So many breakfast foods are upon the market that it would be impossible to enumerate all of them, especially as new ones are appearing continually. Full and complete directions for cooking all of them are printed upon the packages in which they are sold. It may not be amiss to add, however, that in almost every instance, twice or three times the time allowed for cooking would improve the cereal in taste and digestibility.

The uncooked cereals are many. A wise housekeeper will use the uncooked cereals when she has no maid. “A word to the wise is unnecessary.”

Pleasing variety in the daily menu is secured by getting a different cereal each time. In this way, it takes about a year to get back to the beginning again, and there is no chance to tire of any of them.

Cereals should always be cooked in a double boiler; and soaking over night in the water in which they are to be cooked, where it is not possible to secure the necessary time for long cooking, will prove a distinct advantage. Leftover cereals should be covered with cold water immediately, in the double boiler, and kept in a cool place until the next day. Bring slowly to a boil, and cook as usual. In the hot weather, cereals may be cooked the day before using, moulded in custard-cups, and kept in the ice-box over night. They are very acceptable when served ice-cold, and, if moulded with fruit, or served with fruit on the same plate, so much the better.

Pearled wheat, pearled barley, and coarse hominy require five cupfuls of water to each cup of cereal, and need from four to six hours’ cooking. Coarse oatmeal and fine hominy must be cooked from four to six hours, but need only four cupfuls of water to each cup of cereal. Rolled wheat and rolled barley are cooked two hours in three times as much water as cereal; rice and rolled oats, with three times as much water, will cook in one hour. Farina, with six cupfuls of water to each cupful of cereal, also cooks in an hour; cerealine flakes cook in thirty minutes, equal parts of water and cereal being used.

Salt must be added just before cooking begins. All cereals are richer if a little milk is added to the water in which they are cooked.

To cook cereals in a double boiler, put the water into the inner kettle, the outer vessel being from half to two thirds full, and when it is boiling furiously, sprinkle in the cereal, a few grains at a time, and not so rapidly as to stop the boiling. When cereals are eaten cold, they require a little more liquid.

BOILED BARLEY

Wash the barley in several waters, cover with cold water; bring to a boil, drain, cover with fresh boiling water, add a little salt, and cook slowly for four hours.

BARLEY GRUEL

Wash half a cupful of pearled barley in several waters; put it into a double boiler with eight cupfuls of water and half an inch of stick cinnamon. Boil for two hours, strain, sweeten, and add two wine glasses of port. Keep in a cool place and reheat when required. An invaluable breakfast cereal for a convalescent.

STEAMED BARLEY

Cooked one cupful of pearled barley in a double boiler four hours, with four cupfuls of water and a little salt. In the morning, add a cupful of boiling water or milk, stir occasionally, reheat thoroughly, and serve.

BREWIS

Dry bread in the oven so slowly that it is a light brown in color. Crush into crumbs with the rolling-pin and sift through the frying-basket. Measure the milk, salt it slightly, and bring to a boil. Put in half as much of the dried crumbs. Boil five or ten minutes, season with butter, pepper, and salt, and serve at once with cream. It must be stirred all the time it is cooking. By omitting the butter, it may be served with sugar. Brown, rye, graham, or corn bread may be mixed with the white bread to advantage. The dried and sifted crumbs of brown bread, when served cold with cream, taste surprisingly like a popular cereal which etiquette forbids us to mention. This is a good way to use up accumulated crumbs.

CORN-MEAL MUSH

The best meal comes from the South. It is white, moist, and coarse, and is called “water ground.” It is a very different proposition from the dry, yellow powder sold in Northern groceries. For mush, use four times as much water as meal. Salt the water, and sprinkle in the meal very slowly when it is at a galloping boil. Boil an hour or more, stirring frequently. A better mush is made by using half milk and half water. Serve hot or cold with cream, or milk, and sugar. If wanted for frying, wet a pan in cold water, pour in the hot mush, and let cool.

CORN AND WHEAT PORRIDGE

Half a cupful of corn-meal and half a cupful of flour. Make into a batter with cold water and put into two cupfuls of boiling water. Stir often and cook half an hour or more, then add four cupfuls of boiling milk. Cook half an hour longer, stirring often. Serve hot or cold, with cream and sugar.

