Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume IV Part 11

Wash the rice in the usual way and place it in a baking dish. Add the sugar, salt, a grating of nutmeg, and a few thin slices of lemon rind.

Pour in the milk, place in a slow oven, and bake for several hours. Stir frequently to prevent the top surface from browning, and if there is any possibility of this occurring, cover the baking dish with a cover. One hour before the pudding has finished baking, clean the raisins and add them. When done, remove from the oven, cool, and serve. When the pudding is served, the grains of rice should be whole and the liquid should be of a creamy consistency. If the pudding is too dry when cool, add a little more milk and return to the oven for a few minutes.

36. TAPIOCA CREAM.--In the dessert here given, as well as in several that follow, tapioca is used as the thickening material. TAPIOCA is practically a true starch and is taken from the roots of the ca.s.sava plant, which grows in tropical and subtropical regions. In the process of its manufacture, most of the starch cells are ruptured. It may be purchased in two forms: one that is large in size and called _pearl tapioca_ and the other, very small and known as _minute tapioca_. Pearl tapioca does not require as long cooking if it is first soaked in cold water for a number of hours. Minute tapioca cooks in much less time than pearl tapioca.

Tapioca cream is a soft custard that should be thin enough to pour when it is cold. It may be served with whipped cream if desired or may merely be poured into dessert dishes or sherbet gla.s.ses and served plain. A spoonful of pink jelly on top of each serving makes a very attractive garnish.

TAPIOCA CREAM (Sufficient to Serve Six)

1/3 c. tapioca 1 pt. milk 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 2 eggs 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Soak the tapioca in cold water for 4 or 5 hours before making the dessert, and then drain off all the water. Heat the milk in a double boiler, stir the tapioca into the hot milk, and cook until it is thick and transparent, being sure that none of the centers are uncooked. Add the sugar and salt. Separate the whites and yolks of the eggs. Beat the yolks, mix a small amount of the hot tapioca with them, and stir into the tapioca in the double boiler. Stir until the eggs have thickened and then remove from the fire. Beat the whites until they are stiff and fold, with the vanilla, into the tapioca. Cool and serve.

37. TAPIOCA CUSTARD.--If something different in the way of a tapioca dessert is desired, tapioca custard will no doubt be very acceptable.

This dessert has the consistency of a baked custard containing tapioca, and in preparation and proportion that is really what it is.

TAPIOCA CUSTARD (Sufficient to Serve Six)

1/2 c. tapioca 2 c. milk 2 eggs 2/3 c. sugar 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Soak the tapioca for 4 or 5 hours and drain off the water. Cook the tapioca and the milk in a double boiler until it is transparent and remove from the fire. Beat the eggs and to them add the sugar, salt, and vanilla, and stir this into the tapioca. Turn into a b.u.t.tered baking dish and bake until the custard mixture is set. Cool and serve.

38. MINUTE-TAPIOCA CUSTARD.--Minute tapioca does not require soaking nor as long cooking as pearl tapioca, for the pieces of tapioca being much smaller may be more quickly penetrated by both heat and moisture. Then, too, a smaller proportion of it is required to thicken the same amount of milk.

MINUTE-TAPIOCA CUSTARD (Sufficient to Serve Six)

2 c. milk 2 Tb. minute tapioca 1 egg 1/4 c. sugar 1/2 tsp. salt Vanilla

Heat the milk in a double boiler, add the tapioca, and cook for 15 or 20 minutes. Beat the egg, add to it the sugar and salt, and pour the hot tapioca gradually into this. Flavor with vanilla, turn into a b.u.t.tered baking dish, place in the oven in a pan of water, and bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Cool and serve.

39. APPLE TAPIOCA.--The combination of fruit and tapioca is agreeable to most persons. Peaches and apples, either fresh or canned, are used oftenest for this purpose. For the apple tapioca here given, the apples should be somewhat sour, as there will then be more character to the dessert. Canned or fresh peaches or canned pineapple may be used in exactly the same way as apples. If canned fruit is used, not so much sugar nor baking in the oven will be necessary.

