Chapter XVI: Part 16

Gravies for vegetables, sauces for desserts, and similar foods thickened with flour or cornstarch, are among the most common of the poorly prepared articles of the _cuisine_, although their proper preparation is a matter of considerable importance, since neither a thin, watery sauce nor a stiff, paste-like mixture is at all palatable. The preparation of gravies and sauces is a very simple matter when governed by that accuracy of measurement and carefulness of detail which should be exercised in the preparation of all foods. In consistency, a properly made sauce should mask the back of the spoon; that is to say, when dipped into the mixture and lifted out, the metal of the spoon should not be visible through it as it runs off. The proportion of material necessary to secure this requisite is one tablespoonful of flour, slightly rounded, for each half pint of water or stock. If the sauce be made of milk or fruit juice, a little less flour will be needed. If cornstarch be used, a scant instead of a full tablespoonful will be required. The flour, or cornstarch should be first braided or rubbed perfectly smooth in a very small amount of the liquid reserved for the purpose (salt or sugar, if any is to be used, being added to the flour before braiding with the liquid), and then carefully added to the remaining liquid, which should be actively boiling. It should then be continuously stirred until it has thickened, when it should be allowed to cook slowly for five or ten minutes until the starch or flour is well done. If through any negligence to observe carefully these simple details, there should be lumps in the sauce, they must be removed before serving by turning the whole through a fine colander or wire strainer.

The double boiler is the best utensil for the preparation of sauces and gravies, since it facilitates even cooking and renders them less liable to become scorched. The inner cup should be placed on the top of the range until the sauce has become thickened, as in the cooking of grains, and afterwards placed in the outer boiler to continue the cooking as long as needed.

Cream gravies for vegetables may be delicately flavored with celery, by steeping a few bits of celery in the milk for a few minutes, and removing with a fork before adding the thickening. Sauces for puddings may be similarly flavored, by steeping cocoanut or bits of orange or lemon rind in the milk.

GRAVIES AND SAUCES FOR VEGETABLES.

_RECIPES._

BROWN SAUCE.--Heat a pint of thin cream, and when boiling, add half a teaspoonful of salt and a tablespoonful of flour browned in the oven as directed on page 274, and rubbed to a smooth paste with a little cold milk. Allow it to boil rapidly, stirring constantly until thickened; then cook more slowly, in a double boiler, for five or ten minutes. If desired, the milk may be flavored with onion before adding the flour. This makes a good dressing for potatoes.

CREAM OR WHITE SAUCE.--Heat a pint of rich milk, part cream if it can be afforded, to boiling, and stir into it one tablespoonful of flour previously rubbed smooth in a little milk. Season with salt, and cook in a double boiler five or ten minutes, stirring frequently that no lumps be formed. If lumps are found in the sauce, turn it quickly through a fine, hot colander into the dish in which it is to be served.

CELERY SAUCE.--Cut half a dozen stalks of celery into finger-lengths, and simmer in milk for ten or fifteen minutes. Skim out the celery, add a little cream to the milk, salt to taste, and thicken with flour as for white sauce. This is very nice for potatoes and for toast.

EGG SAUCE.--Heat a pint of milk to boiling, and stir in a dessertspoonful of flour rubbed smooth in a little milk. Stir constantly until the sauce is well thickened; add the well-beaten yolk of an egg, turning it in very slowly and stirring rapidly so that it shall be well mingled. Boil up once only, add a very little salt, and serve. The egg makes an excellent substitute for cream.

PEASE GRAVY.--A gravy prepared either of dried or green peas as directed for Lentil Gravy on page 226, makes a suitable dressing for baked potatoes. Lentil gravy is also good for the same purpose. The addition of a little lemon juice to the lentil gravy makes another variety.

TOMATO GRAVY.--A gravy made of tomatoes as directed on page 261, is excellent to use on baked or boiled sweet potatoes.

TOMATO CREAM GRAVY.--Prepare a gravy as for Cream Sauce, using a slightly heaping measure of flour. When done, add, just before serving, for each quart of the cream sauce, one cup of hot, stewed tomato which has been put through a fine colander to remove all seeds. Beat it thoroughly into the sauce and serve on boiled or baked potato.

SAUCES FOR DESSERTS AND PUDDINGS.

_RECIPES._

ALMOND SAUCE.--Heat a pint of rich milk in the inner cup of a double boiler, placed directly upon the stove. When the milk is boiling, stir into it a heaping tablespoonful of flour which has been rubbed to a cream in a little cold milk. Boil rapidly until thickened, stirring constantly; then add three tablespoonfuls of almondine; place in the outer boiler, and cook for five or ten minutes longer.

CARAMEL SAUCE.--Stir a cup of sugar in a saucepan over the fire until melted and lightly browned. Add one cup of boiling water, and simmer ten minutes.

COCOANUT SAUCE.--Flavor a pint of new milk with cocoanut, as directed on page 298. Skim out the cocoanut, and add enough fresh milk to make one pint. Heat the milk to boiling, add two tablespoonfuls of sugar, thicken with two even spoonfuls of cornstarch, and proceed in the same manner as for Mock Cream.

CREAM SAUCE.--Beat together two thirds of a cup of sugar, one tablespoonful of thick, sweet cream, and one egg. Wet half a teaspoonful of cornstarch with a little milk, and stir in with the mixture; then add five tablespoonfuls of boiling milk, stirring rapidly all the time. Pour into the inner cup of a double boiler; have the water in the outer cup boiling, and cook five minutes. Flavor to taste.

