School and Home Cooking Part 7

USE OF WATER IN CLEANING AND IN PREPARING FOODS.--Water is a cleansing agent because most soil is soluble in water. It also plays a most important part in the preparation of foods, since it serves as a medium for the cooking of foods, as in the processes of steaming and boiling.

Because water dissolves many substances, it acts as a carrier of flavor as in fruit drinks, tea, and coffee. Although there are some foods which can be cooked without a water medium, baked potatoes and roast meat for example, certain foods such as rice and dried beans require water during cooking. It is readily seen that water is indispensable in cooking.

COFFEE.--Coffee is the seed of the fruit of an evergreen tree grown in tropical countries (see Figure 21). Each fruit contains two seeds or berries. The fruit is picked, allowed to ferment, and the seeds removed from their pulpy covering. The seeds, which are also called coffee beans, are then roasted and sent to market. The flavor of the coffee bean is due to the variety of coffee tree, the maturity of the fruit when picked, and the time subjected to the roasting process. Mocha [Footnote 15: Mocha is a port in Arabia. Mocha coffee was so called because much of the coffee grown in Arabia was exported from Mocha.] and Java are choice brands of coffee. Although originally grown in Arabia and Java, their names are not used to designate the localities in which they grow, but the variety of coffee. Much of our coffee now comes from Brazil.

Coffee is somewhat like tea in composition. It contains tannic acid, and therefore a tin coffeepot should never be used. The flavor can be extracted from coffee by boiling it or by pouring boiling water through it. Coffee should not boil longer than three minutes, as much tannic acid is extracted by long boiling.

Because coffee contains volatile substances, it should not be purchased ground, unless in small quant.i.ties, and it should then be kept in tightly covered jars or cans. When freshly roasted, coffee has the best flavor. In this condition, it is crisp and emits a strong aroma.

BOILED COFFEE (proportion for one cupful)

1 heaping tablespoonful coa.r.s.ely ground coffee 2 tablespoonfuls cold water Bit of crushed egg-sh.e.l.l or a little egg white 1 cup boiling water (1 egg-sh.e.l.l or 1/2 egg white is sufficient for 8 heaping tablespoonfuls of ground coffee.)

Into a well-cleaned coffeepot, place the coffee, 1 tablespoonful of the cold water, and egg. Mix; then add the boiling water and boil for not more than three minutes. Remove from the fire; pour out about one half cupful of coffee, in order to rinse the grounds from the inside and from the spout of the coffeepot. Return the coffee to the pot; add the second tablespoonful of cold water. If the spout is not covered, a piece of paper may be inserted so that the aroma will be retained. Allow to stand in a warm place for about 5 minutes for the coffee to become clear.

Cold water may be used instead of boiling water in making coffee

CARE OF COFFEEPOT.--The coffee should never be allowed to stand in the coffeepot, but should be turned out at once after using. If any clear coffee is left, it may be used for spice cakes, jellies, or other desserts. The coffeepot should be washed well, and scoured if necessary.

The spout needs special care in cleaning.

FILTERED COFFEE

2/3 cupful finely ground coffee 5 cupfuls freshly boiled water

(For the following method of preparing coffee, a _drip coffeepot_ is used. A drip coffeepot is provided with a perforated receptacle or a muslin bag in which the finely ground coffee is held. The boiled water is poured through the ground coffee.)

Heat the coffee by steaming it, placing a little boiling water in the bottom of the coffeepot and the ground coffee in the coffee bag or perforated cup. Remove the bag or cup and pour the water from the pot.

Return the bag or cup to the coffeepot and slowly pour over it the freshly boiled water. If it is desired to make the coffee stronger, the beverage may be poured over the ground coffee a second time. Care should be taken, however, not to cool the coffee in so doing. Wash the coffee bag in clear cold water and dry in the air. Renew the bag occasionally. "_Black_"

or _After Dinner Coffee_ may be prepared in a drip coffeepot. Use 1 cupful of finely ground coffee to 5 cupfuls of freshly boiled water.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Courtesy of _Manning, Bowman Co_ FIGURE 22.--COFFEE PERCOLATOR.]

Filtered coffee may also be prepared in a coffee percolator (see Figure 22). A percolator is so constructed that the water is heated in the pot and kept at boiling temperature while pa.s.sing through the ground coffee.

The method of preparing the beverage depends upon the construction of the percolator. Follow the directions that come with it.

