General Observations

We are no friends to pastry, particularly what is called the rich flaky pastry. It is decidedly indigestible, and consequently unwholesome. A crisp, short paste, however, we consider nutritious; the butter, lard, etc. being thoroughly incorporated with the flour in the process of making it. Oleaginous substances, such as lard, become not only perfectly innocuous, when well mixed with farina, and well baked or boiled, but very nourishing and wholesome; and this we take to be the best way of preparing such things for human food.

In making pastry, the cook, as indeed she ought to be on all occasions, should be particularly clean and neat. Her utensils should be kept in "apple-pie order," and when they are done with, they should be carefully cleaned and put in their places. Her paste-board and rolling-pin, let it be remembered, should, after using, be well scoured with hot water alone. She should not use soap, sand, or stone dust of any kind. A marble slab is preferable to a board for rolling paste. Both are generally made too small to be convenient. Three feet long by two feet wide is a good size. In making a paste, a good cook will have no waste of any kind, and particularly she will not make more at one time than she wants, under the idea that she can keep it in flour till the next time of making; for it is ten to one but that the old paste will spoil the new. No flour except the very best can be used for fine descriptions of pastry, and in damp weather it should be dried before the fire, but not scorched. Clarified dripping, good lard, marrow, salt butter well washed, may be used for ordinary pastry; indeed, if they are pure and sweet they will form good pastry, with good flour and good management. In wealthy families, however, where economy is not an object, and every thing for the table is required to be of the first quality, the safest plan is to use the best fresh butter. The fat that settles on stews, and on the broth in which meat has been boiled, may be used for pastry, that is, provided it is tasteless. Suet is sometimes used for meat pies, but though it makes a light crust, when hot, it does not eat well when cold.

A most wholesome crust is made without butter or any other oily matter. For this purpose take half a quartern of dough, work in an egg, and cover your pie. This will be sufficient for a large one. A great deal more butter, or fat of some kind or other, was formerly directed to be used in making pastry than at present. For ordinary purposes, half the weight of lard, or butter, is sufficient, but in the richest crusts the quantity should never exceed the weight of flour. Eggs may be added to enrich the crust; use no more water or other liquid in making paste than is absolutely necessary, or, in other words, take care not to "put out the miller's eye," that is, to make the paste too moist. The great thing is to incorporate the flour well with the fat, which you cannot do if you allow too much water or milk in the first instance.

The under or side crust, which should be thin, should not be made so rich as the top crust, as otherwise it will make the gravy or syrup greasy. All dishes in which pies are to be baked should be buttered or greased round the edges to prevent the crust from sticking, and if there be an under crust, all over the inside: - the same must be done with tins or saucers.

There is a number of other little things to be attended to in making pastry, which we will enumerate in as few words as we can. Fruit pies or large tarts should have a hole made in the middle of the crust, and it is a good plan in a family pie to place a small tea-cup in the middle of the pie; this will form a receptacle for the syrup, and prevent its boiling over. For the same reason meat pies should have holes round their edges, but they do not require a tea-cup. The thickness of the crust must be regulated by the judgment of the cook with reference to the nature of the pie, and the circumstances of the party by whom it is to be eaten. Top crusts vary in thickness from half an inch to an inch or more. Of course a meat pie will require a longer time to bake than a fruit one, and some descriptions of fruit again longer than others. The edges of pies are sometimes crimped or jagged, and some persons further ornament them with leaves, or stars cut out of paste, and laid on the top of the crust. Pigeon and game pies, etc. are generally washed over with finely beaten yolk of eggs, simply to give them a nice appearance, but they are just as nice without it. We ought to add, that where the paste is wanted to adhere, as in the upper and under crusts of a pie, it is a good plan to touch the parts with the white of an egg; a little water will do, but not so well.