Cracker (food)

“ In the case of articles very soft, like croquettes, it will be more convenient for one person to shape and roll them in the eggs, and another, with dry hands, to roll them in the bread-crumbs.
Pounded and sifted cracker-crumbs can be purchased by the pound, at bakeries and large groceries, for the same price as whole crackers. However, it will never be necessary to purchase cracker-crumbs, if all scraps of bread are saved and dried. It is deplorable for a cook to throw them away. ”

“ As you chew the cracker, note that it becomes sweeter in flavor. Remove from the mouth, and place upon a piece of paper. Test it with iodine. A purple (reddish blue) color indicates a soluble carbohydrate (see Experiment 27) . What substance does the masticated cracker contain? Explain the change that has taken place in the cracker by mastication.
TOAST.—Bread is properly toasted when it is dried out thoroughly and then browned on the outside. Both the crumb and the crust of the toast are thus made crisp. Crisp toast crumbles during mastication.
Fresh bread contains much moisture. ”

“ To make the cracker-crumbs, roll some crackers on a board until they are fine. Bent's water-crackers are good, cream-crackers better; mix the salt and sugar with the crumbs, pour on the boiling water, put in the milk, and simmer it for two minutes. The gruel does not need long cooking, for the cracker-crumbs are already thoroughly cooked. ”

“ Spread thinly sliced brown bread with butter first, then with raisins, seeded and chopped.
CRACKER SANDWICHES
Butter graham crackers, and spread with chopped and mixed nuts and raisins. Or, take square soda crackers, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, [141] and toast a light brown. The latter, served hot, are also very nice for afternoon tea.
Though children should not be allowed to drink tea and coffee, (and young people are better off without them,) every little maid should be taught how to prepare these drinks for the grown-ups, most of whom are apt to be critical. ”

“ Take ten or twelve Boston crackers, split them open and soak over night in milk. Use a large pudding dish that will hold three or four quarts. Put in a layer of crackers, a handful of raisins, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and a little butter on the crackers; repeat this three times. Have a layer of crackers on the top. Make a custard of three or four eggs, five is better, one cupful of sugar, a little salt, and milk enough to fill the dish within two inches of the top. Bake in a slow oven four or five hours. Let stand until cold, and it will slip out whole. ”

“ The crackers are the old-time store cracker—every Vermonter used to buy a big barrel once a year to set in the buttery and eat. A classic dish is crackers, broken up in a bowl of cold milk, with a hunk of Vermont cheese like this on the side. ”

“ The variety of biscuits and crackers in market is utterly bewildering. These are among the standards: Boston, SODA, BUTTER, OYSTER, SUGAR, FRUIT, MILK, ENGLISH ALBERT, WATER, CREAM, GINGER, LEMON, OATMEAL, CARAWAY, VANILLA, and dozens more kinds of biscuits, crackers and wafers at various prices; besides GINGER and LEMON SNAPS and JUMBLES, and even DOG BISCUIT. There is also CRACKER DUST, for frying oysters, fish, etc. Some of the above come in handsome tin packages. ”

“ No one but a soldier would have undertaken to cook with such a fire, as frequently it was no bigger than a quart cup.
Crackers, or "hard tack" as they were called, are notoriously poor eating, but in the hands of the Confederate soldier were made to do good duty. When on the march and pressed for time, a piece of solid fat pork and a dry cracker was passable or luscious, as the time was long or short since the last meal. When there was leisure to do it, hardtack was soaked well and then fried in bacon grease. ”

“ Knead thoroughly (dough may be put through food cutter 5 or 6 times) ; when light, fold down and turn over and when risen again, roll thin, prick all over quickly with fork or docker, cut into any size or shape desired and bake at once before the crackers have time to rise and acquire a bread like taste. Bake in a moderate oven until well dried all through, but not too brown. When properly baked these crackers are more suitable for soups than unleavened crackers, as they are more porous and tender. Tiny ones cut with a plain round pastry tube are attractive for special occasions. ”

“ Add egg, flour, onion and seasoning; beat well. Add just enough milk to blend, but do not allow too much moisture as mixture must be rolled in palm of hands to make 18 tiny balls. When balls are formed, roll in TOWN HOUSE CRACKER crumbs, being sure they are well covered. Fry in deep fat until golden brown. Serve immediately, as they are not at their best unless hot. ”

