Individual Baking Dishes For Egg Recipes

Although the directions given in the preceding recipe for scalloped eggs state that this recipe is baked in a baking dish, it is not necessary that one large dish of this kind be used, for, if desired, individual baking dishes may be substituted. In fact, any recipe for which a large baking dish would ordinarily be used may be baked in the small dishes used for a single serving, and eggs prepared in this way are especially attractive. Such dishes are also used for the baking of custards or the molding of jelly and blanc mange. Since they prove very useful and find so much favor, it is advisable for every housewife to add a few of them to her supply of utensils and to become familiar with the varieties that can be secured and the proper way to use them.

Dishes of this kind may be purchased in both cheap and expensive varieties and in plain or fancy styles, being made of white porcelain, of glass, or of the brown ware so much used for large baking dishes and casseroles and having a white glazing on the inside.

When such dishes are used as a means of adding variety to the cooking and serving of eggs, they should be placed in the oven in a shallow pan containing enough hot water to come nearly to the top of them. The object of this plan is to keep the temperature uniform. As long as the dishes are surrounded by water, the food to be cooked will not attain a greater heat than 212 degrees Fahrenheit, because the surrounding water cannot reach a higher temperature. Food cooked in this way will be found to be baked much more evenly and to be of a better consistency than food that is subjected to the high temperature of the oven. Most of the recipes that follow, while they can be baked in large baking dishes if desired and then served from the dish, are designed particularly to be used in individual baking dishes.