scorching of fat not only wastes the product, but
renders it indigestible, even dangerous to some people, and for this
reason butter should never be used for frying, as frying temperature
is usually higher than 240 degrees. It is well to choose for cooking
only those fats which have the highest heat-resisting qualities
because they do not burn so easily.
Beginning with the lowest burning point, fats include genuine butter,
substitute butters, lard and its substitutes, and end with tallow and
vegetable oils. Of the latter, there is a varied selection from the
expensive olive oil to the cheaper cottonseed, peanut, cocoanut and
corn oils and their compounds and the hydrogenated oils.
The economy of fat, therefore, depends on the choice of the fat used
for the various cooking processes as well as the conservation of
all fatty residue, such as crackling, leftover frying fats and soup
fat. For cooking processes, such as sauteing (pan frying), or deep
fat frying, it is best to use the vegetable and nut oils. These are
more plentiful, and hence cheaper than the animal fats; the latter,
however, can be produced in the home from the fats of meats and
leftover pan fats, which should not be overlooked as frying mediums.
Butter and butter substitutes are best kept for table use and for
flavoring. The hydrogenated oils, home-rendered fats, lard and beef
and mutton suet can be used for shortening fats.
In the purchase of meats, the careful housewife should see that
the butcher gives her all the fat she pays for, as all fats can be
rendered very easily at home and can be used for cooking purposes.
Butchers usually leave as large a proportion of fat as possible on
all cuts of meat which, when paid for at meat prices, are quite an
expensive item. All good clear fat should, therefore, be carefully
trimmed from meats before cooking. Few people either like or find
digestible greasy, fat meats, and the fat paid for at meat prices,
which could have been rendered and used for cooking, is wasted when
sent to table.
There are various methods of conserving fat. First, the economical use
of table fats; second, the saving of cooking; and third, the proper
use of all types of fat.
Economy in the use of table fats may best be secured by careful
serving. One serving of butter is a little thing--there are about
sixty-four of them in a pound. In many households the butter left on
the plates probably would equal a serving or one-fourth of an ounce,
daily, which is usually scraped into the garbage pail or washed off in
the dishpan. But if everyone of our 20,000,000 households should waste
one-fourth of an ounce of butter daily, it would mean 312,500 pounds
a day, or 114,062,500 pounds a year. To make this butter would take
265,261,560 gallons of milk, or the product of over a half-million
cows, an item in national economy which should not be overlooked.
When butter is used to flavor cooked vegetables, it is more economical
to add it just before they are served rather than while they are
cooking. The flavor thus imparted is more pronounced, and, moreover,
if the butter is added before cooking, much of it will be lost in
the water unless the latter is served with the vegetables. Butter
substitutes, such as oleomargarine and nut margarine, should be more
largely used for the table, especially for adults. Conserve butter
for children, as animal fats contain vitamines necessary for growing
tissues. Butter substitutes are as digestible and as nourishing as
butter, and have a higher melting point. They keep better and cost
less.
Oleomargarine, which has been in existence for fifty years, was first
offered to the world in 1870 by a famous French chemist, Mege-Mouries,
who was in search of a butter substitute cheap enough to supply the
masses with the much-needed food element. He had noticed that the
children of the poor families were afflicted with rickets and other
diseases which could be remedied by the administration of the right
amount of fat. He combined fresh suet and milk and called the product
"oleomargarine." In the United States this product is now made of oleo
oil or soft beef fat, neutral lard, cottonseed and other oils, churned
with a small quantity of milk, and in the finer grades, cream is
sometimes used. A certain proportion of butter is usually added, and
the whole worked up with salt as in ordinary butter-making.
Owing to the fears of the butter-makers that oleomargarine would
supplant their product in popular favor, legislation was enacted that
restricted the manufacture of oleo and established a rigid system of
governmental inspection, so that the product is now manufactured
under the most sanitary conditions which furnishes a cleaner and more
reliable product than natural butter.
