is too high, some seasonable small fresh fish such as pike may be used in
place of oysters. These may be prepared for frying in the same manner as
oysters. If desired, corn-meal may be substituted for dried bread crumbs.]
Large oysters
Dried bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
Eggs
1 tablespoonful water or oyster juice for each egg
Remove pieces of shell from the oyster by running each oyster through the
fingers. Wash the oysters, drain immediately, and dry them on a soft cloth
or towel (see _Cleaning Oysters_). Season with salt and pepper. Beat
the eggs slightly and dilute by adding one tablespoonful of water or
strained oyster juice to each egg. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the dried
bread crumbs. Dip the oysters into the prepared crumbs, then into the egg
mixture, and finally into the crumbs. Fry one minute, drain, place on
paper, and serve.
Lemons cut into eighths are desirable to serve with fried oysters. Parsley
makes a pleasing garnish.
To Clean Utensils that have Contained Fat.--An alkaline substance such as
washing soda is effective in cleaning utensils that have held fat. To show
the action of washing soda on fats try the following:
EXPERIMENT 34: SAPONIFICATION OF FAT.--Into a test tube put 1/2
teaspoonful of washing soda and 1 teaspoonful water, then heat until the
washing soda is entirely dissolved. Melt 1 teaspoonful of solid fat and
add it to the soda solution. Boil the contents of the tube for a few
minutes and then examine it. What substance does the foaming suggest? What
has been formed by the union of fat and soda? What application can be
drawn from this with regard to the use of soda in cleaning utensils that
have contained fat?
Wipe out with soft paper the utensil that has held fat. Fill it full of
water, add some washing soda, and heat. Empty the water and wash. Do not
use washing soda in aluminum utensils (see _Preparing Dishes for
Washing_).
QUESTIONS
What is taking place when hot fat emits an odor?
Name two advantages in dipping foods that are to be fried in egg.
Why are dried rather than soft bread crumbs used for covering foods that
are to be fried?
LESSON XXXV
FAT AS A FRYING MEDIUM--FOOD FATS
FOOD FATS.--Fats and oils are extracted from various materials and refined
so as to make them suitable for food. Food fats are of both animal and
vegetable origin. Fats separated from milk (butter), meat fats (suet,
lard) are animal fats while those separated from seeds (cottonseed and
peanut), cereal (corn), fruit (olive), nuts (coconuts) are vegetable fats.
A discussion of various food fats follows:
(_a_) _Butter_ is made by churning ripened cream so as to
separate the fat from the other ingredients contained in milk. It is
salted and usually colored before putting it on the market.
The popularity of butter is dependent upon its flavor, for its fuel value
is not greater than any other fat. Indeed butter does not contain as much
fat as do the vegetable oils and fats, and certain other animal fats.
Butter contains 85 per cent of fat while many vegetable oils and fats and
lard contain 100 per cent of fat. Butter contains, however, certain
growth-producing substances called _vitamines_ (see Division Seven).
All fats do not contain vitamines. The latter are found in butter, but are
not present in vegetable oils and fats and in pork fat.
Butter is one of the most expensive foods of a household. Its use,
therefore, must be carefully considered. Because of its pleasing flavor,
for some purposes no fat is as desirable as butter. If, however, fat is to
be combined with foods of _pronounced flavor, i.e._ foods whose
flavor is strong enough to cover up other food flavors, other fats may be
substituted with satisfactory results.
(_b_) _Oleomargarin_ is a combination of several different fats.
It is usually made by churning soft beef fat (called oleo oil) and neutral
(_i.e._ carefully rendered) lard with milk or cream. Sometimes butter
and cottonseed and peanut oils are added. Because colored oleomargarin is
highly taxed, this fat is usually not colored in its preparation for the
market.
The term oleomargarin is used not only as the trade name for fat of the
composition stated above, but as the legal name of any food fat prepared
as a butter substitute. To comply with the law, solid fats found at market
and containing no oleo oil are labeled oleomargarin.
(_c_) _Nut Margarin_ is also a mixture of various fats. It
usually consists of coconut oil combined with cottonseed or peanut oil.
(_d_) _Meat Fats_.--The fat of pork is commonly "tried out" or
"rendered" to free it from connective tissue. That obtained from trying
out the fat from around the kidneys is called _leaf lard_; ordinary
lard is obtained from the fats of other parts of the animal. The former is
considered of superior quality.
