FoodNet

Principles of cooking

1914

Page 11

Presented as published in 1914. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
All methods of cooking may be grouped in five classes : — 1. COOKING DIRECTLY OVER THE FIRE. (a) Broiling: over coals or gas or in a sizzling hot pan. (6) Roasting: before the fire. Wasteful of food and fuel. 2. COOKING BY HEATED AIR. (a) Baking: cooking in an oven. Also called roasting. 3. COOKING IN HEATED WATER. (a) Boiling: cooking in water at temperature of 212° F. (b) Stewing: cooking in small quantity of water at a tempera- ture below 212° F.; better than boiling. (c) Steaming: cooking in vessel surrounded by steam or cook- ing food in steam. _4. COOKING IN HEATED Far. (a) Frying: cooking in deep fat. (b) Sautéing: cooking in small quantity of fat. 5. COOKING IN A FIRELESS COOKER. Cooking for several minutes on the stove and then placing the food in the fireless cooker. Foods are cooked a much longer time in the fireless cooker than by direct heat. All other methods of cooking are a combination of some of the above methods. Braizing is sautéing, stewing,” , *.» and baking, and is applied to meat. Fricasseeing is stewing, and frying or sautéing. Liege cane Principles of Cooking.— The principles of cooking are few in number and easily mastered; their proper application controls the success of every article of food prepared, from the simplest to the most intricate. Cook- ing is a scientific process. It depends for its results on the application of principles, and when these are under- stood and applied, the results will be as certain as those of any other chemical or physical process subject to natural laws. | 30 COOKING These principles could be grouped as follows : — t. Those which govern the cooking of proteins .and show the effect of heat on them. 2. Those concerned with fats. 3. Those concerned with carbohydrates, — starches, sugars, cellulose. | | 4. Those concerned with extractives, volatile oils, and mineral matter. 5. Those which render foods sterile. Solubility and Insolubility. — Substances are said to be soluble or insoluble in water. The term soluble com- monly means that the substance can be dissolved in water ; if insoluble, it cannot be dissolved in water. Substances in foods that are soluble in water may be lost during cook- ing. Some soluble substances are hardened or coagulated by heat and rendered insoluble. Some food substances are insoluble in water, but are soluble in a dilute salt, acid, or alkaline solution. Ferments. — A ferment is a substance which brings about a chemical change in a food, but remains unchanged itself. Each ferment acts only as a single substance. It may coag- ulate the substance and render it insoluble, as in the action of rennin on casein in milk, or it may break the substance down and render it more soluble, as in the ripening of cheese. Ferments play an important part in the ripening, | _maturing, and_ decay. of foods. They bring about the changes in digestion. They change starch to sugar, and break down cellulose. They bring about the coagulation of milk and blood. We are only just beginning to know their importance in all vital processes. Heat destroys ferments. A temperature of 149°-160° F. renders both animal and vegetable ferments inert. COOKING 31 WHY COOKING IS TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS Cooking is taught in schools so that pupils may learn to plan, cook, and serve meals, and to know the nutritive value of the different foods and their place in the diet so that the body will be properly nourished.