CRANBERRY PUDDING SAUCE.--To a quart of boiling water add two cups of sugar, and when well dissolved, one quart of carefully sorted cranberries. Mash the berries as much as possible with a silver spoon, and boil just seven minutes. Turn through a colander to remove skins, cool and serve.

CUSTARD SAUCE.--Rub two teaspoonfuls of flour to a smooth paste with half a cup of new milk. Heat two and a half cups of fresh milk in a double boiler to scalding, then stir in the braided flour; heat again, stirring constantly till just to the boiling point, but no longer; remove from the stove and cool a little. Beat together one egg, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and a little lemon rind for flavoring. Turn the hot milk over this, a little at a time, stirring briskly meanwhile. Return the whole to the double boiler, and cook, stirring frequently, until when a spoon is dipped into the custard a coating remains upon it. Then remove at once from the fire. If the spoon comes out clean, the custard is not sufficiently cooked.

EGG SAUCE.--Separate the yolks and whites of three eggs. Beat the whites to a stiff froth, and stir in very gently, so as not to let the air out of the beaten whites, one cup of powdered sugar and a teaspoonful of vanilla or lemon flavoring powder. Lastly, stir in carefully the beaten yolks of the eggs, and serve at once.

EGG SAUCE NO. 2.--Beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth with one half cup of sugar. Add three tablespoonfuls of lemon juice and one of water. Serve at once.

FOAMY SAUCE.--Beat one egg or the whites of two very thoroughly with one half cup of sugar and a little grated lemon rind. Pour on this very slowly, stirring constantly to make it smooth, one cup of boiling milk, part cream if it can be afforded. If the whites alone are used, they should not be beaten stiff. If preferred, the lemon may be omitted and a tablespoonful or two of currant juice or quince jelly added last as flavoring.

FRUIT CREAM.--Take the juice pressed from a cupful of fresh strawberries, red raspberries, or black caps, add to it one third of a cup of sugar, and place in the ice chest till chilled. Set a cup of sweet cream also on ice till very cold. When thoroughly cold, whip with an egg beater till the froth begins to rise, then add to it the cold fruit juice and beat again. Have ready the white of one egg beaten to a stiff froth, which add to the fruit cream, and whip till no more froth will rise. This makes a delicious dressing for simple grain molds and blancmanges, but is so rich it should be used rather sparingly. Serve as soon as possible after being prepared. Fruit syrup, in the proportion of two or three tablespoonfuls to the pint of cream, may be used in the same manner when the fresh juice is not available. The juice of orange, quince, and pineapple may also be used in the same manner as that of berries.

FRUIT SAUCE.--Heat a pint of red raspberry, currant, grape, strawberry, apricot, or any other fruit juice to scalding, and stir in a tablespoonful of cornstarch previously rubbed to a cream with a little cold water. Cook till it thickens; then add sugar according to the acidity of the fruit. Strain and cool before using. If fruit juice is not available, two or three tablespoonfuls of pure fruit jelly may be dissolved in a pint of hot water and used instead of the juice. A mixture of red and black raspberry juice, or currant and raspberry, will be found acceptable for variety.

FRUIT SAUCE NO. 2.--Mash a quart of fresh berries, add one cup of sugar, beat very thoroughly together, and set away until needed. Just before it is wanted for serving, turn into a granite fruit kettle and heat nearly to boiling, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Serve hot with hot or cold puddings, or molded desserts.

LEMON PUDDING SAUCE.--Heat to boiling, in a double boiler, a pint of water in which are two slices of lemon, and stir into it a dessertspoonful of cornstarch; cook four to five minutes, or until it thickens. Squeeze the juice from one large lemon, and mix it with two thirds of a cup of sugar. Add this to the cornstarch mixture, and allow the whole to boil up once, stirring constantly; then take from the fire. Leave in the double boiler, surrounded by the hot water, for ten minutes. Cool to blood heat before serving.

MOCK CREAM.--Heat a pint of fresh, unskimmed milk in a double boiler. When the milk is boiling, stir in two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and two even tablespoonfuls of cornstarch which has first been rubbed smooth in a very little cold milk. Bring just to a boil, stirring constantly; then pour the hot mixture, a little at a time, beating thoroughly all the while, over the well-beaten white of one egg. Put again into the double boiler, return to the fire, and stir till it thickens to the consistency of cream.

MOLASSES SAUCE.--To one half cup of molasses, add one half cup of water, and heat to boiling. Thicken with a teaspoonful of flour rubbed to a cream with a little cold water. Serve hot.

ORANGE SAUCE.--Squeeze a cupful of juice from well-flavored, sour oranges. Heat a pint of water, and when boiling, thicken with a tablespoonful of cornstarch. Add the orange juice, strain, and sweeten to taste with sugar that has been flavored by rubbing over the yellow rind of an orange until mixed with the oil in the rind. If a richer sauce is desired, the yolk of an egg may be added lastly, and the sauce allowed to cook until thickened.

PEACH SAUCE.--Strain the juice from a well-kept can of peaches. Dilute with one half as much water, heat to boiling, and thicken with cornstarch, a scant tablespoonful to the pint of liquid.

PLAIN PUDDING SAUCE.--Thicken one and one half cups of water with one tablespoonful of cornstarch; boil a few minutes, then stir in two thirds of a cup of sugar, and one half cup of sweet cream. Take off the stove, and flavor with a little rose, vanilla, or lemon.

RED SAUCE.--Pare and slice a large red beet, and simmer gently in three cups of water for twenty minutes, or until the water is rose colored, then add two cups of sugar, the thin yellow rind and juice of one lemon, and boil until the whole is thick syrup. Strain, add a teaspoonful of rose water or vanilla, and serve.

