Chapter II: Part 2

The fresh tomato comes to the market from the South in April and sometimes in March. On account of the high price it is then used only where the canned tomato will not answer. In July, August and September it is cheap. It comes next to the potato in the variety of forms in which it may be served. By most physicians it is considered a very healthful vegetable. The time to buy ripe tomatoes for canning is about the last of August, when they are abundant and cheap. About the middle or last of September green ones should be secured for pickling, etc. As the vines still bear a great many that cannot ripen before the frost comes, these are sold for this purpose.

Beans.

There are two kinds of green beans in the market, the string or snap bean and the shell bean. String beans come from the South about the first of April. They are picked in Northern gardens about the first of June, and they last until about the middle of July. They should be green, the beans just beginning to form, and should snap crisply. If wilted or yellow they have been picked too long.

Shell Beans.

Shell beans come in May, but are not picked at the North before June. They are good until the last of September. There is a great variety of shell beans, but the Lima is considered the best When fresh, shell beans are dry and smooth; but if old, they look dull and sticky.

Celery.

Celery is found in the market from August to April, but is in its prime and is cheapest from November to the first of March. Before the frost comes it is slightly bitter, and after the first of March it grows tough and stringy. Unless one has a good cellar in which to bury celery, it is best to purchase as one has need from time to time. Celery is a delicious salad. It is also considered one of the best vegetables that a nervous, rheumatic or neuralgic person can take. The heads should be close and white, and the stalks should break off crisply. Save the trimmings for soups.

Lettuce.

Lettuce is found in the market all the year round, being now raised in hot houses in winter. It then costs two and three times as much as in summer; still, it is not an expensive salad. There are a number of varieties having much the same general appearance. That which comes in round heads, with leaves like a shell, is the most popular in this country, because it can be served so handsome. There is another kind, high in favor in Paris and in some localities in this country for its tenderness and delicate flavor, but not liked by marketmen, because it will not bear rough handling. The tune will come, however, when there will be such a demand for this species that all first-class provision dealers will keep it. The French call it Romaine, and in this country it is sometimes called Roman lettuce. It does not head. The leaves are long and not handsome whole; but one who uses the lettuce never wishes for any other. Lettuce should be crisp and green, and be kept until used in a very cold place--in an ice chest if possible.

Mushrooms.

Mushrooms are in the market at all seasons. In summer, when they are found in pastures, they are comparatively (fifty or seventy-five cents a pound), but in winter they are high priced. Being, however, very light, a pound goes a great way. The French canned mushrooms are safe, convenient and cheap. One can, costing forty cents, is enough for a sauce for at least ten people. There is nothing else among vegetables which gives such a peculiarly delicious flavor to meat sauces. Mushrooms are used also as a relish for breakfast and tea, or as an entrée. In gathering from the fields one should exercise great care not to collect poisonous toadstools, which are in appearance much like mushrooms, and are often mistaken for these by people whose knowledge of vegetables has been gained solely by reading. The confusion of the two things has sometimes resulted fatally. There can hardly be danger if purchases are made of reliable provision dealers.

Green Corn.

Green corn is sent from the South about the last of May or the first of June, and then costs much. It comes from the Middle States about the middle of July and from the Eastern in August, and it lasts into October in the North Eastern States. It should be tender and milky, and have well-filled ears. If too old it will be hard, and the grains straw colored, and no amount of boiling wilt make it tender. Corn is boiled simply in clear water, is made into chowders, fritters, puddings, succotash, etc.

Artichokes.

There are two kinds of artichokes, the one best known in this country, the Jerusalem artichoke, being a tuber something like the potato. It is used as a salad, is boiled and served as a vegetable, and is also pickled. This artichoke comes into the market about July, and can be preserved in sand for winter use.

The Globe Artichoke.

A thick, fleshy-petaled flower grows on a plant that strongly resembles the thistle; this flower is the part that is eaten. It is boiled and served with a white sauce, and is also eaten as a salad. It is much used in France, but we have so many vegetables with so much more to recommend them, that this will probably never be common in this country.

Cucumbers.

Cucumbers are in the market all the year round. In winter they are raised in green houses and command a high price. They begin to come from the South about the first of April, and by the last of May the price is reasonable. They last through the summer, but are not very nice after August They are mostly used as a salad and for pickles, but are often cooked. They should be perfectly green and firm for a salad, and when to be pickled, they must be small. If for cooking, it does no harm to have them a little large and slightly turned yellow.

Radishes.

There are two forms of the radish commonly found in the market, the long radish and the small round one. They are in the market in all seasons, and in early spring and summer the price is low. Radishes are used mostly as a relish.

Chicory or Endive.

The roots and leaves of this plant are both used, but the leaves only are found in the market (the roots are used in coffee), and these come in heads like the lettuce. Chicory comes into the market later than lettuce, and is used in all respects like it. Sometimes it is cooked.

Sweet Herbs.