Nut margarine is a compound of cocoa oil, which so closely resembles
butter that only an expert can distinguish it from the natural
product. Both these butter substitutes are used in large amounts by
the best bakers, confectioners and biscuit manufacturers, and foolish
prejudice against butter substitutes should not deter their use in the
home.
A large saving in cooking fats can be made by the careful utilization
of all fats that come into the home. Beef and mutton suet can be
rendered and made available. Fats which have been saved after meals
are cooked should be clarified--that is, freed from all objectionable
odors, tastes or color--so as to be made available as shortening and
frying fats.
The following recipes and suggestions make possible the use of all
fats, and as fat shortage is one of the most serious of the world's
food problems, it is essential that every housekeeper have a larger
knowledge of the utilization and economy of this essential food.
[Illustration]
TO RENDER FATS
TO RENDER FAT BY DIRECT METHOD
Run the fat through the household meat grinder or chop fine in the
chopping bowl. Then heat in the double boiler until completely melted,
finally straining through a rather thick cloth or two thicknesses
of cheese cloth, wrung out in hot water. By this method there is no
danger of scorching. Fats heated at a low temperature also keep better
than those melted at higher temperature. After the fat is rendered,
it should be slowly reheated to sterilize it and make sure it is free
from moisture. The bits of tissue strained out, commonly known as
cracklings, may be used for shortening purposes or may be added to
cornmeal which is to be used as fried cornmeal mush.
TO RENDER FAT WITH MILK
To two pounds of fat (finely chopped if unrendered) add one-half pint
of milk, preferably sour. Heat the mixture in a double boiler until
thoroughly melted. Stir well and strain through a thick cloth or two
thicknesses of cheese cloth wrung out in hot water. When cold the fat
forms a hard, clean layer and any material adhering to the under
side of the fat, may be scraped off. Sour milk being coagulated is
preferable to sweet milk since the curd remains on the cloth through
which the rendered mixture is strained and is thus more easily
separated from the rendered fat which has acquired some of the milk
flavor and butter fat.
TO RENDER FAT BY COLD WATER METHOD
Cut fat in small pieces. Cover with cold water. Heat slowly. Let cook
until bubbling ceases. Press fat during heating so as to obtain all
the oil possible. When boiling ceases strain through cheesecloth and
let harden. If desired one-half teaspoon salt, one-eighth teaspoon
pepper, 1 teaspoon onion and 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning may be added
before straining.
TO RENDER STRONG FLAVORED FATS
To mutton, duck or goose fat add equal amount of beef suet or
vegetable fat and render same as suet. This may then be used for
shortening, or pan broiling for meat or fish dishes, and not have the
characteristic taste of the stronger fats.
When rendering strong mutton, duck or goose fats if a small whole
onion is added the strong flavor of the fat is reduced. Remove the
onion before straining. It may be used in cooking.
TO CLARIFY FAT
Melt the fat in an equal volume of water and heat for a short time at
a moderate temperature. Stir occasionally. Cool and remove the layer
of fat which forms on the top, scraping off any bits of meat or other
material which may adhere to the other side.
Fats which have formed on top of soups, of cooked meats (such as pot
roast, stews), salt meats (such as corned beef, ham, etc.), or strong
fats, such as from boiled mutton, poultry and game, may be clarified
in this way and used alone or combined with other animal or vegetable
fats in any savory dish.
CARE OF FAT AFTER BEING USED FOR COOKING
If fat is used for deep fat frying as croquettes, doughnuts, fritters,
etc., while fat is still hot, add a few slices raw potato and allow it
to stay in the fat until it is cool. Remove potato--strain fat, allow
to harden and it is ready to use. The potato absorbs odors from fat.
HOW TO MAKE SAVORY FATS
FAT 1: To 1 pound of unrendered fat (chopped fine) add 1 slice of
onion about one-half inch thick and two inches in diameter, 1 bay
leaf, 1 teaspoonful salt, and about one-eighth teaspoonful of pepper.
Render in a double boiler and strain.
FAT 2: To 1 pound unrendered fat (chopped fine) add 2 teaspoonfuls
of thyme, 1 slice onion, about one-half inch thick and two inches
in diameter, one teaspoonful salt and about one-eighth teaspoonful
pepper. Render in a double boiler and strain.
