And, in addition, they can practise cookery and still keep their hands white and soft. This may, to strong- minded people, seem an unimportant detail, and I do not quite know that I ought to speak of it liere, but I may as well confess that 1 admire soft, white hands, and I think every girl is justified in taking pains to keep hers so. If she could not do this whilst doing useful work, I would certainly say, let your hands go ; but this is not always the alternative. And now lor the best way of roasting meat in the oven or, to speak correctly, baking it. In the more modern closed ranges a special provision is made for ventilating the oven, in order that fresh air may enter and the vapours given off by the meat may be carried away, and so the Baking. 25 saturated taste peculiar to baked meat be removed. Meat thus baked in a ventilated oven is fjencrally called roast meat ; and it is very nearly, though I cannot say I think it is quite, as good as that which is roasted before the fire. The same general rules as to hanging meat and basting it will hold good in baking as in roasting. When first the me.u is put in, the ventilator should be closed, and ihe joint should be placed for about five minutes in the hottest part of the oven, in order that the outside may become quickly browned, and so the goodness of the meal may be kept in. After this the ventilator should be opened, and the meat be gently baked till done. The opening of the ventilator will slightly cool the oven. In order to keep both meat and dripping from burning, a hot- water tin should be used. If this is not to be had, two dripping tins, one smaller than the other, may be employed instead. The meat should be placed in the smaller tin ; and this should stand in the larger one, which should be kept filled up with boiling water. Meat should be placed on a stand in the dripping-tin, in order to raise it and prevent its soaking in its own dripping, thus becoming saturated and disagreeable. Small stands made for the purpose are to be bought for a lew pence. When placing the Joint on this stand it is well to put the fat side uppermost in the first instance, in order that the fat may melt and drop down upon the leaner part. If there should be but little fat upon the joint, a piece of kitchen paper that has been thickly spread with dripping should be placed over it to keep it from burning too quickly — of course, printed paper will not do for this. In any case the meat should be turned over two or three times, or it will not be equally cooked. As to the time that a joint should be baked. When the ventilator is made use of, the same rules may be followed as in roasting before the fire. If there is no ventilator in the oven, ten minutes to the pound and ten minutes over will be quite sufficient. As in ordinary roasting, solid meat needs to be cooked longer than thin meat, and white meat longer than red meat. It must be remembered also that cakes and pastry should not be put into the oven when meat is being baked, as the steam that rises from it will be likely to make them heavy, 26 The Girl' s Own Cookery Book.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

And, in addition, they can practise cookery and still keep their hands white and soft. This may, to strong-minded people, seem an unimportant detail, and I do not quite know that I ought to speak of it here, but I may as well confess that 1 admire soft, white hands, and I think every girl is justified in taking pains to keep hers so. If she could not do this whilst doing useful work, I would certainly say, let your hands go ; but this is not always the alternative. And now for the best way of roasting meat in the oven or, to speak correctly, baking it. In the more modern closed ranges a special provision is made for ventilating the oven, in order that fresh air may enter and the vapours given off by the meat may be carried away, and so the Baking. saturated taste peculiar to baked meat be removed. Meat thus baked in a ventilated oven is generally called roast meat ; and it is very nearly, though I cannot say I think it is quite, as good as that which is roasted before the fire. The same general rules as to hanging meat and basting it will hold good in baking as in roasting. When first the meat is put in, the ventilator should be closed, and ihe joint should be placed for about five minutes in the hottest part of the oven, in order that the outside may become quickly browned, and so the goodness of the meal may be kept in. After this the ventilator should be opened, and the meat be gently baked till done. The opening of the ventilator will slightly cool the oven. In order to keep both meat and dripping from burning, a hot- water tin should be used. If this is not to be had, two dripping tins, one smaller than the other, may be employed instead. The meat should be placed in the smaller tin ; and this should stand in the larger one, which should be kept filled up with boiling water. Meat should be placed on a stand in the dripping-tin, in order to raise it and prevent its soaking in its own dripping, thus becoming saturated and disagreeable. Small stands made for the purpose are to be bought for a lew pence. When placing the Joint on this stand it is well to put the fat side uppermost in the first instance, in order that the fat may melt and drop down upon the leaner part. If there should be but little fat upon the joint, a piece of kitchen paper that has been thickly spread with dripping should be placed over it to keep it from burning too quickly — of course, printed paper will not do for this. In any case the meat should be turned over two or three times, or it will not be equally cooked. As to the time that a joint should be baked. When the ventilator is made use of, the same rules may be followed as in roasting before the fire. If there is no ventilator in the oven, ten minutes to the pound and ten minutes over will be quite sufficient. As in ordinary roasting, solid meat needs to be cooked longer than thin meat, and white meat longer than red meat. It must be remembered also that cakes and pastry should not be put into the oven when meat is being baked, as the steam that rises from it will be likely to make them heavy, The Girl' s Own Cookery Book.

The girl's own cookery book