Scalloped dishes are made by combining foods with buttered crumbs and baking. If the vegetable or fruit contains a large amount of juice, buttered crumbs are used alone. If the food be a dry vegetable, meat, or fish it is first combined with a thin white sauce, then covered with buttered crumbs. Scalloped dishes are valuable because they hold the heat well, special flavors are developed by the intense heat of the oven, and the buttered crumbs and white sauce make the nutritive value of the dish higher, especially where fat is added.

Crumbs for scalloped dishes, dressings, etc., are prepared from the inside of stale bread, breaking it up with the fingers, grating or rubbing two pieces together. Measurements for bread crumbs refer to soft broken crumbs, not to dry rolled crumbs. If dry crumbs are used one half the amount is sufficient.

Crumbs for scalloped dishes are buttered by adding them to melted butter and mixing thoroughly. Use 1 tablespoon butter to 1 cup crumbs. For savory dishes the crumbs should be seasoned, using 1/8 teaspoon salt and a sprinkling of white or Cayenne pepper to each 1 cup of crumbs.

Dishes prepared "au Gratin" are prepared as scalloped dishes with white sauce and the addition of grated cheese. The food value of the dish is thus decidedly increased.

Scalloped dishes and dishes "au Gratin" are prepared in large baking dishes or in individual ramekins. They are served hot in the dish. The dishes "au Gratin" may serve as a substitute for a meat dish.

Note: - See recipes for scalloped apples, cabbage, corn, egg plant, fish, meat, onions, oysters, potatoes, potatoes with eggs, potatoes with white sauce, rhubarb, rice, salmon, and tomatoes.