The advantage which Stewing can claim over boiling or simmering is that the more nourishing and soluble elements are not separated from, but served up with the meat &c., the full flavour of which is thereby better preserved. Stewing is unquestionably one of the most economical methods of •cooking meat. The coarser and cheaper parts of meat, which cannot well be used for roasting or boiling, can by slow continuous stewing be made tender, palatable, and nutritious. The meat selected for stewing should be lean, or with but little fat. Stewing entails little loss ; all the juices coming out of the meat amalgamate with the gravy or sauce which is served with the meat. Yery little fuel and attention is needed to cook a stew after it has been set off stewing. The heating must be slow and gradual, never reaching the actual boiling point, and the scum must be removed occasionally. Some meats and fruits and certain vegetables are usually subjected to stewing. Only enough liquid is used to cover the meat, &c., to prevent evaporation. The following are the reasons for claiming this mode of cooking as the most economical : — 1. Tough meat (coarse and cheap), unsuitable for either roasting or boiling, can be made tender and palatable by stewing. 2. There is practically no waste in nutriment, for solids and liquids are both served up. 76 THE NEW CENTURY COOKERY BOOK 3. Little fuel and little attention are required. There are two ways of stewing known and practised : the first is partly frying or browning the meat, &c. before stewing, and the second is par-boiling (Irish stew type). Stewing is performed in earthenware covered jars and stewpans in the oven or over the fire. To soften the fibres of coarse meat, it is often soaked or steeped in vinegar. Braising. — Braising (or braizing) is a combination of roasting and stewing small joints of meat in a shallow stew-pan, called ‘ braisoire ’ or braiser, which has a close-fitting lid with a grooved edge round it, on which hot coals (charcoal) are placed, whereby the meat can be cooked with a fire above it as well as under it. This process of cooking, it is said, greatly decreases loss by evaporation. It is a favourite method with the French, and is supposed to bring out an unusually fine flavour and aroma. Viands to be braised are gene- rally boned, and either larded or barded with thin slices of fat bacon. The pan in which a braise is to be made is always (or should always be) lined with a mirepoix (slices of bacon, carrot, onions and herbs), upon which the meat is placed. It is usually moistened with stock, or stock and wine. The more delicate meats, such as sweetbreads, fillets, fowls, turkeys, &c., are sometimes covered with buttered paper ; this is done to prevent the heat from the top of the pan scorching or imparting too much of a roast flavour to the meats which are to be braised. Occasional basting during the process of this method of cooking is essential. When done, the meat is taken up, the fat removed from the mirepoix and gravy, which latter is then reduced, strained, and blended with some kind of gravy or thin sauce.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The advantage which Stewing can claim over boiling or simmering is that the more nourishing and soluble elements are not separated from, but served up with the meat, etc., the full flavour of which is thereby better preserved. Stewing is unquestionably one of the most economical methods of •cooking meat. The coarser and cheaper parts of meat, which cannot well be used for roasting or boiling, can by slow continuous stewing be made tender, palatable, and nutritious. The meat selected for stewing should be lean, or with but little fat. Stewing entails little loss ; all the juices coming out of the meat amalgamate with the gravy or sauce which is served with the meat. Yery little fuel and attention is needed to cook a stew after it has been set off stewing. The heating must be slow and gradual, never reaching the actual boiling point, and the scum must be removed occasionally. Some meats and fruits and certain vegetables are usually subjected to stewing. Only enough liquid is used to cover the meat, &c., to prevent evaporation. The following are the reasons for claiming this mode of cooking as the most economical : — 1. Tough meat (coarse and cheap), unsuitable for either roasting or boiling, can be made tender and palatable by stewing. 2. There is practically no waste in nutriment, for solids and liquids are both served up. 3. Little fuel and little attention are required. There are two ways of stewing known and practised : the first is partly frying or browning the meat, &c. before stewing, and the second is par-boiling (Irish stew type). Stewing is performed in earthenware covered jars and stewpans in the oven or over the fire. To soften the fibres of coarse meat, it is often soaked or steeped in vinegar. Braising. — Braising (or braizing) is a combination of roasting and stewing small joints of meat in a shallow stew-pan, called ‘ braisoire ’ or braiser, which has a close-fitting lid with a grooved edge round it, on which hot coals (charcoal) are placed, whereby the meat can be cooked with a fire above it as well as under it. This process of cooking, it is said, greatly decreases loss by evaporation. It is a favourite method with the French, and is supposed to bring out an unusually fine flavour and aroma. Viands to be braised are generally boned, and either larded or barded with thin slices of fat bacon. The pan in which a braise is to be made is always (or should always be) lined with a mirepoix (slices of bacon, carrot, onions and herbs), upon which the meat is placed. It is usually moistened with stock, or stock and wine. The more delicate meats, such as sweetbreads, fillets, fowls, turkeys, &c., are sometimes covered with buttered paper ; this is done to prevent the heat from the top of the pan scorching or imparting too much of a roast flavour to the meats which are to be braised. Occasional basting during the process of this method of cooking is essential. When done, the meat is taken up, the fat removed from the mirepoix and gravy, which latter is then reduced, strained, and blended with some kind of gravy or thin sauce.

The new century cookery book