Take a box or tin with a close-fitting lid. Paste thick paper all over it and
lid, either outside or inside, to make it as air-tight as possible. Fill box to brim
with clean hay, excelsior, or sawdust. Make a hole in the centre and line hole
with a large pice of cheesecloth. Bury the food to be cooked in this hole,.
leaving it in the vessel in which it was heated; it must be piping hot. Cover with
cheesecloth and hay or paper; make air-tight immediately and shut box. Leave
for several hours or over night in warm place. The food will be found cooked
but may need to be reheated for a few minutes before it is served.
Food which may be Cooked in a Homemade Fireless.
In a fireless made as above only such foods as are cooked in liquids and
require long, slow cooking can be cooked, as, for example, all kinds of porridge,.
rice puddings, stewed fruit, meat or tough chicken stews, meat stock, beef tea
and some vegetables. In all cases some fuel is needed to heat the food. ‘This:
may be accomplished on a coal or wood fire, which can then be let out; or over
a gas, oil or electric heater. A fireless cooker is particularly useful to people:
living in gas or electric heated flats.
Manufactured Cookers,
There are many excellent fireless cookers on the market costing from five
to twenty dollars.
One at sixteen dollars, with two holes, is furnished with four soapstones, two
aluminum utensils with close fitting lids, and two frames for supporting soap-
A FIRELESS COOKER 109
stones. The outside is of wood and the interior finish is of metal. This is sani-
tary and easy to clean. It would be impossible to use soapstones without a metal
lining for fear of spontaneous combustion.
Food which may be cooked in a Fireless with the use of soapstones. Large
fruit cakes, light butter cakes and biscuits have been successfully cooked entirely
in a fireless cooker by using soapstones heated over a coal stove or gas flame for
twenty minutes. One stone is placed at the bottom of the fireless. On this the
cake stands. Cover cake tin with a wire frying basket with handle removed.
Place hot soapstone on basket. With heat above and below the food cooks as
well and. quickly as in an oven.
Meats may be roasted and vegetables boiled. A beef shin stew, prepared as
in previous description was placed on a heated soapstone in a fireless and left
for three hours only. The meat was perfectly cooked and the liquid jellied when
cold.
Points to Remember When Using a Fireless Cooker.
(1.) The same utensil must be used all through the cooking, on the stove
and in the fireless.
(2.) The utensil must have a tight-fitting lid and no handle at side. Alumi-
num utensils retain the heat longest, enamel next, and tin least of all. The food
should, if possible, fill the utensil.
(3.) Where no soapstone or other heater is used in the “fireless,” the food
must be cooked from five to thirty minutes at boiling point, or just below, to heat
the food through before it is placed in the cooker.
(4.) If soapstones, or other heaters, are used, the food may be placed in the
cooker cold and raw, but such foods as are usually cooked in boiling water
should also be immersed in boiling water when placed in the “fireless,” as, for
example, vegetables and meat.
Time. With soapstones, same time as with a range. Without soapstones,
allow twice as long as usual or longer.
(5.) If no stoapstone is used, any vacant space which occurs around the
vessel containing the food must be filled in with hay, newspaper, or a cushion
of hay.
(6.) Do not open the “fireless” until such time as the food should be cooked.
If for any reason it has to be opened, reheat the food again before returning it
to the cooker.
(7.) Each time after using the cooker, air it and leave it clean.
Page 68
Presented as published in 1913. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Take a box or tin with a close-fitting lid. Paste thick paper all over it and lid, either outside or inside, to make it as air-tight as possible. Fill box to brim with clean hay, excelsior, or sawdust. Make a hole in the centre and line hole with a large piece of cheesecloth. Bury the food to be cooked in this hole,. leaving it in the vessel in which it was heated; it must be piping hot. Cover with cheesecloth and hay or paper; make air-tight immediately and shut box. Leave for several hours or over night in warm place. The food will be found cooked but may need to be reheated for a few minutes before it is served.
Food which may be Cooked in a Homemade Fireless.
In a fireless made as above only such foods as are cooked in liquids and require long, slow cooking can be cooked, as, for example, all kinds of porridge,. rice puddings, stewed fruit, meat or tough chicken stews, meat stock, beef tea and some vegetables. In all cases some fuel is needed to heat the food. ‘This: may be accomplished on a coal or wood fire, which can then be let out; or over
a gas, oil or electric heater. A fireless cooker is particularly useful to people: living in gas or electric heated flats.
Manufactured Cookers,
There are many excellent fireless cookers on the market costing from five to twenty dollars.
One at sixteen dollars, with two holes, is furnished with four soapstones, two aluminum utensils with close fitting lids, and two frames for supporting soap-
A FIRELESS COOKER 109
stones. The outside is of wood and the interior finish is of metal. This is sanitary and easy to clean. It would be impossible to use soapstones without a metal lining for fear of spontaneous combustion.
Food which may be cooked in a Fireless with the use of soapstones. Large fruit cakes, light butter cakes and biscuits have been successfully cooked entirely in a fireless cooker by using soapstones heated over a coal stove or gas flame for twenty minutes. One stone is placed at the bottom of the fireless. On this the cake stands. Cover cake tin with a wire frying basket with handle removed. Place hot soapstone on basket. With heat above and below the food cooks as well and. quickly as in an oven.
Meats may be roasted and vegetables boiled. A beef shin stew, prepared as in previous description was placed on a heated soapstone in a fireless and left for three hours only. The meat was perfectly cooked and the liquid jellied when cold.
Points to Remember When Using a Fireless Cooker.
(1.) The same utensil must be used all through the cooking, on the stove and in the fireless.
(2.) The utensil must have a tight-fitting lid and no handle at side. Aluminum utensils retain the heat longest, enamel next, and tin least of all. The food should, if possible, fill the utensil.
(3.) Where no soapstone or other heater is used in the “fireless,” the food must be cooked from five to thirty minutes at boiling point, or just below, to heat the food through before it is placed in the cooker.
(4.) If soapstones, or other heaters, are used, the food may be placed in the cooker cold and raw, but such foods as are usually cooked in boiling water should also be immersed in boiling water when placed in the “fireless,” as, for example, vegetables and meat.
Time. With soapstones, same time as with a range. Without soapstones, allow twice as long as usual or longer.
(5.) If no stoapstone is used, any vacant space which occurs around the vessel containing the food must be filled in with hay, newspaper, or a cushion of hay.
(6.) Do not open the “fireless” until such time as the food should be cooked. If for any reason it has to be opened, reheat the food again before returning it to the cooker.
(7.) Each time after using the cooker, air it and leave it clean.