Cookery for every household

First of all be most particular to have every part of the freezer scrupulously clean, and then see that it is properly packed with ice and salt. Ice alone cannot produce a sufficient degree of cold, therefore coarse salt is used in the proportion of one part salt to three parts ice. Proper freezing salt should be ordered, as fine table salt -will not serve the purpose. This can be bought in bags at a very low rate. The ice should be crushed or broken into very small pieces, as the finer it is made the quicker will be the process of freezing. This may be done by means of an ice pricker or breaker, which will Ice-Pricker cost from 6d. to Is., or with a hat-pin, or, if a large quantity of ice is required, it may be put into a piece of house flannel or sacking and broken with a hammer. Fit the pot into the pail and pack it round with ice and salt mixed together in the above proportions until within an inch of the top of the pot. Keep pressing the mixture down with an ice spaddle (price about 3s. 8 d.), or strong wooden spoon, in order to make the packing close and compact. When ready, remove the lid from the pot, pour in the mixture to be frozen, and re-cover quickly. It is important that this mixture should be cold, otherwise it will waste the ice unnecessarily and take a longer time to freeze. The pot should not be more than three-parts filled, and the greatest care must be taken in opening and shutting, that no salt is allowed to enter, or the mixture would be entirely spoilt. Allow the mixture to stand in the can a few minutes, then turn the handle at the side of the machine with a slow and regular motion until the contents of the can are sufficiently frozen. The turning must be constant or the mixture will not freeze smoothly. As the freezing process proceeds the turning of the handle will become gradually harder. The dasher inside the pot is continually scraping the frozen mixture from the sides and mixing it thoroughly, so that there is no occasion to open the can until the freezing is sufficiently advanced. The time required for freezing will vary somewhat according to the make of the machine and the kind of mixture being frozen. It is always better if an ice can be made some time before it is required, as the flavours become blended with standing — the ice ripens as it were. Remove the dash-wheel from the pot, press down the mixture with the wooden spoon to make it Ice Spaddle compact, put on the lid, and plug up the hole in the top with a cork, or piece of paper. Pack up with plenty of ice and salt, and cover the pail with a piece of thick flannel or felt. The ice will then remain in a frozen condition for several hours, or even longer, if more ice and salt are added when necessary. Care must be taken to keep the waste hole in the side of the tub always open ; this will allow any water above this point to run off, and thus prevent its working up under the cover of the freezing pot. To Serve Simple Ices