The Story of CRISCO

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

The Story of Crisco

Things To Remember

Hints To Young Cooks

How To Choose Foods

Methods of Cooking

Time Table for Cooking

The Art of Carving

Soups

Fish

Meats

Vegetables

Salads

Puddings

Sandwiches

Pastries

Breads

Cakes

Vegetarian Dishes

Eggs

Candies

Calendar of Dinners

"Those who say—'The old fashioned things are good enough for us.'"

"The difference between substitute and primary."

"That 'Lardy' taste."

"Fry fish, then onions, then potatoes in the same Crisco."

"We all eat raw fats."

"A woman can throw out more with a teaspoon than a man can bring home in a wagon."

"Hidden flavors."

"Keeping parlor and kitchen strangers."

"Kosher."

"Recipes tested by Domestic Scientists."

INTRODUCTION

The word "fat" is one of the most interesting in food chemistry. It is the great energy producer. John C. Olsen, A.M., Ph.D., in his book, "Pure Food," states that fats furnish half the total energy obtained by human beings from their food. The three primary, solid cooking fats today are:

There are numbers of substitutes for these, such as butterine, oleomargarine and "lard compounds."

The following pages contain a story of unusual interest to you. For you eat.

See Page 233

The Story of Crisco

The culinary world is revising its entire cook book on account of the advent of Crisco, a new and altogether different cooking fat.

Many wonder that any product could gain the favor of cooking experts so quickly. A few months after the first package was marketed, practically every grocer of the better class in the United States was supplying women with the new product.

This was largely because four classes of people—housewives—chefs—doctors—dietitians—were glad to be shown a product which at once would make for more digestible foods, more economical foods, and better tasting foods.

Cooking and History

Cooking methods have undergone a marked change during the past few years. The nation's food is becoming more and more wholesome as a result of different discoveries, new sources of supply, and the intelligent weighing of values. Domestic Science is better understood and more appreciated.

People of the present century are fairer to their stomachs, realizing that their health largely depends upon this faithful and long-suffering servant. Digestion and disposition sound much the same, but a good disposition often is wrecked by a poor digestion.

America has been termed a country of dyspeptics. It is being changed to a land of healthy eaters, consequently happier individuals. Every agent responsible for this national digestive improvement must be gratefully recognized.

It seems strange to many that there can be anything better than butter for cooking, or of greater utility than lard, and the advent of Crisco has been a shock to the older generation, born in an age less progressive than our own, and prone to contend that the old fashioned things are good enough.

But these good folk, when convinced, are the greatest enthusiasts. Grandmother was glad to give up the fatiguing spinning wheel. So the modern woman is glad to stop cooking with expensive butter, animal lard and their inadequate substitutes.

And so, the nation's cook book has been hauled out and is being revised. Upon thousands of pages, the words "lard" and "butter" have been crossed out and the word "Crisco" written in their place.

A Need Anticipated

Great foresight was shown in the making of Crisco.

The quality, as well as the quantity, of lard was diminishing steadily in the face of a growing population. Prices were rising. "The high-cost-of-living" was an oft-repeated phrase. Also, our country was outgrowing its supply of butter. What was needed, therefore, was not a substitute, but something better than these fats, some product which not only would accomplish as much in cookery, but a great deal more.

When, therefore, Crisco was perfected, and it was shown that here finally was an altogether new and better fat, cookery experts were quick to show their appreciation.

In reading the following pages, think of Crisco as a primary cooking fat or shortening with even more individuality (because it does greater things), than all others.

Man's Most Important Food, Fat

No other food supplies our bodies with the drive, the vigor, which fat gives. No other food has been given so little study in proportion to its importance.

Here are interesting facts, yet few housewives are acquainted with them:

Fat contains more than twice the amount of energy-yielding power or calorific value of proteids or carbohydrates. One half our physical energy is from the fat we eat in different forms. The excellent book, "Food and Cookery for the Sick and Convalescent," by Fannie Merritt Farmer, states, "In the diet of children at least, a deficiency of fat cannot be replaced by an excess of carbohydrates; and that fat seems to play some part in the formation of young tissues which cannot be undertaken by any other constituent of food...."

The book entitled "The Chemistry of Cooking and Cleaning," by the two authorities, Ellen H. Richards and S. Maria Elliott, states that the diet of school children should be regulated carefully with the fat supply in view. Girls, especially, show at times a dislike for fat. It therefore is necessary that the fat which supplies their growing bodies with energy should be in the purest and most inviting form and should be one that their digestions welcome, rather than repel.

The first step in the digestion of fat is its melting. Crisco melts at a lower degree of heat than body temperature. Because of its low melting point, thus allowing the digestive juices to mix with it, and because of its vegetable origin and its purity, Crisco is the easiest of all cooking fats to digest.

When a fat smokes in frying, it "breaks down," that is, its chemical composition is changed; part of its altered composition becomes a non-digestible and irritating substance. The best fat for digestion is one which does not decompose or break down at frying temperature. Crisco does not break down until a degree of heat is reached above the frying point. In other words, Crisco does not break down at all in normal frying, because it is not necessary to have it "smoking hot" for frying. No part of it, therefore, has been transformed in cooking into an irritant. That is one reason why the stomach welcomes Crisco and carries forward its digestion with ease.

Working Towards an Ideal

A part of the preliminary work done in connection with the development of Crisco, described in these pages, consisted of the study of the older cooking fats. The objectionable features of each were considered. The good was weighed against the bad. The strength and weakness of each was determined. Thus was found what the ideal fat should possess, and what it should not possess. It must have every good quality and no bad one.

After years of study, a process was discovered which made possible the ideal fat.

The process involved the changing of the composition of vegetable food oils and the making of the richest fat or solid cream.

The Crisco Process at the first stage of its development gave, at least, the basis of the ideal fat; namely, a purely vegetable product, differing from all others in that absolutely no animal fat had to be added to the vegetable oil to produce the proper stiffness. This was but one of the many distinctive advantages sought and found.

Not Marketed Until Perfect

It also solved the problem of eliminating certain objectionable features of fats in general, such as rancidity, color, odor, smoking properties when heated. These weaknesses, therefore, were not a part of this new fat, which it would seem was the parent of the Ideal.

Then after four years of severe tests, after each weakness was replaced with strength the Government was given this fat to analyze and classify. The report was that it answered to none of the tests for fats already existing.

A Primary Fat

It was neither a butter, a "compound" nor a "substitute," but an entirely new product. A primary fat.

In 1911 it was named Crisco and placed upon the market.

Today you buy this rich, wholesome cream of nutritious food oils in sanitary tins. The "Crisco Process" alone can produce this creamy white fat. No one else can manufacture Crisco, because no one else holds the secret of Crisco and because they would have no legal right to make it. Crisco is Crisco, and nothing else.

Finally Economical

At first, it looked very much as if Crisco must be a high-priced product. It cost its discoverers many thousands of dollars before ever a package reached the consumer's kitchen.

Crisco was not offered for sale as a substitute, or for housewives to buy only to save money. The chief point emphasized was, that Crisco was a richer, more wholesome food fat for cooking. Naturally, therefore, it was good news to all when Crisco was found also to be more economical.

Crisco is more economical than lard in another way. It makes richer pastry than lard, and one-fifth less can be used. Furthermore it can be used over and over again in frying all manner of foods, and because foods absorb so little, Crisco is in reality more economical even than lard of mediocre quality. The price of Crisco is lower than the average price of the best pail lard throughout the year.

Crisco's Manufacture

It would be difficult to imagine surroundings more appetizing than those in which Crisco is manufactured. It is made in a building devoted exclusively to the manufacture of this one product. In sparkling bright rooms, cleanly uniformed employees make and pack Crisco.

The air for this building is drawn in through an apparatus which washes and purifies it, removing the possibility of any dust entering.

The floors are of a special tile composition; the walls are of white glazed tile, which are washed regularly. White enamel covers metal surfaces where nickel plating cannot be used. Sterilized machines handle the oil and the finished product. No hand touches Crisco until in your own kitchen the sanitary can is opened, disclosing the smooth richness, the creamlike, appetizing consistency of the product.

The Banishment of That "Lardy" Taste in Foods

It was the earnest aim of the makers of Crisco to produce a strictly vegetable product without adding a hard, and consequently indigestible animal fat. There is today a pronounced partiality from a health standpoint to a vegetable fat, and the lardy, greasy taste of food resulting from the use of animal fat never has been in such disfavor as during the past few years.

So Crisco is absolutely all vegetable. No stearine, animal or vegetable, is added. It possesses no taste nor odor save the delightful and characteristic aroma which identifies Crisco, and is suggestive of its purity.

Explanation of "Hidden" Food Flavors.

When the dainty shadings of taste are over-shadowed by a "lardy" flavor, the true taste of the food itself is lost. We miss the "hidden" or natural taste of the food. Crisco has a peculiar power of bringing out the very best in food flavors. Even the simplest foods are allowed a delicacy of flavor.

Take ginger bread for example: The real ginger taste is there. The molasses and spice flavors are brought out.

Or just plain, every-day fried potatoes; many never knew what the real potato taste was before eating potatoes fried in Crisco.

Fried chicken has a newness of taste not known before.

New users of Crisco should try these simple foods first and later take up the preparation of more elaborate dishes.

Butter, Ever Popular

It is hard to imagine anything taking the place of butter upon the dining table. For seasoning in cooking, the use of butter ever will be largely a matter of taste. Some people have a partiality for the "butter flavor," which after all is largely the salt mixed with the fat. Close your eyes and eat some fresh unsalted butter; note that it is practically tasteless.

Crisco contains richer food elements than butter. As Crisco is richer, containing no moisture, one-fifth or one-fourth less can be used in each recipe.

Crisco always is uniform because it is a manufactured fat where quality and purity can be controlled. It works perfectly into any dough, making the crust or loaf even textured. It keeps sweet and pure indefinitely in the ordinary room temperature.

Keep Your Parlor and Your Kitchen Strangers

Kitchen odors are out of place in the parlor. When frying with Crisco, as before explained, it is not necessary to heat the fat to smoking temperature, ideal frying is accomplished without bringing Crisco to its smoking point. On the other hand, it is necessary to heat lard "smoking hot" before it is of the proper frying temperature. Remember also that, when lard smokes and fills the house with its strong odor, certain constituents have been changed chemically to those which irritate the sensitive membranes of the alimentary canal.

Crisco does not smoke until it reaches 455 degrees, a heat higher than is necessary for frying. You need not wait for Crisco to smoke. Consequently the house will not fill with smoke, nor will there be black, burnt specks in fried foods, as often there are when you use lard for frying.

Crisco gives up its heat very quickly to the food submerged in it and a tender, brown crust almost instantly forms, allowing the inside of the potatoes, croquettes, doughnuts, etc., to become baked, rather than soaked.

The same Crisco can be used for frying fish, onions, potatoes, or any other food. Crisco does not take up food flavors or odors. After frying each food, merely strain out the food particles.

We All Eat Raw Fats

The shortening fat in pastry or baked foods, is merely distributed throughout the dough. No chemical change occurs during the baking process. So when you eat pie or hot biscuit, in which animal lard is used, you eat raw animal lard. The shortening used in all baked foods therefore, should be just as pure and wholesome as if you were eating it like butter upon bread. Because Crisco digests with such ease, and because it is a pure vegetable fat, all those who realize the above fact regarding pastry making are now won over to Crisco.

A hint as to Crisco's purity is shown by this simple test: Break open a hot biscuit in which Crisco has been used. You will note a sweet fragrance, which is most inviting.

A few months ago if you had told dyspeptic men and women that they could eat pie at the evening meal and that distress would not follow, probably they would have doubted you. Hundreds of instances of Crisco's healthfulness have been given by people, who, at one time have been denied such foods as pastry, cake and fried foods, but who now eat these rich, yet digestible Crisco dishes.

You, or any other normally healthy individual, whose digestion does not relish greasy foods, can eat rich pie crust. The richness is there, but not the unpleasant after effects. Crisco digests readily.

The Importance of Giving Children Crisco Foods

A good digestion will mean much to the youngster's health and character. A man seldom seems to be stronger than his stomach, for indigestion handicaps him in his accomplishment of big things.

As more attention is given to present feeding, less attention need be given to future doctoring. Equip your children with good stomachs by giving them wholesome Crisco foods—foods which digest with ease.

They may eat the rich things they enjoy and find them just as digestible as many apparently simple foods, if Crisco be used properly.

They may eat Crisco doughnuts or pie without being chased by nightmares. Sweet dreams follow the Crisco supper.

The Great Variety of Crisco Foods

There are thousands of Crisco dishes. It is impossible to know the exact number, because Crisco is used for practically every cooking purpose. Women daily tell us of new uses they have found for Crisco.

Many women begin by using Crisco in simple ways, for frying, for baking, in place of lard. Soon, however, they learn that Crisco also takes the place of butter. "Butter richness without butter expense," say the thousands of Crisco users.

Tasty scalloped dishes, salad dressing, rich pastry, fine grained cake, sauces and hundreds of other dishes, where butter formerly was used, now are prepared with Crisco.

"A Woman Can Throw Out More with a Teaspoon Than a Man Can Bring Home in a Wagon"

Kitchen expense comes by the spoonful. Think of the countless spoonfuls of expensive butter used daily, where economical Crisco would accomplish the same results at one-third the cost.

It should be remembered that one-fifth less Crisco than butter may be used, because Crisco is richer than butter. The moisture, salt and curd which butter contains to the extent of about 20 per cent are not found in Crisco, which is all, (100 per cent) shortening.

Remember also that Crisco will average a lower price per pound throughout the year than the best pail lard. And you can use less Crisco than lard, which is a further saving.

Brief, Interesting Facts

Crisco is being used in an increasing number of the better class hotels, clubs, restaurants, dining cars, ocean liners.

Crisco has been demonstrated and explained upon the Chautauqua platform by Domestic Science experts, these lectures being a part of the regular course.

Domestic Science teachers recommend Crisco to their pupils and use it in their classes and lecture demonstrations. Many High Schools having Domestic Science departments use Crisco.

Crisco has taken the place of butter and lard in a number of hospitals, where purity and digestibility are of vital importance.

Crisco is Kosher. Rabbi Margolies of New York, said that the Hebrew Race had been waiting 4,000 years for Crisco. It conforms to the strict Dietary Laws of the Jews. It is what is known in the Hebrew language as a "parava," or neutral fat. Crisco can be used with both "milchig" and "fleichig" (milk and flesh) foods. Special Kosher packages, bearing the seals of Rabbi Margolies of New York, and Rabbi Lifsitz of Cincinnati, are sold the Jewish trade. But all Crisco is Kosher and all of the same purity.

Campers find Crisco helpful in many ways. Hot climates have little effect upon its wholesomeness.

It is convenient; a handy package to pack and does not melt so quickly in transit. One can of Crisco can be used to fry fish, eggs, potatoes and to make hot biscuit, merely by straining out the food particles after each frying and pouring the Crisco back into the can to harden to proper consistency before the biscuit making.

Practically every grocer who has a good trade in Crisco, uses it in his own home.

Crisco is sold by net weight. You pay only for the Crisco—not the can. Find the net weight of what you have been using.

Bread and cake keep fresh and moist much longer when Crisco is used.

Women have written that they use empty Crisco tins for canning vegetables and fruits, and as receptacles for kitchen and pantry use.

Crisco's Manufacture Scientifically Explained

To understand something of the Crisco Process, it is necessary first to know that there are three main constituents in all the best edible oils.

Linoline, Oleine, Stearine.

The chemical difference between these three components is solely in the percentage of hydrogen contained, and it is possible by the addition of hydrogen, to transform one component into another.

Though seemingly so much alike, there is a marked difference in the physical properties of these components.

Linoline which has the lowest percentage of hydrogen, is unstable and tends to turn rancid.

Oleine is stable, has no tendency to turn rancid and is easily digested.

Stearine is both hard and indigestible.

The Crisco process adds enough hydrogen to change almost all the linoline into nourishing digestible oleine.

Mark well the difference in manufacture between Crisco and lard compounds. In producing a lard compound, to the linoline, oleine and stearine of the original oil is added more stearine (usually animal), the hard indigestible fat, in order to bring up the hardness of the oil. The resultant compound is indigestible and very liable to become rancid.

The following pages contain 615 recipes which have been tested by Domestic Science Authorities in the Cooking Departments of different colleges and other educational institutions, and by housewives in their own kitchens. Many have been originated by Marion Harris Neil and all have been tested by her.

We have undertaken to submit a comprehensive list of recipes for your use, which will enable you to serve menus of wide variety.

We hope that you have enjoyed reading this little volume and that you will derive both help and satisfaction from the recipes.

We will go to any length to help you in the cause of Better Food. We realize that women must study this product as they would any other altogether new article of cookery, and that the study and care used will be amply repaid by the palatability and healthfulness of all foods. A can of Crisco is no Aladdin's Lamp, which merely need be touched by a kitchen spoon to produce magical dishes. But any woman is able to achieve excellent results by mixing thought with Crisco.

Let us know how you progress.

Yours respectfully,

Things to Remember in Connection with These Recipes

No need for Crisco to occupy valuable space in the refrigerator. In fact, except in most unusual summer heat, it will be of a better consistency outside the refrigerator. Crisco keeps sweet indefinitely, summer and winter, at ordinary room temperature.

In making sauces, thoroughly blend the flour and Crisco before adding the milk.

In using melted Crisco in boiled dressing, croquettes, rolls, fritters, etc., be sure that the melted Crisco is cooled sufficiently so that the hot fat will not injure the texture of the foods.

When using in place of butter, add salt in the proportion of one level teaspoonful to one cup of Crisco.

Remember that Crisco, like butter, is susceptible to cold. It readily becomes hard. In creaming Crisco in winter use the same care as when creaming butter. Rinse pan in boiling water and have the Crisco of the proper creaming stiffness before using. Unlike butter, however, Crisco's purity is not affected by weather. It remains sweet and pure indefinitely without refrigeration.

In deep frying, do not wait for Crisco to smoke. (See page 35.)

Remember That—

When pie crust is tough: It is possible you have not used Crisco properly. Perhaps the measurements were not correct. Perhaps the water was too warm, or the dough was handled too much. Shortening cannot make pastry tough.

When fried foods absorb: It is because Crisco is not hot enough, or because you have not used enough Crisco. Use plenty and the raw foods, if added in small quantities, will not reduce the heat of the fat. The absorption in deep Crisco frying should be less than that of another fat.

When cake is not a success: It is not the fault of the Crisco. Either too much was used, the oven heat not perfectly controlled or some important ingredient was used in the wrong proportion. Crisco should be creamed with the sugar more thoroughly than butter, as Crisco contains no moisture to dissolve the sugar.

When cake or other food is not flavory: Salt should have been added to the Crisco, for Crisco contains no salt.

When there is smoke in the kitchen: Crisco has been burned or heated too high for frying. Or some may have been on the outside of the pan or kettle.

When Crisco is too hard: Like butter, it is susceptible to heat and cold. Simply put in a warmer place.

Hints to Young Cooks

Also, How to Choose Foods, Methods of Cooking, Cooking Time Table, The Art of Carving, by MARION HARRIS NEIL.

Before commencing to cook, look up the required recipe, read and think it out. Note down on a slip of paper the materials and quantities required. Collect all utensils and materials required before commencing. Success in cookery depends on careful attention to every detail from start to finish. Quantities, both liquid and dry, should be exact. Small scales and weights should form part of the kitchen equipment where possible, and the measuring cups cost so little that no one need be without them.

Throughout this book the measurements are level

How to Choose Foods

Money can be spent to infinitely better advantage in the store, than by giving orders at the door, by phone or mail. Every housekeeper knows how large a proportion of the housekeeping money is swallowed up by the butcher's bill, so that with the meat item careful selection is most necessary in order to keep the bills within bounds.

In choosing meat of any kind the eye, the nose and the touch really are required, although it is not appetizing to see the purchaser use more than the eye.

Beef

In choosing meat it should be remembered that without being actually unwholesome, it varies greatly in quality, and often an inferior joint is to be preferred from a first class beast to a more popular cut from a second class animal. To be perfect the animal should be five or six years old, the flesh of a close even grain, bright red in color and well mixed with creamy white fat, the suet being firm and a clear white. Heifer meat is smaller in the bone and lighter in color than ox beef. Cow beef is much the same to look at as ox beef, though being older it is both coarser in the grain and tougher; bull beef, which is never seen however, in a first class butcher's may be recognized by the coarseness and dark color of the flesh, and also by a strong and almost rank smell.

Mutton

To be in perfection, mutton should be at least four, or better five or six years old, but sheep of this age are rarely if ever, met with now-a-days, when they are constantly killed under two years. To know the age of mutton, examine the breast bones; if these are all of a white gristly color the animal was four years old or over, while the younger it is the pinkier are the bones, which, in a sheep of under a year, are entirely red.

Good mutton should be of a clear dark red, the fat firm and white, and not too much of it; when touched the meat should feel crisp yet tender. If the fat is yellow and the lean flabby and damp, it is bad. A freshly scraped wooden skewer run into the meat along the bone will speedily enable anyone to detect staleness. For roasting mutton scarcely can be hung too long, as long as it is not tainted; but for boiling it must not be kept nearly so long or the meat will be of a bad color when cooked.

Lamb

The freshness of lamb is comparatively easy to distinguish, as if fresh the neck vein will be a bright blue, the knuckles stiff, and the eyes bright and full.

Veal

Veal is at its best when the calf is from three to four months old. The meat should be of a close firm grain, white in color and the fat inclining to a pinkish tinge. Veal is sometimes coarser in the grain, and redder in the flesh, not necessarily a mark of inferiority, but denoting the fact that calf has been brought up in the open. Like all young meat, veal turns very quickly, therefore it never should hang more than two or three days. In choosing veal always examine the suet under the kidney; if this be clammy and soft, with a faint odor, the meat is not good, and always reject any that has greenish or yellowish spots about it. The head should be clean skinned and firm, the eyes full and clear, the kidneys large and well covered with fat, the liver a rich dark clear color, free from any spots or gristle, while the sweetbreads should be firm, plump, of a delicate color, and free from strings.

Pork

The flesh of pork, when in good condition, is a delicate pinky white, with a close fine grain; the fat, which should not be too abundant, of a white color, very faintly tinged with pink; the skin should be thin and elastic to the touch, and the flesh generally cool, clean, and smooth looking; if, on the contrary, the flesh is flabby and clammy when touched, it is not fresh.

Pork, like all white meat, is quick to taint, and never should be kept long before cooking. If you have the slightest doubt about pork, it is best to reject it, for unlike other meat which may be quite wholesome and usable, though not of precisely prime quality, pork must be in really first class condition to be wholesome, and therefore it is impossible to be too particular in the choice of it. Always if possible look at the tongue, for, as in beef, this is a very fair criterion of the condition of the animal; a freshly scraped new wooden skewer run into the meat along the bone is a good test of the freshness of the pork, and be careful especially to examine the fat, for if there be little kernels in it the pork is "measly," a very common disease among pigs, and one particularly unwholesome to the consumer.

Pigs for fresh pork should be of medium size, not over fat, and under a year old. Pigs destined to become bacon are usually older and larger. Sucking pigs should be small, and are best when about three weeks old. A sucking pig should be cooked as soon as possible after it is killed, as it taints very quickly; unless fresh, no care in the cooking will make the crackling crisp, as it should be.

Ham—Bacon

Good bacon has the lean of a bright pink and fine in the grain, while the fat is white and firm. If the lean is high colored, it probably has been over salted and is old besides, and in consequence will be hard and salty; while if there be yellow marks in the fat, and a curious, rather musty smell, it will have an unpleasant taste. In choosing a ham always run a clean knife or skewer in at the knuckle, and also at the center; if it comes out clean and smelling sweet, the ham is good; but if out of order the blade of the knife will be smeared and greasy looking, and have a disagreeable, strong odor.

Venison

The condition of venison is judged chiefly by the fat, which should be a clear creamy white color, and close in texture. Always try venison by running a sharp knife along the haunch bone, which is usually the first to turn; if, in taking it out, the knife has a blackish-green look and an unpleasant odor, the meat is tainted, and unfit for use. Venison requires to be kept a considerable time before it is in proper condition, and needs great care in its management. It must be examined carefully every day, and if there is the slightest doubt, it should be washed in lukewarm milk and water, then dried in clean cloths, and when perfectly dry, should be covered thickly all over with ground ginger and pepper; when required for use, dust off the pepper and ginger, and wash the meat in a little lukewarm water, and dry it thoroughly. Venison, like mutton, improves with age, and this can be judged by the condition of the hoof, which in a young animal has a small, smooth cleft, while in an old one it is deeply cut and rugged. The haunch is the prime joint, its perfection depending on the greater or less depth of the fat on it. The neck and shoulder also are very good. They are used chiefly for stews or pies.

Hares and Rabbits

A hare when fresh killed is stiff and red; when stale, the body is supple and the flesh in many parts black. If the hare be old the ears will be tough and dry, and will not tear readily. Rabbits may be judged in the same manner. In both, the claws should be smooth and sharp. In a young hare the cleft in the lip is narrow, and the claws are cracked readily if turned sideways.

Poultry

Poultry to be perfect, should have just reached their full growth (the only exceptions to this are "spring chickens," ducklings, goslings, etc., which are considered delicacies at certain seasons); they should be plump, firm fleshed, and not over fatted. Over-fed fowls are often a mass of greasy fat, which melts in the cooking and spoils the flavor of the bird. A hen is at her best just before she begins to lay; her legs should be smooth, her comb small, bright, and soft. A young cock has the comb full, bright colored, and smooth, the legs smooth, the spurs short, and in both the toes should break easily when turned back, and the weight of the birds should be great in proportion to their size. Contrary to the practice with game, poultry never should be kept long, as they turn easily, and are spoilt if the least high. They also require longer cooking, in proportion to their size, than game, and never should be underdone. Dark-legged fowls are best for roasting, as their flesh is moister and better flavored cooked in this way than the white-legged ones, which from their greater daintiness of appearance are to be preferred for boiling.

Turkeys should be plump, white-fleshed, young, the legs plump and firm, black and smooth, with (in the cock) short spurs, the feet soft and supple; the eyes should be full and clear, the neck long, and the wattles of a bright color. A hen turkey is best for boiling. Like fowls, an old turkey is fit for nothing but the stewpan or the stockpot. Turkeys require hanging for at least a week, though they must never be "high" or "gamey."

Geese always should be chosen young, plump, and full breasted, a white skin, a yellow smooth bill, the feet yellow and pliable. If the feet and bill are red and hard, and the skin hairy and coarse, the bird is old. Geese should be hung for a few days. Ducks, like geese, should have yellow, supple feet; the breasts full and hard, and the skin clear. Wild ducks should be fat, the feet small, reddish, and pliable, the breast firm and heavy. If not fresh, there will be a disagreeable smell when the bill is open. The male is generally the more expensive, though the female is usually more delicate in flavor.

Pigeons always should be young and extremely fresh, and when so, they are plump and fat, with pliable smooth feet.

NOTE—In selecting game pluck a few feathers from the under part of the leg; if the skin is not discolored the bird is fresh. The age may be known by placing the thumb into the beak, and holding the bird up with the jaw apart; if it breaks it is young; if not, it is old, and requires longer keeping before cooking to be eatable.

Guinea-fowl are judged like poultry, but require hanging for some time.

Fish

Fish in good condition usually is firm and elastic to the touch, eyes bright and prominent, gills fresh and rosy. If the fish is flabby, with sunken eyes, it either is stale or out of condition.

Salmon should have a small head and tail, full thick shoulders, clean silvery scales, and its flesh of a rich yellowish pink. When quite fresh there is a creamy curd between the flakes, which are stiff and hard; but if kept this melts, softening the flesh and rendering it richer, but at the same time less digestible.

Trout, in spite of the difference in size, may be judged by the same rule as salmon. However, it will not bear keeping, deteriorating rapidly.

Cod, unlike salmon, should have a large head and thick shoulders; the flesh being white and clear, and separating easily into large flakes, the skin clean and silvery. Most people consider cod improves by being kept for a day or two and very slightly salted.

Herrings must be absolutely fresh to be good, and when in this state their scales shine like silver. If kept over long their eyes become suffused with blood.

Mackerel also must be quite fresh. They never should be bought if either out of condition or season. If fresh they are peculiarly beautiful fish, their backs of an iridescent blue green barred with black, and their bellies of a pearly whiteness.

Smelts should be stiff and silvery, with a delicate perfume faintly suggestive of cucumber.

Halibut is a wholesome fish. It should be middling size, thick and of a white color.

Lobsters, Crabs, Prawns, and Shrimps are stiff, and with the tails tightly pressed against the body. With the former, weight is a great guide, as the heavier they are the better; but if there be the least sign of wateriness, they should be rejected at once.

Vegetables

Green vegetables always are at their best when cheapest and most plentiful. Out of season they never have the same flavor, however well they may be grown. Excepting artichokes, all summer vegetables, as lettuce, peas, beans, and asparagus should be cooked as soon as possible after gathering. The freshness of most vegetables may be ascertained easily by taking a leaf or a pod between the fingers. If fresh this will snap off short and crisp, while if stale it will be limp and soft. It is an economy to buy winter vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, celery, and potatoes in large quantities, if you have storage room, as if buried in sand and kept from the frost they may be kept a considerable time. Onions should be kept hung up in a cool, dry place. If allowed to sprout the flavor becomes rank and coarse.

Eggs

A mode of ascertaining the freshness of eggs is to hold them before a lighted candle or to the light, and if the egg looks clear, it will be tolerably good; if thick, it is stale; and if there is a black spot attached to the shell, it is worthless. No egg should be used for culinary purposes with the slightest taint in it, as it will render perfectly useless those with which it has been mixed. Eggs may be preserved, however, for a considerable time without any further special precaution than that of keeping them in a cool place. A very effective method of preserving eggs for winter use is to rub a little melted Crisco over each to close the pores, and then to pack the eggs in bran, salt or sawdust, not allowing them to touch each other.

