FoodNetArchive

The national course in home economics

1917

Page 338

Presented as published in 1917. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
The third method Is used for all foods and all cooking and is a matter of judgment with the operator. Cooking Time. — The time which should be allowed for cooking food in a fireless range depends upon the temperature of the radiators. Under ordinary conditions allow the same time for cooking in the fireless range as for cooking by the old-style stove. For meats and fowls allow about twenty minutes to the pound. Meats, fish, fowls, beans and the majority of foods can be kept in the fireless range for hours after cooking is completed and will be hot, savory and delicious when ready to eat. The cooking process con- FIRELESS COOKERY 486c tinues until the food is thoroughly cooked, after which the food is retained in that state. Meats desired rare must be removed from the range at the specified time. If you wish the food to remain rare, yet hot for hours, remove the radiators and leave meat in the range with the cover closed. Cab- bage, carrots and such foods may be left in the fireless range for hours after the cooking process is finished. Potatoes, green corn, biscuits and similar foods should be removed from the range when cooked. Care of the Fireless Cook Stove.— A good modern tireless range, with metal linings and utensils of aluminum is the most sanitary cooking device in the world. Nothing can enter the cooking food through the range and there is no possible way by which the range itself can impart any unnatural odor or flavor to the food. In this, as in every other detail, the fireless sur- passes the old-style stove. Nevertheless, the interior of the range, also the radiators and cooking utensils, must be kept clean. The interior of the range and all parts accompanying, as well as the radiators, should be well wiped off before using for the first time. The interior of the range should be wiped out with a damp cloth after each cooking, and the cover of the range left open. This will keep the range sweet and clean. How to Cook Successfully. — Good cooking — whether it be done with the fireless stove, the gas stove, the electric stove, or the ordinary kitchen stove— requires patience, experience, good judgment, and some knowledge of the effect of moist and dry heat upon certain foods. You can not put hastily and poorly prepared dishes in the fireless stove and take them out as triumphs of culinary art. But after a little experience the average cook will have no difficulty in cooking in a fireless stove. Always bear in mind that the essential thing in successful fireless cook- ing is to have enough heat units confined in the fireless stove, when closed, to cook the food. Bear in mind that a kettle full of boiling food will keep hot longer than a kettle only partly filled; and when boiling, steaming or stewing a small quantity of food, it is advisable to use the top vessel and put boiling water in the lower vessel. When cooking two articles of food, it is better to place the vessel con- taining the smaller quantity on top of the vessel containing the larger quan- tity of food. The length of time it takes to cook food thoroughly in the fireless stove can be only approximately given. The time required depends on the kind 486d FIRELESS COOKERY of food being prepared, the amount of heat units in the hot disks or radiators and contained in the food itself when confined in the fireless stove.