ROSE CREAM.--Remove the thick cream from the top of a pan of cold milk, taking care not to take up any of the milk. Add sugar to sweeten and a teaspoonful or two of rose water. Beat with an egg beater until the whole mass is thick. Good thick cream, beaten in this manner, makes nearly double its original quantity.

SAGO SAUCE.--Wash one tablespoonful of sago in two or three waters, then put it into a saucepan with three fourths of a cup of hot water, and some bits of lemon peel. Simmer gently for ten minutes, take out the lemon peel, add half a cup of quince or apricot juice; and if the latter, the strained juice of half a lemon, and sugar to taste. Beat together thoroughly.

WHIPPED CREAM SAUCE.--Beat together with an egg beater until of a stiff froth one cup of sweet cream which has been cooled to a temperature of 64° or less, one teaspoonful of vanilla or a little grated lemon rind, and one half cup of powdered white sugar, and the whites of one or two eggs. The sauce may be variously flavored with a little fruit jelly beaten with the egg, before adding to the cream.

TABLE TOPICS.

Whether or not life is worth living, all depends upon the
liver.--_Sel._

Diet cures mair than doctors.--_Scotch Proverb._

According to the ancient Hindu Scriptures, the proper amount of food
is half of what can be conveniently eaten.

Every hour you steal from digestion will be reclaimed by
indigestion.--_Oswald._

"Very few nations in the world," says a sagacious historian,
"produce better soldiers than the Russians. They will endure the
greatest fatigues and sufferings with patience and calmness. And it
is well know that the Russian soldiers are from childhood nourished
by simple and coarse vegetable food. The Russian Grenadiers are the
finest body of men I ever saw,--not a man is under six feet high.
Their allowance consists of eight pounds of black bread, and four
pounds of oil per man for eight days."

Colonel Fitzgibbon was, many years ago, colonial agent at London for
the Canadian Government, and wholly dependent upon remittances from
Canada for his support. On one occasion these remittances failed to
arrive, and it being before the day of cables, he was obliged to
write to his friends to ascertain the reason of the delay. Meanwhile
he had just one sovereign to live upon. He found he could live upon
a sixpence a day,--four pennyworth of bread, one pennyworth of milk,
and one pennyworth of sugar. When his remittances arrived a month
afterward, he had five shillings remaining of his sovereign, and he
liked his frugal diet so well that he kept it up for several years.

An hour of exercise to every pound of food.--_Oswald._

Some eat to live, they loudly cry;
But from the pace they swallow pie
And other food promiscuously,
One would infer they eat to die.

--_Sel._

BEVERAGES

The use of beverages in quantities with food at mealtime is prejudicial to digestion, because they delay the action of the gastric juice upon solid foods. The practice of washing down food by copious draughts of water, tea, or coffee is detrimental, not only because it introduces large quantities of fluid into the stomach, which must be absorbed before digestion can begin, but also because it offers temptation to careless and imperfect mastication, while tea and coffee also serve as a vehicle for an excessive use of sugar, thus becoming a potent cause of indigestion and dyspepsia. It is best to drink but sparingly, if at all, at mealtimes. Consideration should also be given to the nature of the beverage, since many in common use are far from wholesome. Very cold fluids, like iced water, iced tea, and iced milk, are harmful, because they cool the contents of the stomach to a degree at which digestion is checked. If drunk at all, they should be taken only in small sips and retained in the mouth until partly warmed.

Tea is often spoken of as the "cup that cheers but not inebriates." "The cup that may cheer yet does injury" would be nearer the truth, for there is every evidence to prove that this common beverage is exceedingly harmful, and that the evils of its excessive use are second only to those of tobacco and alcohol. Tea contains two harmful substances, theine and tannin,--from three to six per cent of the former and more than one fourth its weight of the latter. Theine is a poison belonging to the same class of poisonous alkaloids, and is closely allied to cocaine. It is a much more powerful poison than alcohol, producing death in less than one hundredth part the deadly dose of alcohol; and when taken in any but the smallest doses, it produces all the symptoms of intoxication. Tannin is an astringent exercising a powerful effect in delaying salivary and stomach digestion, thus becoming one of the most common causes of digestive disorders. It is also a matter of frequent observation that sleeplessness, palpitation of the heart, and various disorders of the nervous system frequently follow the prolonged use of tea. Both theine and tannin are more abundant in green than in black tea.

The dependence of the habitual tea-drinker upon the beverage, and the sense of loss experienced when deprived of it, are among the strongest proofs of its evil effects, and should be warnings against its use. No such physical discomfort is experienced when deprived of any article of ordinary food. The use of tea makes one feel bright and fresh when really exhausted; but, like all other stimulants, it is by exciting vital action above the normal without supplying extra force to support the extra expenditure. The fact that a person feels tired is evidence that the system demands rest, that his body is worn and needs repair; but the relief experienced after a cup of tea is not recuperation. Instead, it indicates that his nerves are paralyzed so that they are insensible to fatigue.

Some people suppose the manner of preparing tea has much to do with its deleterious effects, and that by infusion for two or three minutes only, the evils resulting from the tannin will be greatly lessened. This, however, is a delusion, if the same amount of tea be used proportionate to the water; for tannin in its free state, the condition in which it is found in tea is one of the most readily soluble of substances; and tea infused for two minutes is likely to hold nearly as much tannin in solution as that infused for a longer period.

Tea is not a food, and it can in no wise take the place of food, as so many people attempt to make it, without detriment to health in every respect.

