Jewish cooks often use pure cotton seed oil, which is much cheaper than good olive oil, but this, unless very refined, has a distinctly objectionable smell when cooking, which renders its use in particular households undesirable. Next to oil undoubtedly comes beef dripping, a medium objected to, however, greatly by many so-called " high class cooks," partly through ignorance, partly through a dishonest fear of loss, as such persons appear to consider the sale of the household dripping a perquisite quite compatible with a character for honesty! However, considering so great a culinary authority as M. Gouffe considers it a distinctly praiseworthy frying medium, recommending the collection of all dripping from roast meat, and next to this the rendering down of good beef suet for frying purposes, it hardly becomes less competent authorities to reject this substance as "impossible," as I have before now heard it called by a haughty but ignorant soi-disant cordon-bless. I may add a fact that may surprise a good many British housekeepers, and that is that the same high kitchen oracle utterly condemns the use of lard, as always carrying with it the risk (if not actually the inevitable certainty) of greasiness in whatever is cooked in it! Butter is seldom to be recommended for frying as it heats up so quickly, and in consequence is liable to burn at very short notice.

It should be remembered when oil is used that it must be very slowly heated, and be kept all the time at as low a temperature as is compatible with its use.

Haying settled your pan and your frying medium, the next thing to consider is the batter. For this mix the yolks of two eggs with two tablespoonfuls of good salad oil, and then work into this carefully and smoothly about 3½oz. of fine sifted flour, and half a saltspoonful of salt; when you have got this to a perfectly smooth paste add to it gradually enough tepid water to bring it to a smooth batter, that when finished will coat the spoon you use in mixing' it sufficiently to hide the material of which the spoon is made whilst showing its shape. (If too thick, thin it carefully with a little more tepid water till you get it right.) This batter should be well beaten for ten minutes after mixing (at which time it should be a thick sauce), and as soon as ready should be set aside in a fairly warm corner, carefully covered with a doubled cloth, and allowed to stand at least two hours before use. Just as it is to be used, stir into the batter lightly and quickly the white of one egg whipped to the stiffest possible froth with a dust of salt.

There are many forms of batter, and almost every household has its own special make, but the above will be found excellent for savoury use of all kinds, and the quantities given are sufficient for a small dish of fritters.

When making fritters start by having everything wanted at hand; have the basin of batter, covered with a cloth, at your side, and arrange the objects to be dipped in it neatly on a plate or dish, after carefully draining off the marinade. Have ready the fat, which should have reached the point of being perfectly still, with a very thin blue vapour just beginning to rise (if this vapour is too evident the friture is too hot, and anything put into it will burn); test the fat by throwing in a small piece of breadcrumb, and if it frizzles up, producing large air bubbles, and browns in under a minute, the fat is ready, and the fritters should be dropped in gently at once, being careful to have each one thoroughly covered with the fat. You should always use a wire frying basket for this purpose, but if you do not possess one (which, however, every well arranged kitchen should do, as they are anything but costly utensils), lift each fritter out with a skimmer, and hold it over the pan for a minute or two to let the fat drain off; then at once lay it on a sheet of clean kitchen or blotting paper, or on a clean cloth. (Some •cooks set the fritters as done on a wire drainer and stand them for a moment or two in the mouth of the oven or on the kitchen fender.) When quite dry dish them on a hot dish, piling them up and dusting them well with minced parsley, coralline pepper, Ac., as you please.

Remember not to crowd your pan; only so many should be fried at once as the pan will hold comfortably; but be sure and let the fat cool a little before putting in the next lot, or they will be burnt. Be sure to strain your fat each time after using it, by letting it cool for twelve or fifteen minutes after all the frying is finished, and then pouring it through a piece of clean muslin into a basin, and leave it till cold. If this is attended to, the fat can be used repeatedly. Full directions for the clarifying, etc., of fat will be found in the chapter on Odds and Ends.

Kromeskis are another method of re-serving meat, and are something between fritters and rissoles, as they are always cased in batter, and are often made with the farce mixture used for croquettes and rissoles. For these you can prepare any nice little ragout of any meat to taste, flavouring it with foie gras, truflles, mushrooms, oysters, etc., as you please. The various things to be used should be cut up fairly small, and then stirred over the fire for a few minutes in any rich sauce to taste, till mixed to a smooth paste, and then left till cold, when you should have ready thin slices of parboiled fat or French larding bacon, about one and a half inches broad by two and a half inches long; lay a tea-spoonful of the mixture (called in French cookery a salpicon on each slice, roll them up, fixing the bacon with a little white of egg, then dip them with great care into the batter and then into the friture, and finish off precisely like the fritters. Orlies are another form of fritter, usually only made of white meat or fish, this being marinaded, and then finished off precisely as described above for fritters and served with a rich tomato sauce, and a garnish of fried parsley.