When deep fat frying is used, great pains must be taken to see that the fat is sufficiently hot in order that the food material may not soak fat, and the cooked food must be kept hot when the fat is draining off on absorptive paper. The best fats for this purpose are the vegetable oils. The refined cottonseed oils now on the market are excellent. For details of use see page 120. Keep a box of sand to pour into it, if the kettle of fat takes fire. Never pour water into blazing fat. GENERAL METHODS AND RECIPES =Principles of cooking.= Fat melts at a low temperature. At about 350° F. it begins to smoke. At a higher temperature, a chemical change takes place, and the fat finally “burns,” as the hydrogen and oxygen pass off. It is emulsified by mixing with a substance like egg. =1. To whip cream.=——Chill the cream, and set it in a bowl of ice water, or chipped ice. If the cream is warm, the beating will churn the cream to butter. (1) For a fine, close-whipped cream use a Dover egg beater. (2) For a lighter whipped cream, use a wire beater. =2. To mold butter.=——A pair of wooden butter pats is necessary for this. Dip these first into hot water, then into cold. Cut off a square piece of butter, enough for one person, make it flat or round with two knives, and then roll it into shape between the butter pats. Chill, and serve in a dish on ice; or give one to each person on a butter plate, just at the last moment before serving the meal. Never serve soft butter. =3. To cook bacon.=——Bacon has alternate layers of fat and lean, but it is the fat that has chief consideration in the cooking process. The aim is to brown and crisp the fat without burning it and without causing a volume of smoke in the kitchen. Make ready a frying pan, and have at hand a jar for holding fat standing on a plate. Cut the bacon in thin slices with a sharp knife. Heat the pan, and put in the bacon. The fat will begin to “try out” at the melting point. Pour this melted fat into the jar. Turn the pieces of bacon with a fork. If the smoke is rising in volumes the pan is too hot. The novice should not try this experiment for the first time by herself. The fat may even burst into flame if the pan is too hot. When the bacon is sufficiently cooked to become crisp on cooling, it is ready to serve, by itself, with toast, or with eggs.