Arizona republican., 1907-12-11
DOMESTIC SCIENCE.
PREPARING PRUNES FOR THl
 TABLE

Prunes should always be thoroughly washed. While the cost of our own American fruit is packed with cleanli- ness and care, the fastidious person likes to make assurance of cleanliness doubly sure. Wash in tepid water, rib ping each piece between the thumb and forefinger. Rinse well. then put to soak in the water in which they are to be cooked. Ten or twelve hours soaking in cold water or less in tepid will be enough. They should not soak long enough for the skins to break. Unless one has an exceptionally sweet tooth. two and half hours cooking on the back of the stove, closely cov- cred. or in the oven, will bring out the natural sweetness of the fruit and make them quite sweet enough. If preferred sweeter. add sugar while they are being soaked. Sugar added to prunes after cooking injures the flavor Never cook prunes or any other dried fruit in metal tin or iron. as a notice- able bad taste is imparted to them The very incest way of cooking them is to put them in an earthern pipkin in the same water in which they have been soaked, cover closely and cook slowly in the oven. A good propor- tion of water is a cup and a half cold water to every cup of prunes. Cooked in this way the fruit emerges tender. sweet and lustrous and with the real fruit flavor. totally at variance with the tasteless happy-go go-lucky prune of the boarding house.
 J Prunes should never be boiled. That is one of the things that spells them. If you do not wish to cook them in the oven. simmer gently on the back of the stove. Serve plain or with cream plain or whipped. A dish of prunes at breakfast and one before retiring is better than any patent med icine for regulating the digestive ap- paratus.
 PRUNE BUTTER.
 This makes an excellent filling for 7 the children's sandwiches or a spread for their bread. Having thoroughly washed the prunes, soak them in cold water and simmer until tender, pit and put through a puree sieve. to remove the skins. Add the juice of a lemon or orange, sweeten if desired and cook in a double boiler until as thick as desired. Marmalade is made i in the same way, only using as much sugar as fruit.
 PRUNE GINGERBREAD. Put into a pan one cupful of brown sugar. one cupful New Orleans mo- lasses. one-half cup melted butter. lard or good drippings, one cupful sour milk, into which has been beaten one { teaspoonful soda, two beaten eggs. a teaspoonful and half cinnamon. a teaspoonful cloves. two teaspoonfuls of i ginger. the grated rind of a lemon, one ! cupful steamed and chopped prunes. and flour enough to make a rather stiff batter. There is a difference in the thickening qualities of flour, but the amount required will be about three cupfuls.
 SWEET PRUNE PICKLE
 Wash and soak four pounds large steam fifteen minutes. Make a pickle. using two pounds sugar. one pint vim egar. a tablespoonful each whole cloves and stick cinnamon or cassia buds, and a half teaspoonful ground ginger or an inch green ginger. Cook vinegar and spices ten minutes. add the prunes and cook until they are tender and the syrup clear. These are delicious served with roast goose or turkey.
 GINGERBREAD WITH CHOCOLATE
 ICING.
 A well made gingerbread is much better cake. and is quite superior to a coarsely made mp cake. A chocolate icing is particularly nice on a molasses sponge cake favored with ginger. To make the cake put into pan two cup fuls mOlasses. a cup and three-quar- ters lard and butter mixed. or all but ter. tablespoonful ginger and the same amount hot water poured over tablespoonful soda Stir in enough flour to make a batter about as stiff as for sponge cake. It should be soft enough to spread out when poured in a biscuit pan. As gingerbread burns easily it should be protected at op and bottom. An asbestos griddle set under the pan is protection against scorch. When the cake is done lift the pan out of the oven without jarring and let it remain in the tin until nearly cold. For the icing. stil two squares unsweetened chocolate grated with two tablespoonfuls to five tablespoonsfuls sugar. Add three table spoonfuls boiling water and stir tn, mixture over the fire until smooth and glossy. Spread on evenly while the cake is a trifle warm, then let il remain in the pan uneil cold. Cut fir squares and when the icing is hard Tiff out.
 PRATT INSTITUTE GINGER PUFFS
 Mix together one cupful molasses one-half cup brown sugar. one-halt cup butter and drippings mixed, one cup sweet milk, desertspoonful soda a teaspoonful salt. teaspoonful gin ger and three cupfuls flour. Drop by spoonfuls on a well-greased pan ant bake in a quick oven. These are de licious served hot with coffee an( cream or with frothed chocolate
 DRIED APPLE CAKE.
 This is often called the farmers frui cake. and very good and inexpensive one 1t IS. Soak a cup and a half drie,