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WOMAN'S INTERESTS
GENERAL INFORMATION.
? ♦^ ?
Queries and Sag gestions.
Kecipes, adrice mnd information on matters
connected with household management, or
any subject of interest to women, will be
published on receipt of inquiries, which
must be mddftssed to 'Ixia,' 'The West
Australian' office, Perth. Inquirers are
requested to give their names and postal
addresses. These particulars will not be
published.
HouefcoU.
To Rout Paanuts.
'Peanuts' asks how to roast peanuts that
?re almost ready to lilt from the ground.
Shell, spread on a tray and put the kernels
into a hot- oven. Bake until the skins crack.
Take out and brush off the skin*.
* Yawt.
'Troubled' (Dongarra) asks if compressed
yeait is obtainable in Perth, also for recipe
for home-made yeast.
On receipt .of a stamped, envelope, if the query
is repeated, an address can be given where putty
like compressed yeast is sold. To make hop
yeast, 1 large potato, 1 pint water, 1 tea
spoonful hops, 1 tablespoonful flour and 1
tablespoonful sugar. Boil potato, add hops while
still boiling. Boil- 20 minutes. Strain, cool
slightly, add flour and sugar. Bottle and cork
tightly. The yeast should work in a few hours
in an old bottle previously used for yeast, and
in 24 hours in a new bottle. A fig or a raisin
added to yeast makes it work more quickly. To
make acid yeast, take 1 medium potato, 14
tabtepoonfula sugar. J teaspoonful citric or
tartaric acid, 1 cupful warm water and 2 tea
spoonfuls flour. BoU and mash potato, add other
ingredients and sufficient water to keep mixture
at erne cupful. Bottle and cork tightly. Keep
in a warm place 12 hours in an old yeast bottle
and 24 hours (at least) in a rew one.
Bread Ms*:
'Troubled' (Dongarra) u_j how to make
bread with home-made yeast, and also with
compressed yeast.
Take 3 Jib. flour, J cupful home-made yeast,
or lox. compressed yeast, 2 teaspoonfuls sugai,
2 pints tepid water (one part boiling water
and two parts cold water) and 2 teaspoonfuls
salt. Water strained from boiled potatoes is
preferable to plain water. Sift and warm flour,
mix yeast and sugar, add to flour and mix with
tepid water. Use a little of the tepid water
for minns: the crumbled compressed yeast. Knead
the dough on a floured board, and put it into a
floured basin. Mark dough with a cross, and
leave in a warm place until risen twice its size.
Turn on to a floured board. Add salt. Knead
until smooth and even. There should not be
any holes in the dough. Divide into loaves, put
into greased tins, and set in a warm place. Allow
to rise about 45 minute*. The surface then
should show small cracks or air bubbles. Bake
in a hot oven (large loaves 1 hour, small loaves
i-hour). When cooked the bread should have
a hollow sound it tapped on the bottom with
the knuckles. The following recipe is for
quickly-made bread, with compressed yeast:—
Silt Sib. flour into a bowl with a dessertspoon
ful 'alt; crumble 2oz. compressed yeast into
a small basin, add 1-cup of warm water and
nrfy anoothly, make a hole in the centre of
flour and pour jeast in, add more tepid water,
and with the flour form into a nice dough.
knead and leave in a warm place covered, to
rise to twice its size, then make up into loaves,
work aach loaf only 6 minutes, put into greased
Hn». and allow to rise in a warm place; bake
in a well-heated oven.
Prawns*
'Curious' (Subiaco) asks if it is injurious
to the health to eat prawns, considering
tint the undigested food still in the prawn
is eatan.
Only the white flesh of the prawn should be
eaten. This, if fresh, is not injurious.
Hslon and Pineapple Jam.
'Constant Header' asks for a recipe for
melon and pineapple jam.
