Chapter XV: Puddings and Pies

Sweet Food, Remarks—Queen of all Puddings—Flour Pudding—Flour and
Fruit Pudding—Rusk and Milk—Rusk Pudding—Meat and Rusk Pudding—A
good Pudding—Pan Dowdy—Corn-meal Pop-over—Best Apple-pie—Puddings:
of Rice; Bread and Fruit; Boiled Fruit—Curds (English)—Common
Apple-pie—Plain Custard—Another—Mush or Hasty Pudding—Stale Bread
Pudding—Rennet Wine—Rennet Custard—Bird’snest Pudding—Minute Pudding
of Potato Starch—Tapioca Pudding—Cocoa-nut Pudding—New-England Squash
or Pumpkin Pie—Ripe-fruit Pies: Peach, Cherry, Plum, Currants, and
Strawberry—Mock Cream—Pudding of Bread-crumbs and Fruit—Bread and
Apple Dumplings—Indian Pudding without Eggs—Boiled Indian and Suet
Pudding—Dessert of Rice and Fruit—Another—Cold Rice and stewed or
grated Apple—Rich Flour Pudding—Apple-pie—Spiced Apple-tarts—Baked
Indian Pudding—Apple Custard—Macaroni or Vermicelli Pudding—Green-corn
Pudding—Bread Pudding for Invalids or young Children—A good
Pudding—Loaf Pudding—Lemon Pudding—Green-corn Patties—Cracker
Plum-pudding—Sauces for Puddings, Liquid—Hard—Another—A healthful
Sauce—Universal Sauce—Paste for Puddings and Pies—Pie-crusts without
Fats; made with Butter, very rich 74

CHAPTER XVI.

CAKE.

General Directions.—_Cake raised with Powders_—One, two, three, four
Cake—Chocolate; Jelly; Orange; Almond and Cocoa-nut.—_Cake raised with
Eggs_—Pound Cake; Plain; Fruit; Huckleberry; Gold and Silver; Rich
Sponge; Plain Sponge—Gingerbread, etc.—Aunt Esther’s
Gingerbread—Sponge Gingerbread—Ginger Snaps—Seed Cookies—Fried
Cakes.—_Cakes raised with Yeast_—Plain Loaf-cake—Rich
Loaf-cake—Dough-cake—Icing for Cake 85

CHAPTER XVII.

PRESERVES AND JELLIES.

General Directions—Canned Fruit—To clarify Sirups for
Sweetmeats—Brandy Peaches—Peaches (not rich)—Peaches (elegant)—To
preserve Quinces whole—Quince Jelly—Calf-foot Jelly—To preserve
Apples—Pears—Pine-apples—Purple Plums, No. 1 and No. 2—White or green
Plums—Citron Melons—Strawberries—Blackberry Jam—Currants to eat
with Meat—Cherries-Currants—Raspberry Jam, No. 1 and No. 2—Currant
Jelly—Quince Marmalade—Water-melon Rinds—Preserved Pumpkin 90

CHAPTER XVIII.

DESSERTS AND EVENING PARTIES.

Ice-cream—Strawberry Ice-cream—Ice-cream without Cream—Fruit
Ice-cream—A Cream for stewed Fruit—Currant, Raspberry, or Strawberry
Whisk—Lemonade—Ice and other Ices—Charlotte Russe—Flummery—Chicken
Salad—Wine Jelly—Apple-lemon Pudding—Wheat-flour Blanc-mange—Orange
Marmalade—Simple Lemon Jelly—Cranberry—Apple Ice—Whip
Syllabub—Apple-snow—Iced Fruit—Ornamental Froth—To clarify
Isinglass—Blanc-mange—Apple Jelly—Orange Jelly—Floating Island—A Dish
of Snow—To clarify Sugar—Candied Fruits—Another way—Ornamental
Pyramid 95

CHAPTER XIX.

DRINKS AND ARTICLES FOR THE SICK AND YOUNG CHILDREN.

