Ice-Cream.

This consists mainly or entirely of cream, and takes a specific name from the substance used for flavoring.

Frozen Pudding.

Ice-cream or custard, highly flavored, and containing preserved fruits and nuts becomes frozen pudding. It is often served with a sauce.

Mousse

The name is due to the mossy, feathery ice developed in whipped cream, which is put into a mold, and packed for several hours in ice and salt.

Water Ices

These are frozen without rapid motion, which would interfere with the clearness of the ice; fruit juices are the principal ingredient.

Sherbets.

Water ices frozen more rapidly are called sherbets, and white of egg or gelatin is often added to give a creamy consistency.

Frappe

These ices are served when half frozen or like a mush.

In the city it is more convenient and often cheaper to buy ices, but in the country an ice-cream freezer is a valuable aid, though many ices may be prepared without a regular freezer. Ices are more easily prepared than pies, and during the summer are far more acceptable.

A few general laws apply to all frozen desserts. The proportion of sugar and flavoring must be about double that needed for an ordinary pudding. For water ices it is considered better to boil the sugar and water together to form a sirup. This may be made in large quantities and kept on hand.

Fruits mashed or cut up become lumps of ice in a cream, therefore, it is better to use only juice and pulp pressed through a linen strainer and discard skins and seeds.

The heavy cream which is sold at forty cents a quart must be reduced by milk or fruit juices, or the action of the freezer is likely to produce butter.

Scalded cream gives a solid smoothness. For a different effect whipped cream may be added after an ice is partially frozen.

Milk sherbets latterly have been great favorites; when the milk is ice-cold, acid fruit juice may be put with it without danger of curdling.

Condensed milk may be used for ice-cream, reducing it with water as directed on the can.

Lemon juice may be combined with any fruit, and serves to bring out the flavor of the other. A small quantity of salt should be added to all ice-creams and sherbets.

Where cream is not attainable, a soft custard is often used as the foundation for an ice-cream. Milk may be slightly thickened with flour, arrowroot, or corn-starch, and if the starch is thoroughly cooked, this is more satisfactory than if egg alone is used for thickening the milk.

A small quantity of gelatin is generally put in sherbets, and may be used in ice-cream to aid in molding it.

Junket tablets are sometimes used to thicken the milk slightly before freezing. From one-half to one tablet is dissolved in each quart of milk.

One part of coarse salt and three parts of ice, pounded nearly as fine as the salt, are combined to do the freezing ordinarily.

For frappe the quantity of salt is increased.

The cream or custard should be chilled before it is put in the freezer can. Since the cream will expand while being frozen, the cans must not be filled full.

Rapid motion of the crank is a waste of energy except for ices in which a light consistency is desired. When it becomes difficult to turn the handle the work is done.

The flavor of most ices is improved if they are packed for several hours after being frozen.

After the dasher is removed the frozen mass may be packed down smoothly in the can or put in other molds. These are to be packed full, a thin paper spread over the top, the cover put on, and all cracks around the cover filled with soft butter. In the same way a mousse is put into the molds, which are then packed in ice and salt for hours.

To remove the ice dip the mold in slightly warm water, or wrap it for a moment in a towel wrung out of hot water. Unless this is done carefully the outlines of elaborate molds will be melted.

Ices for an invalid, or beef tea, clam juice, etc., may be frozen in a glass jar or small tin can.

Orange baskets are the prettiest dishes in which to serve an orange ice. Banana skins may be filled with banana ice-cream or with whipped cream, and packed in a tin box in ice and salt until frozen, and then served like fresh fruit.