Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume I Part 2

41. DRY STEAMING.--Cooking foods in a vessel that is suspended in another one containing boiling water const.i.tutes the cooking method known as dry steaming. The double boiler is a cooking utensil devised especially for carrying on this process. The food placed in the suspended, or inner, vessel does not reach the boiling point, but is cooked by the transfer of heat from the water in the outside, or lower, vessel. A decided advantage of this method is that no watching is required except to see that the water in the lower vessel does not boil away completely, for as long as there is water between the food and the fire, the food will neither boil nor burn.

Because of the nature of certain foods, cooking them by this process is especially desirable. The flavor and consistency of cereals and foods containing starch are greatly improved by long cooking in this way.

Likewise, custards and mixtures containing eggs can be conveniently cooked in a double boiler, because they do not require a high temperature; in fact, their texture is spoiled if they are cooked at the boiling point. To heat milk directly over the flame without scorching it is a difficult matter, and, on the other hand, boiled milk is hard to digest. Because of these facts, food containing milk should not be boiled, but should be cooked at a lower temperature in a double boiler.

42. BRAIZING.--Cooking meat in an oven in a closed pan with a small quant.i.ty of water const.i.tutes braizing. This cooking process might be called a combination of stewing and baking, but when it is properly carried out, the meat is placed on a rack so as to be raised above the water, in which may be placed sliced vegetables. In this process the meat actually cooks in the flavored steam that surrounds it in the hot pan. The so-called double roasting pans are in fact braizing pans when they are properly used. A pot roast is the result of a modification of the braizing method.

COOKING WITH HOT FAT

43. Of the three mediums of conveying heat to food, namely, hot air, hot water, and hot fat, that of hot fat renders food the least digestible.

Much of this difficulty, however, can be overcome if an effort is made to secure as little absorption of the fat as possible. If the ingredients of the food are properly mixed before applying the fat and if the fat is at the right temperature, good results can be obtained by the various methods of cooking with hot fat, which are frying, sauteing, and frica.s.seeing.

44. FRYING.--By frying is meant the cooking of food in deep fat at a temperature of 350 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Any kind of fat that will not impart flavor to the food may be used for frying, but the vegetable oils, such as cottonseed oils, combinations of coconut and cottonseed oils, and nut oils, are preferable to lards and other animal fats, because they do not burn so easily. Foods cooked in deep fat will not absorb the fat nor become greasy if they are properly prepared, quickly fried, and well drained on paper that will absorb any extra fat.

45. SAUTeING.--Browning food first on one side and then on the other in a small quant.i.ty of fat is termed sauteing. In this cooking process, the fat is placed in a shallow pan, and when it is sufficiently hot, the food is put into it. Foods that are to be sauted are usually sliced thin or cut into small pieces, and they are turned frequently during the process of cooking. All foods prepared in this way are difficult to digest, because they become more or less hard and soaked with fat. Chops and thin cuts of meat, which are intended to be pan-broiled, are really sauted if they are allowed to cook in the fat that fries out of them.

46. FRICa.s.sEEING.--A combination of sauteing and stewing results in the cooking process known as frica.s.seeing. This process is used in preparing such foods as chicken, veal, or game, but it is more frequently employed for cooking fowl, which, in cookery, is the term used to distinguish the old of domestic fowls from chickens or pullets. In frica.s.seeing, the meat to be cooked is cut into pieces and sauted either before or after stewing; then it is served with a white or a brown sauce. Ordinarily, the meat should be browned first, unless it is very tough, in order to retain the juices and improve the flavor. However, very old fowl or tough meat should be stewed first and then browned.

HEAT FOR COOKING

GENERAL DISCUSSION

47. Inasmuch as heat is so important a factor in the cooking of foods, it is absolutely necessary that the person who is to prepare them be thoroughly familiar with the ways in which this heat is produced. The production of heat for cooking involves the use of fuels and stoves in which to burn them, as well as electricity, which serves the purpose of a fuel, and apparatus for using electricity. In order, therefore, that the best results may be obtained in cookery, these subjects are here taken up in detail.

