The Art of Living in Australia: Together with Three Hundred Australian Cookery Recipes and Accessory Kitchen Information by Mrs. H. WickenMuskett, Philip E.
Science
The Art of Living in Australia: Together with Three Hundred Australian Cookery Recipes and Accessory Kitchen Information by Mrs. H. Wicken
Muskett, Philip E.
Australia -- Social life and customs; Cooking, Australian; Health; Hygiene
Each.
Agate iron saucepans are light and durable and very easy to keep clean;
they are much better than the blue enamelled ware, as they do not burn
so readily or chip so soon. Frying pans are nice, too, of the same
ware. A set each of wire and metal dish-covers must not be forgotten;
the latter should be of plain blocked tin, and as the fluted ones soon
get shabby, these should be well washed inside and out with scouring
soap and polished with Goddard's plate powder. A French fryer is
invaluable; it will cost 7s. 6d. Three or four pounds of dripping
clarified should be put at first; this will require straining. After
being used once or twice, the fryer should then be washed out with soda
water, well dried, and the fat put back; it can be renewed from
time to time with some fresh fat, and it will keep good for weeks. When
it looks very dark throw it away and start with a fresh lot of fat; it
can be used for fish, rissoles, fritters, &c., and one can never tell
that anything has been fried in it before, if it attains the right heat
before the FRITURE is put in. It should be between boiling water heat
(212 degrees) and boiling fat (600 degrees), 385 degrees being exactly
right, and can be tested by dropping in a small piece of bred. If it
browns instantly it is ready; whatever is put into it will fry in two or
three minutes. Food cooked in this way will not be so greasy and
indigestible as it often is if cooked in a frying pan.
And now, last and most important of all, the stove; for although we may
do without a great many things which are nice and useful to have,
without a stove it is impossible to cook well. It may be for gas, wood,
or coal, but it must act well. Gas stoves are extremely simple, clean,
and easy to use, there are no flues to get choked, and in towns where
gas is cheap it is no doubt the easiest and pleasantest heat to use. To
keep them clean and sweet they should be well washed inside and out
with soda and water at least once a week and polished with a little
Electric black lead. The flues of wood and coal stoves should be
thoroughly cleansed out once a week, and the oven cleansed with soap
and soda; this is very necessary work, for if the ovens are not clean
whatever is cooked in them will be spoilt. A little thoughtful care in
these matters will often prevent much trouble when cooking. Let a
housekeeper, therefore, thoroughly master her stove first, and
understand the flues and dampers, for only in this way will she be able
to successfully cook the dishes she has skilfully prepared. Cleanliness
and care in respect of the stove and kitchen utensils generally are as
necessary to success as knowing the right materials to use and how
to put them together, and every one who can cook a dinner
should also know how to clean and keep in good order the stove and all
culinary utensils. Order and neatness must reign in the kitchen as well
as in the drawing-room, and it will help greatly to bring about this
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