To Clean English Currants.
Pick all the stones, bits of dirt and long stems from the
currants. Add one pint of flour to two quarts of currants,
and rub well between the hands. This starts the stems and
dirt from the fruit. Put about a pint of currants in the flour
sieve and rub them until all the flour has passed through ;
then put them in the colander and shake until the stems
have passed through. When all the fruit has been treated in
this manner, put it in a large pan of cold water. Wash
thoroughly, and drain in the colander. Repeat this opera-
tion three times. When the fruit is well drained, spread it
on boards or flat dishes and dry in a warm place. Put away
in jars.
To Remove Jellies and Creams from Moulds.
Have in a pan water enough (a little more than blood
warm) to come to the top of the mould. If the mould is
tin, set it in this for about half a minute ; if earthen, keep it
in long enough to have the heat pass through the mould.
Wipe the mould, place over it the dish into which the jelly is
to be turned, and turn both dish and mould simultaneously.
Let the mould rest a moment before lifting it gently from the
jelly.
To Whip Cream.
Very rich or very poor cream will not whip well. When
too rich it turns to butter, and when too poor the froth be-
comes liquid almost as soon as it has been skimmed. Thick
cream, that will hardly pour, should have an equal quantity
of milk added to it before whipping. Such cream as one gets
394 MISS PAKLOA'S NEW COOK BOOK.
from the milkman will rarely be found too rich for whipping.
It is more likely to be the other way ; and one is often dis-
appointed in finding it too poor to froth. The cream should
be ice cold.
Have a large bowl or tin pail, rather narrow at the bottom.
Place this in a pan of ice water. Have a bright tin pan in
another of ice water. Put the cream in the bowl and put the
whip churn in this. Hold the churn with the left hand, tip-
ping it slightly, that the cream may flow out at the bottom.
With the right hand draw the dasher lightly about half way
up the cylinder ; then press down hard. It must not be for-
gotton that the up stroke is light and the down stroke is
hard. When the bowl is full, skim the froth into a tin pan.
Continue this until nearly all the cream has been whipped.
Draw the froth in the pan to one side, and turn the liquid
cream at the bottom of the pan back into the bowl. Whip
it again. A little of the cream will always become liquid
again.
When the cream is for whips, or for a garnish for frozen
pudding or Bavarian creams, sweeten it, and flavor with any-
thing you please, before whipping. If the cream is very
rich a Dover beater will whip it, but there is nothing that will
whip cream so quickly and so well as the whip churn de-
scribed in the chapter on Kitchen Furnishing.
To Boil Sugar.
The degrees of boiling sugar are variously divided by dif-
ferent cooks. Some give six and others as high as eight.
The French boil sugar for nearly all their desserts. For all
practical purposes a cook need understand only three stages.
Put one cupful of granulated or loaf sugar and half a cupful
of water on to boil. When the mixture has boiled fifteen
minutes, dip the fore-finger and thumb in cold water and
take up a little of the syrup between them. If, upon drawing
HOW— 395
Page 196
Presented as published in 1880. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
To Clean English Currants. Pick all the stones, bits of dirt and long stems from the currants. Add one pint of flour to two quarts of currants, and rub well between the hands. This starts the stems and dirt from the fruit. Put about a pint of currants in the flour sieve and rub them until all the flour has passed through ; then put them in the colander and shake until the stems have passed through. When all the fruit has been treated in this manner, put it in a large pan of cold water. Wash thoroughly, and drain in the colander. Repeat this operation three times. When the fruit is well drained, spread it on boards or flat dishes and dry in a warm place. Put away in jars.
To Remove Jellies and Creams from Moulds.
Have in a pan water enough (a little more than blood warm) to come to the top of the mould. If the mould is tin, set it in this for about half a minute ; if earthen, keep it in long enough to have the heat pass through the mould. Wipe the mould, place over it the dish into which the jelly is to be turned, and turn both dish and mould simultaneously. Let the mould rest a moment before lifting it gently from the jelly.
To Whip Cream.
Very rich or very poor cream will not whip well. When too rich it turns to butter, and when too poor the froth becomes liquid almost as soon as it has been skimmed. Thick cream, that will hardly pour, should have an equal quantity of milk added to it before whipping. Such cream as one gets
from the milkman will rarely be found too rich for whipping. It is more likely to be the other way ; and one is often disappointed in finding it too poor to froth. The cream should be ice cold.
Have a large bowl or tin pail, rather narrow at the bottom. Place this in a pan of ice water. Have a bright tin pan in another of ice water. Put the cream in the bowl and put the whip churn in this. Hold the churn with the left hand, tipping it slightly, that the cream may flow out at the bottom. With the right hand draw the dasher lightly about half way up the cylinder ; then press down hard. It must not be forgotten that the up stroke is light and the down stroke is hard. When the bowl is full, skim the froth into a tin pan. Continue this until nearly all the cream has been whipped. Draw the froth in the pan to one side, and turn the liquid cream at the bottom of the pan back into the bowl. Whip it again. A little of the cream will always become liquid again.
When the cream is for whips, or for a garnish for frozen pudding or Bavarian creams, sweeten it, and flavor with anything you please, before whipping. If the cream is very rich a Dover beater will whip it, but there is nothing that will whip cream so quickly and so well as the whip churn described in the chapter on Kitchen Furnishing.
To Boil Sugar.
The degrees of boiling sugar are variously divided by different cooks. Some give six and others as high as eight. The French boil sugar for nearly all their desserts. For all practical purposes a cook need understand only three stages. Put one cupful of granulated or loaf sugar and half a cupful of water on to boil. When the mixture has boiled fifteen minutes, dip the fore-finger and thumb in cold water and take up a little of the syrup between them. If, upon drawing