It has been so often repeated that the English cook is not only the worst but the most wasteful in the world, that the fact has come to be accepted as a sad and certain truth for which there is no remedy. But to sit down submissively under any evil is not worthy of our national character, and already ladies, by a diligent study of cookery and dietetics, are seeking to inaugurate a better law for our kitchens.

In the first place it should be understood that a good cook is always economical. It may be that for some dishes she may have to use expensive materials, and to reject all but the finer portions of such materials, but in no case will she allow any trimmings, boilings, or skimmings to be thrown away or left to spoil for want of thought or attention. By the exercise of her skill, these often "unconsidered trifles" may be so acceptably utilized, that the cost of a superior dish will be reduced to that of an ordinary one. Waste and perquisites are the two giant evils which lie at the root of our extravagant and inferior cookery, and it is in the interest both of good mistresses and good servants that both should be checked.

One of the most useful and acceptable forms of cookery - frying - suffers in all middle-class kitchens in a large degree from the institution of the grease-pot and the perquisite of dripping. The latter perquisite tempts the cook systematically to overroast joints, for besides the dripping thus obtained, when meat is overroasted more gravy goes into the pan, and dripping with this rich and valuable deposit of fine jelly fetches a higher price, and is highly esteemed by the people who purchase it at the shops. Thus the housewife is robbed not only of the dripping, but of the nutriment of her meat, and when anything has to be fried further suffers from the greed of the cook, who appropriates all the fat she possibly can as a lawful perquisite. In families of from four to six persons, living in a fairly generous manner, there should always be plenty of frying fat obtained from roasted meat and pot skimmings without buying any lard. And it ought to be more generally known than it is that clarified pot skimmings make the best frying fat. The most delicate things, croquettes, rissoles, fritters, and potatoes, can be exquisitely fried in clarified pot top or dripping, as is constantly shown at the Crystal Palace school. If the frying fat is at the proper temperature no taste of it will be communicated to the substance immersed in it.

The process of clarifying fat for frying is very simple. Remove any deposit of gravy - and this should always be done within two days after the dripping is made, as such gravy is precious and is apt to become sour if left too long - then break up the dripping into small pieces, and put it into a large pan. Pour over the dripping at least three pints of boiling water to a pound, stir until dissolved, and then set the pan aside until the next day. Remove the dripping in one piece, scrape the under side and dry it well in a cloth, put it into a deep baking dish and set it on the range - not in the oven - at a low heat and let it melt; when again cold, take the dripping out of the dish, wipe and put it away wrapped in sheets of paper. Pot skimmings are to be treated in exactly the same way, and will be found the best possible frying fat. If frying fat has to be bought it is best on all accounts to prepare it at home. Procure mutton suet, cut it into shreds, put it into a clean saucepan and let it melt slowly; when done strain it into a basin, let it stand until cold, and treat in the same manner as dripping.

No fried things are wholesome, unless thoroughly immersed in fat at such a temperature as will effectually prevent their becoming sodden, nor, indeed, can frying be successfully done in any other way. Thus it will be seen how important it is that all household fat should be carefully saved, and how great an advantage it is to a cook always to have a store of it. Fat can with a little management be used several times for frying, and it is an error to suppose that when used for frying fish, it is not afterwards fit for any other purpose. The thermometer is the most exact, as it is the most scientific way of determining temperature, yet there is not the least difficulty in coming to a right conclusion by the use of the ordinary domestic test. Persons accustomed to frying will know without testing when the fat is ready, but under the slightest doubt will plunge a piece of dry bread into it. If the bread takes a brown tinge instantly, the fat will be ready. Should a slight smoke arise from the fat it must be used at once, or be taken off the fire. The practice of throwing in parsley or drops of water to ascertain the temperature of fat cannot be approved, for if incautiously done when the fat is very hot, the slight explosion thus caused may result in scalding the hands of the operator, and in making splashes of grease on the range. A careful cook who conducts the operation of frying on proper principles will never incur this last misfortune, and will not, as inexperienced cooks constantly do, dread having to fry when she has "that morning blackleaded her range." The obvious cause of fat "spluttering" is that it contains water, and if unclarified dripping or frying fat is used over again, it may, because of other substances mixed with it, have the same unpleasant consequence, besides causing a most disagreeable odour throughout the house. Let it, then, be borne in mind that the success of frying depends on having clean, dry fat, and plenty of it, and in taking care that the temperature of the fat is that which has been indicated.

It is essential for a cook to observe that different kinds of fat come to the right heat for frying at different temperatures. Lard boils much sooner than beef or mutton fat, and vegetable oil sooner than either of these; and unless care is taken in using the latter, accidents may occur.

On turning to the subject of stock, economical gravies, and soups, we shall not fail to recall the great trouble of Mrs. Todgers' life - "the gravy;" how she declared "that the anxiety of that one item keeps the mind continually on the stretch." Very many housewives will sympathize with this anxiety, having too often to go without gravy, or submit to joints of meat being sent to table washed over with water flavoured with burnt sugar. The writer has seen a so-called "professed" cook mix a little browning and salt in boiling water, and pour it over the joint of meat just before sending to table, yet with a little knowledge on the part of the mistress, with a little forethought and care on the part of the cook, a good household gravy will never be wanting even in a small family.