APPLE TAPIOCA (Sufficient to Serve Six)

3/4 c. pearl tapioca or 1/2 c. minute tapioca 2 c. boiling water 1/2 tsp. salt 6 apples 1/2 c. brown sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 Tb. b.u.t.ter

If pearl tapioca is used, soak it for 4 or 5 hours and then drain off all the water. Minute tapioca will need no soaking. Add the tapioca to the boiling water and salt. Cook in a double boiler until the tapioca is entirely transparent. Pare and core the apples, place them in a b.u.t.tered baking dish, fill each cavity with sugar and cinnamon, and place a piece of b.u.t.ter on top. Pour the hot tapioca over these, place in a hot oven, and bake until the apples are soft. Serve either hot or cold with sugar and cream.

40. CARAMEL TAPIOCA.--Persons who care for caramel as a flavoring will find caramel tapioca a delicious dessert. The caramel for it should be made according to the directions given in Art. 25.

CARAMEL TAPIOCA (Sufficient to Serve Six)

1 c. pearl tapioca 5 c. water 2 c. sugar 1/2 c. boiling water 1 lemon

Put the tapioca to soak overnight in the water. When ready to prepare, place in a baking dish with the water used to soak the tapioca and set in a very slow oven. Caramelize half the sugar and add to it the 1/2 cupful of boiling water. Pour this with the remaining cup of sugar over the tapioca and continue to cook in the oven until the tapioca is perfectly clear and the liquid has evaporated sufficiently to make a dessert of the proper consistency to serve. Upon removing from the oven, squeeze the juice of the lemon over the tapioca and stir slowly so that this may penetrate throughout the dessert. Cool and serve with whipped cream.

41. FARINA CUSTARD.--A means of using left-over breakfast cereals is given in the accompanying recipe. Farina is the cereal used, but vitos, cream of wheat, etc. may be used in the same way. Cereal may be cooked especially for the purpose if there is none on hand and the dessert is desired. In this event, it should be cooked in the usual way and may be used either warm or cold.

FARINA CUSTARD (Sufficient to Serve Six)

1-1/2 c. cooked farina 1-1/2 c. milk 1 egg 1/3 c. sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. lemon 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix the farina with the milk. Beat the egg and to it add the sugar and salt. Add this to the farina and milk, stir in the flavoring, and pour in a b.u.t.tered baking dish. Bake until the mixture is set. This will require about 45 minutes in a moderate oven.

GELATINE DESSERTS

PRINCIPLES OF GELATINE MAKING

42. GELATINE DESSERTS are those in which gelatine forms the basis.

GELATINE is an odorless, tasteless substance extracted from the bones and various tissues of animals. It is used in a variety of forms, such as glue and isingla.s.s, but is also purified and prepared commercially for use in desserts. When it is to be used as a thickening agent in dessert making, it is ground and sold in this form, or it is mixed with sugar, flavoring, and acid, when all that is necessary to make it an appetizing dessert is that it be dissolved in hot water. In both of these forms, it is sold under different trade names. The gelatine itself does not provide any appreciable food value, but it is a means of conveying various foods, such as eggs, milk, sugar, and many kinds of fruit and fruit juices, all of which are more or less valuable for their const.i.tuents. In addition, it produces desserts that are appetizing and that may be garnished and served in many attractive ways.

43. To be most satisfactory, gelatine desserts should usually be made just heavy enough with gelatine to retain the desired shape. The heavier they become, the more rubbery they are in consistency and the less dainty and agreeable. Their consistency can be regulated by the proportion of liquid to gelatine that is used.

The general method of preparation followed when plain gelatine is used in desserts consists in first soaking the gelatine in sufficient cold water to moisten it, then dissolving it in hot liquid as near the boiling point as possible, and finally cooling it in order to allow it to solidify. As cold is absolutely essential for the mixture to solidify, it is often difficult to prepare a gelatine dessert in the summer time. Therefore, when a dessert of this kind is desired in the warm weather, it should always be begun long enough before it is to be served to allow it to become thoroughly solid. As it is usually difficult to tell how much time this requires on a warm day, even with a refrigerator or other cold place, it is much safer to overestimate the time required than to underestimate it.