48. Probably the first fuel to be used in the production of heat for cooking was wood, but later such fuels as peat, coal, charcoal, c.o.ke, and kerosene came into use. Of these fuels, coal, gas, and kerosene are used to the greatest extent in the United States. Wood, of course, is used considerably for kindling fires, and it serves as fuel in localities where it is abundant or less difficult to procure than other fuels. However, it is fast becoming too scarce and too expensive to burn. If it must be burned for cooking purposes, those who use it should remember that dry, hard wood gives off heat at a more even rate than soft wood, which is usually selected for kindling. Electricity is coming into favor for supplying heat for cooking, but only when it can be sold as cheaply as gas will its use in the home become general.

49. The selection of a stove to be used for cooking depends on the fuel that is to be used, and the fuel, in turn, depends on the locality in which a person lives. However, as the fuel that is the most convenient and easily obtained is usually the cheapest, it is the one to be selected, for the cost of the cooked dish may be greatly increased by the use of fuel that is too expensive. In cooking, every fuel should be made to do its maximum amount of work, because waste of fuel also adds materially to the cost of cooking and, besides, it often causes great inconvenience. For example, cooking on a red-hot stove with a fire that, instead of being held in the oven and the lids, overheats the kitchen and burns out the stove not only wastes fuel and material, but also taxes the temper of the person who is doing the work. From what has just been said, it will readily be seen that a knowledge of fuels and apparatus for producing heat will a.s.sist materially in the economical production of food, provided, of course, it is applied to the best advantage.

COAL AND c.o.kE

50. VARIETIES OF COAL.--Possibly the most common fuel used for cooking is coal. This fuel comes in two varieties, namely, _anthracite_, or _hard coal_, and _bituminous_, or _soft coal_. Their relative cost depends on the locality, the kind of stove, and an intelligent use of both stove and fuel. Hard coal costs much more in some places than soft coal, but it burns more slowly and evenly and gives off very little smoke. Soft coal heats more rapidly than hard coal, but it produces considerable smoke and makes a fire that does not last so long. Unless a stove is especially constructed for soft coal, it should not be used for this purpose, because the burning of soft coal will wear it out in a short time. The best plan is to use each variety of coal in a stove especially constructed for it, but if a housewife finds that she must at times do otherwise, she should realize that a different method of management and care of the stove is demanded.

51. SIZES OF COAL.--As the effect of coal on the stove must be taken into consideration in the buying of fuel, so the different sizes of hard coal must be known before the right kind can be selected. The sizes known as _stove_ and _egg coal_, which range from about 1-3/8 to 2-3/4 inches in diameter, are intended for a furnace and should not be used in the kitchen stove for cooking purposes. Some persons who know how to use the size of coal known as _pea_, which is about 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter, like that kind, whereas others prefer the size called _chestnut_, which is about 3/4 inch to 1-3/8 inches in diameter. In reality, a mixture of these two, if properly used, makes the best and most easily regulated kitchen coal fire.

52. QUALITY OF COAL.--In addition to knowing the names, prices, and uses of the different kinds of coal, the housewife should be able to distinguish poor coal from good coal. In fact, proper care should be exercised in all purchasing, for the person who understands the quality of the thing to be purchased will be more likely to get full value for the money paid than the one who does not. About coal, it should be understood that good hard coal has a glossy black color and a bright surface, whereas poor coal contains slaty pieces. The quality of coal can also be determined from the ash that remains after it is burned.

Large chunks or great quant.i.ties of ash indicate a poor quality of coal, and fine, powdery ash a good quality. Of course, even if the coal is of the right kind, poor results are often brought about by the bad management of a fire, whether in a furnace or a stove. Large manufacturing companies, whose business depends considerably on the proper kind of fuel, buy coal by the heat units--that is, according to the quant.i.ty of heat it will give off--and at some future time this plan may have to be followed in the private home, unless some other fuel is provided in the meantime.

