pose each grain of starch to the saliva, actually prevents their digestion by being formed by the teeth into leathery, poreless masses, which lie on the stomach like so many bullets. Bread should always be at least a day old before it is eaten; and, if properly made, and kept in a cool dry place, ought to be perfectly soft and palatable at the end of three or four days. Hot rolls, swimming in melted butter, and new bread, ought to be carefully shunned by everybody who has the slightest respect for that much-injured individual-the stomach. oven, which is an endless floor, moving slowly through the fire. Done to a turn, the loaves emerge at the other end of the apartment, and the Aërated Bread is made. It may be added, that it is a good plan to change one's baker from time to time, and so secure a change in the quality of the bread that is eaten. Mixed Breads.-Rye bread is hard of digestion, and requires longer and slower baking than wheaten bread. It is better when made with leaven of wheaten flour rather than yeast, and turns out lighter. It should not be eaten till two days old. It will keep Aerated Bread.-The new process impregnates the bread, by the appli- a long time. cation of machinery, with carbonic A good bread may be made by mixacid gas, or fixed air. Different ing rye-flour, wheat-flour, and riceopinions are expressed about the paste in equal proportions; also by bread; but it is curious to note, that, mixing rye, wheat, and barley. In as corn is now reaped by machinery, Norway, it is said that they only bake and dough is baked by machinery, the their barley-bread once a year, such whole process of bread-making is pro- is its "keeping" quality. bably in course of undergoing changes which will emancipate both the housewife and the professional baker from a large amount of labour. In the production of Aerated Bread, wheaten flour, water, salt, and carbonic acid gas (generated by proper machinery), are the only materials employed. We need not inform our readers that carbonic acid gas is the source of the effervescence, whether in common water coming from a depth, or in lemonade, or any aerated drink. Its action, in the new aerated bread, takes the place of fermentation in the old system of bread-making. In the patent process, the dough is mixed in a great iron ball, inside which is a system of paddles, perpetually turning, and doing the kneading part of the business. Into this globe the flour is dropped till it is full, and then the common atmospheric air is pumped out, and the pure gas turned on. The gas is followed by the water which has been aerated for the purpose, and then begins the churning or kneading part of the business. Of course, it is not long before we have the dough, and very "light" and nice it looks. This is caught in tins, and passed on to the floor of the Indian-corn flour mixed with wheatflour (half with half) makes a nice bread; but it is not considered very digestible, though it keeps well. Rice cannot be made into bread, nor can potatoes; but one-third potatoflour in three-fourths wheaten flour makes a tolerably good loaf. A very good bread, better than the ordinary sort, and of a delicious flavour, is said to be produced by adopting the following recipe:-Take ten parts of wheat-flour, five parts of potato-flour, one part of rice paste; knead together, add the yeast, and bake as usual. This is, of course, cheaper than wheaten bread. Flour, when freshly ground, is too glutinous to make good bread, and should therefore not be used immediately, but should be kept dry for a few weeks, and stirred occasionally, until it becomes dry, and crumbles easily between the fingers. Flour should be perfectly dry before being used for bread or cakes; if at all damp, the preparation is sure to be heavy. Before mixing it with the other ingredients, it is a good plan to place it for an hour or two before the fire, until it feels warm and dry. Yeast from home-brewed beer is generally preferred to any other; it is very bitter, and, on that account, should be well washed, and put away until the thick mass settles. If it still continues bitter, the process should be repeated; and before being used, all the water floating at the top must be poured off. German yeast is now very much used, and should be moistened, and thoroughly mixed with the milk or water with which the bread is to be made. The first thing required for making wholesome bread is the utmost cleanliness; the next is the soundness and sweetness of all the ingredients used for it; and, in addition to these, there must be attention and care through the whole