A handbook of invalid cooking

by Mary A. Boland

ICE-CREAM, SHERBETS, AND ICES

For patients suffering with fevers, and for use in very warm weather, good ice-cream and sherbet are most acceptable. They should, however, be used with great care, particularly if the illness be due to disturbance of digestion, for they lower the temperature of the stomach and often cause such disorders as lead to severe illness. Even if this does not happen, they, in order to be raised to a temperature at which digestion will take place, absorb heat from the body, and a person reduced by illness cannot afford to needlessly part with any form of energy.

Sherbet in its literal sense means a cool drink. It is of oriental origin, but in this country it has come to mean a frozen mixture of fruit, or fruit-juice, water and sugar. There is a distinction made, however, between water-ice and sherbet. Sherbet has, in addition to the fruit-juice and water, either sugar-syrup, white of egg, or gelatine, to give it sufficient viscousness to entangle and hold air when beaten in a freezer, so that sherbets (unless colored by the fruit used) will be white and opaque like snow. Water-ices, on the contrary, are made without the white of egg, syrup, or gelatine, do not entangle air, and are translucent and what might be called "watery." Both are delicious when made with fresh, ripe fruit, and both may be enriched by the addition of sweet cream if desired.

Freezers. Of the various kinds of freezers perhaps the "Improved White Mountain Freezer" is, everything considered, as good as any. It is strong and freezes quickly when the salt and ice are properly proportioned.

It is well to study the gearing before attempting to use a freezer. The different parts should be taken apart and put together until it is understood how the machine works. See that the paddles in the can do not interfere with each other, and that the crank turns easily. Then put all together again, fasten down the crank-bar across the top of the can, and have everything in readiness before packing the freezer with salt and ice. The object in using the salt is to get a greater degree of cold than could be obtained with the ice alone. The affinity of salt for water is very great—so great, that it will break down the structure of ice in its eagerness for it. Heat is involved in this process of melting, and will be drawn from surrounding objects, from the can, the bucket, the cream, and even the ice itself. The more rapid the union of salt and ice, the more heat is absorbed, consequently the greater is the degree of cold and the quicker the mixture to be frozen will become solid.

Water is converted into steam by a certain amount of heat. Ice is transformed into water by the same agency, and in the case of the ice-cream freezer heat is drawn from whatever comes in contact with the ice that is warmer than itself. If the melting of the ice can be hastened in any way, the abstraction of heat will be correspondingly greater; hence the use of salt, which is so eager for water that it takes it even in the form of ice. Now it will be easily seen that if the ice is in small pieces, and there is the proper amount of salt for each piece, union between the two will be immediate, the amount of heat used will be very great, consequently the degree of cold will be great. Cold is only a less degree of heat.

Ordinary liquid mixtures that contain a large percentage of water become solid when reduced to a temperature of 32° Fahr.

To Pack an Ice-Cream Freezer. Break a quantity of ice into small pieces by pounding it in an ice-bag (a bag made of canvas or very strong cloth) with a wooden mallet. The ice should be about as fine as small rock-salt. Put into the bucket, around the tin can which is to hold the cream, alternate layers of the pounded ice and salt in the proportions of two thirds ice to one third salt (a quart cup may be used for measuring). Should it happen that you have "coarse-fine" salt, put all the ice into the freezer first, and then the salt on top of it, as it will quickly work down to the bottom. When the packing is complete unfasten the cross-bar and lift off the cover of the can carefully, so that no salt shall get inside; then put in the mixture to be frozen, replace the cover, and fasten the bar. Let it stand till the mixture is thoroughly chilled, then turn steadily but not very fast for about ten minutes, or until the turning becomes difficult; that is an indication that the contents of the can are freezing. Continue turning for a few minutes longer, to give the cream a fine and even consistency; then take out the paddle, drain off the water through the hole in the side of the bucket, fill in all about the can with coarse ice, and cover it with a thick wet cloth or towel. Let it stand for half an hour to become firm, when it is ready to serve. If it is desirable to keep the ice-cream for a length of time, it may be done by packing the freezer closely with ice and salt, and covering it with wet cloths. Or, the ice-cream may be taken from the can, packed in molds of fanciful shapes, sealed at the edges with melted tallow, and repacked in ice and salt.

PHILADELPHIA ICE-CREAM

The so-called Philadelphia ice-cream is pure, sweet cream, sweetened with sugar, and flavored. For a small quantity use the following:

¾ Cup of sugar.
1 Teaspoon of vanilla.
1 Tablespoon of brandy.
1 pint of scalded sweet cream.

Mix and freeze. The whites of two eggs beaten stiff is a valuable addition to this cream.

ROYAL ICE-CREAM

1 Tablespoon of flour.
1½ Cups of sugar.
1 Saltspoon of salt.
1 Pint of milk.
2 Eggs.
1 Pint of sweet cream.
1 Tablespoon of vanilla.
½ Teaspoon of almond.
½ Cup of sherry wine, or
¼ Cup of brandy.