' Peel and seed the melon and cut it into
blocks, weigh, and put into a bowL Allow
lib. sugar, to each pound of melon; sprinkle
with half of this (mixing it right through) and
allow to stand overnight. Xext day adj 4 -pint
water to each pound at melon, also any desired
flavouring, and simmer until melon is quite soft
Tbia will take about 2 hours. Then add balance
of sugar, and when dissolved boil rapidly till
a good colour and consistency are obtained, for
the flavouring, any of the following may be
used: — To each Mb. melon allow S lemons, or
60s. green ginger, or 1 medium-siasd pineapple,
€f 3 oranges.
Orangt Marmalask.
'Constant Besder' asks for a recipe for orangt
marmalade.
The Seville or 'poor man's' orange will make
? clearer -mm^imu, and also will yield a
larger quantity than the sweet oranges, though
the latter have a very good flavour. Wash and
scrub the skins very dean. Any little black
specks left on the skin will show more distinctly
after the cooking. Weigh, and cut the fruit in
quarters, removing the white centre core, pulp and
pips. Put the core and pips in a small basin
and cover with water. Now shred the skins
as finely aa possible, and put in a clean bowl,,
adding 1 quart of water 'to each pound ~ of
orange* If sweet orange* are being used, put
only 1 pint of water to the pound. Allow to
aoak overnight, or 88 hours. If a mild flavour
to desired, the soaking may be done in several
changes of water, buj it the bitterness is pre
ferred, put the measured quantity on at the
bommsacament and cook in this. When snfft
dently soaked, put into the preserving pan.
adding the cut-up pulp, aad the water drained
framthe pips/and boil all very slowly, till the
?tins are quite soft. This will take about
U hours. Then measure and add an equal
quantity of sugar. When the sugar is dissolved
boil rapidly till the '—- —»'-*» responds to the
Jelly test Do not put into jars till the pre
Stn cools down to about 200 ». otherwise
the solid places may rise to the surface.
Te Pickle Qherkies.
itS. (Collie) asks how to pickle gherkins.
Take salt and water, los. bruised ginger, Int.
whole Mack pepper, to*, whole auspice. 4
dm*, S blades d mace, and a little hone.
radish. This proportion of pepper, spices, etc..
Is correct for 1 quart of vinegar. let the
rtnUnT rimiin in sal^ and water for * or 4
days, then take them out, wipe perfectly dry,
ana put them into a stone jar. Boil sufficient
vinegar to cover .them, with spices and pepper,
etc. in the above proportion, for 10 minutes;
pour it, quite boiling, over the gherkins, cover
the Jar with vine leaves, and put over them
? .plate. Set the Jar near the are and leave
all night. Next day drain off the vinegar, boU
it up again, and pour it hot over them. Cover
up witTfveah leave*, and let the whole remain
until quite cold. Tie down closely with a blad
der to exclude the air, and in a month or two
they will be fit for use.
Vinegar far Pickle*.
fBsa' (Harrogin) asks if vinegar in which
onions have been pickled can be used for
any purpose, or boiled again for doing more
The bJst trash vinegar is advocated by most
cookery experts for pickle-making. 'Ixia' weald
be cud to have the opinions of some readers
of 'Woman's Interests' on this matter.
Enamel Saucepans.
'Elsa' asks tor a remedy for the enamel on
saucepans of a well-known brand wearing
down to the steel foundation, statins; that
.the saucepans have been in use tor thru
years and only one has been burnt.
Normal wear and tear probably is responsible.
Pouring boiling water into enamel saucepans. U
said to cause the lining to crack and chip off.
Manufacturers advise ttst always a little cold o
warm water should be .first put into a saucepan
into which boiling water is to be poured. Enamel
saucepans should be carefully handled. Knock*
and bangs, even slight bumps, tend to damage
their brittle finish.
. Economical Fruit Cake.
Mrs. G. asks for i recipe for an economical
fruit cake.
Take 1 cupful self-raising flour, i-cup plain
flour, 4cx. butter. |-cup sugar, j-cup sultanas,
3 or 4 eggs, i-cup mUk, lemon peel to taste,
essence lemon and a pinch of salt. Cream butter
and sugar, add eggs one at a time and beat
well Stir in fruit and flavouring. Sift in flour
and mix well. Bake in a moderate oven about
two hours.
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