process. An almost certain way of spoiling dough is to leave it half-made, and to allow it to become cold before it is finished. The other most common causes of failure are using yeast which is no longer sweet, or which has been frozen, or has had hot liquid poured over it. Too small a proportion of yeast, or insufficient time allowed for the dough to rise, will cause the bread to be heavy. Heavy bread will also most likely be the result of making the dough very hard, and letting it become quite cold, particularly in winter. If either the sponge or the dough be permitted to overwork itself, that is to say, if the mixing and kneading be neglected when it has reached the proper point for either, sour bread will probably be the consequence in warm weather, and bad bread in any. The goodness will also be endangered by placing it so near a fire as to make any part of it hot, instead of maintaining the gentle and equal degree of heat required for its due fermentation. Milk or Butter.-Milk which is not perfectly sweet will not only injure the flavour of the bread, but, in sultry weather, will often cause it to be quite uneatable; yet either milk or butter, if fresh and good, will materially improve its quality. To keep bread sweet and fresh, as soon as it is cold it should be put into a clean earthen pan, with a cover to it; this pan should be placed at a little distance from the ground, to allow a current of air to pass underneath. Some persons prefer keeping bread on clean wooden shelves, without being covered, that the crust may Stale bread may be not soften. freshened by warming it through in a gentle oven. Stale pastry, cakes, &c., may also be improved by this method. The utensils required for making bread, on a moderate scale, are a kneading-trough or pan, sufficiently large that the dough may be kneaded freely without throwing the flour over the edges, and also to allow for its rising; a hair-sieve for straining yeast, and one or two strong spoons. Yeast must always be good of its kind, and in a fitting state to produce ready and proper fermentation. Yeast of strong beer or ale produces more effect than that of milder kinds; and the fresher the yeast, the smaller the quantity will be required to raise the dough. As a general rule, the oven for baking bread should be rather quick, and the heat so regulated as to penetrate the dough without hardening the outside. The oven-door should not be opened after the bread is put in until the dough is set, or has become firm, as the cool air admitted will have an unfavourable effect on it. A Few Hints respecting the Eggs should always be broken into a cup, the whites and yolks separated, and they should always be strained. Breaking the eggs thus, the bad ones may be easily rejected without spoiling the others, and so cause no waste. As eggs are used instead of yeast, they should be very thoroughly whisked they are generally sufficiently beater when thick enough to carry the dro that falls from the whisk. wel Loaf Sugar should be pounded, and then sifted through a fine sieve. Currants should be nicely washed, picked, dried in a cloth, and then carefully examined, that no pieces of grit or stone may be left amongst them. They should then be laid on a dish before the fire, to become thoroughly dry; as, if added damp to the other ingredients, cakes will be liable to be heavy. Good butter should always be used in the manufacture of cakes: and if beaten to a cream, it saves much time and labour to warm, but not melt, it before baking. Less butter and eggs are required for cakes when yeast is mixed with the other ingredients. The heat of the oven is of great importance, especially for large cakes. If the heat be not tolerably fierce, the batter will not rise. If the oven is too quick, and there is any danger of the cake burning or catching, put a sheet of clean paper over the top. Newspaper, or paper that has been printed on, should never be used for this purpose. To know when a cake is sufficiently baked, plunge a clean knife into the middle of it; draw it quickly out, and if it looks in the least sticky, put the cake back, and close the oven door until the cake is done. Cakes should be kept in closed tin canisters or jars, and in a dry place. Those made with yeast do not keep so long as those made without it. have been produced both cheap and wholesome in, comparatively speaking, endless variety. Their actual component parts are, perhaps, known only to the various makers; but there are several kinds of biscuits which have long been in use, that may here be advantageously described. Biscuits