INTRODUCTORY
tained in the cup or in the bowl of the spoon. These remarks apply of course only to dry materials, as liquids are bound to level themselves.
Butter, to be measured accurately, must be soft enough to be pressed down into the cup or spoon; if too hard to be managed in this way, it should be heated slightly before measuring. In measuring flour for the cake recipes, the flour should be sifted directly into the measuring-cup; in other words, it should be measured after sifting, rather than before.
Keep the measuring utensils—the measuring-cup, measuring-spoons, and palette-knife—always conveniently at hand in cooking. They will be required in the case of most of the recipes contained in this book, and to economize space they are not included in the list of utensils given at the head of the various recipes.
REGULATING THE HEAT
While electricity is perhaps the ideal cooking medium, the majority of households are still dependent upon gas; and in the preparation of this book it has been assumed that the cooking will be done upon a gas-range. However, in nearly all cases the directions given may be successfully followed no matter what fuel or kind of stove is used, although the problem of heat-regulation is much more easily controlled with gas than with coal or wood. Important as this problem is, only a few rather rough suggestions for dealing with it satisfactorily can be given here. Actual experience is the only trustworthy guide.
In general, it may be said that the amateur cook comes to grief far more often through using too much rather than too little heat. Very seldom, if ever, is the full heating, capacity of an oven or a surface burner required
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