Tea—Coffee—Fish-skin for Coffee—Cocoa—Cream for Coffee and
Tea—Chocolate—Milk Lemonade—Strawberry and Raspberry Vinegar—White
Tea and Boys’ Coffee—Dangerous use of Milk—Simple Drinks—Simple
Wine Whey—Toast and Cider—Panada—Water-gruel—Beef-tea—Tomato
Sirup—Sassafras Jelly—Egg-tea, Egg-coffee, and Egg-milk—Oat-meal
Gruel—Pearl Barley-water—Cream-tartar Beverage—Rennet Whey—A
fever Drink—Food, etc., for Infants 100

CHAPTER XX.

THE PROVIDING AND CARE OF FAMILY STORES.

The Art of keeping a good Table—Successive Variety—Doing every
thing in the best Manner—Stores and Store-rooms—Flour—Unbolted
Flour—Indian-meal—Rye—Buckwheat—Rice—Hominy—Arrow-root—Tapioca,
etc.—Sugars—Butter—Lard and Drippings—Salt—Vinegar—Oil—Molasses—Hard
Soap—Starch—Indigo—Coffee—Tea—Soda—Raisins—Currants—Lemon and Orange
Peel—Spices—Sweet Herbs—Cream-tartar—Acids—Essences, etc.—Preserves
and Jellies—Hams—Cheese—Bread—Cake—Codfish—Salted Provisions 103

CHAPTER XXI.

SETTING TABLES, PREPARATION OF FOOD.

Table-cloth—Napkins—Table Furniture—Bread—Butter—Dishes—Soiled
Spots—Plates to be warmed in Winter—Certain Dishes served
together—Strong flavored Meats—Boiled Poultry—Jelly—Fresh Pork—Drawn
Butter—Pickles—Garnishing Dishes—Boiled Ham or Veal—Greens and
Asparagus—Hashes—Curled Parsley—Mode of setting Table 109

CHAPTER XXII.

WASHING, IRONING, AND CLEANSING.

Modes of economizing the Wash—Good Washing depends on
Conveniences—Articles needed—Common mode of Washing—Fine Clothes—White
Articles—Colored Articles—Flannels—Bedding—Calicoes—Waters,
etc.—To cleanse Broadcloth—To make Lye—Soft Soap—Potash Soap—To
prepare Starch—Beef’s Gall—To do up Laces—Articles needed for
Ironing—Sprinkling, Folding, and Ironing—To whiten Articles and remove
Stains—Mildew—Stain-mixture—Another—To remove Grease, Tar, Pitch,
Turpentine, Lamp-oil, Oil-paint, Ink-stains, Stains on varnished
Articles—To clean silk Handkerchiefs and Ribbons—To clean silk Hose or
Gloves 112

CHAPTER XXIII.

MISCELLANEOUS ADVICE AND RECIPES.

How to keep Cool in hot Weather—Indelible Ink—To keep Eggs—To prevent
Earthen, Glass, and Iron ware from breaking easily—Cement for broken
Ware—To keep Knives from Rust—To cleanse or renovate Furniture—To
clean Silver—To cleanse Wall-paper—To purify a Well—To take care
of Roses and other Plants—To keep Grapes—Snow for Eggs—Paper
to keep Preserves—To cool Butter in hot Weather—To stop Cracks
in Iron—To stop creaking Hinges—To stop creaking Doors and make
Drawers slide easily—To renovate black Silk—To clean Kid Gloves—To
remove grease Spots—To get rid of Rats and Mice—Odds and ends for
Housekeepers—Additional Recipes 122

PART SECOND.

CHAPTER I.

NEEDFUL SCIENCE AND TRAINING FOR THE FAMILY STATE.

Women need both scientific and practical Training even more than
Men—Woman’s Duties as important as difficult, and much greater in
Variety—The business of a Housekeeper includes all connected with the
Construction and Care of a House, Yard, and Garden; the Selection
of Furniture; the Ornamentation of a Home; its Cleansing, Neatness,
and Order; the Selection and Cooking of proper Food; the providing
of family Furniture and Clothing; the Care of Health; the Charge
of family Expenses; the Training of Servants, and, as Wife and
Mother, the Supervision of Nursery, the Educator of Children, and
the religious Minister of the family State—Evils consequent on not
training Women for these Duties 127

CHAPTER II.

A HEALTHFUL AND ECONOMICAL HOME.

Advantages of close Packing of Conveniences—Plan of a model Cottage to
economize Time, Labor, and Expense, with Estimates of Cost—Advantages
described 133

CHAPTER III.

