THE progress of civilization has been accompanied
by progress in cooking, and in every country we
now find people cooking. Even if their methods are
crude, they cook, and the art of cooking is reaching to
every land. It is no longer considered the thing for the
young lady to say she can not boil water, but we find
cooking very infectious with all classes and conditions
of the people. And in every household the cook is the
important factor.
There is a very funny story told of King Alphonso,.
who was on board a boat for a long sail. The steward
came running toward him, looking in great distress,
whereupon the king asked what the trouble was. He
wrung his hands and said, "The father confessor has
fallen overboard." "Thank God!" said the king, "it
was not the cook."
Food is cooked to make it more digestible and to de-
velop different flavors, which we find much more pala-
table.
The Fire.
There is not much to be said about the kind of
fuels we are to use. Gas is the fuel of most households,
and I find in the country places, where gas can not be
obtained, they are using gasoline.
Ways of Cooking.
The different ways of cooking are boiling, baking,
roasting, stewing (or simmering), frying.
10 SCIENTIFIC COOKING.
frieasseeing, and use of the cassaroll in the oven. To
boil is to cook in boiling water, which is 212° F. heat
(the level of the sea). We simmer at a temperature of
185° F. heat. Water will boil at a lower temperature
in a high altitude. Soups, ham, corned beef, tongues
and the cheap cuts of the meat all want to be simmered
after they reach the boiling-point. They will be found
to be much nicer, and the carver will find they cut
smoother and more evenly, and do not tear as he presses
on the knife. Milk should always be scalded in the
double boiler, so as not to harden the casein, and render
difficult to digest. Cooking over hot water is called
steaming. Stewing is cooking in a small amount of
hot water for a long time at a low temperature. Cook-
ing the cheaper cuts of meat in this way, the fiber and
connecting tissues are softened and rendered tender
and very palatable.
Broiling is one of the most delightful ways of cook-
ing, and is done by cooking directly over the fire, or
under it, and in some cases in front of it. Only the
l)est cuts of meat are to be broiled, as you will find
the intense heat Avill toughen the fiber of the cheaper
cuts and make them hard to eat.
Roasting is cooking by a hot fire in an oven
or before the fire on the spit, as in the olden
times. In roasting a piece of meat, it wants to
be cut from the best part of the animal, for the
same reason that the broiling piece does; and in
roasting beef, lamb and mutton it is best to baste with
fat entirely, also for loin of pork, while with veal
you should use water and butter; not too much water
at a time, but keep renewing it as it cool^ away. Do-
mestic fowls are treated the same as veal.
Frying is cooking by immersion in deep fat, raised
COOKERY. 11
to a temperature of from 350° to 500° F. heat. For
this purpose we use lard, beef dripping and lard mixed,
cottolene, eoto-suet or olive oil; this is left to the taste
of the cook. Your fat wants to be at the rig'ht tempera-
ture to keep the food from absorbing the fat.
Page 5
Presented as published in 1911. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
THE progress of civilization has been accompanied by progress in cooking, and in every country we now find people cooking. Even if their methods are crude, they cook, and the art of cooking is reaching to every land. It is no longer considered the thing for the young lady to say she can not boil water, but we find cooking very infectious with all classes and conditions of the people. And in every household the cook is the important factor.
There is a very funny story told of King Alphonso, who was on board a boat for a long sail. The steward came running toward him, looking in great distress, whereupon the king asked what the trouble was. He wrung his hands and said, "The father confessor has fallen overboard." "Thank God!" said the king, "it was not the cook."
Food is cooked to make it more digestible and to develop different flavors, which we find much more palatable.
The Fire.
There is not much to be said about the kind of fuels we are to use. Gas is the fuel of most households, and I find in the country places, where gas can not be obtained, they are using gasoline.
Ways of Cooking.
The different ways of cooking are boiling, baking, roasting, stewing (or simmering), frying.
fricasseeing, and use of the casserole in the oven. To boil is to cook in boiling water, which is 212° F. heat (the level of the sea). We simmer at a temperature of 185° F. heat. Water will boil at a lower temperature in a high altitude. Soups, ham, corned beef, tongues and the cheap cuts of the meat all want to be simmered after they reach the boiling-point. They will be found to be much nicer, and the carver will find they cut smoother and more evenly, and do not tear as he presses on the knife. Milk should always be scalded in the double boiler, so as not to harden the casein, and render difficult to digest. Cooking over hot water is called steaming. Stewing is cooking in a small amount of hot water for a long time at a low temperature. Cooking the cheaper cuts of meat in this way, the fiber and connecting tissues are softened and rendered tender and very palatable.
Broiling is one of the most delightful ways of cooking, and is done by cooking directly over the fire, or under it, and in some cases in front of it. Only the best cuts of meat are to be broiled, as you will find the intense heat Avill toughen the fiber of the cheaper cuts and make them hard to eat.
Roasting is cooking by a hot fire in an oven or before the fire on the spit, as in the olden times. In roasting a piece of meat, it wants to be cut from the best part of the animal, for the same reason that the broiling piece does; and in roasting beef, lamb and mutton it is best to baste with fat entirely, also for loin of pork, while with veal you should use water and butter; not too much water at a time, but keep renewing it as it cools away. Domestic fowls are treated the same as veal.
Frying is cooking by immersion in deep fat, raised
COOKERY. 11
to a temperature of from 350° to 500° F. heat. For this purpose we use lard, beef dripping and lard mixed, cottolene, coto-suet or olive oil; this is left to the taste of the cook. Your fat wants to be at the right temperature to keep the food from absorbing the fat.