Only in this way can cooking be reduced and
simplified without sacrificing the pleasures of a
delightful table to which every one is entitled,
and without which life would mean very little,
or paying for our freedom through the purchase
of expensive food materials requiring little or no
troublesome preparation to make them whole-
some and palatable.
The essentials of good, attractive, economical
and easily managed cooking include :
I. A knowledge of food materials, which covers:
The chemical composition and digestibility of
different foods, both raw and cooked.
114 FOOD AND FREEDOM
The effect of heat, and varying degrees of heat,
on different food principles and foods, as to
digestibility, form, appearance, flavor.
2. A knowledge of cooking methods, which covers:
The best, simplest, and quickest methods of
preparing foods previous to cooking.
Example: Washing potatoes and cooking them
without paring saves time, waste,
and is desirable from a health stand-
point.
The processes of cooking, or practical methods
of applying heat — boiling, baking, broiling, etc.
— with ability to quickly determine which meth-
ods, under certain conditions, will produce the
best results with the least effort, in the least
time, and with the greatest fuel economy.
Standardization of cooking temperatures as far
as practical; use of a thermometer, rather than
variable, practical tests to determine temper-
atures most desirable for cooking certain foods,
or for obtaining certain desired results; this
insures repeated successes, uniform results, and
saves anxiety as well as wasted effort and food
materials.
Examples: Use an oven thermometer or indi-
cator when baking; note what
temperature produces best results
— for bread, cake, rolls, etc. — and
have oven heated to this tempera-
ture when baking.
COOKING THE MEALS 115
Use a candy thermometer for
syrups, candy-making, and boiled
frost ings.
Use a thermometer — one register-
ing as high as four hundred de-
grees Fahrenheit — for testing deep
fat for frying.^
Best methods of combining different materials,
with a ready understanding of the effect of one
ingredient on another, including resourcefulness
in substituting one material for another accord-
ing to need, economy or convenience, or desire.
Example: Such as the use of sour milk and
baking-soda in place of sweet milk
and baking-powder, or chicken fat
in place of butter, or rye flour in
place of wheat, etc.
Accuracy in measuring ingredients, use of
measuring cups and spoons, and some knowledge
of proportions.
Example: Two level tablespoonfuls fat, two
level teaspoonfuls flour, and one
cupful liquid is the rule for a good
sauce; the fat used may vary ac-
cording to convenience or desire, and
the liquid according to flavor desired
— the proportions remain the same.
^ ^ee "Some Attempts to Standardize Oven Tempera-
tures," M. B. Van Arsdale, Teachers College, New York,
N. Y.
Also, New Cook Book, Mrs. S. T. Rorer.
Also, Boston Cooking- School Cook Book, F. M. Farmer.
ii6 FOOD AND FREEDOM
Appreciation of types of cooking utensils best
fitted for preparing or cooking certain foods.
Examples: The use of glass baking-dishes to
insure a brown undercrust for
pastry or biscuits.
For efficient results, mixing-bowls
should be conical in shape, not
flat on the bottom.
The use of wooden spoons for mix-
ing and stirring.
Food and freedom
1918Page 46
Presented as published in 1918. 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
A modernized reading is not available for this page yet. You are seeing the original text.
Only in this way can cooking be reduced and
simplified without sacrificing the pleasures of a
delightful table to which every one is entitled,
and without which life would mean very little,
or paying for our freedom through the purchase
of expensive food materials requiring little or no
troublesome preparation to make them whole-
some and palatable.
The essentials of good, attractive, economical
and easily managed cooking include :
I. A knowledge of food materials, which covers:
The chemical composition and digestibility of
different foods, both raw and cooked.
114 FOOD AND FREEDOM
The effect of heat, and varying degrees of heat,
on different food principles and foods, as to
digestibility, form, appearance, flavor.
2. A knowledge of cooking methods, which covers:
The best, simplest, and quickest methods of
preparing foods previous to cooking.
Example: Washing potatoes and cooking them
without paring saves time, waste,
and is desirable from a health stand-
point.
The processes of cooking, or practical methods
of applying heat — boiling, baking, broiling, etc.
— with ability to quickly determine which meth-
ods, under certain conditions, will produce the
best results with the least effort, in the least
time, and with the greatest fuel economy.
Standardization of cooking temperatures as far
as practical; use of a thermometer, rather than
variable, practical tests to determine temper-
atures most desirable for cooking certain foods,
or for obtaining certain desired results; this
insures repeated successes, uniform results, and
saves anxiety as well as wasted effort and food
materials.
Examples: Use an oven thermometer or indi-
cator when baking; note what
temperature produces best results
— for bread, cake, rolls, etc. — and
have oven heated to this tempera-
ture when baking.
COOKING THE MEALS 115
Use a candy thermometer for
syrups, candy-making, and boiled
frost ings.
Use a thermometer — one register-
ing as high as four hundred de-
grees Fahrenheit — for testing deep
fat for frying.^
Best methods of combining different materials,
with a ready understanding of the effect of one
ingredient on another, including resourcefulness
in substituting one material for another accord-
ing to need, economy or convenience, or desire.
Example: Such as the use of sour milk and
baking-soda in place of sweet milk
and baking-powder, or chicken fat
in place of butter, or rye flour in
place of wheat, etc.
Accuracy in measuring ingredients, use of
measuring cups and spoons, and some knowledge
of proportions.
Example: Two level tablespoonfuls fat, two
level teaspoonfuls flour, and one
cupful liquid is the rule for a good
sauce; the fat used may vary ac-
cording to convenience or desire, and
the liquid according to flavor desired
— the proportions remain the same.
^ ^ee "Some Attempts to Standardize Oven Tempera-
tures," M. B. Van Arsdale, Teachers College, New York,
N. Y.
Also, New Cook Book, Mrs. S. T. Rorer.
Also, Boston Cooking- School Cook Book, F. M. Farmer.
ii6 FOOD AND FREEDOM
Appreciation of types of cooking utensils best
fitted for preparing or cooking certain foods.
Examples: The use of glass baking-dishes to
insure a brown undercrust for
pastry or biscuits.
For efficient results, mixing-bowls
should be conical in shape, not
flat on the bottom.
The use of wooden spoons for mix-
ing and stirring.