Methods of Cooking

There are seven chief methods of cooking meat—roasting, boiling, baking, stewing, frying, broiling and poaching.

The first three are most suitable for joints weighing four pounds or more, but not satisfactory for smaller pieces which are liable to become hard and flavorless by the drying up or loss of their juices.

Of the other three methods, stewing may be applied to fairly large and solid pieces, but it is better for smaller thin ones, while frying and broiling can be used only for steaks, chops, and similar cuts.

Braising and steaming are combinations and modifications of these methods.

Roasting

Roasting is one of the oldest methods of cooking on record, and still remains the favorite form of cooking joints of meat or birds. The success of every method of cooking depends largely upon the correct management of the fire. In roasting, this is particularly the case, as a clear, brisk and yet steady fire is needed. To roast a joint it should be placed before great heat for the first ten minutes and then allowed to cook more slowly. The great heat hardens the outside of the meat and keeps in the juices. If allowed to cook quickly all the time the meat is likely to be tough. The fire should be bright and clear. The joint should be basted about every ten minutes, as this helps to cook it, keeps it juicy and improves the flavor. The time allowed is fifteen minutes for every pound, twenty minutes over for beef and mutton; for veal and pork twenty minutes for every pound and thirty minutes over.

Oven Roasting

Roasting in the oven of ordinary coal stoves or ranges is not considered so good as roasting before an open fire; nevertheless it may be said safely that the greatest part of meat roasting is done in close ovens. It appears, from various experiments that meat roasted or baked in a close oven loses rather less of its weight than if roasted by an open fire.

The excellence of a roast depends to a great extent upon the amount of basting it receives.

Some cooks season a joint before it is cooked, while others season it with salt and pepper just before it is served. There is a difference of opinion as to which is the more correct way of the two. Meat of newly killed animals requires longer cooking than meat which has been hung for a time.

In warm weather joints require slightly less time for roasting than in cold.

Boned and rolled or stuffed meats require longer cooking than the same joints would if neither rolled nor stuffed. The meat of young animals and that of old ones requires different treatment. As a rule young flesh, containing less fibrine, requires longer cooking. White meat, such as pork, veal and lamb, always should be well cooked and never must be served rare. The exact time and process of roasting must be left to the good management of the cook, who must be guided by circumstances and conditions. The cook's business is to serve the joint as full of nourishing qualities as possible. Though roasting is considered one of the easiest and most simple processes of cookery, it really requires quite as much attention to obtain perfect results as is necessary to prepare so-called "made" dishes, the recognized test for good cooks.

Boiling

Boiling (of fresh meat).—This is cookery by immersion in boiling liquid, which after a few minutes is reduced to simmering. The object of the high temperature at first is to harden the surface albumen and so seal the pores and prevent the escape of the juices. If continued too long, this degree of heat would tend to toughen the joint throughout; after the first few minutes, therefore, the heat must be reduced to about 180° F. The pan used for boiling meat should be only just large enough to hold the joint, and the quantity of liquid no more than is required to cover it. For the boiling of salt meat the general rule of first hardening the surface is not to be followed. The salting of meat withdraws a large proportion of its juices, while at the same time the salt hardens the fibres, and this hardness would be intensified by extreme heat. Very salt meat sometimes is soaked in cold water to extract some of the salt, but whether this is done or not, the rule for boiling salt meat is to immerse it in cold or tepid water and bring slowly to boiling point; boil for five minutes to seal the pores and prevent any further loss of juice, then reduce to 180° F., and maintain a uniform temperature till the meat is cooked. Salt meat takes longer to cook than fresh meat, and the saltness may be qualified by boiling vegetables with the meat, turnips especially being useful for this purpose.

Baking

The actual differences between roasting and baking are not great, the terms being frequently interchanged. Meat loses rather less weight when baked than when roasted, but the flavor of meat is inferior and less developed. The heat of an oven being steadier, baking takes somewhat less time than roasting. In a gas oven having an open floor the current of air is not impeded, and such baking very nearly approaches roasting, and the flavor generally is acknowledged to be the same.

Stewing

Stewing is cooking slowly with a small quantity of liquid in a covered vessel. The method is specially suitable for the coarser and cheaper parts of meat, which are rendered tender without loss of their juices. The usual plan is to make a gravy flavored and colored to suit the stew, and after the ingredients are well blended and cooked to lay the meat in the boiling liquid. After about two minutes boiling, the temperature is reduced to simmering, about 160° F., a lower temperature than that required for a large joint of "boiled" meat. The time depends greatly on the quality of the meat, but none will stew satisfactorily in less than from one and a half to two hours, and the longer allowance is to be preferred.

Broiling

Broiling, sometimes called grilling, is cooking by the direct action of fire brought almost into contact with the meat. The outer surface is burned or seared, the albumen hardened and the juices, which have a tendency to escape on the side turned from the heat, are retained in the meat by frequent turning. The fire for broiling must be very clear, intensely hot and high in the grate. The utensil required for broiling is a gridiron, the bars of which are greased and heated to prevent sticking and subsequent tearing of the meat. The gridiron is laid quite close over the heat, so that the lower surface is dried and hardened at once.

The meat must be turned at very short intervals before the juices have been driven from the heat to the opposite surface. If once allowed to reach the surface, they will be thrown off in turning and lost, the meat being correspondingly impoverished. By constant turning the juices are kept moving backwards and forwards, and the meat remains moist and full of flavor. Each side should be exposed to the fire about three times, and it is not desirable to use meat less than one inch or more than one and a half to two inches thick for the purpose.

The thinner pieces should have even greater heat applied than the thick ones, as the longer thin ones are exposed to the fire the more dry and tasteless they become, while the thicker pieces may be slightly withdrawn after thoroughly hardening the surface and cooked rather more slowly that the heat may penetrate to the center. The frequent turning must be continued, or the juices will reach the hardened outer fibres, soften them, and escape.

If a double broiler is used the turning is managed easily, but with a single gridiron care must be taken not to puncture the meat by using a fork. Steak tongs are made for the purpose of lifting and turning broiled meat, but a spoon or a spoon and knife will answer. A single rim of fat on the chop or steak will tend to keep the edge moist and baste the meat, but too much will cause flame to rise in continuous jet, making the surface smoky. If there is absolutely no fat on the piece to be broiled, morsels of finely chopped suet may be occasionally thrown into the fire, so the sudden spurt of flame from this source leaves a deposit of fat on the meat which improves the flavor, and, without softening the albumen, prevents its becoming uneatably hard and dry.

Frying

Frying may be looked on as a derivative of broiling, and passes by easy stages, from broiling on a slightly greased metal plate, or sautéing in a shallow pan in a small quantity of Crisco, to cooking by actual immersion into a bath of hot fat. In a house where small and delicately made dishes are in demand, and where variety in the re-dressing of cold meats has to be studied, this frying in deep fat is one of the cook's most needed accomplishments. Though exceedingly easy to do well, it is also exceedingly easy to do badly.

Deep fat frying, which means submerging the food in the fat, is far superior to shallow or saute frying, and can be done most economically with Crisco. Little is absorbed by the foods, and the Crisco does not take up the odor or flavor of the food which is fried in it. This characteristic makes it possible to use Crisco for frying one article of food after another.

Use plenty of Crisco for frying. The temperature of the hot Crisco then will be but little lowered when the food is added. There is little absorption and what is left may be used for all frying, merely by straining out food particles after each frying.

Sufficient Crisco should be put into the pan to fill it about two-thirds full. From two to three pounds for a pan eight inches in diameter will not be too much. Into this pan or kettle a wire "frying-basket" should fit quite loosely, the basket measuring quite an inch less across the top than the pan.

Let Crisco get hot gradually in the pan. Do not put into an already hot container. No fat should be treated in this manner.

Do Not Wait for Crisco to Smoke

Heat Crisco until a crumb of bread becomes a golden brown in

60 seconds for raw dough mixtures, as crullers, fritters, etc.

40 seconds for cooked mixtures, as croquettes, codfish balls, etc.

20 seconds for French fried potatoes.

Seconds may be counted thus: one hundred and one, one hundred and two, etc.

The fat may be tested also by dropping into it a little piece of the article to be cooked. When it rises to the top, bubbles vigorously and browns quickly, the fat is hot enough.

When prepared, the foods must be placed in the basket, not too many at a time or too close together, and then lowered gently into the fat. They generally will sink to the bottom for a minute or two, and only float when they have begun to brown. When a bright golden brown, take up the basket and let the fried things drain in it, over the hot fat, for a few seconds. Then take them out gently one by one, and lay them on a sheet of brown or kitchen paper.

The draining over the pan is one of the principal things to attend to; if this be neglected, the fat will cling about the fried things, making them both look and taste greasy, whereas if properly drained in the basket to begin with, they will afterwards scarcely mark the paper. When, as is sometimes the case, no frying basket is used, each thing fried should be drained between a spoon and the edge of the pan.

To Clarify

It is economy to use three pounds in the kettle, clarifying the fat when it is put away. To clarify Crisco, take that which has been used for deep frying and when it has cooled, but not solidified, strain through a double thickness of cheese cloth, replace kettle on stove, drop several slices of potato into the Crisco and reheat. When the potatoes are golden brown, take out and pour the Crisco back into the tin. With this little care, fish, oysters, onions, chops, fritters, doughnuts, etc., may be fried over and over again in the same Crisco.

The dry or saute method of frying is less satisfactory, in that it is difficult even after much practice to produce a uniformly colored surface. A small quantity of fat only is needed, and where the fat, i.e., the heat, ends, a crack is formed in the outer coat, through which flavor escapes and fat enters; the appearance also is rendered unsightly. Flat fish can be fried fairly well by this method, or, indeed, almost any thin substance, as thin edges are not affected in this way. For pancakes and other articles of similar nature it is the best method. It rarely is possible to use the fat from the dry method a second time, except for dishes of the same kind, as the fat always is more or less flavored by the food cooked in it. The most digestible fat for frying and the best for results undoubtedly is Crisco.

Steaming

Steaming is a process very similar to boiling, for it is cooking in the heated vapor of water. This practice as a means of cookery is largely adopted in hotels, clubs, schools and hospitals, and other large institutions; also frequently applied in ordinary home cookery for particular articles of food requiring a very slow process of cooking. An ordinary kitchen steamer, with a close-fitting lid is generally all that is required for simple household cookery on a small scale. The articles of food which are to be steamed are prepared in exactly the same manner as for boiling. Many puddings, some meats, and some vegetables are considered better if cooked by steam, and inasmuch as the process of cooking is a very slow one, there is no fear of the food being destroyed by too fierce a heat, as the temperature in steaming never reaches beyond 212° F. Fish, meat and poultry cooked by steam are as a rule tender, full of gravy and digestible. By steaming, watery vegetables are made drier; tough meats are softened and made tender; while farinaceous mixtures and puddings develop a totally different flavor when baked or fried.

Braising

Braising is a combination of roasting and stewing small joints of meat in a shallow stewpan. It is a favorite method of cooking with the French, and is supposed to bring out an unusually fine flavor and aroma. The pan in which a braise is to be made always should be lined with slices of bacon, carrot, onions and herbs, upon which the meat is placed. It usually is moistened with stock or stock and wine. The more delicate meats, such as sweetbreads, fillets, fowls and turkeys sometimes are covered with buttered paper; this is done to prevent the heat from the top of the pan scorching or imparting too much of a roast flavor to the meats which are to be braised. Occasional basting during the process of this method of cooking is essential. When done, the meat is taken up, the fat removed from the vegetables and gravy, which latter is then reduced, strained and blended with some kind of gravy or thin sauce.

Poaching and Marinating

Poaching is the name usually given to the process of cooking an article by placing it for a few minutes in boiling water. Marinating or pickling is a process with a formidable name with a simple meaning. To marinate simply is to soak meat in a mixture for some hours, or even days, with the idea of improving its flavor of softening its fibres and making it tender. Vinegar, oil, pepper and salt are mixed together and the meat packed in the mixture; sometimes a sliced onion and herbs are added. The meat, of course, should be wiped first, but not washed.

Cooking in Earthenware

Stone or earthenware cooking appliances are used to very great advantage for various forms of preparing food. For the homely pot-au-feu the French housewife has used fireproof earthenware dishes for generations, and does so today. But besides soups, various savory dishes, and all sorts of stews are cooked in stoneware pots. Indeed, so much has this form of cookery come into fashion that many dishes are sent to table in the pots in which they are cooked. Cooking in stoneware has no equal where slow cooking is aimed at, and there are many dishes which one would do well to refrain from attempting unless cooked in this fashion. These cooking pots are inexpensive, and certain foods taste decidedly better if cooked in this way. For braising, pot roasting, or stewing fruit and other articles which need to be cooked slowly under close cover, the application of a moderate, even heat produces far better results than if quick heat is applied. For such cases the use of earthenware cooking pots is recommended.

To measure meal, flour, sugar and similar ingredients, sift lightly into the measure, then level.

Standard measuring cups made of tin, aluminum or glass holding half a pint always should be used. Coffee and teacups vary so much that correct proportions can not be obtained by using them.

To measure a spoonful of dry material, fill the spoon heaping, then level. To measure a half-spoonful, fill and level the spoon, then divide in half lengthways; for quarter-spoonfuls, divide the halves crossways.

Use level measurements in all recipes in this book.

The Art of Carving

Carving is an art, and one which anybody, with a knowledge of a few general directions, can acquire easily.

A proper set of carving tools is almost indispensable, and should comprise: a good thin, sharp-bladed knife, a solid two or three pronged fork, and a pair of carving scissors. Anything that needs to be carved at table should be placed on a dish sufficiently large to allow the joint to be turned without moving the dish from its position. The dish should be placed close in front of the carver. Such joints as beef, veal and ham should be cut very thin; while lamb, mutton, and pork should be cut a trifle thicker.

To carve a fowl, begin by sticking the fork into the pinion and draw it towards the leg; and then, passing the knife underneath, take off the wing at the joint. Next slip the knife between leg and body, to cut through the joint; and with the fork turn leg back, and joint will give way. Then take off other wing and leg. After legs are taken off, enter knife into the top of breast, and cut under merrythought or wishbone so as to loosen it, lifting it with the fork. Afterwards cut slices from both sides of breast. Next, take off collarbones, which lie on each side of wishbone and then separate side bones from the back. The breast and wings are considered the most delicate parts; the back as the least desirable, generally is left on platter.

A turkey is carved in same manner, except that the legs and wings, being larger, are separated at lower joint. Lower part of leg (or drumstick) being hard, tough, and stringy, usually is allowed to remain on platter. First cut off wing, leg, and breast from one side; then turn turkey round and cut them off from the other.

To carve a goose, separate leg from body by putting fork into small end of leg, pressing it close to body, and then passing knife under, and turning leg back as you cut through joint. To take off wing, put fork into the small end of wing, and press it closely to body, then slip knife under and separate the joint. Next, cut under wishbone and take it off, and cut slices from breast. Then turn and dismember the other side. Take off upper side bones next to wings, then two lower side bones. The breast and legs of a goose are considered the most choice. If a goose is old, there is no fowl so tough.

Quails merely are split down the back, as also are pigeons, giving a half to each person.

