CHAPTER II

COOKERY Cookery is the art of preparing food for the nourishment of the body. Prehistoric man may have lived on uncooked foods, but there are no savage races to-day who do not practise cookery in some way, however crude. Progress in civilization has been accompanied by progress in cookery. Much time has been given in the last few years to the study of foods, their necessary proportions, and manner of cooking them. Educators have been shown by scientists that this knowledge should be disseminated; as a result, “Cookery” is found in the curriculum of public schools of many of our towns and cities. Food is cooked to develop new flavors, to make it more palatable and digestible, and to destroy micro-organisms. For cooking there are three essentials (besides the material to be cooked),—heat, air, and moisture. =Heat= is molecular motion, and is produced by combustion. Heat used for cookery is obtained by the combustion of inflammable substances—wood, coal, charcoal, coke, gas, gasoline, kerosene, and alcohol—called fuels. Heat for cookery is applied by radiation, conduction, and convection. =Air= is composed of oxygen, nitrogen, and argon, and surrounds everything. Combustion cannot take place without it, the oxygen of the air being the only supporter of combustion. =Moisture=, in the form of water, either found in the food or added to it. The combined effect of heat and moisture swells and bursts starch-grains; hardens albumen in eggs, fish, and meat; softens fibrous portions of meat, and cellulose of vegetables. Among fuels, kerosene oil is the cheapest; gas gives the greatest amount of heat in the shortest time. _Soft wood_, like pine, on account of its coarse fibre, burns quickly; therefore makes the best kindling. _Hard wood_, like oak and ash, having the fibres closely packed, burns slowly, and is used in addition to pine wood for kindling coal. Where only wood is used as a fuel, it is principally hard wood. _Charcoal_ for fuel is produced by the smothered combustion of wood. It gives an intense, even heat, therefore makes a good broiling fire. Its use for kindling is not infrequent. There are two kinds of coal: _Anthracite_, or _hard coal_. Examples: Hard and free-burning White Ash, Shamokin, and Franklin. Nut is any kind of hard coal obtained from screenings. _Bituminous_, or _soft coal_. Example: cannel coal. _Coke_ is the solid product of carbonized coal, and bears the same relation to coal that charcoal bears to wood. _Alcohol_ is employed as fuel when the chafing-dish is used. FIRE Fire for cookery is confined in a stove or range, so that heat may be utilized and regulated. Flame-heat is obtained from kerosene, gas, or alcohol, as used in oil-stoves, gas-stoves or gas-ranges, and chafing-dishes. =A cooking-stove= is a large iron box set on legs. It has a fire-box in the front, the sides of which are lined with fireproof material similar to that of which bricks are made. The bottom is furnished with a movable iron grate. Underneath the fire-box is a space which extends from the grate to a pan for receiving ashes. At the back of fire-box is a compartment called the oven, accessible on each side of the stove by a door. Between the oven and the top of the stove is a space for the circulation of air. Stoves are connected with chimney-flues by means of a stovepipe, and have dampers to regulate the supply of air and heat, and as an outlet for smoke and gases. The damper below the fire-box is known as the _front damper_, by means of which the air supply is regulated, thus regulating the heat. The oven is heated by a circulation of hot air. This is accomplished by closing the _oven-damper_, which is situated near the oven. When this damper is left open, the hot air rushes up the chimney. The damper near the chimney is known as the _chimney-damper_. When open it gives a free outlet for the escape of smoke and gas. When partially closed, as is usually the case in most ranges, except when the fire is started, it serves as a saver of heat. There is also a _check_, which, when open, cools the fire and saves heat, but should always be closed except when used for this purpose. Stoves are but seldom used, portable ranges having taken their places. =A portable range= is a cooking-stove with one oven door; it often has an under oven, of use for warming dishes and keeping food hot. =A set range= is built in a fireplace. It usually has two ovens, one on each side of the fire-box, or two above it at the back. Set ranges, as they consume so large an amount of fuel, are being replaced by portable ones. HOW TO BUILD A FIRE Before starting to build a fire, free the grate from ashes. To do this, put on covers, close front and back dampers, and open oven-damper; turn grate, and ashes will fall into the ash receiver. If these rules are not followed, ashes will fly over the room. Turn grate back into place, remove the covers over fire-box, and cover grate with pieces of paper (twisted in centre and left loose at the ends). Cover paper with small sticks, or pieces of pine wood, being sure that the wood reaches the ends of fire-box, and so arranged that it will admit air. Over pine wood arrange hard wood; then sprinkle with two shovelfuls of coal. Put on covers, open closed dampers, strike a match,—sufficient friction is formed to burn the phosphorus, this in turn lights the sulphur, and the sulphur the wood,—then apply the lighted match under the grate, and you have a fire. Now blacken the stove. Begin at front of range, and work towards the back; as the iron heats, a good polish may be obtained. When the wood is thoroughly kindled, add more coal. A blue flame will soon appear, which is the gas (CO) in the coal burning to carbon dioxide (CO_{2}), when the blue flame changes to a white flame; then the oven-damper should be closed. In a few moments the front damper may be nearly closed, leaving space to admit sufficient oxygen to feed the fire. It is sometimes forgotten that oxygen is necessary to keep a fire burning. As soon as the coal is well ignited, half close the chimney-damper, unless the draft be very poor. Never