Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Household Management Part 13

(1) Put the food in a cooking dish, set over the heat, and pour in the boiling liquid to cover the food well.

(2) Regulate the heat to the kind of boiling required.

(3) Keep the food boiling during the entire cooking.

(4) Continue the cooking until the food is tender at the centre when it is tested, or for the time required by the recipe.

(5) When the food is cooked, lift it from the liquid or drain the liquid from the food.

5. Effects of boiling:

(1) It makes some food soft and tender--fruit, vegetables.

(2) It makes some food hard and tough--eggs, etc.

(3) It breaks up food.

(4) It dissolves out some of the food substance.

(5) It causes some loss of flavour (in the steam).

(6) It kills germs.

SIMMERING

1. Definition:

Simmering is a method of cooking in a liquid at a temperature of about 180 degrees.

2. Rules for simmering:

(1) Use a double boiler to keep the temperature correct.

(2) Put the food in liquid in the top dish, and proceed as in boiling.

3. Effects of simmering:

(1) It makes some foods soft and tender--fruit and vegetables.

(2) It does not make the protein of animal food (milk, eggs, and meat) hard as boiling does.

(3) It dissolves out a good deal of the food substance into the cooking liquid.

(4) It causes very little loss of flavour.

(5) It does not break up the food.

STEAMING

1. Definition:

Steaming is a method of cooking in the steam from boiling liquid.

2. Rules for steaming:

(1) Have the water boiling rapidly in the under part of the steamer.

(2) Put the food in the upper part, cover closely, and place over the lower part.

(3) Keep the water boiling rapidly during the entire cooking.

(4) If extra water be needed, only boiling water should be added, as quickly and as gently as possible.

(5) Continue the cooking according to the time required by the recipe, or test as in boiling, if the food permits.

3. Effects of steaming:

(1) It makes vegetable food tender.

(2) It makes the protein of animal food harder than simmering, but not so hard as boiling does.

(3) It does not break up the food.

(4) It does not dissolve out the food substance.

(5) It causes little loss of flavour if closely covered.

STEEPING

1. Definition:

Steeping is a method of cooking, by pouring boiling water over food, and letting it stand in a moderately warm place.

2. Rules for steeping:

(1) Heat the steeping dish.

(2) Use water freshly boiled.

(3) Put the food in the hot dish, pour water over, cover closely, and set in a warm place.

(4) Let the food remain in the liquid until you have extracted what is desired.

(5) Strain off the liquid and use as required.