Fowler's Household Helps Part 5

Hint When Baking Bread--When baking bread or rolls, put a saucepan full of boiling water into the oven. The steam rising from it will keep the crust smooth and tender.

To Make Meat Tender--A tablespoonful of vinegar added to tough meat while it is boiling or roasting will make it more tender.

To Keep the Lid on a Boiling Pot--A teaspoonful of b.u.t.ter dropped into the water in which you are boiling dry beans, or other starchy vegetables, will stop the annoyance of having the lid of the pot jump off, as it will otherwise do. The b.u.t.ter acts the same as oil on troubled waters and keeps it calm and manageable.

To Take Fish Taste from Forks and Spoons--To remove the taste and smell of fish from forks and spoons, rub them with a small piece of b.u.t.ter before washing. All taste and smell will thus be entirely removed.

How to Judge Mushrooms--Sprinkle a little salt on the gills of mushrooms to judge their fitness to eat. If the gills turn black the mushrooms are fit for food; if they turn yellow, the mushrooms are poisonous.

Orange Peel for Cake Flavoring--Do not throw away orange peel, but dry in the oven. Grate the yellow part and use for flavoring cakes. It will give a delicious orange taste.

How to Prevent Fish from Breaking Up When Frying--When frying fish, if the pieces are put in the hot fat with the skin side uppermost, and allowed to brown well before turning, there will be no possibility of the fish breaking up.

To Remove Cake from Tin--When taking a cake from the oven, place the cake tin on a damp cloth for a moment and the cake will turn out of the tin quite easily.

Lemon Juice for Boiling Rice--A few drops of lemon juice added to boiling rice will help to keep the grains separate and will make them white.

Onion for Boston Baked Beans--Bake a small onion with your Boston baked beans to prevent indigestion and add to their fine flavor.

Hint for Baking Gems--When filling gem pans with batter leave one pan without batter and fill with water. This will prevent the gems from burning on top.

Sandpaper for Cleaning Pots--Always keep a piece of fine sandpaper by the sink with which to clean pots.

To Prevent Cake from Sticking to Tins after baking, first grease the tins and then dust them with flour. Lightly beat out the loose flour, leaving only that which sticks to the grease. This does away with the old-fashioned method of lining the pans with greased paper.

To Peel Apples Easily--Pour boiling water over the cooking apples and they will be much easier to peel. This will be found a considerable saving of time when busy.

When Bread is Too Brown--When bread is baked in too hot an oven and the outside crust gets too brown, do not attempt to cut it off, but as soon as the bread gets cold rub it over with a coa.r.s.e tin grater and remove all the dark-brown crust.

Mustard for Removing Odors from the Hands--Ground mustard is excellent for cleaning the hands after handling onions and other things with disagreeable odors.

Economy in Use of Candles--A candle which has burned too low to remain in the candlestick can be used to the very end if removed from the stick and placed on a penny or other small, flat piece of metal.

To Get Rid of Spiders--A good way to rid the house of spiders is to take pieces of cotton wool, saturate them with oil of pennyroyal and place them in their haunts.

To Rid the Kitchen of Flies--Take a cup of vinegar and place it on the stove where it will simmer enough to make an odor.

To Clear Beetles Out of Cupboards and larders, sprinkle a little benzine over the boards. This method will kill the eggs as well as the insects.

To Drive c.o.c.kroaches Away--Powdered gum camphor will drive c.o.c.kroaches away if sprinkled about their haunts.

To Remove Egg Stains from Silver--Egg stains can be removed from silver by rubbing it with table salt on a wet rag.

To Polish Faucets--Nothing is better for scouring a faucet than the half of a lemon after the juice has been squeezed out.

After scouring, wash it and it will shine like new. An orange peel will also give good results.

For Scorched Vegetables or Other Food--When vegetables or other foods become scorched, remove the kettle at once from the stove and put it into a pan of cold water. In a quarter of an hour the suggestion of scorch will be nearly if not entirely gone.

