Chapter 13

If a custard is properly cooked, the egg is in a soft-cooked condition. It exists in a jelly-like mass throughout the milk. The custard has a creamy appearance. If, however, a custard is cooked too much, the egg becomes hard-cooked and the particles of egg appear in "lumps" in the milk mixture. The custard is then said to be _curdled_.

A curdled custard may be made smooth by placing the upper part of the double boiler in a pan of cold water and then beating the custard _at once_ with a Dover egg beater. This applies to all types of plain custards.

STEAMED OR BAKED CUSTARD

1 pint milk 2 or 3 eggs 1/4 cupful sugar 1/8 teaspoonful salt 2 tablespoonfuls caramel sirup _or_ 1/16 teaspoonful nutmeg

Scald the milk in a double boiler. Beat the eggs _slightly_, add the sugar and salt, mix. Add the hot milk to this mixture. Strain the mixture, flavor, and pour it into a mold. If _steamed custard_ is desired, steam (without stirring) until the custard is firm. Let the water in the steamer boil gently rather than vigorously. Test for sufficient cooking by inserting a knife into the custard. If it comes out clean, the custard is done.

If _baked custard_ is desired, place the cups of custard in a pan of hot water, and bake in a moderate oven (325 degrees F.) for 35 minutes or until firm. Test as steamed custard.

If a Baked or Steamed Custard is to be turned out of the mold after steaming, 3 or 4 eggs should be used with each pint of milk. By placing a little Caramel Sirup in the bottom of each mold, a custard may easily be turned out of the mold. The custard mixture should be poured very gently on top of the sirup to prevent the custard and sirup from mixing. The caramel also serves as a sauce for the custard when served. (Caramel Sirup may be prepared by caramelizing sugar (as directed in making _Peanut Candy_) and then dissolving the caramelized sugar in boiling water. Use equal quantities of sugar and water.)

SOFT CUSTARD

1 pint milk 1/4 cupful sugar 2 eggs 1/8 teaspoonful salt 1/2 teaspoonful vanilla

Mix the materials in the same way as for steamed or baked custard. Instead of pouring the mixture into molds, return it to the double boiler and cook (stirring constantly) until it thickens or forms a coating over the spoon. Strain, cool, and flavor. Note that steamed custard is strained and flavored before cooking, and soft custard, after cooking.

In preparing soft custard, the eggs may be separated and the yolks cooked with the milk and other ingredients. The whites may be beaten stiff and beaten into the hot mixture with a Dover egg beater. Soft Custard may be used as a sauce over cooked rice, cake, bananas, peaches, and other foods.

_To Decrease the Eggs in Custard _

When eggs are expensive omit 1 or 2 from a custard recipe. Substitute 1/2 _tablespoonful of corn-starch for each omitted egg._ For methods of thickening milk with both eggs and starchy materials, see Lessons LIV.

QUESTIONS

What is the purpose of eggs in custard?

Why are eggs beaten _slightly_ for custards?

How do Steamed Custards and Soft Custards differ in method of cooking? What are the tests for sufficient cooking of each?

What is the purpose of straining custards? Why is Steamed Custard strained and flavored before cooking, and Soft Custard, after cooking?

In what condition is the egg when a custard is curdled? How can a curdled custard be made smooth?

LESSON LII

MILK THICKENED WITH EGG (B)

FLOATING ISLAND

_Custard_

1 pint milk 3 egg yolks 1/4 cupful sugar 1/8 teaspoonful salt 1/2 teaspoonful vanilla

_Meringue_

3 egg whites 3 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar

The custard may be made thicker by using 4 (instead of 3) eggs.

Prepare the custard as Soft Custard.

Prepare the Meringue by beating the whites of eggs stiff and then adding I tablespoonful of sugar for each white of egg. Drop the Meringue by spoonfuls on the custard. If desired, garnish the Meringue by bits of jelly or colored gelatine.

