BUTTER SUBSTITUTES
THE great increase in tuberculosis in cattle, together with the continued rise in the price of all classes of foodstuffs, has created a desire for some substitute for dairy butter which will be less expensive, yet wholesome and appetizing. There are various commercial brands of vegetable butter now on the market, put up in convenient form, and used by many, both for table use and also for cooking purposes When such cannot be obtained, the following preparations may be used with good results. For use in the recipes throughout this book, dairy butter may be substituted in the place of vegetable butter, when preferred, the same proportion being used as of the vegetable butter.
Emulsified Vegetable Oil
Secure a high grade of cottonseed or corn oil. Beat I egg slightly, and add the oil, a few drops to begin with, beating constantly and increasing the oil gradually. Add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, then more oil, until 3 cups of oil have been used, and the mixture is smooth and quite thick. Salt to taste, put into a well covered crock, and use the same as dairy butter.
Vegetable Butter
Take any good brand of solid vegetable fat, such as a good coconut product, or hydrogenated vegetable fat.
a. Scrape well colored carrots, and press out the juice through a cheesecloth. Put the vegetable fat into a bowl, add salt to taste, and work in enough of the carrot juice to give the color of dairy butter. Cool, mold on a dish, and use the same as dairy butter. The carrot juice imparts a good flavor, and is rich in vitamine constituents.
b. To 1 1/2 cups of solid vegetable fat, add 3 tablespoons cream or canned milk, and work into the fat. Add salt to taste, 2 or 3 tablespoons lemon juice, and vegetable butter color to give the color of dairy butter. Work with a spoon until well blended, cool, and use the same as dairy butter.
PASTEURIZED MILK
Experiments made by the Bureau of Animal Industry (Reference M-2. 212. 9), United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., have shown that the tubercle bacilli and the bacilli of typhoid were killed when milk in which either of these organisms had been placed experimentally was kept at a temperature of 14o° F. (6o° C.) for 20 minutes; also that heating milk to 1850 F. in the so-called “flash” Pasteurizing apparatus, and then cooling it, serves to destroy any tubercle bacilli that may be present.
Method. Place a rack or a piece of thick wire netting in the bottom of a pail or a large saucepan. Arrange the bottles of milk on the rack. Wipe the mouths and caps of the bottles with a wet cloth, but do not remove the caps. Make an opening in the cap of one of them, large enough to insert a thermometer, which must be previously sterilized. Surround the bottles with cold water until the water reaches nearly to the top of the bottles. Place over the fire, and bring quickly to the temperature of 150° F., as indicated by the thermometer within the bottle. Remove from the saucepan, cover with a cloth, and let stand on the table for 20 minutes, after which cool gradually by setting the bottles into warm water, then cooler, and lastly cold water. Set on ice if it is available, and do not remove the caps until the milk is needed.
BUTTERMILK
The therapeutic value of buttermilk is well known to the medical profession. People who suffer of such diseases as acute diarrhea, gastritis, and intestinal diseases, during the hot season, often find the use of sour milk one of the best means of combating the trouble. The claim put forth is that many of the putrefactive germs of the large intestine are gradually replaced by the harmless lactic acid germs. In the making of buttermilk from acid-forming ferments, the procedure is much the same in each case. The milk is first boiled, in order to destroy the other germs that are always found in milk; then the milk is kept at a temperature favorable to the growth of these beneficent germs, varying somewhat with each kind of ferment.
YOGURT
Yogurt tablets contain the bacillus Bulgaricus, which grows actively in milk at the temperature of the human body, but grows much more rapidly at a temperature of about 115° F. Yogurt tablets, like other lactic acid-forming ferments, contain the active ferment in a latent form; thus it takes a number of hours for them to develop actively. For rapid growth, it is necessary that the temperature of the milk should be maintained at about 115° At a lower temperature, the bacillus Bulgaricus grows more slowly; and below 98°, it ceases to grow.
Many fail in their attempts to make yogurt buttermilk, because of their ignorance of the fact that this milk ferment requires a much higher temperature for growth than do other milk-souring ferments. Success in making yogurt depends largely on observing these few points :
Starter. Heat I cup of milk to the boiling point in a double boiler, and keep at that temperature for about io minutes; then set in a pan of cold water, and cool to about 115°. Dissolve 2 yogurt tablets in a little milk, and add to the warm milk. Mix, cover, and set on the top of a boiler of hot water, wrapped in a cloth so as to keep the temperature of the mixture as nearly uniform as possible. Renew the hot water in the boiler every hour or so, until the milk begins to coagulate, which will require all the way from 8 to 12 hours. Then set in a cold place; and in 12 hours, you have your starter.
