TO RENDER FATS

TO RENDER FAT BY DIRECT METHOD

Run the fat through the household meat grinder or chop fine in the chopping bowl. Then heat in the double boiler until completely melted, finally straining through a rather thick cloth or two thicknesses of cheese cloth, wrung out in hot water. By this method there is no danger of scorching. Fats heated at a low temperature also keep better than those melted at higher temperature. After the fat is rendered, it should be slowly reheated to sterilize it and make sure it is free from moisture. The bits of tissue strained out, commonly known as cracklings, may be used for shortening purposes or may be added to cornmeal which is to be used as fried cornmeal mush.

TO RENDER FAT WITH MILK

To two pounds of fat (finely chopped if unrendered) add one-half pint of milk, preferably sour. Heat the mixture in a double boiler until thoroughly melted. Stir well and strain through a thick cloth or two thicknesses of cheese cloth wrung out in hot water. When cold the fat forms a hard, clean layer and any material adhering to the under side of the fat, may be scraped off. Sour milk being coagulated is preferable to sweet milk since the curd remains on the cloth through which the rendered mixture is strained and is thus more easily separated from the rendered fat which has acquired some of the milk flavor and butter fat.

TO RENDER FAT BY COLD WATER METHOD

Cut fat in small pieces. Cover with cold water. Heat slowly. Let cook until bubbling ceases. Press fat during heating so as to obtain all the oil possible. When boiling ceases strain through cheesecloth and let harden. If desired one-half teaspoon salt, one-eighth teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon onion and 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning may be added before straining.

TO RENDER STRONG FLAVORED FATS

To mutton, duck or goose fat add equal amount of beef suet or vegetable fat and render same as suet. This may then be used for shortening, or pan broiling for meat or fish dishes, and not have the characteristic taste of the stronger fats.

When rendering strong mutton, duck or goose fats if a small whole onion is added the strong flavor of the fat is reduced. Remove the onion before straining. It may be used in cooking.

TO CLARIFY FAT

Melt the fat in an equal volume of water and heat for a short time at a moderate temperature. Stir occasionally. Cool and remove the layer of fat which forms on the top, scraping off any bits of meat or other material which may adhere to the other side.

Fats which have formed on top of soups, of cooked meats (such as pot roast, stews), salt meats (such as corned beef, ham, etc.), or strong fats, such as from boiled mutton, poultry and game, may be clarified in this way and used alone or combined with other animal or vegetable fats in any savory dish.

CARE OF FAT AFTER BEING USED FOR COOKING

If fat is used for deep fat frying as croquettes, doughnuts, fritters, etc., while fat is still hot, add a few slices raw potato and allow it to stay in the fat until it is cool. Remove potato—strain fat, allow to harden and it is ready to use. The potato absorbs odors from fat.

HOW TO MAKE SAVORY FATS

FAT 1: To 1 pound of unrendered fat (chopped fine) add 1 slice of onion about one-half inch thick and two inches in diameter, 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoonful salt, and about one-eighth teaspoonful of pepper. Render in a double boiler and strain.

FAT 2: To 1 pound unrendered fat (chopped fine) add 2 teaspoonfuls of thyme, 1 slice onion, about one-half inch thick and two inches in diameter, one teaspoonful salt and about one-eighth teaspoonful pepper. Render in a double boiler and strain.

FAT 3: To 1 pound unrendered fat (chopped fine) add 1 teaspoonful thyme, 1 teaspoonful marjoram, one-half teaspoonful rubbed sage, 1 teaspoonful salt, and about one-eighth teaspoonful pepper. Render in a double boiler and strain through fine cloth.

EXTENSION OF TABLE FATS

A. Butter or other fat may be extended to double its original bulk and reduce the cost of the fat 40 per cent. A patented churn, any homemade churn, mayonnaise mixer, or bowl and rotary beater may be used for the purpose. To any quantity of butter heated until slightly soft add equal quantity of milk, place in the churn, add one teaspoon salt for each one pound of butter used. Blend thoroughly in churn, mayonnaise mixer, or in bowl with rotary beater until of even consistency. Place in refrigerator to harden. Vegetable coloring, such as comes with margarine or may be purchased separately, may be added if a deeper yellow color is desired.

B.

Soak gelatine in one-half cup of the milk. When softened, dissolve over hot water. Let butter stand in warm place, until soft. Add gelatine mixture, milk and salt and beat with Dover beater until thoroughly mixed (about 15 minutes). Vegetable coloring such as comes with margarine may be added if desired. Do not put on ice.

C.