Coffee, cocoa, and chocolate rank in the same category with tea, as beverages which are more or less harmful. Coffee contains caffein, a principle identical with theine and a modified form of tannin, though in less quantity than tea. Cocoa and chocolate contain substances similar to theine and equally harmful, though usually present in much less proportion than in tea.

Custom has made the use of these beverages so common that most people seldom stop to inquire into their nature. Doubtless the question arises in many minds; If these beverages contain such poisons, why do they not more commonly produce fatal results?--Because a tolerance of the poison is established in the system by use, as in the case of tobacco and other narcotics and stimulants; but that the poisons surely though insidiously are doing their work is attested by the prevalence of numerous disorders of the digestive and nervous systems, directly attributable to the use of these beverages.

Both tea and coffee are largely adulterated with other harmful substances, thus adding another reason why their use should be discarded. It is stated on good authority that it is almost impossible to obtain unadulterated ground coffee.

In view of all these facts, it certainly seems wisest if a beverage is considered essential, to make use of one less harmful. Hot milk, hot water, hot lemonade, caramel coffee, or some of the various grain coffees, recipes for which are give in the following pages, are all excellent substitutes for tea and coffee, if a hot drink is desired.

_RECIPES_

BEET COFFEE.--Wash best beets thoroughly, but do not scrape; slice, and brown in a moderate oven, taking care not to burn. When brown, break in small pieces and steep the same as ordinary coffee.

CARAMEL COFFEE.--Take three quarts best bran, one quart corn meal, three tablespoonfuls of molasses; mix and brown in the oven like ordinary coffee. For every cup of coffee required, use one heaping tablespoonful of the caramel. Pour boiling water over it, and steep, not boil, for fifteen or twenty minutes.

CARAMEL COFFEE NO. 2.--Take one cup each of white flour, corn meal, unsifted Graham flour, and molasses. Mix well, and form into cakes half an inch thick and a little larger around than a silver dollar. If the molasses is not thin enough to take up all the dry material, one fourth or one half a cup of cold water may be added for that purpose. Bake the cakes in the oven until very dark brown, allowing them to become slightly scorched. When desired for use, take one cake for each cup of coffee required, pour sufficient water over them, and steep, not boil, twenty minutes.

CARAMEL COFFEE NO. 3.--To three and one half quarts of bran and one and one half quarts of corn meal, take one pint of New Orleans molasses and one half pint of boiling water. Put the water and molasses together and pour them over the bran and corn meal which have been previously mixed. Rub all well together, and brown slowly in the oven, stirring often, until a rich dark brown. Use one heaping tablespoonful of coffee to each small cup of boiling water, let it just boil up, then steep on the back of the stove for five or ten minutes.

CARAMEL COFFEE NO. 4.--Beat together four eggs and one pint of molasses, and mix thoroughly with four quarts of good wheat bran. Brown in the oven, stirring frequently. Prepare for use the same as the preceding.

MRS. T'S CARAMEL COFFEE.--Make a rather thick batter of Graham grits or Graham meal and milk, spread it in shallow pans and bake in a moderate oven until evenly done throughout. Cut the cake thus prepared into thin strips, which break into small uniform pieces and spread on perforated tins or sheets and brown in the oven. Each piece should be very darkly and evenly browned, but not burned. For each cup of coffee required, steep a small handful in boiling water for ten or fifteen minutes, strain and serve.

PARCHED GRAIN COFFEE.--Brown in the oven some perfectly sound wheat, sweet corn, barley, or rice, as you would the coffee berry. If desired, a mixture of grains may be used. Pound or grind fine. Mix the white of an egg with three tablespoonfuls of the ground grain, and pour over it a quart of boiling water. Allow it to come just to the boiling point, steep slowly for twelve or fifteen minutes, and serve.

WHEAT, OATS AND BARLEY COFFEE.--Mix together equal quantities of these grains, brown in the oven like ordinary coffee, and grind. To one quart of boiling water take three tablespoonfuls of the prepared coffee mixed with the white of an egg, and steep in boiling water ten or fifteen minutes.

_RECIPES FOR COLD BEVERAGES._

BLACKBERRY BEVERAGE.--Crush a quart of fresh blackberries, and pour over them a quart of cold water; add a slice of lemon and a teaspoonful of orange water, and let it stand three or four hours. Strain through a jelly bag. Sweeten to taste with a syrup prepared by dissolving white sugar in hot water, allowing it to become cold before using. Serve at once with bits of broken ice in the glasses, or place the pitcher on ice until ready to serve.

FRUIT BEVERAGE.--A great variety of pleasant, healthful drinks may be made by taking equal quantities of water and the juice of currants, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, or a mixture of two kinds, as raspberries and currants, sweetening to taste, and putting into each glass a small lump of ice. Directions for the preparation of fruit juices will be found on page 209.

FRUIT BEVERAGE NO. 2.--Mash a pint of red raspberries, add one cup of canned pineapple or half a fresh one chopped fine; pour over all three pints of water. Stir frequently, and let the mixture stand for two hours. Strain, add the juice of six lemons, and sugar or syrup to sweeten.

ANOTHER.--Extract the juice from three lemons and as many sour oranges, add a quart of cold water, sugar or syrup to sweeten, half a teaspoonful of rose water, and a cup of pure grape juice; or the rose water and grape juice may be omitted and two tablespoonfuls of strawberry, raspberry, or cherry juice used instead, and the whole poured over half a dozen slices of pineapple, and allowed to stand until well flavored before using.