YOGURT
Yogurt. Sterilize a quart of milk, and cool to about 110° to 115° F. Add 1/4 cup of the starter to begin with, first having beaten it with a whip to make it smooth. Mix, and set in a warm place, the same as for the starter, for about 5 to 8 hours, or until it coagulates ; then put in a cold place. Beat with an egg whip before serving. The starter is not good to drink, and need not be kept after the first batch of yogurt is made; but reserve a portion of this batch as starter for the next. Use less and less of the starter as it grows older, until a quart of milk can be soured with 2 teaspoons of yogurt starter. If the buttermilk tastes too acid, or if it is covered with a thin whey, use less of the starter. Just so it coagulates, that is the main objective. Use as little of the starter as possible to accomplish that purpose.
LACTOSA
Lactosa may be made successfully with less warming than yogurt ; and for this reason, it is preferred by some. It may be made by adding I tablet to a gallon of scalded and warm milk, and letting it stand in a warm place for from to to 20 hours, until it coagulates ; or make the same as yogurt, using about the same amount of starter for the same amount of milk, and simply wrap in a cloth until coagulated, which will require from 8 to 12 hours if not kept warm throughout.
COTTAGE CHEESE No. 1
Set a dish containing yogurt or lactosa in a pan of hot water, cover, and heat until the milk forms into a curd; then set on a table and let cool. Pour into cheesecloth and hang up to drain. Rub smooth with a little Pasteurized cream, yogurt, or canned milk, and a little salt, and serve.
COTTAGE CHEESE No. 2
Pour boiling water into clabbered milk until whey forms. Let cool 15 minutes or longer ; then strain as usual.
NOODLES
1 egg About 1 1/4 cups white flour 1 tablespoon milk A few grains of salt
Beat the egg slightly with a fork. Add the milk, a sprinkle of salt, and flour sufficient to make a dough that will not stick to the board. Divide in 2 pieces, and roll out to the thickness of paper, having the board and the dough well floured while rolling out. Let dry for a few minutes; then cut in strips 1 1/2 inches wide, pile in tiers, and cut crosswise into fine shreds with a sharp knife. These will keep well if properly dried after shredding.
BROWNED FLOUR
Sift white flour into a baking pan, put into a good oven, and bake to a nice brown, stirring often, so that it may be uniform in color and not scorched. Sift again, and keep for use as needed.
CREAM ROAST FLOUR
Sift flour into a baking pan, about 2 inches deep. Put into a moderate oven, and stir often until lightly toasted, but not browned at all. Sift again, and keep for use as needed.
BREAD CROUTONS
Trim the outer crust from stale bread. Cut into /-inch cubes. Bake in an oiled baking pan, stirring often, until a light brown all the way through. For soup croutons, cut the bread into 1/4 inch cubes, and bake the same as above.
HOMEMADE CEREAL COFFEE
2/3 cup corn meal 1/3 cup molasses 2 cups bran 1/2 cup boiling water
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the hot water to the molasses, and mix well. Pour the wetting on the grain, rub between the hands, and mix thoroughly. Put into a baking pan, and bake in a good oven until well burned, stirring often, so that the color may be uniform and almost black.
FAVORITE SOY BEAN COFFEE
Put a layer of soy beans (preferably the yellow kind) into a shallow baking pan, and roast in a medium oven until when a kernel is broken open, it is the color of ordinary roasted coffee. Remove from the oven, grind through a food mill set quite fine, and use in the same manner as ordinary coffee. Add boiling water, bring to a boil, and let stand on the edge of the stove under cover for io minutes ; then strain.
SOUP ROYALE
Separate 2 eggs, and add 2 tablespoons of milk to the whites, and the same amount to the yolks. Beat only slightly with a silver fork, to mix ingredients thoroughly, adding a sprinkle of salt to each. Oil 2 small cups or molds, and have the bottoms lined with a piece of paper. Pour into the separate molds, set in a pan of water, and poach in the oven until set ; then remove, and set in cold water to cool. Cut in diamond shapes or dice, and use as garniture for any clear soup or broth.