To carve loin of mutton, a portion is cut through, beginning at the best end. If kidney be in it, a slice should be served as far as it will go to each portion. Care must be taken that the bone is well jointed. The butcher chops the loin between each vertebra. When big mutton is carved it gives a large chop, oftentimes more than the amount desired, but a chop cannot be divided without waste, or one portion being all the inferior end. It is therefore a good plan to joint a loin of mutton with a small meat saw, cutting any thickness desired. In this case the actual bone will often have to be sawn through. The result will be more economical, and the servings more agreeable. The loin also can be boned entirely, stuffed or not, as preferred, the flap end folded and fastened over the fillet portion. Then the meat can be carved across any thickness.

To carve leg of mutton, stand joint the inner part of the leg uppermost and cut across center to bone, towards carver, then cut rather thick slices on either side. To serve the meat equally, unless any special part is desired, a portion of the knuckle is served with a slice of the thick end. The prime fat is the kernel of fat at the thick end.

To carve forequarter of mutton or lamb. The forequarter of mutton usually is not served whole unless the mutton be very small. The forequarter of lamb frequently is served whole. Before cooking it must be jointed through the chine of bone at the back, to enable this portion being served in chops, twice across the breastbones the entire length, and at short intervals at the edge of the breast. Before serving it is usual to separate the shoulder by pressing the fork in by the knuckle, then passing knife round shoulder, crossing about center of joint, raising shoulder without cutting too much meat off breast. Leave shoulder in position on joint; a second dish is sent to table on which to lay it while the other part is being carved.

To carve rabbit or hare. In either case first separate legs and shoulders; then cut the back part across, into two parts. This is accomplished best by inserting the knife into joint, and raising up the back by means of the fork. The back or fillet part is considered the best portion of a hare or rabbit.

To carve sirloin of beef, a sirloin should be cut into thin slices with a sharp, firm cut from end to end of the joint. At the upper portion the cut should be clean and even; then use point of knife to loosen slices from bones. In carving undercut, remove superfluous fat, and cut slices from end to end in same manner as upper portion. Be careful always to cut down straight to the bone of a sirloin or rib of beef; by so doing you will not spoil appearance of joint, and what remains will look tidy.

To carve ham. Ham should be cut through to the bone first from center or near thin end. Slices must be cut thin. Always commence cutting from upper side. The fairest way by far, so as to serve fat and lean evenly, is to begin cutting from center of thickest part, and to cut thin circular slices; by this means the flavor of the ham is far better, and it will prove to be the more economical way of serving.

To carve ox-tongue. Commence cutting from middle of tongue; cut slices not too thin and take them from each side being careful not to cut slices through to bottom part of tongue. Extreme end of the tip and the lower part of tongue generally are used up for chopping in salpicons, etc. A little of the fat should be put on each plate. When rolled tongue is served it must be cut horizontally into rather thin slices.

To carve fish. A silver sheer or trowel should be used for this purpose; a steel knife applied to fish often spoils the delicacy of its flavor. Great care must be taken to prevent breaking the flakes, which ought to be kept as entire as possible. Short-grained fish, such as salmon, etc., should be cut lengthwise, not crosswise.

Six Hundred and Fifteen Tested Recipes

"Calendar of Dinners"

by Marion Harris Neil

Asparagus Soup

Take heads off asparagus, and put aside. Cut up stalks in slices, also onion, put these into saucepan with Crisco, herbs, parsley, bay leaf, and mace, and fry gently for fifteen minutes, add flour, then stock, and simmer slowly for 1-1/2 hours. Rub through sieve, add cream, yolks of eggs, and seasonings, reheat, but take care not to boil soup. Just before serving throw in asparagus tops, which should be first cooked in a little boiling stock.

Cheese Soup

Put flour into double boiler, add gradually cream, Crisco, 4 tablespoonfuls of grated cheese and paprika to taste, stir over fire till a smooth paste. Break in eggs, mix well, cook two minutes longer and allow to cool. Roll into balls, when they are all formed, drop into boiling water and cook gently five minutes. Drain and put into soup tureen. Pour over boiling stock and serve with dish of finely grated cheese.

Cream of Tomato Soup

Blend Crisco and flour together in saucepan over fire, add milk and bring to boiling point. Heat tomato juice, tomato catsup and add soda and seasonings. Just before serving add Crisco mixture to tomato juice and stir till boiling. Serve hot. Another method, is to cook 1 quart can of tomatoes with 1 quart of water twenty minutes, then rub through sieve. Blend 2 tablespoonfuls Crisco with 2 tablespoonfuls flour, add 1 tablespoonful sugar, salt, pepper, and red pepper to taste, and 1 tablespoonful tomato catsup. Add pinch of baking soda to tomatoes, then add gradually to Crisco mixture. Just bring to boiling point and serve with tablespoonful whipped cream on top of each plate.

Fish Soup

Wash and dry fish and cut into small pieces. Put into saucepan with stock, vegetables cut in small pieces, parsley and mace. Let these simmer for half hour, then strain off liquid. Melt Crisco in pan, stir in flour, then add fish liquor and stir till it boils. Draw it to the side of fire and let cool slightly. Beat yolks of eggs with cream, and, when soup has cooled, strain them in. Reheat soup without boiling it, to cook eggs. Season, and add few drops lemon juice and chopped parsley. Serve with small pieces of dry toast.

Lentil Soup

Wash lentils; soak twenty-four hours; drain well. Cut onion, carrot and celery into small pieces, then put them into a saucepan with Crisco, cover, and cook gently for fifteen minutes. Add stock and simmer 2 hours, then rub through sieve. Return to pan, add milk, seasonings, and bring to boil. Moisten flour with 1/2 cupful milk or stock, add it to soup and simmer five minutes. Season to taste and add cream. Serve with croutons of fried or toasted bread.

Lentils are a small leguminous seed, not so generally known as beans, but an excellent nitrogenous food, containing about 25 per cent. protein, more than 50 per cent. starch, with over 2 per cent. fat. They are not used as much as they ought to be.

Croutons are made by cutting bread into tiny cubes and browning through and through in hot oven or putting into a frying pan with 2 tablespoonfuls Crisco and browning well. If latter is used great care must be used as the croutons will brown easily.

Lobster Bisque

Open a can of lobster of good quality, take out best pieces and cut into small squares without tearing; put them aside. Place remains of lobster in mortar or basin, and pound quite smooth with Crisco. Soak bread in water, adding flour, and seasonings, and put all on fire in soup pot with pounded lobster and Crisco; stir till it boils, and boil for fifteen minutes; then pass it through sieve, add milk and pieces of lobster, and return to the pot till it boils up. Serve with small squares of fried bread, and send thin slices of lemon to table with it. This is an excellent soup, and can of course be made with fresh lobster.

Norfolk Puree

Put barley into saucepan of cold water, bring to boil, let boil five minutes, then drain off water; this removes the slightly bitter taste. Now put barley into saucepan with Crisco and water, let these boil gently until barley is tender, drain, and rub through sieve. Add stock to this puree and let simmer ten minutes. Beat yolk of egg with cream and when soup has cooled slightly, strain them in. Stir soup over fire a few minutes to reheat; but be careful that it does not boil, or it will curdle. Season carefully, add carrot balls and peas, which should first be heated in a little stock or water. Serve with dice of toast or fried bread. If you do not possess a round vegetable cutter, cut the carrot into small dice. This is a particularly nourishing soup. If you prefer a slightly cheaper variety, use milk instead of cream, and if you have no white stock use milk and water in equal proportions instead, and cook a carrot, turnip and onion in milk and water for twenty or thirty minutes.

Soup Verte

Put stock into saucepan; add spinach and parsley, picked and thoroughly washed; let all boil twenty minutes; strain, rubbing puree through sieve. Return it all to saucepan, add Crisco and flour mixed together with cupful of water, sugar and strained juice of a quarter of lemon. Let boil five minutes. Beat yolks of eggs with 1/4 cupful water, add them gradually to soup off fire, and stir near fire until cooked. Soup must not boil after yolks are added. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Thick Rice Soup

Wash and drain rice. Heat Crisco in saucepan, add rice and stir constantly until a golden brown. Now add water or stock, onions and tomatoes cut in small pieces, and seasonings. Cook slowly for one hour.

Baked Halibut

Clean fish, season with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, place in Criscoed baking pan, pour over tomatoes, and dot with Crisco. Bake in a moderate oven, basting often.

Baked Salmon with Colbert Sauce

For fish. Mix Crisco with shallot, gherkin, anchovy, and seasonings, lay salmon in this mixture and let it "marinade," as it is called, for one hour. At the end of that time lift it out; do not shake off any ingredients that are sticking to it. Now lay it in a well Criscoed fireproof dish, cover it with a greased paper, and bake in moderate oven for thirty minutes.

For sauce. Melt Crisco in small saucepan, stir in flour, add fish stock and stir until it boils and thickens. Rub anchovies through fine sieve, and add with seasonings. Serve in hot tureen with fish.

Baked Shad

Clean, wipe and dry the shad. Melt Crisco, add breadcrumbs, chopped mushrooms, parsley, chives, egg well beaten, salt and pepper. Stuff fish with this forcemeat, then lay it in a greased pan, put thin strips of salt pork over it and bake in hot oven for forty minutes. Lay the fish on a hot platter. Pour cream into baking pan, add cornstarch and stir till boiling. Serve with the fish.

Cassolettes of Fish

Rub potatoes through a sieve, add little salt and pepper, 1 egg well beaten, and 2 tablespoonfuls melted Crisco and mix well. Roll out on floured baking board to 1-1/4 inches in thickness. Cut into small rounds, brush over with remaining egg well beaten, toss in fine breadcrumbs, mark the center slightly with a smaller round cutter. Fry to golden color in hot Crisco. Remove lids, carefully remove bulk of potatoes from inside, fill with mixture, replace lids, and serve hot. For mixture, blend 2 tablespoonfuls of the Crisco with flour in a saucepan over the fire, add milk, water and seasonings and cook for a few minutes. Put in flaked fish and make hot. Add cream last. 1/2 teaspoonful of anchovy extract may be added if liked.

Sufficient for ten cassolettes.

Dressed Crab

If possible choose a crab with large claws. Boil crab in boiling salted water for thirty minutes, take up and break off large and small claws. Lay crab on its back, pull back the flap under its body, pull it right out and commence to remove flesh from shell. Take care that the little bag near head, usually full of sand, is taken out. Throw away all bone and finny pieces. The flesh is of two kinds, some firm and white, rest soft and dark. Separate former into little shreds with a fork, also the white meat from claws, which must be cracked in order to obtain it. Mix dark soft substance with crumbs, add oil, vinegar, and seasonings to taste. Toss shredded white meat also in a little seasoning, but keep the two kinds separate. When shell is empty wash and dry well. Fill shell with the two mixtures, arranging them alternately, so that they appear in dark and white stripes. Have it heaped a little higher in center. Decorate meat with lines of finely chopped parsley, and force the Crisco round edge with a forcing bag and tube. Place crab on some crisp lettuce leaves. Arrange some of the small claws in a circle round shell.

Curried Cod

Wash and dry the cod, and cut into pieces two inches square. Melt Crisco in a saucepan, fry cod lightly in it, then take out and set aside. Add sliced onion, flour, and curry powder to the Crisco in saucepan and fry ten minutes, stirring continuously to prevent onion becoming too brown, then stir in the stock and cocoanut, stir until it boils, and afterwards simmer for twenty minutes. Strain and return to saucepan, add lemon juice and seasonings to taste, bring nearly to boil, then put in fish, cover closely, and cook slowly for half hour. An occasional stir must be given to prevent the fish sticking to the bottom of the saucepan. Turn out on hot platter and serve with rice. The remains of cold fish may be used, in which case the preliminary frying may be omitted.

Flounder a la Crème

Skin flounder, and take fillets off neatly by sharply cutting down the middle of back, and pressing the knife close to the bones. This will produce 4 long fillets. Cut each of them in half lengthways, and tie up in pretty knot; sprinkle a little salt over and put them aside. Wash skin bones of fish, put them into a small saucepan with milk, mace, and whole peppers and simmer for half hour; strain milk into clean saucepan; add fillets, and allow to simmer for ten minutes. Lift them out, and add to milk the Crisco and flour beaten together; stir till it becomes quite smooth; add salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste, and cream; put in fillets gently to warm through; dish neatly and pour the sauce over them. Serve very hot.

Flounder a la Turque

For fish. Wash dry and trim flounder. On one side make cut down center from near head to near tail and raise flesh from the bones. Make a stuffing with Crisco, parsley, breadcrumbs, herbs, shrimps, lemon juice, seasonings, and nearly all the egg, and insert under the fillets of the flounder, leaving the center open. Dot with Crisco. Brush fish over with remaining egg, sprinkle with browned breadcrumbs, put on Criscoed baking tin, and bake thirty minutes. Serve with sauce.

For sauce. Put egg yolk into a bowl, and, with a wooden spoon stir a little; then add by degrees melted Crisco, stirring constantly; then add seasonings, vinegar, gherkins and parsley.

Fish Pudding

For pudding. Boil fish in boiling salted water till done. Shred or break in small pieces, and free from skin and bone. Blend Crisco and flour in a saucepan over fire, add milk and stir till boiling, remove from fire, add eggs well beaten, seasonings, and mix well. Turn into Criscoed fireproof dish, cover with greased paper, set in warm water, and bake in moderate oven for thirty minutes. Serve with the sauce, potato balls, and chopped parsley.

For sauce. Blend Crisco and flour in a pan over fire, add vegetables, mace, bay leaf, peppers, parsley, milk, and simmer for thirty minutes. Strain, return to pan, add salt, allow to heat, then add cream and it is ready to serve.

Fried Fish

Clean fish, season with salt and pepper. Dip in crumbs, brush over with beaten egg, and crumb again. Fry in deep Crisco and drain on brown paper.

Sauce. Blend 1-1/2 tablespoonfuls Crisco with 1 tablespoonful flour in saucepan over fire, add 1 cupful of milk or cream and bring to boil, cook for a few minutes over hot water. Cool and add 2 chopped green bell peppers and 6 medium-sized chopped sour pickles.

Fried Lobster with Horseradish Sauce

Cut lobster meat into neat pieces, dip in beaten egg, toss in breadcrumbs and fry in hot Crisco to brown well. Whip up cream, season it well with salt and paprika and stir in horseradish; heap this sauce in the center of the serving dish and arrange the pieces of fried lobster round it. Serve hot.

Gateau of Fish

For fish. Cook fish; remove skin and bone, chop it, then put it in a basin, add breadcrumbs, parsley, seasonings, milk, eggs well beaten, and melted Crisco. Mix well, turn into a Criscoed mold, cover with greased paper and steam one hour. Serve with sauce poured over, and dish garnished with lemon slices.

For sauce. Blend Crisco and flour in pan over fire, stir in milk, oyster liquor, stir till it boils for eight minutes, then add seasonings. Boil one minute, add eggs chopped, and oysters. Mix and serve.