When Cake is Scorched--If a cake is scorched on the top or bottom, grate over it lightly with a nutmeg-grater instead of sc.r.a.ping it with a knife. This leaves a smooth surface for frosting.

To Make m.u.f.fins and Gems Lighter--m.u.f.fins and gems will be lighter if, after greasing your pans you place them in the oven a few moments and let them get hot before putting in the batter.

To Make Pie Crust Flaky--To make pie crust flaky, try adding half a spoonful of vinegar to the cold water when mixing.

To Make Apple Pie Tender--If you are in doubt whether the apples in your open-top pies are cooking tender, just invert another pie pan over the pie and the steam will serve to cook the apples thoroughly.

To Make Fowl Tender--After a turkey or chicken is cleaned, the inside and outside should be rubbed thoroughly with a lemon before the dressing is put in. It will make the meat white, juicy and tender.

To Prevent Meat from Scorching--When roasting meat, and there is danger that it will become too brown, place a dish of water in the oven. The steam arising from it will prevent scorching and the meat will cook better. A piece of greased paper placed over the meat is also considered good.

To Keep Eggs from Popping When Cooking--Mix a tablespoonful of flour in the hot grease in which eggs are to be cooked, and break the eggs into this. You will also find that the flour gives the eggs a better flavor.

To Remove Egg Sh.e.l.ls When Cooking--If a piece of sh.e.l.l gets into the egg when breaking eggs into a bowl, just touch it with a half sh.e.l.l and it can easily be removed.

To Keep Yolks of Eggs Fresh--Yolks of eggs which are not wanted for immediate use can be kept good for several days by dropping them into cold water and keeping in a cool place--the cooler the better.

To Prevent Boiling Eggs from Cracking--The four following suggestions are given in regard to boiling eggs. Use the one best suited to the purpose:

When Boiling Eggs, wet the sh.e.l.ls thoroughly in cold water and they will not crack.

To Prevent Eggs from Bursting While Boiling, p.r.i.c.k one end of each of the eggs with a needle before placing them in the water.

This makes an outlet for the air and keeps the sh.e.l.ls from cracking.

If Eggs Which You Are About to Boil Are Cracked, add a little vinegar to the water and they can then be boiled as satisfactorily as undamaged ones.

A Spoonful of Salt should be added to the water in which slightly cracked eggs are boiled. The salt will prevent the white of the egg from coming out.

Worn-Out Broom for Floor Polisher--When a long-handled broom becomes worn out, instead of throwing it away, tie a piece of felt or flannel cloth around the head and make a good floor polisher. It will make work much easier and also keep linoleum in good condition. Footmarks can be rubbed off at any time without stooping.

To Clean a Slender Flower Vase fasten a piece of an old sponge onto a stick and push it down into the vase; this will also be found useful for cleaning decanters and water bottles.

To Keep Bread Fresh--Wash a potato, wipe it dry and put it in your breadpan. It will keep the bread fresh for several days.

To Freshen Old Lemons--Lemons that have become old and dry can be made fresh and juicy again by putting them in a pan of hot water and keeping the water at an even temperature for about two hours.

A More Effective Dishcloth for Cleaning--In knitting dishcloths it is a good plan to put in several rows of hard-twisted cord. This hard part of the cloth will clean many surfaces on which it is not advisable to use scouring soap or metal.

To Clean Linoleum, use skimmed milk instead of water. It will keep it glossy, and will not rot it as water does.

A Good Remedy for Burns--Cover a soft cloth with a thick layer of sc.r.a.ped raw potato (Irish) and apply it to the burned part.

The potato should be renewed as often as necessary to keep it moist.

For Burns and Light Scalds--At once coat the burned or scalded spot with mucilage and the smarting will cease almost instantly.

If the burn is quite deep, keep it covered with a paste made of cold water and flour; do not allow the paste to get dry until the smarting stops.

A GOOD WAY TO SAVE GAS--

READ THE PAGES IN THE FRONT OF THIS BOOK