Sifting

Ever wondered why recipes suggest that you should sift the flour?  The answer is to get rid of any lumps. Equally important, sifting makes it lighter as more air is incorporated into an otherwise heavy mass. In the past rice or flour might have contained pieces of stone that you’d want to separate.

Last week I wrote about Pierre Blot’s 19th century book (A Pile of Cooking Know-How). It was written as a manual for Ladies and their Professional Cooks and contained ‘the whole science and art of preparing human food.’

I’ve done a bit of sifting and if you scroll down you can see some of his more
outrageous comments and those that still hold good today.

(Photo by Ilian.  Click on the picture to go to his website.)