Chapter 4

No need for Crisco to occupy valuable space in the refrigerator. In fact, except in most unusual summer heat, it will be of a better consistency outside the refrigerator. Crisco keeps sweet indefinitely, summer and winter, at ordinary room temperature.

In making sauces, thoroughly blend the flour and Crisco before adding the milk.

In using melted Crisco in boiled dressing, croquettes, rolls, fritters, etc., be sure that the melted Crisco is cooled sufficiently so that the hot fat will not injure the texture of the foods.

When using in place of butter, add salt in the proportion of one level teaspoonful to one cup of Crisco.

Remember that Crisco, like butter, is susceptible to cold. It readily becomes hard. In creaming Crisco in winter use the same care as when creaming butter. Rinse pan in boiling water and have the Crisco of the proper creaming stiffness before using. Unlike butter, however, Crisco's purity is not affected by weather. It remains sweet and pure indefinitely without refrigeration.

In deep frying, do not wait for Crisco to smoke. (See page 35.)

_Remember That_--

_When pie crust is tough:_ It is possible you have not used Crisco properly. Perhaps the measurements were not correct. Perhaps the water was too warm, or the dough was handled too much. Shortening cannot make pastry tough.

_When fried foods absorb:_ It is because Crisco is not hot enough, or because you have not used enough Crisco. Use plenty and the raw foods, if added in small quantities, will not reduce the heat of the fat. The absorption in deep Crisco frying should be less than that of another fat.

_When cake is not a success:_ It is not the fault of the Crisco. Either too much was used, the oven heat not perfectly controlled or some important ingredient was used in the wrong proportion. Crisco should be creamed with the sugar more thoroughly than butter, as Crisco contains no moisture to dissolve the sugar.

_When cake or other food is not flavory:_ Salt should have been added to the Crisco, for Crisco contains no salt.

_When there is smoke in the kitchen:_ Crisco has been burned or heated too high for frying. Or some may have been on the _outside_ of the pan or kettle.

_When Crisco is too hard:_ Like butter, it is susceptible to heat and cold. Simply put in a warmer place.

_Hints to Young Cooks_

_Also, How to Choose Foods, Methods of Cooking, Cooking Time Table, The Art of Carving_, by MARION HARRIS NEIL.

Before commencing to cook, look up the required recipe, read and think it out. Note down on a slip of paper the materials and quantities required. Collect all utensils and materials required before commencing. Success in cookery depends on careful attention to every detail from start to finish. Quantities, both liquid and dry, should be exact. Small scales and weights should form part of the kitchen equipment where possible, and the measuring cups cost so little that no one need be without them.

Throughout this book the measurements are level

_How to Choose Foods_

Money can be spent to infinitely better advantage in the store, than by giving orders at the door, by phone or mail. Every housekeeper knows how large a proportion of the housekeeping money is swallowed up by the butcher's bill, so that with the meat item careful selection is most necessary in order to keep the bills within bounds.

In choosing meat of any kind the eye, the nose and the touch really are required, although it is not appetizing to see the purchaser use more than the eye.

Beef

In choosing meat it should be remembered that without being actually unwholesome, it varies greatly in quality, and often an inferior joint is to be preferred from a first class beast to a more popular cut from a second class animal. To be perfect the animal should be five or six years old, the flesh of a close even grain, bright red in color and well mixed with creamy white fat, the suet being firm and a clear white. Heifer meat is smaller in the bone and lighter in color than ox beef. Cow beef is much the same to look at as ox beef, though being older it is both coarser in the grain and tougher; bull beef, which is never seen however, in a first class butcher's may be recognized by the coarseness and dark color of the flesh, and also by a strong and almost rank smell.

Mutton

To be in perfection, mutton should be at least four, or better five or six years old, but sheep of this age are rarely if ever, met with now-a-days, when they are constantly killed under two years. To know the age of mutton, examine the breast bones; if these are all of a white gristly color the animal was four years old or over, while the younger it is the pinkier are the bones, which, in a sheep of under a year, are entirely red.

Good mutton should be of a clear dark red, the fat firm and white, and not too much of it; when touched the meat should feel crisp yet tender. If the fat is yellow and the lean flabby and damp, it is bad. A freshly scraped wooden skewer run into the meat along the bone will speedily enable anyone to detect staleness. For roasting mutton scarcely can be hung too long, as long as it is not tainted; but for boiling it must not be kept nearly so long or the meat will be of a bad color when cooked.

Lamb

The freshness of lamb is comparatively easy to distinguish, as if fresh the neck vein will be a bright blue, the knuckles stiff, and the eyes bright and full.

Veal

Veal is at its best when the calf is from three to four months old. The meat should be of a close firm grain, white in color and the fat inclining to a pinkish tinge. Veal is sometimes coarser in the grain, and redder in the flesh, not necessarily a mark of inferiority, but denoting the fact that calf has been brought up in the open. Like all young meat, veal turns very quickly, therefore it never should hang more than two or three days. In choosing veal always examine the suet under the kidney; if this be clammy and soft, with a faint odor, the meat is not good, and always reject any that has greenish or yellowish spots about it. The head should be clean skinned and firm, the eyes full and clear, the kidneys large and well covered with fat, the liver a rich dark clear color, free from any spots or gristle, while the sweetbreads should be firm, plump, of a delicate color, and free from strings.

Pork

The flesh of pork, when in good condition, is a delicate pinky white, with a close fine grain; the fat, which should not be too abundant, of a white color, very faintly tinged with pink; the skin should be thin and elastic to the touch, and the flesh generally cool, clean, and smooth looking; if, on the contrary, the flesh is flabby and clammy when touched, it is not fresh.

Pork, like all white meat, is quick to taint, and never should be kept long before cooking. If you have the slightest doubt about pork, it is best to reject it, for unlike other meat which may be quite wholesome and usable, though not of precisely prime quality, pork _must_ be in really first class condition to be wholesome, and therefore it is impossible to be too particular in the choice of it. Always if possible look at the tongue, for, as in beef, this is a very fair criterion of the condition of the animal; a freshly scraped new wooden skewer run into the meat along the bone is a good test of the freshness of the pork, and be careful especially to examine the fat, for if there be little kernels in it the pork is "measly," a very common disease among pigs, and one particularly unwholesome to the consumer.

Pigs for fresh pork should be of medium size, not over fat, and under a year old. Pigs destined to become bacon are usually older and larger. Sucking pigs should be small, and are best when about three weeks old. A sucking pig should be cooked as soon as possible after it is killed, as it taints very quickly; unless fresh, no care in the cooking will make the crackling crisp, as it should be.

Ham--Bacon

Good bacon has the lean of a bright pink and fine in the grain, while the fat is white and firm. If the lean is high colored, it probably has been over salted and is old besides, and in consequence will be hard and salty; while if there be yellow marks in the fat, and a curious, rather musty smell, it will have an unpleasant taste. In choosing a ham always run a clean knife or skewer in at the knuckle, and also at the center; if it comes out clean and smelling sweet, the ham is good; but if out of order the blade of the knife will be smeared and greasy looking, and have a disagreeable, strong odor.

Venison

The condition of venison is judged chiefly by the fat, which should be a clear creamy white color, and close in texture. Always try venison by running a sharp knife along the haunch bone, which is usually the first to turn; if, in taking it out, the knife has a blackish-green look and an unpleasant odor, the meat is tainted, and unfit for use. Venison requires to be kept a considerable time before it is in proper condition, and needs great care in its management. It must be examined carefully every day, and if there is the slightest doubt, it should be washed in lukewarm milk and water, then dried in clean cloths, and when perfectly dry, should be covered thickly all over with ground ginger and pepper; when required for use, dust off the pepper and ginger, and wash the meat in a little lukewarm water, and dry it thoroughly. Venison, like mutton, improves with age, and this can be judged by the condition of the hoof, which in a young animal has a small, smooth cleft, while in an old one it is deeply cut and rugged. The haunch is the prime joint, its perfection depending on the greater or less depth of the fat on it. The neck and shoulder also are very good. They are used chiefly for stews or pies.

Hares and Rabbits

A hare when fresh killed is stiff and red; when stale, the body is supple and the flesh in many parts black. If the hare be old the ears will be tough and dry, and will not tear readily. Rabbits may be judged in the same manner. In both, the claws should be smooth and sharp. In a young hare the cleft in the lip is narrow, and the claws are cracked readily if turned sideways.

Poultry

Poultry to be perfect, should have just reached their full growth (the only exceptions to this are "spring chickens," ducklings, goslings, etc., which are considered delicacies at certain seasons); they should be plump, firm fleshed, and not over fatted. Over-fed fowls are often a mass of greasy fat, which melts in the cooking and spoils the flavor of the bird. A hen is at her best just before she begins to lay; her legs should be smooth, her comb small, bright, and soft. A young cock has the comb full, bright colored, and smooth, the legs smooth, the spurs short, and in both the toes should break easily when turned back, and the weight of the birds should be great in proportion to their size. Contrary to the practice with game, poultry never should be kept long, as they turn easily, and are spoilt if the least high. They also require longer cooking, in proportion to their size, than game, and never should be underdone. Dark-legged fowls are best for roasting, as their flesh is moister and better flavored cooked in this way than the white-legged ones, which from their greater daintiness of appearance are to be preferred for boiling.

_Turkeys_ should be plump, white-fleshed, young, the legs plump and firm, black and smooth, with (in the cock) short spurs, the feet soft and supple; the eyes should be full and clear, the neck long, and the wattles of a bright color. A hen turkey is best for boiling. Like fowls, an old turkey is fit for nothing but the stewpan or the stockpot. Turkeys require hanging for at least a week, though they must never be "high" or "gamey."

_Geese_ always should be chosen young, plump, and full breasted, a white skin, a yellow smooth bill, the feet yellow and pliable. If the feet and bill are red and hard, and the skin hairy and coarse, the bird is old. Geese should be hung for a few days. Ducks, like geese, should have yellow, supple feet; the breasts full and hard, and the skin clear. Wild ducks should be fat, the feet small, reddish, and pliable, the breast firm and heavy. If not fresh, there will be a disagreeable smell when the bill is open. The male is generally the more expensive, though the female is usually more delicate in flavor.

_Pigeons_ always should be young and extremely fresh, and when so, they are plump and fat, with pliable smooth feet.

NOTE--In selecting game pluck a few feathers from the under part of the leg; if the skin is not discolored the bird is fresh. The age may be known by placing the thumb into the beak, and holding the bird up with the jaw apart; if it breaks it is young; if not, it is old, and requires longer keeping before cooking to be eatable.

_Guinea-fowl_ are judged like poultry, but require hanging for some time.

Fish

Fish in good condition usually is firm and elastic to the touch, eyes bright and prominent, gills fresh and rosy. If the fish is flabby, with sunken eyes, it either is stale or out of condition.

_Salmon_ should have a small head and tail, full thick shoulders, clean silvery scales, and its flesh of a rich yellowish pink. When quite fresh there is a creamy curd between the flakes, which are stiff and hard; but if kept this melts, softening the flesh and rendering it richer, but at the same time less digestible.

_Trout_, in spite of the difference in size, may be judged by the same rule as salmon. However, it will not bear keeping, deteriorating rapidly.

_Cod_, unlike salmon, should have a large head and thick shoulders; the flesh being white and clear, and separating easily into large flakes, the skin clean and silvery. Most people consider cod improves by being kept for a day or two and very slightly salted.

_Herrings_ must be absolutely fresh to be good, and when in this state their scales shine like silver. If kept over long their eyes become suffused with blood.

_Mackerel_ also must be quite fresh. They never should be bought if either out of condition or season. If fresh they are peculiarly beautiful fish, their backs of an iridescent blue green barred with black, and their bellies of a pearly whiteness.

_Smelts_ should be stiff and silvery, with a delicate perfume faintly suggestive of cucumber.

_Halibut_ is a wholesome fish. It should be middling size, thick and of a white color.

_Lobsters, Crabs, Prawns, and Shrimps_ are stiff, and with the tails tightly pressed against the body. With the former, weight is a great guide, as the heavier they are the better; but if there be the least sign of wateriness, they should be rejected at once.

Vegetables

Green vegetables always are at their best when cheapest and most plentiful. Out of season they never have the same flavor, however well they may be grown. Excepting artichokes, all summer vegetables, as lettuce, peas, beans, and asparagus should be cooked as soon as possible after gathering. The freshness of most vegetables may be ascertained easily by taking a leaf or a pod between the fingers. If fresh this will snap off short and crisp, while if stale it will be limp and soft. It is an economy to buy winter vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, celery, and potatoes in large quantities, if you have storage room, as if buried in sand and kept from the frost they may be kept a considerable time. Onions should be kept hung up in a cool, dry place. If allowed to sprout the flavor becomes rank and coarse.

Eggs

A mode of ascertaining the freshness of eggs is to hold them before a lighted candle or to the light, and if the egg looks clear, it will be tolerably good; if thick, it is stale; and if there is a black spot attached to the shell, it is worthless. No egg should be used for culinary purposes with the slightest taint in it, as it will render perfectly useless those with which it has been mixed. Eggs may be preserved, however, for a considerable time without any further special precaution than that of keeping them in a cool place. A very effective method of preserving eggs for winter use is to rub a little melted Crisco over each to close the pores, and then to pack the eggs in bran, salt or sawdust, not allowing them to touch each other.

_Methods of Cooking_

There are seven chief methods of cooking meat--roasting, boiling, baking, stewing, frying, broiling and poaching.

The first three are most suitable for joints weighing four pounds or more, but not satisfactory for smaller pieces which are liable to become hard and flavorless by the drying up or loss of their juices.

Of the other three methods, stewing may be applied to fairly large and solid pieces, but it is better for smaller thin ones, while frying and broiling can be used only for steaks, chops, and similar cuts.

Braising and steaming are combinations and modifications of these methods.

Roasting

Roasting is one of the oldest methods of cooking on record, and still remains the favorite form of cooking joints of meat or birds. The success of every method of cooking depends largely upon the correct management of the fire. In roasting, this is particularly the case, as a clear, brisk and yet steady fire is needed. To roast a joint it should be placed before great heat for the first ten minutes and then allowed to cook more slowly. The great heat hardens the outside of the meat and keeps in the juices. If allowed to cook quickly all the time the meat is likely to be tough. The fire should be bright and clear. The joint should be basted about every ten minutes, as this helps to cook it, keeps it juicy and improves the flavor. The time allowed is fifteen minutes for every pound, twenty minutes over for beef and mutton; for veal and pork twenty minutes for every pound and thirty minutes over.

Oven Roasting

Roasting in the oven of ordinary coal stoves or ranges is not considered so good as roasting before an open fire; nevertheless it may be said safely that the greatest part of meat roasting is done in close ovens. It appears, from various experiments that meat roasted or baked in a close oven loses rather less of its weight than if roasted by an open fire.

The excellence of a roast depends to a great extent upon the amount of basting it receives.

Some cooks season a joint before it is cooked, while others season it with salt and pepper just before it is served. There is a difference of opinion as to which is the more correct way of the two. Meat of newly killed animals requires longer cooking than meat which has been hung for a time.

In warm weather joints require slightly less time for roasting than in cold.

Boned and rolled or stuffed meats require longer cooking than the same joints would if neither rolled nor stuffed. The meat of young animals and that of old ones requires different treatment. As a rule young flesh, containing less fibrine, requires longer cooking. White meat, such as pork, veal and lamb, always should be well cooked and never must be served rare. The exact time and process of roasting must be left to the good management of the cook, who must be guided by circumstances and conditions. The cook's business is to serve the joint as full of nourishing qualities as possible. Though roasting is considered one of the easiest and most simple processes of cookery, it really requires quite as much attention to obtain perfect results as is necessary to prepare so-called "made" dishes, the recognized test for good cooks.

Boiling

Boiling (of fresh meat).--This is cookery by immersion in boiling liquid, which after a few minutes is reduced to simmering. The object of the high temperature at first is to harden the surface albumen and so seal the pores and prevent the escape of the juices. If continued too long, this degree of heat would tend to toughen the joint throughout; after the first few minutes, therefore, the heat must be reduced to about 180° F. The pan used for boiling meat should be only just large enough to hold the joint, and the quantity of liquid no more than is required to cover it. For the boiling of salt meat the general rule of first hardening the surface is not to be followed. The salting of meat withdraws a large proportion of its juices, while at the same time the salt hardens the fibres, and this hardness would be intensified by extreme heat. Very salt meat sometimes is soaked in cold water to extract some of the salt, but whether this is done or not, the rule for boiling salt meat is to immerse it in cold or tepid water and bring slowly to boiling point; boil for five minutes to seal the pores and prevent any further loss of juice, then reduce to 180° F., and maintain a uniform temperature till the meat is cooked. Salt meat takes longer to cook than fresh meat, and the saltness may be qualified by boiling vegetables with the meat, turnips especially being useful for this purpose.

Baking

The actual differences between roasting and baking are not great, the terms being frequently interchanged. Meat loses rather less weight when baked than when roasted, but the flavor of meat is inferior and less developed. The heat of an oven being steadier, baking takes somewhat less time than roasting. In a gas oven having an open floor the current of air is not impeded, and such baking very nearly approaches roasting, and the flavor generally is acknowledged to be the same.

Stewing

Stewing is cooking slowly with a small quantity of liquid in a covered vessel. The method is specially suitable for the coarser and cheaper parts of meat, which are rendered tender without loss of their juices. The usual plan is to make a gravy flavored and colored to suit the stew, and after the ingredients are well blended and cooked to lay the meat in the boiling liquid. After about two minutes boiling, the temperature is reduced to simmering, about 160° F., a lower temperature than that required for a large joint of "boiled" meat. The time depends greatly on the quality of the meat, but none will stew satisfactorily in less than from one and a half to two hours, and the longer allowance is to be preferred.

Broiling

Broiling, sometimes called grilling, is cooking by the direct action of fire brought almost into contact with the meat. The outer surface is burned or seared, the albumen hardened and the juices, which have a tendency to escape on the side turned from the heat, are retained in the meat by frequent turning. The fire for broiling must be very clear, intensely hot and high in the grate. The utensil required for broiling is a gridiron, the bars of which are greased and heated to prevent sticking and subsequent tearing of the meat. The gridiron is laid quite close over the heat, so that the lower surface is dried and hardened at once.

The meat must be turned at very short intervals before the juices have been driven from the heat to the opposite surface. If once allowed to reach the surface, they will be thrown off in turning and lost, the meat being correspondingly impoverished. By constant turning the juices are kept moving backwards and forwards, and the meat remains moist and full of flavor. Each side should be exposed to the fire about three times, and it is not desirable to use meat less than one inch or more than one and a half to two inches thick for the purpose.

The thinner pieces should have even greater heat applied than the thick ones, as the longer thin ones are exposed to the fire the more dry and tasteless they become, while the thicker pieces may be slightly withdrawn after thoroughly hardening the surface and cooked rather more slowly that the heat may penetrate to the center. The frequent turning must be continued, or the juices will reach the hardened outer fibres, soften them, and escape.