ions will be as minute as
possible; but to prescribe the number of drops required to flavor a
quart of cream would be utterly impossible, the strength of the
flavoring used differing so greatly, even in lemons. Sometimes the juice
of half a lemon will be right for a certain thing, at another the juice
of a quarter of one would be too much. This is where judgment must be
exercised. If you have a very juicy lemon, although your recipe says the
juice of half, you will remember that the average lemon would not yield
nearly so much, and that the author had the average lemon in mind. This
applies to all flavoring. Sometimes extract of bitter almond is so
strong that even a drop would be too much to impart the faint almond
flavor which alone is tolerable. In this case the thing to do for fear
of spoiling the dish is to pour a half-dozen drops in a teaspoonful of
water, and use from that, drop by drop, until the faint flavor desired
is attained. In using any flavoring, great care must be taken not to put
too much, as anything in the least over-flavored is offensive.

_Mould of Apple Jelly._--Peel and cut up a pound of fine-flavored apples
(to weigh a pound after preparation); put them in a stewpan with three
ounces of granulated sugar, half a pint of water, and the juice and
grated rind of a lemon. When cooked to a pulp, pass through a strainer,
and stir in one ounce of gelatine that has been dissolved in a gill of
water. Color half the apple with _about_ half a teaspoonful of
cochineal, and fill a border mould with alternate layers of the colored
and uncolored apple. When cold, turn out and serve with half a pint of
cream whipped solid and piled in the centre.

There is a great difference in the solidity of whipped cream. Sometimes
it will be a mere froth that shows a disposition to liquefy, and cannot
be piled up. When this is the case there is always a great waste of
cream, for at least half will have been left as a milky residue. The
reason for this failure of the cream to whip solid is generally because
it is too fresh or too warm.

If in proper condition, cream will whip as solid as white of eggs, and
leave not a teaspoonful of liquid at the bottom of the bowl; nor will
there be the least danger of cream so whipped going back to liquid. It
will become sour, but not change its form; and it will take but a few
minutes to beat.

Cream intended for whipping should be twenty-four hours old in warm
weather, and thirty-six i