The housekeeper in large cities has no difficulty in finding all the herbs she may want, but this is not so in small towns and villages. The very fact, however, that one lives in a country place suggests a remedy. Why not have a little bed of herbs in your own garden, and before they go to seed, dry what you will need for the winter and spring? Thus, in summer you could always have the fresh herbs, and in whiter have your supply of dried.

It is essential to have green parsley throughout the winter, and this can be managed very easily by having two or three pots planted with healthy roots in the fall. Or, a still better way is to have large holes bored in the sides of a large tub or keg; then fill up to the first row of holes with rich soil; put the roots of the plants through the holes, having the leaves on the outside; fill up again with soil and continue this until the tub is nearly full; then plant the top with roots. Keep in a sunny window and you will have not only a useful herb, but a thing of beauty through the winter.

For soups, sauces, stews and braising, one wants sweet marjoram, summer savory, thyme, parsley, sage, tarragon and bay-leaf always on hand. You can get bunches of savory, sage, marjoram and thyme for five cents each at the vegetable market. Five cents' worth of bay-leaves from the drug shop win complete the list (save tarragon, which is hard to find), and you have for a quarter of a dollar herbs enough to last a large family a year. Keep them tied together in a large paper bag or a box, where they will be dry. Mint and parsley should be used green. There is but little difficulty in regard to mint, as it is used only in the spring and summer.

GROCERIES.

The manner in which a housekeeper buys her groceries must depend upon where she lives and how large her family is. In a country place, where the stores are few and not well supplied, it is best to buy in large quantities all articles that will not deteriorate by keeping. If one has a large family a great saving is made by purchasing the greater portion of one's groceries at wholesale.

Flour.

There is now in use flour made by two different processes, by the old, or St. Louis, and the new, or Haxall. The Haxall flour is used mostly for bread and the old-process for pastry, cake, etc. By the new process more starch and less of the outer coats, which contain much of the phosphates, is retained; so that the flour makes a whiter and moister bread. This flour packs closer than that made in the old way, so that a pound of it will not measure as much as a pound of the old kind. In using an old rule, one-eighth of this flour should be left out. For instance, if in a recipe for bread you have four quarts (old- process) of flour given, of the new-process you would take only three and a half quarts. This flour does not make as good cake and pastry as the old-process. It is, therefore, well, to have a barrel of each, if you have space, for the pastry flour is the cheaper, and the longer all kinds of flour are kept in a _dry_ place, the better they are. Buying in small quantities is extremely extravagant. When you have become accustomed to one brand, and it works to your satisfaction, do not change for a new one. The _best_ flour is the cheapest. There are a great many brands that are equally good.

Graham.

The best Graham is made by grinding good wheat and not sifting it. Much that is sold is a poor quality of flour mixed with bran. This will not, of course, make good, sweet bread. The "Arlington Whole Wheat Meal" is manufactured from pure wheat, and makes delicious bread. Graham, like flour, will keep in a cool, dry place for years.

Indian Meal.

In most families there is a large amount of this used, but the quantity purchased at a time depends upon the kind of meal selected. The common kind, which is made by grinding between two mill-stones, retains a great deal of moisture, and, in hot weather, will soon grow musty; but the granulated meal will keep for any length of time. The corn for this meal is first dried; and it takes about two years for this. Then the outer husks are removed, and the corn is ground by a process that produces grains like granulated sugar. After once using this meal one will not willingly go back to the old kind. Indian meal is made from two kinds of corn, Northern and Southern. The former gives the yellow meal, and is much richer than the Southern, of which white meal is made.

Rye Meal.

This meal, like the old-process Indian, will grow musty in a short time in hot weather, so that but a small quantity of it should be bought at a time. The meal is much better than the flour for all kinds of bread and muffins.

Oat Meal.

There are several kinds of oat meal--Scotch, Irish, Canadian and American. The first two are sold in small packages, the Canadian and American in any quantity. It seems as if the Canadian and American should be the best because the freshest; but the fact is the others are considered the choicest. Many people could not eat oat meal in former years, owing to the husks irritating the lining of the stomach. There is now what is called pearled meal. All the husks are removed, and the oats are then cut. The coarse kind will keep longer than the fine ground, but it is best to purchase often, and have the meal as fresh as possible.

Cracked Wheat.

This is the whole wheat just crushed or cut like the coarse oat meal, but unlike the meal. It will keep a long time. It is cooked the same as oat meal. That which is cut makes a handsomer dish than the crushed, but the latter cooks more quickly.

Hominy.

This is made from corn, and it comes in a number of sizes, beginning with samp and ending with a grade nearly as fine as coarse-granulated sugar. The finest grade is really the best, so many nice dishes can be made with it which you cannot make with the coarse. Hominy will keep a long time, and it can be bought in five-pound package or by the barrel.

Sugar.

The fine-granulated sugar is the best and cheapest for general family use. It is pure and dry; therefore, there is more in one pound of it than in a damp, brown sugar, besides its sweetening power being considerably greater. The price of sugar at wholesale is not much less than at retail, but time and trouble are saved by purchasing by the barrel.

