FoodNet

Gancel's culinary encyclopedia of modern cooking

1920

Page 225

Presented as published in 1920. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Dissolve in water, salts from the natural springs and sparkling water. NATURAL MINERAL WATERS (Eaux Minerales) Mineral waters are divided in 5 classes such as: sul¬ phur, chlorate, bicarbonate, sulphate and ferruginous. Mineral waters not classed are: alkaline, natural salts from the springs and iodures. They are other spring waters not classified. In the Duchy of Nassau, there is a natural Seltzer water spring. YEAST FOR PASTES (Levure pour Pates) When yeast can not be obtained, make it yourself in this manner: farinaceous potatoes 2 pounds, 4 ounces molasses, y2 pint beer. Boil potatoes, peel, mash w. warm water, add molasses when fermentation sets in, then beer, stir. Keep in warm place, ready for use in 24 hours. This yeast is good also for bread. (See bread and baking powder.) — 456 — THE C HE MI S T R Y O F G O OKI N G THE CHEMISTRY OF COdKlNii MODERN science has, of late years, thrown . much light on culinary operations;', explaining the unknown causes of many welbknown effects, and giving a reasbn for certain rules in dressing our food, which forbids caprice or dissent from them. It teaches us the constituent parts of the sub' stance we use, and the chemical action of fire on them, and also estimates the amount of nutrition to be derived from each separate article of food. The flesh of animals is chiefly composed of fibres, fat, albumen, gelatine and osmazome. The fibres of meat cannot be dissolved ; they may be seen as the remainder of the beef stewed down for strong beef tea, when every substance contained in cells covered with a fine membrane which, like the fibres, cannot be dissolved. Heat bursts the cells, and fat melts from them. It is light and rises to the top of the water. Albumen is a substance exactly similar to the white of an egg. In raw meat it is liquid, as in an uncooked egg and it surrounds each fibre. Its use is to keep the fibres from contracting and hardening under the influence of heat, for albumen thickens or coagulates when heated and thus preserves the fibres from growing hard, and keeps the meat (when well cooked) tender. Of course, therefore, the more albumen the flesh contains the tenderer it is. Young animals have more albumen in the fluids which the tissues of the muscles contain than old ones have, and consequently their flesh is more tender: but as this greater quantity of albumen in it hardens and coagulates when exposed to heat, their flesh has little or no gravy, and is called white meat. Beef and mutton are brown and juicy because they have less ah bumen. Albumen can be dissolved in cold or tepid water, but it will coagulate in hot or boiling water. Therefore, if you put your meat into the stockpot when the water is boiling, the albumen will harden and prevent the gelatine and osmazome from dissolving and being drawn out to give substance and flavor to the stock. If the meat that is to be boli*d is put into hot water and is made to boil up quickly, the albumen will harden and remain in the meat, with the same effect of retaining the gelatine and osmaz,ome, Liebig prefers this — 457. — CANCEL’S CULINARY ENCYCLOPEDIA