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Classic
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page 182
nice jelly.
Meringue, for pies or puddings, is made in the proportion of one table-spoon
sugar to white of one egg, with flavoring added. Never fill pies until just
before putting them in the oven. Always use tin pie-pans, since, in earthen
pans, the under crust is not likely to be well baked.
Just before putting on the upper crust, wet the rim of the lower with a thick
paste of flour and water, or egg and flour, and press the two crusts firmly
together; this will prevent that bane of all pastry cooks--a burst pie. Bake
fruit pies in a moderate oven, having a better heat at the bottom than at the
top of the oven, or the lower crust will be clammy and raw. When done, the crust
will separate from the pan, so that the pie may be easily removed. Remove at
once from the tins, or the crust will become "soggy."
The vices of the mince-pie have served to point many a hygienic moral, but while
it is quite true that it is not strictly hygienic, it is not an every-day dish.
The mince-pie is one of the few articles of food that have come down to us from
a remote period, and it still has the flavor of old associations and the solid
respectability which belongs to centuries of history and tradition. It is less
to be feared than many apparently simple forms of highly concentrated food, such
as butter and sugar, and often a piece of common pound-cake will produce a
bigger "nightmare" than a piece of the richest mince-pie. Mince-pie, if not
rich, is not the real thing, and it is its deterioration, and the fact that it
is left nowadays, like almost every thing else, to servants, who do not even
know how to properly boil a piece of beef, that have brought it into disrepute.
Its preparation should be confined to no careless or unworthy hands, but every
ingredient should be thoughtfully provided and delicately prepared, and the
whole put together and blended with the skill of an artist, and the precision of
a mechanic. Tact, wisdom, judgment, knowledge, and experience all go into the
proper construction of a genuine mince-pie, to say nothing of kindness of heart
and liberality of disposition.
AUNTY PHELPS' PIE CRUST.
To one pint of sifted flour, add one even tea-spoon baking powder, and sweet
cream enough to wet the flour, leaving crust a little stiff. This is enough for
two pies.
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