Free Recipes

Almost any one can learn to use sour milk. It possesses a medicinal or
therapeutic value for many, and the manufacturers of the various ferment
milk products make the most of this quality in their extensive advertising.

A favorite luncheon of the Bulgarian peasant consists of a dish of hot,
boiled new potatoes, not mashed, but just well buttered and seasoned with
a little black pepper and salt, and a glass or two of sour milk. The combination
is really a good one, and, together with a vegetable salad and whole-wheat
bread with sweet butter, forms a most wholesome and nutritious meal on
a warm day.

Some prefer the sour milk cream to the sweet cream on fruits, as bananas,
strawberries, etc. It should be beaten up slightly after removing it from
the sour milk.

An easy way to make sour milk is to fill a quart bottle or jar, cork
it, and set it away in a warm place until it “sets.” In warm weather it
will require from twenty-four to thirty-six hours to sour. Then it should
be set in a refrigerator or in a cool place until needed. Before using,
pour the milk into a bowl and beat with an egg-beater until creamy. Prepared
in this way it tastes very much like buttermilk.

In the winter the making of sour milk may be hastened in the following
manner: From a bottle of milk that has previously been soured, take two
of three tablespoons and add it to the sweet milk before corking the jar.
Then put it in a warm place, and in twenty-four hours it should be ready
for use.

If for any reason the sour milk is not used until it becomes strong and
separates, it can be used in cooking or made into cottage or Dutch cheese.

To make the cheese, set a pan containing the milk (the cream may be skimmed
for use with fruit) into a cool oven. Do not shut the stove door. Leave
the milk to stand until the curd separates from the whey. Then turn the
contents of the pan into a muslin bag and hang it up to drain. When all
the whey has drained off, remove the contents of the bag, add salt to
taste, and a generous piece of butter or a little sweet cream. If the
oven cannot be used conveniently, set the milk on the back of a not too
hot stove.

Many nourishing and delicious salads can be made with the cheese as
a foundation. The sour milk can also be used to make delicious breads,
muffins, and cake, which keep moist and fresh longer than when sweet milk
is used.

MOLDED CHEESE SALAD

Take the Dutch cheese and line tiny molds with it. Fill the center with
chopped nuts, or ripe olives cut into bits, or chopped-up celery. Turn
the molds out on crisp lettuce leaves, and serve with mayonnaise or plain
French dressing.

BRAN GEMS MADE WITH SOUR MILK

• 2 cups bran
• 1 cup graham flour
• 1/2 cup Barbadoes molasses
• 1 teaspoon melted butter
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sour milk

Mix together the flour, salt, and soda, add the molasses and the milk,
and beat well. Then add the melted butter and bake in gem tins. The bran
adds a bulkiness and fibrous quality to the food, which makes it of especial
value to those troubled with constipation.