Soak gelatine in one-half cup of the milk. When softened, dissolve over hot water. Let butter stand in warm place, until soft. Add gelatine mixture, peanut butter, milk and salt and beat with rotary egg beater until thoroughly blended (about 15 minutes). Vegetable coloring such as comes with margarine may be added if desired. Put in cool place to harden but do not put on ice as the gelatine would cause the mixture to flake. It is preferable to make up this mixture enough for one day at a time only.

D. To 1 pound of butter or butter substitute add one cup peanut butter. Blend thoroughly with wooden spoon or butter paddle; this may be used in place of butter as a new and delightful variation.

E. To 1 pound softened butter add 1 pound softened butter substitute (oleomargarine, nut margarine, vegetable margarine) or hydrogenated fat. Blend thoroughly with butter paddle or wooden spoon and use as butter.

SUGGESTIONS FOR PASTRY

Whole wheat makes a more tasty crust than bread flour and all rye pastry has even better flavor than wheat flour pastry. Half wheat or rye and the other half cornmeal (white or yellow) makes an excellent pastry for meat or fish pie. If cornmeal is added, use this recipe:

CORNMEAL PASTRY FOR MEAT OR FISH

Sift dry ingredients. Cut in fat. Add water and roll out on well floured board.

PASTRY MADE WITH DRIPPING

Well made, digestible pastry should have a minimum of fat to make a crisp flaky crust. It should be crisp, not brittle; firm, not crumbly. Pastry may be made in large amounts, kept in refrigerator for several days and used as needed. Roll out only enough for one crust at a time as the less pastry is handled, the better.

PLAIN PASTRY

Mix flour and salt. Cut in fat and add just enough cold or ice water to make the mixture into a stiff dough. Roll out. This recipe makes one crust.

MEAT OR FISH PIE CRUST

Sift dry ingredients. Cut in fat if solid, or add if liquid. Stir in meat stock or milk to make a soft dough. Place on top of meat or fish with gravy in greased baking dish and bake 30 to 40 minutes in moderately hot oven.

VARIOUS USES FOR LEFTOVER FATS

CREOLE RICE

Wash rice and soak in water 30 minutes. Melt fat, add dry ingredients and gradually the tomatoes. Stir in rice and other ingredients, also the water in which rice was soaked. Cook slowly one-half hour or until rice is tender.

POTATOES ESPAGNOLE

Melt drippings. Add onion and cook until slightly brown. Add other seasonings and water. Pour over potatoes. Let cook slowly in oven until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

DUMPLINGS

Sift dry ingredients. Cut in fat. Gradually add liquid to make a soft dough. Roll out, place on greased pan and steam 20 minutes, or drop into stew and cook covered 30 minutes. Serve at once.

POTATO SALAD

Mix drippings, salt, pepper, vinegar and cayenne. Add to the potatoes and mix thoroughly. Chill and serve. Cold cooked potatoes may be used, but the flavor is better if mixed while potatoes are hot.

SOAP

To lye add water—using enamel or agate utensil. When cool add the fat which has been heated until liquid. Stir until of consistency of honey (about 20 minutes). Two tablespoons ammonia or two tablespoons borax may be added for a whiter soap. If stirred thoroughly this soap will float.

SAVE FOOD

Reasons Why Our Government Asks Us Not to Waste Food, with Practical Recipes on the Use of Leftovers

Elimination of food waste is to-day a patriotic service. It is also a most effective method of solving our food problem. This country, like all the powers at war, will undoubtedly be called upon to face increasing prices so long as the war continues, and waste in any form is not only needless squandering of the family income, but failure in devotion to a great cause.

Food waste is due to poor selection of raw materials, to careless storage and heedless preparation, to bad cooking, to injudicious serving, and to the overflowing garbage pail.

To select food in such a way as will eliminate waste and at the same time insure the best possible return for money spent, the housekeeper must purchase for nutriment rather than to please her own or the family palate.

When eggs are sixty and seventy cents a dozen their price is out of all proportion to their food value. Tomatoes at five or ten cents apiece in winter do not supply sufficient nutriment to warrant their cost, nor does capon at forty-five cents a pound nourish the body any better than the fricassee fowl at twenty-eight cents. In order to prevent such costly purchasing, a knowledge of food values is necessary. The simplest and easiest way to plan food values is to divide the common food materials into five main groups and see that each of these groups appear in each day's menu.

GROUP 1.—Foods depended on for mineral matters, vegetable acids, and body-regulating substances.

FRUITS

VEGETABLES

GROUP 2.—Foods depended on for protein.

GROUP 3.—Foods depended on for starch.

GROUP 4.—Foods depended on for sugar.

