Warne's model cookery and housekeeping book : containing complete instructions in household management / compiled and edited by Mary Jewry.
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diem in a basin of water, and see if they lie on their side, down in it. If the egg turns upon its end it is bad ; if it lies obliquely, it is only not quite fresh, but may do for pud- dings, &c. M. Soycr tells us that the "safest way is to hold them up to the light, forming afocus with your hand ; should the shell be coi'ered with small dark spots they are very doubt- ful.” . . . " If, however, in looking at them you see no transparency in the shells, you may be sure they are rotten and only fit to be thrown away. The most precise way is to look at them by the light of a candle ; if quite fresh there are no spots upon the shells, and they have a brilliant light yellow tint.” Eggs to be preserved for use should be quite fresh from the nest. To Choose Vegetables. Take care that they are fresh looking and crisp. Potatoes.— We think the best are the walnut-leaf kidney for summer and the re- gents for winter use. But tastes differ so much with regard to potatoes that we can only advise buying them of the best and most respectable dealers. To Choose Apples. In choosing apples, be guided by the weight; the heaviest are the best, and those should always be selected which, on being pressed by the thumb, yield to it with a slight crackling noise. Prefer large apples to small, for waste is saved in peeling and coring them. ' Apples should be kept on dry straw in a dty place, and pears hung up by the stalk. The Store-Koom. Every lady should have a small closet for her stores if she has not a regular store- room. Groceries should always be bought in quantities, if possible ; thus the turn of the scale and the weight of paper, &c., is saved. At certain seasons of the year some articles may be bought cheaper than at others. Advantage should be taken of any fall in the market. A book should be kept in the store-room to enter the date when each store is bought, and at what price. The store-room should be very dry, and furnished with drawers, shelves, and nails with a few little nets suspended from them for hanging lemons in. It should contain also earthenware jars for sugars, and tins for keeping tea, coffee, and biscuits. The large or small tins in which biscuits are sold should be retained for the.se uses. Jams, pickles, and preserves should be kept in the coolest part of the room or closet. Coffee should not be bought in large quantities, be- cause it soon loses its flavour; unless, indeed, it is roasted at home, which is a very economi- cal plan foiTarge families. It can be bought very cheaply unroasted ; if purchased by the twenty-eight pounds it can be had at one shilling per pound ; and there is a roaster (peculiar to Ireland) which is turned over the fire like a mop, that any one can use with ease, to prepare it whenever required. Loaf sugar should be very white, close, heavy, and glittering; it is economy to buy the best, as the more refined the sugar is, the less the quantity required for sweetening. Moist or brown sugar should have a crystalline, sparkling look, and should not be too powdery or sandlike. Tallow candles should be bought in large quantities if possible, and purchased in the winter, as they keep best when made in cold weather. They should be kept several months in a cool place before they are used. Soap should be bought by the hundred weight for cheapness, and kept long before it is used. It should be cut in pieces fit for use, and then put in a drawer to dry and harden slowly, without being exposed to the air ; for if it were to dry quickly it would be likely to break when used. Mottled soap is the most economical; the best yellow soap melts much more rapidly in water. Soft soap for washing linen is a saving of half the quantity; therefore it is economical, though dearer in price than hard soap. Soda, by softening the water, saves soap. Starch should be left in a warm, dry place. Sugar, sweetmeats, and salt must all be kept very dry. Rice, tapioca, sago, &c., should be kept close oovered, or they will get insects in them ; it is better not to have large supplies of these articles. Buy lemons in June or July when they are freshly imported, and hang them in separate nets, for if they touch they will spoil. Onions, shallots, and garlic should be hung in ropes from a ceiling in an out-house [not in the store-room) ; and parsley, basil, savory, knotted marjoram, and thyme should be dried and hung up in paper bags, each bag containing only one description of herb. They should be dried in the wind and not in the sun, and when ordered in a receipt sliould be cautiously used, as a prepon- derance of one flavour in any seasoning spoils it. When oranges or lemons are squeezed for juice, chop down the peel, put it in small pots and tic it down for use. Vegetables will keep best on a stoix: floor, out of the air.