From the results of Experiment 42, which egg beater do you consider most advisable for preparing Meringue?

If desired, the Meringue may be cooked. This may be accomplished in several ways: (_a_) place it on the _hot_ custard at once after preparing the custard, (_b_) Steam it by dropping it by spoonfuls on the hot milk before preparing the custard. Cover, and let the egg white cook for about 2 minutes, then remove from the milk and proceed to thicken the milk with the egg yolks, (_c_) Drop the uncooked Meringue on the cooked custard as directed above, then cook and brown it slightly by placing the custard in the broiling oven or in the top of a hot baking oven.

QUESTIONS

In making custards, why should the hot milk be added to the eggs, instead of the eggs to the hot milk?

How does Floating Island differ from Soft Custard?

What is Meringue?

Compare Floating Island made with three eggs to that made with four eggs. How does it differ in thickness, color, and cost?

LESSON LIII

MILK THICKENED WITH EGG (C)

APRICOT DAINTY

1 cupful dried apricots 1/3 cupful powdered sugar 3 egg whites

Wash and soak the apricots. Steam until soft. Mash the apricots, or press through a coarse strainer or colander; add the sugar. Beat the whites of eggs until very stiff; fold them into the apricots and sugar mixture. Chill and serve with Custard Sauce.

Dried _prunes_ may be substituted for apricots, using less sugar and adding a little lemon juice.

If it is desired to make Apricot Dainty some time before serving, it should be stiffened with gelatine. To do this, mix 1/2 tablespoonful of granulated or powdered gelatine with 2 tablespoonfuls of cold water. Add the gelatine mixture to the hot mashed or strained apricots, stir until the gelatine is dissolved, then proceed to add the sugar and egg white as directed above.

CUSTARD SAUCE

Use the recipe for Soft Custard for Custard Sauce, substituting 3 yolks for 2 whole eggs.

QUESTIONS

Why is it desirable to steam the fruit rather than cook it in water for this dessert?

Compare the custard made with the entire egg to that made with the egg yolk. What is the difference in thickness and color?

How many egg yolks are equivalent to two whole eggs in thickening?

LESSON LIV

MILK THICKENED WITH EGG AND STARCHY MATERIALS (A)

EGG AND STARCH.--How long is it necessary to cook milk-and-starch mixtures so that the starch will be cooked thoroughly (see _Blanc Mange_)? How long does it take to cook eggs when used for thickening? Are eggs used for thickening harmed by long cooking? Explain your answer. If both starch and egg are used for thickening a mixture, devise a way whereby the starch can be cooked thoroughly, and the egg can be cooked without curdling.

BUTTERSCOTCH TAPIOCA

1 pint milk 1/8 to 1/4 cupful granulated tapioca 1/2 cupful dark brown sugar 1/2 teaspoonful salt 1 egg 1/2 teaspoonful vanilla 1/2 to 1 tablespoonful butter

Scald the milk, add the tapioca, and cook the mixture over hot water until the tapioca is transparent (see _Apple Tapioca_, above). Mix the sugar, salt, and egg. Add a portion of the hot tapioca mixture to the egg mixture. Mix thoroughly, then return the mixture to the double boiler. Stir and cook until the egg thickens. Add the vanilla and butter and turn into dishes for serving. Cool. Serve with plain or whipped cream.

The quantity of tapioca determines the stiffness of the dessert. If a very soft consistency is desired, use the smaller quantity of tapioca.

Chopped nuts may be added to the dessert just before turning into the serving dishes.

For economy, the egg and butter may be omitted. If the egg is omitted, the greater quantity of tapioca should be used.

CREAM OF POTATO SOUP

3 potatoes 2 1/2 cupfuls milk 2 egg yolks or 1 egg 1 1/2 teaspoonfuls salt Pepper 1/8 teaspoonful celery salt

Cook the potatoes until soft, drain, and mash. Scald the milk and add it to the potatoes, then strain the mixture. Beat the eggs, add seasoning, combine with the potato mixture, and cook in the top part of the double boiler, stirring constantly, until the egg thickens. _Serve immediately_.

