Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1900-01-02

dough were dropped Into the boiling
LIQUOR In the pot above the IRE. IL ID
probable that the use Of the pudding
cloth or bag came much later. To-day
the steam cooker and moulds Of tin,
agate and carthen ware have slmost
entirely superseded the pudding bag.
The modern tendency TO shorten proc
eases makes Us divide our pudding into
individual portions before cooking.
STEAMED PUDDING. 1872
SLIT together one pint Of whole wheat
-four, onc-half teasp0onful Of soda, one
half teasp0onful salt, from one-fourth to
one-half teaspoonful OF mixed spice.
Mix with one ounce Of shortening, melt
ed, or one-half cupful chopped suet and
one-half cupful each Of molssses and
sour milk. II too sti6 add . few tea
spooufuls OF water. When fresh fruit,
like chopped apples or blueberries, Is
put 10 such puddlngs the additional
liquid Is unnecessary. From cupful
Of mixed rAisins, currants and citron
down to very ANAL quantity may bc
used. At the holiday time there may
be equal quantities Of fruit and batter.
Some OF our readers may now be
heard TO say, "That 10 no recipe at oil,
it's too indefinite.- But Il u definite IN
the essential things, and the kinds and
and quantities Of spice and fruit may be
varied to suit the tastes Of the makers.
With the many excellent brands OF entire
wheat -four In use, Il Is impossible 10
state lust how much moisture will be re
Quired In every case.
10 coughs the proportion Of fat IL
varied according to the end to be At
tanned, and moreover Il should bear .
certain relation to the other ingredients.
An average mixture has one measure Of
fat TO two Of sugar, and three or four
measures Of fiour. An excess Of tat has
depressing effect upon douRhs, hence
to insure the lightness Of cottage pud-
ding and batter aud steamed puddings Of
all descriptions, 1t 10 wise TO put ~ little
fat az possible In the dough, but TO re-
store the balance In making the sauce.
Eggs are often used to aid In over
coming the tendency Of Tat 10 make
doughs heavy. At this season eggs are
too expensive to be used for q mechan-
icsl purpose merely, and II 10 . question
II they add to the nourishment or digos-
tIbility OF pudding which ID steamed
for hours.
We might trace the evolution Of cook.
ery through the use Of fat 10 doughs. In
the old story Of "bag pudding" its
quality Was thought to be Increased by
the addition OF "great Jumps of fat as
big as my two thumbs" Our grand
mothers chopped the suet hne that its
presence might not Be manifest. The
modern housekeeper has almost forgot
ten that there Il such thing - suet or
how to use It.
Suet proper IL the fat lying around the
Kidneys OF the beef creature, and at the
same temperature 10 harder than the fat
on the outside Of the meat. For this
reason foods containing It always should
be served hot.
The old-time housekeeper counted on
suet to make the dough light ~ we'll 10
tender. IL chopped lightly and mixed
with the other ingredients at low tenn
persture considerable cold air would be
folded into the dough and this would
expand under the Influence of heat.
Then a. the fatty portion OF the suet
melted and blended with the -four the
space IL occupied also Increased the
porosity Of the pudding.
ANY clarified fat may be substituted
for suet by weight rather than By
measure, bot even then making some
allowance for the portion Of the suet
which Ii not fat. A half-cupfuIpfili hight
iy chopped suet will not weigh over Two
ounces, which would be the weight ola
fourth cupful Of butter.
There are several reasons for the dis
use OF suet nowsdays; probably the
chief Is the greater convenience In using
lard, cottolene or butterine; another 10
the constituencies Of the modern palate
aud our dislike for the Jumps Of fat
which to our ancestors indicated rich
ness. There Ii also doubtless differ
ence in the sweetness OF the suet In the
|home-dressed beef creature of the past,
and that which has been kept for weeks
before IL reaches the housekeeper. II Ia
not always easy to find . piece Of suet
In the market which 10 quite suitable for
pudding. Good suet properly prepared
Is cheap, wholesome food for cold
weather when We need fats. ff
For fruit dumphngA baked or steam.
ed, the best crust 10 one that IL not too
rich In fat. The same rich biscuit dough
commonly used for shortcake 10 perhaps
the best. A pint Of nour win make six
or eight dumplings according 70 the size
of the peach or apple TO be wrapped.
When using large canned peaches, q
half one IL enough for each dumping,
especially II few chopped almonds or
some almond paste be put In the hollow
where the stone came out. A c0red
apple can be filled with . mixture Of
nuts and dropped rsisins or some jam or
marmalade.
A tutti frutti Hlling for . shortcske
need never be twice alike, and yet always
be good. For basis see what your re-
frigerator offers In the way OF odd bite
Of canned or fresh fruit. A cupful Of
canned raspberries or strawberries or
peaches cut In bits, one or two bananas
cut In thin slices, the pulp and juice Of q
single orange, mixed together and
sweetened sufficiently viii make de-
licious shortcake filling. A spoonful Of
lemon juice will bring out the other
flavors. whipped cream may or may
not be served with the shortcake. Indi-
vldusl shortcakes or "twin biscuit" are
preferable 70 the one large cake.
These puddings arc more suitable for
midwinter than are those containing
many eggs, bot occasionally . sponge
cake pudding may Be allowed. Bake
the usual sponge cake mixture In the
pan with centre funnel. Serve warm
with sauce made OF. equal qua ntities Of
stvained fruit jufee and pulp and whip
ped cream.-AIss Anna Bsrrows 10 The