Spice.

It is well to keep on hand all kinds of spice, both whole and ground. They should not be in large quantities, as a good cook will use them very sparingly, and a good house-keeper will have too much regard for the health of her family and the delicacy of her food to have them used lavishly. For soups and sauces the whole spice is best, as it gives a delicate flavor, and does not color. A small wooden or tin box should be partly filled with whole mace, cloves, allspice and cinnamon, and a smaller paste-board box, full of pepper-corns, should be placed in it. By this plan you will have all your spices together when you season a soup or sauce.

English Currants.

These keep well, and if cleaned, washed and _well_ dried, will improve in flavor by being kept.

Raisins.

In large families, if this fruit is much used, it is well to buy by the box. Time does not improve raisins.

Soda, Cream of Tartar, Baking Powder.

There should not be so much of these articles used as to require that they be purchased in large quantities. Cream of tartar is expensive, soda cheap. If one prefers to use baking powders there will be no need of cream of tartar, but the soda will still be required for gingerbread and brown bread, and to use with sour milk, etc. The advantage of baking powder is that it is prepared by chemists who know just the proportion of soda to use with the acid (which should be cream of tartar), and the result will be invariable if the cook is exact in measuring the other ingredients. When an inexperienced cook uses the soda and cream of tartar there is apt to be a little too much of one or the other. Just now, with the failure of the grape crops in France, from which a greater part of the crystals in use come, cream of tarter is extremely high, and substitutes, such as phosphates, are being used.

To be Always Kept on Hand.

Besides the things already mentioned, housekeepers should always have a supply of rice, pearl barley, dried beans, split peas, tapioca, macaroni, vermicilli, tea, coffee, chocolate, corn-starch, molasses, vinegar, mustard, pepper, salt, capers, canned tomato, and any other canned vegetables of which a quantity is used. Of the many kind of molasses, Porto Rico is the best for cooking purposes. It is well to have a few such condiments as curry powder (a small bottle will last for years), Halford sauce, essence of anchovies and mushroom ketchup. These give variety to the flavoring, and, if used carefully, will not be an expensive addition, so little is needed for a dish.

CARE OF FOOD.

A great saving is made by the proper care and use of cooked and uncooked food. The first and great consideration is perfect cleanliness. The ice chest and cellar should be thoroughly cleaned once a week; the jars in which bread is kept must be washed, scalded and dried thoroughly at least twice a week. When cooked food is placed in either the ice chest or cellar it should be perfectly cool; if not, it will absorb an unpleasant flavor from the close atmosphere of either place. Meat should not be put directly on the ice, as the water draws out the juices. Always place it in a pan, and this may be set on the ice. When you have a refrigerator where the meat can be hung, a pan is not needed. In winter, too, when one has a cold room, it is best to hang meats there. These remarks apply, of course, only to joints and fowl. The habit which many people have of putting steaks, chops, etc., in the wrapping paper on ice, is a very bad one. When purchasing meat always have the trimmings sent home, as they help to make soups and sauces. Every scrap of meat and bone left from roasts and broils should be saved for the soup-pot. Trimmings from ham, tongue, corned beef, etc., should all be saved for the many relishes they will make. Cold fish can be used in salads and warmed up in many palatable ways. In fact, nothing that comes on the table is enjoyed more than the little dishes which an artistic cook will make from the odds and ends left from a former meal. By artistic cook is meant not a professional, but a woman who believes in cleanliness and hot dishes, and that there is something in the appearance as well as in the taste of the food, and who does not believe that a quantity of butter, or of some kind of fat, is essential to the success of nearly every dish cooked. The amount of food spoiled by butter, _good_ butter too, is surprising.

One should have a number of plates for cold food, that each kind may be kept by itself. The fat trimmings from beef, pork, veal, chickens and fowl should be tried out while fresh, and then strained. The fowl and chicken fat ought to be kept in a pot by itself for shortening and delicate frying. Have a stone pot for it, holding about a quart, and another, holding three or four quarts, for the other kinds. The fat that has been skimmed from soups, boiled beef and fowl, should be cooked rather slowly until the sediment falls to the bottom and there is not the shadow of a bubble. It can then be strained into the jar with the other fat; but if strained while bubbles remain, there is water in it, and it will spoil quickly. The fat from sausages can also be strained into the larger pot. Another pot, holding about three quarts, should be kept for the fat in which articles of food have been fried. When you have finished frying, set the kettle in a cool place for about half an hour; then pour the fat into the pot through a fine strainer, being careful to keep back the sediment, which scrape into the soap-grease. In this way you can fry in the same fat a dozen times, while if you are not careful to strain it each time, the crumbs left will burn and blacken all the fat. Occasionally, when you have finished frying, cut up two or three uncooked potatoes and put into the boiling fat. Set on the back of the stove for ten or fifteen minutes; then set in a cool place for fifteen minutes longer, and strain. The potatoes clarify the fat. Many people use ham fat for cooking purposes; and when there is no objection to the flavor, it is nice for frying eggs, potatoes, etc. But it should not be mixed with other kinds. The fat from mutton, lamb, geese, turkey or ducks will give an unpleasant flavor to anything with which it is used, and the best place for it is with the soap-grease. Every particle of soup and gravy should be saved, as a small quantity of either adds a great deal to many little dishes. The quicker food of all kinds cools the longer it keeps. This should be particularly remembered with soups and bread.