FRUIT CORDIAL.--Crush a pint of blackberries, raspberries, grapes, currants, or cherries, adding the juice of two sour oranges, and a sliced lemon; pour over all a quart of cold water. Stir the mixture frequently and let it stand for two hours, then strain and add a syrup made by dissolving white sugar in boiling water, sufficient to sweeten. Cool on ice and serve.

GRAPE BEVERAGE.--Crush two pounds of perfectly ripened purple grapes and strain the juice through a jelly bag. Add to the juice three tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar or syrup, and dilute with cold water to suit the taste.

LEMONADE.--Use three large or four medium-sized lemons for each quart of water, and from six to eight tablespoonfuls of sugar. Rub or squeeze the lemons till soft. Cut a slice or two from each, and extract the juice with a lemon drill; strain the juice through a fine wire strainer to remove the seeds and bits of pulp, and pour it over the sugar. Add the slices of lemon, and pour over all a very little boiling water to thoroughly dissolve the sugar; let it stand ten or fifteen minutes, then add the necessary quantity of cold water, and serve. Or rub the sugar over the outside of the lemons to flavor it, and make it into a syrup by adding sufficient boiling water to dissolve it. Extract and strain the lemon juice, add the prepared syrup and the requisite quantity of cold water, and serve.

MIXED LEMONADE.--A very pleasant, cooling summer drink is made from the juice of six oranges and six lemons, with sugar to taste; add to this some pounded ice and the juice of a small can of pineapple, and lastly pour over the whole two quarts of water.

OATMEAL DRINK.--Boil one fourth of a pound of oatmeal in three quarts of water for half an hour, then add one and one half tablespoonfuls of sugar, strain and cool. It may be flavored with a little lemon or raspberry syrup if desired; or the sugar may be omitted and a quart of milk added. Cool on ice and serve.

ORANGEADE.--Pare very thin from one orange a few bits of the yellow rind. Slice three well-peeled sour oranges, taking care to remove all the white portion and all seeds. Add the yellow rind and a tablespoonful of sugar; pour over all a quart of boiling water. Cover the dish, and let it remain until the drink is cold. Or, if preferred, the juice of the oranges may be extracted with a lemon drill and strained as for lemonade.

PINEAPPLE BEVERAGE.--Pare and chop quite fine one fresh pineapple; add a slice or two of lemon, and cover with three pints of boiling water. Let it stand for two hours or more, stirring frequently; then strain and add the juice of five lemons, and sugar or syrup to sweeten.

PINEAPPLE LEMONADE.--Lemonade made in the usual manner and flavored with a few spoonfuls of canned pineapple juice, is excellent for variety.

PINK LEMONADE.--Add to a pint of lemonade prepared in the usual manner half a cup of fresh or canned strawberry, red raspberry, currant, or cranberry juice. It gives a pretty color besides adding a pleasing flavor.

SHERBET.--Mash a quart of red raspberries, currants, or strawberries, add the juice of a lemon, and pour over all three pints of cold water. Stir frequently, and let it stand for two or three hours. Strain through a jelly bag, sweeten to taste, and serve.

TISANE.--This is a favorite French beverage, and is prepared by chopping fine a cupful of dried fruits, such as prunes, figs, or prunelles, and steeping for an hour in a quart of water, afterward straining, sweetening to taste, and cooling on ice before using.

TABLE TOPICS.

The nervousness and peevishness of our times are chiefly
attributable to tea and coffee. The digestive organs of confirmed
coffee drinkers are in a state of chronic derangement which reacts
on the brain, producing fretful and lachrymose moods. The snappish,
petulant humor of the Chinese can certainly be ascribed to their
immoderate fondness for tea.--_Dr. Bock._

Dr. Ferguson, an eminent physician who has carefully investigated
the influence of tea and coffee upon the health and development of
children, says he found that children who were allowed these
beverages gained but four pounds a year between the ages of thirteen
and sixteen, while those who had been allowed milk instead, gained
fifteen pounds in weight during the same period.

Dr. Richardson, the eminent English physician and scientist, asserts
that the misery of the women of the poorer classes of the population
in England is more than doubled by the use of tea, which only
soothes or stimulates to intensify the after-coming depression and
languor.

A physician recommended a lady to abandon the use of tea and coffee.
"O, but I shall miss it so," said she.

"Very likely," replied her medical adviser, "but you are missing
health now, and will soon lose it altogether if you do not."

Dr. Stenhouse, of Liverpool, once made a careful analysis of a
sample package of black tea, which was found to contain "some pure
Congo tea leaves, also siftings of Pekoe and inferior kinds,
weighing together twenty-seven per cent of the whole. The remaining
seventy-three per cent was composed of the following substances;
Iron, plumbago, chalk, China-clay, sand, Prussian-blue, tumeric,
indigo, starch, gypsum, catechu, gum, the leaves of the camelia,
sarangna, _Chlorantes officinalis_, elm, oak, willow, poplar, elder,
beach, hawthorn, and sloe."

MILK CREAM BUTTER

MILK.

Chemically considered, the constituents of milk are nitrogenous matter (consisting of casein and a small proportion of albumen), fat, sugar of milk, mineral matter, and water, the last constituting from sixty-five to ninety per cent of the whole.

The proportion of these elements varies greatly in the milk of different animals of the same species and of the same animals at different times, so that it is not possible to give an exact analysis.

