To whip cream. To whip cream, see page [408].
Milk. Milk is scalded when the water in the outside double kettle boils.
Raisins. Raisins are more easily stoned if soaked a few minutes. Roll raisins and currants in flour before adding them to cake or puddings. If added the last thing they will then hold in place, and not sink to the bottom.
Thickening. Use arrowroot to thicken fruit juices. It cooks perfectly clear, and does not destroy the color or cloud the transparency of the fruit.
Flavoring. Where essences or wine flavorings are used they are put in the last thing, and after the mixture is cooked. For cold desserts the mixture should be partly or entirely cold before adding them.
Molding. In molding mixtures be careful that bubbles of air do not form on the sides of the molds, as they leave holes and destroy the smoothness and beauty of the form. This can be prevented by pouring the mixture very slowly into the center of the tin.
FLAVORS
Vanilla has long held first place in American cooking as flavoring, but is no longer highly esteemed, and by many it is considered injurious. The essences of fruits, flowers, and nuts are preferable. They cost twenty cents per bottle of two ounces.
Liqueurs. Cordials or liqueurs give by far the most delicate and pleasant flavor to jellies, creams, and many other desserts. They are rich syrups of different flavors, and contain only enough spirits to preserve them. Maraschino has the flavor of bitter cherry, curaçao of orange-peel, noyau of peach-kernels or nuts. They cost about $1.50 per bottle, holding nearly a quart, and last so long a time that the expense of using them is really not greater, if as much, as for vanilla, which costs twenty-five cents for two ounces.
Wines. Kirsch, rum, and sherry are also much used in high-class cooking, and, like the liqueurs, need not be excluded from use on the score of temperance. The slight flavor they impart to cooked dishes does not suggest the drink or create a taste for liquors. Wine augments the flavor of salt, and so the latter should be used sparingly until after the flavoring is added.