Heat the milk until it boils; meanwhile mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a little cold water, and when the milk reaches the boiling-point pour it in; stir it for a minute over the fire in a saucepan, and then turn it into a double boiler and cook it for twenty minutes. At the end of this time beat the eggs very light, and pour them into the boiling mixture slowly, stirring it rapidly; continue stirring, after all the egg is in, for from one to two minutes; then strain the mixture into a dish and set it aside to cool. Last, add the cream and flavorings, and freeze. This makes a rich and delicious cream. It may be colored with carmine a pretty pink, or with spinach a delicate green.

ICE-CREAM WITH AN IMPROVISED FREEZER

Make the Philadelphia ice-cream mixture, or half of it, dividing each ingredient exactly. Put it into a small tin can (the Dutch cocoa-cans are convenient) with a closely fitting cover. Place it in the middle of a deep dish, and surround it with alternate layers of ice and salt, in the same manner as for ordinary freezing, and cover it closely; then lay wet cloths on the top and set it in a cool place. It will become solid in from one to two hours, according to the amount of mixture to be frozen. It is well to cut in the thick layer on the sides of the can once or twice during the freezing. If the cream which you have to use is thick enough to whip, do so; the result, when frozen, will be a very dainty dish.

This is a convenient way of making a little ice-cream for one person.

FROZEN CUSTARD

1 Pint of milk.
1 Saltspoon of salt.
1¼ Cups of sugar.
Yolks of three eggs.
1 Pint of milk or cream.
1 Teaspoon of rose-water.
2 Tablespoons of wine or brandy.

Make a soft custard with the first four ingredients, according to the rule on [page 195]. When done, strain it into a granite-ware pan and let it cool. Then add the flavoring and the remaining pint of milk or cream, and freeze.

LEMON SHERBET WITH GELATINE

1 Tablespoon of gelatine.
1 Pint of boiling water.
1 Cup of sugar
⅓ Cup of lemon-juice.
1 Tablespoon of brandy.

Soak the gelatine (Plymouth Rock or Nelson's) in a little cold water for half an hour. Then pour over it the boiling water, stirring until the gelatine is dissolved; add the sugar, lemon-juice, and brandy, and strain all through a fine wire strainer. Freeze.

Nelson's gelatine and the Plymouth Rock or phosphated gelatine are the best to use for sherbets and water-ices, because they have a delicate flavor, and lack the strong, fishy taste which characterizes some kinds. The phosphated gelatine should, however, never be used except when a slight acidity will do no harm. Avoid it for all dishes made with cream or milk, as it will curdle them. The directions on the packages advise neutralizing the acid with soda; but, as there is no means of determining the amount of acid in a given quantity, it is not a process that recommends itself to an intelligent person.

Phosphated gelatine may, however, be used in sherbets even when milk or cream forms a part of them, for when it is added to a slightly acid mixture which has a low temperature, or is partially frozen, curdling does not take place.

LEMON SHERBET WITH SUGAR SYRUP

1 Pint of boiling water.
1 Cup of sugar.
⅓ Cup of lemon-juice.

Boil the water and sugar together without stirring for twenty minutes. You will thus obtain a thin sugar syrup, which, however, has enough viscousness to entangle and hold air when beaten. As soon as it is cool, add the lemon-juice, strain, and freeze it. This makes a snow-white sherbet of very delicate flavor. Lemon sherbet may also be made with water, sugar, lemon-juice, and the whites of eggs well beaten, instead of with gelatine or syrup.

ORANGE SHERBET

1 Tablespoon of gelatine.
1 Cup of boiling water.
1 Cup of sugar.
1 Cup of orange-juice.
Juice of one lemon.
2 Tablespoons of brandy.

Soak the gelatine in just enough cold water to moisten it, for half an hour. Then pour over it the cup of boiling water, and put in the other ingredients in the order in which they are written; when the sugar is dissolved, strain all through a fine wire strainer, and freeze it.

To get Orange-juice. Peel the oranges, cut them in small pieces, quarters or eighths, put them into a jelly-bag or napkin, and press out the juice with the hand. By this means the oil of the rind, which has a disagreeable flavor, is excluded.

APRICOT ICE

1 Quart of apricots.
1 Quart of water.
½ Quart of sugar.
3 Tablespoons of brandy.

Either fresh or canned apricots may be used for this ice. If fresh ones are chosen, wash and wipe them carefully, cut them into small pieces, mash them with a potato-masher until broken and soft, and add the water, sugar, and brandy; then freeze. The treatment is the same if canned fruit be used. This ice may be made without the brandy, but it is a valuable addition, especially for the sick.

Peaches, strawberries, raspberries, pineapple, and in fact any soft, well-flavored fruit may be made into water-ice by following exactly the above rule, except, of course, substituting the different kinds of fruits for the apricots, and possibly varying the sugar. If pineapple is selected, it should be chopped quite fine, and quickly, so that the knife will not discolor it. Peaches should be pared, and strawberries and raspberries carefully washed. All of these ices are delicious, and most wholesome and grateful in very warm weather, or for feverish conditions when fruit is allowed. If there is a question about seeds, as might be the case in using strawberries, strain the fruit through a coarse wire strainer after it is mashed; it is advisable to do this always in making strawberry, raspberry, or pineapple ice.

---