Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/1461

Rh so to try if the whole tub be good, the cask should be unhooped, and the butter tried between the staves.

Butter may be kept fresh for 10 or 12 days by a very simple process. Knead it well in cold water till the butter-milk is extracted; then put it in a glazed jar, invert this in another, putting into the latter a sufficient quantity of water to exclude the air. Renew the water every day.

Ingredients.—¼ of a lb. of finely-grated cheese, ¼ of a lb. of butter, ¼ of a lb. of flour, a saltspoonful of cayenne, a saltspoonful of salt, water.

Method.—Rub the butter into the flour, add the grated cheese, cayenne and salt, and mix these ingredients well together. Add sufficient cold water to mix the whole into a stiff paste, roll it out to about a ¼ of an inch in thickness, and cut the paste into fingers 3½ inches long and ¾ of an inch wide. Place them on a greased bakingsheet and bake in a moderately cool oven until crisp and lightly browned. Serve either hot or cold.

Time.—45 minutes. Average Cost, 7d. Sufficient for 10 persons.

When a whole cheese is bought, and it is necessary to preserve some portion of it for a considerable time, it will be found a good plan to keep the cut surfaces of the cheese covered with well-buttered paper. The rind of the cheese should be left exposed to the air, and it should be turned frequently and its surface well rubbed first with a dry cloth and afterwards with melted fat or oil. To keep moist a piece of cheese that is in daily use, when it comes from the table wrap it at once in a damp cloth, preferably damped with beer, and keep it in a nearly airtight tin or other receptacle.

There are several methods of serving cheese. In large establishments, where 3 or 4 kinds are in daily use, it is a convenient plan to hand the butter and biscuits in a dual dish and ask what cheese will be eaten with them. Each piece of cheese should, of course, be arranged on a folded napkin, raised at the sides to conceal some of the lower portion of the cheese. When only one kind of cheese is in use, and the number to be served is considerable, the easiest and most economical method is to use dishes with three divisions, and fill