i34 2 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



and would have found her labors greatly lightened if she had restored 

 to it, by boiling it in soda solution, its original capacity for baking cakes. 



Tin 



If steel is coated with liquid tin we have what is known as tinware. 

 Copper is sometimes used as a foundation for tin, but we do not generally 

 think of it in speaking of tin utensils. Very few manufacturers now use 

 wrought iron as a foundation for tin, but it is said that a light coating of 

 tin on wrought iron will outwear a heavier coating of tin on steel. The 

 manufacture of a new foundation known as " Toncan metal " is as yet 

 a secret process. 



The better grades of tin are not affected by the air, by weak acids such 

 as vinegar or fruit juices, or by alkalies; they therefore effectually protect 

 the steel foundation. Cheap grades, however, are not proof against the 

 action of acids, and all grades are likely to change under the action of 

 acids when hot. The quality of tin used may be determined by noting 

 how a piece is marked, X being the cheapest and XXXX the best 

 quality. 



Tin utensils have the advantage of being light, inexpensive, and attrac- 

 tive in appearance when new. They are, moreover, good conductors of 

 heat, so that food cooked in them becomes heated equally instead of being 

 in danger of scorching by the overheating of one spot in the utensil before 

 the rest reaches the boiling point. Though made more resistant to heat 

 by the baking-in of fat, the low melting point of tin makes it unpractical 

 where high heat is produced, as in frying, and makes unsafe the drying 

 of tin by setting it on the stove. 



Tin must be carefully protected from scratches, since every scratch, 

 by marring the soft metal, exposes the steel foundation and is soon fol- 

 lowed by a streak of rust. A tin utensil and a metal spoon should there- 

 fore never be used in combination, nor should a metal scraper be used 

 for cleaning tin. Washing in hot soapsuds, boiling in a weak solution 

 of washing soda, rubbing with whiting or one of the prepared cleaning 

 powders, are the best ways of caring for tin. Always remember that it 

 saves labor, as well as wear and tear, to fill a utensil with water as soon 

 as the cooked food is removed, so that any deposit may be soaked off. 

 Scouring tin to make it " look like new " is bad economy of time and 

 strength, since the film that forms on tin acts as a protection and makes 

 the utensil last longer. 



Tin storage receptacles are good for keeping cookies and cake, but stone 

 crocks are better for bread. The difference lies in the fact that the process 

 of growing stale is a different one in each case. Cookies turn stale by 

 absorbing moisture from outside ; therefore they require that that moisture 



