FUEL. 187 



the fire not too fierce, free from smoke, and capable of keep- 

 ing up a sustained heat. Always have the pan gradually 

 heated with a little fat, and wiped out before the fat for fry- 

 ing is added ; ascertain the heat of the fat by dipping the tip 

 of a fish-tail in, or by throwing in a bit of bread ; if they 

 quickly crisp, the fat is ready. Fat that has been used for 

 meat may, if strained from the sediment, be used again for 

 fish. Wire-framed baskets that fit the frying-pan, rising 

 about half an inch from it, are now much used for frying. 

 Sweet olive-oil, butter, lard, top-fat (the skimming of pots in 

 which meat has been boiled), and drippings of roast meat, 

 may all, with proper attention to sweetness and their free- 

 dom from foreign substances, be used for frying. Butter is 

 improved by clarifying, as then the watery and milky prop- 

 erties which cause it to scorch and burn are removed. But- 

 ter is desirable for sweet things, such as fritters, though sweet 

 lard, or good-olive oil, if it can be afforded, is nearly as good ; 

 the kidney-fat of beef, cut into pieces, melted, and strained, 

 should be saved for frying. Olive-oil can only be used once, 

 and is therefore every way expensive. It is best to have 

 the pan filled to three or four inches deep with fat ; then the 

 materials fry all over quickly ; whereas if only a little is put 

 in, it is more apt to scorch, and the substances cooking ab- 

 sorb too much of the fat. What fat is not used should be 

 strained while hot into an earthen jar, and covered closely 

 from the air and dust as soon as it cools. Never put any- 

 thing into the frying-pan till the fat is hot enough to cook it 

 all over briskly. 



FUEL. Fuel is chiefly valuable according to its weight, 

 its power of burning without leaving much incombustible 

 matter, and its freedom from watery fluid. Green wood and 

 wet coal should never be burned on the principle of econo- 

 my ; such materials absorb the heat to convert their moisture 

 into steam. 