Oyster Shortcake

Mix flour, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoonful salt, then sift twice, work in Crisco with tips of fingers, add milk gradually. The dough should be just soft enough to handle. Toss on floured baking board, divide into two parts, pat lightly and roll out. Place in two shallow Criscoed cake tins and bake in quick oven fifteen minutes. Spread them with butter. Moisten cornstarch with cream, put into pan with oysters and seasonings and make very hot. Allow to cook a few minutes then pour half over one crust, place other crust on top and pour over rest of oysters. Serve at once.

Sufficient for one large shortcake.

Salmon Mold

For the mold. Remove oil, skin and bone from the salmon. Rub salmon smooth, add eggs well beaten, crackers, and seasonings. Turn into a Criscoed mold, and steam for one hour. Turn out and serve with sauce.

For sauce. Blend Crisco and flour in a saucepan over fire, add milk, and stir and boil for five minutes. Add egg well beaten, and seasonings, pour at once over salmon. Garnish with parsley.

Sufficient for one small loaf.

Beef Collops

Melt Crisco in saucepan, put in beef and onion and fry light brown, then sprinkle in flour, add water or stock, catsup or sauce, and seasonings. Cover pan and let contents simmer very gently forty-five minutes. Arrange collops on hot platter with border of sippets of toast or croutons, or border of hot mashed potatoes, or plain boiled rice.

Braised Loin of Mutton

Remove bone from mutton, rub with a little salt, pepper and red pepper mixed together; roll up and tie in neat roll with tape; cut up celery, onion, carrot and turnip, and lay them at bottom of saucepan with herbs and parsley; lay mutton on top of these, and pour enough boiling water to three parts cover it, and simmer slowly two hours; lift mutton into roasting tin with a few tablespoonfuls of the gravy; set in hot oven until brown; strain gravy and skim off fat, melt Crisco in saucepan, add flour, then add gravy gradually, seasoning of salt and pepper, mushrooms, and boil eight minutes. Set mutton on hot platter with mushrooms round, and gravy strained over.

Chicken a la Tartare

Singe, empty, and split chicken in half; take breastbone out and sprinkle salt and pepper over. Melt 1/2 cupful Crisco in frying pan and fry chicken half hour, turning it now and then. Remove from pan and place between two dishes with heavy weight on top, till it is nearly cold. Then dip in egg beaten up, and roll in breadcrumbs. Melt remaining Crisco, then sprinkle it all over chicken; roll in breadcrumbs once more. Fry in hot Crisco to golden color. Serve at once with a garnish of chopped pickles, and tartare sauce.

Chicken en Casserole

Clean chicken, split down back, and lay breast upward, in casserole. Spread Crisco over breast, dust with salt and pepper, add hot water, cover closely and cook in hot oven one hour. When nearly tender, put in the cream, mushrooms, and parsley; cover again and cook twenty minutes longer. Serve hot in the casserole. Oysters are sometimes substituted for mushrooms, and will be found to impart a pleasing flavor.

Curried Ox-Tongue

For tongue. Cut slices of tongue, fry in Crisco, season with 1/4 teaspoonful salt and curry powder, then add mushrooms, and brown sauce, simmer ten minutes. Cut large dinner roll into slices, and toast them lightly on both sides; dip them in egg well beaten then fry in hot Crisco and drain. Dish up slices of tongue alternately with fried slices of roll, pour sauce round base, and serve with boiled rice.

For brown sauce. Melt 3 tablespoonfuls Crisco, add 1 chopped onion, piece of carrot, 2 mushrooms, and fry a good brown color; stir in 2 tablespoonfuls flour and fry it also; then add 1 cupful stock or water and few drops of kitchen boquet. Let all cook ten minutes, stirring constantly add seasoning of salt and pepper, and strain for use.

Sufficient for 6 slices.

Fried Chicken

Select young tender chickens and disjoint. Wash carefully and let stand over night in refrigerator.

A

Drain chicken but do not wipe dry. Season with salt and white pepper and dredge well with flour. Fry in deep Crisco hot enough to brown a crumb of bread in sixty seconds. It requires from ten to twelve minutes to fry chicken. Drain and place on a hot platter garnished with parsley and rice croquettes.

B

Make batter of 1 cupful flour, 1 teaspoonful salt, 2 grains white pepper, 1/2 cupful water, 2 well beaten eggs, and 1 tablespoonful melted Crisco. Have kettle of Crisco hot enough to turn crumb of bread a golden brown in sixty seconds. Drain chicken but do not dry. Dip each joint separately in batter and fry in the Crisco until golden brown. It should take from ten to twelve minutes. Serve on a folded napkin garnished with parsley.

C

Drain chicken but do not wipe dry. Season with salt and white pepper and dredge well with flour. Put three tablespoonfuls Crisco in frying pan and when hot place chicken in pan; cover, and allow to steam for ten minutes. Uncover, and allow chicken to brown, taking care to turn frequently. Serve on hot platter, garnished with parsley and serve with cream gravy.

D

Select medium-sized chickens and wash well, then cut into neat pieces and season them. Mix 1 cupful cornmeal with 1 cupful flour, 1 tablespoonful salt and 1 tablespoonful black pepper. Dip each piece in mixture and fry in hot Crisco twelve minutes. Drain and serve with cornmeal batter bread.

E

Wash young chicken, cut into neat pieces, dust with salt, pepper, and flour, and fry in hot Crisco twelve minutes. Drain, place on hot platter, pour over it 1/2 pint hot sweet cream, sprinkle over with chopped hot roasted peanuts, little salt and pepper.

Fried Chicken, Mexican Style

For chicken. Draw, wash and dry chicken, then cut into neat joints, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat Crisco in frying pan, add clove of garlic and pepper cut in small pieces. When garlic turns brown take out, put chicken in, fry till brown, then cover closely, allow to simmer till ready. A short time before covering chicken, add tomatoes peeled and cut in small pieces.

For croquettes. Drain liquor from can of corn, or grate ears, and chop kernels fine. Blend Crisco and flour together in pan over fire, add milk, stir till boiling and cook five minutes, stirring all the time, add seasonings, and corn, and cook five minutes, then allow to cool. When cold, form lightly with floured hands into neat croquettes, brush over with beaten egg, toss in crumbs and fry in hot Crisco to a golden brown. Drain. Place chicken on hot platter, garnish with croquettes and serve hot.

Fried Sweetbreads

Sweetbreads should always be blanched before using. To blanch, soak in cold water two hours, changing water 3 or 4 times. Put into saucepan, cover with cold water, add little salt, and skim well as water comes to boil. Simmer from ten to thirty minutes, according to kind of sweet-bread used. Remove to basin of cold water until cold, or wash well in cold water and press between two plates till cold. Dry, remove skin, cut in slices, coat with beaten egg and toss in breadcrumbs, and fry in hot Crisco to a golden brown. Serve round peas or new potatoes, with rich brown gravy.

For those whose digestions are at fault, sweetbreads ought to be eaten as a daily ration if the pocketbook will afford it. For this special part of the animal's anatomy is that one of all the viscera whose mission is to help digestion. It is of the very pancreas itself, that stomach gland of marvelously involved structure which elaborates the powerful pancreatic juice. It is alkaline in nature, able to digest starches, fats, and most of what escapes digestion in the stomach proper. It received its name from a fancied resemblance in its substance and formation to the rising lumps of dough destined for bread.

Kidney Omelet

Melt 2 tablespoonfuls Crisco in frying pan. Skin kidneys and cut into small dice and toss them into hot Crisco three minutes. Whisk whites of eggs to stiff froth, then add yolks, seasonings, parsley, and cream, then add kidney. Make remaining Crisco hot in omelet pan or frying pan, pour in omelet and fry over clear fire six minutes. When the edges are set, fold edges over so that omelet assumes an oval shape; be careful that it is not done too much; to brown the top, hold pan before fire, or put it in oven; never turn an omelet in the pan. Slip it carefully on a hot dish and serve the instant it comes from the fire.

Macaroni and Round Steak

Break macaroni into inch lengths and add it with 1 tablespoonful of the Crisco to plenty of boiling water and boil twenty minutes, then drain. Put steak and onions through a food chopper. Put macaroni into Criscoed fireproof dish, then put in meat and onions, add seasonings, tomatoes, cheese, breadcrumbs, and remainder of Crisco melted. Bake in moderate oven one hour.

Meat Cakes

For meat cakes. Grind steak and onions together, add Crisco, cheese, parsley, crumbs, seasonings, and eggs lightly beaten. Mix together; form into small cakes, toss in flour and fry in hot Crisco. Serve hot with tomato sauce.

For sauce. Slice vegetables, fry in Crisco ten minutes; then add flour, stock, mace, bay leaf, tomatoes, catsup, and herbs. Stir till they boil, then simmer gently forty-five minutes. Rub through sieve, add seasonings and use.

Sufficient for twelve meat cakes.

Roast Turkey

Mix sausage with breadcrumbs, add egg well beaten, Crisco, seasonings, grated rind and strained juice of lemon, and moisten with a little hot water. Be careful not to make stuffing too moist. See that turkey is well plucked, singed and wiped; fold over pinions, and pass skewer through them, thick part of legs and body, catching leg and pining it on other side; now secure bottom part of leg, which should have feet cut off half way to first joint, fill breast of bird with stuffing and skewer down skin. Place 2 strips salt pork in bottom of roasting pan, lay in turkey and place several strips salt pork over breast and sprinkle lightly with flour. Roast in hot oven, allowing fifteen minutes to the pound. Baste occasionally with melted Crisco. Serve hot decorated with cooked onions, celery tips, cranberries, and parsley.

Roast with Spaghetti

Melt Crisco and make very hot in roasting pan, lay in steak, season with salt and pepper, cover with layer of sliced onion, layer of bacon, add water, cover, and cook in moderate oven about three hours. Have ready peas, mushrooms, and spaghetti. Place meat on hot platter. Add juice of tomatoes to gravy, and flour moistened with a little cold water, peas and mushrooms, and when hot pour round meat. Spread spaghetti on top and decorate with olives.

Sirloin Steak with Fried Apples

Mix salt and pepper with melted Crisco, then rub mixture into steak and let steak lie in it twenty minutes. Broil it over a clear fire till done and serve surrounded with fried apples. Peel and core and slice apples, then dip in milk, toss in flour, and drop into hot Crisco to brown.

Baked Parsnips

Peel and wash parsnips and cut into two lengthwise, and steam for one hour. Remove from fire, lay in greased baking pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, spread Crisco over top and bake slowly till tender. Serve hot.

Brussels Sprouts with Crisco

Trim sprouts and cook them in boiling salted water till tender, drain and dry on clean cloth. Heat Crisco hot, then add sprouts, and fry until very hot. Turn them into hot vegetable dish, sprinkle cheese over them and serve immediately.

Sufficient for one dish.

Colcannon

Chop onion and cabbage and mash potatoes. Put into frying pan with Crisco and fry few minutes adding seasonings. Turn into Criscoed fireproof dish and brown in oven.

Lentils and Rice

Wash lentils and soak them in milk twelve hours. Melt Crisco slice onion and fry a pale brown, add curry powder, milk, water, seasonings, and lentils, simmer two hours and add lemon juice just before serving, Serve with rice.

Corn Fritters

Put corn into bowl, add Crisco, salt, pepper, flour, baking powder, and milk. Mix well and drop in spoonfuls on a Criscoed griddle. Fire brown on both sides. These fritters are a palatable accompaniment to roast chicken.

Sufficient for twelve fritters.

Corn, Okra and Tomatoes

Cut corn from cob, put into saucepan, cover with water and bring to boil. Scald and skin tomatoes and cut okra into cross sections half inch long. Add both to corn with Crisco and seasonings. Stir and cook until tender. Serve hot.

Curried Cauliflower

Boil cauliflower in boiling salted water till tender, drain, then divide into small flowerets. Fry onion in Crisco a few minutes, then add curry powder, lemon juice and stock or water. Simmer fifteen minutes, then strain into clean saucepan. Add cauliflower and salt and simmer fifteen minutes. Serve hot.

Creamed Potatoes au Gratin

Cut potatoes in about 11/2-inch pieces, then boil carefully in boiling salted water. When done, drain, and pour into Criscoed fireproof dish. Blend Crisco and flour in saucepan over fire, add milk, stir till boiling, then add cheese and seasonings. Pour over potatoes; grate a little cheese over top, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake five minutes in hot oven.

Eggplant en Casserole

Slice eggplant into thin slices, then slice onions, garlic, tomatoes and pepper quite thin. Arrange them, alternately, in a Criscoed casserole, seasoning each layer with salt and pepper. Pour in melted Crisco and cover. Cook over slow fire or in moderate oven till the eggplant is tender. Serve hot or cold.

Fried Parsley

Wash, pick and dry the parsley; put into frying basket and immerse in hot Crisco fifteen seconds or until crisp. Drain and sprinkle with salt and pepper. It should be a nice green color. If it turns black it has been too long in the fat.

Green Peas a la Maitre d'Hotel

Shell peas and throw into plenty boiling water containing a teaspoonful of salt, sugar, and mint; boil fast until tender, then drain. Mix lemon juice with Crisco and parsley; stir this among peas, reheat them, and serve at once.

Jerusalem Artichokes

Wash and scrape artichokes, and throw each one in cold water containing vinegar, when all are done, rinse in water and put into boiling milk, add cupful of boiling water and teaspoonful of salt. Boil quickly with lid off, pierce with fork to know if done. Lift into hot dish and cover with sauce. Blend Crisco and flour in saucepan, over fire, add milk, salt and pepper, and cook five minutes. Remove from fire, add egg beaten with cream and lemon juice, pour over artichokes and sprinkle parsley over top.

Mushrooms au Gratin

Beat up egg, add suet, breadcrumbs, meat, parsley, and seasonings. Wash and remove centers from mushrooms, season with salt, pepper, and red pepper, also place tiny piece of Crisco in each. Then put heaping teaspoonful of forcemeat in each one, and cover with crumbs. Lay on Criscoed tin, add stock, and bake fifteen minutes. Serve on hot dish with gravy poured round.

Sufficient for fourteen mushrooms.

New Potatoes a la France

Wash and scrape potatoes. With round vegetable cutter scoop out from potatoes a number of little balls like marbles; boil these till tender in water, to which have been added salt and mint. Drain, add Crisco, parsley, and lemon juice. Toss them about gently in pan a few minutes, and serve on hot dish.

Potato Pone

Grate potatoes or put them through meat chopper, add molasses, sugar, milk, Crisco, salt, spices, and orange peel. Mix well, turn into Criscoed fireproof dish and bake in moderate oven till firm.

Sufficient for one small pone.

Savory Lentil Dish

Wash lentils and soak in plenty of cold water four hours. Put into boiling salt water, add bay leaf, parsley, seasonings and cook till tender. Chop and fry onion in 3 tablespoonfuls of Crisco, add lentils, rice and remainder of Crisco, stir and allow to get hot. Turn into hot dish and pour over tomato sauce.

Stuffed Beets

Select 6 smooth even-sized beets and boil in boiling salted water until tender. Peel, remove root end and remove center, leaving shell about half inch thick. Remove stems and seeds from peppers; cover peppers with boiling water ten minutes. Dice them with scooped out beet, add Crisco, breadcrumbs, and seasonings. Mix and divide into beet shells, dot with Crisco and bake in moderate oven twenty minutes. Serve garnished with watercress.