Beef suet or the fat from around the kidneys and loin of beef is also
tried out and used for cooking. All scraps of fat--cooked or uncooked--as
well as any drippings from beef, veal, pork, and chicken, should be saved
and used in cooking. The fat from mutton has a peculiar flavor and so
cannot be used in food, unless cooked with certain flavoring materials
(see _Mutton_). It may be saved for soap-making. Fat from soup and
drippings need only be clarified before using for cooking; suet and other
uncooked fat of meat must be first tried out.
(_e_) _Vegetable Oils_.--The oil from cottonseed, corn, and
peanut is prepared for table use and sold under various trade names. Oil
is also extracted from the olive. This is an extremely expensive oil. Its
food value is no greater than that of other vegetable oils; only "olive
flavor" is secured for the greater price. Refined cottonseed and corn oils
are bland in flavor. Peanut has a characteristic flavor pleasing to most
persons. When these vegetable oils become rancid, however, their flavor is
disagreeable.
FAT COMBINATIONS.--Every thrifty housekeeper should have several kinds of
fats in her larder, and should use all with discretion. Fats may be
combined for certain purposes. Many times in making pastry or in sauteing
and frying, it is desirable to use a firm and a soft fat together, such as
butter and lard, suet and oil, or suet and chicken fat.
FISH BALLS
1 cupful salt codfish
4 small potatoes
1 egg
1/2 tablespoonful butter or substitute
1/8 teaspoonful pepper
Wash the fish in water and tear into small pieces; wash and pare the
potatoes. Cook the fish and the _whole_ potatoes together in gently
boiling water, containing no salt, until the potatoes are soft. Drain and
shake over the fire until dry; mash, add the beaten egg, fat, pepper, and
salt (if needed), and beat until light. Take up the mixture by spoonfuls,
mold slightly, and place in hot deep fat. Do not fry more than six balls
at one time. Fry until brown, drain, garnish, and serve at once. White or
Cheese Sauce may be served over Fish Balls.
The potatoes used in fish balls may be steamed. The codfish, however, must
be soaked or cooked in water.
QUESTIONS
Why is it not necessary to soak codfish for Fish Balls in water before
cooking?
Why is salt not added to the water in which codfish and potatoes are
cooked?
If a food that is to be fried contains much water, what happens to the
water when placed in the hot fat? Explain why it is better to leave the
potatoes whole rather than cut them into pieces for cooking. Why is it
especially necessary to dry the fish and potato mixture before frying?
What ingredient do Fish Balls contain that hardens immediately on being
heated? Of what advantage is this ingredient in mixtures that are to be
fried?
What is the price per package of codfish? What is the weight and measure
of a package?
LESSON XXXVI
FAT AS A FRYING MEDIUM--DIGESTION OF FAT
EXPERIMENT 36: ACTION OF OIL AND WATER.--Pour a little corn or cottonseed
oil into a test tube, add the same quantity of water, and shake the tube.
Set the tube aside for a minute and examine. Which material rises to the
top? Is oil soluble in water? What application can be made from this
concerning the effectiveness of cleaning the fat of meats with water?
EXPERIMENT 36: EMULSION OF FAT.--In a test tube put a bit of soap and 2
tablespoonfuls of water. Heat until the soap is melted. Add 1/2
teaspoonful of vegetable oil. Shake the mixture and then examine. What
familiar food does the mixture look like? Set the tube aside for a minute.
Does the oil rise to the top as in Experiment 35? The fat is in an
emulsified condition.
BREAKING UP OF FATS.--Fats and oils are not soluble in any substance found
in the digestive juices, but they are acted upon by an enzyme [Footnote
41: Steapsin or lipase is the enzyme found in the pancreatic juice which
acts upon fat.] and by an alkaline substance found in the pancreatic
juice. The enzyme breaks up some of the fat into a fatty acid [Footnote
42: Fatty acids are substances related to fats; they have certain acid
properties.] and glycerin.
During digestion, fat is emulsified, i.e. divided into tiny globules which
do not coalesce.
When a fat is emulsified, it often looks like milk. (Milk contains fat in
an emulsified form; the fat separates, however, by standing and rises to
the top to form cream.) Fats can be emulsified by several different
substances. A soap solution is one of the substances that will emulsify
fats. (The action of soap solution in emulsifying fat was shown in
Experiment 36.)
If fats are emulsified by means of soap, one might ask where the soap
comes from in the process of digestion. The soap is thought to be formed
by the action of the alkali of the pancreatic juice upon some of the fatty
acids formed by the splitting up of the fat. By means of the soap thus
formed, fat is emulsified during digestion. During digestion, fat is
broken up into fatty acids and glycerin.
FRYING AND DIGESTION.--Fat is a slowly digesting foodstuff. Not only fats,
but foods coated with fat are digested slowly. Because of the longer time
in the digestive tract, foods may cause digestive disturbances.
