DEFINITE RULES.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume VI, Issue 33, 16 August 1890, Page 15

DEFINITE RULES.

A thoroughly competent housekeeper, who had never been to a cooking-school, but who was locally famous for her culinary skill, was lately telling another woman how to made a pudding. The story is evidently true to nature, even though the dialogue may not have been reported verbatim ; for some good cooks go more upon instinct than by rule.

‘ If it’s to be a small pudding, why, of course, I don’t use much flour; the bigger it’s to be,"the more flour I take. Sometimes I have to use a good deal, and then again I very often get up quite a pudding without having to use much. You see, it depends pretty considerably on the bakingpowder. If that’s real good, it don’t make much difference about the flour, you know.’ ‘ I suppose you use raisins ?’ ‘ Sometimes I do, and then, sometimes I don’t. It depends on whether I want it rich or not, and v hat kind of sauce I’m going to use.’ ‘ How much sugar do you take ?’ ‘ M ell, now, some folks take a good deal, and some folks don’t. For my part, I never did like to have anything too sweet, and so I’m always careful not to get in too much sugar. After you’ve made it once or twice you won’t have a particle of trouble in getting it just to suit you.’ ‘ How many eggs ’’ ‘ There ! that s the beauty of it. With this kind of a pudding it don’t make so much difference how many you use. If you’ve got plenty of eggs, why you can put in several ; it won’t hurt ; but if eggs are scarce you can get along with less just as well, nobody will ever notice the difference.’

‘ Do you mix your dough with milk?’ ‘ Yes—sometimes. I’m not so very particular. It depends. If I've plenty of milk, Ido ; but if you get everything else all right, it's no matter about the milk.' ‘ How about spices ?' ‘ I se 'em if you want to. Some folks like ’em, and I think myself they rather help a pudding sometimes, especially if you use plain sauce. But you must follow your own taste about that; and if you don’t get it right the first time, don't blame me, for I’ve done my very best to tell you just what I do and all about it.’