Sufficient for six beets.

Stuffed Eggplant

Cut eggplants in halves and scoop out inside, leaving shell half inch thick. Soak 1/2 cupful breadcrumbs in 1/2 cupful stock ten minutes, then add cooked chicken, 2 tablespoonfuls melted Crisco, egg, well beaten, and seasoning of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Divide this forcemeat into eggplants, sprinkle Criscoed crumbs on top, set them in greased pan, pour in rest of stock and white wine and bake half hour in moderate oven. Serve on hot dish with following sauce.

Put 1 tablespoonful Crisco and 1 tablespoonful flour into saucepan and blend over fire, add sherry and 1 cupful liquor from pan in which they were baked, and cook five minutes.

Sufficient for three eggplants.

Stuffed Potatoes

Wash six well shaped white potatoes and rub skin with Crisco. Bake until tender, cut slice off one end, and with a teaspoon remove all potato from shells. Mash the potato, adding Crisco, cheese, seasonings, and egg yolk. Refill shells and bake fifteen minutes. Serve hot on napkin.

Sufficient for six potatoes.

Viennese Carrots

Scrape carrots, cut in small pieces, and boil till tender in boiling salted water. Blend Crisco and flour together in saucepan over fire, stir in 1 cupful water in which carrots were cooked, boil five minutes, then add sugar, seasonings, vinegar, parsley, peas, and carrots; simmer ten minutes and serve hot in vegetable dish.

Apple, Celery and Nut Salad

For salad. Mix apples, celery and nut meats.

For dressing. Melt Crisco, add mustard, sugar, salt, pepper, yolks of eggs well beaten, and lemon juice. Cook in double boiler till it thickens, then add whites of eggs stiffly beaten. Chill and add whipped cream just before serving. Dressing should be mixed with fruit.

Asparagus Salad

Drain asparagus and chill. Mix salt with paprika, add pepper, tarragon vinegar, cider vinegar, Crisco, pickles, peppers, parsley, and chives, mix well and pour over the asparagus.

Celery and Almond Salad

Melt and cool Crisco. Prepare celery and cut into very thin strips and plunge in ice water until wanted. Blanch and shred almonds; wash and dry lettuce leaves. Put yolk of egg into bowl, add mustard, salt, and red pepper and mix well with wooden spoon. Add sugar, teaspoonful lemon juice, teaspoonful vinegar; beat in Crisco gradually. Remove spoon and beat with egg beater five minutes, then beat in rest of lemon juice and vinegar. Add more seasonings if needed and enough green color to make it look pretty. Dry celery and mix with almonds, then toss them into dressing. Serve on lettuce leaves.

Fruit Salad

For salad. Cut fruit and marshmallows into small pieces, then mix and chill.

For dressing. Beat up eggs in double boiler, add vinegar, sugar, salt, Crisco and cook until thick. Cool and add whipped cream. Mix with fruit and serve on crisp lettuce leaves.

Orange and Tomato Salad

Peel oranges and tomatoes, and slice and arrange alternately in salad bowl. Mix juice squeezed from "tops and bottoms" of oranges with an equal quantity of tarragon vinegar, add Crisco and salt to taste. Pour over fruit and sprinkle chopped parsley on top.

Potato and Nut Salad

For dressing. Mix sugar, salt, and mustard, add Crisco and stir thoroughly; then add yolks of eggs well beaten, cream, and lastly vinegar. Cook in double boiler until consistency of cream. If milk is used instead of cream, add 1 teaspoonful flour to other dry ingredients.

For salad. Mix potatoes, nuts, and onion together, and place on crisp lettuce leaves; pour over dressing and garnish to taste with beets, lemon, and parsley.

Potato and Pimiento Salad

For salad. Boil potatoes and slice them, add Crisco and salt. Now chop pickles, eggs, and pimientoes and add them and set in cool place to chill.

For dressing. Put vinegar into double boiler, add strained lemon juice, sugar, salt, mustard, then add Crisco and eggs well beaten. Cook until thick, then cool and use.

Shrimp Salad

Break shrimps into pieces, put them into earthenware dish, moisten with a little melted Crisco, season with vinegar, salt and pepper. Put apple cubes into a small dish and sprinkle lightly with lemon juice, then put in celery cubes with a little more lemon juice and toss together. Cover and set aside. Prepare nut meats. Heat vinegar and water in double boiler, beat eggs, then gradually add them to vinegar, stirring all the time. Now add Crisco and cook slowly, stirring constantly. Remove from fire, and beat till cold, then add mustard, salt, sugar, and pepper. Add the thick cream just before serving. When ready to serve toss nuts, celery, apples and shrimps together with a silver fork, and add a little dressing. Heap on crisp lettuce leaves on individual plates, and pour over each salad a heaping spoonful of the dressing; and top with spoonful of unsweetened whipped cream.

Apple Dumplings

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Work in Crisco with finger tips; add gradually milk, mixing with knife to a nice dough. Roll 1/2 inch thick, cut into squares and lay in center of each an apple, pared and cored. Fill up centers with sugar and cinnamon and take corners off the dough and pinch together. Place in Criscoed baking pan, dot over with sugar and Crisco and bake in moderate oven for twenty-five minutes or till nicely browned. Serve hot with milk.

Sufficient for five dumplings.

Apple Fritters

Peel, core and slice apples, then sprinkle 2 tablespoonfuls sugar and strained juice of the lemon over them. Sift flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt into bowl, add milk to well beaten egg and stir liquid gradually into dry materials, beating thoroughly, then add Crisco. Cover apple slices with batter and drop them into plenty of Crisco heated so that small breadcrumb browns in sixty seconds. Fry for four or five minutes. Drain and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Any other fruit may be substituted for apples or a combination of fruits makes a delicious fritter.

Sufficient for twelve fritters.

Baked Rhubarb Pudding

Put granulated sugar into small saucepan over fire, and when brown, coat inside of plain pudding mold with it. Sift, flour, salt, and baking powder together, rub Crisco finely into it, then mix whole to a smooth paste with cold water. Turn out on a floured board, cut off one-third of it, and put one side for the lid. Roll out remainder until twice the circumference of the top of the mold, then drop gently into mold, pressing evenly against sides. Fill center with rhubarb, cut in pieces an inch long. Add grated rind and strained juice of half of the lemon, brown sugar and 3 tablespoonfuls water. Roll out pastry that was put on one side, wet edges of it, lay it on top. Cover with a piece of greased paper, and bake in moderate oven one hour. Turn out and serve with hot milk.

Caramel Bread Pudding

Put Crisco, crumbs, and salt into a basin, add hot milk and soak ten minutes. Melt sugar and brown it lightly in a small pan over fire, then add it to the bread, with eggs well beaten, and flavorings. Pour into Criscoed pudding dish and bake in moderate oven till firm. Serve with whipped cream.

Caramel Rice Pudding

Melt granulated sugar in small saucepan and cook until brown, but do not burn; pour it while hot into pudding mold and spread it all over inside. Wash rice, parboil, drain, and cook slowly in milk thirty minutes; turn into basin, add powdered sugar, Crisco, salt, raisins, extract, and eggs well beaten and pour into prepared mold. Set mold in pan of boiling water and bake in oven till quite set. Turn out and serve hot or cold.

Carrot Pudding

For pudding. Cream Crisco and sugar together, add carrots, potatoes, raisins, currants, crumbs, flour, baking powder, salt, and milk. Turn into Criscoed mold, cover, and steam steadily for three hours.

For sauce. Soak prunes in water over night, after first washing them. Next day put them in pan with water they were soaked in, just enough to cover them, simmer gently until quite soft. Do not allow to boil, or fruit will be spoiled. Take out stones, crack some, and save kernels. Rub prunes through sieve, add sherry, kernels blanched, grated rind and strained lemon juice, and cinnamon, and then, if thicker than rich cream, add more wine, or water, and use.

Chocolate Jelly

Break chocolate into small pieces, dissolve in boiling water, add Crisco, salt, cornstarch mixed with sugar, stir and boil for eight minutes. Remove from fire add vanilla and nuts and pour at once into wet mold. Cool, turn out and serve with whipped cream.

Cottage Pudding

For pudding. Cream Crisco and sugar together, add egg well beaten, milk, vanilla, flour, baking powder, salt, and raisins. Mix well, turn into greased mold, and bake twenty-five minutes in moderate oven. Turn out and serve with sauce. This pudding may be steamed for one and a half hours.

For sauce. Mix flour, sugar, and Crisco in small saucepan, then stir in egg and boiling water and boil for three minutes. Flavor with the vanilla.

Molasses Sponge Pudding

For pudding. Mix flour, breadcrumbs, soda and ginger together, then rub in Crisco with finger tips. Beat egg, add milk, molasses, salt and stir into dry ingredients. Turn mixture into Criscoed mold, cover with greased paper and steam steadily for two hours. Turn out and serve with sauce.

For sauce. Blend Crisco and cornstarch together, add molasses, water, and lemon juice, and boil a few minutes.

Monica Pudding

For pudding. Heat 1 cupful milk. Add other cupful milk gradually to flour, then stir into boiling milk, stir and cook five minutes. The mixture should be quite smooth. Remove from fire, add Crisco, sugar, yolks of eggs well beaten, salt, vanilla, and whites of eggs stiffly beaten. Turn into Criscoed baking dish, set in pan half full of boiling water. Bake in moderate oven thirty-five minutes. Serve with sauce.

For sauce. Melt Crisco, add sugar, cream and vanilla extract and bring to boil.

Noodle Pudding

Throw noodles into boiling salted water, and cook five minutes. Drain in colander. Beat eggs until light and stir in the noodles. Grease pudding dish with Crisco, put in layer of noodles, sprinkle with sugar, almonds, grated lemon peel, and melted Crisco. Then add another layer of noodles and proceed as before, until all are used up. Add milk and salt, and bake one hour in moderate oven. Serve hot with milk or cream. This pudding is delicious with stewed fruits.

Peach Delights

Sift flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder together, then rub Crisco lightly into them with finger tips; add lemon extract and enough milk to make soft dough. Drop mixture into Criscoed gem pans; place 1/2 peach on each one; fill cavities with sugar and bake in hot oven twenty-five minutes. Serve with whipped and sweetened cream.

Sufficient for twenty delights.

Pineapple Pudding

For pudding. Beat eggs, add crumbs, salt, Crisco, sugar, and pineapple cut into small dice. Turn into Criscoed pudding dish and bake in moderate oven until firm. Serve hot or cold with sauce.

For sauce. Beat Crisco with sugar to a cream, add salt, sherry, and almonds.

Mrs. Vaughn's Plum Pudding

Chop crystallized fruits, add raisins and currants, then pour brandy (or grape juice) over them and let stand several hours. Cream Crisco and sugar, add eggs well beaten together, and all other ingredients. Divide into greased mold (small Crisco cans will do) filling two-thirds full and steam steadily for three hours. Turn out while hot and serve with hard sauce.

Sufficient for two medium-sized puddings or one very large one.

Rice Pudding

Wash rice and steam it in milk until thick, then allow to cool. Cream Crisco and sugar, add well beaten eggs, raisins, salt, rice, and cinnamon. Grease pudding dish with Crisco, pour in mixture and bake one hour in moderate oven.

Walnut Pudding

Mix flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together, add eggs well beaten, vanilla extract, milk, Crisco, and nuts. Mix well and divide into 9 greased individual molds, cover with greased papers, and steam steadily for three-quarters of an hour. Turn out and serve.

For sauce. Boil sugar and water till syrup spins a thread, pour over beaten yolks of eggs, and stir quickly. Set aside to cool, stir occasionally, add lemon extract and just before serving mix in whipped cream.

Sufficient for nine individual puddings.

Woodford Pudding

For pudding. Cream Crisco and sugar together, add salt, eggs well beaten, nutmeg, flour, soda mixed with buttermilk, and jam. Mix well and turn into Criscoed pudding dish and bake in moderate oven thirty minutes or until firm.

For sauce. Cream Crisco and beat in as much powdered sugar as it will take up, add salt, and stir over boiling water until it becomes liquid, flavor with vanilla extract or sherry, and just before serving add cream. Serve hot with pudding.

Egg and Anchovy Sandwiches

Bone anchovies, put them in basin or mortar with eggs, cheese, and one tablespoonful Crisco, and pound all well together. Mix remaining Crisco with curry powder, lemon juice, and salt to taste. Cut some thin brown bread, spread with curry mixture and layer of anchovy paste. Lay another piece of bread on top, and cut into fancy shapes. Arrange on a lace paper and garnish with watercress.

Sufficient for fifteen sandwiches.

Fried Egg Sandwiches

Cut hard-cooked eggs free from shells into slices and pound with Crisco and cream to a paste. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper. Cut rolls into thin slices, butter them, spread them with the mixture and make into small sandwiches. Dip each sandwich into some prepared fritter batter, and fry to golden brown in hot Crisco. Drain and serve hot.

Sufficient for twelve sandwiches.

Hudson Sandwiches

Put through food chopper cooked meat, olives, capers, and yolks of hard cooked eggs, then add Crisco and seasonings. Spread mixture on slices of buttered brown bread, and stamp them out with a round cutter; sprinkle surfaces of sandwiches with chopped whites of eggs. Dish up in circular fashion. Put lettuce in center with shrimps and a few sprigs of parsley. This sandwich quite repays the trouble of making.

Sufficient for twenty sandwiches.

Pimiento Cheese Sandwiches

Put cheese into double boiler, add Crisco, cornstarch, milk, salt, and paprika to taste and stir and cook until smooth, then add pimientoes cut into small pieces. Spread between buttered slices of graham bread.

Sufficient for twenty-five sandwiches.

Rice Sandwiches

Boil rice in plenty of boiling salted water, add parsley, mace, and lemon peel. When quite tender strain off water, take out parsley, mace, and lemon, and stir into the rice, liver, Crisco, ham, and seasonings. Cut an even number of slices of bread, spread mixture when cold on one-half, and cover with remaining slices of bread. Trim and cut into diamond shapes.

Sufficient for twenty sandwiches.

Sardine Sandwiches

Bone and skin the sardines, then rub through sieve, add cream, Crisco, pulp of tomato and seasonings and mix well. Spread mixture between slices of brown or white bread and butter, stamp out in rounds, in center of each round force a row of whipped cream seasoned with salt and red pepper, place small stamped out leaves of lettuce round the cream.

Sufficient for twelve sandwiches.

Tomato Sandwiches

Mix sugar, flour, salt, mustard and red pepper together, add eggs, vinegar, Crisco, and water and cook in double boiler until thick, stirring all the time. To every tablespoonful of dressing add equal quantity of whipped cream. Skin and slice tomatoes very thin, dip slices into dressing and place between thin slices of buttered bread. Cut into finger shaped pieces.

Sufficient for thirty sandwiches.

Tomato and Horseradish Sandwiches

Mix Crisco, horseradish, and mayonnaise together. Skin and slice tomato, sprinkle with salt and paprika. Spread thin slices of bread and butter with Crisco mixture, and put sliced tomato between, cut into fancy shapes and garnish with parsley.

