The Kitchen Encyclopedia Part 2

TO CLEAN LINEN SHADES, lay them flat and rub with powdered bath-brick.

TO CLEAN PIANO KEYS, rub with muslin dipped in alcohol. If the keys are very yellow, use a piece of flannel moistened with cologne water.

TO CLEAN BOOKS with delicate bindings, which are soiled from handling, rub with chamois skin dipped in powdered pumice stone.

TO RESTORE STRAW MATTING which has become stained or faded, wash with a strong solution of soda water. Use ordinary baking soda and plenty of Swift's Pride Soap and wash thoroughly, and when dry it will be found that the spots have all disappeared and the matting is all one color.

TO CLEAN GLa.s.s VASES, tea-leaves moistened with vinegar will remove the discoloration in gla.s.s vases caused by flowers, such as asters.

TO CLEAN WINDOWS AND MIRRORS, rub them over with thin cold starch, let it dry on, and then wipe off with a soft cloth. This will clean the gla.s.s and also give it a brilliant polish.

TO REMOVE PAINT from window gla.s.s, use strong hot vinegar.

TO REMOVE WHITE SPOTS FROM FURNITURE, rub first with oil, and then with slightly diluted alcohol.

TO REMOVE STAINS from an enameled saucepan, fill with water, add a little chloride of lime, and boil for a few minutes.

TO CLEAN WILLOW-WARE, wash with salt water, using a brush.

TO POLISH THE GLOBES of gas and electric-light fixtures, wash with water in which a few drops of ammonia have been dissolved.

TO CLEAN TILING, wipe with a soft cloth wrung out in soapy water. Never scrub tiling, as scrubbing or the use of much water will eventually loosen the cement and dislodge the sections.

TO BRIGHTEN NICKEL tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs on a gas stove, wash with warm water, in which two tablespoonfuls of kerosene have been stirred.

TO SAVE DUSTING, a piece of cheese cloth about two yards long placed on the floor in a freshly swept room will save much of the usual dusting.

Laundry Helps

A few cents' worth of powdered orris-root put in the wash water will impart a delicate odor to the clothes.

Hot milk is better than hot water to remove fruit stains.

To remove spots from gingham, wet with milk and cover with common salt.

Leave for two hours, then rinse thoroughly.

In was.h.i.+ng white goods that have become yellow, put a few drops of turpentine into the water, then lay on the gra.s.s to dry in the strong suns.h.i.+ne.

To make wash silk look like new, put a tablespoonful of wood alcohol to every quart of water when rinsing and iron while still damp.

When was.h.i.+ng, if the article is badly soiled, use a small scrubbing brush and scrub the goods over the washboard.

To set green or blue, mauve or purple, soak the articles for at least ten minutes in alum water before was.h.i.+ng them. Use an ounce of alum to a gallon of water. To set brown or tan color, soak for ten minutes in a solution made of a cupful of vinegar in a pail of water. Black goods and black-and-white goods need to be soaked in strong salt water, or to have a cupful of turpentine put into the wash water. Yellows, buffs, and tans are made much brighter by having a cupful of strong, strained coffee put in the rinsing water.

When ironing fine pieces, instead of sprinkling afresh, take a piece of muslin, wring it out in cold water, and lay on the ironing board under the article; press with a warm iron; remove the wet piece and iron.

When making starch for light clothes use Wool Soap in the water. This will give the clothes a glossy appearance and the irons will not stick.

Badly scorched linen may be improved by using the following solution: Boil together well a pint of vinegar, an ounce of Wool Soap, four ounces of fuller's earth, and the juice of two onions. Spread this solution over the scorched spots on the linen and let it dry. Afterward wash the garment and the scorch will disappear.

To keep the clothes-line from twisting, hold the ball of rope in one hand and wind with the other until a twist appears; then change ball to the other hand and the twist will disappear. Keep doing this, changing the rope from one hand to the other until the line is all wound up.

About House Plants

To make ferns grow better, place some thin pieces of raw beef close to the inside of the pot, between the pot and the soil.

Old-fas.h.i.+oned portulaca makes a pretty low-growing green for a fern dish.

To prevent plants from dropping their buds, give extra good drainage and systematic but moderate watering.

An infallible wash for destroying the scaly insects that infest house plants is made as follows: Place half a bar of Swift's Pride Laundry Soap in a deep saucer and pour kerosene around it. Let this stand for about a week until the soap has absorbed the oil. Then make a strong lather of this soap and with it wash the plants. After which spray them with clear water until clean.

To destroy aphis, shower foliage of infested plant on both sides with strong tobacco tea, or, if the plant be small enough, immerse it in this tea.

Insects in the earth of a potted plant may be destroyed by pouring over the soil a gla.s.s of water in which a pinch of mustard has been stirred.

If an asparagus fern turns yellow, repot it, giving it a strong loam enriched with one-fifth very old and finely crumbed manure and add a little coa.r.s.e sand. Give the fern only an hour or two of sunlight each day. Water when it looks dry, but do not let it stand in any water that may have run through into the saucer.

Before putting plants in a wooden window box whitewash the inside of the box. This not only keeps the box from rotting, but prevents insects.

If sprays of growing nasturtiums are broken off in the late summer and placed in a bowl of water they will root and grow all winter.

How to Use the Cheaper Cuts of Meat

Much time has been given in the last few years to the study of foods, their necessary proportions, and the manner of cooking them. Educators and scientists have alike agreed that this knowledge ought to be disseminated. On the part of the public also there has been a general awakening in this regard. There has been a wide demand especially from those of limited incomes for information on the purchase and preparation of foods. To meet this demand books have been published and articles have appeared in the various women's papers giving directions for living at all sorts of prices, from the extremely low one, "How to Live on Ten Cents a Day," to the normal one which requires the preparation of appetizing and satisfying dinners at a nominal cost.

In order to accomplish living comfortably at small cost it is evident that one must understand the comparative values of foods, so as to select those which at low prices furnish the necessary nourishment, and, also, be able to cook them in an appetizing way which will conserve the nourishment. Meat is a necessity to most people. Yet much of the present expense in the purchase of meat is needless and unwise. Many pieces of meat of the best quality are sold at low rates because not in shapes to be served as roasting or broiling pieces. These serve well for entrees or made-up dishes. Other pieces which are tough but well flavored can, in the hands of an educated cook, be sent to the table as tender, palatable, sightly and nutritious as the prime cuts. It is to show some methods of preparing these cheaper cuts of meat in an appetizing manner that the following explanation of the processes of cooking and the accompanying recipes are given.

Meat is cooked, first, to aid digestion; secondly, to develop new flavors and render it more palatable.

For cooking there are three essentials besides the material to be cooked--namely, heat, air, and moisture, the latter in the form of water, either found in the food or added to it.

The combined effect of heat and moisture swells and bursts starch grains, hardens alb.u.men, and softens fiber.

Alb.u.men is a substance like the white of an egg. It exists in the juices of meat and contains much nourishment. If allowed to escape, the nourishment is lost and the meat is hard. Therefore we have the first general rule for the cooking of meat, namely: