Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/13



F you are anxious to become a good cook, do not despise the smaller details and say to yourself, "Oh, anyone knows that," or, "Everyone can cook this," for it is very often the smallest details that will spoil the effect of a really good dish. For instance, badly boiled rice may spoil a good curry, or ill-boiled or ill-mashed potatoes, the appearance of a dish of cutlets. Learn everything and take nothing for granted, and first of all learn how to boil rice, potatoes, cabbage, etc. Many cooks boil cabbage in two waters to do away with the strong odour.

A good cook should be constantly watching to see what dishes are liked best, and which are the most freely partaken of. If a dish returns to the kitchen untouched or nearly so, it is a sure sign that it is not in favour, therefore, she should not offer it again for a time. Of course, when a mistress gives the order herself, a cook has no option but to do her bidding, but these notes are meant chiefly for those young ladies of a family who do the cooking and have the ordering of the meals themselves. In many families, the girls, when they have left school, are put to learn cooking, either from the cook in the house or some professional, and when expert they are installed in the household as head cook, with one or perhaps two assistants under them. I cannot write too highly of such a custom, and I would impress upon every mother the real necessity of some such training for the girls who may marry, and some day be forced to cook for a very fanciful husband; but I have