1336 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



Frying 

 For frying in deep fat use an iron or steel frying kettle, which may 

 either be bowl-shaped or have straight sides. The latter shape accommo- 

 dates a greater number of articles at a time, and is more convenient for 

 use with a wire frying basket since the basket fits it more readily. In 

 using the bowl-shaped kettle, a long-handled skimmer may be found more 

 convenient for removing the food. The kettle should be deep enough 

 so that when it is two thirds full of fat the food to be cooked will be entirely 

 immersed. 



Candy making 



Professional confectioners use a copper kettle connected with an appa- 

 ratus that makes a partial vacuum in the kettle and allows the sugar to 

 boil at a lower temperature than the ordinary boiling point, thus lessening 

 the danger of scorching the sugar. For the home candy-maker, aluminum 

 comes nearest to copper in its quality of conducting heat. Sirup boiled 

 in an aluminum kettle rarely scorches, and the smooth surface makes it 

 easy to keep the sides wiped free from sugar crystals as they form. 



Jelly making 



Enamel or granite ware (unless there is a defect in the enamel finish) 

 is the best selection for jelly making, because of the ease with which it 

 may be cleaned and the certainty that it will neither affect nor be affected 

 by the acid of fruit juices. 



choice of various utensils 



Knives 



It is impossible for any one but an expert to tell whether a knife has been 

 hand-forged — that is, hammered by hand — or drop-forged by one heavy 

 blow from a machine; whether it is " inlaid " by having two pieces of 

 soft steel welded on either side of a hard steel inner piece, or whether the 

 blade is of the same consistency throughout. Neither is it possible to 

 tell whether the steel is of just the proper degree of hardness to continue 

 to take a good edge after it has been in use. Since we know, however, 

 that it is better economy in the end to buy a hand-forged knife, we should 

 find out the name of some manufacturer who is known to make no other 

 kind, and choose his product whenever possible. The most durable knife 

 is one in which the steel extends, flat and unnarrowed, to the end of the 

 handle, and is fastened to it by rivets of steel, copper, or brass. Strength 

 is lost if the steel extends only half the length of the handle. In the 

 cheapest setting, known as the " twang," the steel is narrowed to a point, 