FAT 3: To 1 pound unrendered fat (chopped fine) add 1 teaspoonful
thyme, 1 teaspoonful marjoram, one-half teaspoonful rubbed sage, 1
teaspoonful salt, and about one-eighth teaspoonful pepper. Render in a
double boiler and strain through fine cloth.
EXTENSION OF TABLE FATS
A. Butter or other fat may be extended to double its original bulk and
reduce the cost of the fat 40 per cent. A patented churn, any homemade
churn, mayonnaise mixer, or bowl and rotary beater may be used for
the purpose. To any quantity of butter heated until slightly soft add
equal quantity of milk, place in the churn, add one teaspoon salt for
each one pound of butter used. Blend thoroughly in churn, mayonnaise
mixer, or in bowl with rotary beater until of even consistency. Place
in refrigerator to harden. Vegetable coloring, such as comes with
margarine or may be purchased separately, may be added if a deeper
yellow color is desired.
B.
1 lb. butter
1 quart milk (2 pint bottles preferred)
1 tablespoon granulated gelatine
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
Soak gelatine in one-half cup of the milk. When softened, dissolve
over hot water. Let butter stand in warm place, until soft. Add
gelatine mixture, milk and salt and beat with Dover beater until
thoroughly mixed (about 15 minutes). Vegetable coloring such as comes
with margarine may be added if desired. Do not put on ice.
C.
1 lb. butter
1 quart milk (2 pint bottles preferred)
1 tablespoon granulated gelatine
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup peanut butter
Soak gelatine in one-half cup of the milk. When softened, dissolve
over hot water. Let butter stand in warm place, until soft. Add
gelatine mixture, peanut butter, milk and salt and beat with rotary
egg beater until thoroughly blended (about 15 minutes). Vegetable
coloring such as comes with margarine may be added if desired. Put in
cool place to harden but do not put on ice as the gelatine would cause
the mixture to flake. It is preferable to make up this mixture enough
for one day at a time only.
D. To 1 pound of butter or butter substitute add one cup peanut
butter. Blend thoroughly with wooden spoon or butter paddle; this may
be used in place of butter as a new and delightful variation.
E. To 1 pound softened butter add 1 pound softened butter substitute
(oleomargarine, nut margarine, vegetable margarine) or hydrogenated
fat. Blend thoroughly with butter paddle or wooden spoon and use as
butter.
SUGGESTIONS FOR PASTRY
Whole wheat makes a more tasty crust than bread flour and all rye
pastry has even better flavor than wheat flour pastry. Half wheat or
rye and the other half cornmeal (white or yellow) makes an excellent
pastry for meat or fish pie. If cornmeal is added, use this recipe:
CORNMEAL PASTRY FOR MEAT OR FISH
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup rye or wheat flour
2 tablespoons fat
1/3 cup cold or ice water
1 teaspoon baking powder
Sift dry ingredients. Cut in fat. Add water and roll out on well
floured board.
PASTRY MADE WITH DRIPPING
Well made, digestible pastry should have a minimum of fat to make a
crisp flaky crust. It should be crisp, not brittle; firm, not crumbly.
Pastry may be made in large amounts, kept in refrigerator for several
days and used as needed. Roll out only enough for one crust at a time
as the less pastry is handled, the better.
PLAIN PASTRY
1 cup flour
1/3 cup fat
1/2 teaspoon salt
About 1/4 cup cold or ice water
Mix flour and salt. Cut in fat and add just enough cold or ice water
to make the mixture into a stiff dough. Roll out. This recipe makes
one crust.
MEAT OR FISH PIE CRUST
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup any kind of dripping
1 cup meat stock or milk
1 teaspoon salt
Sift dry ingredients. Cut in fat if solid, or add if liquid. Stir in
meat stock or milk to make a soft dough. Place on top of meat or
fish with gravy in greased baking dish and bake 30 to 40 minutes in
moderately hot oven.
