1 Tablespoon of arrowroot.
1 Saltspoon of salt.
1 Scant teaspoon of sugar.
1 Cup of hot water.
1 Cup of milk.
Wet the arrowroot with the sugar and salt in two tablespoons of cold water, then pour on the hot water, stirring constantly. Boil it for twenty minutes, then add the milk and bring just to the boiling-point. Strain it, and immediately serve.
Arrowroot is almost pure starch. Its grains burst at 140° Fahr.; therefore, if boiling water be poured upon it, it will form into lumps which will have to be strained out, and thus a part of the material will be lost; hence the necessity of wetting it in cold water to reduce the temperature so that it may be stirred smooth before the lumps form.
Milk is changed by long boiling, and loses some of its agreeable taste; it is better, therefore, not to put the milk into the gruel until after the flour has been thoroughly cooked in the water, thus preserving its natural flavor.
Arrowroot gruel may be flavored with cinnamon by boiling a half square inch of cinnamon bark in the water with which the gruel is made. Nutmeg, lemon juice or peel, and sherry wine may also be used; but the sherry should be avoided unless the gruel is to be served cold.
OATMEAL GRUEL FROM POUNDED GRAIN
Pound in a mortar or roll on a bread-board one cup of oatmeal until it is floury. Put it into a bowl, and fill the bowl with cold water; stir well and let it settle for a few seconds; then pour off the milky-looking water into a saucepan, fill again, mix and pour off the water, and so continue until the water no longer appears white, being careful at each pouring not to allow the brown cortex of the grain or any of the coarse portions to get out of the bowl; then boil the water for half an hour. For every pint put in a saltspoon of salt and half a cup of sweet cream, or, if that is not at hand, the same quantity of milk. Beef broth or wine may be used instead of cream. This is the best way to make oatmeal gruel, for by this method the coarse and irritating hulls are excluded, while the good flavor and nutritious properties are preserved.
OATMEAL GRUEL (Plain)
2 Tablespoons of oatmeal (rolled oats).
1 Saltspoon of salt.
1 Scant teaspoon of sugar.
1 Cupful of boiling water.
1 Cup of milk.