“ Dry all bits of crust or bread in the oven, browning them nicely. To a pint of these, allow one quart of milk, half a cup of butter, and a teaspoonful of salt. Boil the milk; add the butter and salt, and then the browned bread, and simmer slowly for fifteen minutes, or until perfectly soft. It is very nice. Bits of white bread or sea biscuit can be used in the same way.
CRISPED CRACKERS.
Split large soft crackers, what is called the "Boston cracker" being best; butter them well as for eating; lay the buttered halves in baking-pans, and brown in a quick oven. Good at any meal. ”

“ This is crumbled fine and added to the other ingredients, allowing to each Neufchatel cheese, one small cupful of sugar, the grated rind and half the juice of one lemon, a half cupful each sifted cracker crumbs and currants, one tablespoonful melted butter, half a nutmeg grated, half a cupful of cream or rich milk, a saltspoonful of salt and four eggs. Crumble the cheese and crackers together, beat the eggs and add, together with sugar, salt and spices. Next add the butter and cream and lastly the currants, lemon juice and rind. Mix thoroughly and fill patty tins lined with puff paste. ”

“ Always sift the bread or cracker crumbs. Whenever there are spare pieces or trimmings of bread or broken crackers, dry them at once in the oven, and after pounding and sifting, put them away in a tin can, for future use. In preparing for use, beat the eggs a little. If they are to be used for sweet dishes, such as rice croquettes, sweeten them slightly. If they are to be used for meats, sweet-breads, oysters, etc., always salt and pepper them, and for a change, finely chopped parsley may be added. ”

“ Together with the Vermont Good Old-fashioned Natural Cheese and the Sage came a handy handmade Cracker Basket, all wicker, ten crackers long and just one double cracker wide. A snug little casket for those puffy, old-time, two-in-one soda biscuits that have no salt to spoil the taste of the accompanying cheese. Each does double duty because it's made to split in the middle, so you can try one kind of cheese on one half and another on t'other, or sandwich them between. ”

“ After the horses have been driven up and down the street, and with the other stock disposed of, it is time for lunch. Following the crowd into the kitchen, you see two barrels of crackers open, a mammoth cheese of the skim-milk species with a big knife by it, and on the stove a giant kettle in which cotton bags full of coffee are being distilled in boiling water. You are expected to dip a heavy white mug into the kettle for your share of the fragrant reviving beverage, cut off a hunk of cheese, and eat as many crackers as you can. ”

“ The most luscious cuts are baked in a pot in an oven, and the fat poured out into a bladder, as it runs out of the meat, for hog's-lard. When all the lard has been drained off, the remains (which are called cracklings, being then baked quite crisp) resemble the crackling on a leg of pork, are eaten with potatoes, and from the quantity of salt previously added to them, to preserve the lard, are unpalatable to many mouths. The rough farmers' men, however, devour them as a savoury dish, and every time "lard" is being made, cracklings are served up for the servants' dinner. ”

“ At one end of the table place a dish containing ten to twenty oysterette crackers, in front of the men on the opposite end of each line from the captain, and an empty dish in front of every other man. The opponents having the dish of crackers in front of them are given a spoon, and at the signal to "go" they pass the crackers by means of the spoon from their dish to that of the next on their team. When the last cracker has been transferred, the spoon is handed to the next man on the team, who repeats the performance of the first. ”

“ Our stores consisted of crackers, coffee, dried-apples, essence of beef, and salt pork in abundance, a little loaf bread, and about half a pound of citric acid. Of these only the crackers and bread could be eaten without being cooked. There were four hundred and fifty wounded men—all bad cases, all exhausted from privation. How many of them would live to reach Washington on a diet of crackers and water? I went to the cook, a large, sensible colored woman, and stated the case as well as I could. ”

“ It is finer than the finest tortilla of the Mexican, or oatcake of the Scotch. No biscuit maker in America or England can make a cracker one-half so thin. The thinnest cracker is thick compared with piki, and yet the Hopi make it with marvelous dexterity. Cornmeal batter in a crude earthenware bowl, is the material; a smooth, flat stone, under which a brisk fire is kept burning, is the instrument ”

“ If stuffing is made of pounded crackers, the seasoning is the same, but crackers swell so much that two gills will be plenty for a turkey. Milk will be necessary to mix it, and also a beaten egg to make it cohere. Some people prefer dressing made of crackers, but it is hard and not as healthy as that which is made of good bread, without an egg. ”

