Pressure cooker. Gortner, in speaking of the moisture content of dried
biological materials, says it depends upon three variables : temperature,
pressure, and time. He adds that the moisture content of a sample should
not be given w^ithout a statement of the condition under which it was dried.
One question often asked is why meat cooked in a pressure cooker at a high
temperature is tender and not dry. The answer is determined by the meat
and these three variables. There would be a far greater tendency to dry the
fibers at a high temperature and in a partial vacuum.
Fig. 24. — Some types of skewers used for roasting meat.
The use of skewers. Muscle tissue conducts heat slowly. Most metals
conduct heat rapidly. Morgan and Nelson used skewers in cooking stand-
ing rib roasts. The skewers were made with a long, narrow portion, about
the size of a lead pencil, that was inserted in the meat. The other end of
the skewer was in a spiral to give greater surface for receiving the heat
from the oven, and thus conducting it into the meat. Pictures of the dif-
ferent types of skewers used in meats are shown in Fig. 24. They found
that ''the roasting speed was increased 30 to 45 per cent when nickel-
plated copper skewers were used. Similarly, smaller and less regular de-
creases in total shrinkage of weight of meat were found in the skewered
as compared with unskewered roasts." They found the efficiency of the
skewers in shortening the cooking period greater when a high oven tem-
perature was maintained throughout the cooking period.
CONSTANT TEMPERATURE METHOD 231
Cooking Temperatures
The best cooking temperatures for meat may not be the same for all
conditions. As a general rule, it is agreed that low or medium temperatures
are better than high ones for cooking meat. Yet some samples of meat do
not seem to be toughened by any method of cooking; that is, if one
deliberately sets out to show that higher temperatures toughen a piece of
meat, while the same cut from the other side of the same animal cooked at
a lower temperature is tender, the results are often not consistent.
Advantages of low temperatures. In general, lower cooking tem-
peratures result (1) in less cooking loss, (2) in more juicy meat, (3) in
more uniformly cooked meat, and (4) in longer cooking time. The meat
is more uniform in color and more juicy throughout; whereas at a higher
temperature, the meat is more gray and dry at the surface, there being a
sharper contrast between the meat near the surface and that at the center
of the cut. A longer cooking time may be an advantage, for the home-
maker may safely leave the meat cooking while she attends church, etc.
Disadvantages of low temperatures. Often the meat (1) does not
brown as attractively at the lower temperature, although occasionally the
opposite is true, and (2) a longer cooking time is required. A long cooking
time may also be a disadvantage.
Page 186
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Pressure cooker. Gortner, in speaking of the moisture content of dried
biological materials, says it depends upon three variables : temperature,
pressure, and time. He adds that the moisture content of a sample should
not be given w^ithout a statement of the condition under which it was dried.
One question often asked is why meat cooked in a pressure cooker at a high
temperature is tender and not dry. The answer is determined by the meat
and these three variables. There would be a far greater tendency to dry the
fibers at a high temperature and in a partial vacuum.
Fig. 24. — Some types of skewers used for roasting meat.
The use of skewers. Muscle tissue conducts heat slowly. Most metals
conduct heat rapidly. Morgan and Nelson used skewers in cooking stand-
ing rib roasts. The skewers were made with a long, narrow portion, about
the size of a lead pencil, that was inserted in the meat. The other end of
the skewer was in a spiral to give greater surface for receiving the heat
from the oven, and thus conducting it into the meat. Pictures of the dif-
ferent types of skewers used in meats are shown in Fig. 24. They found
that ''the roasting speed was increased 30 to 45 per cent when nickel-
plated copper skewers were used. Similarly, smaller and less regular de-
creases in total shrinkage of weight of meat were found in the skewered
as compared with unskewered roasts." They found the efficiency of the
skewers in shortening the cooking period greater when a high oven tem-
perature was maintained throughout the cooking period.
CONSTANT TEMPERATURE METHOD 231
Cooking Temperatures
The best cooking temperatures for meat may not be the same for all
conditions. As a general rule, it is agreed that low or medium temperatures
are better than high ones for cooking meat. Yet some samples of meat do
not seem to be toughened by any method of cooking; that is, if one
deliberately sets out to show that higher temperatures toughen a piece of
meat, while the same cut from the other side of the same animal cooked at
a lower temperature is tender, the results are often not consistent.
Advantages of low temperatures. In general, lower cooking tem-
peratures result (1) in less cooking loss, (2) in more juicy meat, (3) in
more uniformly cooked meat, and (4) in longer cooking time. The meat
is more uniform in color and more juicy throughout; whereas at a higher
temperature, the meat is more gray and dry at the surface, there being a
sharper contrast between the meat near the surface and that at the center
of the cut. A longer cooking time may be an advantage, for the home-
maker may safely leave the meat cooking while she attends church, etc.
Disadvantages of low temperatures. Often the meat (1) does not
brown as attractively at the lower temperature, although occasionally the
opposite is true, and (2) a longer cooking time is required. A long cooking
time may also be a disadvantage.