Evening star., 1932-09-09

w WITH too hot an oven, or too
n long cooking or both OF
wv these conditions, a roast Will
shrink to such an extent
that it really becomes a
matter of serious waste. All cut roastS
need a soaring first This can be done
on top of the stove, in the broiler, or IN
a very hot oven for IS minutes. The
rest of the cooking must be done in an
oven scarcely moderately hot. The size
of the roast is the most important fac
tor in determining the time of cooking,
but of two roaStS weighing the same, the
one left on the bone cooks more quick
" than the rolled one. Also the slower
the oven, the longer the cooking re-
Quired. Of course.
Many cooks fry bacon In too hot a
pan, which causes shrinKage. 1t Is bet
ter to place bacon in a cold pan or one
only slightly heated, and cook it slowly.
Turn frequently and pour off the fat as
1t melts The heat may be increased
slightly when the bacon is nearly done.
When it has the crispness you like best,
remove it to hot platter and serve at
once.
Use Mutton Fat.
Many housewives throw away mutton
fat because of its strong flavor when
used as shortening, but IL can be pre-
pared fer many uses in cooking. Put the
mutton fat through the food chopper,
measure it, add half its volume Of lard
and one-fourth its volume of SKINNED
milk, cover the utensil, and cook in
steamer or a double boiler, until the
mutton fat is melted Strain through
coarse cheeSecloth or a fine wire
strainer and you will have a good
shortening without a muttony taste. II
you wish to use the shortening with
vegetables only, a teaSpoonful of mixed
dried herbs should be added while
cooking This will give delicious faint
flavor to a dish of mashed potatoes or
other vegetables. Although the flavor is
slight, the fat cannot be used in a sweet
dish of any kind.
Is Gravy Lumpy?
Always have on hand jar of brown
ed -four, which will simplify the making
of gravy. To make, cover the bottom
of frying pan with flour and stir con-
stantly over a low flame, preventing
burning or sticking, until it is light
brown color. 1t will keep well in a jar.
To make the gravy, take about four
tablespoonfulS of dripping from the
meat in the pan, sprinkle five table
spoofuls of Drowned -four over it, mix
thoroughly and brown some more, then
remove the pan from the fire, and add
some cold water little al time, stir
ring after each addition until the mix
ture is very smooth. Continue until one
and one-haf cupfuls of water have been
added. Season, then return to slow
fire and cook with constant stirring un-
til the gravy is thick. Keep covered un-
til ready to serve.
Carving.
Practice the art of good carving. A
well carved roast looks better, tastes
better and goes farther Meat should al
ways be carved crosswise to the grain
of the meat. With a rolled shoulder of
lamb, boned and rolled ham, filet of
beef, or pork tenderloin, simply start
at one end and slice crosswise until the
other end is reached A very sharp
knife carveS Slices that are neat and
thin. ....
With some roasts, the problem is to
separate the meat, giving one bone with
each serving, such as loln of pork and
short ribs of beef A slight turn of the
knife near the base of the bone will
usually separate them. If the meat is
we'll done, the bones will slip off easily
from prime rib roast; otherwise, the
meat can be sliced to the bone, then
cut close to the bone without serving
the bone. With ham, the problem is 70
cut slices to the bone, then cut along
next to the bone to release them. Thus
the meat will appear fine grained rather
than coarse or stringy. A bit of crisp
outer crust will be on each slice.
Vegetables.
Overlooking green vegetables or cook
ing them with too much acid will make
them brown. The longer the cooking,
the less fresh green color remains. The
more acid in the water surrounding the
vegetables, the sooner they will become
discolored. One way to keep the acidity
In vegetables at minimum Is to cook
them uncovered, which allows the steam
to escape and some of the acid with it.
It Is possible to obtain a very salts
factory green color by boiling the vege-
tables In inst enniluh 1Ira ter 70 cn1car