670 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



November, 1918 



it. ■ Nearly 2,000 years ago Christ fed 5,000 

 people with five barley loaves and two 

 fishes, and incidentally taught us our first 

 lesson in food conservation when He direct- 

 ed His disciples to gather up the fragments 

 that nothing be lost. 



Honestly now, if you will give barley 

 flour a fair trial I am sure you will learn 

 to like it. I will admit that it is not at its 

 best in yeast bread for the reason that it has 

 not the keeping qualities of white wheat 

 flour. For that reason it is better to buy 

 your wheat flour and substitutes separately 

 "and do your own mixing. But barley flour 

 is delicious in cakes, cookies, and drop 

 cakes, especially when combined with honey. 

 It is fitting that these two foods should be 

 combined as they were known and appreciat- 

 ed thousands of years ago, both being men- 

 tioned in the first books of the Old Testa- 

 ment. I like to use sour milk and soda with 

 barley flour, as the soda neutralizes the 

 slight acid taste in the barley flour. 



Another reason for the use of barley flour 

 in cakes is that as white flour is milled at 

 present, 90 per cent of the wheat berry being 

 used, it is not as soft and will not make as 

 tender a cake as barley flour. 



Now that so much is written and taught 

 on foods, we must be careful to mix plenty 

 of common sense as well as wheat substitutes 

 with our baking. For instance, today I no- 

 ticed a recipe for "Everlasting Ginger- 

 bread." After reading over the recipe I 

 decided the gingerbread was correctly nam- 

 ed. It was made of cornmeal. Now corn- 

 meal in its proper place is a wholesome and 

 delicious food, but cornmeal in a ginger- 

 bread tastes like a respectable Johnnycake 

 gone astray. There is no need of resorting 

 to cornmeal for gingerbread, when delicious, 

 soft ones may be made of barley flour. 



Before I leave the subject of flours let me 

 urge you again to avoid the use of corn- 

 flour. Personally I feel that bread made of 

 part cornflour rnight be described as adul- 

 - terated, as cornflour has not the tissue-build- 

 ing constituents of other flours. I most 

 heartily endorse cornmeal, used in the 

 proper place, but believe cornflour does not 

 deserve the name of flour. 



Sweets. 



We are told that the proper place for 

 sweets is at the end of a dinner. Perhaps 

 that is why I am apt to get to the subject 

 of honey near the end of my page — force 

 of habit, you see. Have you noticed an ar- 

 ticle that has recently been going the rounds 

 of the press, telling how to invert sugar to 

 make it sweeter? It is done by heating it 

 with a little water and a very little cream of 

 tartar. If more people would keep bees 

 they might be able to enjoy nature's invert 

 sugar. 



Here is a conundrum: Why does the 

 average beekeeping gentleman grow stiff 

 and haughty if you mention corn syrup? 

 They are both good foods, but hon- 

 ey is a sweet and corn syrup is only a 



near-sweet, as any cook can testify who has 

 used them both in cooking and baking. 



Please try the Honey Devil's Food recipe, 

 made with barley flour, and see if anyone 

 in your family can detect the barley flour in 

 it. It is very good accompanied by the hon- 

 ey ice cream. 



' The potato rolls are exceptionally good 

 and very easy to make. If you like your 

 rolls sweet, by all means sweeten them with 

 honey. 



HONEY devil's FOOD. 



1 cup honey Va teaspoon salt 



Vt cup shortening 2 teaspoons baking 



2 squares unsweetened powder 



chocolate 154 cups sifted barley 



1 egg flour 



V2 cup thick sour milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 

 % teaspoon soda % cup chopped nuts 



Melt the shortening and blend with the 

 honey, add the chocolate which has been 

 melted over hot water and beat smooth; 

 break in the egg and beat again. Add the 

 sour milk a little at a time alternately with 

 the flour in which the soda, salt, and baking 

 powder have been sifted. Add nuts. Flavor 

 with the vanilla, beat well and bake in a 

 rather slow oven about forty minutes. 



CHOCOLATE HONEY ICE CREAM. 



3 cups milk 3 eggs 



2 squares chocolate 1 V2 t&aspoons vanilla 

 1 V2 cups honey 1 quart cream 



Vs teaspoon salt 

 Make a boiled custard of the milk, melted 

 chocolate, honey, eggs, salt, and vanilla, 

 and when cool add the cream and freeze. 

 For a plain ice cream, leave out the choco- 

 late and add one teaspoon more vanilla, or 

 flavor in any way preferred. 



HONEY APPLE MARMALADE. 



Tart apples Stick cinnamon, if de- 



Honey sired. 



Cook tart apples until tender and put 

 through a colander. Weigh, and for every 

 pound of apples add half a pound of honey. 

 Cook until about as thick as cake batter, 

 watching and stirring carefully to prevent 

 burning, and put in jars or crocks without 

 sealing. It should be carefully covered. In 

 a few weeks it can be cut out. A little stick 

 cinnamon may be added while cooking if 

 the flavor is liked. 



FIG TAPIOCA. 



1/3 cup granulated tap- V2 teaspoon salt 



ioca Vz cup honey 



V2 cup cold water % cup chopped figs or 



2 cups boiling water dates 



M cup chopped nuts 



Mix the tapioca and salt with the cold 

 water, pour on the boiling water, and cook 

 in a double boiler until transparent. Add 

 the honey and figs and simmer 10 minutes. 

 Add the nuts, chill, and serve. 



APPLE PUDDING. 



6 or 8 tart apples Vz cup rice flour 



1 cup wheat flour 3 teaspoons baking 



2 tablespoons shorten- powder 

 ing milk 



Vz teaspoon salt 



Pare, core, and quarter the apples and put 

 in a pudding dish. Sift the two kinds of 

 (ContivMed on page 695.) 