QUESTIONS

In Butterscotch Tapioca what ingredient could be substituted for tapioca? How much of this ingredient should be used (see _Blanc Mange_, above)?

What is the purpose of the eggs in Cream of Potato Soup?

Why should the soup be served immediately after cooking the eggs?

How does this soup differ in thickening materials from Potato Soup (see above)?

What would be the effect of adding 1 egg to plain Blanc Mange?

When and how should the egg be added? Give reasons for your method of adding the egg.

Write a recipe for Soft Custard in which corn-starch is substituted for one of the eggs. Write out the method of cooking such a custard.

LESSON LV

MILK THICKENED WITH EGG AND STARCHY MATERIALS (B)

CORN CUSTARD

1 can corn _or_ 6 ears green corn 1 teaspoonful salt l 1/2 tablespoonfuls butter or substitute 2 tablespoonfuls flour 1 cupful milk 2 eggs

Make a White Sauce of the flour, salt, butter, and milk. Add the corn (for method of cutting green corn from the cob, see Lesson IV). Beat the eggs, add them to the corn mixture. Turn the mixture into a buttered baking- dish, and place the dish in a pan of hot water. Bake in a moderate oven until the mixture is firm. Serve hot as a vegetable.

_One egg may be omitted_ and the flour and fat increased to 3 and 2 tablespoonfuls respectively.

CHEESE PUDDING

1 cupful cheese grated or cut into pieces 1 egg 1 cupful milk 1/2 teaspoonful salt 1/4 cupful dried bread crumbs or granulated tapioca Cayenne

Beat the egg slightly, and add the other ingredients. Turn into a buttered baking-dish, custard cups, or ramekins. Place in a pan of hot water, and bake in a moderate oven until the mixture is firm. Serve hot (for method of preparing _Dried Bread Crumbs_).

QUESTIONS

What ingredients in Corn Custard thicken the mixture?

What ingredients in Cheese Pudding thicken the mixture?

What is the purpose of placing the baking-dish containing Corn Custard or Cheese Pudding in a pan of hot water? At what temperature should these two foods bake? Give a reason for your answer.

In Cheese Pudding, why are the starchy material and egg cooked for the same length of time?

Compare the cost of a can of corn and six ears of green corn.

How many persons will the recipe for Corn Custard serve?

How many will the Cheese Pudding serve?

LESSON LVI

MILK THICKENED WITH EGG AND STARCHY MATERIALS (C)

Bread Puddings are made by adding bread to a custard mixture, and then baking in the oven like Baked Custard. For these puddings either stale or dry bread is used. The bread should be softened with the milk.

How many eggs are used to thicken one pint of milk in Steamed or Baked Custard? How many eggs are used to thicken one pint of milk in Bread Puddings (see recipe below)? Account for this difference.

BREAD PUDDING

2 cupfuls milk 1 cupful bread crumbs 1 tablespoonful butter 3 tablespoonfuls sugar 1 egg 1/4 teaspoonful salt 1 teaspoonful vanilla _or_ 1/2 teaspoonful spices 3 tablespoonfuls cooked currants

Scald the milk; add the bread crumbs. When the crumbs are soft, add the remaining ingredients. Pour the mixture into a buttered baking-dish, and place the baking-dish in a pan of hot water. Bake the pudding slowly until it becomes firm and golden brown. Cover during the first 15 minutes of baking. Serve with cream, Hard Sauce, Chocolate or Vanilla Sauce (see below).

If chocolate were added to the recipe for plain Bread Pudding, what change should be made in the other ingredients (see _Chocolate Corn-starch Pudding_)? Since chocolate contains much fat, what ingredient could be omitted, if chocolate were used? Compare the recipes for Bread Pudding and Chocolate Bread Pudding.

CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING

1 cupful bread crumbs 2 cupfuls scalded milk 1 ounce chocolate 1/4 cupful boiling water 1/3 cupful sugar 1 egg 1/4 teaspoonful salt 1/2 teaspoonful vanilla

Add the bread crumbs to the scalded milk and allow them to soak until soft. Cut the chocolate in pieces, add the boiling water to it, and cook gently until a smooth paste is formed. Add this to the bread mixture. Proceed as in the preparation of plain Bread Pudding. Serve with plain or whipped cream or Lemon Sauce.

VANILLA SAUCE

1/2 cupful sugar 2 tablespoonfuls flour 1/8 teaspoonful salt 2 cupfuls boiling water 1 to 2 tablespoonfuls butter 1 teaspoonful vanilla

Mix sugar and flour thoroughly, then add boiling water slowly. Cook 10 minutes. Dilute or evaporate if necessary. Add the butter and vanilla [Footnote 53: See footnote 25 regarding the adding of vanilla.] just before serving.

CHOCOLATE SAUCE

1/2 cupful sugar 3 tablespoonfuls flour 1 cupful water 1 cupful milk 3/8 cupful cocoa _or_ 2 squares (or ounces) chocolate 1/4 teaspoonful salt 1/2 teaspoonful vanilla

Mix the sugar, flour, and cocoa (if the latter is used). Add the water; stir and cook until the mixture thickens. Then add the milk and cook over boiling water for at least 15 minutes.

If chocolate is used, cut it in pieces, add 5 tablespoonfuls of boiling water. Stir and cook until a smooth paste is formed. Add the chocolate to the other ingredients, then the salt and vanilla. [Footnote 54: See footnote 25 regarding the adding of vanilla.] Serve hot or cold over desserts.

QUESTIONS

What is the purpose of the egg and bread in the Bread Pudding?

What care must be taken in combining the egg mixture with the hot milk mixture?

Think of the effect of intense heat upon the ingredients of Bread Pudding, and then explain why the pudding should bake slowly. What is the result, if baked in a very hot oven?

What is the reason for covering the pudding during the first 15 minutes of baking?

Name combinations of spices that would be desirable for the pudding.

What care should be taken in cooking chocolate in boiling water?

In preparing Vanilla Sauce, why is the flour mixed with the sugar (see Experiment 24)?

How does the quantity of thickening for Vanilla Sauce compare with the quantity of thickening for the Sauce for Cream Toast?

Give the four different quantities of flour generally used to thicken one pint of sauce.

What care should be taken in cooking Vanilla Sauce?

Compare the recipe for Chocolate Corn-starch Pudding with that for Chocolate Sauce. What material and how much of it is used for thickening each? What difference in consistency is there in the two cooked mixtures? What liquids are used in each mixture? Why is the sauce cooked directly over the flame and then over, boiling water, while the pudding is cooked only over boiling water?

LESSON LVII

CHEESE (A)

THE RELATION OF CHEESE TO MILK.--To show the relation of cheese to milk, and to understand the manufacture of cheese, try the following:

EXPERIMENT 47: EFFECT OF RENNET ON MILK.--Put a small quantity of milk in a test tube and heat the milk a very little, taking care not to boil it. Add to it 1/4 teaspoonful liquid rennet, or 1/8 junket tablet, and set aside. After a few minutes examine the milk. How has the rennet changed the milk? What substance in the milk has been clotted by the rennet (see Lesson XLVI)?

EXPERIMENT 48: SEPARATION OF CURD AND WHEY--Again heat the contents of the test tube of Experiment 47, turn the mixture into a cheese-cloth, and press the cloth until the mixture is dry. Examine the material left in the cloth. How does it differ from ordinary cheese in color and texture? In cheese making what names are given to the solids and liquids of clotted milk?

Cheese is prepared for the market in a way somewhat similar to that shown in Experiments 47 and 48, except that it is colored, salted, pressed into shape, and allowed to ripen. While ripening, changes take place in the ingredients of cheese which develop characteristic flavors and make the cheese firm.

