FoodNetArchive

The new practical housekeeping

1890

Page 217

Presented as published in 1890. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
making fruit fritters some stir in a little sugar. Fruit fritters are made by chopping any kind of fresh or canned fruit fine and mixing it with batter, or by dipping it whole, halved, quartered or sliced into the batter, using a skewer or fork for this purpose, and taking a pint or less of any kind o*f fruit for the above quantity of batter* The fruit»may be improved in flavor by sprinkling sugar and grated lemon or orange peel over it, and allowing it to remain two or three hours, after which drain and dip in the batter as above ; or, marinade the fruit in a thin orange or lemon syrup. To marinade anything is to leave it in a composition long enough to absorb the flavor — ^in this case, from one to two hours. Pork fritters are made by dipping thin bits of breakfast bacon or fat pork in the batter. The common practice is to fry fritters in lard, but the American cooking oil is much superior and no more expensive. It never bums, can be need again and again, and keeps clear and perfectly sweet. Clarified drippings (see index), or half drippings and half lard, is much better than all lard. Have the fat in which to cook them nice and sweet, and heat slowlv. Clarified fat boils at about five hundred degrees — more than double the heat of boiling water — and fat actually boiling will bum to a cinder anjrthing that is dropped into it. The proper cooking heat is three hundred and seventy-five degrees, and is indicated by a blue smoke arising from the surface of the fat. When this point is reached, the fat may be held at that degree of heat, and prevented from burning by drop- ping into it a peeled potato or a piece of hard bread, which furnishes something for the fat to act up ^n. Generally the cold batter lowers the temperature of the fat sufficiently to keep it at proper cooking heat. The heat may be tested by dropping in a teaspoon of the batter ; if the temperature is right it will quickly rise in a light ball with a splutter, and soon brown; drop the 'batter in by spoonfuls, being careful not to crowd, and fry to a golden-brown, turning with a wire spoon to brown both sides ; if the fat is of the right heat the fritters will be done in from three to five minutes and be light and delicious ; if they should begin to brown too much check the heat at once ; take up carefully the moment they are done, with a wire spoon or skimmer, drain in a hot colander, or in a pan with browa kitchen paper or blotting paper in the bottom to absorb the fat, set in oven to keep hot ; some drain on an inverted sieve, placing paper both under and over the fritters. Sift powdered sugar over them, TBITTERS AND CROQUETTES. 269