American Cookery Part 16

to keep it from falling. Cakes with much b.u.t.ter need the greatest heat at first, and then a reduced temperature. So do all cakes of small size.

Large cakes are better at a uniform temperature, not so high as the average. A different flavor is produced, especially in very rich cakes with a good many eggs, when put into a cool oven and baked with gradually increasing heat, from that developed by a high initial temperature and then a decreased heat. The quality of the flour and shortening also affect the temperature and time needed in baking. It is a good safe thing to follow the rules, and to temper them with judgment.

When the cake is just firm in the center, and has shrunk from the sides of the pan, it is done, no matter what the temperature has been or how long it has baked. But you will always get your cake at this condition, more surely and safely, by following the rules, though you must be on the alert to use them with flexibility.

QUERY NO. 4248.--"Will you please give me a recipe for Canned Pimientoes?"

Canned Pimientoes

Cut round the stem of each, and with a small, sharp knife remove the seeds and the white part.i.tions inside. Set on a baking sheet in a hot oven until the thin outside skin puffs and cracks, then remove it with a small, sharp knife. Or they may be scalded, then dipped into cold water and the skin be carefully removed. Sometimes the skin is left on. Now press each one flat, and arrange them in layers, alternately overlapping one another, in the jars, without liquid, and process for twenty-five to thirty-five minutes at 212 deg. Fah. During the processing a thick liquid should exude, covering the pimientoes.

QUERY NO. 4249.--"I should like a recipe for New York Ice Cream."

Cla.s.ses of Ice Cream

There are three distinct cla.s.ses of Ice Cream: The Philadelphia, which is supposed to be made of heavy cream; the French, which is made with eggs on a soft custard foundation; and the so-called American, which is made on the foundation of a thin white sauce. All three cla.s.ses are made in New York, and in every other large city, but we have never heard that any special recipe for ice cream is peculiar to New York. The less expensive forms of cream, in that and every other city, are those based on a thin white sauce, sweetened, flavored, and frozen.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Housewives the nation over will be enthusiastic over the appointment of Mrs. Belle DeGraf as Domestic Science Director of the California Prune and Apricot Growers. Mrs. DeGraf enjoys a countrywide reputation as a home-cooking expert and as an authority on food values.]

=_I never knew what prunes and apricots could do until--_=

I came to a.n.a.lyze the flavor-and-health values of these two fruit-foods.

At first their use seemed rather limited but with each new dish others immediately suggested themselves.

The chief nutritive element in both prunes and apricots, of course, is fruit sugar. But you derive great value, too, from their mineral salts and organic acids. These improve the quality of the blood and counteract the acid-elements in meat, eggs, cereals and other high-protein foods.

Also, they are rich in tonic iron and other mineral and vitamine elements needed for body tone. Nor should I forget to mention that prunes especially provide a natural laxative made in Nature's own pharmacy.

But aside from these essential health values, I found that Sunsweet Prunes and Apricots offer wonderful possibilities--varying from the most delicate souffle to the more substantial cobbler, pie or pudding.

--_Belle DeGraf_

The new 1922 Sunsweet Recipe Packet--edited by Mrs. Belle DeGraf--will be nothing less than a revelation to you. The recipes are printed on _gummed slips_ [53"] for easy pasting in your cook book. And it's free! California Prune & Apricot Growers Inc., 1196 Market St., San Jose, Cal.