"A dainty dish to set before a king."

Mother Goose.

During the summer months desserts should be as light and cooling as possible, and nothing is more whole-some and thoroughly satisfactory for the purpose than the many frozen dainties, such as ice-creams, ices, frozen fruits, etc. After the housewife has accustomed herself to the preparation of ice-creams and ices, the work will seem quite as simple as that involved in the productions of any other dessert; besides, the cost is not so great as is generally supposed, and the packing and freezing are by no means the intricate processes many cooks think them.

The simplest kind of ice-cream is made of cream, sugar and flavoring. Almost any kind of fruit may be made very sweet and frozen with water, or the juice of the fruit may be combined with water and sugar and then frozen. The more acid the fruit, the smaller the quantity of it required, as will be observed by a comparison of lemon and orange sherbet, the juice of ten oranges being used to produce the same quantity of sherbet that five lemons will make.

To Freeze Ice-Creams, Ices, Etc

Break the ice into pieces the size of a quart bowl, place these in a canvas bag, and pound the ice with a wooden mallet until it is reduced to pieces the size of a bird's egg - that is, until it is practically crushed. After adjusting the can containing the liquid in the freezer, pack around the can a layer of ice five inches deep; sprinkle this layer freely with rock salt, and continue to arrange alternate layers of ice and salt until the freezer is full, pounding the packing with a stick of wood after each addition of salt, and turning the crank of the freezer a few times to settle the ice. Do not draw off the water that forms in the tub, as it makes a perfectly cold envelope for the can. To pack a gallon freezer will require ten quarts of ice and three pints of rock salt. By using more salt, the work may be more quickly done, but the cream will not be so smooth. Turn the crank slowly at first, increasing its speed as the cream hardens.. When finished, carefully wipe the bits of ice and salt from the cover of the can, and remove the cover without taking out the can. Remove the beater, scrape the cream from it, and work a large spoon up and down in the can until the space formed by withdrawing the beater is filled and the cream is light. Replace the cover, putting a cork in the hole in which the trunk of the beater worked ; and set the freezer aside for awhile in a cold place, covering the can with ice and throwing a piece of carpet or a blanket over the whole. At serving time take the can from the tub and place it for a few seconds in a pan of tepid water; the cream may then be easily slipped out upon a dish, or it may be taken out in smooth, egg-shaped portions by means of a large cooking-spoon that has been dipped for an instant in hot water.

If the cream is to be moulded, it should be removed from the freezer when the beater is taken out. After being placed in the mould, it should be worked up and down with a spoon, so that every part of the mould shall be filled. Lay a sheet of white paper upon the cream before putting on the cover, and bury the mould in fresh ice and salt. If the mould is to stand in the ice and salt for many hours, cut a strip of paper or cloth to fit around the cover where it joins the mould, spread this with soft butter or tallow, and fasten it where the cover and mould join ; this strip will keep out the salt water, and it should be removed and the mould carefully wiped before the cover is taken off.

There are many good freezers, the best of which, perhaps, is the variety that works with a crank and has a double, revolving dasher making a triple motion. If there is no freezer at hand, an impromptu one may be made by using a tin-pail for the can and a bucket or cask for the tub; stir the cream occasionally with a wooden spoon or flat stick, replacing the lid of the pail after each stirring, and giving the pail a rotary motion in the ice.