Household Hints

Ladies' Mirror, Volume V, Issue 2, 2 August 1926, Page 70

Household Hints

Uses For Orange Rind Many housewives regard the rind ■*-'■*• of an orange as useless, and consign it to the garbage-pail. They are discarding a fine substitute for spices. Before using the pulp of oranges take a very sharp knife and carefully pare off the yellow rind, without disturbing the white part, and dry in a cooling oven. When perfectly dry the orange peel is easily powdered, and is then ready for use. People who are unable to eat spices find the yellow orange powder harmless. It also makes an excellent blend with spices in puddings and cakes. As it will keep indefinitely it can be prepared when oranges are cheapest, and is worth keeping on hand for use at any time. Orange and lemon rind contains the volatile essential oil of the fruit, and small pieces can be used for flavouring game dishes, pies, puddings and cakes. Incidentally, fresh orange peel is excellent for restoring black shoes that do not look very smart. Rub well with the inside of the rind and then polish with a soft cloth. Qelery For Rheumatism - For people suffering from rheumatism I can from experience recommend the following simple cure: Take loz. of celery seed and boil it in 1 pint of water. Allow it to boil until the water is reduced to half a pint. When cool, strain, bottle and cork for use. Take a teaspoonful night and morning in a little cold water. Continue taking regularly for a fortnight; then discontinue for a week. Again take the mixture for a fortnight, when, in the great majority of cases, the rheumatic pains will be a thing of the past. Nourishing tMilk Soup Take two quarts of new milk, with two sticks of cinnamon, a couple of bay-leaves, a very little salt, and a very little sugar; then blanch half a pound of sweet almonds while the milk is heating, beat them up to a paste in a marble mortar ; mix them by degrees with some milk: while they are heating, grate the peel of a lemon, with the almonds, and a little of the juice; then strain it through a coarse sieve, and mix it with the milk that is heating in the stew-pan, and let it boil up; cut some dice of bread, and dry them before the fire; soak them a little in the milk ; lay them at the bottom of the tureen, and then put in the soup. Tickling Oysters As soon as the oysters are opened put them into a stewpan with their liquor, and place them over a brisk fire. Do not let them boil; but the moment they become white and firm, take them out, and carefully remove the beards. Then strain the liquor into a stone jar with double its quantity of white vinegar, five or six eschalots, two cloves of gar-

lie, a couple of bay-leaves, and some leaves of tarragon. Put this into an oven for three-quarters of an hour, then take it out and let it stand till it is cold. In the meantime, mix a spoonful or two of powdered loafsugar with an equal quantity of salt, and sprinkle the mixture over the oysters. When these arc quite cold, put them carefully into a jar with a handful of black peppercorns, the same quantity of grains of allspice, a bunch of bay-leaves, and a few leaves of tarragon. When the vinegar is quite cold, pour it upon the oysters, cork the jar, and tie bladder over the cork. The pickle liquor may be boiled up occasionally, allowed to cool, and poured over the oysters again ; this will tend to preserve them. A spoonful of this liquor will be a great addition to any plain hash, or common ragout. Mussels and cockles may be pickled in the same manner, but neither of these should be kept long. How To Save Coal zAnd Obtain 'Better Fires Defore lighting the fire in the morning, thoroughly clean out the grate; lay a piece of thick paper, cut to the form and size of the grate, at the bottom; pile up fresh coal, nearly as high as the level of the top bar; the pieces should be about the size of small potatoes or walnuts, but this is not absolutely

necessary; the larger lumps should be laid in front, the smaller ones behind; then put a liberal supply of paper, or shavings, and sticks, on the top, and cover the whole with yesterday's cinders, adding a very little coal. Thus, it will be seen, the fire is to be lighted at the top. The results will be not only satisfactory, but astonishing. The fire lights up at once, without further trouble. The centre of the fuel soon catches, and the inferior strata of coal ignite. The fire spreads downwards, and the smoke is forced to pass through the upper layers of burning coal; the consequence is, there is perfect combustion, the great volume of gas and smoke usually sent off from fires, and which consists of the most combustible part of coal, being thoroughly consumed, and yielding heat. A fire so made will go on burning for six, eight, or even ten hours, without poking, without adding fresh coal, or any attention whatever. There is little or no smoke, and the fire gives out a pleasant and uniform glow. One fair trial of this system will satisfy everybody; and the servant will soon find that it will not only save her master an incredible quantity of coal, but that it will also save her a vast amount of trouble : the bell will be rung less frequently for the coal-scuttle, and the hearth will not require sweeping so often; the fire, if properly made, will never require to be relighted during the day; there will be no soot-flakes on

the furniture, and so little even in the chimney, that the services of the sweep will seldom be required.

It will sometimes be necessary to loosen, or stir slightly the upper part of the fire, if it begins to cake; but the lower part must not be touched, otherwise it will burn away too soon.

. The above method of lighting fires ! s best adapted for parlours, drawmg rooms, libraries, and offices, , . k ’ . . , ’ where the fires are not required for , . ... \ cookery immediately after being lit, ~., , . , as „ the eat * developed more gradua ' y , than . 1,1 Y old method , of under-lighting. Deep grates are best suited or the new system, Fires upon this plan may be regulated to the temperature of the weather, and to the number of hours they are required to burn. For instances: When the weather is very cold - and the fire requires to be lit early, and kept up until late, put a much deeper layer of coal in the bottom quite up to the top bar; when the weather is mild, etc., then die coa^ s only up to the second ar from the top, and so on. When you have tried this experiment a few times, and are fully satisfied with it, have pieces of sheet iron, cut to fit the bottom of your grates, instead of the paper. This will save the trouble of cutting the papers daily, and the sheet iron will last an indefinite time.

Keeping "Bread Fresh / Tpo keep bread fresh and sweet for *- several days, wash a fair-sized old potato (do not peel it) and place it in the bread-box, allowing a little fresh air to enter. Renew the potato weekly, and keep the box free of stale crumbs. An apple placed in the cake-tin will keep cake fresh.