Evening star., 1925-11-27
Mistakes i'm the Kitchen
Advice as to Prevention of Errors Which Interfere
! With Good Cookery-Times When the Chief
il Query Is: "Why Did 1t Happen?'

vour rnayonnaise curdled because
tha oil was added to the eggs too
ouickly A drop at a time is the onlS
x-av 10 make mayonnaiSe, but when IL
has curdled the only way TO proceed
is 10 start with fresh ingredients ana
when the dressing is nearly hnlsneo'
tbe curdled mixture can be added
little at time.
Your baked CuStard had water at the
bottom because the milk was hot
slightly warmed before the eggs were
added.
Your boiled fish was bad color be
ea,se no lemon Juice was added TO the
water in which it was boiled.
Your white sauce tasted raw be
cause II had not been allowed TO boil.
The grains of flour do not burst uhtli
the boiling point is reached, ana tne
sauce should be allowed to boil, Whlle
stirring vigorously all the utme, Tor
at least five minutes.
The fruit in your cake went TO the
horton because the mixture was too
moist, and it was heavy because the
oven door was opened and the cold ar
was Let in. or the door was shut with
a bang.
Perhaps YOU would like to know
why YOUR short pastry is sometimes
harsh and dry. Pastry NAV be harsh
and dry and quite tfaVorleSS owing 70
mart of the butter having run out OF
II during the baking. or II MAY he due
10 bad handling when the paStrNS Is
given the various turns. lf the lay
erS of dough between the layers OF
butter are broken, the pastry VIII oe
close and much of the butter will have
,,1n ont onto the baking tin. The same
result may follow if the butter mas
been frozen hard and is then worked
into the pastry in a lumpy condition.
DO your egg whites curdle While Dc
ing whipped? There are seVeral causes
for this trouble. This generally nap
pens if weak, stale eggs are USED, the
whites of which are very "alerS.
Clrdling IS often the result OF beatlng
the mixture all over the boWl instead
Of keeping 1t we'll IN 1he center
Particles Of the meringue remain un-
touched by the heater. These quickly
senara+e the small cells burst. and
when mixed in with the remainder OF
the mixture cause the whole To become
soft. The whites should be slowly
beaten un first and the speed increased
as they become firm If the work IS
done under proper conditions no sugar
need be added until the whites are
almost ready for use.
DO yo,lr cakes have thick crusts and
kinds of thick cruSts which some
cakes have. The first Of these Is
caused by the cake being overbaked In
a very hot oven. When this happens
the cake, if a very rich one mas a
huge crack in the top caused bN IN"
heat of the oven forming crust be-
fore the inside has finished aeratlns
then. as the interior air or gas eX-
pands. il cracks the crust to escape.
This crack sppilS the appearance or the
cake and when cut the cake VIII gen
erally he found TO be close ana heaVN
in texture To guard against this, II
IS necessary to bake at suitable
temperature, remembering that the
richer the cake the longer the fruit
takes to bake. The second kind OF
thick crust referred 10 may only be on
the top of the cake, and in this case
NAV be caused by an excess or lat ana
sugar being mixed together, or other
wise insufficient -four.
Meringue shells crack because the
oven is too hot On no account must
the oven be too warm. If it is. the
meringue will quickly take color and
will puff more than is necessary dur
ing the baking. Coarse sugar or too
much sugar sprinkled over the
meringue Mi,l cause them TO crack
badly on the surface.
One Of three reasons may account
for the failure of your cream gelatin
puddings. The cream may have been
overbcaten. the dissolved gelatin may
have been too hot when strained into
the cream. thereby making it thin.
or the dissolved gelatin may be too
cold when strained into the cream,
thus causing it to set and become
rough and knotty before 1t Is thor
oughly mixed in and poured into a
wet mold.
The glaze will slip off chickens or
meat if it is made too hot, or If the
glaze is too thin, or sometimes If the
chicken or joint is particularly greasy
the glaze will not stick. In this case
wipe very thoroughly with a cloth or
a piece 0f white paper first. Remen-
her that q ioint should be cold before
it is brushed over with tie glaze.
You can prevent a sponge roll from
cracking by turning it out onto a
damn cloth The jam should be slight
ly warmed 10 prevent the sponge from
becoming heavy. and the cake should
be rolled as quickly as possible. After
this it must be rolled lightly in sifted
sugar.
When making rissoles. use tapioca
as a binding substance instead OF
white sauce or potato. 1t is suitable
for both meat and vegetable rissoles.
A tablespoonful should be soaked in
enough water to cover it for about
two hours before being used.
All cooks who desire speed in pre-.
pairing all kinds Of tnickening and
also an improved flavor should use
baked flour instead of raw flour,
Flour spread TWO o. three inches deer
In a bread pan. kept in a slow oven
for one or more hours and stirred oC-
caSionally until as hot as the hand
can bear. then sifted and packed into
empty fruit Jars. can be used for
gravies and sauces of all sorts when
stirred into cold water or milk. II
requires one minute for cooking.
If salt is added to the water in a
double boiler, the contents of the in
ner vessel will cook much more rap
idly. as the boiling brine generates
quickly strong heat. Use the salt
in the proportion of half a cupful tc
two quarters of water.
When making puddings remember
that starchy foods. unlike meats, are
more digestihle and usually more pal
atable when twice cooked. Pack into
q buttered dish and set away what
remains from a good sized pudding
AT the end of one or two days wher
the pudding reappears hot and steam
ing it will be all the better for its