THE HOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15504, 10 January 1914, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE HOME.

SEASONABLE RECIPES. I'Rrrrs of various kinds arc- now plentiful in all markets It is to bo deplored how really few people make full use of the fruit season. When tho days are hot and dusty the very thought of fruit is delightful. It should appear at every meal at this season. A table adorned with a dish of fruit in some form or other is made all the brighter and more effective. There are many reasons why fruit should bo freely eaten at this time of year. Doctors recommend fresh fruit and vegetables as the principal diet, as animal foods are much too simulating to the system. There are a great many varieties of fruit dishes in the form of cream, tarts, ices, etc. The thoughtful housewife will e'«> lav in a .store for winter use in the form of jams, li<>ttled fruits, pickles, liqueurs, aim vines. American cooks are renowned for their novelties in fruit dishes. They are both simple and dainty. The following are a few recipes which might help our readers to ring the changes during the season — Salpicon of Fruits.— together lightly an equal quantity of strawberries, grapes, and raspberries. Add a little sugar and a little sherry. Place in a glass and serve. It is necessary to have a good supply of juice in the glasses. Fruit Juices.—These are very popular served as a first course for luncheons. Place a quart of fruit-juice in a china-lined saucepan. Stir into this a tablespoonful of arrowroot previously smoothed with a little cold water. Cook until the mixture clears, add a teacapful of sugar. Serve in glasses when thoroughly cold, adding to each glass a piece of ice. Fruit Ices Crush any fruit to a pulp. Prepare a syrup by boiling two cupfuls of sugar and half-a-cupful of water together for 10 minutes. Add this to the crushed fiuit* and freeze in an ice machine. Servo in glasses with a strawberry or raspberry on top of ea<:h, or a portion of whatever fruit is being used. To Stew Dissolve Jib of sugar in a-quarter of a pint of water by boiling for a few minutes. Place the fruit in the syrup and simmer very gently for five minutes. The fruit must not become broken. Turn into a glass dish and serve with custard or cream. Trail Salad.—Arrange a variety of ripe fruits in a salad-bowl, cutting the larger varieties, such as pineapple, pear or apples, into cube-shaped pieces. Make a syrup with sugar and water, using twice as much sugar as water. Add a glass of maraschino of sherry, and poor over tie fruit. Glace cherries, strips of angelica, chopped pistachio nuts', almonds, etc., may be added as a garnish. Strawberry Foam—To each jib of strawberries allow lib of castor sugar. Beat these well'together. Whip the whites of three eggs to a Troth, and add the fruit syrup. Beat all together for 20 minutes and serve piled up in a glass dish. JAH-MAKHTO.

Tim art of jam-making has obtained from the earliest times, and it is to be hoped that every housewife will continue to make her own supplies, r.nless circumstances arise which render this impossible. At the beginning of the fruit season it is a good plan to decide what jams shall be made and the various quantities of each kind. The different fruits, fortunately, do not all reach perfection at the same time, and it will be the means of saving much time if the quantities and kinds are decided upon at an early date. Rules for Jam-making.—l. Use only fruit which has been gathered dry. Wet fruit prevents the jam from keeping, and is a cause of mould. 2. Fruit should be boiled almost immediately it is gathered. 3. Always use tie best sugar and in the right proportipEs. Cheap sugar is unsatisfactory and docs not result in any saving, 4. As a general role, lib of fruit requires lib of sugar, but this varies slightly with the amount and the kind of fruit, 'S. Use a copper or china-lined pan, and stir with a wooden spoon. 6. The fruit must he boiled quickly ar.i stirred frequently if the colour and flavour are to be of the best. 7. Ovef-boflirijr destroys both colour and flavour. Twenty minutes to half-an-honr is long enough to boil most jams, 8. Store, if possible, in glass bottles, so that any signs of fermentation or mould can be easily detected. 9. Jam must be stored in a cool, dry cupboard.

Strawberry Jam.Remove any faulty fruit, also stalks. Allow Jib of sugar to each pound of fruit. Boil for half-an-hour until the liquid jellies when cooled on a saucer. Bottle and store.

Bupbany Jam.- is made in exactly the same way as strawberry jam. Bed currant juice is sometimes added to strawberries,* in this case Jib of sugar is added with each pint of juice.

