Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-20

HOLD
lINTS

things that nature has to offer to all who
care to learn her pleasant secrets.
"Snails on the thorn might hang UNI
challenged 10y the most of us who have not
yet learned their gastronomic possibilities,
but besides the wealth of pot herbs ana
salads that may be had for the gathering,
there are now the spring mushrooms spring
ing up like magic in old pastures where
COWS and sheep are kept, along the high
ways and on the edges of the narrow paths
that fringe our country roads. Infinite care
must be taken not to confuse the agricus
campestris. as the common field mushroom
is known. with its close counterpart, so far
as resemblance goes, the poisonous Am
anita.
The latter may usually be distinguished
10y the outer membrane which covers the
mushroom as II energies from the ground,
remaining as a cup al the base of the stem.
or slightly below the surface of the ground
as the fungus bursts through and expands.
The color Is variahle-white, pale olive or
Ncllow-but the spores are always white as
also the gtlls with but one exception, and
that is the edible CeSarcuS. which has thick,
bread yellow gills. To distinguish the
agricus campostris. note It's cap, dry and
smooth when young. ranging from rich
cream To dark brown, then, as expanding,
showing salmon pink uneven Sil!s, that
soon turn brown. purple. and. lastly, black.
The stem is short. of nearly equal size in
AL its length and separates readily from
its socket. The spores are dark brownish
purple and both taste and oGOr are very
agreeable.
To Prepare Mushrooms for Table.-The
simplest way of cooking mushrooms is the
best Peel carefully, or wipe the caps with
Camp cloth. or a dry one dipped in salt
II care has been taken in the gathering
they Will need no washing. which takes
away much of the delicate flavor. If it
must bc done do il quickly and with def
hand. DO not cook in irog, but in agate or
porcelain. The root Of the stalk should be
cut off and the stalks of small mushrooms
peeled and cooked with the flap if for u
stew. Otherwise save them to use in
sauce for your beefSteak or to flavor an
omelet or beef stew. If the large flap
mushrooms are used, the stems are best
discarded. For stew, put the mushrooms
in a saucepan with a tablespoonful of but
ter and let them stand ten minutes for the
JClce 10 eXude. Then add as much rich
milk or cream as there is mushroom liquor,
simmer gently six minutes. season with salt
ana pepper and serve on delicatey Drowned
feast.
Broiled Mushrooms - The large mush-
rooms are most delicious when broiled Trim
OF the stems. season with salt pepper
brush with sweet olive oil, then broil gils
uppermOst. on a well-Oed gridiron until
the cups are filled with juice. Lift off care
fully on slices of delicately Drowned toas.
that has just been dipped for an instant
in a little hot butter and milk Put a
bit of butter in each mushroom cup and
serve very hot
Baked Mushrooms Scrape out the inside
of as much mushroom caps as are desired
They should be good sized. Cut off the
stems and chop together with mushrooms
too small to fill. Season with salt. pepper
and "A little chopped parsley. Add for
every dozen mushrooms one-half cup of
hot water or broth and thicken with a
teaspoonful of flour blended with a tea
spoonful of butter. Cook until smooth and
thick. Lay the caps gill side up in we'll
buttered baking dish, fill with the mixture.
cover and bake. Just before serving add
a tablespoonful of cream to each mush-
room cup, and serve on hot toast.
To Dry Mushrooms.-For this the button
mushrooms are best. Take them when per-
fecuy fresh. place on clean sheets of paper
and dry thoroughly in a slow oven When
quite dry they may be powdered or put
away as they are in clean dust and insect
proof bags When needed for use put into
cold gravy or stock and heat gradually
Another popular food product that we
have adopted from our Latin neighbors
j. macaroni In its various forms. The diff
ference between macaroni spaghetti and
vermcelH is simply one of degree. The
largest tubes are macaroni proper the
medium is spaghetti, and th2 smaller,
Vermcelli
Still in diminuendo. comes fedlini. while
n host of lesser "macaroni'' lights we'll up
into the hundreds. with varying shapes and
trade names, attest the ingenuity of man,
and the growing appreciation of the
American public for these food products
of original foreign import. Still Il COM
pardtiVcly few years ago were sending
our flour across the water and bringing
back the manufactured article from France
and Italy. Today a number of American
maCar1ui factories are turning out a most
excellent variety of the succulent paste.
while in the Italian quarters of the large
cities host Of macaroni hand mills. grind
ing away In the cellars OF the tenements
suffice to supply the wants OF the poor
Italians themselves who cannot afford TO
buy the more expensive quality. Besides the
tubular varieties, macaroni now comes
cr!nkled, ungrooved. curled. curved,
straight and ruffied. in rings, beads.
chunks. slabs. stars and letters.
The latter forms are also used in
nudeln or noodles the German method
Of combining the yolks of eggs with the
usual macaroni paste. Until lattery. the
most OF the imported macaroni used here
came from Italy. where the hes; macaroni
in the world is manufactured from the
hard Italian wheat. which is especially
rich In gluten. This did not keep well
however quickly becoming infested with
small worm. For this reason grocers OBJ
iected TO handling it, and the French maca-
rOni, made OF more starchy wheat has
taken is place. While this lacks the
sweet. nutty flavor of the Neapolitan
macar0ni, Il keeps indefinitely. and the
general markets of the world outside of
Italy now depend on Lyons. France. for
their supply.
Cooking OF Macaroni-When it comes to
the cooking of macaroni there are as many
variations as In its trade names and forms
of putting up. In Italy no poet prince
actor or artist can count himself truly
famous until some toothsome preparation of
the national dish is named after him In
each and every way Of cooking maCaroni
the initial steps are the same. 1t must
be thrown in plenty of boiling, sailed water
cooked until tender then drained and rinsed
IN cold water TO prevent the tubes adhering
10 each other. The time required for boil
Ing the italian paste is about twenty min
utcS. the Lyons and American macaroni
take half an hour. After that macaroni
Neapolitau. maCaroni Romany. macaroni
E!storI. Bellini. Mezzani. do Natalie Lisci
and so down the list of all Italian notables
Macaroni is usually broken into inch pieces
before putting into the boiling, sailed wa
ter. Ncrmlcelli and spaghetti. where one
has achieved the knack of winding them
around his fork like "A well-wound bobbn
then popping 1t into his mouth without any
dangling ends. is preferably cooked AT fun
or half length.
In boiling spaghetti put the ends of the
sticks in rather a Geep saucepan contain
ing plenty of rapidly boiling sailed water
As the tubes soften bend and coil the spa
ghett under the water without breaking
until all are softened. Boil until tender