salt or sugar, or some other substances, it retains heat longer, and requires a higher temperature to make it boil; but on mountains, or where the pressure of the atmosphere is lessened by any cause, it boils at a lower temperature. The thermometer shows that under ordi- nary conditions, at the level of the sea, water boils at 212 degrees, and that after it has reached the boiling point and begins to escape in steam, it is only a waste of fuel to increase the heat of the fire. The water will evaporate or pass off in steam more rapidly by the addition of more heat, but it will grow no hotter, and articles immersed in it will cook no sooner by being rapidly boiled. Hard and Soft Water. — The solvent power of soft water is much greater than that of hard water. Conse- quently soft water, or water that is free from mineral matter, makes its way into organized tissue much more readily than hard water, and is, on that account, prefer- able for such culinary purposes as making soups, tea, coffee, and all infusions where the object is to extract the valuable properties of the animal and vegetable mat- ter subjected to the process of boiling or steeping. The solvent action of soft water upon some green vegetables is powerful enough, however, to destroy the firmness essential to the preservation of their juices and their peculiarly distinctive flavors, and to guard against this dissolving action, and prevent the vegetables from be- coming too tender, it is advisable to salt quite freely the water in which they are to be boiled, so as to harden it sufficiently to preserve the form of the vegetables and hinder the evaporation of their flavoring principles. Boiling. 67 How to Boil. — Fish, meats, and poultry that are to be boiled should be immersed in boiling water, and boiled rapidly for from two to ten minutes — the length of time depending upon the article to be cooked — and should then be permitted to fall to simmering temperature, at which temperature the water should be held as uniformly as possible until the process of cooking is finished. The reason for such mode of procedure is simply this : When a piece of meat is plunged into boiling water the outer part contracts, the albumen, which is nearer the surface, coagulates, and the internal juices are kept from escaping into the water by which it is surrounded, or from being diluted and weakened by the absorption of water through the pores of the flesh. And the very reason that should induce us to place meats in boiling water and boil them rapidly for a few minutes should deter us, if we gave the matter any thought, from con- tinuing the rapid boiling. The coagulating and harden- ing process, which is desirable for the outside of the meat, any one can see at a glance, is undesirable when it is no longer necessary to form a coating or barrier for the preservation of its juices and flavors. Therefore, after meat has been boiled rapidly for a short time the remainder of the cooking should be done gently, by simmering, so that it can go on gradually through the agency of the natural moisture of the flesh being con- verted into steam or vapor by the heat. For meat when properly cooked — whether on a spit, in an oven, or sub- merged in boiling liquid — is cooked mainly by its own steam. And the skill of a cook consists to a great ex- tent in knowing how to regulate and temper the heat.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

salt or sugar, or some other substances, it retains heat longer, and requires a higher temperature to make it boil; but on mountains, or where the pressure of the atmosphere is lessened by any cause, it boils at a lower temperature. The thermometer shows that under ordinary conditions, at the level of the sea, water boils at 212 degrees, and that after it has reached the boiling point and begins to escape in steam, it is only a waste of fuel to increase the heat of the fire. The water will evaporate or pass off in steam more rapidly by the addition of more heat, but it will grow no hotter, and articles immersed in it will cook no sooner by being rapidly boiled. Hard and Soft Water. — The solvent power of soft water is much greater than that of hard water. Consequently soft water, or water that is free from mineral matter, makes its way into organized tissue much more readily than hard water, and is, on that account, preferable for such culinary purposes as making soups, tea, coffee, and all infusions where the object is to extract the valuable properties of the animal and vegetable matter subjected to the process of boiling or steeping. The solvent action of soft water upon some green vegetables is powerful enough, however, to destroy the firmness essential to the preservation of their juices and their peculiarly distinctive flavors, and to guard against this dissolving action, and prevent the vegetables from becoming too tender, it is advisable to salt quite freely the water in which they are to be boiled, so as to harden it sufficiently to preserve the form of the vegetables and hinder the evaporation of their flavoring principles. Boiling. 67 How to Boil. — Fish, meats, and poultry that are to be boiled should be immersed in boiling water, and boiled rapidly for from two to ten minutes — the length of time depending upon the article to be cooked — and should then be permitted to fall to simmering temperature, at which temperature the water should be held as uniformly as possible until the process of cooking is finished. The reason for such mode of procedure is simply this : When a piece of meat is plunged into boiling water the outer part contracts, the albumen, which is nearer the surface, coagulates, and the internal juices are kept from escaping into the water by which it is surrounded, or from being diluted and weakened by the absorption of water through the pores of the flesh. And the very reason that should induce us to place meats in boiling water and boil them rapidly for a few minutes should deter us, if we gave the matter any thought, from continuing the rapid boiling. The coagulating and hardening process, which is desirable for the outside of the meat, any one can see at a glance, is undesirable when it is no longer necessary to form a coating or barrier for the preservation of its juices and flavors. Therefore, after meat has been boiled rapidly for a short time the remainder of the cooking should be done gently, by simmering, so that it can go on gradually through the agency of the natural moisture of the flesh being converted into steam or vapor by the heat. For meat when properly cooked — whether on a spit, in an oven, or submerged in boiling liquid — is cooked mainly by its own steam. And the skill of a cook consists to a great extent in knowing how to regulate and temper the heat.

The art of cookery