SMALL ECONOMIES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 151, 26 June 1907, Page 8

SMALL ECONOMIES.

- Dripping, when nicely clarified, make* -■' as good short crust as hotter for cover* * ing meat pies or fruit tarts. | The best lard is cheaper, than cooking ' butter, and makes delicious flaky pastry, which is best eaten hot. ''"*'' .*■* Fish boilings, bones, and trimmings, should never be thrown away, for when . well boiled and flavoured they make excellent stock for fish soup. Rice and other farinaceous puddings made of skinx.milk, -with the addition of some very finely-shred suet, if very, slowly cooked, will be equal to those made of new milk; no eggs will be required if the cooking is long and th* heat very moderate. Sour milk and buttermilk should never be thrown away, as ootli are excellent for soda cakes, scones, and gingerbread, -and for making suet crusts for boiled paddings lighter and more nourishing. When taking fish,-do not egg and crumb it, but dredge- it with- flour and baste it with hot fat till nicely brown - , this will .retain the juice of the fish. A useful substitute for »-stockpot i« jan earthenware j»x with. a. cover; thia may be placed-n the-stove--plate or i_t the oven. An empty wine bottle and a. school .slate without.a-framcrmakea good rollerand slab for rich .pastry-making. Brooms should never touch the flooß .except whe in- actual use; they should/ at once be stood "on the point of the .handle, head upwards, against a wall or piece of furniture, till the kitchen or passages are finished, then put away on the broom rack. To make this fix a. piece of wood-on a wall, in it put some pegs, allowing two for each broom;; these should slip-tbe .handle-- and support the head.

For dusting brushes which...are _us« pended by a string through the handle, a few brass pantry hooks should be screwed in. If brushes are thus kept, they will last much lianger, for the bristles will not be bent out of shape* Brooms should be cleansed by washing them in boiling soap-suds once a week; should any grease from greasy crumbs on the floor have soiled them, put some dissolved carbonate of ammonia in tha water, rinse the brushes in cold water, shake well, and dry in the air, and, if possible, in the sunshine.

I Through frequent use, the panful of frying fat gets discoloured from the burning of he crumbs that have fallen into it. from fish, croquets, etc. A potato cut into thin slices and. fried in it each time it is used is a good means- of clarifying it before pouring it out into a jar for use on another occasion, and now and then a quart of -water, in which half.* teaspoonful of hiearbonate of soda ha» been dissolved, should be poured into the melied fat, well stirred, and when it hai boiled for a few minutes all the scum removed; the water must not be added to hot fat or it will make it boil oven only to melted fat.

Stand the pan aside till cold, then remove the cake of fat, scrape off-all impurities and discolorations, pour away the water, and put it again on the fire to melt; let it remain untoucheditill tbe bubbling has ceased, which will jShow the water has evaporated, then pour off the clear fat through muslin, leaving any residue that has fallen from ;It in the It will then be fit for use, agaia» -but wpl be improved by ithe adj__gfl»^(