APPLICATION OF MIXING PROCESSES
In applying the various mixing processes, it is well to bear in mind that good results depend considerably on the order of mixing, as well as on the deftness and thoroughness with which each process is performed. This fact is clearly demonstrated in a cake in which the butter and sugar have not been actually creamed, for such a cake will not have the same texture as one in which the creaming has been done properly.
It is also shown in angel food or sunshine cake, for the success of such a cake depends largely on the skill employed in folding in the whites of eggs or in beating the yolks. On the other hand, the lightness of pastry and the tenderness of cookies depend on how each is rolled out, and the kneading of bread is a process that demonstrates that many things can be learned by actually doing them.
As progress is made with these cookery lessons, therefore, the application of the mixing processes should not be overlooked. Beginners in cookery, owing possibly to the fact that at first they cannot handle soft material skilfully, are liable to make the mistake of getting the ingredients too stiff. Yet no beginner need feel the least bit discouraged, for ability in this direction comes with experience; indeed, just as skill in sewing, embroidering, and other processes comes about by practice and persistent effort, so will come skill in cooking.
MEASURING
Uniform results in cookery depend on accurate measurement. Of course, there are some cooks--
and good ones, too--who claim that they do not measure, but as a matter of fact they have, through long experience, developed a judgment, or "sense," of measurement, which amounts to the same thing as if they actually did measure. Still, even these cooks cannot be absolutely sure of securing as satisfactory results time after time as are likely to follow the employment of a more accurate method.
Therefore, to secure the best results, every kitchen should be supplied with the proper measuring utensils, which are scales, a measuring cup, and a set of measuring spoons, or a standard tablespoon and a standard teaspoon.
SCALES.
--In Fig. 7 is shown the type of scales generally included in the kitchen equipment. The material to be weighed is placed on the platform at the top, and the weight of it is indicated on the dial by a pointer, or hand. Sometimes these scales are provided with a scoop in which loose materials may be placed in weighing.
Such scales furnish a correct means not only of measuring materials, but of verifying the weights of foods from the market, the butcher shop, or the grocery. To use them properly, the housewife should learn to balance them exactly, and when she is weighing articles she should always allow for the weight of the container or receptacle, even if it is only the paper that holds the food.
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