Mixed with poor coal are certain unburnable materials that melt and stick together as it burns and form what are known as _clinkers_.

Clinkers are very troublesome because they often adhere to the stove grate or the lining of the firebox. They generally form during the burning of an extremely hot fire, but the usual temperature of a kitchen fire does not produce clinkers unless the coal is of a very poor quality. Mixing oyster sh.e.l.ls with coal of this kind often helps to prevent their formation.

53. c.o.kE.--Another fuel that is sometimes used for cooking is c.o.ke.

Formerly, c.o.ke was a by-product in the manufacture of illuminating gas, but now it is manufactured from coal for use as a fuel. Because of the nature of its composition, c.o.ke produces a very hot fire and is therefore favorable for rapid cooking, such as broiling. However, it is used more extensively in hotels and inst.i.tutions than in kitchens where cooking is done on a small scale.

GAS

54. VALUE OF GAS AS FUEL.--As a fuel for cooking purposes, gas, both _artificial_ and _natural_, is very effective, and in localities where the piping of gas into homes is possible it is used extensively. Of the two kinds, artificial gas produces the least heat; also, it is the most expensive, usually costing two or three times as much as natural gas.

Both are very cheap, however, considering their convenience as a kitchen fuel. Heat from gas is obtained by merely turning it on and igniting it, as with a lighted match. Its consumption can be stopped at once by closing off the supply, or it can be regulated as desired and in this way made to give the exact amount of heat required for the method of cookery adopted. Neither smoke nor soot is produced in burning gas if the burners of the gas stove are adjusted to admit the right amount of air, and no ashes nor refuse remain to be disposed of after gas has been burned. Because gas is so easily handled, good results can be obtained by those who have had very little experience in using it, and with study and practice results become uniform and gas proves to be an economical fuel.

55. MEASUREMENT OF GAS.--Gas is measured by the cubic foot, and a definite price is charged for each 1,000 cubic feet. To determine the quant.i.ty used, it is pa.s.sed through what is called a meter, which measures as the gas burns. It is important that each housewife be able to read the amount registered by the meter, so that she can compare her gas bill with the meter reading and thus determine whether the charges are correct. If only the usual amount of gas has been consumed and the bill does not seem to be correct or is much larger than it has been previously, the matter should be reported to the proper authorities, for the meter may be out of order and in need of repair.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 1 Gas Meter Dials]

56. READING A GAS METER.--To register the quant.i.ty of gas that is consumed, a gas meter, as is shown in Fig. 1, is provided with three large dials, each of which has ten s.p.a.ces over which the hand, or indicator, pa.s.ses to indicate the amount of gas consumed, and with one small dial, around which the hand makes one revolution every time 2 cubic feet of gas is consumed. This small dial serves to tell whether gas is leaking when the stoves and lights are not turned on. Above each large dial is an arrow that points out the direction in which to read, the two outside ones reading toward the right and the center one toward the left; also, above each dial is lettered the quant.i.ty of gas that each dial registers, that at the right registering 1,000 cubic feet, that in the center 10,000 cubic feet, and that at the left 100,000 cubic feet. To read the dials, begin at the left, or the 100,000 dial, and read toward the right. In each instance, read the number over which the hand has pa.s.sed last. For instance, when, as in Fig. 1, the hand lies between 5 and 6 on the left dial, 5 is read; on the center dial, when the hand lies between 5 and 6, 5 is read also; and on the right dial, when the hand lies between 2 and 3, the 2, which is really 200, is read.

57. To compute the quant.i.ty of gas used, the dials are read from left to right and the three readings are added. Then, in order to determine the quant.i.ty burned since the previous reading, the amount registered at that time, which is always stated on the gas bill, must be subtracted from the new reading.

