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Paste for Common Pies

Very excellent pastry may be made with lard or dripping, instead of butter, or with a mixture of lard and dripping. Good beef fat, or suet melted gently down, and poured off before it has had time to burn, is very nearly as good as anything that can be used for making pastry for everyday use. Very palatable pies may be made from the dripping from roast beef, veal, pork, or mutton, though the last named is thought by some to impart a disagreeable flavour of tallow to pastry. The quantity of fat used must, of course, be regulated by the expense, and it may be remembered that a rich crust is neither so digestible nor so suitable for many dishes as a substantial light one, and that the lightness of pastry depends quite as much upon a light, quick, cool hand as on a large amount of butter or lard. The addition of a beaten egg or a little lemon-juice to the water, or a tea-spoonful of baking-powder to the flour, will make the paste lighter. It should be remembered, however, that though baking-powder is excellent for common pastry that is to be used immediately, pies are more likely to get dry quickly when it is used. Two recipes are here given for good plain pastry, and they may be varied according to the taste and resources of the cook.