Bread and cake must be thoroughly cooled before being put into box or jar. If not, the steam will cause them to mold quickly. Crusts and pieces of stale bread should be dried in a slow oven, rolled into fine crumbs on a board, and put away for croquettes, cutlets or anything that is breaded. Pieces of stale bread can be used for toast, griddle- cakes and puddings and for dressing for poultry and other kinds of meat. Stale cake can be made into puddings; The best tub butter will keep perfectly well without a brine if kept in a cool, sweet room. It is more healthful and satisfactory to buy the choicest tub butter and use it for table and cooking purposes than to provide a fancy article for the table and use an inferior one in the preparation of the food. If, from any cause, butter becomes rancid, to each pint of it add one table-spoonful of salt and one teaspoonful of soda, and mix well; then add one pint of cold water, and set on the fire until it comes to the boiling point Now set away to cool, and when cool and hard, take off the butter in a cake. Wipe dry and put away for cooking purposes. It will be perfectly sweet.

Milk, cream and butter all quickly absorb strong odors; therefore, care must be taken to keep them in a cool, sweet room or in an ice chest. Cheese should be wrapped in a piece of clean linen and kept in a box. Berries must be kept in a cool place, and uncovered.

KITCHEN FURNISHING.

Stove, or Range?

The question often arises, even with old housekeepers, Which shall it be--a stove or a range? There are strong points in favor of each. For a small kitchen the range may be commended, because it occupies the least space, and does not heat a room as intensely as a stove, although it will heat water enough for kitchen and bath-room purposes for a large family. That the range is popular is evident from the fact that nearly every modern house is supplied with one; and thus the cost of, and cartage for, stoves is generally saved to tenants in these days.

There are these advantage of a stove over a set range: it requires less than half as much fuel and is more easily managed--that is, the fire can be more quickly started, and if it gets too low, more easily replenished and put in working order; and the ovens can be more quickly heated or cooled. But, although you can have a water-back and boiler with most modern stoves or, as they are now called, portable ranges, the supply of hot water will not be large. And you cannot roast before the fire as with a range.

So near-perfection have the makers of ranges and stoves come that it would be difficult to speak of possible improvements, especially in stoves. This can be said not of a few, but of a great many manufacturers, each having his special merit. And where the products are so generally good, it is hard to mention one make in preference to another. When purchasing, it is well to remember, that one of simple construction is the most easily managed and does not soon get out of order. No single piece of furniture contributes so much to the comfort of a family as the range or stove, which should, therefore, be the best of its kind.

Gas and Oil Stoves.

During the hot weather a gas or oil stove is a great comfort. The "Sun Dial," manufactured by the Goodwin Gas Stove Co., Philadelphia, is a "perfect gem," roasting, baking, broiling, etc., as well as a coal stove or range. Indeed, meats roasted or broiled by it are jucier than when cooked over or before coals. The peculiar advantage of oil and gas stoves is that they can be coveniently used for a short time, say for the preparation of a meal, at a trifling expense. The cost of running a gas stove throughout the day is, however, much greater than that of a coal stove, while an oil stove can be run cheaper than either.

There are a great many manufacturers of oil stoves, and as a natural consequence, where there is so much competition, the stoves are nearly all good. One would not think of doing the cooking for a large family with one or, indeed, two of them; but the amount of work that can be accomplished with a single stove is remarkable. They are a great comfort in hot weather, many small families doing their entire cooking with them.

Refrigerators.

The trouble with most refrigerators is that the food kept in them is apt to have a peculiar taste. This is owing in a great measure to the wood used in the construction of the interior and for the shelves. On the inside of the Eddy chest-shaped refrigerator there is not a particle of wood, and the food kept in it is always sweet. It is simply a chest, where the ice is placed on the bottom and slate shelves put on top. With this style of refrigerator the waste of ice is much greater than in those built with a separate compartment for ice, but the food is more healthful.

Utensils.

The following is a list of utensils with which a kitchen should be furnished. But the housekeeper will find that there is continually something new to be bought. If there be much fancy cooking, there must be an ice cream freezer, jelly and charlotte russe moulds and many little pans and cutters. The right way is, of course, to get the essential articles first, and then, from time to time, to add those used in fancy cooking:

Two cast-iron pots, size depending upon range or stove (they come with the stove).

One griddle.

One porcelain-lined preserving kettle.

One fish kettle.

Three porcelain-lined stew-pans, holding from one to six quarts.

One No. 4 deep Scotch frying kettle.

One waffle iron.

Three French polished frying-pans, Nos. 1, 3 and 6.

