Page:Browne - The Plain Sailing Cook Book.djvu/23

 may be used for frying eggs, potatoes, etc., and may also be used instead of butter in making muffins and in greasing muffin-pans.

Bits of stale bread and crackers should always be saved, and from time to time rolled out on a bread-board into crumbs. These crumbs are useful in many ways. When ready to use them, they may be "buttered" if desired, by adding one tablespoon of melted butter and a quarter-teaspoon of salt to a half-cup of crumbs, and mixing well together.

To separate the white from the yolk of an egg when each is to be beaten separately, crack the shell, then pull the shell apart and pour the contents back and forth from one half of the shell to the other, allowing the white to drop off gradually into a bowl while still keeping the yolk in the shell. When nothing is left in the shell but the yolk, this should then be put into another bowl. If the white is beaten first, it will not be necessary to wash the beater before beating the yolk.

When frying anything in "deep fat," from two to three pounds of fat should be used, and the kettle containing the fat should be set over a slow fire at least ten minutes before the frying process begins. The fat must be carefully watched and handled, as a serious accident can easily be caused by its spilling or catching fire. It should never be smoking hot for cooking; tests should be made from time to time with small bits of the material to be fried, and the heat regulated on the basis of these tests. The moment all the material has been fried, the kettle should be taken off the fire and set in some safe place to cool for a few minutes. Then pour out the fat through a fine strainer or piece of cheese-cloth into a bowl or jar kept for this purpose. After it is thoroughly cold, the fat should be placed in the ice-box.