GROUP 5.—Foods depended on for fat.

If from each of these groups the housekeeper, when buying, chooses the lowest-cost food, she will provide the necessary nutriment for the least expenditure of money. In war time such marketing is essential.

Other causes of waste in food purchasing may be enumerated as follows: Ordering by telephone. This permits the butcher or grocer, who has no time to make selection of foods, to send what comes ready to hand; whereas if the housekeeper did her own selecting, she could take advantage of special prices or "leaders"—food sold at cost or nearly cost to attract patronage.

Buying out-of-season foods also makes marketing costly. Through lack of knowledge concerning the periods at which certain fruits and vegetables are seasonable, and therefore cheaper and in best flavor, housekeepers frequently pay exorbitant prices for poor flavored, inferior products.

Buying in localities where high rental and neighborhood standards compel the shopkeeper to charge high prices, the consumer pays not only for the rent and the plate glass windows, but for display of out-of-season delicacies, game and luxury-foods. Markets should be selected where food in season is sold; where cleanliness and careful attention prevail rather than showy display.

Many a dollar is foolishly spent for delicatessen foods. The retail cost of ready prepared foods includes a fraction of the salary of the cook and the fuel, as well as the regular percentage of profit. The food, also, is not so nourishing or flavorsome as if freshly cooked in the home kitchen.

Buying perishable foods in larger quantities than can be used immediately. Too frequently meats, fish, eggs, vegetables, milk and cream are purchased in quantities larger than needed for immediate consumption, and lack of knowledge of use of left-overs causes what is not eaten to be discarded.

Buying non-perishable foods in small quantities instead of in bulk. Food costs on an average 50 to 75 per cent. more when purchased in small quantities. Select a grocer who keeps his goods in sanitary condition and who will sell in bulk; then do your purchasing from him on a large scale and extend the sanitary care to your own storeroom.

Buying foods high in price but low in food value. Asparagus, canned or fresh, is not as nourishing, for instance, as canned corn or beans. Strawberries out of season do not compare with dates, figs or raisins which are to be had at all times.

Buying without planning menus. By this carelessness foods are often purchased which do not combine well, and therefore do not appeal to the appetite, and so are wasted. Unplanned meals also lead to an unconscious extravagance in buying and an unnecessary accumulation of left-overs.

Buying foreign brands when domestic brands are cheaper and often better.

Leaving the trimmings from meats and poultry at the butcher's. Bring these home and fry out the fatty portions for dripping; use all other parts for the stock pot.

Having purchased for nutriment and in sufficiently large quantities to secure bulk rates, careful storage is the next step in the prevention of waste. Flour, cereals and meals become wormy if they are not kept in clean, covered utensils and in a cool place. Milk becomes sour, especially in summer. This can be prevented by scalding it as soon as received, cooling quickly, and storing in a cold place in covered, well-scalded receptacles. Sour milk should not be thrown out. It is good in biscuits, gingerbread, salad dressings, cottage cheese, pancakes or waffles, and bread making.

Meats should not be left in their wrappings. Much juice soaks into the paper, which causes a loss of flavor and nutriment. Store all meat in a cool place and do not let flies come in contact with it.

Bread often molds, especially in warm, moist weather. Trim off moldy spots and heat through. Keep the bread box sweet by scalding and sunning once a week.

Cheese molds. Keep in a cool, dry place. If it becomes too dry for table use, grate for sauces or use in scalloped dishes.

Winter vegetables wilt and dry out. Store in a cool place. If cellar space permits, place in box of sand, sawdust or garden earth.

Potatoes and onions sprout. Cut off the sprouts as soon as they appear and use for soup. Soak, before using, vegetables which have sprouted.

Fruits must be stored carefully so as to keep the skins unbroken. Broken spots in the skin cause rapid decay. Do not permit good fruit to remain in contact with specked or rotted fruit. Stored fruit should be looked over frequently and all specked or rotted fruit removed. Sweet potatoes are an exception. Picking over, aggravates the trouble. See that these vegetables are carefully handled at all times; if rot develops, remove only those that can be reached without danger of bruising the sound roots. Sweet potatoes may also be stored like fruit by spreading over a large surface and separating the tubers so that they do not touch each other.

Berries should be picked over as soon as received and spread on a platter or a large surface to prevent crushing and to allow room for circulation of air.

Lettuce and greens wilt. Wash carefully as soon as received and use the coarse leaves for soup. Shake the water from the crisp portions and store in a paper bag in a cold refrigerator.

Lemons when cut often grow moldy before they are used. When lemons are spoiling, squeeze out the juice, make a syrup of one cup of sugar and one cup of water, boil ten minutes and add lemon juice in any amount up to one cup. Bring to boiling point and bottle for future use. This bottled juice may be used for puddings, beverages, etc. If only a small amount of juice is needed, prick one end of a lemon with a fork. Squeeze out the amount needed and store the lemon in the ice-box.

When we come to waste caused by careless preparation we may be reminded of the miracle of the loaves and fishes—how all the guests were fed and then twelve baskets were gathered up. Often after preparation that which is gathered up to be thrown away is as large in quantity and as high in food value as the portions used.

Vegetables are wasted in preparation by too thick paring, the discarding of coarse leaves such as are found on lettuce, cabbage and cauliflower, discarding wilted parts which can be saved by soaking, throwing away tips and roots of celery and the roots and ends of spinach and dandelions. All these waste products can be cooked tender, rubbed through a sieve and used with stock for vegetable soup, or with skimmed milk for cream soup. Such products are being conserved by the enemy, even to the onion skin, which is ground into bread-making material.

Throwing away the water in which vegetables have been cooked wastes their characteristic and valuable element—the mineral salts. Cooking them so much that they become watery; under-cooking so that they are hard and indigestible; cooking more than is required for a meal; failing to use left-over portions promptly as an entree or for cream soups or scalloped dishes—all these things mean an appalling waste of valuable food material. Good food material is also lost when the water in which rice or macaroni or other starchy food has been boiled is poured down the kitchen sink. Such water should be used for soup making.

Fruits are wasted by throwing away the cores and skins, which can be used for making sauces, jams and jellies, the latter being sweetened with corn syrup instead of sugar.

Rhubarb is wasted by removing the pink skin from young rhubarb, which should be retained to add flavor and color-attractiveness to the dish.

Raw food in quantity is frequently left in the mixing bowl, while by the use of a good flexible knife or spatula every particle can be saved. A large palette knife is as good in the kitchen as in the studio.

The next step in food preparation is cooking, and tons of valuable material are wasted through ignorance of the principles of cooking.

Bad cooking, which means under-cooking, over-cooking or flavorless cooking, renders food inedible, and inedible food contributes to world shortage. Fats are wasted in cooking by being burned and by not being carefully utilized as dripping and shortening. The water in which salt meat, fresh meat, or poultry has been boiled should be allowed to cool and the fat removed before soup is made of it. Such fat can be used, first of all, in cooking, and then any inedible portions can be used in soap making.

Tough odds and ends of meat not sightly enough to appear on the table are often wasted. They can be transformed by long cooking into savory stews, ragouts, croquettes and hashes, whereas, if carelessly and insufficiently cooked, they are unpalatable and indigestible. Scraps of left-over cooked meat should be ground in the food-chopper and made into appetizing meat balls, hashes or sandwich paste. If you happen to have a soft cooked egg left over, boil it hard at once. It can be used for garnishes, sauces, salads or sandwich paste.

Use all bits of bread, that cannot be used as toast, in puddings, croquettes, scalloped dishes or to thicken soup.

Don't throw away cold muffins and fancy breads. Split and toast them for next day's breakfast.

Foods that survive the earlier forms of waste are often lost at table by the serving of portions of like size to all members of the family. The individual food requirements differ according to age, sex, vocation and state of health. Each should be considered before the food is served, then there will be no waste on the plates when the meal is over. The following table, showing the daily requirement of calories for men and women in various lines of work, illustrates this point:

Although the serving of food should be carefully planned so as to prevent waste, care should be taken that growing children have ample food. It is a mistake to suppose that a growing child can be nourished on less than a sedentary adult. A boy of fourteen who wants to eat more than his father probably needs all that he asks for. We must not save on the children; but it will be well to give them plain food for the most part, which will not tempt them to overeat, and tactfully combat pernickety, overfastidious likes and dislikes.

The United States Food Administration is preaching the gospel of the clean plate, and this can be accomplished by serving smaller portions, insisting that all food accepted be eaten; by keeping down bread waste, cutting the bread at the table a slice at a time as needed; by cooking only sufficient to supply moderately the number to be fed, and no more. It is a false idea of good providing that platters must leave the table with a generous left-over. Waste of cooked food is a serious item in household economy, and no matter how skillfully leftovers are utilized, it is always less expensive and more appetizing to provide fresh-cooked foods at each meal.

One would think that with the various uses to which all kinds of foodstuffs may be put that there would be little left for the yawning garbage pail. But the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture is responsible for the statement that $750,000,000 worth of food has been wasted annually in the American kitchen. Undoubtedly a large part of this wastefulness was due to ignorance on the part of the housewife, and the rest of it to the lack of co-operation on the part of the employees who have handled the food but not paid the bills.