Four stamped tin or granite ware stewpans, holding from one pint to four quarts.

One double boiler, holding three quarts.

One Dover egg-beater.

One common wire beater.

One meat rack.

One dish pan.

Two bread pans, holding six and eight quarts respectively.

Two milk pans.

Two Russian-iron baking pans--two sizes.

Four tin shallow baking-pans.

Four deep pans for loaves.

Two quart measures.

One deep, round pan of granite-ware, with cover, for braising.

One deep Russian-iron French roll pan.

Two stamped tin muffin pans.

One tea-pot.

One coffee-pot.

One coffee biggin.

One chocolate pot.

One colander.

One squash strainer.

One strainer that will fit on to one of the cast-iron pots.

One frying-basket.

One melon mould.

Two brown bread tins.

One round pudding mould.

Two vegetable cutters.

One tea canister.

One coffee canister.

One cake box.

One spice box.

One dredger for flour.

One for powdered sugar.

One smaller dredger for salt.

One, still smaller, for pepper.

One boning knife.

One French cook's knife.

One large fork.

Two case-knives and forks.

Two vegetable knives.

Four large mixing spoons.

Two table-spoons.

Six teaspoons.

One larding needle.

One trussing needle.

One set of steel skewers.

One wire dish cloth.

One whip churn.

One biscuit cutter.

One hand basin.

One jagging iron.

Three double broilers--one each for toast, fish and meat.

One long-handled dipper.

One large grater.

One apple corer.

One flour scoop.

One sugar scoop.

One lemon squeezer.

Chopping tray and knife.

Small wooden bowl to use in chopping.

Moulding board of good _hard_ wood.

Board for cutting-bread on.

One for cutting cold meats on.

Thick board, or block, on which to break bones, open lobsters, etc.

A rolling pin.

Wooden buckets for sugar, Graham, Indian and rye meal.

Wooden boxes for rice, tapioca, crackers, barley, soda, cream of tartar, etc.

Covers for flour barrels.

Wire flour sieve--not too large.

A pail for cleaning purposes.

One vegetable masher.

Stone pot for bread, holding ten quarts.

One for butter, holding six quarts.

One for pork, holding three quarts.

One dust pan and brush.

One scrubbing brush.

One broom.

One blacking brush.

Four yellow earthen bowls, holding from six quarts down.

Four white, smooth-bottomed bowls, holding one quart each.

One bean pot.

One earthen pudding dish.

All the tin ware should be made from xx tin. It will then keep its shape, and wear three times as long as if made of thin stuff. Scouring with sand soon ruins tin, the coarse sand scratching it and causing it to rust. Sapolio, a soap which comes for cleaning tins, wood-work and paint, will be found of great value in the kitchen.

Granite ware, as now made, is perfectly safe to-use. It will not become discolored by any kind of cooking, and is so perfectly smooth that articles of food will not stick and bum in it as quickly as in the porcelain-lined pans. Nearly every utensil used in the kitchen is now made in granite ware. The mixing spoons are, however, not desirable, as the coating of granite peels off when the spoon is bent. Have no more heavy cast-iron articles than are really needed, for they are not easily handled, and are, therefore, less likely to be kept as clean, inside and out, as the lighter and smoother ware.

The Scotch Kettle is quite cheap, and will be found of great value for every kind of frying, as it is so deep that enough fat can put into it to immerse the article to be cooked.

The French polished frying-pans are particularly nice, because they can be used for any kind of frying and for cooking sauces and omelets. The small size, No. 1, is just right for an omelet made with two eggs.

When possible, a tin kitchen should be used, as meat cooked before a bright fire has a flavor much nicer than when baked in an oven.

The bird roaster will be found valuable.

An ice cream freezer is a great luxury in a family, and will soon do away with that unhealthy dish--pie. No matter how small the family, nothing less than a gallon freezer should be bought, because you can make a small quantity of the cream in this size, and when you have friends in, there is no occasion to send to the confectioner's for what can be prepared as well at home. With the freezer should be purchased a mallet and canvas bag for pounding the ice fine, as much time and ice can be saved.

A bain-marie is a great convenience for keeping the various dishes hot when serving large dinners. It is simply a large tin pan, which is partially filled with boiling water and placed where this will keep at a high temperature, but will not boil. The sauce-pans containing the cooked food are placed in the water until the time for serving.

The large knives for the kitchen, as well as those belonging in the dining-room, should be kept very sharp. If used about the fire they are soon spoiled.

The French cook's knife is particularly good for carving, cutting bread, etc. It. is rather expensive, but it pays to get one, if only proper care can be taken of it. The butcher's knife should be used for all heavy work. One should never try to break a bone with a knife. That this is often attempted in both kitchen and dining room, the nicked edges of the knives give proof, and show the greater hardness of the bones.

Where much boning is done a small boning knife, costing about seventy- five cents, will be necessary; It should be used only for this purpose.

The French vegetable scoop, costs about seventy-five cents, will cut potatoes and other vegetables in balls for frying or boiling. The largest size is the best.

