Principles of cooking

Recipe for Toasting Bread. — Cut bread in even slices one half inch thick. Place in a broiler or toaster and hold over the fire at a sufficient distance to brown without burning; turn once. The dextrin produced by this process is more easily digested than the original starch. Dry heat at 320° F. changes starch to dextrin. SAUTEING FOODS. PRINCIPLES WHICH APPLY TO FRYING FOODS CONTAINING PROTEIN AND CARBOHYDRATE Recipe for Codfish Balls. — Remove the skin and bones from one cup of codfish and cut it into small pieces. Wash the fish in cold water; add two cups of raw potatoes also cut into small pieces. Put into a saucepan, cover with boiling water, and cook until the potatoes are done. Drain, 1 The cellulose is included in the carbohydrate. mash, add a speck of pepper, one tablespoon of butter, and one egg slightly beaten. Place enough fat in the frying pan to cover the bottom, about one tablespoon, and heat until smoking hot. Drop the mixture by tablespoons into the frying pan and fry until brown, turn once. Calculate cost. At what meal would you serve codfish balls ? Eggs contain : — Water Fat Protein Mineral Matter 73-7% 10.5% 14.8% 1% Heat hardens or coagulates the protein in the egg and this holds the different substances together so that they form a ball. When protein hardens, it forms a crust which aids in retaining juices and flavors and prevents the article from soaking fat. Recipe for Frying Bacon.— Cut bacon in very thin slices. Put it in a moderately hot frying pan and cook until crisp. Do not have the heat strong enough to decompose the fat. Bacon contains : — Water Protein | Fat Mineral Matter 18.2% 10% 67.2% 4.6% Bacon is composed mainly of cells of fat. Like all animal cells, the cell walls are of connective tissue, — a form of protein, — and the cells are held together by connective tissue. Moderate heat melts the fat and it escapes from the cell walls, the connective tissue remaining. If strong heat is used, the fat is decomposed into two substances, fatty acid and glycerine. = At what meal is bacon served? Name some foods fried with bacon. Name some foods served with bacon. Moderate heat frees fat from the cell walls which inclose it. . Strong heat separates and decomposes fat into fatty acid and glycerine. FRYING FOODS RULES FOR DEEP FAT FRYING. Ios The temperature of fat should be high enough to prevent the articles from soaking up the fat and hot enough to brown a piece of bread in one minute. . Sufficient fat should be used to entirely cover the articles to be fried. . Articles should not be wet, nor ice-cold, and should be rounding or oval in shape. . Foods which do not contain egg should be dipped in egg and crumbs or flour to prevent absorption of fat. . All foods, after frying, should be drained on soft paper to absorb the grease. . Fat bubbles when it contains water. It cannot be heated higher than 212° F. until all water is evaporated. When it has ceased to bubble and is smoking hot, try it with a piece of bread. The best fat for frying is one that has a high burning point. The burning point of the various fats are: Olive oil, 608° F. ; lard, 392° F. ; drippings, 336° F. ; beef, veal, and mutton, 302° F.; butter, 265° F. Several good commercial products, made from vegetable fats, are on the market. They have a high burning point. When fat burns, it decomposes and is irritating to the walls of the stomach when eaten.