WOMEN'S REALM.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 198, 19 August 1908, Page 8

WOMEN'S REALM.

FRIENDLY FAMILY PARTrj^ It is a wise, pleasant custom for you married folk "to keep in" with the'fa • lies, friends, and connections of K\3l sides. Occasional little friendly par? at which "his" relatives meet "hers " *t only promote family harmony, but th keep together people who may later prove most valuable friends to your litt£ "Miss" or "Master" So-andso, now i swaddling clothes. "Be wisely woridlv but not worldly wise." ™» The Latest—the Very Latest Ladies' walking-sticks are becomiM fashionable again. 5< Several new fabrics are being pnt m the market this season. Fleur de » ' lours, the latest, is made like soft gilt in all shades. In white it is particular], effective, and will be the chosen inati rial for many brides. Satin goleil j. another favourite bridal fabric, and » beautiful robe in this material was embroidered with orange blossoms and finished with a pelerine of ermine. ft get the true neglige of falling oraniblossoms, the designer flung orange bloL soms over it, and as they fell so his workers embroidered them on. The most novel idea of the moment ■« that of embroidering the letters of th« Christian name on a set of buttons which are used to fasten and decorate the cern tre box-pleat of a plain white silk shirt, Only short names of three, four, or fiv» letters are, of course, feasible, each letter being padded and worked in thick flosi silk on a foundation of plain silk. Either plain capitals or Gothic characters may be used, one occupying the centre of a single button, while the name reads from top to bottom. Another novelty of fashion is that of wearing gaiters to match the fashionablt waistcoat. Especially are these seen in check materials, and in black and white worn with a waistcoat of like fabric and a black dress, they present a piquant ap< pearance. The new fashions are mainly Directoire, which means high-waisted coats and clinging skirts, no underskirts, and an infinity of ruffles and laces and scarves. Slim women, whether tall or short, look well in these new gowns. PROPER WAY TO BOIL EGGfc It seems a somewhat presumptuous thing to suggest to a cook who for years has been boiling eggs by the old three-minute rule, that there is a better plan; yet such is the case. Eggs contain a very large proportion of albumen, and this element is quite as easily digested in its raw as in its cooked state. But when properly cooked, it is mads more palatable, and this is almost the only advantage which is gained. When not over-cooked, its digestibility is not rendered difficult, but when overdone, it becomes a food which the stomach can handle only with difficulty. The question, therefore, in boiling an egg, is how best to cook the whole of it without over-cooking any part. When an egg is put in boiling water and is kept in it for three minutes, the water boiling briskly all tne time, the outer layer is sure to be cooked considerably more than the middle of the egg. If an egg being cooked in this way is taken from the water at the end of two minutes and opened at once, it will be found that a thin layer of the white next th* shell, where the heat has. been'most intense, is already fully cooked, but that the rest of the white has only reached the milky, semi-fluid stage, ' while tha yolk is only warm. This shows the unevenness of cooking which must' attend this method, and the impossibility of cooking the whole egg in this'way without over-cooking prrt of it a very great deal. It is much better to place the egg II water that has been heated only to • very gentle simmer, and to leave it in the water for a considerably longer time, say 15 minutes. Or, if the water ii heated to the boiling point, and the egg is then dropped in and the water, at ones removed from the stove, it will cook in about the same length of time, al though 1 not so evenly as when maintained steads ily at a heat of about 165 degrees.\Wn the white of an egg is weft cooked, it is divided by mastication ints small, hard pieces, and these are acted upon by the digestive fluids onby witU difficulty. ; It is important to see that an egg is heated up to about 70 or 80 degrees be* fore commencing to cook it; if pot in the water while still near the freezing} point, it will take some time for tha middle of it to warm up, and in come* quence this part will be slower to cooM than the parts nearer the shell. -■ HOW MEATS ABE COOKED^ J THE BROILING PROCESS, I Broiling is cooking directly over hot coals, and is the quickest and hottest way of cooking. The article to b» cooked is subjected to such an intense ' heat in this process that it would bt quickly burned to a crisp if the cook did not pay strict attention to it, and see that it, was turned very often. Really well-broiled meat is almost M rare as a well-cooked potato. Thai majority of people who undertake tot broil a beck-steak or a chop think that! they must do it literally. The word broil comes from the French word bruler, "to burn"; but it also mesas "to sear," and that is what should bs done to the meat, the surface seared —not burned, thus giving a scorched, unpleasant flavour to the meat—so that the juices shall be kept inside the. meat The quick searing has the effect 'of seal" I ing the surface, and thus holding tne juices. Turning it frequently so that the surface shall cook and not. burn, and in this way keeping the juices flow* ing from side to side, but not escaping* is the way to ensure a successful broil* ing. Done carefully in this way, yo* needn't fear to offer a steak or chop to a most fastidious guest, provided thsfc you have made a wise selection of mes*» and that you serve it at once, on hot plates, from a hot platter. BRAISING AND ROASTING. . Braising, which is another way H treating the tougher fibred meat, ii cooking in the oven in a covered p*V smothering the meat in its own juices and having a good deal of herb seasoning in the dish with the meat. Meat th* prepared is most delicious. Roasting meat is, properly, cooking it before the open fire, by subjecting it to a high degree of heat. That ii the way Bcttie's great-grandmother cooked her roasts, and under the roasting meat was a big pan which caught' ths juices which made the gravy, and ,"» that way got the name of "drippingpan," a name which the roasting-pan has borne ever since. In these days of ranges and stoves of various kinds, ia which aU sorts of fuel are used, w» bake it in a heated oven and call Ml "roasted" just by couxtsssjf. U