The garnishing knife flutes vegetables, adding much to their appearance when they are used as a garnish.

The long French roll pan, made from Russian iron, is nice for baking long loaves or rolls where a great deal of crust is liked There are muffin pans of tin, Russian iron and granite ware. Those of iron should be chosen last, on account of their weight. It is a good thing to have pans of a number of different shapes, as a variety for the eye is a matter of importance. The muffin rings of former years have done their duty, and should be allowed to rest, the convenient cups, which comes in sheets, more than filling their place.

The frying basket should have fine meshes, as delicate articles, like croquettes, need more support than a coarsely-woven basket gives.

Where roasting is done in the oven there must be a rack to keep the meat from coming in contact with the water in the bottom of the pan.

One medium-sized larding needle will answer for all kinds of meat that are to be larded.

A potato slicer will be found useful for slicing potatoes, for frying, or cabbage, for slaw. It cuts vegetables in very thin pieces.

The steamers which fit into the cast-iron pot or the tea-kettle are quite convenient. Both kinds will not, of course, be required.

The quart measure for milk is the best for common measuring. Being divided into half pints, the one vessel answers for all quantities. A kitchen should be furnished with two measures, one for dry material and the other for liquids.

In the preparation of desserts the whip churn is essential. It is a tin cylinder, perforated on the bottom and sides, in which a dasher of tin, also perforated, can be easily moved tip and down. When this churn is placed in a bowl of cream and the dasher is worked, air is forced through the cream, causing it to froth.

The double boiler is invaluable in the kitchen. It is a good plan to have two of them where a great deal of cooking is done. The lower part of the boiler is half filled with boiling water, and the inside kettle is placed in this. By this means food is cooked without danger of burning, and more rapidly than if the kettle were placed directly on the stove, exposed to the cold air, because the boiling water in the outside kettle reaches not only the bottom, but also the sides of that in which the food is.

When broiling is done before the fire it is necessary to have a back for the double broiler, for the tin reflects the heat, and the food is cooked much sooner.

The colander is used for draining vegetables, straining soups, etc., and with the squash arid gravy strainers, it is all that is required in the way of strainers.

Under "Drinks" will be found a description of the French coffee biggin.

There should be two brown-bread tins, each holding three pints. They answer also for steaming puddings.

The melon and round padding moulds are nice for frozen or steamed puddings.

The stew-pans that are porcelain-lined are better than the tin-lined, because the tin is liable to melt when frying is done, as, for instance, when meat and vegetables are fried for a stew. Granite ware stew-pans are made in the same shapes as the porcelain-lined.

The tin sauce-pans are nice for sauces and gravies. The porcelain- lined come in the same shapes. Copper is a better conductor of heat than either tin or iron, but when it is not kept perfectly clean, oxide of copper, which is very poisonous, collects on it, and is dissolved by oils and fats. Then when fruit, pickles, or any food containing an acid is allowed to cool in the vessels, verdigris is produced; and this is a deadly poison.

The stamped tin-ware is made from a better quality of metal than the soldered; therefore, it comes higher, but it is in the end cheaper, and it is always safer. Bread, milk and dish pans should be made of stamped tin. The pans for roasting meat should be made of Russian iron.

The spoons for basting and mixing, and also the ladle, should be strong and well tinned.

The plain wooden lemon squeezer is the most easily kept clean, and is, therefore, the best. That made of iron, with a porcelain cup, is stronger, but it needs more care.

The Dover egg beater is the best in the market. It will do in five minutes the work that in former years required half an hour. There are three sizes. The smallest is too delicate for a large number of eggs. The second size, selling for $1.25, is the best for family use.

An apple parer saves a great deal of time and fruit, and is not very expensive.

Wooden buckets and boxes come in nests, or, they can be bought separately. A good supply of them goes a great way toward keeping a store-room or closet in order.

The Japanned ware is best for canisters for tea and coffee and for spice and cake boxes. Cake boxes are made square and round. The square boxes have shelves. The most convenient form is the upright. It is higher-priced than the other makes.

The spice box is a large box filled with smaller ones for each kind of ground spice. It is very convenient, and, besides, preserves the strength of the contents.

There are so many beautiful moulds for fancy dishes that there is no longer any excuse for turning out jellies, blanc-mange, etc., in the form of animals. There are two modes of making moulds. By one the tin is pressed or stamped into shape, and by the other it is cut in pieces and soldered together. Moulds made by the first method are quite cheap, but not particularly handsome. Those made in the second way come in a great variety of pretty forms, but as all are imported, they are expensive.

The crown moulds are especially good for Bavarian creams, with which is served whipped cream, heaped in the centre.

The French pie mould comes in a number of sizes, and can be opened to remove the pie. Deep tin squash-pie plates, answer for custard, cream, Washington and squash pies, and for corn cake.

