Foods and home making

Fill each cup half full of boiling water. Immediately place one cup containing water in the earthenware bowl and cover the bowl with the plate. Let the other cup containing water remain uncovered and exposed to the air. Note the time. Let the cups remain for 15 min- utes. Then uncover the bowl ; at once insert a thermometer in the water in the cup, holding the bulb of the thermometer so that it does not rest on the bottom of the cup. Record the temperature. Then take and record the temperature of the water in the other cup. If you have two thermometers, the temperature of the water in each cup should be taken at the same time. ( b ) What is the difference in the temperatures of the water in the two cups ? ( c ) What prevented the heat from escaping as rapidly from the water in one cup as from the water in the other cup ? A fireless cooker consists of a box lined with some material that does not allow the heat to pass through it rapidly. A Buying and Cooking Cereals 57 covered kettle containing hot food is placed in the box. The oox is then covered. The hot food keeps hot for several hours, Electric fireless cookers are very efficient. (See Figure 22.) The food is placed cold in the cooker. The cooker is closed and the electricity is turned on until the food is heated. Then without opening the cooker, the current is turned off and the hot food continues to remain hot and to cook. A simple fireless cooker may be made at home or at school. In these fireless cookers, cereals and some other foods can be suc- cessfully cooked. What are some points to observe in using a fireless cooker? 1. When the cooker is not in use, keep the lid open. This is very important. A peculiar taste that foods sometimes Standard Electric Stove Co. Figure 22. An Electric Fireless Cooker The pans of this cooker are shown lifted above the surface of the well. Note that more than one pan may be placed in the have when cooked in a fireless cooker is invaria- bly due to leaving the lid closed when the cooker is not in use. 2. Use less water than for surface cooking because practically no evaporation takes place after the food well at one time. The heater in the bottom of the cooker makes it unnecessary to heat food before placing it in the cooker. The device shown at the right is an automatic clock. This may be set to the number of minutes it is desired to use the current. When the clock automatically shuts off, a second heater using only a small quantity of electricity keeps the food at a temperature of 175° F. 5 Breakfast is placed in the fireless cooker. For breakfast cereals, use about £ as much water for fireless cooking as for surface cooking. 3. Unless an electric fireless cooker is used, heat the food thoroughly before placing it in the cooker. Then place the food at once into the well of the cooker.