Sufficient for ten sandwiches.

Plain Crisco Pastry

Sift flour and salt and cut Crisco into flour with knife until finely divided. Finger tips may be used to finish blending materials. Add gradually sufficient water to make stiff paste. Water should be added sparingly and mixed with knife through dry ingredients. Form lightly and quickly with hand into dough; roll out on slightly floured board, about one-quarter inch thick. Use light motion in handling rolling-pin, and roll from center outward.

Sufficient for one small pie.

The New Crisco Pastry

Sift flour and salt into basin. Flour blade of knife, and chop Crisco into flour, being careful to keep flour between blade of knife and shortening. When mixture looks like meal, add gradually, egg well beaten and mixed with lemon juice. Roll pastry into ball with knife. May be used at once, but will be improved if allowed to stand in cool place for one hour. Should be rolled out once and handled as lightly as possible. May be used for sweet or savory dishes. Bake in hot oven. The purpose of the addition of lemon is to render gluten of flour more ductile, so that it will stretch rather than break as paste is rolled out, or as it rises in oven.

Sufficient for two pies.

Tip Top Pastry

Sift and mix together flour, salt, and baking powder. Rub in Crisco with finger tips. Chill two hours. Then take out 1/2 cupful, and to remainder add lemon juice and cold water gradually to make stiff paste. Knead lightly and roll into long narrow strip. Sprinkle dough with half of reserved mixture and fold so as to make 3 layers. Turn half way round, roll again into strip, sprinkle with rest of mixture and fold as before. Roll and fold twice more, and pastry is ready for use for cakes, puddings, or pies.

Sufficient for two pies.

Cornstarch Pastry

Rub Crisco lightly into cornstarch and flour, add salt, sugar, baking powder, beaten yolk of egg, and sufficient milk to mix to stiff paste. Roll out lightly and use for tartlets or one crust pie.

Sufficient for two large pies.

Double Pie

Line large pie plate with pastry.

For under layer. Mix sugar with flour, add molasses, egg well beaten, grated lemon rind, and hot water, and pour into prepared pie plate.

For top layer. Cream Crisco and sugar together, add eggs well beaten, milk, salt, flour, and baking powder. Spread mixture over under layer and bake in hot oven thirty-five minutes.

Sufficient for two large pies.

Almond Layer Pie

Make short crust of Crisco, flour, salt, and water. Roll out thin, and line Criscoed pie plate with piece of paste.

For filling. Cream Crisco and sugar together, add eggs well beaten, almonds, salt, grated rind and one tablespoonful lemon juice. Mix well and spread one-half of mixture on to pastry. Then cover with a layer of pastry, the rest of mixture, and lastly cover with pastry. Bake in a moderate oven until brown. Or the pastry may be rolled out, brushed over with melted Crisco, the mixture spread over it, and rolled up to form a roly-poly. Lay on a Criscoed tin and bake in moderate oven until brown.

Sufficient for one large pie.

Flake Pastry No. 1

Sift flour and salt and cut half the Crisco into flour with knife until it is finely divided. The finger tips may be used to finish blending materials. Then add water sparingly, mixing it with knife through dry materials. Form with the hand into dough and roll out on a floured board to quarter inch thickness. Spread one-third of remaining Crisco on two-thirds of dough nearest you; fold twice, to make three layers, folding in first that part on which Crisco has not been spread. Turn dough, putting folded edges to the sides; roll out, spread and fold as before. Repeat once more. Use a light motion in handling rolling-pin, and roll from center outward. Should Crisco be too hard, it will not mix readily with flour, in which case the result will be a tough crust.

Sufficient for two covered pies.

Flake Pastry No. 2

Mix salt with flour; divide Crisco into four equal parts, rub in one of these only, and then mix to stiff paste with a little cold water. Shape into neat oblong piece, and roll into straight strip about three times as long as it is broad. All over this put on, with the point of knife, one of remaining quarters of Crisco, distributing it evenly in little dabs about size of a pea, so that they look like buttons on a card. Now flour surface lightly and fold paste exactly in three by taking hold of the two bottom corners and doubling them upwards from you and then of the top corners and doubling them downwards towards you. Turn now at right angles to its former position so as to have open ends pointing towards you. Press these quickly together with the roller to inclose some air, and press paste across also in two or three places, making little ridges, thus preventing air which has been shut in, from forming into large bubble. Roll out again, and repeat till remaining two parts of Crisco have thus been used. At the last rolling, bring to required thickness; and if it needs widening as well as lengthening, turn it at right angles to its former position, and roll straight across it as before, a rule which, with flaky pastry, should always be observed, since, unlike the short pastries, its lightness suffers if rolled obliquely to the direction in which it has been folded.

Sufficient for two small pies.

Puff Pastry

Measure Crisco and set in cold place to chill it. Sift flour and salt into basin, and add lemon juice. Take a quarter of the Crisco, and rub it lightly into flour with finger tips until there are no lumps left. Beat yolk of egg and add a little cold water, then add them to the flour, making them into a stiffish dough. Turn this on to floured board, and work well with hands until it will no longer stick to fingers and forms a perfectly smooth dough. Form into oblong piece and roll out to about half inch thickness. The Crisco to be used should be as nearly, as possible of same consistency as the paste.

Form it into neat flat cake, and place in center of pastry. Fold up rather loosely, and flat the folds with rolling-pin. Place in refrigerator for ten minutes. Then roll out pastry into long narrow strip, being careful that Crisco does not get through. Fold exactly in three, press down folds, and lay aside in cool place or in refrigerator fifteen minutes. This is called giving the pastry one "turn" and seven of these is the number required for this pastry. The next time the pastry is rolled, place it with the joins at your right hand side, and open end's towards you. Give two "turns" this time, and again set aside in cool place for at least fifteen minutes. Repeat this until pastry has had seven rolls in all. The object of the cooling between the rolls is to keep Crisco and flour in distinct and separate layers, in which it is the function of the rolling-pin and folding to arrange them, and on which the lightness of the pastry depends.

When rolling, keep the pressure of the two hands as equal as possible. If the pastry becomes rounded, it shows that there is more pressure being done on the rounded side than the other. After it has received its last roll, it is better to be laid aside before using, then rolled to the thickness required.

Sufficient for two pies.

Rough Puff Pastry

Have Crisco cold and firm. Sift flour and salt into basin, add Crisco and cut into pieces one inch square. Beat up egg, add lemon juice and a very little cold water, then add them gradually into other ingredients making them into a stiff paste. Roll in a long piece on floured board, fold in three, turn rough edges toward you and roll out again, continuing this for five times. Place in refrigerator or in cool place ten minutes between each rolling. This pastry may be used at once for all kinds of sweet or savory pies, but it is improved by standing for a few hours in a cool place. Bake in hot oven. Sufficient for two covered pies.

German Paste

Sift flour and almonds into basin, rub Crisco into them, add salt, sugar, eggs well beaten and water to make stiff paste. Leave in cool place two hours, then roll out and use for pies and tartlets.

Sufficient for four pies.

Hot Water Paste

Sift flour, salt and baking powder into basin, rub Crisco lightly into them, then stir in boiling water. Cool paste before using, or it will be too sticky to handle.

Sufficient for one pie.

Butterscotch Pie

Put yolk of egg into saucepan, add brown sugar, flour, milk, water, Crisco, salt, and vanilla. Stir over fire until it thickens and comes to boiling point. Pour into baked pie shell. Beat up white of egg, then beat powdered sugar into it. Spread on top of pie and brown lightly in oven.

Sufficient for one pie.

Rhubarb Custard Pie

Cut rhubarb in small pieces and mix with sugar and flour. Beat egg yolks, add milk, ginger extract, and melted Crisco. Line pie plate with pastry, and fill with rhubarb mixture. Pour custard over and bake in moderate oven until firm. Cover with meringue made with stiffly beaten whites of eggs to which two tablespoonfuls powdered sugar have been added.

Sufficient for one small pie.

Sugar Paste for Tartlets

Sift flour on to baking board, make hole in center, and put in grated lemon rind, salt, sugar, eggs, and Crisco. Mix the whole to a stiff pastry. This paste is used for the bottom layer of pies and to line tartlet tins of various kinds. It is excellent for turnovers. Sufficient for thirty tartlets.

Currant Tartlets

Cream Crisco and sugar together, add ground rice, crumbs, peel, currants, cream, salt, lemon extract, and whites of eggs well beaten. Roll out paste, cut into rounds, line some Criscoed tartlet tins with rounds, put in each a tablespoonful of the mixture. Bake tartlets in moderate oven from twelve to fifteen minutes. Or, these tartlets may be covered with frosting, and a little chopped cocoanut sprinkled over tops.

Sufficient for nine tartlets.

Bartemian Tarts

Roll pastry thin and cut out large cakes of it. Beat egg, add sugar, Crisco, rind and strained juice of lemon, salt, citron, and raisins. Mix and put tablespoonful of mixture on each of pastry cakes, wet edges of paste and fold like old fashioned turn over. Do not stick with fork or juice will run out. Lay turn overs on Criscoed tins and bake in hot oven from twelve to fifteen minutes.

Sufficient for twelve tarts.

Apricot Tarts

Rub Crisco into flour, add salt, sugar, baking powder, break egg in and mix well with fork, then add vanilla. Roll out, cut with cutter and line Criscoed tartlet tins with the rounds. Line with paper and put in some rice or peas to keep paste from rising; bake in hot oven twenty minutes. Remove rice and papers. When pastries are cold put in each one a spoonful of the jam or jelly. Fill with whipped cream and decorate with cherries and angelica.

Sufficient for thirty tarts.

Bakewell Tartlets

Cream Crisco and sugar, then add eggs well beaten, flour, salt, baking powder, and extract. Line twelve tartlet tins with pastry, put teaspoonful of preserves in each, then divide mixture into them, and bake in moderately hot oven twenty minutes.

Sufficient for twelve tartlets.

Baking Powder Biscuits

Mix and sift twice dry ingredients. Work in Crisco with finger tips, add gradually milk, mixing with knife to soft dough. Toss on floured board; pat and roll to one-half inch thickness. Shape with biscuit cutter. Place on Criscoed tin and bake in hot oven twelve minutes. To have good biscuits dough should be handled as little as possible, just enough to get in shape to cut. Milk or water used for mixing should be very cold, and biscuits should be gotten into oven at once after adding liquid to flour. If top of each biscuit is lightly brushed over with melted Crisco before baking, crust will be much nicer. Sufficient for fifteen biscuits.

Best Jumbles

Cream Crisco and sugar thoroughly together, then gradually add eggs well beaten, now add milk, extracts, flour, salt and baking powder. Mix and roll out lightly on floured baking board; cut into circles with doughnut cutter, lay on Criscoed tins and bake in moderate oven from seven to ten minutes or till light brown. These cookies will keep fresh two weeks, and if milk is left out, a month.

Sufficient for seventy jumbles.

Boston Brown Bread

Mix and sift ingredients. Dissolve soda with one tablespoonful hot water, add to molasses, then add milk and mix with dry ingredients. Turn into greased mold two-thirds full, grease cover, and steam steadily three and a half hours. A 6-pound Crisco pail can be used for a mold.

Sufficient for one loaf.

Bran Gems

Mix Crisco thoroughly with molasses, add egg well beaten, milk, salt, bran, flours, and baking powder. Divide into well greased gem pans, and bake in hot oven from eight to ten minutes. These gems are excellent for constipation.

Sufficient for eight gems.

Brown Nut Bread

Beat eggs and sugar together for five minutes, then add molasses, soda mixed with milk, salt, flours, raisins, and nuts. Mix and turn into Criscoed and floured cake tin and bake in slow oven one and a quarter hours.

Sufficient for one medium-sized loaf.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together, then rub in Crisco with finger tips, add egg well beaten, and soda mixed with milk. Dough should be soft and little more milk can be added if needed. Roll out lightly and handle as little as possible. Cut with biscuit cutter, lay on Criscoed tins and bake in hot oven ten minutes.

Sufficient for thirty biscuits.

Chocolate Brownies

Cream Crisco and sugar together, add eggs well beaten, chocolate dissolved in boiling water, salt, flour, vanilla, and nuts. Divide and spread thin in 2 Criscoed square pans and bake in slow oven from twenty to twenty-five minutes. Cut in strips and serve with ice cream. These are a cross between cookies and heavy cake.

Sufficient for fifty brownies.

Chocolate Wafers

Cream Crisco and sugar together, add chocolate melted, eggs well beaten, vanilla extract, flour, salt, and soda. Mix and turn out on to floured baking board. Roll out thin, and cut with small cutter. Lay on Criscoed tin and bake from seven to ten minutes in moderate oven.

Sufficient for forty-six wafers.

Citron Buns

Scald milk, add half of sugar and salt; when lukewarm add yeast dissolved in water and 1-1/2 cupfuls flour. Mix, cover, and let rise till light; then add Crisco, remainder of sugar and flour, raisins, peel, and extract. Knead lightly, cover, and let rise. Divide into small pieces, let rise on greased tins, brush over with beaten egg and bake in hot oven twenty minutes.

Sufficient for twenty-two buns.

Coffee Bread

Heat milk slightly, then add flour to make batter and yeast dissolved in little lukewarm water. Allow to rise until light, then add Crisco, eggs well beaten, sugar, lemon, salt, and enough flour to make stiff dough. Knead ten minutes and let rise until light. Place in Criscoed pan and let rise again. Spread with melted Crisco and sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and nuts. Bake in hot oven half an hour.

Sufficient for one large loaf.

Columbia Muffins

Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together. Cream Crisco and sugar, add egg well beaten, then milk and flour mixture. Divide into Criscoed and floured gem pans and bake twenty-five minutes in hot oven.

Sufficient for twenty muffins.

Corn Bread

Mix cornmeal with flour, sugar, salt, Crisco, eggs well beaten, and soda mixed with cream. Mix well and turn into Criscoed tin and bake in moderate oven thirty minutes.

Sufficient for one small pan of corn bread.

Cornmeal Rolls

Sift together flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Rub in Crisco with finger tips, then add egg well beaten and milk. Roll out, cut into rounds with a large cutter, brush over with melted Crisco, fold over as for Parkerhouse rolls, brush tops with beaten egg or milk and bake in hot oven ten minutes.

Sufficient for fifteen rolls.

Cream Scones

Mix and sift flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Rub in Crisco with finger tips, add eggs well beaten and cream. Knead dough lightly on floured baking board, divide into four equal pieces, make smooth and roll out, and cut into 4 small scones. Lay them on hot griddle, brush over with beaten white of egg and fry slowly on both sides. The dough should always be lightly handled.

Sufficient for sixteen scones.

Crisco Brownies

Cream Crisco and sugar together, add eggs well beaten, molasses, extract, flour, salt and nuts. Divide into small fancy Criscoed tins, or bake in Criscoed sheet tin and cut in squares. Bake in moderate oven half hour. These are a cross between cake and candy.

Sufficient for twelve squares.