CORN MUSH OR HASTY PUDDING

One cupful of corn-meal and one cupful of cold water. Mix and stir into two cupfuls of salted boiling water. One half cupful of white flour may be mixed with the meal. When the mush becomes thick, place in a steamer and steam six hours. Rinse a pan with cold water, pour in the mush, smooth the top with hand or spoon wet in cold water, and let stand in a cold place twelve hours. This is used for frying. Other cereals may be used in the same way. The sliced mush should be dredged in flour and cooked in salt pork, ham, or bacon fat in the spider, or in lard or butter if it is to be served with syrup.

HULLED CORN

This can occasionally be found in city markets, and is a delicious cereal, eaten hot or cold with milk or cream or sugar.

COLD CEREAL WITH FRUIT

Pack left-over cereal into buttered custard cups, scoop out the inside, fill with any sort of stewed or fresh fruit cut fine and sweetened, cover the top with more cereal, and let stand some hours in a cold place. At serving time turn out and dust with powdered sugar. Cream may be used if it harmonizes with the fruit.

FRIED CREAM

Bring two cupfuls of milk to the boil, add two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch rubbed smooth in a little cold milk, and half a teaspoonful of salt. Take from the fire and add one egg, well beaten, then pour into a mould to cool. When cold, cut into slices, dredge with flour, and fry.

FARINA

Soak over night. In the morning add boiling salted water to cover, and cook half an hour, stirring constantly. Serve hot or cold with cream and sugar, or with sugar and fruit.

APPLE FARINA

Stir one half cupful of farina into one quart of boiling salted water. As soon as mush forms, stir in four tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced, and cook until the apples are soft. If the apples lack flavor, a bit of orange- or lemon-peel, or any preferred spice may be added. Serve hot or cold with cream or sugar. This will mould well.

FARINA BALLS

Half a cupful of farina, two cupfuls of milk, half a teaspoonful of salt, a sprinkle of paprika, six drops of onion-juice, and the yolk of one egg. Cook the farina in the salted milk for half an hour in a double boiler. When it is stiff, add the egg and the seasoning. Reheat, pour into a dish, and let cool. When cold, make into small flat cakes, dip in egg, then in crumbs, and fry. These can be made ready for frying the day before.

FAIRY FARINA

Mix three tablespoonfuls of farina with three quarters of a teaspoonful of salt and half a cupful of milk, taken from two cupfuls. Bring the rest of the milk to a boil with two cupfuls of water and stir in the farina mixture. Cook slowly half an hour, turn into individual moulds, and serve cold with sugar and cream.

JELLIED FARINA

One cupful of farina, sprinkled into two and a half cupfuls of boiled salted milk. Stir till it thickens, then boil half an hour without stirring. Serve hot or cold with sugar and cream. This will mould nicely, and may be used with fruit.

FARINA MUSH

Boil one quart of salted milk, and, when boiling, add half a cupful of farina, stirring constantly. Add a lump of butter and serve with cream and sugar.

FLUMMERY

One and a half cupfuls of pinhead oatmeal, a saltspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of white sugar, two tablespoonfuls of orange-flower water. Cover the oatmeal with cold water and let it soak twenty-four hours, then drain off the water, cover again, and let steep twenty-four hours longer. Strain through a fine sieve, add the salt, and boil till as thick as mush, stirring constantly. Add the sugar and the orange-flower water, pour into saucers, and serve hot or cold with cream and sugar. This recipe dates back to the time of Queen Elizabeth.

GRITS

One cupful of well-washed grits is slowly added to two cupfuls of boiling water, and boiled one hour. Soaking over night is an advantage. If the porridge is too thick, it may be thinned with milk. Serve hot or cold with cream and sugar.

FRIED GRITS

Pack left-over grits into a wet mould. Turn out, slice, dredge in flour, and fry.

OATMEAL GRUEL

Mix one tablespoonful of oatmeal in half a cupful of cold water, add three cupfuls of milk, or of water, or of milk and water, and a little salt. Cook half an hour in a double boiler, stirring often. Strain if desired, and serve hot or cold. May be flavored with a bit of lemon-peel, spice, or orange-flower water. For children and convalescents.

OATMEAL GRUEL WITH EGG

One cupful of oatmeal and one teaspoonful of salt stirred into four cupfuls of boiling water. Boil one hour, strain, and pour on to two eggs well beaten. Reheat until it thickens, and serve with cream and sugar.

WHEAT GRUEL

Mix one teaspoonful of salt with half a cupful of flour, make into a paste with a little cold water and cook in a double boiler till smooth and thick. Thin with milk, if necessary. Strain and sweeten; serve either hot or cold. May be flavored with spice, lemon-peel, or wine.

