Easy
Frying among the Creoles is done in several ways. The first and the method most generally adopted in households is to put
In large families where there is a great deal of cooking required, the economical housewife will carefully save all the drippings and the fat remnants of Beef, Mutton and Pork. She will occasionally get a pound or two of suet from the market. These drippings or skimmings may be clarified by boiling them in hot water about twice a week. When the fat is thoroughly melted, strain it with the water and set aside to cool. After a while the hard fat that has been formed on top of the water, may be lifted out just as you would a cake of anything; then scrape off all the dark particles from the bottom and melt the fat over again. While it is still very hot strain it into a clean stone jar or tin pail, and it is ready for use in cooking. Refined cotton seed oil and butter oil are now being adopted by many professional cooks and in households for culinary purposes. Olive oil has always been in use for this purpose among the Creoles, and is held as a very delicate medium for frying. But many prefer the Beef fat or suet for frying, considering it both wholesome and digestible, and more delicate than olive oil or the fat of Pork. But the careful housekeeper will always preserve all odds and ends of fat of Beef, Mutton or Pork, and the drippings after frying anything. Set this aside until the fat settles and cools, then pour off carefully so as to clear from the sediment that always settles at the bottom and clarify as above.