The analysis of an average specimen of cow's milk, according to Letheby, is:--

Nitrogenous matter.......................................4.1
Fat......................................................3.9
Sugar of milk............................................5.2
Mineral matter...........................................0.8
Water...................................................86.0

If a drop of milk be examined with a microscope, it will be seen as a clear liquid, holding in suspension a large number of minute globules, which give the milk its opacity or white color. These microscopic globules are composed of fatty matter, each surrounded by an envelope of casein, the principal nitrogenous element found in milk. They are lighter than the surrounding liquid, and when the milk remains at rest, they gradually rise to the top and form cream. Casein, unlike albumen, is not coagulated by heat; hence when milk is cooked, it undergoes no noticeable change, save the coagulation of the very small amount of albumen it contains, which, as it solidifies, rises to the top, carrying with it a small portion of the sugar and saline matter and some of the fat globules, forming a skin-like scum upon the surface. Casein, although not coagulable by heat, is coagulated by the introduction into the milk of acids or extract of rennet. The curd of cheese is coagulated casein. When milk is allowed to stand for some time exposed to warmth and air, a spontaneous coagulation occurs, caused by fermentative changes in the sugar of milk, by which it is converted into lactic acid through the action of germs.

Milk is sometimes adulterated by water, the removal of more or less of the cream, or the addition of some foreign substance to increase its density.

The quality of milk is more or less influenced by the food upon which the animal is fed. Watery milk may be produced by feeding a cow upon sloppy food.

The milk of diseased animals should never be used for food. There is no way by which such milk can invariably be detected, but Prof. Vaughan, of Michigan University, notes the following kinds of milk to be avoided:

1. Milk which becomes sour and curdles within a few hours after it has been drawn, and before any cream forms on its surface. This is known in some sections as 'curdly' milk, and it comes from cows with certain inflammatory affections of the udder, or digestive diseases, or those which have been overdriven or worried.

2. "Bitter-sweet milk" has cream of a bitter taste, is covered with 'blisters,' and frequently with a fine mold. Butter and cheese made from such milk cannot be eaten on account of the disagreeable taste.

3. 'Slimy milk' can be drawn out into fine, ropy fibers. It has an unpleasant taste, which is most marked in the cream. The causes which lead to the secretion of this milk are not known.

4. 'Blue milk' is characterized by the appearance on its surface, eighteen or twenty-four hours after it is drawn, of small, indigo-blue spots, which rapidly enlarge until the whole surface is covered with a blue film. If the milk be allowed to stand a few days, the blue is converted into a greenish or reddish color. This coloration of the milk is due to the growth of microscopic organisms. The butter made from 'blue milk' is dirty-white, gelatinous, and bitter.

5. 'Barnyard milk' is a term used to designate milk taken from unclean animals, or those which have been kept in filthy, unventilated stables. The milk absorbs and carries the odors, which are often plainly perceptible. Such milk may not be poisonous, but it is repulsive.

There is no doubt that milk often serves as the vehicle for the distribution of the germs of various contagious diseases, like scarlet fever, diphtheria, and typhoid fever, from becoming contaminated in some way, either from the hands of milkers or from water used as an adulterant or in cleansing the milk vessels. Recent investigations have also shown that cows are to some extent subject to scarlet fever, the same as human beings, and that milk from infected cows will produce the same disease in the consumer.

Milk should not be kept in brass or copper vessels or in earthen-ware lined with lead glazing; for if the milk becomes acid, it is likely to unite with the metal and form a poisonous compound. Glass and granite ware are better materials in which to keep milk.

Milk should never be allowed to stand uncovered in an occupied room, especially a sitting-room or bedroom, as its dust is likely to contain disease-germs, which falling into the milk, may become a source of serious illness to the consumer. Indeed it is safest to keep milk covered whenever set away, to exclude the germs which are at all times present in the air. A good way is to protect the dishes containing milk with several layers of cheese-cloth, which will permit the air but not the germs to circulate in and out of the pans. Neither should it be allowed to stand where there are strong odors, as it readily takes up by absorption any odors to which it is exposed.

A few years ago Dr. Dougall, of Glasgow, made some very interesting experiments on the absorbent properties of milk. He inclosed in jars a portion of substances giving off emanations, with a uniform quantity of milk, in separate vessels, for a period of eight hours, at the end of which time samples of the milk were drawn off and tested. The result was that milk exposed to the following substances retained odors as described:--

Coal gas, distinct; paraffine oil, strong; turpentine, very strong; onions, very strong; tobacco smoke, very strong; ammonia, moderate; musk, faint; asafetida, distinct; creosote, strong; cheese (stale), distinct; chloroform, moderate; putrid fish, very bad; camphor, moderate; decayed cabbage, distinct.

These facts clearly indicate that if the emanations to which milk is exposed are of a diseased and dangerous quality, it is all but impossible that the milk can remain free from dangerous properties.

Too much pains cannot be taken in the care of milk and vessels containing it. Contact with the smallest quantity of milk which has undergone fermentation will sour the whole; hence the necessity for scrupulous cleanliness of all vessels which have contained milk before they are used again for that purpose.

In washing milk dishes, many persons put them first into scalding water, by which means the albumen in the milk is coagulated; and if there are any crevices or seams in the pans or pails, this coagulated portion is likely to adhere to them like glue, and becoming sour, will form the nucleus for spoiling the next milk put into them. A better way is first to rinse each separately in cold water, not pouring the water from one pan to another, until there is not the slightest milky appearance in the water, then wash in warm suds, or water containing sal-soda, and afterward scald thoroughly; wipe perfectly dry, and place if possible where the sun will have free access to them until they are needed for further use. If sunshine is out of the question, invert the pans or cans over the stove, or place for a few moments in a hot oven.

