462 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



Even though they have them all, what a bother it must be to re- 

 member or keep them classified so as to be able to get at them in a 

 moment's notice. Is it not better to take three typical kinds and 

 from these deduce the general principles? One tablespoon of flour 

 to one cup of liquid gives the usual consistency for cream soups. 

 If the flavoring material added is thick, or has thickening proper- 

 ties, the amount is reduced, but in every case some flour must be 

 added to set the material, or keep it from settling out. Water, 

 milk, stock, or the strained vegetables with the water in which it 

 was cooked may be the liquid ; use milk when the greatest amount 

 of nutriment is desired. In case acid material, as tomato, is used, 

 special precautions in combining must be used, otherwise all follow 

 the same rule. In this way the student not only has a smaller 

 amount of material to keep in mind, but she is obliged to do some 

 thinking, in order to get at these generalizations, and apply them 

 later in other soups. She is no longer doing purely memory or 

 imitative work, but is reasoning and applying this reasoning in a 

 practical way. 



Let us now take up a longer series, so as to show something 

 of the organization, and how the steps are worked out. The starch 

 series is one of the simplest. First, a number of experiments are 

 given, showing the insolubility in cold water, the solubility and 

 gelatinization in hot water. Various methods of combining starch 

 and liquid are used, varied proportions are cooked, different 

 starches and flour used in same proportions. All of these are 

 moulded. Then corn starch pudding is to be cooked. The class 

 know from experience the constituents. From the above experi- 

 ments they can get at the proportion of starch to liquid, and also 

 the method of combining. Sugar and flavoring are added to taste. 

 At the end, the student has a recipe, but it is her own work, and 

 she could cook the dish again without it. It simply serves to formu- 

 late her thoughts, and gives application of the general principles 

 learned. She also knows that if wheat starch were to be substi- 

 tuted for the corn, the mould would be less firm ; that should she 

 substitute flour, twice as much would have to be used. She knows 

 that starch can not be added directly to boiling water, for it will 

 lump. Water, fat, or sugar may be used to separate the starch 

 grains, and prevent the lumping when the hot water is added. 

 Is not this better than having to cook a pudding with iron-bound 

 proportions and method of combination? Not only have the stu- 

 dents done some thinking, but they have a firm basis for future 

 work. They can go on and with a little discussion formulate the 



