The Jersey City news., 1899-12-11
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WOMAN'S WORLD.
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Corn meal like loveliness, needs noe
the foreign aid of ornament. but is when
uaiadorned, adorned the most. That is
to say. the very best sort Of cornpread
is the dodger, otherwise. ponebread ana
the n3eeake.
assapie who do not know confound hoe
cake with Johnny-cake, an aDomination
made of cernmeal, ryemeal motasses,
eggs and heaven alone knows what. Ii
NAV be worth while to say that the
name hoecake was IN the beginning
rendering literal fact
Hollow ware was hollow ware among
the early colonists; often family had
no more than a single iron pot for all
its cooking. Then the bread was ash
cake. cooked by sweeping clean a space
right in the heart of the fire. dropping
the dough upon it and covering it tnicKly
with glowing hardwood Goals.
Ashcake Is toothsome enough, If only
the ceals are hard enough and moi
enough to crust it over before the asnes
stick. but that did not happen every
time. Indeed, it was the exception ratner
than the rule Then, too. upon hunts anu
io,,rnevings. ashcake was i'll TO come ny,
81 recourse was had to the big hoes that
no household could be without. Crops OF
averv sort depended upon the STRINGS OF
their broad blades. But they were easily
sld off their wooden shelves to serve IN
the night or morning baking.
They were flung into the fire and heated
red hot then lifted out by means OF
stick thrust within the eye. spread with
thin meal cakes and by help Of the same
stick set back upon spread Goals In
three minutes or so, the bread was done
upon the under side.
A knife tipped it over, in two minutes
more it was ready for eating, and the hoe
ready for another cake.
The best meal in the world will not
make good bread if it is. mixed too thieK'
and baked too slowly. AEurther, II must
naver be nut into a cold pan or on a
cola griddle. Pans and griddles, how
ever. can be too hot They should be
lightly sprinklea with a pinch OF dry
meal; if it browns quickly without burn
ing the heat is just right. Different de-
grees OF heat, in fact, make all the differ
ence in the world III fiav5r. Cornmeal wet
win boiling water has 4 taste wholly un-
like that which is wet with cod.
Back in the old days She black COOKS
had an odd, and 70 tneln fnfalii5ie test,
as 10 whether a new ACQUAINTANCE be
Ionged 10 quality white folks. It was the
matter of salt in moxnbread.
The gentry never allowed a dust of it
in the bread which came on their tables,
holding rightly enough<eilat salt spoiled
the nu.ty sweetness of the meal, and pre-
fering that the favor ots salt should oe
given by the butter, in which they com
morlv soaked 1heir bread.
Poor white trash, TO whom butter was
unknown, and thrifty farmer folks wRo
preferrsd selling their butter to lavish
eating thereof, salted their bread, some
heavily, some lightly and very nearly al
ways made it up with boiling water.
asa consequence. in the language of the
back mammies, HIT did taste so po-
5o..s-y. hit want fitten fer muffin but pigs
Ter eat
By cornbread the South country under
stands the thing which is, in its mouth,
poue bread, and in the Middle West dod-
ger bread. 1t is easy to make, yet not so
eAsy TO make exactly right. Mix the sift-
ed meal with cold water TO form a scottish
mass. 1t must not be soft fenough to
run. nor stiff enough to hold a spoon up
right.
gently from one hand to the other until
it forms a hattish oval. Slap the oval
down In one side of your hot pan. and fat
ten it still more with the fingers. That Is
the first pone.
Set others round about it until your
pan is full, then pop it into a hot oven,
and bake with quick steady heat. Exam
inc il in five minutes; if the crust is
cracking over the top. It needs more fire;
if it is bhstering it needs less. If by good
chance you strike the lucky medium in
twenty minutes you will have corn pones
fit for a king.
When done the crust should be thin,
brown, of rich nutty flavor, and sep
arating readily from the inner mass.
If you want to serve the pones after
black mamnyts fashion,, break-do not
cut them-open lengthwise, lay a lump of
the very best butter between the halves
put them together, and stand in the hot
over a minute before sending to table.
Hoe cake is mixed in the same way.
only little softer, dabbed in round pats
On hot griddle fattened to less than
an inch, baked on one side. then tipped
over and finished. Fatty bread is made
Ut with hot water. very little salt, and
plenty Oh meiLed lards and baked IN small
pones. Pumpkin and sweet potato bread
are but fatty bread, a little more salted,
and mixed with its own bulk of stewed
pumpkin, or boiled and mashed potatoes,
before the baking.
There are nearly as many sorts of egg
bread. corn mullins. gems and batter
cakes as there are housekcepers south Of
Mason's and Dixon's line. One of the
best and most wholesome is mush bread.
TO make it take Il quart Of fairly thick
cold mush, stir into II three well beaten
eggs, whites and yoIks together, a pinch
of salt, half cup Of melted lard, and
half cup Of rich sweet milk. Beat hard
for ten minutes, then pour into a greasy
pan, and bake insa very hot oven.
BY adding full cup of milk and a half
a pint of sifted flour, you have very
excellent muffin batter, to be baked either
in rings or gem pans. A cup of hot
water or an extra cup of milk. gives very
fine batter cakes. But to serve with
breakfast along with fresh sausage, fried
chicken. Or crisp fried creek trout, scald-
ed batter cakes are the things. To make
them, pour pint and a half Of full boil
ing water upon a pint Of sifsed meal
stirring all the time and adding the water
SO gradually that there shall be no Jumps
Stir uuti1 ;he mixture Is cold; it should