HOME HINTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14507, 22 October 1910, Page 6 (Supplement)

HOME HINTS.

Plica water is the safest starch for dark linens and muslins. Sponges are great germ collectors, and should be scalded thoroughly very frequently. A light broom is best for easy work, and with care it will last as long as a heavier one. Old hair brushes which have become soft can be lnrule quite hard and firm by dipping them in a strong solution of alum. The shell of an egg often breaks if plunged directly into boiling water. It is a good plan to pour a, little warm water over them first before putting them into hot water. To clean oil paintings rub a slice of freshly-cut potato all over the picture (when dirty take a, fresh slice). Wipe over with a sponge dipped in warm water; polish with a silk handkerchief. If- the fingers get badly stained in peeling fruit or vegetables, and the druggist is too far off to get oxalic acid, try rubbing the stains with sorrel leaves or rhubarb, both of: which contain the same acid. Spots in linen may be removed by the same agency. A capital stain remover for linen, calico, and woollen materials is that of a. piece of white potash—the size of a walnut —and a sliced lemon mixed together, placed in. the sun, and then strained and bottled. It may be used without diluting for white materials, but, for coloured fabrics it is as well to add a little water when applying it. To. get rid of flies, procure from a chemist a small bottle of weak formaldehyde. Put two teaspoonfuls into a pint of water, and place this in shallow plates or dishes about the room. Plies are attracted and drink, then they diesome even die before drinking—and can be swept up from the floor. They are all soon destroyed, and with this advantage —the fluid that kills them also disinfects them. Fortunately, it is neither ill-smelling nor, for practical purposes, poisonous. This easy method of getting nd of flies pimht to be well known,.

FATIGUE ANE ITS RESULTS. Fatigue puts a. chasm between seeingand acting. It destroys will power. It ma"kes a break between the message that comes into the brain from the outside world and the messages that go out. It lowers the faculties of the body. CARPET SWEPT WITHOUT BRUSH. To a pail of water add a small pieco of soda, and let it dissolve. Dip a house cloth into the liquid, wring it almost dry, and rub the carpet well all over. This process docs not wear the carpet out as sweeping does, and makes the room more fresh. THE WELL-MANNERED GIRL. Never appears conscious of her clothes. Is never purposely rude. Does not shirk her engagements because something more interesting occurs, nor is she neglectful of her poor friends when socially important guests are present. Knows what bad taste it is to make herself conspicuous by her dress or her conversation. TEA AND COFFE STAINS. The most obstinate stains from tea or coffee may be taken out by washing the linen thus : Take half a pound of good household soap and shred it into a copper of water which is at boiling point. Put the linen info the copper and continue boiling until you are prepared to take it out, when you will find that every stain has vanished. -The secret of this method is that the water must be boiling when the linen is put into the copper. TO PREVENT CURDLING. Benzoin is to be found in most homemade creams and lotions. Being added last, it frequently causes curdling unless it is put in drop by drop while the mixture is constantly stirred. The necessity of mixing mayonnaise slowly is well known. When the yolk of a hard-boiled egg is mixed with a raw yolk, there is much less danger of curdling, and oil can be added faster from the beginning. Both custard and whipped cream will curdle if sherry is added too rapidly or in too large portions. Most housekeepers know tho difficulty of making cream of tomato soup. _ To lessen the danger of curdling add a pinch of soda to the scalding milk and pour it slowly into the hot strained tomatoes. ART OF CAKE-MAKING. The inexperienced cook who does not understand the science of making cakes is usually annoyed by not only the waste of material that has been expended upon the making of a cake spoiled perhaps in the mixing or the baking, but also by the waste of time lost in the process. Perhaps she has made her cake in the happy-go-lucky manner followed with success by tho woman, born with the instinct of cooking. and the unfortunate result is due entirely to her carelessness and inexperience and her lack of scientific method. Now in making good cake there must first of all be good materials. The butter must not be too salt, the sugar should be fienly granulated, and pastry Hour must br used. All the quantities must be weighed, not guessed, and the flour sifted again. Some cake-makers dispute over the question of whether the baking powder should be sifted in with the flour or put in at the last, urging that the last process is the better, as after the batter has been wellbeaten nearly all the carbon dioxide, the gas which makes the cake light, is available for raising the cake. cr.KAiiiN'o Til E uurrKn. Perhaps the most difficult muscular part of cake-making is the creaming of the butter and the sugar. The butter must not be cold and hard, but should be about 70 degrees Fahrenheit to be successfully creamed. Heat tho mixing bowl with hot water before beginning to cream the butter, but do not heat or melt the butter in any way. Use a wooden spoon to cream the butter in a bowl, and add the sugar gradually and sfir carefully. Remember that the butter should first be of a soft creamy consistency and when the sugar is added there must be sufficient beating done to have the mixture creamy. If the sugar has not dissolved before the cako is baked then there will be holes in the cake, and the texture will be spoiled, as coarse grained cake is the result of not sufficiently mixing and beating the sugar, now TO TRKAT THK LOGS. With regard to the eggs, beat the yolks and whites separately, adding the yolks to the butter and sugar and the whites later. If a good deal of sugar is to be used, a portion of it may be beaten with the yolks, and the mixture added to the butter and sugar. When the egg or the yolks are well-beaten in and the mixture is light and full of bubbles, begin to add the flour and milk alternately, and beat and stir steadily to ensure a light and fine grained cake. Beat, the whites of the eggs to a stiff, dry froth on a plate with a wire beater. The egg must be lifted, not merely beaten round and round, and the air admitted A small amount of salt should be added to bring out the flavour of the cake, and the eggs, beaten dry enough to stick to the dish, should be used with as little delay as possible. When mixing the whites of eggs with the butter, lift and fold them in, but do not beat again. Folding in means a gentle motion, a vertical downward move, and a deft turning over of the mixture, folding in as much at a time as possible. Grease the cake tins lightly with a brush or a clean piece of paper, and then pour in the butter as quickly as possible. To test when the cake is done, it should make a slight singing noise, or press with the finger, when the cake will rebound, and all cakes are done when thev shrink from tho tin.