It is also clear, I think, that the kitchen
will now become a new room, and to those
who are familiar with the conditions of the
working classes it will be realized that if paper,
instead of iron and tin, vessels are used to
cook the main dishes of a family, the atmos-
phere will be changed, labor will be saved,
the coal or gas bill will not be so high, and the
16 SOYER’S PAPER-BAG COOKERY
opportunity for that well-known terror with
which the scientist has made us familiar, the
microbe, for doing mischief will be consid-
erably modified.
Its adaptability to special classes of the
community is recognized. For instance, many
women who are fond of cooking and of ex-
perimenting with new dishes are deterred from
it by the dislike of the smell of cooking or
the headaches caused by the heat of the range,
or the mess made of the hands by contact with
greasy pots and pans, hot air, etc. Many can-
not spare from outside duties the time in-
volved in cooking in the usual way.
Paper-Bag Cooking for dwellers in flats and
in single rooms is the solution of many a
difficulty. One of the chief drawbacks to flats
has been the difficulty of avoiding the smell
of cookery. With the paper-bag there is no
smell. In the small flat kitchen there is little
space for pots and pans. None are needed
for Paper-Bag Cooking. Girls and women
living alone in single rooms, typists, clerks,
and school teachers would rather dine or sup
on a bun and glass of milk than face the
trouble after a weary day of cooking a meal
and washing up afterwards. They may pro-
SOYER’S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 17
vide themselves with a simple and sufficient
meal in half an hour, and have nothing to
wash but a plate and a knife and fork, if they
procure the new paper-bags.
Since I started to proclaim the fact that
the vast majority of dishes that are placed on
the average British table can be cooked in
paper-bags I have been encouraged by the
cordial endorsement of many well-known epi-
cures and brother chefs. Among the latter
are nearly all the leading chefs in London,
and among the former men with such com-
manding experience as Sir Joseph Lyons, who
has pointed out the cleanliness of the method.
“ It is a preventive,” he said, “ of the con-
gregation of microbes that often germinate
disease. In many working-class homes, for
various reasons, the dishes and pans lie about
on tables and dressers without being cleaned
for hours. Habit, neglect, or want of time
are some of the reasons. The result is that
microbes are drawn to the grease and are not
so easily exterminated.
“ Under this system cleanliness is assured.
The microbe has no resting place. The clean
bag is at hand. When done with it can be
thrown into the fire, and thus it secures a
18 SOYER’S PAPER-BAG COOKERY
clean kitchen for the homes of the people.”
With such testimony, and the general assent
of thousands of ladies who have attended my
public demonstrations, carried on before their
eyes, I feel justified in claiming the serious
attention of the community to the subject and
a trial of the recipes which, after much ex-
perience, I have prepared for my paper-bag.
I am indebted to the press for the publicity
given to my system of cooking. Within a few
days it was thus made known far and wide
all over the country.
Page 4
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
It is also clear, I think, that the kitchen will now become a new room, and to those who are familiar with the conditions of the working classes it will be realized that if paper, instead of iron and tin, vessels are used to cook the main dishes of a family, the atmosphere will be changed, labor will be saved, the coal or gas bill will not be so high, and the
opportunity for that well-known terror with which the scientist has made us familiar, the microbe, for doing mischief will be considerably modified.
Its adaptability to special classes of the community is recognized. For instance, many women who are fond of cooking and of experimenting with new dishes are deterred from it by the dislike of the smell of cooking or the headaches caused by the heat of the range, or the mess made of the hands by contact with greasy pots and pans, hot air, etc. Many cannot spare from outside duties the time involved in cooking in the usual way.
Paper-Bag Cooking for dwellers in flats and in single rooms is the solution of many a difficulty. One of the chief drawbacks to flats has been the difficulty of avoiding the smell of cookery. With the paper-bag there is no smell. In the small flat kitchen there is little space for pots and pans. None are needed for Paper-Bag Cooking. Girls and women living alone in single rooms, typists, clerks, and school teachers would rather dine or sup on a bun and glass of milk than face the trouble after a weary day of cooking a meal and washing up afterwards. They may pro-
vide themselves with a simple and sufficient meal in half an hour, and have nothing to wash but a plate and a knife and fork, if they procure the new paper-bags.
Since I started to proclaim the fact that the vast majority of dishes that are placed on the average British table can be cooked in paper-bags I have been encouraged by the cordial endorsement of many well-known epicures and brother chefs. Among the latter are nearly all the leading chefs in London, and among the former men with such commanding experience as Sir Joseph Lyons, who has pointed out the cleanliness of the method.
“ It is a preventive,” he said, “ of the congregation of microbes that often germinate disease. In many working-class homes, for various reasons, the dishes and pans lie about on tables and dressers without being cleaned for hours. Habit, neglect, or want of time are some of the reasons. The result is that microbes are drawn to the grease and are not so easily exterminated.
“ Under this system cleanliness is assured. The microbe has no resting place. The clean bag is at hand. When done with it can be thrown into the fire, and thus it secures a
clean kitchen for the homes of the people.”
With such testimony, and the general assent of thousands of ladies who have attended my public demonstrations, carried on before their eyes, I feel justified in claiming the serious attention of the community to the subject and a trial of the recipes which, after much experience, I have prepared for my paper-bag.
I am indebted to the press for the publicity given to my system of cooking. Within a few days it was thus made known far and wide all over the country.