To ill.u.s.trate the manner in which the cost of gas consumed may be determined, a.s.sume that gas costs 90 cents per 1,000 cubic feet, that the previous reading of the gas meter, say on May 15, was 52,600 cubic feet, and that on June 15 the meter registered as shown in Fig. 1. As was just explained, the left dial of the meter reads 5, the center dial 5, and the right dial 200. Therefore, put these figures down so that they follow one another, as 5-5-200. This means then that the reading on June 15 is 55,200 cubic feet. With this amount ascertained, subtract from it the previous reading, or 52,600 cubic feet, which will give 2,600 cubic feet, or the quant.i.ty of gas burned from May 15 to June 15.

Since gas costs 90 cents per 1,000 cubic feet, the cost of the amount burned, or 2,600 cubic feet, may be estimated by dividing 2,600 cubic feet by 1,000 and multiplying the result by 90; thus 2,600 1,000 = 2.6, and 2.6 x .90 = 2.34

58. PREPAYMENT METERS.--In many places, gas concerns install what are called prepayment meters; that is, meters in which the money is deposited before the gas is burned. Such meters register the consumption of the gas in the same way as the meters just mentioned, but they contain a receptacle for money. A coin, generally a quarter, is dropped into a slot leading to this receptacle, and the amount of gas sold for this sum is then permitted to pa.s.s through as it is needed.

When this amount of gas has been burned, another coin must be inserted in the meter before more gas will be liberated.

KEROSENE

59. In communities where gas is not available, kerosene, which is produced by the refinement of petroleum, is used extensively as a fuel for cooking, especially in hot weather when the use of a coal or a wood stove adds materially to the discomfort of the person who does the cooking. Kerosene is burned in stoves especially designed for its use, and while it is a cheap fuel it is not always the same in quality. It contains water at all times, but sometimes the proportion of water is greater than at others. The greater the amount of water, the less fuel will be contained in each gallon of kerosene. The quality of kerosene can be determined by checking up the length of time the stove will burn on a specified quant.i.ty of each new purchase of it.

Another product of the refinement of petroleum is _gasoline_. However, it is not used so extensively for fuel as kerosene, because it is more dangerous and more expensive.

ELECTRICITY

60. The use of electricity for supplying heat for cooking is very popular in some homes, especially those which are properly wired, because of its convenience and cleanliness and the fact that the heat it produces can be applied direct. The first electrical cooking apparatus was introduced at the time of the World's Fair in Chicago, in 1892, and since that time rapid advancement has been made in the production of suitable apparatus for cooking electrically. Electricity would undoubtedly be in more general use today if it were possible to store it in the same way as artificial gas, but as yet no such method has been devised and its cost is therefore greater. Electricity is generated in large power plants, and as it is consumed in the home for lighting and cooking it pa.s.ses through a meter, which indicates the quant.i.ty used in much the same manner as a gas meter. It will be well, therefore, to understand the way in which an electric meter is read, so that the bills for electricity can be checked.

61. READING AN ELECTRIC METER.--An electric meter, which is similar in appearance to a gas meter, consists of three or four dials, which are placed side by side or in the shape of an arc. In the usual type, which is shown in Fig. 2 and which consists of four dials placed side by side, each one of the dials contains ten s.p.a.ces and a hand, or indicator, that pa.s.ses over numbers ranging from to 9 to show the amount of electricity used.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig 2.]

The numbers on the dials represent _kilowatt-hours_, a term meaning the energy resulting from the activity of 1 kilowatt for 1 hour, or 1 watt, which is the practical unit of electrical power, for 1,000 hours. Since 1,000 hours equal 1 kilowatt, 1,000 watt-hours equal 1 kilowatt-hour. It will be observed from the accompanying ill.u.s.tration that the dial on the extreme right has the figures reading in a clockwise direction, that is, from right to left, the second one in a counter-clockwise direction, or from left to right, the third one in a clockwise direction, and the fourth one in a counter-clockwise direction; also that above each dial is indicated in figures the number of kilowatt-hours that one complete revolution of the hand of that dial registers.

