What is the advantage in using rice water to prepare Tomato or Cheese Sauce ? What other use could be made of rice water ? LESSON X Cereals and the Fireless Cooker The Fireless Cooker. — As was mentioned in Lesson VIII, the fireless cooker is a most satisfactory device for cooking cereals. It has been said : " Future historians in summing up the great achievements of the first quarter of the twen- tieth century will probably name as the most important, wireless telegraphy, aviation, and fireless cookery." The fireless cooker cannot be used with all methods of cooking, but its possibilities are many. The Principle of Fireless Cookery. — In Experiment 5 (p. 22) it was found that wood did not transmit heat readily, while tin did. Another familiar illustration will show the difference between wood and metal in transmitting heat. A metal door knob feels very cold on a winter day, because the metal conducts the heat away from the hand rapidly, while a wooden knob is comfortable to touch. Wood is termed a poor conductor of heat. Metals are good conduc- tors of heat. Paper, hay, excelsior, sawdust, cork, wool, feathers, and many other materials are poor conductors of heat. If any hot subtance is surrounded by any of these poor conducting materials, the heat of that substance is re- 46 THE COOKING OF FOODS tained for some time. Also, if any cold substance is sur- rounded by a poor conductor, the substance remains cold. In throwing a piece of carpet or newspaper over an ice cream freezer, to prevent the ice from melting, one makes use of the latter principle. The walls of a well-built refrig- erator consist of a number of layers of non-conducting mate- rials. (See Fig. 18.) To understand the cmtw of jrccnw **««*<». principle involved in Fig. 18.-In SU lated wall of a refrigera- " cooking without tire," lor. try the following : Experiment IS : Retention of Heat. — Kill 2 tin measuring cups half full of boiling water. Immediately inclose one cup of water in a paper bag or wrap paper about it so there will be considerable air space between the cup and paper. After IS minutes, insert a ther- mometer into the water in each of the cups. Which is hotter ? What has "kept in" the heat of the hotter water? The tireless cooker is a device containing cooking kettles which are surrounded by some poor conductor. When food ia heated thoroughly, the heat can be retained for a number of hours by placing the hot food in the fireless cooker. In the ordinary fireless cooker it is possible to cook all foods that can be cooked in water at a temperature below the boiling point of water, i.e. simmering temperature. The most improved fireless cookers have a metallic or an enamel lining and are provided with movable stone disks. Both the stones and food are heated on a range and then introduced into the cooker in such a way that the stones are under and CEREALS AND THE .FIRELESS COOKER 47 over the kettle of food. By this arrangement, foods can be cooked at a higher temperature than in the ordinary tireless cooker. (See Figs. 19 and 20.) The principle of the fireless cooker is used on some of the modern gas and electric ranges. The walls of the ovens of Fig. 19. — Fireless cooker. these ranges are surrounded by insulating materials. When an oven is heated and has reached the desired temperature, the gas or electricity is cut off, but the baking temperature is retained for some time. The top-burners of some gas ranges have a fireless cooker attachment in the form of an insulated hood. The food is first heated over the burner, then the hood is lowered over the food, and the gas is cut THE COOKING OF FOODS Fig. 20. — Fireless cooker with stone disks. off. The food continues to cook, however, by the retained heat (See Fig. 21.) Suggestions for using a Flrelesa Cooker. — One should keep the following in mind in using the ordinary fireless cooker :

AI-modernized reading of the original text

What is the advantage in using rice water to prepare Tomato or Cheese Sauce ? What other use could be made of rice water ? LESSON X Cereals and the Fireless Cooker The Fireless Cooker. — As was mentioned in Lesson VIII, the fireless cooker is a most satisfactory device for cooking cereals. It has been said : " Future historians in summing up the great achievements of the first quarter of the twentieth century will probably name as the most important, wireless telegraphy, aviation, and fireless cookery." The fireless cooker cannot be used with all methods of cooking, but its possibilities are many. The Principle of Fireless Cookery. — In Experiment 5 (p. 22) it was found that wood did not transmit heat readily, while tin did. Another familiar illustration will show the difference between wood and metal in transmitting heat. A metal door knob feels very cold on a winter day, because the metal conducts the heat away from the hand rapidly, while a wooden knob is comfortable to touch. Wood is termed a poor conductor of heat. Metals are good conductors of heat. Paper, hay, excelsior, sawdust, cork, wool, feathers, and many other materials are poor conductors of heat. If any hot subtance is surrounded by any of these poor conducting materials, the heat of that substance is re- tained for some time. Also, if any cold substance is surrounded by a poor conductor, the substance remains cold. In throwing a piece of carpet or newspaper over an ice cream freezer, to prevent the ice from melting, one makes use of the latter principle. The walls of a well-built refrigerator consist of a number of layers of non-conducting materials. (See Fig. 18.) To understand the principle involved in "cooking without fire," try the following: [illustration: Fig. 18. — Insulated wall of a refrigerator.] try the following : Experiment IS : Retention of Heat. — Kill 2 tin measuring cups half full of boiling water. Immediately inclose one cup of water in a paper bag or wrap paper about it so there will be considerable air space between the cup and paper. After IS minutes, insert a thermometer into the water in each of the cups. Which is hotter ? What has "kept in" the heat of the hotter water? The fireless cooker is a device containing cooking kettles which are surrounded by some poor conductor. When food ia heated thoroughly, the heat can be retained for a number of hours by placing the hot food in the fireless cooker. In the ordinary fireless cooker it is possible to cook all foods that can be cooked in water at a temperature below the boiling point of water, i.e. simmering temperature. The most improved fireless cookers have a metallic or an enamel lining and are provided with movable stone disks. Both the stones and food are heated on a range and then introduced into the cooker in such a way that the stones are under and CEREALS AND THE .FIRELESS COOKER 47 over the kettle of food. By this arrangement, foods can be cooked at a higher temperature than in the ordinary fireless cooker. (See Figs. 19 and 20.) The principle of the fireless cooker is used on some of the modern gas and electric ranges. The walls of the ovens of Fig. 19. — Fireless cooker. these ranges are surrounded by insulating materials. When an oven is heated and has reached the desired temperature, the gas or electricity is cut off, but the baking temperature is retained for some time. The top-burners of some gas ranges have a fireless cooker attachment in the form of an insulated hood. The food is first heated over the burner, then the hood is lowered over the food, and the gas is cut Fig. 20. — Fireless cooker with stone disks. off. The food continues to cook, however, by the retained heat (See Fig. 21.) Suggestions for using a Flrelesa Cooker. — One should keep the following in mind in using the ordinary fireless cooker :

A text-book of cooking