Crisco Batter Cakes

Beat up yolks of eggs, add milk, Crisco, and flour mixed with salt, soda, and baking powder and beat till smooth. Fold in whites beaten to a stiff froth. Drop in large spoonfuls on ungreased skillet or griddle. Serve hot with butter or maple syrup.

Sufficient for fifteen cakes.

Crisco Milk Bread

Mix yeast cake with 1 tablespoonful sugar. Heat milk, add remainder of sugar, Crisco, and salt. Cool and add yeast and flour to make stiff dough. Turn out on floured baking board, cut in three pieces, knead first one piece then others stretching dough; let rise over night or in warm temperature five hours. Knead lightly and divide into Criscoed pans. Allow to rise and bake in moderate oven one hour. From same dough, French bread, breadsticks, horse shoe rolls and French rolls can be made.

Sufficient for three loaves.

Dessert Biscuits

Cream Crisco and gradually add sugar, mix thoroughly, and incorporate, one by one, whites of eggs. Now add flour, salt, and vanilla. Mix well, then place in small, long heaps on a Criscoed tin. Bake in cool oven to pale brown color.

Sufficient for sixty biscuits.

Entire Wheat Bread

Mix boiling water, milk, sugar, salt, and Crisco together. Add yeast cake dissolved in tepid water, with 3-1/2 cupfuls whole wheat flour. Mix and let stand until light. Add more flour until soft dough is formed, then knead and divide into two loaves. Place in Criscoed tins and let stand until the dough doubles its bulk. Brush over with milk and bake in moderate oven one and a half hours.

Sufficient for two small loaves.

Excellent Graham Bread

Sift flours with baking powder, salt, sugar, and soda, then add Crisco and milk. Mix and turn into greased and floured cake tin and bake in moderate oven fifty minutes.

Sufficient for one small loaf.

Filled Cookies

For cookies. Cream Crisco and sugar, add salt, egg well beaten, milk, vanilla, and flour sifted with baking powder and soda. Mix and turn out on figured baking board. Dough should be soft. Roll very thin and cut out with cooky cutter. Spread one-half of cookies with filling then place remaining cookies on top and press edges together. Place on Criscoed tins and bake in moderately hot oven fifteen minutes.

For filling. Mix sugar and flour in saucepan, add raisins, nuts, and water, stir and cook until thick. Cool before using.

Fried Cornmeal Nut Cakes

Bring water and salt to boil, stir in cornmeal, add nut meats, and stir and cook ten minutes. Remove from fire and add egg well beaten, and melted Crisco. Turn into Criscoed tin and cool. When cold, slice and fry in hot Crisco. Serve with honey or maple syrup.

Sufficient for six or eight slices.

Fried Cakes with Apple Sauce

Cream Crisco, gradually add sugar, then add salt, nutmeg, lemon, soda, baking powder, sour milk and sufficient flour to make stiffish dough. Roll out on floured baking board, cut with large round cutter, and fry in hot Crisco until well cooked and nicely browned on both sides. Drain and serve with hot apple sauce.

Sufficient for twenty cakes.

Fruit Cookies

Cream Crisco and sugar together, add salt, eggs well beaten, soda mixed with milk, spices, raisins, nuts, and enough flour to make stiff dough. About 5 cupfuls flour will be sufficient. Roll out, cut with cooky cutter, lay on Criscoed tins and bake in moderate oven from ten to twelve minutes.

Sufficient for sixty cookies.

Fruit Drop Cakes

Cream Crisco and sugar together, add yolks of eggs well beaten. Beat whites stiffly and add alternately with milk. Add sifted flour, baking powder and salt, then fruits, nuts and extract. Divide mixture into Criscoed and floured gem pans, and bake twenty minutes in moderate oven.

Sufficient for eighteen drop cakes.

Fruit Rolls

Scald milk, when lukewarm add yeast cake dissolved in tepid water and 1-1/2 cupfuls flour, beat well, cover and let rise till light. Add sugar, salt, eggs well beaten, Crisco and enough flour to knead; knead, let rise again. Roll out one-eighth inch thick, spread with melted Crisco, sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and mace, fruit and nuts; roll like jelly roll and cut in one inch pieces. Place pieces in Criscoed pan, let rise, brush over with melted Crisco, and bake in hot oven twenty minutes.

Sufficient for sixteen rolls.

Ginger Snaps

Cream Crisco and sugar together, add molasses, spices, salt, soda mixed with boiling water and sufficient flour to make stiff paste. Roll out thin, cut with small cutter, lay on Criscoed tins and bake in hot oven from five to seven minutes.

Sufficient for one hundred snaps.

Ginger Gems

Cream Crisco and sugar together, then add eggs well beaten. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together and add alternately with milk to first mixture. Now mix in ginger and divide mixture into Criscoed and floured gem pans and bake in hot oven twenty-five minutes.

Sufficient for sixteen gems.

Gluten Bread

Mix Crisco, boiling water, milk, and salt. When lukewarm, add yeast cake dissolved in warm water, egg well beaten, and gluten. Let rise, when risen and spongy beat well, add enough gluten to make a stiff dough and knead well. Allow to rise, shape in loaves, place in Criscoed bread pans, let rise, and bake for one hour in moderately hot oven.

Sufficient for two small loaves.

Golden Corn Muffins

Cream Crisco and sugar thoroughly together, add eggs well beaten and milk. Then stir in slowly dry ingredients which have been sifted together three times. Divide into greased gem pans and bake in moderately hot oven twenty-five minutes.

Sufficient for twelve muffins.

Hominy Bread for Breakfast

Beat eggs, add milk and hominy. Sift in cornmeal, add baking powder and salt; add Crisco. Beat all together three minutes. Pour into deep Criscoed pan and bake one hour in slow oven. Serve hot.

Sufficient for one large loaf.

Health Bread

Mix flours and bran together, add Crisco, salt, sugar, egg well beaten, milk, molasses, soda dissolved in boiling water, and dates. Mix well together and turn into two Criscoed and floured tins and bake in moderate oven one and a quarter hours. This bread is excellent for constipation.

Sufficient for two loaves.

Honey Doughnuts

Cream Crisco, honey and sugar well together, then add eggs well beaten, mix well, add milk, lemon extract, flour, salt, soda, and cream of tartar. Mix and turn out on baking board, roll out and cut with doughnut cutter. Fry in plenty of hot Crisco. If a piece of bread browns in hot Crisco in sixty seconds, temperature is right for doughnuts and fritters.

Sufficient for sixty-five doughnuts.

Hot Cross Buns

Add Crisco, sugar, and salt to milk; when lukewarm, add yeast cake dissolved in water, spices, egg well beaten, and sufficient flour to make a stiff-dough. Mix well, add raisins and peel, cover, and let rise over night. In morning divide into pieces and form into neat buns; place in Criscoed pan one inch apart, let rise, brush over with milk or beaten egg, and bake in moderately hot oven twenty-five minutes. Cool, and with ornamental frosting make a cross on each bun. The cross may be made by placing strips of paste on buns before they are baked.

Sufficient for twenty buns.

Imperial Muffins

Add sugar and salt to milk; when lukewarm add yeast cake dissolved in 1/4 cupful of the water, and 1-1/4 cupfuls flour, cover, and let rise until light, then add Crisco, cornmeal, remaining flour and water. Let rise over night, in morning fill Criscoed muffin rings, two-thirds full; let rise until rings are full and bake thirty minutes in hot oven.

Sufficient for twelve muffins.

Lemon Wafers

Cover ammonia with milk and let soak over night. Next morning add sugar, Crisco, salt, eggs well beaten, lemon and enough flour to make a stiff dough. Roll very thin, cut in squares or diamonds, lay on Criscoed tins and bake from five to seven minutes in hot oven.

Sufficient for one hundred and eighty-six wafers.

Lunch Rolls

Scald and cool the milk, then add yeast and sugar. Now add Crisco and 2 cupfuls flour. Beat thoroughly, then add egg well beaten, remainder of flour and salt. Mix and turn out on floured board and knead lightly and thoroughly, using as little flour as possible. Place in greased bowl, cover and set aside in warm place to rise two hours. When light, form into small rounds, place one inch apart on greased pan. Allow to rise half an hour. Brush over with Crisco and bake in hot oven fifteen minutes.

Sufficient for twenty rolls.

Maple Cookies

Cream Crisco and sugar together, add egg well beaten, mix well, add cream, salt, soda dissolved in water, and sufficient flour to make of right consistency to drop from spoon. Grate some maple sugar on each cookie and bake in moderate oven eight minutes. Sufficient for forty cookies.

Maryland Beaten Biscuits

Mix and sift flour and salt. Cut Crisco in with knife or work in lightly with finger tips. Mix a little milk and water together chill thoroughly and add enough to dry ingredients to make stiff dough. Everything should be as cold as possible. Beat with rolling-pin until dough blisters. Roll to one-third inch in thickness and cut into small biscuits, prick in center and set in refrigerator an hour before baking. Place biscuits on Criscoed tins and bake in moderate oven thirty minutes. Biscuits may be baked in moderate gas oven and gas turned off when biscuits are golden brown. Allow biscuits to remain ten minutes in cooling oven to dry out.

Sufficient for sixty small biscuits, a fraction larger than a dollar.

Muffins

Add Crisco, salt, and half of sugar to milk and water; when lukewarm add yeast mixed with remaining sugar, egg well beaten, and flour. Beat thoroughly, cover, and let rise until light. Put greased muffin rings on hot griddle greased with Crisco. Fill half full with raised muffin mixture and cook slowly until well risen and browned underneath. Turn muffins and rings and brown other side. When muffins are cold, split open, toast, and serve with marmalade.

Sufficient for sixteen muffins.

Nut Doughnuts

Cream Crisco and sugar together, add eggs well beaten, milk, salt, extracts, baking powder, nuts, and sufficient flour to make soft dough. Roll out, cut with cutter and fry in hot Crisco to a golden color. Drain and sift with sugar.

Sufficient for seventy-five doughnuts.

Oatmeal Cookies

Cream Crisco and sugar thoroughly together, add eggs well-beaten, rolled oats, dates, salt, spices, soda dissolved in milk, and flour. Mix and drop from spoon on Criscoed baking tins. Bake in moderate oven from ten to twelve minutes.

Sufficient for forty-five cookies.

Oven Scones

Rub Crisco finely into flour, add sugar, salt, soda, and cream of tartar. Beat egg, put half of it into cup, then with one-half and some sweet milk make other ingredients into soft dough. Knead very little on floured baking board, divide into five pieces, make them smooth and roll out, not too thinly, cut them into four small cakes. Lay them on a Criscoed tin, brush over with remaining egg and bake in hot oven ten minutes. A few currants or raisins may be added if liked.

Sufficient for twenty small scones.

Raised Doughnuts

Dissolve yeast cake in lukewarm water. Scald milk and cool, then add yeast, half teaspoonful of the salt and flour to make a drop batter. Set in a cosy place to rise. Cream Crisco with sugar, add eggs well beaten, remainder of salt and nutmeg, add to yeast mixture with enough flour to make stiff dough; let rise again. When risen, make into small balls and place in a Criscoed pan to rise. When light drop into plenty of hot Crisco and cook from four to five minutes until doughnuts are done. Drain on soft paper and dredge with powdered sugar.

Sufficient for seventy doughnuts.

Raisin and Buttermilk Bread

Sift flour, salt, soda and cream of tartar into basin, rub in Crisco fine, add sugar, raisins, eggs well beaten, and sufficient buttermilk to make soft dough. Make into smooth mound, roll out, divide into four pieces, lay on greased tin and bake in moderate oven twenty-five minutes.

Sufficient to make four small loaves.

Rich Doughnuts

From 4-1/2 to 5 cupfuls flour sifted before measuring. Cream Crisco, add sugar gradually, and eggs well beaten. Sift dry ingredients and add alternately to egg mixture. Roll out as soft as can be handled. Cut with cutter and fry in hot Crisco. Heat Crisco until crumb of bread becomes golden brown in sixty seconds.

Sufficient for sixty doughnuts.

Rolled Oats Bread

Add boiling water to oats and allow to stand one hour; add molasses, salt, Crisco, yeast cake dissolved in lukewarm water, and flour to make stiff dough; knead well, let rise, knead a very little, divide into two Criscoed bread pans, let rise again and bake forty minutes in moderate oven.

Sufficient for two small loaves.

Rose Leaves

Cream Crisco, adding sugar gradually, then stir in eggs well beaten; add salt, extract, and flour. The dough should be soft. Now chill dough, then roll very thin, using sugar instead of flour, to dust rolling-pin and board. Cut out with small fancy cutter. Place on tins greased with Crisco and bake in moderate oven eight or ten minutes or until slightly browned.

Sufficient for fifty small cakes.

Rye Muffins

Sift flour, meal, baking powder, and salt together. Beat egg and sugar together, then add them with milk and melted Crisco. Mix and divide into Criscoed gem pans and bake in moderate oven twelve minutes.

Sufficient for twelve muffins.

Savarin

For cake. Put yeast cake into cup, add 1 tablespoonful sugar, 1 tablespoonful flour, and lukewarm water. Allow to rise ten minutes. Put flour into basin, add salt, remainder of sugar, almonds, yeast mixture, eggs well beaten, and Crisco melted and cooled. Beat ten minutes with wooden spoon. Turn into Criscoed tube mold. Allow to rise until doubled in size, then bake in quick oven forty-five minutes. Mold should be sprinkled over with shredded almonds.

For syrup. Boil sugar and water for almost forty-five minutes, then add lemon juice. Soak cake with syrup and when cold serve with cream in center.

Sufficient for one savarin.

Shortbread Cookies

Beat Crisco, sugar, and salt to cream. Add gradually egg well beaten, flour, and flavoring. Knead lightly on floured baking board, then roll out one-fourth inch thick and cut into small rounds. Mark them with fork, lay on Criscoed tins and bake in moderate oven from ten to fifteen minutes.

Sufficient for forty cookies

Soda Beaten Biscuit

Sift flour with soda and salt, then rub in Crisco thoroughly with finger tips, and mix to stiff dough with buttermilk. Beat with rolling-pin or hammer until dough blisters. Roll out one-third inch in thickness, cut with round cutter, and lay on Criscoed tins. Bake in moderate oven from thirty to forty minutes.

Sufficient for forty biscuits.

Sour Milk Biscuits

Sift flour and salt into basin, rub Crisco lightly into them. Stir soda into milk until it effervesces and then add to flour. Turn out on floured baking board, knead lightly until smooth, roll out quarter of an inch thick, cut with biscuit cutter, place on greased tin and bake twelve to fifteen minutes in hot oven.

Sufficient to make twelve biscuits.

Sour Milk Griddle Cakes

Sift dry ingredients, add milk, well beaten egg, and melted Crisco. Drop by spoonfuls on hot griddle, greased with Crisco. Cook until browned, then turn and cook on other side. Serve hot with syrup.

Sufficient for eighteen cakes.

Sour Milk Tea Cakes

Beat up the eggs, add meal and milk and mix well, add flour, sugar, soda, and salt sifted together. Now add extract and Crisco, melted, and beat two minutes. Divide into Criscoed and floured gem pans and bake in moderate oven fifteen minutes.

Sufficient for sixteen cakes.

Steamed Nut Bread