belong to the class of unfermented bread, and are, perhaps, the most wholesome of that class. In cases where fermented bread does not agree with the human stomach, they may be recommended; in many instances they are considered lighter, and less liable to create acidity and flatulence. The name is derived from the French bis cuit, or "twice baked," because, originally, that was the mode of entirely depriving them of all moisture, to ensure their keeping; but although that process is no longer employed, the name is retained. The use of this kind of bread on land is pretty general, and some varieties are luxuries; but at sea, biscuits are articles of the first necessity. Sea, or Ship Biscuits, are made of wheat-flour from which only the coarsest bran has been separated. The dough is made up as stiff as it can be worked, and is then formed into shapes, and baked in an oven; after which the biscuits are exposed in lofts over the oven until perfectly dry, to prevent them from becoming mouldy when stored. Captains' Biscuits are made in a similar manner, but of fine flour. III. ADULTERATION OF FOOD. The extensive employment of various substances for the adulteration of food will lead to the perusal with interest of a list of those most commonly employed. This list we give below. The objects of adulteration seem to be threefold: 1. By the addition of articles of inferior value to increase the bulk or weight of the article adulterated. 2. To improve the colour of the article sold, either by giving the adulterated article the appearance of a better article of the same kind, or of another article altogether. 3. To increase the taste and flavour by giving flavours to substances which they do not possess, or by increasing the flavour of an article weakened by adulteration. The following is an alphabetical arrangement of the substances more commonly used in adulteration: Animal Substances. Bone Dust is obtained from the bone manufacturers, and is employed in the adulteration of pepper and sugar, and is also said to be added to flour. Vegetable Substances. Annatto is obtained from the seeds of the Bixa Orellano. It is used for dyeing, and is itself extensively adulterated. In adulteration it is used for giving a deeper colour to milk and butter, and is also employed for colouring cheese. Bay Leaves. The produce of the bay tree, Laurus nobilis. They are used in the adulteration of tea. Beans roasted. The common horsebean is roasted, and used in the adulteration of coffee. by decoction. It is extensively added to coffee, both for the purposes of improving its flavour and adulteration. Cocculus Indicus is the fruit of the Anaminta Cocculu, and contains the berries are used in the adulteration of poisonous principle, picrotoxin. These beer and ardent spirits to increase their intoxicating power. Coltsfoot. The leaves of Tussilago Farfara are employed in the adulteration of tobacco. Coriander. The fruit of the Cori andrum sativum is used in adulterating beer. Dandelion Roots. Chicory, which is employed to adulterate coffee, is itself adulterated with the roots of the Leontodon Taraxacum. Gamboge is a gum resin exuded by the Garcinia-gamboogioides, and other plants. It is a powerful medicine, and is used as a pigment, and in colouring confectionery yellow. Gluten. This substance is separated from wheaten flour, and is employed in adulterating tea and coffee. Grains of Paradise. Seeds of a species of Elettaria. They contain an acrid oil, and are added to beer and ardent spirits to give pungency and flavour. Burnt Sugar is made by exposing sugar to heat till the carbon is developed. It is known to those who use it for the purposes of adulteration as "Black Jack" and Caramel. It is employed to give a deep colour to vinegar, rum, brandy, and sherry, principally in deference to public taste, which demands that these liquids shall be of a dark colour, although it is no proof of their value for the purposes for which they are used. Capsicum. The fruit of the Capsicum annuum, which yields Cayenne pepper, is employed in the adulteration of gin. It is also added to pow-root of Glycyrrhiza glabra. It is used dered ginger and pepper. Cardamoms. The seeds of the various kinds of cardamom fruits are added to gin, rum, and porter. Catechu is the extract of the Acacia Catechu and other plants. It contains 70 to 80 per cent. of tannic acid, and is used to adulterate tea, tobacco, and opium. Lentils. The seed of the Ervum Lens. They are added to farinaceous foods, and also employed to adulterate drugs. Linseed Meal. The ground seeds of Flax. Used in adulterating