VARIOUS USES FOR LEFTOVER FATS
CREOLE RICE
2 tablespoons savory drippings
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1-1/2 cups tomato juice and pulp
1 teaspoon onion juice
2 tablespoons chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon chopped olives
1 cup of rice
1 cup water
Wash rice and soak in water 30 minutes. Melt fat, add dry ingredients
and gradually the tomatoes. Stir in rice and other ingredients, also
the water in which rice was soaked. Cook slowly one-half hour or until
rice is tender.
POTATOES ESPAGNOLE
2 cups pared and sliced potatoes
2 tablespoons bacon drippings
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 tablespoon cayenne
1-1/2 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon chopped green pepper or pimento
Melt drippings. Add onion and cook until slightly brown. Add other
seasonings and water. Pour over potatoes. Let cook slowly in oven
until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.
DUMPLINGS
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons drippings
1 cup water, meat stock or milk
Sift dry ingredients. Cut in fat. Gradually add liquid to make a soft
dough. Roll out, place on greased pan and steam 20 minutes, or drop
into stew and cook covered 30 minutes. Serve at once.
POTATO SALAD
2 cups freshly cooked and diced potatoes
1/3 cup bacon drippings
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped peppers
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
Mix drippings, salt, pepper, vinegar and cayenne. Add to the potatoes
and mix thoroughly. Chill and serve. Cold cooked potatoes may be used,
but the flavor is better if mixed while potatoes are hot.
SOAP
1 can lye
6 lbs. fat (Fat for soap should be fat which is no longer useful
for culinary purposes.)
1 quart cold water
To lye add water--using enamel or agate utensil. When cool add the fat
which has been heated until liquid. Stir until of consistency of honey
(about 20 minutes). Two tablespoons ammonia or two tablespoons borax
may be added for a whiter soap. If stirred thoroughly this soap will
float.
[Illustration: The illustration shows various forms of food waste--the
discarded outside leaves of lettuce and cabbage, apple cores and
parings, stale bread and drippings.]
SAVE FOOD
_REASONS WHY OUR GOVERNMENT ASKS US NOT TO WASTE FOOD, WITH PRACTICAL
RECIPES ON THE USE OF LEFTOVERS_
Elimination of food waste is to-day a patriotic service. It is also a
most effective method of solving our food problem. This country,
like all the powers at war, will undoubtedly be called upon to face
increasing prices so long as the war continues, and waste in any form
is not only needless squandering of the family income, but failure in
devotion to a great cause.
Food waste is due to poor selection of raw materials, to careless
storage and heedless preparation, to bad cooking, to injudicious
serving, and to the overflowing garbage pail.
To select food in such a way as will eliminate waste and at the same
time insure the best possible return for money spent, the housekeeper
must purchase for nutriment rather than to please her own or the
family palate.
When eggs are sixty and seventy cents a dozen their price is out of
all proportion to their food value. Tomatoes at five or ten cents
apiece in winter do not supply sufficient nutriment to warrant their
cost, nor does capon at forty-five cents a pound nourish the body
any better than the fricassee fowl at twenty-eight cents. In order
to prevent such costly purchasing, a knowledge of food values is
necessary. The simplest and easiest way to plan food values is to
divide the common food materials into five main groups and see that
each of these groups appear in each day's menu.
GROUP 1.--FOODS DEPENDED ON FOR MINERAL MATTERS, VEGETABLE ACIDS, AND
BODY-REGULATING SUBSTANCES.
FRUITS
Apples, pears, etc.,
Berries,
Melons,
Oranges, lemons, all citrus fruits.
VEGETABLES
Salads, lettuce, celery,
Potherbs or "greens"
Tomatoes, squash,
Green peas, green beans,
Potatoes and root vegetables.
GROUP 2.--FOODS DEPENDED ON FOR PROTEIN.
Milk, skim milk, cheese,
Eggs,
Meat,
Poultry,
Fish,
Dried peas, beans, cow-peas,
Nuts.
GROUP 3.--FOODS DEPENDED ON FOR STARCH.