ON HOME VENTILATION.

Mode in which the Body is nourished by the Air—Construction of the
Lungs and Heart—Description of Evils consequent on Neglect of a proper
Supply of pure Air 150

CHAPTER IV.

ON WARMING A HOUSE.

Principles of Heat, viz., Conduction, Convection, Radiation, and
Reflection—Best Mode of warming a House illustrated—Importance of
Moisture in the Air 164

CHAPTER V.

ON STOVES AND CHIMNEYS.

The general Properties of Heat, Conduction, Convection, Radiation,
Reflection—Cooking done by Radiation the simplest but most
wasteful Mode: by Convection (as in Stoves and Furnaces) the
cheapest—The Range—The model Cooking-stove—Interior Arrangements and
Principles—Contrivances for economizing Heat, Labor, Time, Fuel,
Trouble, and Expense—Its Durability, Simplicity, etc.—Chimneys: why
they smoke, and how to cure them—Furnaces: the Dryness of their
Heat—Necessity of Moisture in warm Air—How to obtain
and regulate it 182

CHAPTER VI.

ECONOMIC MODES OF BEAUTIFYING A HOME.

Educating Influence of natural and artistic Beauty—On Curtains—Sketch
of a Parlor with cheap and beautiful Ornaments—On the tasteful
Combination of Colors 192

CHAPTER VII.

ON THE CARE OF HEALTH.

Importance of some Knowledge of the Body and its Needs—Fearful
Responsibility of entering upon domestic Duties in Ignorance—The
fundamental vital Principle—Cell-life—Wonders of the
Microscope—Cell-multiplication—Constant interplay of Decay and Growth
necessary to Life—The red and white Cells of the Blood—Secreting
and converting Power—The nervous System—The Brain and the
Nerves—Structural Arrangement and Functions—The ganglionic System—The
nervous Fluid—Necessity of properly apportioned Exercise to Nerves
of Sensation and of Motion—Evils of excessive or insufficient
Exercise—Equal Development of the Whole 199

CHAPTER VIII.

DOMESTIC EXERCISE.

Connection of Muscles and Nerves—Microscopic cellular muscular
Fibre—Its Mode of Action—Dependence on the Nerves of voluntary and
involuntary Motion—How Exercise of Muscles quickens Circulation of
the Blood, which maintains all the Processes of Life—Dependence of
Equilibrium upon proper muscular Activity—Importance of securing
Exercise that will interest the Mind 208

CHAPTER IX.

HEALTHFUL FOOD AND DRINKS.

Construction of the Body in Relation to Food—The Construction of a
Kernel of Wheat as proportioned to the Body—Construction and Action of
the Stomach—Advice as to Food, Drinks, and Stimulants—Opinions of
Physicians 214

CHAPTER X.

ON CLEANLINESS.

Construction of the Skin—The secreting Organs—Care of the Skin 235

CHAPTER XI.

CLOTHING.

Construction of the Bones—Influence of Dress—Description of two
Modes of Breathing, and the Effects of Weight and Tightness of
Clothing—Proper Mode of sustaining the Clothing 243

CHAPTER XII.

EARLY RISING.

A Virtue peculiarly American and democratic—In aristocratic Countries,
Labor considered degrading—The Hours of Sunlight generally devoted
to Labor by the working Classes, and to Sleep by the indolent and
wealthy—Sunlight necessary to Health and Growth, whether of Vegetables
or Animals—Particularly needful for the Sick—Substitution of
artificial Light and Heat by Night a great Waste of Money—Eight hours’
Sleep enough—Excessive Sleep debilitating—Early Rising necessary to
a well-regulated Family, to the Amount of Work to be done to the
Community, to Schools, and to all Classes in American Society 254

CHAPTER XIII.

DOMESTIC MANNERS.