There are two general classes of cheese,--hard cheese and soft cheese. A hard cheese commonly known as "American Cream Cheese" is generally used in this country.

ACTION OF RENNIN IN DIGESTING MILK.--The rennet or junket used to clot the casein of the milk is obtained from the digestive juices of the stomach of a calf. An enzyme called rennin exists in the gastric juice of the human stomach also. When milk is digested, it is first clotted by the enzyme in the stomach.

EXPERIMENT 49: EFFECT OF ACID ON MILK.--Add a few drops of vinegar to warm milk in a test tube. What is the result? What substance in the milk has been curdled by the acid?

To what substance in milk is its sweet taste due? Into what has this substance changed when milk sours? What causes the change in this material (see _Care of Milk_)? Knowing the effect of acid on milk, explain the clotted condition of sour milk.

JUNKET "CUSTARD"

1 quart milk 1/4 cupful sugar 1 teaspoonful vanilla 1 tablespoonful liquid rennet _or_ 1 junket tablet Powdered cinnamon or nutmeg

Heat the milk in a double boiler until it is _lukewarm_ only; do not heat it to scalding temperature. Test milk for lukewarm, _i.e._ body temperature, by letting a drop fall on the wrist. If the milk "feels like the wrist"--neither warmer nor colder--it is lukewarm in temperature. If a junket tablet is used, crush it. Add the sugar, vanilla, and rennet or junket, and stir until dissolved. Pour into a glass dish and stand in a warm place until it thickens. Then set the Junket "Custard" in a cool place. When cold, sprinkle with a little cinnamon or nutmeg, and serve with cream.

COTTAGE CHEESE

1 quart thick sour milk 1/4 teaspoonful salt Cream, top milk, or butter

Pour at least 2 quarts of boiling water into the sour milk. Allow the mixture to stand until the curd separates from the whey. Strain the mixture in a cloth, pressing the cloth until the curd is dry, or allow it to drip for several hours or overnight. Put the curd in a bowl, add salt and a little cream, top milk, or melted butter, and mix thoroughly. Serve lightly heaped, or molded into balls.

QUESTIONS

Why should junket tablets be crushed before adding to the milk (see Experiment 12)?

In what way is the preparation of milk for Junket "Custard" like the digestion of milk in the stomach?

Tell why Junket "Custard" is quickly digested.

How much Cottage Cheese is obtained from 1 quart of milk?

Explain the use of boiling water in preparing Cottage Cheese from sour milk.

What is the price per pint of Cottage Cheese prepared at home?

What is the price per pint of Cottage Cheese obtained at market?

LESSON LVIII

CHEESE (B)

FOOD VALUE AND USE OF CHEESE.--Cheese is concentrated food, _i.e._ it contains much nourishment in small bulk. One pound of cheese contains as much protein as two pounds of eggs or one and one half pounds of meat, and as much fat as three pounds of eggs and one pound of beef. In addition to protein and fat, cheese contains ash and vitamines (see Division Seven).

Cottage Cheese is a particularly good food. Since it is less expensive than most foods rich in protein, it should be used to a greater extent than it is at the present time. Most tasty salads and meat substitute dishes may be prepared from cottage cheese.

Cheese was formerly considered somewhat difficult of digestion, but investigations (see Farmers' Bulletin 487, _The Digestion of Cheese_, p. 15.) show that cheese differs but little from meat in ease of digestion. Cheese, like protein foods in general, if cooked at all, should be heated at low or moderate temperature.

It is well to cook cheese in combination with other food materials. The use of cheese at the close of a dinner, when sufficient food has already been eaten, is not advisable.

CARE OF CHEESE.--Molds grow rapidly upon cheese, especially if it is placed in a warm place and the air is excluded from it (see _Why Foods Spoil_). For this reason, cheese should never be placed in a tightly covered dish or jar. It may be placed in a dish or jar and covered with a cloth. To keep cheese that has been cut from drying, wrap it in paraffin paper, then in a slightly dampened cloth, and then in paper. It should not, however, be kept in the damp cloth too long; molds will grow upon it.

MACARONI AND CHEESE

1 cupful macaroni 1 1/2 cupfuls medium White Sauce 2 cupfuls buttered crumbs 3/4 cupful grated cheese

Break macaroni into one-inch pieces. Cook in a large quantity of boiling, salted water, in the same manner as Boiled Rice. When tender, pour into a colander, and run cold water through it. Make the sauce, using half milk and half "macaroni water" for the liquid; then add the cheese and macaroni to it. Pour into a buttered baking-dish. Cover with the buttered crumbs and bake at 450 degrees F. for 20 minutes or until brown.

_Rice or noodles_, cooked in the same way, may be substituted for macaroni.

QUESTIONS

What must be the condition of cheese in order to grate it? If it is very soft, how should it be prepared to add to the sauce?

What is macaroni? What foodstuff does it contain in large quantity?

What is the effect of cold water on cooked macaroni (see Experiment 17)?

Why is it cooked in a large quantity of boiling water?

What does the water in which the macaroni was cooked contain?

What use can be made of the water that is drained from the macaroni (see _Cheese Sauce,_)?

What is the price per pound of macaroni? What is the price per pound of rice? What is the price per pound of cheese?

How much cheese, by weight, is required for one cupful of grated cheese?

How many will this recipe for Macaroni and Cheese serve?

How does cheese compare in price per pound with beefsteak? How does it compare in nutritive value? How much of the cheese is waste material? How much of beefsteak is waste material? Which is the cheaper food?

LESSON LIX

STRUCTURE OF BEEF--METHODS OF COOKING TENDER CUTS

MEAT.--The flesh of animals is called _meat_. In market this term is applied to the muscle, bone, and fat of beef (cattle), veal (calf), mutton (sheep), lamb, and pork (pig).

To show the structure and properties of the substances in lean meat, try the following experiments with beef:

EXPERIMENT 50: DIVISION OF MUSCLE.--Scrape a piece of lean beef on both sides until nothing remains but the stringy mass or framework of the meat. What is the color and texture, _i.e._ toughness, of the two parts into which the muscle is divided?

Lean meat, or muscle, of animals may be divided into two parts: (_a_) connective tissue or framework, and (_b_) muscle fiber.

Divide both the connective tissue and muscle fiber into two equal portions. Use them for Experiments 51 and 52.

EXPERIMENT 51: EFFECT OF DRY HEAT ON: (_a_) CONNECTIVE TISSUE.-- Examine the connective tissue and note its toughness. Place it in a frying pan and heat it for a few minutes. Examine it again. Is it made more tender or tough by dry heat?

(_b_) MUSCLE FIBER.--Shape one portion of the muscle fiber into a ball. Place it in a frying pan and heat as directed in (_a_). Is the fiber made more tender or tough by dry heat? Sprinkle a bit of salt over it and taste. What can you say regarding the flavor of the fiber?

EXPERIMENT 52: EFFECT OF MOISTURE AND HEAT ON: (_a_) CONNECTIVE TISSUE.--Place the second portion of connective tissue in a pan and cover it with water. Let it simmer for at least 15 minutes. How do moisture and heat affect its toughness?

(_b_) MUSCLE FIBER.--Use the second portion of muscle fiber and cook in water at simmering temperature as directed in (_a_). How do heat and moisture affect its toughness? Sprinkle a bit of salt over it and taste. Compare its flavor with muscle fiber cooked by dry heat. Which has a more pleasing flavor?

From these experiments what conclusion can you draw with regard to the length of time--_long or short_--that _connective tissue_ must be cooked in order to make it tender? What conclusion can you draw with regard to the kind of heat--_dry or moist_--that must be applied to connective tissue to make it tender?