Milk, when of good quality, is of an opaque white colour: the cream
always comes to the top; the well-known milky odour is strong; it
will boil without altering its appearance in these respects; the
little bladders which arise on the surface will renew themselves if
broken by the spoon. To boil milk is, in fact, the simplest way of
testing its quality. The commonest adulterations of milk are not of a
hurtful character. It is a good deal thinned with water, and sometimes
thickened with a little starch, or coloured with yolk of egg, or even
saffron; but these processes have nothing murderous in them.
MILK AND CREAM, to keep, in hot Weather.
When the weather is very warm, and it is very difficult to prevent
milk from turning sour and spoiling the cream, it should be scalded,
and it will then remain good for a few hours. It must on no account be
allowed to boil, or there will be a skin instead of a cream upon the
milk; and the slower the process the safer will it be. A very good plan
to scald milk, is to put the pan that contains it into a saucepan or
wide kettle of boiling water. When the surface looks thick, the milk is
sufficiently scalded, and it should then be put away in a cool place in
the same vessel that it was scalded in. Cream may be kept for 24 hours,
if scalded without sugar; and by the addition of the latter ingredient,
it will remain good double the time, if kept in a cool place. All pans,
jugs, and vessels intended for milk, should be kept beautifully clean,
and well scalded before the milk is put in, as any negligence in this
respect may cause large quantities of it to be spoiled; and milk should
never be kept in vessels of zinc or copper. Milk may be preserved good
in hot weather, for a few hours, by placing the jug which contains it
in ice, or very cold water; or a pinch of bicarbonate of soda may be
introduced into the liquid.
MILK AND CREAM, Separation of.
If it be desired that the milk should be freed entirely from cream, it
should be poured into a very shallow broad pan or dish, not more than
1½ inch deep, as cream cannot rise through a great depth of milk. In
cold and wet weather, milk is not so rich as it is in summer and warm
weather, and the morning’s milk is always richer than the evening’s.
The last-drawn milk of each milking, at all times and seasons, is
richer than the first-drawn, and on that account should be set apart
for cream. Milk should be shaken as little as possible when carried
from the cow to the dairy, and should be poured into the pans very
gently. Persons not keeping cows, may always have a little cream,
provided the milk they purchase be pure and unadulterated. As soon as
it comes in, it should be poured into very shallow open pie-dishes, and
set by in a very cool place, and in 7 or 8 hours a nice cream should
have risen to the surface.
MILK AND CREAM, Substitute for, in Tea and Coffee.
_Ingredients._—1 new laid egg to every large breakfast-cupful of tea or
coffee. _Mode._—Beat up the whole of the egg in a basin, put it into
a cup, and pour over it the tea or coffee quite hot, stirring all the
time to prevent the egg from curdling. In point of nourishment, both
tea and coffee are much improved by this addition. _Sufficient._—1 egg
to every large breakfast-cupful of tea or coffee.
MILK SOUP (a nice Dish for Children).
_Ingredients._—2 quarts of milk, 1 saltspoonful of salt, 1 teaspoonful
of powdered cinnamon, 3 teaspoonfuls of pounded sugar, or more if
liked, 4 thin slices of bread, the yolks of 6 eggs. _Mode._—Boil the
milk with the salt, cinnamon, and sugar; lay the bread in a deep dish,
pour over it a little of the milk, and keep it hot over a stove,
without burning. Beat up the yolks of the eggs, add them to the milk,
and stir it over the fire till it thickens. Do not let it curdle.
Pour it upon the bread, and serve. _Time._—¾ of an hour. _Average
cost_, 8_d._ per quart. _Seasonable_ all the year. _Sufficient_ for 10
children.