BOILED HOMINY

Stir one cupful of well-washed hominy into two quarts of boiling water. Cook one hour. Use half milk and half water if preferred.

HOMINY BALLS

To a cupful of cold hominy add one tablespoonful of melted butter, stir well, add enough milk to rub the hominy to a paste, add a teaspoonful of sugar and one egg, unbeaten. Shape into small flat balls, dredge with flour, dip in beaten egg, then in crumbs, and fry. These may be prepared beforehand and kept in a cool place till ready to fry.

FRIED HOMINY

Pack left-over hominy into a mould. When cold, slice, dredge with flour, and fry, or dip in egg and crumbs and fry.

HOMINY WITH MILK

Soak hominy all night. In the morning cover with boiling salted water and boil until very tender. Drain off the water, cover with milk, boil up once more, and serve.

STEAMED HOMINY

Soak hominy over night in an equal measure of cold water. In the morning add twice as much boiling salted water and boil fifteen minutes, then put into a steamer and steam six hours.

HOMINY PORRIDGE

Soak a cupful of granulated hominy in four cupfuls of water over night. Add a teaspoonful of salt, one cupful of milk, and boil one hour in the morning.

CRACKED WHEAT MUSH

Butter a double boiler inside, put in four cupfuls of water and a little salt. When boiling add one cupful of cracked wheat which has been washed in several waters. Boil ten minutes, then simmer three hours. Serve with sugar and cream.

GRAHAM FLOUR MUSH

Mix one cupful of graham flour with a teaspoonful of salt, and make it into a paste with cold water. Mix gradually with four cupfuls of boiling water. Boil half an hour, stirring constantly. Serve with cream and sugar.

OATMEAL MUSH

Mix one cupful of coarse oatmeal with a little salt, sprinkle into four cupfuls of boiling water. Boil fifteen minutes, stirring constantly, in the double boiler. Cover and cook slowly three hours longer.

RYE MUSH

One quart of boiling water, one teaspoonful of salt, five heaping tablespoonfuls of rye meal. Sprinkle the meal into the boiling water, stirring constantly, add the salt, bring to the boil once more, cover, and cook slowly in the double boiler one hour and a half. Serve with sugar and cream.

FRIED OATMEAL MUSH

Wet a pan or mould in cold water and pack into it left-over oatmeal. Twelve hours later, turn out, cut into slices, dredge with flour and fry, serving with a simple syrup if desired. Any left-over cereal which does not contain fruit may be used in the same way.

GRAHAM MUSH WITH APPLES

Slice peeled and cored tart apples into graham mush prepared according to the recipe previously given, as soon as it begins to boil.

MUSH CAKES

Season two cupfuls of left-over cereal with salt and pepper and a few drops of onion-juice. Shape into small flat cakes with floured hands and dredge with flour. Fry in ham or bacon fat and serve with those meats.

MUSH BALLS

Add a tablespoonful of melted butter and two unbeaten eggs to two cupfuls of hot corn-meal mush. Cool. Shape into small flat cakes, dredge with flour, and fry brown. These may be prepared the day before using.

VELVET MUSH

Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter in a double boiler, add two cupfuls of flour, and stir until it leaves the sides of the kettle; add five cupfuls of milk, stirring constantly and bringing to the boil at each cupful. Add a teaspoonful of salt, mix thoroughly, and serve with sugar and cream.

COLD GRAHAM MUSH WITH FRUIT

Stir chopped dates or figs into graham mush made according to previous directions, turn into a mould, and cool. The next morning, slice, and serve with sugar and cream.

STEAMED OATMEAL

Add a quart of cold water and a teaspoonful of salt to a cupful of oatmeal. Put in a steamer over a kettle of cold water, bring to the boil gradually, and steam two hours after it begins to cook.

OATMEAL JELLY

Soak one cupful of oatmeal over night in cold water to cover deeply. Add boiling salted water in the morning and boil several hours, adding more water as needed. Do not stir any more than necessary. When every grain is transparent and jelly-like, it is done. It is delicious served cold, with fruit and sugar, or with sugar and cream.

CREAMED OATMEAL

Boil oatmeal for an hour and a half according to recipes previously given. Rub through a sieve, cover with hot milk, and cook very slowly half an hour longer. Serve with sugar and cream.

