A Handbook of Cookery for a Small House

water, and dry with a cloth. They can then be placed on the rack above the stove to dry thoroughly. In this way the hands need not come in contact with the soda water at all. We shall also need a nice smooth pastry board, a rolling pin, and a small board for chopping parsley or mint. The meat chopper and the mincer and the meat-saw will require to be kept perfectly clean and dry to avoid rust, and should always be carefully wiped with a dry cloth before being used. Should earthenware cooking-vessels or pie-dishes become burnt, as is sometimes unavoidable, a little rough cooking salt, or a little ashes rubbed on the burnt surface will be found effective. ON THE TREATMENT OF VEGETABLES _With a Few Illustrative Recipes_ Great care should be taken in the use of an onion. One often finds that if by accident a knife used for cutting an onion has been overlooked and it comes in contact with any article of food the flavour of the onion will spoil everything. It is also a fact that if an onion is cut before it is put into soup or sauce, the soup at once becomes cloudy, while on the other hand if it is merely peeled and put in whole, soup or sauce will remain perfectly clear. Then again for onion sauce or soup which would be made with milk, you must never put in any salt or any other ingredient till _after_ the milk has boiled. If the onion is added before, the milk will curdle and be spoilt. If you want to fry onions for steak, etc., have some good beef dripping already melted in a baking tin and when it is boiling put in the quantity of onions you may wish to cook cut in thin slices (cut always round the onion) then add salt and pepper to taste and bake in a steady oven, turning them once or twice with the blade of a knife. For stuffing for either meat or poultry never put the onions in water. Cut thin as