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Crisco (Salt and pepper to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste 2 tablespoonfuls chopped parsley 6 rounds fried toast 6 eggs 4 tablespoonfuls chopped cooked chicken, ham or tongue Crisco six small molds. Mix ham, parsley, and seasonings together, throw a little into each mold, shake it well round sides; break into each mold one egg, taking care not to break yolk, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and dot with Crisco. Steam four or five minutes, or until set. Turn out on rounds of fried toast and serve at once.
CANDIES GAR I is well to have a confectioner's thermometer for candy making, so that the syrup may be removed from the fire at exactly the right degree. Such thermometers are made of wood, brass, or copper, and the degrees on them should mark not less than 350°. A thermometer always should be gently lowered into the boiling sugar. When not in use, it should be kept hanging on a nail or hook. When required for candy making, place thermometer in pitcher of warm water, so that it may rise gradually, and return it to the warm water on removing it from the hot candy. This dissolves the clinging candy and protects the tube from breaking. The wooden thermometer can be used to stir with, and is very easy to keep clean.
If there is no thermometer handy it is better to make a list of the various stages in sugar boiling, and learn how to test the sugar. First there is the "thread" (216° F. to 218° F.) This is reached when, on dipping the finger and thumb first into cold water and then into the syrup, you can draw them apart, and an unbroken thread is formed, which gradually can be drawn wider apart on further testing as the degree of boiling is completed.
The next is the "pearl" (220° F.) To see if the syrup has reached this stage, after the sugar has dissolved let it boil for eight to ten minutes, then dip a wooden skewer into the syrup to obtain a drop of it. Dip the finger and thumb into cold water, then rub the drop of syrup between them; if it feels smooth, the syrup has reached the desired stage. The next is the "blow" (230° F.) Dip a spoon into the sugar, shake it, and blow through the holes; if sparks of light or bubbles be seen, you may be sure of the blow. This is followed by the "feather" (235° F.) To test this, dip a spoon into the boiling syrup, and when it may be blown easily from the spoon in long shreds it has reached the right degree. Candies Next comes the "ball" (240° F. to 250° F.) Dip the finger and thumb first into cold water, and then into the syrup, the latter then can be rolled into a soft ball between the finger and thumb. A little longer boiling gives the hard ball. This in turn is succeeded by the "crack" (290° F. to 300° F.) To test this, drop a little of the syrup into cold water; if it then breaks off sharp and crisp it has reached the crack. The final stage is the "caramel" (350° F.) which comes very quickly after the crack, the syrup becoming first a pale yellow, and then a rich golden brown, and finally black or burnt. When it first reaches this stage the pan should be removed from the fire, a little lemon juice or water added, and then the whole reboiled to the proper stage or shade. To prevent granulation, it often is advisable to add a pinch of cream of tartar, to the pound of sugar. 1 cupful milk Pinch of salt
A steamed egg-in-a-mold dish from the Crisco book, essentially individual shirred eggs with a lining of chopped meat and parsley. The whole thing takes under ten minutes once the molds are ready.
- The molds"Six small molds" probably means dariole molds or timbale cups; the book gives no size, but something of roughly half-cup capacity suits one egg. Small ramekins or a deep muffin tin work, though a straight-sided mold turns out more cleanly.
- Grease heavily"Crisco six small molds" is the instruction to grease them with shortening; butter or a neutral oil does the same job. Be thorough on the base and sides or the egg will tear when unmolded.
- The hinge is the steaming timeThe recipe says four or five minutes, "or until set"; at that point the white should be set and the yolk still soft. Longer steaming firms the yolk and toughens the white, so take the molds out while the centers still tremble.
- How to steamSet the molds on a rack in a covered pan over an inch of simmering water, or in a covered steamer basket. The water must not touch the molds, and the heat should be a bare simmer rather than a hard boil, which toughens egg protein.
- The meatTongue was a routine cold-cut in 1913 kitchens; cooked ham, chicken, or leftover roast all work. Chop it fine so it clings to the greased sides rather than sliding to the bottom.
- The toast roundsCut rounds slightly wider than the mold base and fry them in shortening or butter until crisp on both sides. Soft toast collapses under the egg.
- Yield and timingSix molds serve three as a lunch dish or six as part of a larger breakfast. Fry the toast first and have it waiting; the eggs will not hold.
The Story of Crisco (1913) was published by Procter & Gamble to teach cooks what to do with hydrogenated cottonseed oil, a product sold as a substitute for lard and butter. The recipes are conventional Anglo-American ones with the shortening written into every possible step, which is why the instruction here is the verb "Crisco" rather than "grease." The dish itself is a standard eggs-in-molds arrangement, the egg steamed and turned out rather than cooked and served in its dish, dressed up with chopped ham or tongue; the fried round of bread gave the unmoulded egg something to sit on.