When fats are heated to a high temperature, they are decomposed and
irritating substances (free fatty acids) are formed. These substances are
absorbed by foods which are browned in fats.
It is well, then, to have the least possible quantity of fat soak into
foods cooked in fats. It has been found that foods soak up much more fat
when sauted (_i.e._ browning in a small quantity of fat) than when
fried. The greatest care should be taken in frying, however, to have the
fat and the food to be fried in such condition that as little fat as
possible will be absorbed. The fat should be sufficiently hot (see
Experiments 32 and 33), the food as dry as possible, and the browned food
drained on paper.
Care should be taken not only in frying foods, but in avoiding the use of
an excessive amount of fat such as butter, cream, and vegetable oils in
sauces, dressings, and pastry.
CROQUETTES.--Croquettes are cooked vegetable, cereal, meat, or fish
mixtures dipped in dried crumbs and eggs and browned in deep fat. These
food mixtures are shaped in various ways. Rice and potato croquettes are
usually cylindrical in shape, while chicken croquettes are formed into
cones.
Croquettes may be dipped in melted butter or substitute or they may be
"dotted" with bits of fat and browned in the oven or broiling oven instead
of frying in deep fat.
Starch occurs in considerable quantity in the vegetables and cereals
commonly used for croquettes. Meat and fish are usually mixed with a thick
White Sauce when used for croquettes, hence croquettes invariably contain
a starchy substance. If croquette ingredients are heated while mixing, it
is necessary to cool them thoroughly before shaping, in order that the
starch may be as stiff as possible.
POTATO CROQUETTES
1 pint mashed potatoes
Celery salt
2 tablespoonfuls butter
Onion juice
Cayenne
1 teaspoonful chopped parsley
1 teaspoonful salt
1 egg-yolk or 1/2 egg
Mix ingredients together, shape into smooth round balls and then into
cylinders. Roll in dried bread crumbs, eggs, and crumbs again (see
_Fried Oysters_). Fry in deep fat until brown.
QUESTIONS
How does the temperature of fat hot enough for frying compare with that of
boiling water? Why is an iron kettle preferable to one of tin or granite
for heating fat (see _Caramelized Sugar_)?
What happens to foods that are cooked in fat too cool for frying (see
Experiment 32)?
What is the purpose of covering with egg, mixtures that are to be fried?
How should the egg be prepared for "dipping"?
How can the remaining white or half an egg be utilized in preparing Potato
Croquettes?
If "left over" mashed potatoes are used for making croquettes, what
ingredient in the recipe above should be omitted?
LESSON XXXVII
FAT SAVING
BAKING _VS._ FRYING.--Foods fried under the most ideal conditions and
in the most skilful manner absorb much fat. Many foods well fried,
especially doughnuts, are about 1/3 fat.
Fish Balls and croquettes, as mentioned previously, can be baked instead
of fried. Baked croquettes seem somewhat more dry, however, than the fried
food. If this is objectionable a sauce may be poured over them before
serving.
Tomato, cheese, and brown sauces are tasty with most croquettes.
Doubtless many housekeepers who dislike the odor of hot fat and the
cleaning of utensils used in frying foods, will consider the process of
baking croquettes very much more satisfactory than that of frying.
RICE CUTLETS WITH CHEESE SAUCE
3/4 cupful rice
3 cupfuls boiling water
1 teaspoonful salt
Wash the rice, add the water. (If unpolished rice is used, let it soak for
several hours.) Then add the salt and heat the mixture until it boils.
Proceed as directed on page 85, Rice (cooked over boiling water).
(Unpolished rice requires about 2 hours of cooking.) Make a White Sauce of
the following ingredients:
4 tablespoonfuls flour
1 teaspoonful salt
Dash pepper
3 tablespoonfuls fat
1 cupful milk
To 2/3 of the White Sauce add:
Cooked rice
1 or 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1 tablespoonful parsley, chopped
(Reserve the remainder of the White Sauce for the preparation of Cheese
Sauce.) Shape the mixture into cutlets.
Dip in dried bread crumbs (or corn-meal) and egg as directed for Fried
Oysters.
Place the cutlets on greased dripping pan. Place bits of fat on top of the
cutlets, then bake in a hot oven until they are browned. Serve hot with
the following sauce:
Remainder of the White Sauce
3/4 cupful milk
1/4 to 1/2 cupful cheese, cut in small pieces
1 pimento chopped
Dilute the White Sauce with the milk. Add the cheese and pimento. Heat and
stir until the cheese is melted. If necessary, add seasoning. Serve hot
over the cutlets.
