I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that ninety-nine out of a hundred of our English women cooks, say, of ten to twenty years' experience, have never fried anything in their lives. If, however, this expression is a little too strong, it may have the effect of impressing on your minds the fact that cooking anything in a frying-pan, with a little grease to prevent its sticking, is not frying.

I don't mean to say that it is not a nice way of cooking some things, but it is not frying.

To fry anything is to cook it by immersing it totally in very hot fat. In fact, just as in boiling we must let the water cover what is boiled, so in frying Ave must let the fat cover what is fried. This same fat will do over and over again; therefore it is in the end more economical than using a little fresh fat every day and throwing it away. Too often cooks put a little dab of grease into a frying-pan, and then pour this grease into that abomination in any house - a grease-box - "to be sold." It is the duty of every housekeeper to prevent their servants from coming in contact with the class of men who come round to buy kitchen stuff - bottles, bones, rags, etc. These men are generally simply receivers of stolen goods. The secrets of good frying are -

1. The fat must be sufficiently deep.

2. The fat must be sufficiently hot to make a piece of bread turn colour directly it is thrown in. In fact, the fat should smoke.

3. When anything is floured before it is fried, it must not be floured till the last moment before it is plunged into the fat.

4. When anything is fried that has been egg-and-bread-crumbed, it is best to egg-and-breadcrumb it some little time before it is fried.

5. Shut the kitchen door, and open the window a little way at the top, so as to avoid making the whole house smell like a fried-fish shop. This is really a very important practical point which should never be forgotten.

Now, the reason of some of the above directions is that the exterior of the substance to be fried should be as dry as possible. By this means we get a good colour. Fish is cheap, and, when properly fried, very nice. You cannot have a better model than that cooked at a fried-fish shop. When you fry fish at home, the best, cheapest, and simplest method is to dry the fish, flour it to make it thoroughly dry, and then instantly plunge the fish in the fat. Then, remember, if the fat is as hot as it should be, a very little time is sufficient to cook the fish. The general mistake is to over-cook it. Fillets of sole will not take a minute, whitebait only a few seconds. The fat for whitebait should be hotter than for anything I know. Underdone fish is very nasty, but this is no reason for systematically over-cooking it. Small mutton cutlets cut from a boned loin (the most economical way of cooking a loin) will not take more than thirty seconds to fry. It is only by following these rules that you will get them red and juicy inside.

In frying fish in batter, dry the fish, flour it, dip in batter, and quickly plunge it into hot fat. The batter must be smooth and thick (See Batter). As soon as the batter is of a bright golden colour, take it out, and, if the fish is thick, put it in the oven for a few minutes. Remember, the fat is more than a hundred degrees hotter than boiling water, and that the inside part of whatever is cooked goes on cooking after it is taken out of the fat.

When you fry parsley, take care that the parsley is dry. Always be careful and avoid splashing the fat. It is no joke to get a splash of fat of this temperature on the hands or arms.

The reason that fat crackles when it is first put on is that there is generally water with it. This water sinks, being heavier than fat, then it is converted into steam, and these bubbles of steam, escaping up through the fat, makes the bubbling. "When the crackling ceases, it shows the fat is hotter than boiling water, and that is all. If the fat was not moist with water it would not crackle at all.

When you have finished, pour the fat into a basin containing a little hot water, and let it stand till it is cold. When you next use fat, take it out in one large cake, and scrape the part next the water, which will contain impurities, etc.

Whenever anything is fried, let it drain a short time by being thrown on to a very hot dry cloth or blotting-paper. There is a coarse paper sold on purpose.

In frying, always, if possible, use a wire frying-basket. For whitebait this is indispensable.