Principles of cooking

Creamed Dried Beef.— One half cup of dried beef shredded with a knife into small pieces. Soak in cold water about five minutes. Make White Sauce, omitting the salt; add dried beef, bring to the boiling point, and serve with potatoes or on toast. Beefsteak Pie. — Remove fat and bone from remnants of roast beef or steak. Use about two cups cut into small pieces; add one small chopped onion, one fourth teaspoon of salt, speck of pepper; cover with boiling water, and let it simmer about one hour. Then thicken the liquid with two tablespoons of flour, and remove to a baking dish, place biscuit dough on top of the meat, and bake in the oven until the crust is done. The gravy or juice should completely cover the meat, otherwise it will cook dry. For biscuit dough use one cup of flour, one and one half teaspoons of baking powder, one fourth teaspoon of salt, two and one half tablespoons of Jard or butter. Soup — PRINCIPLE THREE Soup STOCK Soup stock is the soluble part of meat and bone, with vegetables and seasoning added. It forms the basis of all meat soups, of aspic jelly, of some sauces. It may be made from the remnants of roasts or steaks with some fresh meat added; from the trimmings of roasts that are sent with the meat; from the tougher parts of meat not cooked or served. It is made from beef, veal, lamb, mutton, and chicken; sometimes two or more kinds of meat are used. The bones of the young animals are better for soup making because they contain more gelatin; the meat of the older animals is best because it is juicier. For the first reason, bones of veal or chicken are sometimes added to the soup kettle. Some of the meat is frequently seared over by using some of the fat. This gives a dark color to the soup stock and adds flavor. Sometimes caramel is used to darken it. Beef Soup Stock. — Select meat from the rump, shin, or neck, and be sure to get about two thirds lean meat and one third fat and bone, about four pounds in all. Place some of the fat in a frying pan and brown a small portion of the meat. Cut the meat, fat, and bone into small pieces. Place it in a soup kettle and add four quarts of water. Let it stand in the cold water one hour to draw out the juices and soluble albumin, then add the browned meat, heat slowly, and cook at a low temperature for four or five hours. Add one fourth cup each of onion, carrots, celery cut into small pieces; a sprig of parsley, one bay leaf, one teaspoon of salt, one eighth teaspoon of pepper, and simmer one hour. Strain and cool quickly. Let it stand in a cold place until the fat rises to the top and solidifies. The stock will keep so long as the fat covers it. When it is to be used, skim off all of the fat, and reheat with whatever additional ingredients are desired. Tomato soup may be made by adding tomatoes ; or pearl barley, macaroni, noodles, or vegetables may be added. In the process of soup making the connective tissue is softened and dissolved; the soluble albumin, juices, and extractives are drawn out, but very little of the nutritive value from the meat is in the soup. The remaining meat is tasteless because the extractives which give meat its flavor have been drawn out and the dissolving of the connective tissue has left the meat stringy. The albumin that is in the soup becomes coagulated by heat and is the brown scum that floats on the surface. If the scum is taken off, some of the nutrients are lost. Fish are classified in two classes, — those having abackbone and called vertebrates, and the shellfish. The vertebrates are classified as fresh and salt water fish, and also as white-meat fish, and dark-meat fish. They are classified in various other ways, but to apply the principles of cooking, all vertebrates may be grouped in one general class.