In order to make paper bag cookery of the greatest value to housewives, both as regards cleanliness and ease of operation, to say nothing of the many cases where the flavor of the food is actually improved, the author heartily recommends the use of specially pre- pared wood cookery dishes. These dishes are most in- expensive, varying in price from about thirty for ten cents to six for ten cents, depending upon size. They can be purchased wherever the paper bags are sold, — department stores, house furnishing stores, grocery stores, etc., etc., or may be obtained direct from the Oval Wood Dish Company, Delta, Ohio. The food is placed in the wood cookery dish and the dish is put into the bag. The advantage lies in the fact that should the bag break, the food and juices are saved in the dish and the oven will not be soiled by leakage. Then again, the food can be removed from the bag when finished with greater ease than when the dish is not used. The dishes are so cheap that they can be thrown away with the bag after the food is prepared. CHAPTER II. GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR USING THE BAG. I. SELECT a bag that fits the food to be cooked. When a liquid is used or a number of ingredients are to be cooked together, use a wood cookery dish which holds the food stuffs together and permits their ready; removal from the bag. II. Brush over the outside of the bag with a little water to make it pliable. Grease the inside except in the case of vegetables or when water is added, using for this another little flat brush (kept for this purpose) and pure vegetable oil, melted butter or drippings. Apply the brush with a rotary motion greasing the bottom first and working toward the top ; or lay the bag flat on a table, reach inside and grease the lower side of the bag, then press the other side against it until both surfaces are evenly greased. The up-to-date housewife who is adopting the paper-bag culinary cult has also discovered that for greasing the bags, a necessary step, there is nothing that can take the place of the high grade vege- table oils. They are easily applied and absolutely taste- less and odorless, a great point, this, when the bags themselves have sometimes been condemned as imparting a foreign odor to foods cooked in them, when in reality it was the fault of the special fat with which they were greased. Now place the bag flat on the table, seam side up and lift the uppermost side while you in- sert the article to be cooked. Press the air out of the bag, fold over the corners and make two folds of the U STANDARD PAPER BAG COOKERY 13 mouth of the bag, fastening firmly with three or four clips, or even pins. No harm is done if the two lower corners of the bag are folded and also fastened with one clip each. III. Now be sure the oven heat is right. If you are using gas for the cooking, light for five minutes before the bag goes into the oven. The average oven heat should be not less than 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and may be 250 degrees. When the bag is put into the oven, the heat must be at once reduced to 170 degrees. An inex- perienced cook lacking an oven thermometer can test the right degree of heat by placing a bit of paper in the oven and noting the color it assumes. At the end of five minutes it should be a light golden brown.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

In order to make paper bag cookery of the greatest value to housewives, both as regards cleanliness and ease of operation, to say nothing of the many cases where the flavor of the food is actually improved, the author heartily recommends the use of specially prepared wood cookery dishes. These dishes are most inexpensive, varying in price from about thirty for ten cents to six for ten cents, depending upon size. They can be purchased wherever the paper bags are sold, — department stores, house furnishing stores, grocery stores, etc., etc., or may be obtained direct from the Oval Wood Dish Company, Delta, Ohio. The food is placed in the wood cookery dish and the dish is put into the bag. The advantage lies in the fact that should the bag break, the food and juices are saved in the dish and the oven will not be soiled by leakage. Then again, the food can be removed from the bag when finished with greater ease than when the dish is not used. The dishes are so cheap that they can be thrown away with the bag after the food is prepared. CHAPTER II. GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR USING THE BAG. I. SELECT a bag that fits the food to be cooked. When a liquid is used or a number of ingredients are to be cooked together, use a wood cookery dish which holds the food stuffs together and permits their ready; removal from the bag. II. Brush over the outside of the bag with a little water to make it pliable. Grease the inside except in the case of vegetables or when water is added, using for this another little flat brush (kept for this purpose) and pure vegetable oil, melted butter or drippings. Apply the brush with a rotary motion greasing the bottom first and working toward the top ; or lay the bag flat on a table, reach inside and grease the lower side of the bag, then press the other side against it until both surfaces are evenly greased. The up-to-date housewife who is adopting the paper-bag culinary cult has also discovered that for greasing the bags, a necessary step, there is nothing that can take the place of the high grade vegetable oils. They are easily applied and absolutely tasteless and odorless, a great point, this, when the bags themselves have sometimes been condemned as imparting a foreign odor to foods cooked in them, when in reality it was the fault of the special fat with which they were greased. Now place the bag flat on the table, seam side up and lift the uppermost side while you insert the article to be cooked. Press the air out of the bag, fold over the corners and make two folds of the U mouth of the bag, fastening firmly with three or four clips, or even pins. No harm is done if the two lower corners of the bag are folded and also fastened with one clip each. III. Now be sure the oven heat is right. If you are using gas for the cooking, light for five minutes before the bag goes into the oven. The average oven heat should be not less than 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and may be 250 degrees. When the bag is put into the oven, the heat must be at once reduced to 170 degrees. An inexperienced cook lacking an oven thermometer can test the right degree of heat by placing a bit of paper in the oven and noting the color it assumes. At the end of five minutes it should be a light golden brown.

Standard Paper-Bag Cookery