FAT SAVING AND SOAP-MAKING.--The housekeeper who endeavors to waste no
food may find that she has saved some fat which is not suitable for food.
Such fat can be utilized in soap-making. By using "modern lye" soap-making
is not the laborious task as was the preparation of soft soap in colonial
days.
The fat for soap-making need not necessarily be decolorized. It should,
however, be tried out (if it is meat fat) and clarified before using in
the preparation of soap. (These processes are given above.)
Soap made at home differs somewhat from that made at a factory. When fat
and lye are combined chemically, soap and glycerin are formed. A
commercial soap-maker extracts the glycerin from soap, the housekeeper
does not.
Homemade soap, however, usually proves very satisfactory. When the time
consumed in making it is not needed for other duties or obligations, it is
a saving to make soap at home.
SOAP
1 can Babbit's lye
1 quart cold water
6 pounds clarified fat
2 tablespoonfuls ammonia
Turn the lye into a granite kettle, slowly add the cold water, stirring
with a stick or a wooden spoon. Work most carefully to avoid getting the
lye or the lye solution on the hands. When the water is added to the lye,
the mixture becomes very hot. Let it stand until it is cool.
Put the fat into a large kettle or dish pan. Heat it until it melts. Then
remove it from the fire. Let it cool sufficiently to bear the hands in it.
Slowly add the lye solution, stirring constantly. Add the ammonia and
continue stirring until the mixture becomes about the consistency of thick
cream. Then turn the soap into a wooden box lined with paper or into a
granite dripping pan. When the soap becomes firm, cut into pieces of
suitable size.
The materials above will make about 8 1/2 pounds of soap.
NOTE.--If desired one small cake of soap may be prepared by each pupil in
the classroom. The following recipe may be used:
1 teaspoonful lye
4 teaspoonfuls cold water
2 tablespoonfuls fat
1/8 teaspoonful ammonia
Proceed as directed for the large quantity. Pour the mixture into one cup
of a granite muffin pan or into a small pasteboard box.
QUESTIONS
How does unpolished rice differ from polished rice? Explain why the former
takes a longer time to cook than the latter (see _Polished and
Unpolished Rice_).
Explain why baked croquettes require a sauce to make them most tasty for
serving, while fried croquettes do not.
State at least 3 advantages of baking croquettes rather than frying them.
Under what conditions do you think it would be desirable to make soap at
home?
RELATED WORK
LESSON XXXVIII
DINING ROOM COURTESY
THE VALUE OF GOOD TABLE MANNERS
No matter how cultivated in mind and spirit one may be, if there is an
absence of refinement of manners, the higher qualities are likely to be
overlooked. No one can afford to slight the study of good manners. The
basis of all good manners is tact, _i.e._ a kindly consideration of
others. This consideration may be shown at the dining table quite as well
as at a social gathering. Graceful and easy table manners and a knowledge
of how to serve and be served add to the comfort as well as to the
pleasure of one's associates in the dining room.
Most of the rules of table conduct have been adopted because they lend
ease and grace or because they are sensible; others have been established
by custom and long usage.
SUGGESTIONS CONCERNING TABLE MANNERS
THE CHAIR.--If the chair is placed so that the front edge of the seat just
touches the table-cloth, there is no necessity for moving the chair when
taking one's seat or when rising. One should stand back of the chair until
the hostess moves to seat herself and then move to the left of the chair
to assume the seat assigned. One should also rise at the left of the
chair.
THE KNIFE AND FORK.--There is but one "right" way to hold the knife or
fork. When the knife and fork are used together, grasp the handle of the
knife or fork with the first finger and the thumb so that the end of the
handle touches the center of the palm of the hand. The hands should almost
cover the handle, but the first finger should not extend down on the blade
of the knife or on the prongs of the fork (see Figure 35). The knife is
held in the right hand only, and is used for cutting foods and spreading
butter on bread. For the latter, a small knife, called a butter spreader,
is sometimes provided. After the knife has been used for cutting, it
should be so laid on the plate, that it rests wholly on it, never partly
on the plate and partly on the table. It is not pleasing to see a guest at
the table holding his knife upright or waving it in the air while he is
talking.
[Illustration: FIGURE 35--HOW TO HOLD THE KNIFE AND FORK.]