Black Curcact Jam.—Black currants are sometimes dry and hard. If so, add half-a-gill of water with each pound of fruit, and also lib of sugar to each pound of fruit, and proceed as for strawberry jam. SUMMER BRINES. Barley water U a most beneficial beverage, especially, during hot weather, and particularly for those who have any tendency to gout, rheumatism, or allied ailments. It is a most soothing drink for a dry throat, and it is, and has been for some years past, a very popular luncheon, and dinner beverage. With more trouble, but with not any better result as far as its nutritive value is concerned, it can be made in the old-fashioned way with pearl barley, and the following is a medical man's recipe for concocting it -.—Weil wash 2oz of pearl barley in cold water; strain, and then put the clean barley into Half-a-pint of boiling water, and let it boil for live minutes, taking care that it does not burn; pour off as much of this water as possible,- then add to the barley two quarts of boiling water, and let this boil slowly until it is reduced to one quart. Then strain and add to it sufficient freshlyexpressed lemon-juice to make it pleasant to the palate, as well as delightfully refreshing. A delicious beverage that, when made the principal one of the day regularly, promotes beauty in the complexion, and the health of the body by correcting constipation and other disorders of the digestive tract, can be made by squeezing into a jug the juice from three lemons or six limes, and the thinly-peeled rind of one of the former or of two of the latter, and then pouring over these a quart of quite cold water, which ha,? been boiled earlier in the day. This month a few fresh strawberries or raspberries crushed and added to the above lemonade make it all the more refreshing and delicious. Women who live in countries where lemon "and limes grow abundantly out of doors, as they do in Southern France and Italy, regularly drink their juice diluted with water for the express purpose of promoting their beauty, and we cannot do better than follow their example as fa? as we can, and make liberal uso of these cosmetics of Nature's providing. ■ HOUSEHOLD HINTS. j To keep tan brushes in good condition after washing with soda and borax dissolved in warm water, dip the bristles in hot water in which a little alum has been, dissolved. To "break in" a new pen point quickly, dip it in ink and hold it in the flame of a lighted match for a second. Wipe and dry with a cloth, and then it will hold ink as well as one much older. When stewing meat, always cover with boiling water. This makes the meat more tender and far mora nourishing. Sprinkle a few tablespoonfuls of salt over the kitchen fire after it is made up, and it will keep '-going for hours without any attention, To bottle horse-raddish, slice the horseradish thinly, lay on paper, and place in the oven. When quite dry, pound and bottle for uso when required. When cleaning knives, damp them before rubbing on the boards. This will produce a better polish and they will clean much flujeker^

To impart a delicate colour to linen, saturate a piece of cotton or blotting-paper with oil of lavender and place it among the various Articles.

To make cabbage digestible, when halfboiled pour off the water and place in fresh boiling water.

One leaapoonful of vinegar fs a substitute for an egg, and makes a cake light in which dripping has been used instead of butter.

To remove rain spots from light material hold over a jug or basin of steaming hot water and rub gently with a piece of crepe or of the same material.

If your hair is the kind that gets greasy very soon after washing, try rubbing on it a Utile powdered starch. Then brush the hair well. The starch will leave the hair soft and fluffy.

A Handy Coat-hanger: If you are travelling and do not want to take hangers with you, a newspaper makes a good substitute. 801 l it up very tightly, tie in the middle with a string or tape, and make a loop for hanging. This will keep coats or blouses in good condition, and can be thrown away when no longer needed.

Paperhanging: A good hint for those who do their own paperhanging is to apply the paste to the wall iifetead of to the paper. Amateurs will find it much easier to match the pattern, and the paper is less liable to tear by following this method, besides saving time and trouble.

To Clean a Carpel: Get loz of wormwood salts from the chemist, put it into a pail of warm water, then wash your carpet as you would a floor, or, if very dirty, scrub it, All dirt and grease spots will disappear, and the colours will brighten and look equal to new.

A Sensible Hint: In making short curtains it is a very good plan to put a piping cord in when hemming the sides. It prevents them from stretching, and consequently having that untidy sagging appearance after being washed.

To Fix Battens: A good way to fix fancy buttons on washing blouses or dresses is to put invisible snap fasteners on. Sew the hollowed part of snap to dress and the projecting part to button, and then clip on. This saves a lot of time when wanting to replace buttons.

A Dress Hint: Tulle is the rage for whole frocks, but tulle scarves are only just coming' in. Try a few folds over your shoulders of tulle of a contrasting or harmonious colour to your frock when you go out of doom, and you will need no coatee, and, moreover, be most becomingly attired.

An easy way to open oysters is to place them on a hot stove for a few seconds, when the oysters will open and you are able to get your knife in without the slightest trouble.

When nuking a plain suet pudding or roly poly put it in an ordinary straight 31b jam par. Grease the par well,, and cover with a saucer and steam. The pudding will be found more satisfactory than if boiled in a cloth.

To clean suede shoes: First stuff shoes with soft paper. Get a saucerful of spirits of turpentine, apply with a saturated clean rag, and rub until the rag becomes black, then take a clean piece of cloth and Tub until the shoes look quite clean. Hang in a good current of air, which will remove all traces of smell.