Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-11-15
SMALL ECONOMIES.


Many Hsrd-Earned DoiSofs'
The one thing which it is essential
for the housekeeper to see to Is that no
particle of food. or any thing OF cult
nary value, shall be wasted Inc
scraps of meat, however small, must
be laid aside from each meal. Two
kinds of meat with vegetables some
times make q delicious rechauffe or
hash. There are few cold vegetables
which may not be utilized in \ salad,
or fried in vegetable balls, or served a
second time in some way 80 that they
are fully as excellent rs at first. There
are few hot buildings which may not
be steamed over. Hot breads, mullins,
soda biscuit and various hot breads
may be dipped in cold water. laid for
a few moments on q rack in a very
hot oven, and become almost rs tender
and delicious as when they were first
served. Corn meal, mush, cold hon.
my, wheat and all species of grain are
excellent fried for breakfast. Again,
the frying pot comes into play, never
the frying pan; the latter is adj
mirable as baking dish, but
is thoroughly a relic of barbarism
when used half full of fat, filling with
grease any article which is cooked in
it. The success attending tho recocS-
ing of any article is dependent upon
rapidity. Some process must be used
which is SO rapid that the recooked
food is heated instantly. 1t is quite
probable that the food has lost some
thing of its juices in the first process
of cooking, and the second should be
SO rapid that there must be no further
loss. flashes to which abundance of
gravy or boiling water must be added
to moisten them are possibly an ex-
ception, as they are far more delicious
if allowed to remain till brown crust
covers the bottom of the pan. when
they should be folded over like an
omelet. The greatest care should be
exercised that only small quantity of
butter, enough to fry an omelet. be
used to cook hash, SO that no grease
shows in the pan when the hash Is
folded and lays upon the platter. All
bits of beef, veal. chicken and pork
are valuable for cooking. The fat of
beef is excellent for shortening and
may be used in any place, except in
making delicate cake, as a substitute
for butter in cooking. Chicken fat is
peculiarly delicious in delicate cook
ing. Most of the other fats may be
tried out and added to the fat
pot. All fats should be tried out
by setting them on the back of
the stove and letting them melt
out and sputter till finally all bubbles
cease to rise. They may then be
clarified by frying few pieces of
raw potato in them, and should at
once be strained through thin cheese
cloth and put away for use. Mutton
fat, lamb fat, turkey fat, the fat Of
geese and ducks and other coarse fats
should be tried, clarified and put
away for soap. In large families there
is enough fat of this kind to make all
the soap for domestic uses of the
household. Old-fashioned house
keepers made very excellent toilet
soap, pleasant in fragrance. which
was certainly free from the gross inn
purities with which the average soap
of American manufacturers is charged.
We certainly do not advise any Amer
lean housekeepers to supply the soap
fat man. 1t would be more economi-
cal to use it for fuel than to save it for
him. The amount of valuable fat
often wasted by the attention of the
domestic to the soap-fat man is not
easily estimated, and the miserable
quality of the soap which these men
furnish makes it a serious matter, for
it is usually made of fats which have
become rancid, and is not fit to wash
clothes, much less to wash dishes or
,,<opc;1S ,,SaI for oool>;nr ~ v