“ Oh, mother, now we know what cooking is!” II. It was in the early fifties that Monsieur A. Soyer, of the Reform Club, the immortal “ Alexis,” published his “ Gastronomic Re- generator; a simplified and entirely new sys- tem of cookery.” Over half a century ago the “ Morning Chronicle ” described Alexis Soyer as the ap- proved philanthropist whose name would ever be gratefully remembered by the housewives of England as their guide, philosopher, and friend in the art of making themselves and all around them happy. Alexis Soyer was the greatest gastronomic regenerator of the Nineteenth Century, and to-day we are hailing his grandson as the greatest gastronomic regenerator of the Twen- tieth. “ Paper-Bag cookery ” is the homely Eng- lish equivalent of the “ en papillote ” of the classical cuisine of the French. It was Hippocrates who said, “ That which pleases the palate nourishes,” and the art of eating becomes a mere occupation when the n8 SOYER’S PAPER-BAG COOKERY appetite is appeased with foods from which the best qualities, both of nutriment and flavor, have been extracted in the processes of cook- ing, and left behind in the pots and pans. In the average British household two-thirds of the nourishment contained in the whole- some and natural foods of man go down the kitchen sink or into the dustbin. And from that portion which, after the cooking proc- esses, survives for the table of the English- man’s home, the flavor has been remorselessly extracted. Among all the guides to the proper offerings to be laid on the altar of the modern Little Mary, scant stress has hitherto been laid on the immense waste of the properties in food in our popular processes of preparation. We laugh at the story of the Irish hand- maiden who, faced for the first time with the preparation of oysters for her mistress’s table, put the shells on a dish after carefully remov- ing and throwing away “ the insides.” But very much the same sort of thing is go- ing on in the homes of all classes of the com- munity. No amount of saucing and spicing, none of the elaborate preparations which, in the homes SOYER’S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 119 of the well-to-do, convert plain and wholesome food into the elaborate “a la ” of the modern menu can compensate the consumer for the loss of the nourishing qualities which have been extracted in the ordinary processes of cooking the raw material. Of “ en papillote ” or “ paper-bag cookery ” we have hitherto had few examples. As a rule the method is confined to the “ poulet en papillote ” or “ red mullet en papillote,” but the famous ancestor of the present M. Soyer was in the habit of serving lamb chops in this way. Apart from the question of cleanliness, economy of time in the kitchen, and the preser- vation of the food value of the material used, there is the great digestive question to con- sider, for digestion to-day is a very important factor in the unfolding of the domestic drama. By cooking alimentary substances undergo a two-fold change. Their principles are chemi- cally modified and their textures mechanically changed. The extent and nature, however, of these changes will greatly depend upon the manner in which heat has been applied to them. The ordinary processes of applying heat are 120 SOYER’S PAPER-BAG COOKERY roasting, boiling, frying, broiling and baking.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

“ Oh, mother, now we know what cooking is!” It was in the early fifties that Monsieur A. Soyer, of the Reform Club, the immortal “ Alexis,” published his “ Gastronomic Regenerator; a simplified and entirely new system of cookery.” Over half a century ago the “ Morning Chronicle ” described Alexis Soyer as the approved philanthropist whose name would ever be gratefully remembered by the housewives of England as their guide, philosopher, and friend in the art of making themselves and all around them happy. Alexis Soyer was the greatest gastronomic regenerator of the Nineteenth Century, and to-day we are hailing his grandson as the greatest gastronomic regenerator of the Twentieth. “ Paper-Bag cookery ” is the homely English equivalent of the “ en papillote ” of the classical cuisine of the French. It was Hippocrates who said, “ That which pleases the palate nourishes,” and the art of eating becomes a mere occupation when the appetite is appeased with foods from which the best qualities, both of nutriment and flavor, have been extracted in the processes of cooking, and left behind in the pots and pans. In the average British household two-thirds of the nourishment contained in the wholesome and natural foods of man go down the kitchen sink or into the dustbin. And from that portion which, after the cooking processes, survives for the table of the Englishman’s home, the flavor has been remorselessly extracted. Among all the guides to the proper offerings to be laid on the altar of the modern Little Mary, scant stress has hitherto been laid on the immense waste of the properties in food in our popular processes of preparation. We laugh at the story of the Irish handmaiden who, faced for the first time with the preparation of oysters for her mistress’s table, put the shells on a dish after carefully removing and throwing away “ the insides.” But very much the same sort of thing is going on in the homes of all classes of the community. No amount of saucing and spicing, none of the elaborate preparations which, in the homes of the well-to-do, convert plain and wholesome food into the elaborate “a la ” of the modern menu can compensate the consumer for the loss of the nourishing qualities which have been extracted in the ordinary processes of cooking the raw material. Of “ en papillote ” or “ paper-bag cookery ” we have hitherto had few examples. As a rule the method is confined to the “ poulet en papillote ” or “ red mullet en papillote,” but the famous ancestor of the present M. Soyer was in the habit of serving lamb chops in this way. Apart from the question of cleanliness, economy of time in the kitchen, and the preservation of the food value of the material used, there is the great digestive question to consider, for digestion to-day is a very important factor in the unfolding of the domestic drama. By cooking alimentary substances undergo a two-fold change. Their principles are chemically modified and their textures mechanically changed. The extent and nature, however, of these changes will greatly depend upon the manner in which heat has been applied to them. The ordinary processes of applying heat are roasting, boiling, frying, broiling and baking.

Paper-bag cookery