AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
55 
lect twelve nice white potatoes, and when cook¬ 
ing supper, boil them without breaking the skins 
if possible ; then pour oil'the water, peel and mash 
very fine. Put with them a pint of cold water and 
stir in flour enough to make the whole a thick 
bottom. To this only lukewarm—avoid scalding 
it—add a teacupful of domestic yeast, or less it 
brewer’s yeast be used. If kept warm over night 
it will be all in a foam in the morning, ready to 
pour or sift through a colander. The sifting is 
facilitated by pouring in a quart or so of warm 
water while the colander is kept in motion with 
the other hand. Then stir and raise in a 1 sponge ’ 
as in ordinary preparation ot bread. It rises both 
in the sponge and in the loaf, much quicker than 
common yeast. This is a great improvement 
for biscuit, as it does not require half the ‘ short- 
ei ,ing.’ ” — [Remark —Potatoes boiled and mashed 
hue so as to pass through a seive or colander is 
without doubt a valuable addition to flour for both 
bread and pastry. The starchy, brittle character 
of the potatoes adds to the tenderness as well as 
the sweetness of bread, and wheie potatoes are 
not as costly as flour, the addition is an economi¬ 
cal one. The above mode may be adopted ; or 
the sifted potatoes tnay be added directly to the 
flour, and the whole treated in the ordinary mode. 
Try it you who have not.— Ed.] 
Ulock Apple Pic. 
In this as in many sections of the country, ap¬ 
ples are from their scarcity a luxury little indulged 
in this Winter. Some were fortunate enough to 
have dried fruit left over, and dried apple pies 
properly prepared are palatable. In absence of 
these, however, the following answers pretty well 
as we know : Take stale pieces of bread, such 
as are usually saved for puddings, and crumble 
them fine. Add to one cup of these crumbs one 
pint of warm water, one teaspoonful tartaric acid, 
and sugar and spice according- to taste. Bake 
precisely as you would an apple pie.— Ed. 
Apple Fritters. 
This is a favorite dish with many, and often 
preferred to dumplings Wc like them prepared 
thus : Make a batter, not very stiff, with 1 quart 
milk, 3 eggs, and flour to bring it to a right con¬ 
sistence. Pare and core a dozen large apples, 
and chop them to about the size of small peas, 
and mix them well in the batter. Fry them in 
lard as you would dough nuts. For trimmings 
we like powdered white sugar best, though good 
molasses answers very well. They are good with 
either.— Ed. 
muffins. 
These deserve “extensive circulation.” We 
have the receipe as a special favor from a lady 
friend, at whose table we have enjoyed some 
capital specimens, made as follows ; To 1 quart 
of milk, add 2 eggs well beaten, a lump of butter 
half the size of an egg, and flour enough to make 
a stiff batter, Stir in half a pint of yeast. Let 
them stand until perfectly light, and then bake 
on a griddle, in tin rings made for the purpose. 
These are merely strips of tin three-quarters of 
an inch wide, made into rings from 2^ to 3 inches 
in diameter, without bottom—the ring being sim¬ 
ply placed on a griddle, and the batter poured in 
to fill it.—E d. 
Tea ES5scu.it. 
Mrs. E. L. Howard, of Darien, 0., writes : 
Having been much annoyed by seeing so many 
good cooks make rich, greasy, heavy biscuit, I 
suggest the following: take 1 pint new milk, 2 
teaspoonfuls cream tartar, 1 of soda and 1 of 
salt; mix moderately stiff, roll out about 1£ 
inches thick, cut in cakes, and let it stand a short 
time by the stove to rise. Instead of cream tar¬ 
tar, sour milk may be used. The dough may be 
made in small loaves and baked as bread. If 
shortening must be used, take one-third cream ; 
more than this will prevent its rising well 
Giwger Sumps. 
Good for this snapping weather, when a body 
wants “ something a little warm ” on a long 
sleigh ride, or chopping in the woods with snow 
knee deep, and the thermometer below “ com¬ 
fortable.” They also make a very pleasant ac¬ 
companiment for the children’s cold dinners 
which they carry to school; they are what the 
writer’s own mother used to give him on such 
occasions, “ long time ago.” Here is the recipe ; 
1 cup butter, 1 of molasses, 1 of sugar, 1 tea¬ 
spoonful saleratus, 1 table spoonful ginger. These 
should be well mixed with flour enough to make 
them roll easily. Spread them thin with the 
roller, a little thicker than pie-crust, divide into 
cakes about as large as a tumbler would cut, and 
bake in a quick oven. 
E}{mgli=imts isot “ Greasy.” 
Here i£ an 1 invention ’ of ‘ our own ’ which 
we might ‘ patent,’ but being employed to labor 
for the ‘public’ that public is entitled to our en¬ 
tire ‘ services.’ Everybody and his wife—and 
particularly his little folks—love the good old 
fashioned dough-nuts, or “ nut-cakes,” or “ crul¬ 
lers,” or whatever name you call them. But 
many persons are troubled with 1 weak digestion ’ 
(dyspepsia), and the large amount of lard or grease 
absorbed by the said dough-nuts does not always 
‘ set well,’ but produces a ‘risingin the stomach.’ 