Tin vegetable cutters, for cutting raw vegetables for soups, and the cooked ones for garnishing, are nice to have, as is also a confectioner's ornamenting tube for decorating cake, etc. Larger tubes come for lady fingers and éclairs. Little pans also come for lady- fingers, but they cost a great deal. The jagging iron will be found useful for pastry and hard gingerbread.

The little tin, granite ware and silver-plated escaloped shells are pretty and convenient for serving escaloped oysters, lobster, etc. The price for the tin style is two dollars per dozen, for the granite ware, four dollars, and for the silver-plated, from thirty to forty dollars.

SOUPS.

Remarks on Soup Stock.

There is a number of methods of making soup stocks, and no two will give exactly the same results. One of the simplest and most satisfactory is that of clear stock or bouillon. By this the best flavor of the meat is obtained, for none passes off in steam, as when the meat is boiled rapidly. The second mode is in boiling the stock a great deal, to reduce it. This gives a very rich soup, with a marked difference in the flavor from that made with clear meat kept in water at the boiling point. The third way leaves a mixed stock, which will not be clear unless whites of eggs are used. In following the first methods we buy clear beef specially for the stock, and know from the beginning just how much stock there will be when the work is completed. By the second method we are not sure, because more or less than we estimate may boil away. The third stock, being made from bones and pieces of meat left from roasts, and from the trimmings of raw meats, will always be changeable in color, quantity and quality. This is, however, a very important stock, and it should always be kept on hand. No household, even where only a moderate amount of meat is used, should be without a stock-pot. It can be kept on the back of the range or stove while cooking is going on. Two or three times a week it should be put on with the trimmings and bones left from cooked and uncooked meats. This practice will give a supply of stock at all times, which will be of the greatest value in making sauces, side dishes and soups. Meat if only slightly tainted will spoil a stock; therefore great care must be taken that every particle is perfectly sweet.

Vegetables make a stock sour very quickly, so if you wish to keep a stock do not use them. Many rules advise putting vegetables into the stock-pot with the meat and water and cooking from the very beginning. When this is done they absorb the fine flavor of the meat and give the soup a rank taste. They should cook not more than an hour--the last hour--in the stock. A white stock is made with veal or poultry. The water in which a leg of mutton or fowl have been boiled makes a good stock for light soups and gravies. A soup stock must be cooled quickly or it will not keep well. In winter any kind of stock ought to keep good a week. That boiled down to a jelly will last the longest. In the warm months three days will be the average time stock will keep.

Stock for Clear Soups.

Five pounds of clear beef, cut from the lower part of the round; five quarts of cold water. Let come to a boil, slowly; skim carefully, and set where it will keep just at the boiling point for eight or ten hours. Strain, and set away to cool. In the morning skim off all the fat and turn the soup into the kettle, being careful not to let the sediment pass in. Into the soup put an onion, one stalk of celery, two leaves of sage, two sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, two of summer savory, two bay leaves, twelve pepper-corns and six whole cloves. Boil gently from ten to twenty minutes; salt and pepper to taste. Strain through an old napkin. This is now ready for serving as a simple clear soup or for the foundation of all kinds of clear soups.

Mixed Stock.

Put the trimmings of your fresh meats and the bones and tough pieces left from roasts or broils into the soup pot with one quart of water to every two pounds of meat and bones. When it comes to a boil, skim and set back where it will simmer six hours; then add a bouquet of sweet herbs, one onion, six cloves and twelve pepper-corns to each gallon of stock. Cook two hours longer; strain and set in a cool place. In the morning skim off the fat. Keep in a very cool place. This can be used for common soups, sauces, and where stock is used in made dishes. It should always be kept on hand, as it really costs nothing but the labor (which is very little), and enters so often into the preparation of simple, yet toothsome, dishes.

Consommé.

Eight pounds of a shin of veal, eight pounds of the lower part of the round of beef, half a cupful of butter, twelve quarts of cold water, half a small carrot, two large onions, half a head of celery, thirty pepper-corns, six whole cloves, a small piece each of mace and cinnamon, four sprigs each of parsley, sweet marjoram, summer savory and thyme, four leaves of sage, four bay leaves, about one ounce of ham. Put half of the butter in the soup pot and then put in the meat, which has been cut into very small pieces. Stir over a hot fire until the meat begins to brown; then add one quart of the water, and cook until there is a thick glaze on the bottom of the kettle (this will be about an hour). Add the remainder of the water and let it come to a boil. Skim carefully, and set back where it will simmer for six hours. Fry the vegetables, which have been cut very small, in the remaining butter for half an hour, being careful not to burn them. When done, turn into the soup pot, and at the same time add the herbs and spice. Cook one hour longer; salt to taste and strain. Set in a very cold place until morning, when skim off all the fat. Turn the soup into the pot, being careful not to turn in the sediment, and set on the fire. Beat the whites and shells of two eggs with one cup of cold water. Stir into the soup, and when it comes to a boil, set back where it will simmer for twenty minutes. Strain through a napkin, and if not ready to use, put away in a cold place. This will keep a week in winter, but not more than three days in summer. It is a particularly nicely-flavored soup, and is the foundation for any clear soup, the soup taking the name of the solid used with it, as _Consommé au Ris_, Consommé with Macaroni, etc.

