Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1900-01-04
KITCHEN ECONOMY.
come Suggestions for the Housewife
Which May Prove OF
Value.

| The first thing an economic house
wife looks to is the provisioning OF
aer storeroom; she will have 1t
stocked with such things as are in con-
slant demand, realizing how easy it
IS to spoil dish for want of some nee
essary ingredient, and the cheapness OF
buying in large quantities. Goods
bought little at a time and from small
| stores are often inferior in quality.
In addition to the stores which must
be bought in bulk there are many ar
ticles constantly required which should
be prepared at home. 1t is, after all,
the small things in housekeeping that
eat up most of the money expended.
All the scraps of fat, trimmings from
meat, and many small pieces usually
| wasted, may be utilized if carefully
melted. When the quantity is small
thew should be cut in pieces, melted
down in a cool oven and the fat
strained. Large quantities after being
cut up should be placed in a pan, COW
cred with cold water and boiled till all
the water has evaporated. During the
boiling process skimming is necessary.
When the water has all evaporated,
the fat must be tried out. This must be
done slowly and over moderate heat. As
the fat melts it must be stirred now
and then, for if pieces are allowed to
stick to the bottom of the pan they will
burn and spoil the rest. When all the
fat is melted it must be cooled, then
strained. When cold the fat will be
found white, hard and without flavor.
Its chief use is for frying, and with
careful straining the same fat can be
used time and again. Lard, oil and but
ter are other frying mediums; lard is
especially suitable for frying potatoes,
though for general use it is too greasy;
oil is especially suitable for fish, and
when properly used is very economical;
butter is not good frying medium at
any time on account of its tendency to
discolor quickly.
Crusts and scraps of bread may be
utilized for crumbs and for other pur-
poses. The inside part of bread should
be broken up and dried in an almost
cold oven, then pounded and sifted; by
sitting the crumbs are all of uniform
size. Such crumbs may be used for
crumbhng fish and meat for frying. The
crusts should also be dried in cool
oven, toasted a light brown, crushed
and sifted and kept in bottles ready for
use. They are useful for regarnishing
made dishes, dishes au gratin, and for
lining baking molds.
Fresh herbs cannot always be pro-
cured, therefore supply of dried ones
should be kept on hand. Each kind
should be kept by itself and protected
from the dust by being placed in a pa
per bag and hung in warm room till
crisp and dry. When dry, the leaves
should be stripped from the stalks,
crushed or pounded to fine powder,
and kept in air-tight bottles.
Cheese is another article much used
in crockery, and when grated at home is
much cheaper than the prepared ar
ticle and very much better. The cheese
most generally used is Parmesan. This
is very hard and CRATES easily; when
kept in well-eorked bottles in a dry
place it keeps for a long time.
Another useful adjunct to cookery is
caramel, used for coloring gravies,
soups, sweets, etc.; a sufficient guam
tity to last for long time may be made
by melting a pound of sugar to liquid
and then allowing it to heat until it
becomes a dark brown; a pint of wa
ter added to this makes a preparation |
that will not ferment, will keep any
length of time and will readily mix |
with other ingredients. - American
Queen.