I wish to make it quite clear that I do
not claim to be the originator of this
so-called new system of cookery. The
question as to whom this credit is due
is already disposed of in ' the following
6 THE PAPER-BAG COOKERY MANUAL.
pages. I have further to state that I am
not an inventor of a paper-bag or the patent
clips used in this system of cookery.
I have subjected to severe tests several
makes of paper-bags, also various kinds of
grease-proof paper, in which different kinds
of food have been cooked.
As a result of these tests I have found
the “Express” Paper-Bag (Papakuk) to be
best and to answer the purpose thoroughly,
and it is for this reason, as well as on
account of the low price at which these
bags are sold, that I have no hesitation in
recommending this special make of bag.
Cooking in paper-bags has been described
and largely advertised as the “ greatest
culinary triumph of the age,” and some
writer even went so far as to call it an
“ earth-shaking revolution in culinary
methods.” There is, however, nothing
strikingly novel about this “ new method
of cooking,” for the principle of cooking in
paper has been known for generations, and
those who will take the trouble to look up
any standard cookery books will find
plenty of recipes where paper is used for
the purpose of wrapping-up food in and
during the process of cooking. In this
way fish, flesh, and fowl is directed to be
grilled, boiled, roasted, and baked, and the
results obtained have always been acknow-
ledged to be more satisfactory than by the
ordinary cooking methods.
THE PAPER-BAG COOKERY MANUAL. 7
During my culinary career at the Reform
Club, the roast cooks rarely ever cooked a
joint of meat or a bird without it was first
wrapped in grease-proof paper ; the roasts
then, as now, were always a great feature
of the Reform Club, and the same may
be said of other first-class catering
establishments.
This process of enveloping raw food in
paper was not alone confined to meat and
poultry, it has always been adopted by
professional cooks at hotels, restaurants,
and clubs, for various kinds of dishes,
thereby securing all the true flavour of the
food materials.
It will thus be seen that the principle of
enclosing viands in an air-tight envelope
has been long regarded as one of the
higher attainments in the culinary pro-
fession. By the paper-bag method similar
results are obtained, only in a more
simplified form. On this account it
deserves to become more generally adopted
for household cookery, whilst cleanliness of
the paper-bag method is in itself a strong
recommendation.
8 THE PAPER-BAG COOKERY MANUAL.
Paper-Bag Cookery.
Page 1
Presented as published in 1911. 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
I wish to make it quite clear that I do not claim to be the originator of this so-called new system of cookery. The question as to whom this credit is due is already disposed of in ' the following
pages. I have further to state that I am not an inventor of a paper-bag or the patent clips used in this system of cookery.
I have subjected to severe tests several makes of paper-bags, also various kinds of grease-proof paper, in which different kinds of food have been cooked.
As a result of these tests I have found the “Express” Paper-Bag (Papakuk) to be best and to answer the purpose thoroughly, and it is for this reason, as well as on account of the low price at which these bags are sold, that I have no hesitation in recommending this special make of bag.
Cooking in paper-bags has been described and largely advertised as the “ greatest culinary triumph of the age,” and some writer even went so far as to call it an “ earth-shaking revolution in culinary methods.” There is, however, nothing strikingly novel about this “ new method of cooking,” for the principle of cooking in paper has been known for generations, and those who will take the trouble to look up any standard cookery books will find plenty of recipes where paper is used for the purpose of wrapping-up food in and during the process of cooking. In this way fish, flesh, and fowl are directed to be grilled, boiled, roasted, and baked, and the results obtained have always been acknowledged to be more satisfactory than by the ordinary cooking methods.
During my culinary career at the Reform Club, the roast cooks rarely ever cooked a joint of meat or a bird without it was first wrapped in grease-proof paper ; the roasts then, as now, were always a great feature of the Reform Club, and the same may be said of other first-class catering establishments.
This process of enveloping raw food in paper was not alone confined to meat and poultry, it has always been adopted by professional cooks at hotels, restaurants, and clubs, for various kinds of dishes, thereby securing all the true flavour of the food materials.
It will thus be seen that the principle of enclosing viands in an air-tight envelope has been long regarded as one of the higher attainments in the culinary profession. By the paper-bag method similar results are obtained, only in a more simplified form. On this account it deserves to become more generally adopted for household cookery, whilst cleanliness of the paper-bag method is in itself a strong recommendation.
Paper-Bag Cookery.