When this is the case try our invention. The 
dough nuts being prepared as usual, just before 
immersing them in the hot fat, plump them into 
a well beaten egg. This will give a thin coating 
of albumen which will keep out the grease effect¬ 
ually. Furthermore, this coating will retain the 
moisture, and make them keep in good condition 
much longer than if not thus treated.— Ed. 
Saiowball Custard. 
Contributed by Jeanne, Erie Co., Pa.: Beat the 
whites of 3 or 4 eggs to a froth, as you would to 
make frosting for cake. Then beat the yolks in a 
separate dish, and add to them 2 tablespoonfuls 
of sugar—brown will answer. Heat over a slow 
fire a quart of milk in a large “ spider ” or shal¬ 
low kettle. When it is just scalding hot, drop 
into the milk 6 or 7 tablespoonfuls, 1 at a time, 
of the whites. Do not let the milk boil as this 
would break the balls. In a few moments turn 
them carefully, and when cooked lay off on a 
plate. Finish with the whites in the same way. 
Next stir the yolks into the milk, and continue 
stirring for about five minutes—do not allow it to 
boil. Pour this last into a deep dish, add a few 
drops of essence lemon, vanilla, or other flavor¬ 
ing, to suit the taste. Lay the balls on this, and 
—help yourself. 
ESirds’ Nests. 
Pare six or eight large apples, Spitzbergen or 
Greenings are best for this purpose, and remove 
the core by cutting from the end down into the 
middle, so as to leave the apple whole except 
where the core has been removed. Place them 
as near together as they can stand, with the open 
part upward, in a deep earthen pie dish. Next 
make a thin batter, using 1 quart sweet milk, 3 
eggs, with sufficient flour, and pour it into the 
dish around the apples, also filling the cavities in 
them; bake in a quick oven. Eat them with but¬ 
ter and sugar, but let not their delicious taste 
make you forget the bounds of prudence. 
iLcmoiu Fie. 
Grate the peel of a lemon and squeeze the 
juice into it. Mix with it 1 cup water, 1 of sugar, 
1} teaspoonfuls corn starch, and a lump of butter 
the size of an egg. Roll the top crust quite thin, 
or cut it into strips and lay over the pie cross¬ 
wise, as you would with a tart pie. So says the 
wife of one of our associates, who is considered 
good authority. 
Maiace Fie Mints. 
A lady friend of ours says a friend of hers re¬ 
cently visited one of her friends, and found some 
superior mince pies ; and on inquiry as to their 
manufacture, she derived one or two hints new 
to her. First, no wine, brandy, or other alco¬ 
holic ingredient was used, but simply a mixture 
of good molasses and water, with rose water. 
Second, no suet or butter was used, but instead, 
the beef was boiled with fat pork, and the two 
chopped together with the apples. “ Other con¬ 
diments or spices as usual.” This third-handed 
information may very good, but we are not pre¬ 
pared to judge, being a semi-Israelite in regard 
to fat pork, and a Grahamite in regard to putting 
any kind of meat in our apple pies. 
Mince Meat—Preserving-. 
A lady correspondent writes : I prepare mince 
meat for the entire Winter and Spring, and pre¬ 
serve it in excellent order by simply packing it 
solid in jars and covering the top with melted 
lard, which entirely shuts out„all access of air. 
When a portion is required for use, the lard cover 
is removed, and the desired quantity of meat is 
taken out, when the remainder is again packed 
smooth on the top and the remelted lard poured 
over. This may or may not be new to some 
others, but it is a long tried and approved method 
with me. 
Mams—Curing, and Keeping in a New- 
Way. 
0. R. Palmer, of Susquehanna Co., Pa., writes : 
To the number of directions for curing hams al¬ 
ready given in the Agriculturist, let me add ours, 
which if once tried, my word for it (or rather my 
wife’s word) you will find it the best way hams 
were ever packed. For 100 lbs. of hams, make a 
brine of 8 lbs. rock salt, 3 ounces of saltpetre, 3 
pints of molasses, and 4 gallons of water. Let 
the hams lie in this pickle three weeks, and then 
take out and repack them, to expose every part 
to the brine. Let them lie three weeks more, 
then take out and dry them thoroughly and 
smoke to your liking. Next cut them in slices 
£ inch thick, removing the skin and bone. Pack 
the pieces as lightly as possible in stone jars, and 
pour over melted lard enough to cover the whole. 
If the care be taken, taking out pieces for use, to 
cover the rest with lard, they will keep admirably, 
and the last pieces at the bottom of the jars will 
be as fresh as when just smoked. [This strikes 
us as an effectual and valuable plan. The lard 
will not be spoiled for cooking purposes ; and if 
the pieces be well cleared from lard, there will be 
no more left upon them than will be needed for 
frying.— Ed.] 
Nca.ts-£oot ©il. 
J. N. Baker, High Prairie, Ill., writes : Taxe 
the knee joints of cattle, and boil them three or 
four hours, when the oil will rise to the top of the 
water. Remove the kettle from the fire, and 
when cold skim off the oil. Every farmer and 
every one who would preserve leather, should 
keep a supply of this article on hand. For soften¬ 
ing and preserving leather of harness, boots and 
shoes, etc., it has no equal. It is also highly re¬ 
commended for sore teats ot cows. 
More of Them. —Our room run out muen 
sooner than our stock of recipes. 
