The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1896-12-30
The Household.


As one of our well known writers
has said, "Some lines of work are so
crowded that there is little demand
for the product of this work" and for
this reason anything out of the ordi-
nary rut is very acceptable to the mass
Of self-supporting females, aud 10 this
end we suggest that the making of Sar-
atoga chips, although at first thought
il seems to be an absurd idea, may, If
managed rightly, form . nucleus of
really lucrative business. To make
"A success of any mOney-making enter
prise, one must be careful! in the min
utia, and so it is even with this home
ly enterprise. Saratoga chips for
lunches, picnics, etc, are always in de-
mand, and to one WHO learns the art of
making them well, there is a fine OPP
portunity to make a good income.
Commence on a small scale, and you
may increse your facilities rs your busi-
ness increases.
First notify your friends and neigh
bors that you intend making Saratoga
chips to sell, and perhaps allow them
TO sample some OF you make, persuade
them to give you a small order, say q
pound or two then procure a small or
der from each grocer in your vicinity.
Having arranged this business salts
factorily, proceed to make the chips to
fill your orders.
First buy your potatoes, few BUSH
els at first, directly from farmer if
possible. You will find that II is more
economical, as well as much more sat
isfactory, to purchase the leaf, and try
out your own lard. You can get itat any
meat market for six cents Il pound,
whereas you will be obliged to pay
eight cents for lard, which Is not near
Iy so sweet. II tried out properly there
is very little loss in weight. To try
out the leaf, cut it in small pieces, put
it in porcelain kettle, pour over it II
small quantity of water, just enough TO
keep il from burning; let il boil slowly,
bu: steadily, until the lard is all ex-
tracted from the bits of meat, then
strain il through a very fine strainer or
a piece OF cheese cloth, squeezing the
crackiings perfectly dry. Set it away
in jars to cool.
Now prepare your potatoes. Pare
and slice very thin: you ear do this
with the slaw cutter; they must be like
shavings; lay them in strong salt wat
er about ten minutes to harden them,
then squeeze all the water from them |
and lay them on cloth TO drain. |
Place large shallow kettle on The |
range a doughnut kettle is nice), fill |
it half full of lard, let it boil slowly un-
til it is smoking hot; drop in quanti-
ty of your potato shayings, let them
cook until delicate brown; then re-
move them with a skinner; lay them
on cloth until perfectly dry; they |
may then be placed in boxes, pans,
etc.
Care should be taken not 10 brown |
them to much, as they will not present |
so attractive an appearance, yet equal
care must be taken that they are sutfi- |
cientIy brown, and for this reason you
must be certain that your lard is just |
the right temperature. 1t is a good |
plan to drop one slice in to test it.
A young lady of indianapolis only IS |
years old, commenced making Saratoga |
chips, which excelled ali others. Fora
few months her business was confined |
solely to supplying private families and
the Woman's Exchange. She sent |
samples of her products to wholesale |
dealers. Those firms are now regular |
customers, and she furnishes them with
800 pounds per week. She buys pota-
toes by the hundreds Of bushels ard /
furthermore she directs the business
herself.-The HOusekeeper.