School and Home Cooking Part 40

"LEFT OVERS"--Small pieces of cooked meat should not be thrown away; they can be used in many ways. Even though the meat has been cooked so as to extract its juices, there still remains practically all of the myosin, and this is a valuable const.i.tuent. If the juices have been drawn from the meat, a little fresh meat should be added to it, or it should be seasoned well with condiments, spices, or herbs. Water in which the meat has been cooked, and "left over" gravy, should be utilized in making sauces for cooked meats. Cooked meat of tender cut should merely be reheated, not recooked. Hence it is usually well to cut it into pieces or chop it fine in order to heat it quickly.

As in soup-making, ingenuity in combining and using "left over" materials is required in making meat dishes. Stewed tomatoes can be subst.i.tuted for stock or gravy, and one starchy food subst.i.tuted for another. The recipes here given simply serve as suggestions. The ingredients and proportions should be changed to utilize available materials.

SCALLOPED MEAT

2 cupfuls chopped meat 2 tablespoonfuls fat 3 tablespoonfuls flour l-1/2 teaspoonfuls salt 1/8 teaspoonful pepper 1 teaspoonful sc.r.a.ped onion or chopped parsley l-1/2 cupfuls milk, stock, or water 2 cupfuls b.u.t.tered crumbs (See _Crumbs for Scalloped Dishes_.)

Make a Brown Sauce of the fat, salt, pepper, flour, onion or parsley, and milk or stock. Mix with the meat. b.u.t.ter the crumbs, and place about one half cupful in the bottom of the b.u.t.tered baking-dish. Add the meat mixture, and cover the top with the remainder of the crumbs. Bake in the oven until the mixture is thoroughly heated and the crumbs are brown.

_Cold fish_ may be shredded and used in the same way.

COTTAGE PIE.--Use the same ingredients as for Scalloped Meat, subst.i.tuting mashed potatoes for b.u.t.tered bread crumbs. Place the potato only on the top of the mixture. A little nutmeg may be subst.i.tuted for the onion.

QUESTIONS

How does meat left from beef stock differ from fresh meat in nutritive value? How does it differ in taste?

Name a starchy food that could be subst.i.tuted for potatoes in Baked Hash.

Why are spices and herbs added to left over meat dishes?

Name at least three vegetable-and-meat combinations that would be desirable for hash.

How many cupfuls of chopped cooked meat can be obtained from one pound of fresh meat?

Why should cooked meat of tender cut be reheated rather than recooked?

LESSON LXVII

GELATINE (A)

EXPERIMENT 57: EFFECT OF COLD WATER ON GELATINE.--Pour 1 teaspoonful of cold water on 1/4 teaspoonful gelatine. Cover and let stand a few minutes.

Examine. Has the water combined with the gelatine? Press a bit of the gelatine with a spoon. How does it compare with the dry gelatine as to hardness?

EXPERIMENT 58: EFFECT OF HOT WATER ON GELATINE.--Pour 1 teaspoonful boiling water on 1/4 teaspoonful gelatine. Place the mixture over hot water. Stir. What is the effect of boiling water on gelatine?

NOTE.--Use the gelatine from these two experiments for the preparation of the gelatine dessert of the lesson.

GELATINE.--When the beef stock of Lesson LXII was strained and cooled, what material, other than fat and protein, was present in it? From what substance in the meat and bone was this material formed (see _Protein in Meat_; _Use of Bone and Fat in Soup-making_; _Examination of Cold Beef Stock_)?

The gelatine which is found at market is prepared from the bones, gristle, skin, and other portions of animals. Although gelatine may be purchased in several different forms, housekeepers find the granulated or pulverized gelatine the most convenient to use.

One ounce of granulated gelatine will stiffen 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of jelly.

In hot weather more is required. If fruit, vegetables, or nuts are to be molded in the jelly, use 1 1/2 ounces of gelatine.

Gelatine should be first hydrated (_i.e._ combined with water) by means of cold water, and then dissolved in boiling water.

THE VALUE OF GELATINE.--Gelatine is an incomplete protein, _i.e._ it is lacking in certain amino acids and hence while a good fuel, it does not, without the help of other proteins, both build and repair the body.

The usual gelatine dish contains such a small quant.i.ty of gelatine that the question of its food value may be disregarded. The sugar and fruit, however, that are invariably used in gelatine dishes give them food value.

Since gelatine liquefies readily by heating, it is valuable in liquid diet.

LEMON JELLY

1 tablespoonful granulated gelatine _or_ 1/4 ounce shredded gelatine 1/4 cupful cold water 3/4 cupful sugar Salt 1 1/2 cupfuls boiling water 1/4 cupful lemon juice

Mix the gelatine and cold water. Let them stand until the water is absorbed. Add the boiling water, sugar, and salt. Stir until the gelatine is dissolved completely, then add the fruit juice, strain, and pour into a mold. Set in a cool place to harden. _Gelatine mixtures should be covered while soaking and cooling_.

_To remove jelly from the mold_, apply a cloth wrung out of hot water to the outside of the mold.

FRUIT JELLY

Prepare lemon jelly mixture. Cover and allow to cool until it begins to stiffen. Peel oranges and bananas; cut them into small pieces or slices.

Cut nuts into pieces. Stir in the prepared fruit and nuts. Turn into a mold, cover, and put in a cool place until firm. Serve cold, with or without cream.

Other fruits may be used instead of those mentioned in the recipe. If pineapple is used it must be cooked before adding to jelly. Pineapple contains an enzyme which liquefies gelatine. Hence jelly containing fresh pineapple fails to stiffen.

WHIPPED JELLY

When a gelatine mixture is cool and begins to stiffen, it may be whipped with a Dover egg beater. Air beaten into a gelatine dessert changes it in appearance and quant.i.ty.

Lemon Jelly may be varied as follows:

Prepare lemon jelly mixture. Cover and set aside to cool. Then divide into two portions. Add fruit to one portion and turn it into a mold and set aside in a cool place.

Whip the second portion of jelly. When the jelly in the mold is stiff, pour the whipped jelly over it and set aside to cool.

When ready to serve, unmold, garnish with fruit or nuts, if desired. Serve with top milk, plain or whipped cream or Custard Sauce.

QUESTIONS

What is the purpose of covering the gelatine while soaking and cooling?

Why is it necessary to dissolve the gelatine completely?

What would be the effect of adding cold fruit juice to the hot gelatine mixture? What must be the temperature of water to dissolve gelatine? From this explain why the gelatine should be dissolved before the fruit juice is added.

What is the purpose of straining gelatine mixtures?

Through what should gelatine mixtures be strained?

Of what material should jelly molds be made? Why?

How are jellies removed from the molds without breaking or marring the jellies? Explain.