OATMEAL BLANC MANGE

Bring one quart of milk to the boil, add a teaspoonful of salt, and stir in one cupful of oatmeal. Boil forty-five minutes, then add two eggs well beaten just before removing from the fire. Serve hot or cold with cream and sugar. A bit of grated lemon- or orange-peel, wine, or spice may be added to the milk.

LIGHT OATMEAL

Cook oatmeal twenty-five minutes according to directions previously given, then set the dish in a moderate oven for half an hour. The grains will swell.

BAKED OATMEAL

The day before using, stir two cupfuls of oatmeal into two quarts of boiling water, salted, and boil ten minutes. Turn into a buttered earthen dish, cover, and bake slowly two hours. In the morning set the dish into a pan of boiling water and put in the oven for forty-five minutes.

MILK PORRIDGE

One tablespoonful of flour rubbed smooth with half a cupful or more of water. Add a cupful of boiling milk, a little salt and spice, and cook ten minutes or more in the double boiler.

RICE PORRIDGE

One cupful of rice, washed in several waters, and one cupful of oatmeal. Cook one hour in plenty of boiling salted water, and add a heaping tablespoonful of butter before serving.

WHEATLET PORRIDGE

One cupful of wheatlet, two cupfuls of boiling water, and one teaspoonful of salt. Cook slowly for an hour.

CREAMED OAT PORRIDGE

Soak two cupfuls of oatmeal in four cupfuls of water over night. In the morning, strain and boil the water thirty minutes. Scald a pint and a half of rich milk, thicken with a tablespoonful of flour rubbed smooth in a little cold milk, add to the water, with a teaspoonful of butter and a half teaspoonful of salt. Boil up well and serve with cream and sugar.

BOILED RICE
(Hop Sing’s Recipe)

“Washee lice in cold water bellee muchee. Water boil all ready muchee quick. Water shakee lice—no burn. Boil till one lice all rub away in fingers. Put in pan all holee, pour over cold water bellee muchee, set in hot oven, make dry, eatee all up.”

BOILED RICE
(American Recipe)

Wash one cupful of rice in several waters. Sprinkle it, a little at a time, into eight quarts of slightly salted water at a galloping boil. Boil steadily for twenty minutes. Drain, toss carefully with a fork, and dry ten minutes in a hot oven.

BOILED RICE WITH MILK

Cook as above until it has boiled ten minutes, then drain, cover with boiling milk, and cook slowly ten minutes longer in a covered double boiler. Uncover, and stand in a hot oven for a few minutes, stirring occasionally with a fork.

RICE BALLS

One cupful of boiled rice, one half cupful of milk, one egg, one tablespoonful of sugar, a pinch of salt, and a slight grating of nutmeg or a sprinkle of cinnamon. Put the milk on to boil, add the rice and seasoning. When it boils, add the egg, cook till thick, take from the fire, and cool. Form in to small flat cakes, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry. These may be prepared beforehand.

STEAMED RICE

Wash a small cupful of rice and put into a double boiler with three cupfuls of milk and a pinch of salt. Cook until creamy, add a teaspoonful of butter and three tablespoonfuls of sugar. Fruit may be added.

SAMP

Cover the samp with boiling water, boil ten minutes, then drain, rinse in cold water, cover with fresh boiling water and a little salt. Cook slowly six hours, adding fresh boiling water as needed. Serve hot or cold with cream and sugar.

CREAM TOAST

Dip slices of toast in boiling water and set into the oven. Stir one heaping tablespoonful of corn-meal into four cupfuls of boiling salted milk, and add two tablespoonfuls of butter. When the milk thickens, stir in the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth, boil up again, pour over the toast, keep in the oven five minutes longer and serve.

MILK TOAST

Lay slices of toast in cereal bowls, spread with butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, pour boiling milk over and serve immediately.

SOFT TOAST

Dip crisp slices of toast for a moment in boiling salted water, pour over melted butter, set in the oven a moment and serve with cream.

CRUSHED WHEAT WITH RAISINS

Add a handful of stoned and cleaned raisins to crushed wheat mush made according to recipe previously given, and as soon as it begins to boil. Raisins are a healthful and agreeable addition to almost any cereal.

COLD CRACKED WHEAT

Add half a teaspoonful of salt to three cupfuls of boiling water, stir in half a cupful of cracked wheat. Cook uncovered till the water has almost disappeared, then add three cupfuls of hot milk. Cover and cook until the wheat is soft, then uncover and cook until the wheat is almost dry. Stir carefully now and then while cooking. Turn into individual moulds to harden, and serve cold with sugar and cream.