HINTS AND IDEAS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 181, 1 August 1936, Page 3 (Supplement)

HINTS AND IDEAS.

THINGS WORTH KNOWING.

WASHING AN EIDERDOWN

To wash an eiderdown use a large washtub or, failing that, a bath. First mend all little holes or splitting seams. Then put plenty of hot water in the tub and make a good lather with soap flakes. Add three teaspoonfuls of household ammonia, and, if the cover is patterned in bright colours, add three tablespoonfills of salt to the water also. Steep the quilt in the suds, squeezing it and working it about as much as possible. Then squeeze out the dirty water and rinse the eiderdown in warm water to which more salt has been added. Fold it in two and then pass it through a loosely adjusted wringer. Shake well and hang in a current of air. Change the hanging position of the eiderdown frequently and shake it at intervals while drying; this will make it soft and fluffy. A CURE FOR CORNS. Soak, some bread in vinegar for two days and put a small piece as a cold poultice 011 the corn overnight, binding on with a piece of rag. Every three dfcys soak feet in warm water, and peel layer of corn off. Continue treatment for a fortnight or three weeks. WHEN MAKINC A BATTER. A batter becomes heavy if sugar be added to it before cooking it, or if too much moisture be added to the flour before the batter is well beaten, or if it is not allowed to stand at least half an hour after mixing it. If cooked too slowlv it becomes heavy and stodcry.

The fat should be boiling. If put into too hot an oven, a hard crust forms on the outside and checks the batter rising, with the result that the inside becomes either heavy and doughy or is insufficiently cooked.