The treatment of milk varies with its intended use, whether whole or separated from the cream.

Cream rises best when the milk is quite warm or when near the freezing-point. In fact, cream separates more easily from milk at the freezing-point than any other, but it is not thick and never becomes so. An intermediate state seems to be unfavorable to a full rising of the cream.

A temperature of 56° to 60°F. is a good one. Milk to be used whole should be kept at about 45° and stirred frequently.

All milk obtained from city milkmen or any source not certainly known to be free from disease-germs, should be sterilized before using. Indeed, it is safest always to sterilize milk before using, since during the milking or in subsequent handling and transportation it is liable to become infected with germs.

TO STERILIZE MILK FOR IMMEDIATE USE.--Put the milk as soon as received into the inner dish of a double boiler, the outer vessel of which should be filled with boiling water. Cover and heat the milk rapidly to as near the boiling point as possible. Allow it to remain with the water in the outer boiler actively boiling for half an hour, then remove from the stove and cool very quickly. This may be accomplished by pouring into shallow dishes, and placing these in cold water, changing the water as frequently as it becomes warm, or by using pieces of ice in the water. It is especially important to remember that the temperature of the milk should be raised as rapidly as possible, and when the milk is sufficiently cooked, cooled very quickly. Either very slow heating or slow cooling may prove disastrous, even when every other precaution is taken.

Or, well-cleaned glass fruit cans may be nearly filled with milk, the covers screwed on loosely, then placed in a kettle of cold water, gradually heated to boiling and kept at that temperature for a half hour or longer, then gradually cooled. Or, perfectly clean bottles may be filled with milk to within two inches of the top, the neck tightly closed with a wad of cotton, and the bottles placed in a steam cooker, the water in which should be cold at the start, and steamed for half an hour.

This cooking of milk, while it destroys many of the germs contained in milk, particularly the active disease-germs which are liable to be found in it, thus rendering it more wholesome, and improving its keeping qualities somewhat, does not so completely sterilize the milk that it will not undergo fermentative changes. Under varying conditions some thirty or forty different species of germs are to be found in milk, some of which require to be subjected to a temperature above that of boiling water, in order to destroy them. The keeping quality of the milk may be increased by reboiling it on three successive days for a half hour or longer, and carefully sealing after each boiling.

TO STERILIZE MILK TO KEEP.--This is a somewhat more difficult operation, but it may be done by boiling milk sealed in very strong bottles in a saturated solution of salt. The milk used should be perfectly fresh. It is best, when possible, to draw the milk from the cow directly into the bottles. Fill the bottles to within two inches of the top, cork them immediately and wire the corks down firmly and place them in the cold salt solution. Boil fifteen minutes or half an hour. Allow the solution to cool before removing them. If the bottles are removed from the solution while hot, they will almost instantly break. When cold, remove the bottles, and cover the tops with sealing wax. Store in a cool place, shake thoroughly once or twice a week. Milk sterilized in this manner will keep indefinitely.

CONDENSED MILK.--Condensed milk is made by evaporating milk in a vacuum to one fifth its original volume; it is then canned like any other food by sealing at boiling temperature in air-tight cans. When used, it should be diluted with five times its bulk of warm water.

Condensed milk, when not thoroughly boiled in the process of condensation, is liable to harbor disease-germs the same as any other milk.

CREAM.

Cream varies in composition according to the circumstances under which it rises.

The composition of an average specimen as given by Letherby is:--

Nitrogenous matter............................................ 2.7
Fat.......................................................... 26.7
Sugar of milk................................................. 2.8
Mineral matter................................................ 1.8
Water........................................................ 66.0

In the process of churning; the membranes of casein which surround each of the little globules constituting the cream are broken, and the fat of which they are composed becomes a compact mass known as butter. The watery looking residue containing casein, sugar of milk, mineral matter, and a small proportion of fat, comprises the buttermilk.

Skim-milk, or milk from which the cream has been removed, and buttermilk are analogous in chemical composition.

The composition of each, according to Dr. Edward Smith, is:--

SKIM-MILK

Nitrogenous matter......................................... 4.0
Sugar...................................................... 3.8
Fat........................................................ 1.8
Mineral matter............................................. 0.8
Water......................................................88.0

BUTTERMILK

Nitrogenous matter..........................................4.1
Sugar.......................................................3.6
Fat.........................................................0.7
Mineral matter..............................................0.8
Water......................................................88.0

Skim-milk and buttermilk, when the butter is made from sweet cream and taken fresh, are both excellent foods, although lacking the fat of new milk.

Cream is more easily digested than butter, and since it contains other elements besides fat, is likewise more nutritious. In cream the fat is held in the form of an emulsion which allows it to mingle freely with water. As previously stated, each atom of fat is surrounded with a film of casein. The gastric juice has no more power to digest casein than it has free fat, and the little particles of fat thus protected are carried to the small intestines, where the pancreatic juice digests them, and on their way they do not interfere with the stomach digestion of other foods, as the presence of butter and other free fats may do.

It is because of its greater wholesomeness that in the directions for the preparation of foods given in this work we have given preference to the use of cream over that of butter and other free fats. The usual objection to its use is its expense, and the difficulty of obtaining it from city dealers. The law of supply and cost generally corresponds with that of demand, and doubtless cream would prove no exception if its use were more general.

Cream may be sterilized and preserved in a pure state for some time, the same as milk.

