HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 3715, 28 December 1912, Page 9

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

A boiled egg which is not requir :,i can bo boled up agan and. will not become hard in the process. * * * Place a few drops of ammonia in the water when washing glasses. They will look clear and bright -without any trouble. * * * To save incandescent mantles, before applying the match, turn the gas on for a couple of seconds. It is through applying the match too quicklv that many mantles are spoilt. . / * * * To renovate black kid. gloves, take a spoonful of soot and mix it to a very thick paste with a few drops of olite oil. Apply with a paint brush to the white spots on the gloves, and then rub the oil off with a scrap of soft flannel. This will make them look like new. * K f. \

Place a few drops of ammonia in the water when washing glasses. They will look clear and bright without anv trouble.

To save incandescent mantles, before applying the match, turn the gas on for a couple of seconds. It is through applying the match too quickly that many mantles are spoilt. . /

To renovate black kid, gloves, take a spoonful of soot and mix it to a very thick paste with a few drops of olite oil. Apply with a paint brush to the white spots on the gloves, and then rub the oil off with a scrap of soft flannel. This will make them look like new.

Smoke from a lamp or gas> dften soils a ceiling in one particular spot, while the rest remains beautifully white. It is useful to know that soiled ceilings caused by. lamp and gas will be rendered less conspicuous if rubbed over with dry whitening.

When making starcli, add to every quart, after it has become cold, a gill of boiling water, a tcaspoonful of turpentine, the same quantity of glycerine, and a teaspoonful of powdered borax. Stir thoroughly . Dip in the articles and leave them for an hour, then iron

* * » When boiling milk, place a large elean white marble in the saucepan. This will prevent the milk from burning by constant rolling about and stirring the liquid. The same applies to porridge, stews, custards, or anything which, in the ordinary way, would require constant stirring.

Stale cake can be made perfectly fresh if dipped in cold milk and rebaked in a cool oven. It will taste as if fresh and will he more digestible.

Mirrors, after being washed, should bo rubbed over with spirits'of wine and/ polished with soft tissue paper.

To clean a carpet, sprinkle thoroughly with salt, then brush with a stiff brush. Tlie colors will revive under this treatment.

•After washing hair-brushes dip the bristles jn milk, and they will be found quite stiff "when dry instead of soft, as is the case when they ■ are only rinsed in water.

The water in which onions have been boiled is excellent for cleaning gilt picture-frames. It removes specks and dirt, and brightens the gilt. It should be used quite cold, and the frame should be gently wiped dry afterwards.

When a broom begins to show signs of wear don’t throw it away. Soak it in hot” suds, rinse, and put out into the air to dry. Then cut' the bristles so that they are even lengths again, and you will find that the broom lias taken on a new lease of life.

When washing blankets dissolve a quarter of a pound of rock fuller’s earth in boiling water, and add to the water in which the blankets are steeped, This will make them easier to wash and more fleeev when dry.,

To remove stains' from white knifehandles, mix together equal parts of whiting and powdered; pumice-stone, dip a damp clrtli in the mixture, and rub the handle'*.

To make a t ugli steak tender, rub the meat on Toth sides with a mixture of equal parts of vinegar and olive oil. and leave it to stand for an lion or longer before cooking.

With the d? up of autumn windowframes will b'-gin'to. stick. Take a small piece of soap and rub it along the groove. Open and close the window a few times to make the soap slippery and 1 > get it on to the edge of the sash, -d thereafter you will have no trou ! L-.

The following mixture is excellent for polishing furniture, and will often remove scratches if well* rubbed in : Mix together equal quantities of turpentine! boiled linseed oil, vinegar, and methylated spirits. Bottle and use when, required.

White of egg is splendid for renovating leather chairs, when they begin to look shabby. Remove all dust arid dirt from the chairs, then rub with a cloth dipped in the white of an egg, which should first have been well beaten. When dry, rub well with soft, clean cloths, and the leather will look almost like new again.