To read the meter, begin at the right-hand dial and continue to the left until all the dials are read and set the numbers down just as they are read; that is, from right to left. In case the indicator does not point directly to a number, but is somewhere between two numbers, read the number that it is leaving. For example, in Fig. 2, the indicator in the right-hand dial points to figure 4; therefore, this number should be put down first. In the second dial, the hand lies between and 1, and as it is leaving 0, this number should be read and placed to the left of the first one read, which gives 04. The hand on the third dial points exactly to 6; so 6 should be read for this dial and placed directly before the numbers read for the first and second dials, thus, 604. On the fourth and last dial, the indicator is between 4 and 5; therefore 4, which is the number it is leaving should be read and used as the first figure in the entire reading, which is 4,604.

After the reading of the electric meter has been ascertained, it is a simple matter to determine the electricity consumed since the last reading and the amount of the bill. For instance, a.s.sume that a meter registers the number of kilowatt-hours shown in Fig. 2, or 4,604, and that at the previous reading it registered 4,559. Merely subtract the previous reading from the last one, which will give 45, or the number of kilowatt-hours from which the bill for electricity is computed. If electricity costs 3 cents a kilowatt-hour, which is the price charged in some localities, the bill should come to 45 X .03 or $1.35.

PRINCIPLE OF STOVES

62. Before stoves for cooking came into use in the home, food was cooked in open fireplaces. Even when wood was the only fuel known, a stove for burning it, called the Franklin stove, was invented by Benjamin Franklin, but not until coal came into use as fuel were iron stoves made. For a long time stoves were used mainly for heating purposes, as many housewives preferred to cook at the open fireplace. However, this method of cooking has practically disappeared and a stove of some kind is in use for cooking in every home.

63. For each fuel in common use there are many specially constructed stoves, each having some advantageous feature; yet all stoves constructed for the same fuel are practically the same in principle. In order that fuel will burn and produce heat, it must have air, because fuel, whether it is wood, coal, or gas, is composed largely of _carbon_ and air largely of _oxygen_, and it is the rapid union of these two chemical elements that produces heat. Therefore, in order that each stove may work properly, some way in which to furnish air for the fire in the firebox must be provided. For this reason, every stove for cooking contains pa.s.sageways for air and is connected with a chimney, which contains a flue, or pa.s.sage, that leads to the outer air. When the air in a stove becomes heated, it rises, and as it ascends cold air rushes through the pa.s.sageways of the stove to take its place. It is the flue, however, that permits of the necessary draft and carries off unburned gases. At times it is necessary to regulate the amount of air that enters, and in order that this may be done each stove is provided with _dampers_. These devices are located in the air pa.s.sages and they are so designed as to close off the air or allow the desired amount to enter. By means of these dampers it is possible also to force the heat around the stove oven, against the top of the stove, or up the chimney flue. A knowledge of the ways in which to manipulate these dampers is absolutely necessary if correct results are to be obtained from a stove.

The flue, however, should receive due consideration. If a stove is to give its best service, the flue, in addition to being well constructed, should be free from obstructions and kept in good condition. Indeed, the stove is often blamed for doing unsatisfactory work when the fault is really with the flue.

64. Probably one of the most important things considered in the construction of stoves is the economizing of fuel, for ever since the days of the fireplace there has been more or less of a tendency to save fuel for cooking, and as the various kinds grow scarcer, and consequently more expensive, the economical use of fuel becomes a necessity. While most stoves for cooking purposes are so constructed as to save fuel, many of them do not, especially if the method of caring for them is not understood. Any housewife, however, can economize in the use of fuel if she will learn how the stove she has must be operated; and this can be done by following closely the directions that come with the stove when it is purchased. Such directions are the best to follow, because they have been worked out by the manufacturer, who understands the right way in which his product should be operated.