Good Manners the Expression of Benevolence in personal
Intercourse—Serious Defects in Manners of the Americans—Causes
of peculiar Manners to be found in American Life—Want of clear
Discrimination—Necessity for Distinctions of Superiority and
Subordination—Importance that young Mothers should seriously endeavor
to remedy this Defect while educating their Children—Democratic
Principle of Equal Rights to be applied, not to our own Interests,
but to those of others—The same Courtesy to be extended to all
Classes—Necessary Distinctions arising from mutual Relations to be
observed—The Strong to defer to the Weak—Precedence yielded by Men to
Women in America—Good Manners must be cultivated in early Life—Mutual
Relations of Husband and Wife—Parents and Children—The Rearing of
Children to Courtesy—De Tocqueville on American Manners 260

CHAPTER XIV.

THE PRESERVATION OF GOOD TEMPER IN THE HOUSEKEEPER.

Easier for a Household under the Guidance of an equable Temper
in the Mistress—Dissatisfied Looks and sharp Tones destroy the
Comfort of System, Neatness, and Economy—Considerations to aid the
Housekeeper—Importance and Dignity of her Duties—Difficulties to be
overcome—Good Policy to calculate beforehand upon the Derangement
of well-arranged Plans—Object of Housekeeping, the Comfort and
well-being of the Family—The End should not be sacrificed to secure
the Means—Possible to refrain from angry Tones—Mild Speech most
effective—Exemplification—Allowances to be made for Servants and
Children—Power of Religion to impart Dignity and Importance to the
ordinary and petty Details of domestic Life 274

CHAPTER XV.

HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER.

Relative Importance and Difficulty of the Duties a Woman is called
to perform—Her Duties not trivial—A Habit of System and Order
necessary—Right Apportionment of Time—General Principles—Christianity
to be the Foundation—Intellectual and social Interests to be
preferred to Gratification of Taste or Appetite—Neglect of Health
a Sin in the Sight of God—Regular Season of Rest appointed by the
Creator—Divisions of Time—Systematic Arrangement of house Articles
and other Conveniences—Regular Employment for each Member of a
Family—Children—Family Work—Forming Habits of System—Early Rising a
very great Aid—Due Apportionment of Time to the several Duties 280

CHAPTER XVI.

HEALTH OF MIND.

Intimate Connection between the Body and Mind—Brain excited by
improper Stimulants taken into the Stomach—Mental Faculties then
affected—Causes of mental Disease—Want of oxygenized Blood—Fresh
Air absolutely necessary—Excessive Exercise of the Intellect or
Feelings—Such Attention to Religion as prevents the Performance of
other Duties wrong—Unusual Precocity in Children usually the Result
of a diseased Brain—Idiocy often the Result, or the precocious Child
sinks below the Average of Mankind—This Evil yet prevalent in Colleges
and other Seminaries—A medical Man necessary in every Seminary—Some
Pupils always needing Restraint in regard to Study—A third Cause
of mental Disease, the Want of appropriate Exercise of the various
Faculties of the Mind—Extract from Dr. Combe—Beneficial Results of
active intellectual Employments—Indications of a diseased Mind 293

CHAPTER XVII.

CARE OF THE AGED.

Preservation of the Aged, designed to give Opportunity for Self-denial
and loving Care—Patience, Sympathy, and Labor for them to be regarded
as Privileges in a Family—The Young should respect and minister unto
the Aged—Treating them as valued Members of the Family—Engaging them
in domestic Games and Sports—Reading aloud—Courteous Attention to
their Opinions—Assistance in retarding Decay of Faculties by helping
them to Exercise—Keeping up Interest of the Infirm in domestic
Affairs—Great Care to preserve animal Heat—Ingratitude to the Aged:
its baseness—Chinese Regard for old Age 301

CHAPTER XVIII.

CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS.

Interesting Association of Animals with Man, from
Childhood to Age—Domestic Animals apt to catch the
Spirit of their Masters—Important Necessities—Good
Feeding—Shelter—Cleanliness—Destruction of parasitic Vermin—Salt
and Water—Light—Exercise—Rule for Breeding—Care of Horses: Feeding,
Grooming, special Treatment—Cows: Stabling, Feed, Calving, Milking,
Tethering—Swine: naturally cleanly, Breeding, fresh Water, Charcoal,
Feeding—Sheep: winter Treatment—Diet—Sorting—Use of Sheep in clearing
Land—Pasture—Hedges and Fences—Poultry—Turkeys—Geese—Ducks—Fowls—Dairy
Work generally—Bees—Care of domestic Animals, Occupation for Women 305