Always use double thread for gathering. Use as fine a thread and needle as the garment will allow. When threading your needle make the knot on-tlie end broken from the reel. In sewing a seam put the stitches closely together, but lightly, into the cloth, being careful not to pull the thread tight as it causes the seam to draw. Gathers should always, be set on the right side, but never with a needle: use a pin. * * «

To remove ink-stains sprinkle liberally with salt, and rub vigorously with half a lemon." Grease-stains may be removed by the application of a paste made of equal quantities of pearl-ash and fuller’s earth moistened with boiling water. The paste should be left on stain for about twelve hours. and then washed off with soap and water, or lime and hot water.

A packet of plaster of Paris kept in a wide-necked bottle may be found very useful. Small holes in walls left by picture nails, etc., are quickly repaired with a very little plaster mixed with water. Combined with glue, all kinds of china and bric-a-brac may mended: it will withstand heat, dry quickly. and the surplus remaining on the edge of the join can be scraped off. It must be remembered that only'a small portion may be used at a time, and that plaster of Paris must be kept perfectly dry until required.

SWEET MAKING AT HOME. Sweet making at home is becoming more and more of a hobby with many people, and it is not much to be wondered at, for a great deal can he done with hut little trouble and expense. It is especially easy if one is the happy possessor of even a small gas stove, for it is so very simple to regulate the heat of these. 1 If sweet-making is largely indulged in, it is as well to get together a few utensils which are strictly kept for this particular purpose, and these should be scrupulously cleaned directly after use. A marble slab is of the greatest use, then there should be one or two iron or, better, nickel saucepans, a smaller pari with a lip, a hair sieve, some tins in which to set various sweets, such as toffee, caramels, etc., some plates and dishes, one or two wooden spoons, a palette knife is possible, a sweet fork, a spatula, and 'a good thermometer. Of course, it is very easy to enlarge this list but with the above utensils a groat deal can lio done. Remember before using a thermometer it should always be placed first of all in a basin of warm water, so that the mercury may rise gradually, and after ns® put hack in the warm water before cleaning and drying it*

_ Molasses Toffee.—Put one quart of molasses, lib of bredn sugar, and half a gill of water iritu a pan, and boil it to the “ball/’ i.e., 2oodog. to 2oodeg.. then add soz of butter, and stir it all together till well mixed, add five drops of essence of lemon, or use lemon juice, and continue the boiling till the toffee reaches 312 deg. or the “crack,” then pour on to an oiled slab or tip, and leave it till beginning to cool, when you cut ’it into the desired sizes. •' '

Butterscotch. —Put l«#lb of brown sugar in a. pan with 2f- gills of water and half a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, place the pan on' the fire, and stir the contents till they boil, then cover do l wn, and let them boil for seven or eight minutes. Now remove the cover and let the toffee boil till it reaches UlOdeg. ; have at hand ready melted 6oz of best butter, add this to the sugar, etc., and let it all boil up again, taking care it does not burn; pour it on to an oiled slab or tin, and divide it rip when cooling.

Cocoianut Caramels.—-Put one pint of cream or new milk into a pan with 3oz of desiccated cocoanut, and* let them lmil together for three or four minutes, stirring all the time; then

pour it into a basin, cover it, and leave till nearly cold, when you pass it all through a hair sieve. Take one pint of this liquor and 21b of sugar, put them in a pan, and stir them together over the fire until the sugar is dissolved; then add ,}H> of glucose, a quarter of a tea spoonful of cream of tartar, and boil these all to the “crick,” keeping them well stirred, pour it oh to an oiled slab or tin, and, when cooling, divide it up in squares, and wrap in grease-proof paper.

Chocolate Kisses. —Mix together sib of sugar and loz of finely powdveci chocolate, then add this to t! e s! ,f lywhipped whites of four eggs; chop on buttered paper, and bake - n a sow oven.

Fudge.—Put into a pan lib of s.tgar, 4oz of grated chocolate, a “ 1 of milk, and loz of butter; when t'.oroirghly melted lot the contents boil ti>l on dropping a little into a ghss of cold water it hardens, then rift, uom the fire, add a teaspoonful of vanilla essence, and turn it out on +o a buttered slab to cool; when cold cut u to squares. An asbestos mat is excellent for cooking this on, as if- prevents tlie fudge burnnig. -