Perhaps a brief autobiography of myself will aid the reader in his study of the general principle and convince him that my advocacy of the system for all households is based not 7 8 SOYER’S PAPER-BAG COOKERY on mere theory but long and varied expe- rience. Some years ago I was chef to the Dowager Duchess of Newcastle. I had long been ac- customed to treat small articles en papillottes, a system with which most connoisseurs are familiar. I would take, for example, a piece of cooked fish, and, enveloping it in a sheet of foolscap carefully trimmed to the required size, thrust it into a very hot oven. This im- parted to the fish the flavor of the paper — a taste which, for obvious reasons, is dan- gerous. One day, having covered a piece of fish with foolscap, I instructed the kitchen-maid to add the sauce. She put in too much. By-and-by the paper vessel began to bubble up, and be- fore I could interfere it exploded with a bang. When I came to examine the fish I found that it was beautifully tender. This gave me an idea. “ I wonder whether I could cook by steam ? ” I said to myself. Without a mo- ment’s hesitation I put some meat, vegetables, and a little water into an envelope, and laid it on the iron shelf in the oven. The inevi- table happened. The paper got burnt, and soon afterwards it exploded. SOYER’S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 9 I was not easily daunted. I gave a good deal of thought to the problem. Eventually I came to the conclusion that the explosion was due to my placing the paper vessel on the solid iron shelf, which made it impossible for the air to circulate freely around it. Ac- cordingly I decided to use the broiler in my next experiment. So far as the cooking was concerned the result was splendid. The food was deliciously tender; but, unfortunately, it tasted most unmistakably of the paper, and to serve it was entirely out of the ques- tion. That was fifteen years ago, and for the time, I had to confess myself defeated. As the grandson of “ the great Soyer,” whose name is known to chefs the world over, I felt that the difficulty was one which I ought to overcome ; but how to obtain the right kind of paper — if, indeed, it were possible — I did not know. My mind went back to the famous confectioner, Papon, with whom I served my apprenticeship at Clermont-Ferrand. In his way he was a great artist, and I wondered whether he would have been able to solve the problem which now confronted me. I was only fifteen when I joined him — 10 SOYER’S PAPER-BAG COOKERY having, at the last moment, thrown over my intention of being a clergyman — but he found me a very willing learner. What things we used to make in those days ! W e were al- ways trying to turn out something fresh, and old Papon did all he could to stimulate the inventive faculties of his apprentices. All the novelties which we made found their way quickly into the window, and vanished from there just as rapidly. But we did everything in the old-fashioned cooking vessels, and of course I learnt nothing that I could turn to advantage when I first directed my attention to Paper-Bag Cookery.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Perhaps a brief autobiography of myself will aid the reader in his study of the general principle and convince him that my advocacy of the system for all households is based not on mere theory but long and varied experience. Some years ago I was chef to the Dowager Duchess of Newcastle. I had long been accustomed to treat small articles en papillottes, a system with which most connoisseurs are familiar. I would take, for example, a piece of cooked fish, and, enveloping it in a sheet of foolscap carefully trimmed to the required size, thrust it into a very hot oven. This imparted to the fish the flavor of the paper — a taste which, for obvious reasons, is dangerous. One day, having covered a piece of fish with foolscap, I instructed the kitchen-maid to add the sauce. She put in too much. By-and-by the paper vessel began to bubble up, and before I could interfere it exploded with a bang. When I came to examine the fish I found that it was beautifully tender. This gave me an idea. “ I wonder whether I could cook by steam ? ” I said to myself. Without a moment’s hesitation I put some meat, vegetables, and a little water into an envelope, and laid it on the iron shelf in the oven. The inevitable happened. The paper got burnt, and soon afterwards it exploded. I was not easily daunted. I gave a good deal of thought to the problem. Eventually I came to the conclusion that the explosion was due to my placing the paper vessel on the solid iron shelf, which made it impossible for the air to circulate freely around it. Accordingly I decided to use the broiler in my next experiment. So far as the cooking was concerned the result was splendid. The food was deliciously tender; but, unfortunately, it tasted most unmistakably of the paper, and to serve it was entirely out of the question. That was fifteen years ago, and for the time, I had to confess myself defeated. As the grandson of “ the great Soyer,” whose name is known to chefs the world over, I felt that the difficulty was one which I ought to overcome ; but how to obtain the right kind of paper — if, indeed, it were possible — I did not know. My mind went back to the famous confectioner, Papon, with whom I served my apprenticeship at Clermont-Ferrand. In his way he was a great artist, and I wondered whether he would have been able to solve the problem which now confronted me. I was only fifteen when I joined him — having, at the last moment, thrown over my intention of being a clergyman — but he found me a very willing learner. What things we used to make in those days ! We were always trying to turn out something fresh, and old Papon did all he could to stimulate the inventive faculties of his apprentices. All the novelties which we made found their way quickly into the window, and vanished from there just as rapidly. But we did everything in the old-fashioned cooking vessels, and of course I learnt nothing that I could turn to advantage when I first directed my attention to Paper-Bag Cookery.

Paper-bag cookery