According to a well-known domestic scientist, the only things which should find their way to the garbage pail are:

If more than this is now thrown away, you are wasting the family income and not fulfilling your part in the great world struggle. Your government says that it is your business to know what food your family needs to be efficient; that you must learn how to make the most of the foods you buy; that it is your duty to learn the nature and uses of various foods and to get the greatest possible nourishment out of every pound of food that comes to your home.

The art of utilizing left-overs is an important factor in this prevention of waste. The thrifty have always known it. The careless have always ignored it. But now as a measure of home economy as well as a patriotic service, the left-over must be handled intelligently.

The following recipes show how to make appetizing dishes from products that heretofore in many homes have found their way to the extravagant pail.

In these recipes, sauces are prominent because they are of great value in making foods of neutral flavor, especially the starchy winter vegetables, and rice, macaroni and hominy, as attractive as they are nutritious; salads are included, since these serve to combine odds and ends of meats and vegetables; gelatine dishes are provided because gelatine serves as a binder for all kinds of leftovers and is an extremely practical way of making the most rigid saving acceptable; desserts made of crumbs of bread and cake, or left-over cereals, are among the major economies if they are worked out in such a way that they do not involve the extravagant use of other foodstuffs. All the recipes in this economy cook-book have been thoughtfully adapted to the conditions of the time, and will show the practical housekeeper how to supply wholesome, flavorsome food for the least cost.

SAUCES MAKE LEFTOVERS ATTRACTIVE

WHITE SAUCE

Melt fat. Add dry ingredients and a little of the milk. Bring to boiling point. Continue adding milk a little at a time until all is added. Serve with vegetables, fish, eggs, meats.

WHITE SAUCE WITH CHEESE

Excellent to serve with macaroni, hominy or vegetables.

WHITE SAUCE WITH SHRIMPS

Serve on toast, or with starchy vegetables.

WHITE SAUCE WITH HORSERADISH AND PIMENTO

Serve with boiled beef, hot or cold, or with cold roast beef.

WHITE SAUCE WITH EGG

Excellent for spinach and vegetables, or fish.

BROWN SAUCE

Melt fat until brown. Add flour. Heat until brown. Add liquid gradually, letting come to boiling point each time before adding more liquid. When all is added, 1 teaspoon kitchen bouquet may be added if darker color is desired.

BROWN SAUCE WITH OLIVES

Make brown sauce as given in foregoing recipe, then while it is hot stir in the chopped olives, and serve.

BROWN SAUCE WITH PEANUTS

A good sauce to serve with rice, macaroni, hominy or other starchy foods. It supplies almost a meat flavor to these rather insipid foods.

MUSHROOM SAUCE

Add mushrooms to fat and flour before adding liquid. If fresh mushrooms are used, cook for two or three minutes after adding liquid.

VEGETABLE SAUCES

Vegetable stock is the water in which any vegetable is cooked. Make as white sauce.

DRAWN BUTTER SAUCE

Make as white sauce, reserving 2 tablespoons of the fat to add just before serving.

TOMATO SAUCE

Melt fat; add dry ingredients and gradually the liquid, letting sauce come to boiling point each time before adding more liquid.

FRUIT SAUCE FOR PUDDING

Mix thoroughly. Let chill and serve with steamed or baked pudding.

COCOANUT SAUCE

Mix ingredients. Bring to boiling point over direct fire. Cook over hot water 20 minutes. Use with leftover stale cake, baked or steamed puddings. If canned cocoanut containing milk is used, plain milk may be omitted.

MOLASSES SAUCE

Mix together. Bring to boiling point and serve with any pudding.

FRENCH SAUCE

Beat egg light. Pour on gradually the hot corn syrup and water, beating egg with eggbeater. Add cream and vanilla. Serve at once.

SPICE SAUCE

Mix corn syrup and spices. Add beaten yolks and milk. Cook over hot water until thick. Add vanilla and beaten whites. Serve hot or cold.

MAPLE SPICE SAUCE

Cream fat, sugar and spices. Add beaten yolks and milk. Cook in double boiler until thick. Add vanilla and beaten whites. Serve hot or cold.

TOMATO SAUCE WITH CHEESE

Add cheese while sauce is hot and just before serving. Do not boil sauce after adding cheese.

MEXICAN SAUCE

To one cup tomato sauce, add

HARD SAUCE

Cream all together. This method reduces the necessary sugar two-thirds.

LEMON OR ORANGE SAUCE