Milk requires especial care to secure a good quality and quantity of cream. Scrupulous cleanliness, good ventilation, and an unvarying temperature are absolute essentials. The common custom of setting milk in pans is objectionable, not only because of the dust and germs always liable to fall into the milk, but also from the difficulty of keeping milk thus set at the proper temperature for cream-rising. Every family using milk in any quantity ought to have a set of creameries of large or small capacity according to circumstances, in which the milk supply can be kept in a pure, wholesome condition, and so arranged as to facilitate the full rising of the cream if desired. A very simple and satisfactory creamery, with space for ice around the milk, similar to that represented in the accompanying cut, may be constructed by any tinman.

The plan of scalding milk to facilitate the rising of the cream is excellent, as it not only secures a more speedy rising, but serves to destroy the germs found in the milk, thus lessening its tendency to sour. The best way to do this is to heat the milk in a double boiler, or a dish set inside another containing hot water, to a temperature of 150° to 165°F. as indicated by wrinkles upon its surface. The milk must not, however, be allowed to come to a boil. When scalded, it should be cooled at once to a temperature of about 60° F. and kept thus during the rising of the cream.

BUTTER.

Of all foods wholly composed of fat, good fresh butter is the most wholesome. It should, however, be used unmelted and taken in a finely divided state, and only in very moderate quantities. If exposed to great heat, as on hot buttered toast, meats, rich pastry, etc., it is quite indigestible. We do not recommend its use either for the table or for cooking purposes when cream can be obtained, since butter is rarely found in so pure a state that it is not undergoing more or less decomposition, depending upon its age and the amount of casein retained in the butter through the carelessness of the manufacturer.

Casein, on exposure to air in a moist state, rapidly changes into a ferment, which, acting upon the fatty matter of the butter, produces rancidity, rendering the butter more or less unwholesome. Poor, tainted, or rancid butter should not be used as food in any form.

Good butter is pale yellow, uniform throughout the whole mass, and free from rancid taste or odor. White lumps in it are due to the incorporation of sour milk with the cream from which it was produced. A watery, milk-like fluid exuding from the freshly cut surface of butter, is evidence that insufficient care was taken to wash out all the buttermilk, thus increasing its liability to spoil.

The flavor and color of butter vary considerably, according to the breed and food of the animal from which the milk was obtained. An artificial color is often given to butter by the use of a preparation of annatto.

Both salt and saltpeter are employed as preservatives for butter; a large quantity of the former is often used to increase the weight of the butter.

ARTIFICIAL BUTTER.--Various fraudulent preparations are sold as butter. Oleomargarine, one of the commonest, is made from tallow or beef-fat, cleaned and ground like sausage, and heated, to separate the oil from the membranes. It is then known as "butter-oil," is salted, cooled, pressed, and churned in milk, colored with annatto, and treated the same as butter. Butterine, another artificial product, is prepared by mixing butter-oil and a similar oil obtained from lard, then churning them with milk.

An eminent analyst gives the following excellent way of distinguishing genuine butter from oleomargarine:--"When true butter is heated over a clear flame, it 'browns' and gives out a pleasant odor,--that of browned butter. In heating there is more or less sputtering, caused by minute particles of water retained in washing the butter. On the bottom of the pan or vessel in which true butter is heated, a yellowish-brown crust is formed, consisting of roasted or toasted casein. When oleomargarine is heated under similar circumstances, it does not 'brown,' but becomes darker by overheating, and when heated to dryness, gives off a grayish steam, smelling of tallow. There is no 'sputtering' when it is being heated, but it boils easily. If a pledget of cotton or a wick saturated with oleomargarine be set on fire and allowed to burn a few moments before being extinguished, it will give out fumes which are very characteristic, smelling strongly of tallow, while true butter behaves very differently."

BUTTER IN ANCIENT TIMES.--Two kinds of butter seem to have been known to the ancient Jews, one quite like that of the present day, except that it was boiled after churning, so that it became in that warm climate practically an oil; the other, a sort of curdled milk. The juice of the Jerusalem artichoke was mixed with the milk, when it was churned until a sort of curd was separated. The Oriental method of churning was by putting the milk into a goat-skin and swinging and shaking the bag until the butter came, as illustrated in the accompanying cut.

An article still sold as butter in Athens is made by boiling the milk of goats, allowing it to sour, and then churning in a goat-skin. The result is a thick, white, foamy substance appearing more like cream than butter.

BUTTER-MAKING.--The manufacture of good butter is dependent upon good cows and the care given them, as well as most careful treatment of the milk and cream. The milk to be used for butter making, as indeed for all purposes, should be most carefully strained through a wire strainer covered with three or four thicknesses of perfectly clean cheese cloth.

The following points given by an experienced dairyman will be found worthy of consideration by all who have to do with the manufacture of this article:--

"Milk is almost as sensitive to atmospheric changes as mercury itself. It is a question among many as to what depth milk should be set to get the most cream. It does not make so much difference as to the depth as it does the protection of the milk from acid or souring. As soon as the milk begins to sour, the cream ceases to rise.

"With a clear, dry atmosphere the cream will rise clean in the milk; but in that condition of the atmosphere which readily sours the milk, the cream will not rise clean, but seems to hang in the milk, and this even when the milk is protected by being set in water.

"The benefit of setting milk in cold water is that the water protects the milk from becoming acid until the cream has time to rise. For cream to rise readily on milk set in cold water, the atmosphere in the room should be warmer than the water. As much cream will rise on milk set in cold water in one hour as on milk not set in water in twenty-four hours. The milk should be skimmed while sweet, and the cream thoroughly stirred at each skimming.

"Cream skimmed from different milkings, if churned at the same time in one churn, should be mixed eight to ten hours before churning; then the cream will all come alike.