MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 August 1934, Page 9

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OF INTEREST

WHITES OF EGGS.

NEED NEVER BE WASTED. Cookery has its fairyland in the snow-topped mysteries that can be made by the simple means of a basin, white of egg and a whisk (states the London “Daily Telegraph”). _ There is no excuse for wasting the whites of eggs that, are so often left over when mayonnaise is made oi some sweet requiring the use of yolks only. A few minutes can transform the unwanted whites into a variety of dainty dishes for any meal, for the joy of white of egg cookery is that it is simple, quick, and decorative. Our mothers often used the whites of eggs to make peppermint creams, which were handed round at the end of the meal on festive occasions. This old-fashioned custom has been revived by modern housewives, who proudly display a little dish of these home-made creams on their luncheon and dinner tables. The homecraft prize of one guinea has been awarded a recipe for making peppermint creams, in which white of egg is an important ingredient.

PEPPERMINT CREAMS. Take whites of two eggs and two tablespoonfuls of cold water. Mix well, but do not make frothy. Stir in enough icing sugar to make a stiff mixture; dry enough to handle easily. Flavour with essence of peppermint. Mould into desired “shapes and allow to dry. Vanilla oi lemon creams are made the same way by using vanilla or lemon flavouring. They are ready for use in about an hour. The following selection of prizewinning recipes for savouries, sweets and cakes will solve many aspects oi the problem of the left-over whites. SUMMER SUPPER DISH. Boil lib white fish. Pass through a sieve. Mivx with ?. pint milk in whichl/j dessertspoonful of powdered gelatine and loz of cheese have been dissolved. Stir in one gill of cream, and add salt and mustard to taste. Gently fold in very stiff whites of four eggs, and put in wet mould to set. Serve very cold with a shrimp and lettuce salad. PASSION FRUIT CUP. Select 6 granadillas (passion fruit), and -scoop out contents into a\howl. Add a dessertspoonful castor sugar and the strained juice of an orange. In another bowl beat the whites of two eggs to .a. stiff froth then gradually add the fruit juice. Serve verycold in tall glasses, with spoons and wafer biscuits. This is most refreshing in hot weather, as it combines the lightness of the egg froth with the tang of the fruit. THE PERFECT SPONGE. When I have whites of eggs left over from any of my cooking 1 usually use them up for sponges, which are even lighter than when the yolks are included. Sponge cake forms the foundation for so many of the really nice' summer sweets, and is always light for afternoon tea. Here is a quick three-in-one recipe which provides a sweet for lunch and cakes for tea. Take Goz of butter, Goz of fine sugar, six whites of egg, Goz of flour, one teaspoonful baking powder, 6d of very stiff cream, Alb of Valencia almonds, jam, castor sugar. Blanch the almonds and put them through a nut mill, or chop very finely. Whisk the egg whites. Grease and flour three sandwich tins and twelve patty tins. Beat butter and sugar to a cream, add whites of egg and beat in, add the mixed flour and baking powdei. a tablespoonful at a time, beating continually. Half fill all baking tins, spread smoothly in sandwich tins, sprinkle small cakes generously with castor sugar, bake in a moderate oven lor about fifteen minutes, ami then leave to cool. Use two sandwich halves for a sandwich cake with jam in between, serve icing sugar on the top or ice it. Spread a generous supply of jam on the single sponge, then the cream, and pile the milled almonds on top. This makes a. nice sweet to be served dry, or may be put into just, enough fruit syrup for it to soak up.

GRAPE FRUIT MOUSSE. Beat three whites of egg till stiff, adding gradually two tablespoonfuls of castor sugar. Squeeze and strain the juice from a grape fruit, an orange and a lemon. Melt half an ounce of gelatine in a te.acupful of warm water. Beat all the ingredients together and pour into a. wet mould. Turn out when set and serve, preferably iced. Enough for six people. WHEN MAKING SCONES. Four ozs. flour, 2oz butter, a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoonful baking; powder, loz castor sugar, a lew drops of vanilla essence, sultanas if liked, Um well whipped white of .1 egg. J-gil! of milk. Mix flour and baking powder together, add salt, rub in the butter, add sugar, .sultanas, mix vanilla with whipped egg, a hole being made in the centre. The egg and milk must then be added to make the mixture into a light dough. Roll out on to floured hoard, make into any desired shape, and bake for 20 minutes in a moderate oven till a golden brown. AS A SAUCE. Required, red currants and raspberries. sugar, a little water, white of egg. Stew the fruit with sugar and a very little water; allow to get cold. Whip up the white of egg stiffly. Strain the fruit and add sufficient of the juice to the white of egg to make a thick, frothy mixture. Serve at once with a mould or fruit jelly. This sauce can also be used us a foundation for fruit sundaes. A few raspberries and strawberries, 1 tablespoonful ice cream, a little cream. 1 ratafia biscuit, and some of the sauce make a delicious sundae. SNOW CAKE. This recipe for snow S ake