allow the fire-box to be more than three-fourths filled. When full, the draft is checked, a larger amount of fuel is consumed, and much heat is lost. This is a point that should be impressed on the mind of the cook. Ashes must be removed and sifted daily; pick over and save good coals,—which are known as cinders,—throwing out useless pieces, known as clinkers. If a fire is used constantly during the day, replenish coal frequently, but in small quantities. If for any length of time the fire is not needed, open check, the dampers being closed; when again wanted for use, close check, open front damper, and with a poker rake out ashes from under fire, and wait for fire to burn brightly before adding new coal. Coal when red hot has parted with most of its heat. Some refuse to believe this, and insist upon keeping dampers open until most of the heat has escaped into the chimney. To keep a fire over night, remove the ashes from under the fire, put on enough coal to fill the box, close the dampers, and lift the back covers enough to admit air. This is better than lifting the covers over the fire-box and prevents poisonous gases entering the room. WAYS OF COOKING The principal ways of cooking are boiling, broiling, stewing, roasting, baking, frying, sautéing, braising, and fricasseeing. =Boiling= is cooking in boiling water. Solid food so cooked is called boiled food, though literally this expression is incorrect. Examples: boiled eggs, potatoes, mutton, etc. Water boils at 212° F. (sea level), and simmers at 185° F. Slowly boiling water has the same temperature as rapidly boiling water, consequently is able to do the same work,—a fact often forgotten by the cook, who is too apt “to wood” the fire that water may boil vigorously. Watery vapor and steam pass off from boiling water. Steam is invisible; watery vapor is visible, and is often miscalled steam. Cooking utensils commonly used admit the escape of watery vapor and steam; thereby much heat is lost if food is cooked in rapidly boiling water. Water is boiled for two purposes: first, cooking of itself to destroy organic impurities; second, for cooking foods. Boiling water toughens and hardens albumen in eggs; toughens fibrin and dissolves tissues in meat; bursts starch-grains and softens cellulose in cereals and vegetables. Milk should never be allowed to boil. At boiling temperature (214° F.) the casein is slightly hardened, and the fat is rendered more difficult of digestion. Milk heated over boiling water, as in a double boiler, is called _scalded milk_, and reaches a temperature of 196° F. When foods are cooked over hot water the process is called steaming. =Stewing= is cooking in a small amount of hot water for a long time at low temperature; it is the most economical way of cooking meats, as all nutriment is retained, and the ordinary way of cooking cheaper cuts. Thus fibre and connective tissues are softened, and the whole is made tender and palatable. =Broiling= is cooking over or in front of a clear fire. The food to be cooked is usually placed in a greased broiler or on a gridiron held near the coals, turned often at first to sear the outside,—thus preventing escape of inner juices,—afterwards turned occasionally. Tender meats and fish may be cooked in this way. The flavor obtained by broiling is particularly fine; there is, however, a greater loss of weight in this than in any other way of cooking, as the food thus cooked is exposed to free circulation of air. When coal is not used, or a fire is not in condition for broiling, a plan for _pan broiling_ has been adopted. This is done by placing food to be cooked in a hissing hot frying-pan, turning often as in broiling. =Roasting= is cooking before a clear fire, with a reflector to concentrate the heat. Heat is applied in the same way as for broiling, the difference being that the meat for roasting is placed on a spit and allowed to revolve, thicker pieces alway being employed. Tin-kitchens are now but seldom used. Meats cooked in a range oven, though really baked, are said to be roasted. Meats so cooked are pleasing to the sight and agreeable to the palate, although, according to Edward Atkinson, not so easily digested as when cooked at a lower temperature in the Aladdin oven. =Baking= is cooking in a range oven. =Frying= is cooking by means of immersion in deep fat raised to a temperature of 350° to 400° F. For frying purposes olive oil, lard, beef drippings, cottolene, coto suet, and cocoanut butter are used. A combination of two-thirds lard and one-third beef suet (tried out and clarified) is better than lard alone. Cottolene, coto suet, and cocoanut butter are economical, inasmuch as they may be heated to a high temperature without discoloring, therefore may be used for a larger number of fryings. Cod fat obtained from beef is often used by _chefs_ for frying. Great care should be taken in frying that fat is of the right temperature; otherwise food so cooked will absorb fat. Nearly all foods which do not contain eggs are dipped in flour or crumbs, egg, and crumbs, before frying. The intense heat of fat hardens the albumen, thus forming a coating which prevents food from “soaking fat.” When meat or fish is to be fried, it should be kept in a warm room for some time previous to cooking, and wiped as dry as possible. If cold, it decreases the temperature of the fat to such extent that a coating is not formed quickly enough to prevent fat from penetrating the food. The ebullition of fat is due to water found in food to be cooked. Great care must be taken that too much is not put into the fat at one time, not only because it lowers the temperature of the fat, but because it causes it to bubble and go over the sides of the kettle. It is not fat that boils, but water which fat has received from food. All fried food on removal from fat should be drained on brown paper. =Rules for Testing Fat for Frying.= 1. When the fat begins to smoke, drop in an inch cube of bread from soft part of loaf, and if in forty seconds it is golden brown, the fat is then of right temperature for frying any cooked mixture.