_Method._——Measure the cereal and water, put the water into the inner part of the double boiler with the salt. Have the lower part of the boiler ready——about half full of hot water; place the inner boiler directly upon the stove or over the flame. When the water is boiling rapidly, shake the cereal into the water from a cup, _so slowly that the water does not stop boiling_. This is the first secret of a well-cooked cereal. The rapidly boiling water keeps the grains of cereal in motion, and thus they do not stick to the vessel nor to each other, and the heat reaches the starch in the grains equally. If the grains begin to settle, shake the vessel gently, but do not stir, even with a fork. Allow this process to continue for about five minutes, or until you see a thickening of the mass, so much so that the separate grains do not settle. If toward the end of this stage there is danger of sticking, _lift_ the mass with the fork, but do not stir it, as this motion will break the grains. This first process opens the starch grains. Place the inner part of the boiler in the outer over boiling water and allow the cooking to continue for _at least_ one hour. For this is the second secret of the perfect cereal,——a long-continued process that softens the fiber and develops flavor. One cereal, advertised as being cooked in three minutes, remains unpalatable after that length of time, but is delicious at the end of two hours. If you have a fireless cooker, put the cereal in the double boiler into the cooker overnight for the second stage. Any low temperature apparatus gives the desired result. =2. The uses of cold cereal.=——Never throw away cooked cereals. The cold cereal is useful in many ways. (_a_) Mold in small cups with dates or other fruit, and serve with sugar and cream for luncheon. (_b_) Cool corn meal mush in a flat dish, cut it in slices when cold, and brown the slices in a frying pan, with beef fat, or a butter substitute. Serve with sugar, molasses, or sirup for breakfast or luncheon. (_c_) Rice or hominy may be mixed with a beaten egg, molded into small cakes, and browned either in the frying pan, or in the oven. (_d_) A small remaining portion of any cereal may be used to thicken soup. (_e_) Any cooked cereal may be used in muffins or even yeast bread. (See those chapters.) =3. Corn meal “mush.”=——This is cooked by the same method as the other cereals, except that the amount of water is larger and the first boiling should continue longer. The meal must be scattered slowly into the boiling water, or else be mixed first with cold water, as it lumps very easily. The second stage of the process should continue several hours.