OATMEAL COOKIES

1 egg 1/2 cupful sugar 3/8 cupful fat _or_ 1/4 cupful vegetable oil 2 tablespoonfuls sour milk 1 cupful rolled oats 1 cupful flour 1/2 teaspoonful salt 1/8 teaspoonful baking soda 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder 1/2 cupful raisins

Break the egg in a mixing bowl. Beat it, then add the sugar. If solid fat is used, melt it. Add the fat or oil to the sugar and egg mixture. Add the sour milk and rolled oats.

Sift the flour, then measure it. Turn it into a sifter, add the salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Sift these dry ingredients into the first mixture. Wash the raisins, dry them on a towel, then sprinkle a little flour over them and add to the other ingredients. Mix well and drop the mixture by the teaspoonfuls on an oiled baking sheet. Bake in a moderate oven (375 degrees F.) until golden brown in color.

These cookies may be served with coffee.

QUESTIONS

How long should coffee boil? Why not boil it longer?

When the coffee is poured from the coffeepot, examine the grounds and then explain the use of the egg white and egg-sh.e.l.l in preparing coffee.

Why is a cupful of coffee poured out and returned to the coffeepot after the coffee is boiled?

Why should cold water be added to coffee after boiling?

In what form,--ground or whole,--should coffee be purchased? Why?

In what kind of jars should tea and coffee be kept? Explain.

How many cupfuls in one pound of coffee? Estimate the number of heaping tablespoonfuls in one pound of coffee.

What is the average price per pound of coffee?

RELATED WORK

LESSON IX

HOME PROJECTS [Footnote 16: NOTE TO THE TEACHER.--One of the most insistent ideas of modern educators is that the pupil be taught not merely to get him ready to live, footnote: but that he be taught to live. It is thought that the processes of present growth will serve as the best training for future needs. If the school girl is living in her home, she is in immediate need of such training as will help her contribute her share to the workings of her home. To a certain degree, success in school activities can be measured by the way they function in the home.

Perhaps there is no more effective way of making the school work function in the home than by the educative process called the _project_.

Stevenson defines a project _as a problematic act carried to completion in its_ natural setting, while Kilpatrick says _a project is a whole- hearted purposeful activity proceeding in a social environment_.

In order to aid the pupils in their home work, it is necessary to know the needs of the home. If possible, interest and cooperation of the pupils'

mothers in this matter should be secured. It is hoped that the afternoon tea suggested in the following lesson may afford means for the teacher to become acquainted with the mother to find out something of the needs of the home and to secure the mother's cooperation for her daughter's work in the home.

In order to a.s.sign definite projects to the pupils, it will be necessary to confer with the girl. By discussing plans for home work you can doubtless discover what type of work interests her and what she can contribute with profit to her home. You can thus a.s.sign a project which will be performed in a "hearty" manner.

Definite plans should be made for carrying out the work in the home. For successful results it is most necessary that the pupil understand that a project is an act which involves _mental effort_, and that the activity must be _carried_ to _completion_. The fact that the project is to be performed in the home carries out one of the premises of the project, viz., that the act be performed in its natural setting or in a social environment. Reports concerning the progress and results of work should be submitted by the pupil. Home visitation on the part of the teacher is most desirable and in most cases necessary for satisfactory results.

The following articles regarding Projects are most illuminating:

Teachers College Record, Volume XIX, Number 4 (Sept. 1918), "The Project Method" by William H. Kilpatrick; The Journal of Home Economics, Volume X, Number 3 (Mar. 1918), "The Project in Home Economics Teaching" by W. W.

Charters; School Science and Mathematics, Volume XIX (Jan. 1919), "The Project in Science Teaching" by John Alford Stevenson.]

WORTHY HOME MEMBERSHIP.--Each member of a home has certain obligations to fulfill. The course in foods which you are following in school offers an unusual opportunity for you to contribute your share in performing home duties. In a most definite way, it may help you to qualify for "worthy home membership."

APPLYING SCHOOL ACTIVITIES TO HOME WORK.--There is no more effective way of gaining skill in cooking and housekeeping than by applying the methods learned at school in your home. It is not enough for you to make cookies or cook potatoes once in the school kitchen. If you would become an expert in these processes, repeat them many times in your home. Your efforts will be more than repaid by your own growth and by the satisfaction your achievements will bring to the entire household.

Discuss your school work in food study with your mother. You will doubtless find many things of mutual interest and your mother will be glad to have your cooperation in housekeeping.

Household duties a.s.signed by the teacher and performed in the home with a determination to accomplish a definite aim, we will term "Home Projects."

To secure successful results, your home work must be done _thoughtfully_, and _earnestly_, and in a _whole-hearted_ way. We shall suppose, for example, that your teacher a.s.signs you the home project of setting the table of the evening meal for one week. She also instructs you to keep in mind the following aims:

(1) To make as few trips as possible from the cupboard to the dining table.