The fork is held sometimes in the left hand and sometimes in the right. It
should be in the left, when holding foods that are being cut with the
knife. It may be held in either hand when conveying food to the mouth. It
used to be considered "good form" to use only the right hand in lifting
food to the mouth, though this necessitated changing the fork to the right
hand after the knife had been laid aside. The common-sense method of
keeping the fork in the left hand to carry food to the mouth is now
accepted (see Figure 36). When the fork is held in the right hand and used
for conveying such food as mashed potato to the mouth, its handle should
be grasped by the thumb and first finger in somewhat the manner as a pen
is held.
When a second serving is desired, the knife and fork should be placed
together on one side of the plate, in order to make room for the food. At
the end of a course the knife and fork should be placed side by side in
the center of the plate.
[Illustration: Figure 36--Keeping the Fork in the Left Hand to Carry Food
to the Mouth]
THE FORK AND SPOON--Since both the fork and the spoon are used to convey
food, there may be some indecision as to the best use of each. The fork
should be used whenever it is possible and sensible to do so. Soft foods,
such as soft-cooked eggs, custards, certain fruits, and desserts served
with cream or sauce, should be eaten with a spoon. The fork should be used
for brick ice-cream or stiffly frozen desserts. All vegetables, salads,
and pastry are eaten with a fork. In the case of salads and pastry, it is
sometimes necessary to cut them with a fork. It is unconventional to cut
lettuce with a knife at the table; it may be shredded or torn into pieces
before it is served.
For beverages, the spoon is used for stirring and tasting, but not for
sipping. After the spoon has been used it should be placed in the saucer
(see Figure 37). When tasting with a spoon, the side--not the tip--of the
spoon should be used. When using a spoon for serving, or for sipping soup,
there is less danger of spilling the food if the spoon is moved away from,
rather than toward, oneself (see Figure 38).
[Illustration: FIGURE 37--THE TEASPOON SHOULD REST ON THE SAUCER]
THE FINGERS.--Almost all foods are served with a fork, or a spoon. The
serving-dish for all such foods should of course be provided with a fork
or a spoon. There are a few foods, however, such as bread, cake, and
wafers, which should be taken with the fingers. A slice of bread should
not be cut in pieces at the table. It is better to break off a piece of
bread and then butter it than to spread the entire slice at one time. If
cake is soft, it should be eaten with a fork. Celery, hard cheese (if cut
into pieces), radishes, confections, and most uncooked fruits are taken
with the fingers, and eaten from them. Olives and salted nuts may be taken
from the serving-dish with the fingers, but usually spoons are provided
for the purpose. Pieces of chicken or chops should be handled only with
the knife and fork. Special utensils are sometimes provided for holding
corn served on the cob.
[Illustration: FIGURE 38.--HOW TO HOLD THE SOUPSPOON.]
Fruits served whole are sometimes difficult to manage. When possible the
hostess should prepare them before they are served. Oranges and grapefruit
may be cut into halves or peeled and sliced; bananas may be peeled,
scraped, and sliced. If fruits, such as apples, pears, and peaches, are
served whole, they should first be cut into quarters, and each quarter
should be pared separately and eaten. Peaches may be cut into halves and
eaten with a spoon.
THE NAPKIN.--When the napkin is placed on the lap, it need not be spread
entirely out, but may be left with one fold in it. A guest who is to be
present at consecutive meals should fold his napkin after eating; if,
however, he is dining in a hotel or restaurant, or if he is in a home for
but one meal, the napkin should be laid on the table without folding.
QUIET EATING.--Quiet mastication without hurry and without noise is an
obligation that we owe ourselves and our companions. It is well to refrain
from talking during mastication. One cannot eat quietly unless the lips
are kept closed while chewing.
LESSON XXXIX
COOKING AND SERVING BREAKFAST
Cook and serve a breakfast.
The following is a suggestive menu:
Breakfast Cereal with Dried Fruit
Baked Fish Balls with White Sauce
Toast--Butter
Coffee
Follow the English or family style of serving. Serve the breakfast with or
without a maid (see Lesson XXX).
LESSON XL
REVIEW: MEAL COOKING
MENU
Cooked Fruit,--fresh or dried
Creamed Toast
Coffee
See Review (Lesson XIV) for suggestions regarding the preparation of the
lesson.
LESSON XLI
HOME PROJECTS [Footnote 43: See Lesson IX.]
SUGGESTIONS FOR HOME WORK.--Save all scraps of fat or bits of meat fats
which are unfit for food. Try out the latter kind of fat. When you have 3
or more pounds of fat, make soap. When the soap is firm and ready for use,
weigh it.
Prepare Fish Balls (either fried or baked), Rice Cutlets with Cheese
Sauce, or some other fish or cheese dish which could be used as a
substitute for meat.
SUGGESTED AIMS: