The Project Gutenberg eBook of "Household Science."

Care, cost, and food value of milk. Value and use of sour milk—cottage cheese, curdled milk. Rice or cornstarch pudding (plain, caramel, or chocolate).

SUBJECT MATTER

Milk contains all the food-stuffs which the body requires, except starch, and, therefore, is capable of sustaining life for comparatively long periods. It is one of the most important protein foods; but it contains so small a percentage of carbohydrate (milk sugar) that for the adult it must be supplemented with carbohydrate foods. For the baby, milk is a perfect food, and it is a valuable adjunct to the diet of all children. One quart of milk should be allowed for the diet of each child daily, after the twelfth month; and the diet of the adult should be supplemented by the use of milk. The greatest care should be exercised in protecting milk from dust and dirt, for it is easily contaminated and may be the means of carrying disease germs to the body. The changes which milk undergoes when souring do not render it harmful. For many people buttermilk is more easy of digestion than sweet milk, because of the changes produced by souring, as well as the absence of fat. Sour milk is of value in cooking, producing a tender bread which can readily be made light by the addition of soda—one teaspoonful of soda to one pint of sour milk that has curdled.

In the preparation of cheese, the whey is separated from the curds, thus extracting most of the water, sugar, and mineral matter, and leaving a substance rich in protein and fat. Cheese is of value in cooking, for it increases the food value of those foods to which it is added.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

The teacher should make inquiries a few days in advance, to be sure that one quart of sour milk can be secured, and, when it is brought, she should examine it to see that it is in proper condition to make cottage cheese. She should arrange to have about one quart of sweet milk and such other supplies as are necessary for the pudding, brought by the pupils.

An opportunity may be afforded to discuss the use of left-over cereal by the preparation of a rice pudding, if the teacher provides some cold cooked rice for the lesson. In the absence of cold rice, the cornstarch pudding may be prepared.

RECIPES

Heat sour milk slowly until the whey rises to the top, pour the whey off, put the curd in a bag, and let it drip for six hours without squeezing. Put the curd into a bowl and break into fine pieces with a wooden spoon; season with salt and mix into a paste with a little cream or butter. Mould into balls, if desired, and keep in a cold place. (It is best when fresh.)

Scald the milk in a double boiler. Add the prepared rice and cook until soft. Beat the egg-yolks, sugar, and salt together until well mixed. Stir into the rice and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve cold. Serves eight.

Mix the sugar and cornstarch thoroughly. Add one cup of cold milk and stir until smooth. Heat the remainder of the milk in a double boiler; add the cornstarch mixture slowly, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken. Continue cooking for 20 minutes. Beat the egg well, add the hot pudding slowly, strain, and cool. Serve with milk or cream and sugar. (The egg may be omitted, if desired.) Serves eight.

For chocolate cornstarch pudding, use ¼ cup of sugar additional and two squares of chocolate. Melt the chocolate carefully, add the sugar, and add to the cornstarch mixture.

For caramel cornstarch pudding, use 1 cup of brown sugar and ½ cup of boiling water. Heat the sugar until it becomes a light-brown liquid, add the boiling water, and stir until the sugar is all dissolved. Let it cool; then add to the cornstarch mixture.

METHOD OF WORK

As soon as the class meets, demonstrate the method of making cottage cheese. Show the separation of curd and whey, by adding vinegar or lemon juice to sweet milk. While the cheese is draining, make assignments of work and have the rice or cornstarch pudding made.

Discuss also the food value of skimmed milk and sour milk and the purposes for which these may be used in cooking.

Cream soups. Cream of carrot, potato, or onion soup, green pea soup. Toast, croutons, or crisp crackers to serve with soup.

SUBJECT MATTER

Cream soups.—The strained pulp of cooked vegetables or legumes, with an equal portion of thin white sauce, is the basis for cream soups. The liquid for the soup may be all milk, part vegetable water and part milk, or all vegetable water.

A binding of flour is used to prevent a separation of the thicker and the thinner parts of the soup. This is combined as for white sauce and is stirred into the hot liquid just before the soup is to be served. The soup should be made in a double boiler and kept in this utensil until it is served.

Four tablespoons of flour to each quart of soup is a good proportion to use for thickening all vegetable soups that are not of a starchy nature; half that amount will be sufficient for soup prepared from a very starchy vegetable.

The value of the vegetable water should be impressed upon the pupils, and it should be pointed out that these soups are an excellent way of using the cooking water and any left-over vegetables. From these, attractive cream soups may be prepared, and a combination of flavours often gives good results.

Accompaniments.—Crisp crackers, croutons, soup sticks, or bread sticks are served with cream soups, and are valuable because they necessitate thorough mastication, thus inducing the flow of saliva and aiding in the digestion of the starchy ingredients of the soups.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

As a basis for the soup, the teacher should secure a vegetable that the pupils use in their own homes, and crackers or bread to serve with the soup.

If dried peas are used, they should be allowed to soak overnight and be put on to cook early in the morning.

It will be well to have the cooking of the carrots begun before the lesson period. If the carrots are cut up in small pieces, they will cook more quickly.

RECIPES

Press the vegetables through a sieve or chop finely; put the vegetable water on to heat. Mix the flour smoothly with an equal measure of milk and thin it with a little more of the milk. Stir into the steaming liquid, stirring constantly until it thickens. Stir in the butter, vegetable pulp, and remaining milk. Season to taste and serve hot. Serves six.

Put the milk to heat in a double boiler. Boil the potatoes and onion together until soft, then rub the liquid and pulp through a strainer into the hot milk. Bind with the flour, add the seasonings, and serve hot. Serves four.

Wash the peas and soak them overnight in cold water, drain and rinse thoroughly, add 2½ quarts of cold water and the onion, cook slowly until soft, rub the liquid and pulp through a strainer, and bind with the flour. Add the milk and the seasonings and serve hot. Serves six to eight.

Cut stale bread into slices one quarter of an inch thick; put on the toaster or fork, move gently over the heat until dry, then brown by placing near the heat, turning constantly. Bread may be dried in the oven before toasting. Hot milk may be poured over dry toast.

Cut stale bread into one-half-inch cubes and brown in the oven.

Put the crackers into the oven for a few minutes, or split and butter thick crackers, and brown in a hot oven; serve with soup.

METHOD OF WORK

Devote a few minutes to a discussion of cream soups and a review of the cooking of vegetables and white sauce.

Divide the work among the members of the class, assigning enough to each pupil to keep her busy, arranging the work so that the soup and its accompaniments will be ready for serving at the same time.

SUBJECT MATTER

Eggs are a very valuable food, because of the large amount of protein and fat they contain. Though lacking in carbohydrates, they furnish material for building up the muscles and provide heat and energy to the body. If cooked at a low temperature, eggs are very easily and very completely digested. Combined with other foods, they serve as a thickening agent (for sauces and soups) and as a means of making batters light (popovers and sponge cake). They add flavour and colour and increase the nutritive value of other foods.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

The lesson on eggs furnishes one of the best opportunities to teach the muscle-building foods. If eggs are scarce, it may be well to give this lesson at some other time. Each pupil should be asked to bring an egg; one or two should bring a little milk; and sufficient bread should be provided to toast for the poached eggs. The teacher should not undertake to give too many recipes in this lesson, but should try to make the pupils familiar with a sufficient variety of ways of using eggs to make egg cookery interesting. The necessity of having a moderate temperature for the cooking of eggs should be emphasized.

RECIPES

Put the eggs in boiling water sufficient to cover them, remove from the fire, cover, and allow them to stand from 5 to 8 minutes.

Put the eggs in cold water, heat, and, when the water boils, reduce the heat, and let them stand for 20 minutes with water just below the boiling-point, then put them into cold water.

Break each egg into a saucer carefully, slip the egg into boiling water, decrease the heat, and cook for 5 minutes, or until the white is firm and a film has formed over the yolk. Take up with a skimmer, drain, trim off the rough edges, and serve on slices of toast. Season.

Poached eggs are attractive when covered with white sauce to which chopped parsley has been added.

Line a buttered baking-dish with buttered bread crumbs or with cold mashed potatoes. Break the eggs in the dish without separating and add one tablespoon of milk or cream for each egg. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with grated cheese, if desired. Bake in a moderate oven until the eggs are set.

Prepare a white sauce. Add hard-boiled eggs cut in halves, sliced, or chopped and, when hot, serve on toast.

Or separate the whites and yolks, chop the whites fine, add to the white sauce and, when hot, serve on toast and garnish with yolks run through a sieve or ricer. Season with salt and pepper. Serves four to six.

Beat the egg slightly, add the milk and seasonings, put the butter in the hot omelet pan and, when melted, turn in the mixture. As it cooks, draw the edges toward the centre until the whole is of a creamy consistency, brown quickly underneath, fold, and turn on a hot platter. Serve at once. Serves one.

Double the quantity of milk given for Creamy Omelet and stir all the time while cooking.

Beat the yolk of the egg until creamy, add seasoning and milk. Beat the white until stiff, but not dry, cut and fold into the yolk carefully. Heat an omelet pan, rub the bottom and sides with the butter, and turn in the omelet, spreading it evenly on the pan. Cook gently over the heat until the omelet is set and evenly browned underneath. Put it into a hot oven for a few minutes, to dry slightly on top, fold, and serve immediately. Serves one.

METHOD OF WORK

Devote one half of the class period to a discussion of the structure of the egg and the effect of heat upon it. Use simple experiments or watch the poached egg, to make a study of the changes produced in the egg by the application of heat. If the pupils are sufficiently experienced, let them work together in small groups, first scrambling an egg, then making an omelet. Demonstrate the cooking of the omelet before the entire class. Serve the egg dishes carefully while hot.

[A]The omelet recipes given are for individual portions. To make a large omelet, multiply the quantity of each ingredient by the number of eggs used. The best results will be obtained by making an omelet of not more than four eggs, as larger omelets are difficult to cook thoroughly and to handle well. A two-egg omelet will serve three people. A four-egg omelet will serve six people.

SUBJECT MATTER

A custard is a combination of eggs and milk, usually sweetened and flavoured, and either steamed, or baked as cup custard, or cooked in a double boiler as soft custard. The whole egg may be used or the yolks alone. The yolks make a smoother, richer custard.

The eggs must be thoroughly mixed, but not beaten light, the sugar and salt added, and the milk scalded and stirred in slowly. The custard must be strained through a fine sieve and cooked at a moderate temperature. It is desirable to strain a custard, in order to remove the cords and pieces of the membrane which inclosed the yolk. The cup custard should be strained before cooking, the soft custard may be strained afterwards.

A soft custard is cooked over water and is stirred constantly until done. When done, the froth disappears from the surface, the custard is thickened and coats the spoon and sides of the pan, and there is no sign of curdling. If the custard is cooked too long, it becomes curdled. If it becomes curdled, put it into a pan of cold water and beat until smooth.

A steamed or baked custard is done when it becomes set and when a silver knife will come out clean after cutting it.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

This lesson will furnish an opportunity for a review of milk and eggs. The pupils should arrange to bring the necessary materials from their homes.

Beat the eggs sufficiently to mix them thoroughly; add the sugar, salt, and hot milk slowly.

Strain into cups, flavour with caramel, or sprinkle nutmeg on top, and steam until firm over gently boiling water—from 20 to 30 minutes.

Prepare as for Steamed Custards, set in a pan of hot water, and bake in a slow oven until firm—from 20 to 40 minutes.

Use the recipe for Steamed Custards, adding 1 ounce of chocolate (melted) to the hot milk. Steam or bake as desired.

Beat the egg yolks sufficiently to mix them thoroughly, add the sugar, salt, and hot milk slowly. Cook over water that is boiling gently. Stir constantly until the custard thickens. Strain. Flavour when cool.

For soft Chocolate Custard add ½ ounce chocolate (melted) to the hot milk. Serves six.

Use recipe for Soft Custard and, when cold, garnish with a meringue made according to the following recipe:

Beat the egg whites very light, add powdered sugar, and continue beating. Drop in large spoonfuls on the cold custard. Serves eight to ten.

METHOD OF WORK

It may be possible to teach two or three recipes in this lesson. The baked custard may be put into the oven while the soft custard or floating island is being made. Serve at the school lunch.

SUBJECT MATTER

Batters.—Batters are mixtures of flour or meal and a liquid, with salt or sugar to give flavour, butter to make tender, and steam, air, or gas to make light.

One scant measure of liquid is used with one measure of flour for thin, or pour, batter. One measure of liquid is used with two measures of flour for a thick, or drop, batter. One measure of liquid is used with three measures of flour for a soft, or bread, dough. One measure of liquid is used with four measures of flour for a stiff, or pastry, dough.

Before mixing a batter, the oven or griddle should be at the proper temperature, with the fire well regulated and in good condition. The oven should be tested by putting in a piece of white paper or two tablespoonfuls of flour, which should brown in three minutes. The pans should be prepared by greasing with lard, salt pork, or beef dripping. All the materials should be measured and ready before beginning to combine the ingredients. When the batter has been mixed and beaten until smooth, it should be baked at once.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

The teacher will be better prepared to give the lesson on batters if she first makes herself familiar with the kinds of breads that are used in the homes of the pupils and the methods followed in their preparation. The simple, general methods of preparing batters should be taught. The teacher should not attempt the preparation of more than one or two batters in this lesson.

RECIPES

Mix and sift the flour, salt, and soda; add the sour milk and egg well beaten. Drop, by spoonfuls, on a greased hot griddle; cook on one side. When puffed full of bubbles and cooked on the edges, turn, and cook on the other side. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Mix and sift the dry ingredients, beat the egg, add the milk, and pour on the first mixture. Beat thoroughly and add the butter. Cook the same as Sour-milk Griddle Cakes.

METHOD OF WORK

Discuss batters briefly. Have all measurements made, the fire regulated, the pans prepared, and so on. Demonstrate the mixing and cooking of Griddle Cakes. Serve the cakes daintily after they are cooked.

SUBJECT MATTER

Methods of making batters light.—Batters are made light by beating air into them, by adding eggs into which air has been beaten, or by entangling gas in the batter. Gas is secured by using soda and sour milk in a batter (one teaspoon of soda to one pint of sour milk), or soda with molasses (one teaspoon of soda to one cup of molasses), or soda with cream of tartar (one teaspoon of soda with two slightly rounding teaspoons of cream of tartar). The soda should be mixed well with the other dry ingredients, then the sour milk or molasses added, the whole beaten up quickly, and baked at once.

Baking-powder is a preparation containing soda and cream of tartar, and may be used in place of soda if sweet milk is used. Two level teaspoonfuls of baking-powder should be used with one cup of flour.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

This lesson is a continuation of the lesson on batters. Care should be taken not to undertake more than can be done well in the time available.

RECIPES

Mix and sift the dry ingredients. Gradually add the milk, the egg well-beaten, and the melted butter. Bake in a hot oven in greased gem pans for 25 minutes.

Cream the butter, add the sugar and egg well beaten, sift the baking-powder with the flour, and add to the first mixture, alternating with the milk. Bake in greased gem pans for 25 minutes.

Sift the dry ingredients together, chop the fat into the flour with a knife, slowly add sufficient milk to make a dough not too soft to be handled. Toss and roll the dough gently on a slightly-floured board and cut into small biscuits. Moisten the tops with a little milk. Handle the dough quickly, lightly, and as little as possible. Place on a buttered sheet. Bake in a hot oven till brown—from 12 to 15 minutes. Either white or whole wheat flour may be used for the biscuits. Serves six to eight. Oven test—the oven should be hot enough to colour a piece of unglazed white paper to a golden brown in one minute.

Proceed as for Baking-powder Biscuits.

If the sour milk is not thick enough to curdle, it will not contain sufficient acid to neutralize the soda, and the biscuits will be yellow and bitter. To avoid this, cream of tartar may be mixed with the soda (1 teaspoonful). If there is no cream of tartar at hand, it will be wise to use the recipe for Baking-powder Biscuits.

METHOD OF WORK

Have the oven and pans prepared and all the measurements made. Demonstrate the mixing of the muffins and, while these are baking, the mixing of the biscuits. Have one pupil take charge of the baking of the muffins and another of the baking of the biscuits. When the breads are done, have the class sit down and serve them to one another, or to all the pupils at the school lunch hour.

Composition and food value. How to make tough cuts of meat palatable. Pork chops with fried apples. Beef or mutton stew with vegetables and dumplings. Rabbit stew. Bacon.

SUBJECT MATTER

Meats are rich in protein and usually in fats, but are lacking in the carbohydrates. They build up the muscular tissue, furnish heat and energy, are more stimulating and strengthening than any other food, and satisfy hunger for a greater length of time. For the most part, meats are a very expensive food. One cannot perform more labour by the use of a meat diet than on a diet of vegetable foods. Those who use large quantities of meat suffer from many disturbances of the system. Hence it should form a very small part of the diet. The cuts of meat that come from those portions of the animal's body that are much exercised are tough, owing to the development of the connective tissues, but they contain a high percentage of nutrition. For the same reason, the meat from older animals is apt to be tough. The flesh of chickens, turkeys, and other fowls is very nutritious and is easily digested if not too fat.

The flavour of meats is developed by cooking. Dry heat develops the best flavour, hence the tender cuts are cooked by the processes known as broiling and roasting. Tough cuts of meat require long, slow cooking in moist heat, hence they are prepared in the form of stews and pot roasts or are used in meat soups.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

After the teacher has found out what meats are used in the homes or what the school can afford to use, she should determine upon a method of cooking that will make the meat palatable, digestible, and attractive. If it can be prepared as a stew, she should use a recipe in which vegetables are also used and, if possible, have dumplings prepared to serve with the meat, as a review of the lesson on batters.

RECIPES

Remove the fat and cut the meat into 1-inch pieces. Reserve half of the best pieces of meat, put the rest of the meat and the bone into cold water, soak for one hour, then heat until it bubbles. Season half the raw meat and roll it in the flour, melt the fat in a frying-pan, remove the scraps, brown the sliced onion and then the floured meat in the hot fat, add both to the stew, and cook for 2 hours at a low temperature. To this add the vegetables and cook ½ hour; then add the flour and seasonings, which have been mixed with one-half cup of cold water, and cook for ½ hour longer, until the meat and vegetables are tender. Remove the bone from the stew and serve. Serves six to eight.

If beef and mutton are not commonly used and are not readily obtainable, but rabbit can be secured, substitute rabbit for beef in the stew. After the rabbit has been thoroughly cleaned, cut up in eight pieces (four leg and four body pieces), season, and dredge with flour, brown in the fat, and proceed as with Beef Stew.

Sift the dry ingredients together, cut in the butter, and add the milk gradually, to make a soft dough. Roll out on a floured board, cut with a biscuit cutter, lay on top of meat in a stew pan (they should not sink into the liquid), cover the kettle closely, keep the stew boiling, and cook the dumplings for 10 minutes without removing the lid. (Do not put the dumplings in to cook until the meat is tender.)

Note.—If desired, the rolling may be eliminated and, after mixing, the dough may be dropped by spoonfuls into the stew.

Place thin slices of bacon from which the rind has been removed in a hot frying-pan, and pour off the fat as fast as it melts. Cook until the bacon is crisp and brown, turning frequently. Another method of cooking is to lay the bacon on a rack in a baking-pan and bake in a hot oven until crisp and brown.

Wipe the chops with a damp cloth, and place in a hot frying-pan. Turn frequently at first and cook slowly until well browned on each side. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Wash and core the apples and slice to the centre. Roll in flour if very juicy.

After the chops have been removed from the pan, lay the apples in and cook till tender. Serve around the chops.

METHOD OF WORK

If the meat is to require two or three hours' cooking, arrange to have the lesson divided and given at two periods through the day. Half an hour before opening the morning session or a portion of the morning or noon recess may be sufficient time to put the meat on to cook and to prepare the vegetables. When the second class period is called, the vegetables should be added to the partially cooked meat and the dumplings should be made. It would be well to serve the completed dish at the lunch period. There should be as much discussion regarding the kinds of meat, their food value, and the methods of cooking as time permits; but it may be necessary to complete this discussion at some other class period.

Should it be possible for the teacher to give additional lessons on meat, it might be well to devote one lesson to the preparation and cooking of poultry, directions for which may be secured from any reliable cook-book.

SUBJECT MATTER

Peas, beans, and lentils which are dried for market contain a high percentage of protein, carbohydrate, and mineral matter. They form an excellent substitute for meat and are much cheaper in price. The digestion of leguminous foods proceeds slowly, involving a large amount of work: on this account they are not desirable for invalids, but they are satisfactory for those who are well and active. The dried legumes must be soaked overnight in water and then cooked for a long time, in order to soften the cellulose and develop the flavour.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

It will be necessary to plan this lesson several days in advance, if the beans are to be baked. As they will be prepared and put on to bake before the lesson period, the Baking-powder Biscuits may be made during the lesson, to serve with them.

	½ c. rice	⅓ c. sugar
	2 c. milk	⅛ tsp. salt
	2 eggs	½ tsp. vanilla

	¼ c. sugar
	5 tbsp. cornstarch, or ½ c. flour
	1 tsp. vanilla, or other flavouring
	3 c. milk
	1 egg

	1 c. cooked carrots		4 tbsp. flour
	2 c. vegetable water		2 tbsp. butter
	2 c. milk		Salt and pepper to taste

	1 pt. milk or milk and water	1 tbsp. flour
	2 tsp. chopped onions	1 tsp. salt
	3 potatoes	⅛ tsp. pepper
	1 tbsp. butter	2 tsp. chopped parsley

1	c. split peas	3	tbsp. flour
2½	qt. water	1½	tsp. salt
2	tbsp. chopped onion	⅛	tsp. pepper
3	tbsp. butter	1	pt. milk

	1 egg	1 tbsp. milk or water
	⅛ tsp. salt	½ tsp. butter
Cayenne or white pepper

	1 qt. milk (heated)	¼ tsp. salt
	4 eggs or 8 egg yolks	2 tbsp. caramel or
	½ c. sugar	½ tsp. nutmeg

	1 pt. milk (heated)	⅟16 tsp. salt
	4 egg yolks	½ tsp. vanilla extract
4 tbsp. sugar

	3 c. flour	¼ c. sugar
	1½ tbsp. baking-powder	2 c. milk
	1 tsp. salt	1 egg
2 tbsp. melted butter

	1 c. graham flour	1 c. milk
	1 c. flour	1 egg
	¼ c. sugar	1 tbsp. melted butter
	1 tsp. salt	4 tsp. baking-powder

	¼ c. butter	¾ c. milk
	¼ c. sugar	2 c. flour
	1 egg	3 tsp. baking-powder

	2 c. flour	½ tsp. salt
	½ tsp. soda (scant)	1 c. sour milk (scant)
2 tbsp. shortening (lard or other fat)

	2 lb. beef or mutton	¾ c. carrot cut in dice
	1 qt. water	4 potatoes cut in ½-inch slices
	Salt, pepper, flour to dredge	1 tsp. salt
	1 onion, cut in slices	¼ tsp. pepper
	½ c. turnip cut in dice	½ c. flour
¼ c. cold water

	1 qt. navy beans	2 tbsp. molasses
	1 tbsp. salt	1 c. boiling water
	½ tbsp. mustard	½ lb. fat salt pork
	3 tbsp. sugar	Boiling water to cover