is most delicious and uncommon, and makes a most popular addition to the tea table. It requires the whites of two eggs, butter, sugar, and arrowroot. One important point is that it must be well beaten for twenty minutes, or the result is not so good. Take ?.lb arrowroot, 6oz castor sugar, Jib butter or margarine, whites of two eggs, vanilla or other flavouring. Cream butter, sift in sugar and ariowroot gradually. Whisk whites of eggs to a. stiff froth and add the other ingredients. Beat mixture well for twenty minutes. Then pour into well-greased and paper-lined cake tin. Bako in a slow oven for three-quarters of an hour, or until pale creamy fawn in colour. It will not brown as much as an ordinary cake mixture. SWEET OR SAVOURY. Egg whites, if beaten with a pinch of salt until firm enough to hold a raw egg, may be served in cither of the followingways : Savoury: Cut firm white in blocks with sharp wet knife. Fry with bacon, basting top with fat. Sieve. Alternatively fry in butter, basting top. Make hole in top . with wetted spoon. Fill this nest with chopped hot ham. Sprinkle with chives or paisley. Serve hot or cold with salad. Sweet: Shape whites with tablespoon. Poach gently in vanilla-flav-oured milk, turning with a fish slice until done. AVlien firm take up, drain, serve on a puree of raspberries or on half peaches with a sprinkle of Benedictine and a. dusting of finely crushed almond rock. HERTFORDSHIRE JUMBLES. Well whisk whites of thre eggs. Take 1 tablespoonful each of flour, castor sugar, milk. Add a. few carraway seeds and a pinch of ground ginger. Mix all well to a very stiff paste. Roll out thinly on a pastry board. Stamp out into various shapes, and bake on sheets of greased baking paper or tins. These old recipes for country cookery are well worth a trial. CHEESE MOUNTAINS. See that the whites Lof two eggs are beaten to a stiff froth with a good pinch of salt. Butter six small squares of white bread thickly on both sides. Place the squares of bread on a baking tin, and pile the whites of eggs in rocky heaps on tho bread. Sprinkle fairly thickly with finely grated cheese and a littie cayenne pepper. Bake in a fairly hot oven till a delicate pale brown.

This makes a particularly good hot weather savoury, and is easy to make in. a hurry.

COMING SHADE FOR AUTUMN. (By a London Fashion Expert). One of the most striking autumn shades will be plum-brown, nearly the tint of a ripe purple plum with a tinge of brown. The blue-purple adds a becoming rich look to the dull* brown. This is a Victorian revival, but with the added depth of modern dyes. It is the milliner’s prerogative at this season to try out the early autumn shades. Shapes have for some time past been reverting to the Edwardian, and are now adopting a real Victorian trend. We shall see the series of purple, plum, chocolate-brown, and suggestion of magenta and wine tones. The unripe blackberry is perfect lor the new large doth berets to complete the tweed tuillrur for smart occasions up E'orth. There is always a hint, of icdpurplc in heathery mixtures, but in headgear in soft cloth, panne, faille, and velvet these shades can be more pronounced. In the cloth pancake beret of large proportions there is much skilled drapery. The crown may be fairly flat, in which case the brim is trimmed with twisted loops, falling to the side. Other draped berets take on an abrupt side-tilt—very smart, but requiring skilled adjustment and wearing.

Older women will welcome the forward movement, suggestive of the Watteau tilt and much back trimming. Black panne, or a rich brown shade, is filled up at the back by loops of fabric or wide tinted wings. Wings, birds, and feather fantasies will appear in the shades of the nineteenth century. Autumn millinery and its colours will be soft and becoming. Hats may be more trimmed than usual, but they will lack the heavy look of bygone days. We must look for the bright flame and tomato tones, with the rich red of the Virginian creeper in its late autumnal dress. Yelldw is holding its own bravely, and is softened by the variety of browns. This is a successful autumn alliance.