If you wish to fry several kinds at the same time, begin
with potatoes, following with doughnuts or flour mixtures,
and crumbed articles last ; otherwise the crumbs will fall
off*, and adhere to whatever is put in subsequently. After
every frying, strain the fat through a fine wire strainer or
fine strainer cloth into a tin pail, not pouring it, but dip-
ping it from the kettle with a small long-handled dipper.
Let it cool slightly before straining, as, if very hot, it will
melt the strainer. Sprinkle coffee on the stove, while fly-
ing, to disguise the odor.
Sauteing.
The ordinary waj^ of frying in a shallow pan with only a
little fat, first on one side and then on the other, which the
French call sauteing^ answers very well for some purposes,
— omelets, fried cakes, and many things browned in butter ;
but nearly everything that requires any more fat than just
enough to keep it from sticking, is much better immersed
in hot fat. Fish balls, chops, and 03'sters are more quickly
cooked, and absorb less fat, when fried by immersion than
when sauted. Some people are extremely unwilling to
make the change, and persist in going on in the old wa}"
of cooking in a Kttle, half-hot fat which spatters over
stove and floor, soaks into the fish or meat, and is often
served as the only gravy. Upon such, dyspepsia is a fell
avenger.
These directions for frying are given thus minutely not
from any desire to recommend this method of cooking ;
but, if people will fry their food, the}^ should do it in the
only correct way. With the exception of salt-fish balls
and small, dry, white fish, there is nothing fried, even in
2
i8
The Boston Cook Book.
the right way, that would not be equally good, and much
more conducive to health, were it cooked otherwise. Sar-
atoga potatoes, or chips as they are called, are really chips,
for persons with weak digestion. Oj'sters, chops, fritters,
and the materials in croquettes, muffins, and doughnuts
may be cooked in many better waj'S.
Frying answers very well for open-air cooking, on the
seashore or in camp, where appetite and digestion are
strengthened. But in most modern houses, where the
odors from the kitchen penetrate the remotest nook and
corner, there are many serious objections, apart from the
indigestibility of the food thus prepared. The acrid odors
given off during the heating of fat are very irritating to
the mucous membrane of the nose and throat, and they are
equally so to a sensitive stomach. Some persons who can
usually digest fried food cannot do so when the stomach
has been irritated by the odor in frying. If all those who
are so fond of croquettes, fritters, etc., were obliged to
inhale the smoking fat, these dishes would seldom appear
on the table.
To clarify Fat.
Page 14
Presented as published in 1884. 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
If you wish to fry several kinds at the same time, begin with potatoes, following with doughnuts or flour mixtures, and crumbed articles last ; otherwise the crumbs will fall off, and adhere to whatever is put in subsequently. After every frying, strain the fat through a fine wire strainer or fine strainer cloth into a tin pail, not pouring it, but dipping it from the kettle with a small long-handled dipper. Let it cool slightly before straining, as, if very hot, it will melt the strainer. Sprinkle coffee on the stove, while frying, to disguise the odor.
Sauteing.
TThe ordinary way of frying in a shallow pan with only a little fat, first on one side and then on the other, which the French call sauteing, answers very well for some purposes, — omelets, fried cakes, and many things browned in butter ; but nearly everything that requires any more fat than just enough to keep it from sticking, is much better immersed in hot fat. Fish balls, chops, and oysters are more quickly cooked, and absorb less fat, when fried by immersion than when sauted. Some people are extremely unwilling to make the change, and persist in going on in the old way of cooking in a kettle, half-hot fat which spatters over stove and floor, soaks into the fish or meat, and is often served as the only gravy. Upon such, dyspepsia is a fell avenger.
These directions for frying are given thus minutely not from any desire to recommend this method of cooking ; but, if people will fry their food, they should do it in the only correct way. With the exception of salt-fish balls and small, dry, white fish, there is nothing fried, even in
The Boston Cook Book.
the right way, that would not be equally good, and much more conducive to health, were it cooked otherwise. Saratoga potatoes, or chips as they are called, are really chips, for persons with weak digestion. Oysters, chops, fritters, and the materials in croquettes, muffins, and doughnuts may be cooked in many better ways.
Frying answers very well for open-air cooking, on the seashore or in camp, where appetite and digestion are strengthened. But in most modern houses, where the odors from the kitchen penetrate the remotest nook and corner, there are many serious objections, apart from the indigestibility of the food thus prepared. The acrid odors given off during the heating of fat are very irritating to the mucous membrane of the nose and throat, and they are equally so to a sensitive stomach. Some persons who can usually digest fried food cannot do so when the stomach has been irritated by the odor in frying. If all those who are so fond of croquettes, fritters, etc., were obliged to inhale the smoking fat, these dishes would seldom appear on the table.
To clarify Fat.