Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 9 June 1910, Page 913

Domestic

By MAUREEN

' - --' - Melon Jelly. ; Take one large melon, peel it, and take out the seeds. Cut it up. Put at the bottom of a preserving-pan a little water; put in the melon, also six lotions, cut up and peeled. Boil until quite soft. Strain through butter muslin, and leave it to drip all night. Next day measure the juice, and to each cup of juice add a full cup of sugar. Boil until it- jellies. '- . •' : - Melon Jam. > ■ . Take 12 lemons, 15 pounds of melon, 15 pounds of sugar, 2 ounces of • green ginger, 2 pinches E of cayenne. Peel and cut the melon into inch squares. • Put in a basin and scatter over some of the sugar. Let it stand all night. Peel the lemons and shred the peel into little pieces, put in a basin, cover with boiling water, and let it also stand all night. Next day squeeze the juice of the lemons free of pips. Put into a preserving-pan, add the melon and lemon peel. Scrape the ginger, shred finely, and add to the melon, etc. Boil for a good hour, then add the rest of the sugar, and boil again till the melon turns clear, and the syrup will jelly when a little is put into a plate to cool. Fill jars, and when cold cover in the usual way. ■ / * "- -,--*. Melon and Pineapple Jam. Take 16 pounds of melon, seven lemons, a quarter of a pound of green ginger (after it has been washed and scraped), 14 pounds of sugar, and three large pineapples. Peel and cut the melon into dice, put into a . basin, and strew a little of the sugar over it leave for twenty-four hours. Peel and cut the pineapple into dice. Put into a basin, strew a little sugar over it, and leave to stand the same time as the melon. Cut the lemons into quarters, and then into fine slices, put in a basin, cover with boiling water, and leave also for 24 hours. Next day turn melon, pineapple, and lemon into a preserving-pan. ' Scrape the ginger, and cut into very fine slices, add to the melon, etc. Let all boil for an hour, then add the rest of the sugar; boil until the melon is clear, and the syrup will jelly when a little is put upon a plate to cool. . " ". Floating Islands. , : Fruits combined with custards make appetising and easily prepared desserts for cold meals. - Place a quart of milk in a double boiler, and when scalding hot add enough sugar to sweeten, and one-fourth level teaspoonful salt, and then pour gradually over four beaten egg yolks and the whites of two. Return to the boiler and cook until the custard coats the spoon, stirring constantly; add one tablespoonful of vanilla and let become cold; then turn into a dish. , Whip;the remaining egg whites with two tablespoonfuls .of granulated sugar, and whip until the whites keep in shape; add one-half teaspoonful of rose extract, and dispose by tablespoonfuls over .the cold custard, placing a halved peach, rubbed with lemon juice to prevent discoloration, in each nest. It resembles a dish of poached eggs. ■ . * > Value of Salt and Smoke as Food- Preservatives. ; • The Lancet has recently called attention to Hie fact that for some time past the public taste has been gradually growing in favor of mild cured articles of food, with the result that at the present moment strong salted or smoked foods are not in evidence as they used to be and are rarely called for. Ham and bacon must be mild cured to gain favor nowadays, and even butter must be fresh and absolutely without a salt flavor. The' Lancet says this preference for the so-called mild cured article has undoubtedly furnished an excuse on the part of caterers for the use of stronger antiseptics than salt or'smoke, and antiseptics which are, comparatively speaking, tasteless," or at any rate which add no special flavor to the food. The oldfashioned antiseptics, salt and smoke, are thus sharply distinguished from modern antiseptics, inasmuch as the former not only preserved food, but served also as condiments. In the case, however, of certain preserved foods, although the salt .may be left out, the smoke must be retained, as otherwise the food loses its individuality. The kipper for example, is inseparable from a smoky flavor, as is also dried haddock or,dried salmon. "We have heard that a ; smoke essence is employed to impart the kind of palatibilitv associated. with properly smoked food, but such ' practices coupled with the use of antiseptics, would readily account tor the regrettable fact that cured articles of diet are not now tip.to then- former standard. -.-.- Assuming that the mild' cured article, and as a particular example we may choose butter because it is an indispensable article of the dietary, is free from objectionable antiseptics, it is still left more helpless against the attacks of micro-organisms than were the old-fashioned, cured foodstuffs. -

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