INFORMATION EXCHANGED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22619, 6 January 1937, Page 3

INFORMATION EXCHANGED

QUERIES AND ANSWERS BY I r EM IN A To Renders.—lt is advisable that questions and answers for this column should be sent in addressed to " Fcinina." Passover Biscuits "G.F." (Hobsonville) would like to know recipes for making Jewish Passover biscuits and cream horns. Ink Stains S.O.S. wishes to know how to remove ink stains from Richelieu work on a tablecloth. She has tried soaking it in milk and careful washing without success. Food Values " M " (Bassett Road) would like to know the relative value of dried raisins and dates as food; how long it takes for different foods to digest, such as bread, milk, meat; and whether cucumber and milk taken together create a poison. Making Soft Soap The following is a recipe suggested by "Reader" : —Take 41b. of white bar soap, cut it up finely and dissolve it in fivo gallons of soft water over the fire (not too hot), adding, while it is dissolving, 21b. of washing soda. Stir till all is well dissolved and mixed. Take off fire, let cool, and it is ready for use. Silverflsh For "Worried" (Mount Roskill) come the following suggestions for removing silverfish. "K" writes that she lias found scrubbing liberally with turpentine, pouring turpentine into cracks and keeping everything spotlessly clean a successful method. Naphthalene and kerosene are also efficient in removing silverfish. Burnt Cakes To prevent a cake from burning a correspondent advises placing four or five thicknesses of cardboard m the tin. fold a whole newspaper and line the sides of the tin, and also fold a whole newspaper and tie outside the tin. These papers can be left for several cakes. Line the tin in the usual way with grease-proof paper. Softening Leather To soften leather gloves hardened by water, "M.H." suggests the following:—Put the gloves to soak in a little kerosene and in a longer or shorter time, according to hardness, thev will be nicely softened. If it is desired then to clean them, dip them in a little benzine and rub from end to end with a sponge moistened with the same substance till clean. To keep the gloves from hardening in future when moist, rub in a little castor oil when the cleaning benzine has evaporated. Give a further rubbing with a little of this oil every six months or so. A very little rubbed in well is better than a large quantity not well rubbed in. Clover in Butter In answer to a request by "Small Farmer" (Thames) for some method of removing the taste of clover in butter, a reader suggests the following:—Take loz. of potash permanganate, put it in a bottle with one quart of water which has been boiled and allowed to cool. Cork the bottle and shake well to dissolve the permanganate. When the

solution is ready, put about one teaspoonful of this solution to sufficient cold water to cover the butter to be treated. Stir and mix well, put in the butter, sliced thinly, and work it well in the liquid so as to wash it thoroughly for about 10 minutes. It may then be taken out and remoulded, after a thorough rinse and working in pure clean water. Pickling Gherkins In reply to "Worried's" request for a recipe for pickling gherkins a reply has been sent in by a reader who has found the method used for pickling onions equally successful with gherkins. The gherkins can be pickled at any time before the surface becomes too hardened; they must be pickled drv and preferably pickled whole. They should be placed in jars or bottles, covered with cold vinegar, the spices being added last. They should be readv for use in five or six weeks. A reliable pickling mixture is as follows:—1 gallon vinegar, 1 tablespoon of peppercorns. 2 blades of mace, 2 ounces bruised ginger, 4 ounces mustard seed, J tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon, of allspice. Gherkins make a delightful addition to salads and sandwiches and are invaluable in savoury dishes.