“ To the yolks and sugar add one cup of sherry wine and cook to a thick custard in double boiler. To the custard while hot add one talbespoonful of gelatine dissolved in one-half cup of water, then whip in lightly the beaten whites. Roll out macaroons or Social Teas into dust. Into a bowl begin to lay cracker dust, pineapple, nuts and cherries. When you have used half the ingredients, pour over it the other half of the fruits and custard, sprinkling the top with cracker dust. Put into refrigerator to congeal. Serve with whipped cream (no sugar or flavoring in cream) . ”

“ When potatoes are done, peel and mash; add remaining butter, the 6 tablespoons of molasses and the remaining spices, whip until fluffy. Pile potatoes in a greased 2 qt. glass casserole and top with sauteed GRAHAM CRACKER crumbs; spread remaining 4 tablespoons of New Orleans molasses over all; and garnish with 6 maraschino cherries. Bake 20 minutes at 350° F.
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QUALITY, ABOVE ALL ELSE, is stressed in every step in the production of these famous cookies and crackers. ”

“ Blend sugar, cornstarch, salt, butter, eggs and syrup; add water, cook, stirring constantly until thick. Beat while cooking 5 minutes longer; add nuts; let boil up once. Cool. Pour into CARAMEL CRACKER CRUST; refrigerate 4 to 6 hours. Decorate with whipped cream and pecan halves.
CARAMEL CRACKER CRUST
(Yield: 9′′ Pie Crust)
11⁄2 cups SALTINE CRACKER crumbs
1⁄2 cup dark brown sugar
1⁄2 cup ground pecans
1⁄2 cup butter or margarine
Combine SALTINE CRACKER CRUMBS, sugar and nuts. ”

“ If the cracker is intended to be put into a jack-in-the-box, shell, or rocket head, push a bradawl up the mouth, [Pg 102] insert a bit of quickmatch, to project a quarter of an inch, and secure it with a little wetted meal, pressed in with a knife. The way of bending it is shown at fig. 69. It is not necessary that a cracker should contain very much powder; the loudness of the bang depends more upon the thickness of the paper than upon the quantity of the powder. So with maroons; more string and less powder, are better than more powder and less string. A very good paper for crackers is 30-lb. ”

“ They ran and brought in the plates. Upon each one was placed with dainty care one soda cracker, one withered ginger-snap and one puffy cracknel. The guests took the "refreshments" in dismal silence and began to gnaw. ”

“ Dry buttered toast or whole wheat cracker, for instance, eaten with cereal, necessitates longer chewing of the cereal. The saliva is alkaline, and its action upon starches is hindered by the presence of an acid; therefore acid fruits, such as apple sauce, should not be taken into the mouth at the same time as starchy foods, such as bread, crackers, or cookies. Bread and milk are more digestible when taken together, as the milk is thus divided into smaller curds. ”

“ Where cracker stuffing is used, allowance must be made for the swelling of crackers, otherwise skin may burst during cooking. Put remaining stuffing in body; if the body is full, sew skin; if not full, bring skin together with a skewer. ”

“ But Molly had eaten excellent ones in which ground rice, boiled to thick mush, was the foundation; others in which bread crumbs were substituted, the object being to get a body of some plain material other than flour, with which the rich ones could be incorporated; but her own favorite way was to use rolled cracker. She put two heaped table-spoonfuls in a bowl, and three table-spoonfuls of sugar. She beat two table-spoonfuls of butter, from which the salt had been washed, till it creamed, added the yolks of two eggs, and the juice of half a lemon, and the peel of one, grated. ”

“ Sometimes, in place of salt, a powdering of cheese is grated over the hot cracker, and for a relish at five o’clock nothing could be preferable to this light, warm repast. Men, it is well to remark, heartily advocate the change from insipid tea to the invigorating hot bouillon. ”

“ Bread used for sausages should have the crust removed, should be well soaked in cold water for some time before required, then pressed to remove the surplus moisture, and added gradually to the pork while being chopped. Some sausage manufacturers add 10 to 15 per cent in weight of crushed crackers instead of bread to sausage made during hot weather. This is to render the product firm and incidentally to increase the weight through thoroughly mixing the cracker crumbs or powder with an equal weight or more of water before adding to the meat. ”