792 Reading-Course for Farmers' Wives. 



receptacle and thorough heating. If a baked or steamed custard curdles, 

 separates, or is porous and of poor crumbly texture, it is due to too 

 quick cooking at a high temperature. 



Formula for custards. 



For each cup of milk use i to i J eggs. 

 I tablespoon sugar. Speck salt. 



Egg yolks may be used in place of whole eggs, using 2 egg yolks in place of each 

 egg. 



Custards furnish a wholesome palatable means for adding milk and 

 eggs to the dietary. Like white sauce, they form the basis of a number 

 of closely related dishes. 



Bread puddings are custard mixtures depending in part on bread 

 to thicken them. The more eggs and the less bread used in these mix- 

 tures the more delicate the pudding. 



Salad dressings are often made by substituting vinegar for milk in 

 the custard mixture. 



We have a tendency to think that to use eggs in cooking is a great 

 form of extravagance. Eggs and milk used in a pudding have much the 

 same nutritive value as raw milk or boiled eggs, and may be more 

 acceptable in this form. 



Cookery of meat. The same rules which apply to the cookery of eggs 

 should be made to apply to the cookery of meat. Meat contains pro- 

 teids similar to those in eggs. Heat causes these proteids to coagulate, 

 that is, to become firm, and if a high temperature is applied for a long 

 time the meat becomes tough and like leather. 



Besides these proteids which coagulate when they are heated, meat 

 contains a substance known as connective tissue. When connective 

 tissue is heated in water it swells, and if cooked long enough changes 

 into the soluble substance which we know as gelatin. The consequence 

 is, that in cooking meat two opposing problems face us; first, proteid 

 is hardened by heat, second, connective tissue is softened and changes 

 to a soluble form by its action. Our problem is to steer a safe course 

 between Scylla and Charybdis. 



Toughness of meat is usually due to the amount and kind of con- 

 nective tissue present. Tender cuts of meat contain little connective 

 tissue and the little that is present is delicate in texture. A tender 

 piece of meat may be ruined by cooking, for a high temperature will 

 make the proteid tough. On the other hand, a tough piece of meat may 

 be made very tender by cooking it for a long time at a temperature too 

 low to toughen the proteid and yet high enough to soften the connec- 

 tive tissue. 