pepper. Liquorice. The sweet extract of the in the adulteration of porter and stout, which it sweetens, thickens, and blackens. Logwood. The wood of the Hamatoxylon Campeachianum. It is used where a red colour is thought desirable, as in giving colour to inferior ports and clarets, bottled red fruits, &c. Lupins roasted. The seeds of the Lupinus are roasted and added to coffee. Cayenne Pepper. (See Capsicum.) Chamomile Flowers. The produce Nux Vomica. The seeds of the of the Anthemis nobilis. They have a Strychnos Nux Vomica are very bitter, pleasant, bitter, aromatic taste, and and contain the poisonous principle are added to beer. strychnine. They were formerly exChicory is the root of the Cichorium | tensively employed to adulterate beer. Antybus. It is used to make a beverage Opium. The juice of the Fapaver 122 SUBSTANCES USED FOR ADULTERATION. somniferum. It has been added to beer to increase its intoxicating effect. Pea-flour has been detected as an adulterator in pepper. Potato-starch. The starch of the Potato is very frequently used to adulterate the higher priced starches or sago, tapioca, and arrow-root. It is also added to cocoa, honey, butter, lard, and many other things. Quassia Chips. The wood of the Quassia excelsa. It is intensely bitter, and is used in medicine, but is added to beer to increase its bitterness. It is also used to adulterate snuff. Radish Seed. It is used to adulterate mustard. Rice in the husk. China to adulterate tea. It is used in Rice-flour. Added to powdered pepper, mustard, liquorice root, ginger, currie powder, and mixed spice. Roasted Corn. This is wheat roasted, and is sometimes used as a substitute for coffee, and also added to it for the purpose of adulteration. Sago Meal is a cheap form of sago. It is used to adulterate cocoa, ginger, pepper, cinnamon powder, mixed spice, and annatto. Sawdust. Employed in the adulteration of coffee, chicory, and spices. Starch. Wheat starch is often employed for adulteration, and has been found in sugar, honey, butter, lard, arrow-root, confectionery, spice, carraway, and liquorice powder. Sugar. It is extensively employed as an adulterator. It is added to honey, milk, porter, gin, rum, brandy, sherry, tobacco, liquorice. Sumach is added to snuff. Tobacco. It is added to beer to increase its intoxicating properties. Treacle or Molasses. This is an impure, uncrystallized sugar, and is added to sugar, milk, sauces, porter, sherry, and tobacco. stituted for orange peel in marmalade. Wheat-flour. Extensively used for adulteration in cocoa, honey, potted meats, mustard, pepper, ginger, sauces, cinnamon, liquorice, and various drugs. Mineral Substances. Acetate of Copper or Verdigris. This substance is found in pickles, as the result of adding copper to them for the purpose of giving them a green colour. Alum. This substance is added to bread for the purpose of preventing an excessive fermentation, to which the inferior kinds of flour are liable. It also makes the bread white. Antwerp Blue. A modification of Prussian blue, used in the colouring of confectionery. Armenian Bole. This substance has a red colour, which depends on the oxide of iron it contains. It is added to cocoa, anchovies, potted meat, and fish, and sauces, to give them a red colour. This adulteration is another instance of a substance added in deference to public taste. Many of the articles of diet to which the Armenian Bole is added, would be regarded as inferior without the colour which it produces. Black Lead. This is Plumbago or Graphite. It is used for the purpose of giving a shiny facing to tea. Blue John. This substance, more familiarly known as Derbyshire Spar, is a fluoride of calcium. It forms, when crushed, a white powder, which is extensively used for adulterating confectionery. It is also called "Daff." Brickdust. The dust of both white and red bricks is used for adulterating various articles of diet, as chicory, cayenne pepper, cocoa, &c. Brunswick Green. The true Brunswick Green is an oxychloride of cop per. The false Brunswick Greens are mixtures of chromate of lead and indigo. They are used for producing various shades of green in confectionery, and are all poisonous. Turmeric. It is a pungent yellow powder, the produce of the Curcuma onga. It is added to substances to give a yellow colour. It is used in the adulteration of milk, mustard, Burnt Umber. An earth containing cayenne, ginger, opium, rhubarb, oxide of iron of a brown colour, emliquorice, and confectionery. ployed for colouring confectionery, and Turnip. The root is cut up and sub-adulterating tobacco and snuff. |