44. Boiling does not, as was formerly thought, destroy the power of coagulation in gelatine for at least some time. Therefore, when necessary, it may be boiled for 10 or 15 minutes without causing any change. One fruit that will prevent gelatine from solidifying, however, is raw pineapple. This is an important point to remember in connection with gelatine desserts. If it is desired to use fresh pineapple with gelatine, it will first be necessary to bring the pineapple to the boiling point in order to destroy the property that prevents the gelatine from solidifying.

45. The proportion of liquid to gelatine is another factor to be reckoned with in the successful making of gelatine desserts. This differs in the various kinds of gelatine, but the proper proportion is usually stated on the package in which the gelatine comes or on a folder inside the package. The amount mentioned is usually what is considered to be ideal for the preparation of gelatine dishes and may generally be relied on. In hot weather, however, it is advisable to use just a little less liquid than the directions require.

In using the different brands of unsweetened and unflavored gelatines, the proportion of liquid to gelatine is usually similar. 1/2 ounce of this granulated gelatine, which is 1/2 of the amount usually put up in a package, will solidify 1 quart of liquid. If this proportion is kept in mind, little difficulty will be experienced in using this form of gelatine. For convenience in measuring small amounts of the granulated gelatine, it will be well to remember that 1 ounce of this material equals 4-1/2 tablespoonfuls. Thus, if a recipe calls for 1/2 ounce of gelatine, it is simply necessary to measure 2-1/4 tablespoonfuls to get the required amount to solidify 1 quart of liquid.

RECIPES FOR GELATINE DESSERTS

46. PLAIN GELATINE.--A very good dessert can be made of fruit juice solidified by means of gelatine. Any canned fruit juice or any mixture of juices that will blend well and produce a jelly of agreeable flavor may be used for this purpose. These are usually brought to the boiling point before being added, but in case juices that may be injured by heating are used, they may be added cold and the gelatine dissolved in boiling water. When this is done, a little additional lemon will be necessary in order to increase the flavor.

Plain jelly made according to the accompanying recipe may be served in various attractive ways. One method of serving it is shown in Fig. 4. To prepare it in this manner, pour the gelatine mixture into stemmed gla.s.ses and allow it to solidify. When partly solid, decorate the top with wedge-shaped pieces of pineapple and place a cherry in the center, as ill.u.s.trated. When entirely solid, place the gla.s.s on a small plate and serve. The fruit may be omitted if desired and whipped cream served on the gelatine.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 4, A dish of plain gelatine.]

Plain jelly is also attractive when poured into a large mold, allowed to solidify, and then turned out on a plate. If the mold is moistened with cold water before the gelatine is poured into it, no difficulty will be experienced in removing the jelly when it becomes solid. The center of the mold may be filled with whipped cream before it is put on the table or the jelly may be served plain and the whipped cream then added to each serving from another dish.

PLAIN GELATINE (Sufficient to Serve Six)

1/2 oz. or 2-1/4 Tb. unflavored gelatine 1/2 c. cold water 3 c. fruit juice Juice of 1 lemon Sugar

Soak the gelatine in the cold water until it is well moistened. Strain the fruit juices, heat to boiling point, and pour over the gelatine.

Add the lemon juice and a sufficient amount of sugar to sweeten. Allow to solidify and serve in any desired manner.

47. ORANGE JELLY.--An excellent dessert is the result when orange juice is used for flavoring and gelatine for thickening. This jelly may be poured into molds that have been moistened with cold water, or, as shown in Fig. 5, it may be poured into orange skins made to resemble baskets and then garnished with whipped cream.

ORANGE JELLY (Sufficient to Serve Six)

1/2 oz. or 2-1/4 Tb. unflavored gelatine 1/2 c. cold water 1 c. boiling water 1 c. sugar 1/2 c. lemon juice 1-1/2 c. orange juice

Soak the gelatine in the cold water until it is well moistened, and dissolve with the boiling water. Add the sugar and the lemon and orange juice strained. Pour into a large mold or individual molds and set aside to solidify. Serve in any desired way.