Experimental cookery

1. Bake in an oven at 125°C. (about 255°F.) until an interior temperature of 70°C. is reached. 2. Repeat (1) but cook to an interior temperature of 75°C. 3. Repeat (2) but cook to an interior temperature of 80°C. 264 MEAT 4. Repeat (1) but have the oven temperature 150°C. (about 300°F.). B. Boiled ham. Use kettles with covers, ham boilers, or boilers of such size that the w^ater will cover the ham. The ham is placed on a rack, rind or fat side up. Use an ordinary laboratory thermometer to take the temperature of the water. Add 1 quart of water per pound of ham. Occasionally add water at the same temperature as water in w^hich ham is cooked to replace that lost by evapora- tion. 1. Let simmer in water at 83°C. until an inner temperature of 75°C. is reached. Or, if preferred, use the interior temperature preferred with baked ham. Remove from the water. Drain. Weigh. Keep over night in the re- frigerator. 2. Repeat ( 1 ) but let the ham cool over night in the liquor in which it was cooked. Let the kettle remain in the room so that the liquid will cool to room temperature. Remove from the liquid. Drain 10 minutes and weigh. Place in the refrigerator to be scored with hams from (1) and (3). 3. Repeat (1) but put the kettle or boiler in the refrigerator over night, letting the ham cool in the liquor in which it was cooked. Remove from liquid. Drain 10 minutes, and then weigh. 4. Repeat (1) but keep the temperature of the water at 87°C. 5. Repeat (1) but keep the water at 78°C. Bacon Experiment 50. To determine the effect on the flavor and the losses of bacon by cooking at different temperatures and to different stages of doneness. Weigh the bacon before and after cooking to determine the percentage lost during cooking. The difference in weight of the uncooked and cooked bacon is the total cooking loss. The weight of the fat in the cooking utensil is the approximate fat loss. Have the bacon sliced or cut on a slicing machine 3/32 inch thick. Make a tracing of slices if desired. 1. Place the slices of bacon on a rack Yz inch above the bottom of an open pan. Cook in an oven at 160°C. (about 320°F.) for 18 minutes. Do not turn. 2. Place the weighed slices of bacon so that they lie flat and full length in a cold, heavy iron or aluminum skillet. (With a 9-inch skillet 3 slices of bacon will usually lie flat and full length.) Place over a slow fire and cook slowly until a uniform brown in color. It should be medium well done or crisp but not brittle. Turn the bacon frequently and in such a manner that it is cooked uniformly. Often the center, if the skillet is hot, of the slice of bacon is done while the ends are not. 3. Place the weighed slices of bacon so that they will lie flat and full length in a hot, heavy iron or aluminum skillet. Cook rapidly at a high temperature until a uniform brown in color. Turn the bacon frequently and in such a man- ner that it is cooked uniformly. 4. Repeat 2, but cook the bacon until it is very crisp and well done or brittle. Compare the cooking losses and flavor with 1 and 2. Which method of cooking gives the best-flavored bacon? Which method SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL EXPERIMENTS 265