Bouillon.

Bouillon, for Germans and other parties, is made the same as the clear stock, using a pint of water to the pound of meat, and seasoning with salt and pepper and with the spice, herbs and vegetables or not, as you please. It should be remembered that the amount of seasoning in the recipe referred to is for one gallon of stock.

White Stock.

Six pounds of a shin of veal, one fowl, three table-spoonfuls of butter, four stalks of celery, two onions, one blade of mace, one stick of cinnamon, eight quarts of cold water, salt, pepper. Wash and cut the veal and fowl into small pieces. Put the butter in the bottom of the soup pot and then put in the meat. Cover, and cook gently (stirring often) half an hour, then add the water. Let it come to a boil, then skim and set back where it will boil gently for six hours. Add the vegetables and spice and boil one hour longer. Strain and cool quickly. In the morning take off all the fat. Then turn the jelly gently into a deep dish, and with a knife scrape off the sediment which is on the bottom. Put the jelly into a stone pot and set in a cold place. This will keep a week in cold weather and three days in warm.

Consommé à la Royale.

Two eggs, two table-spoonfuls of milk, one-fourth of a tea-spoonful of salt. Beat eggs with a spoon, and add milk and salt Turn into a buttered cup, and place in a pan of warm water. Cook in a slow oven until firm in the centre. Set away to cool. Cut into small and prettily-shaped pieces; put into the tureen, and pour one quart of boiling consomme or clear stock on it.

Cheese Soup.

One and a half cupfuls of flour, one pint of rich cream, four table- spoonfuls of butter, four of grated Parmesan cheese, a speck of cayenne, two eggs, three quarts of clear soup stock. Mix flour, cream, butter, cheese and pepper together. Place the basin in another of hot water and stir until the mixture becomes a smooth, firm paste. Break into it the two eggs, and mix quickly and thoroughly. Cook two minutes longer, and set away to cool. When cold, roll into little balls about the size of an American walnut When the balls are all formed drop them into boiling water and cook gently five minutes; then put them in the soup tureen and pour the boiling stock on them. Pass a plate of finely grated Parmesan cheese with the soup.

Thick Vegetable Soup.

One quart of the sediment which is left from the clear stock, one quart of water, one-fourth of a cupful of pearl barley, one good-sized white turnip, one carrot, half a head of celery, two onions, about two pounds of cabbage, three potatoes, salt and pepper. Wash the barley and put it on in the quart of water, and simmer gently for two hours. Then add all the vegetables (except the potatoes), cut very fine, and the quart of stock. Boil gently for one hour and a half, then add the potatoes and the salt and pepper. Cook thirty minutes longer. When there is no stock, take two pounds of beef and two quarts of water. Cook beef, barley and water two hours, and add the vegetables as before. The meat can be served with the soup or as a separate dish.

Mulligatawny Soup.

One chicken or fowl weighing three pounds, three pounds of veal, two large onions, two large slices of carrot, four stalks of celery, three large table-spoonfuls of butter, one table-spoonful of curry powder, four of flour, salt, pepper, five quarts of water. Take two table- spoonfuls of the fat from the opening in the chicken and put in the soup pot As soon as melted, put in the vegetables, which have been cut very fine. Let all cook together for twenty minutes, stirring frequently, that it may not burn; then add the veal, cut into small pieces. Cook fifteen minutes longer; then add the whole chicken and the water. Cover, and let it come to a boil. Skim, and set back where it will simmer for four hours (in the mean time taking out the chicken when it is tender). Now put the butter into a small frying-pan, and when hot, add the dry flour. Stir until a rich brown; then take from the fire and add the curry powder. Stir this mixture into the soup, and let it cook half an hour longer; then strain through a sieve, rinse out the soup pot and return the strained soup to it. Add salt and pepper and the chicken (which has been freed from the bones and skin and cut into small pieces); simmer very gently thirty minutes. Skim off any fat that may rise to the top, and serve. This soup is served with plain boiled rice in a separate dish or with small squares of fried or toasted bread. The rice can be served in the soup if you choose.

Mulligatawny Soup, No. 2.

Chicken or turkey left from a former dinner, bones and scraps from roast veal, lamb or mutton, four quarts of water, four stalks of celery, four table-spoonfuls of butter, four of flour, one of curry, two onions, two slices of carrot, salt, pepper, half a small cupful of barley. Put on the bones of the poultry and meat with the water. Have the vegetables cut very fine, and cook gently twenty minutes in the butter; then skim them into the soup pot, being careful to press out all the butter. Into the butter remaining in the pan put the flour, and when that is brown, add the curry powder, and stir all into the soup. Cook gently four hours; then season with salt and pepper, and strain. Return to the pot and add bits of chicken or turkey, as the case may be, and the barley, which has been simmering two hours and a half in clear water to cover. Simmer half an hour and serve.

Green Turtle Soup.