Batter III (Teaspoon salt cup milk egg)

A plain coating batter of the kind Fannie Farmer gave in several numbered variations, meant for dipping food before frying rather than for baking on its own. It comes together in a minute and is best used soon after mixing.

• The proportions1 cup flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, a scant 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2/3 cup milk and 1 well-beaten egg. The salt figure in the original has lost its fraction; a quarter teaspoon suits a coating batter, more if the food inside is unseasoned.
• Order of workFlour, baking powder and salt are sifted together first, then the milk goes in gradually to avoid lumps, and the beaten egg last.
• ConsistencyThis is a medium batter: it should coat a spoon and fall from it in a thick ribbon. If it slides off cleanly it will not cling to whatever you are dipping; add flour a tablespoon at a time.
• Use it promptlyThe baking powder starts working as soon as it is wet, so a batter of this type is best used soon after mixing; heat the fat before you mix.
• Frying temperaturePeriod books judge fat by how fast a bread cube browns in it; for battered food a range of roughly 365-375F is usual. Below that the batter drinks oil; much above it and the crust colours before the inside cooks.
• Baking powder then and nowEarly-1900s baking powders were often single-acting and weaker than today's double-acting tins. Two teaspoons per cup of flour is the rate used here; a modern brand at that rate can taste faintly metallic, so 1 1/2 teaspoons is usually enough.
• YieldAround a cup and a half of batter, enough to coat roughly a pound of fruit, vegetables or fish cut into pieces, or to make a dozen small fritters.