Part 3

A large utensil will involve a great waste of gas and time, for in every case it will be necessary to heat a considerable quantity of water which is only required to fill the utensil. Select, instead, a two-quart pail, pack it very tightly in a moderately small box, allowing, however, the requisite thickness of insulation (see page 16). This will be suitable for much of the cooking to be done, such as vegetables, steamed breads, etc., that are cooked in much water; but for such articles as oatmeal, stews, puddings, and some vegetables, use a small pudding pan, just fitting into the pail and resting on its rim, with a cover that will closely fit the pan. The pail must always be filled with boiling water or food to touch the upper pan, and if these conditions are fulfilled and the food is put quickly, and while boiling hard, into a cooker which stands close to the range, it will be found to cook as perfectly as larger amounts. Two kinds of food can thus be cooked at once, but, when only water is used in the lower pail, it can be kept in the cooker during the meal, and will be hot when the time comes for washing the dishes.

The fact that almost all the recipes in this book tell the number of persons which they will serve will make the quantity to be cooked easy to ascertain. Where articles are to be cooked in moulds, as steamed breads, puddings, meat loaves, etc., one-half pound baking powder cans may be used. It will be safer to test them to see whether or not they leak. The only change in the method of cooking such dishes that will then be necessary is shortening the time of boiling previous to putting them into the cooker. Small cuts of meat will also require shorter preliminary boiling. One-half the time given will be found sufficient. The great majority of dishes may be cooked as directed in the full-sized recipes, without any change on account of the small quantity.

For such purposes as preserving and baking (see page 228), a large pail will be needed, even by a family of two, and it is suggested that the cooker be packed first to accommodate such a pail, and the box then be made to receive also the two-quart pail by means of the space-adjuster described on page 22.

V

MEASURING

All measurements given in this book are made in standard half-pint cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, quarts, pecks, etc. The dry materials are leveled even with the top of the cup, spoon, or other measure by filling it heaping full, then pushing off with a knife that which lies above the top. When held level with the eyes, nothing should be seen above the cup or spoon, and yet the receptacle should be completely filled. Where standard cups, with divisions in thirds and quarters, are not to be obtained, it will be better to use a straight-sided glass if one can be found which holds an exact half-pint. It will be easier to get an accurate half or third of a cupful in such a measure than in one which grows smaller at the bottom, as most cups do. A cupful or spoonful of liquid is all that they can be made to hold.

Such materials as flour, powdered sugar, mustard, meal, and others, that pack as they stand, should first be sifted or stirred up, and must have any lumps pressed out. Do not shake such materials to level them, or they will settle and the measure will be incorrect. Half cupfuls or other fractions of a cupful of dry material, fat, etc., may be leveled with the back of a tablespoon.

To measure fractions of a spoonful, whether a teaspoon or a tablespoon, fill the spoon, level it, then with a knife divide halves lengthwise of the spoon; quarters crosswise of the halves; eighths by dividing these in halves; thirds crosswise; and sixths by dividing the spoon first in halves, then in thirds across the halves.

VI

TABLE OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

2 Cupfuls of granulated sugar equals 1 pound 1 Tablespoonful granulated sugar equals ¹⁄₂ ounce 2²⁄₃ Cupfuls of powdered sugar equals 1 pound 2²⁄₃ Cupfuls of brown sugar equals 1 pound 3¹⁄₃ Cupfuls of bread flour not shaken down equals 1 pound 1 Cupful of bread flour equals 5 ounces 3¹⁄₃ Tablespoonfuls flour equals 1 ounce 1 Pint of milk or water equals 1 pound 2 Cupfuls of solidly packed butter equals 1 pound 2 Tablespoonfuls butter equals 1 ounce 2 Cupfuls of solidly packed lard equals 1 pound 2 Cupfuls of chopped meat equals 1 pound 1⁷⁄₈ Cupfuls of rice equals 1 pound 1 Cupful of rice equals 8¹⁄₂ ounces 1 Cupful of raisins equals 7 ounces 2¹⁄₄ Cupfuls of raisins equals 1 pound 3¹⁄₅ Cupfuls of currants equals 1 pound 1 Cupful of currants equals 5 ounces 2 Cupfuls of hominy grits equals 1 pound 2 Cupfuls of samp equals 1 pound 1 Cupful of split peas equals 8 ounces 1 Cupful of dried beans equals 7¹⁄₂ ounces 1 Quart of bread crumbs equals 7 ounces 1 Cupful peanuts, chopped equals 5¹⁄₂ ounces 1 Cupful prunes equals 6¹⁄₂ ounces 1 Cupful dried apricots or peaches equals 6 ounces 1 Cupful macaroni equals ¹⁄₃ pound 1 Cupful oatmeal equals 4 ounces 1 Cupful cornmeal equals 6 ounces 8 Medium-sized eggs in shells equals 1 pound 1 Medium-sized egg in shell equals 2 ounces 10 Medium-sized eggs (broken) equals 1 pound 1 Cup almonds, blanched and chopped equals 5 ounces 1 Square Baker’s chocolate equals 1 ounce 2¹⁄₈ Tablespoons salt equals 1 ounce 4 Tablespoons pepper equals 1 ounce 2¹⁄₂ Tablespoons ground ginger equals 1 ounce 2¹⁄₄ Tablespoons ground cinnamon equals 1 ounce

VII

TABLE OF PROPORTIONS

Batters; 1 cupful liquid to 1 cupful flour.

Muffin or cake dough; 1 cupful liquid to 2 cupfuls flour.

Dough to knead; 1 cupful liquid to 3 cupfuls flour.

Dough to roll out; 1 cupful liquid to 4 cupfuls flour.

6 teaspoonfuls baking-powder to 1 quart flour, if no eggs are used; or

1¹⁄₂ teaspoonfuls baking-powder to 1 cupful flour.

¹⁄₂ teaspoonful soda and 1 teaspoonful cream of tartar is about equivalent to 2 teaspoonfuls baking-powder.

¹⁄₂ cup liquid yeast equals ¹⁄₂ dry yeast cake, and ¹⁄₄ compressed yeast cake.

1 cupful liquid yeast, 1 dry yeast cake, or ¹⁄₂ compressed yeast cake to 1 pint liquid if bread is raised during the day.

¹⁄₂ cupful liquid yeast, ¹⁄₂ dry yeast cake, or ¹⁄₄ compressed yeast cake to 1 pint liquid if bread is raised over night.

1¹⁄₂ teaspoonfuls soda to 1 pint thick, sour milk.

1¹⁄₂ teaspoonfuls soda to 1 pint molasses.

1 teaspoonful soda to 1¹⁄₂ cupfuls thick, sour cream.

¹⁄₂ cupful corn-starch to 1 quart milk for blanc-mange.

1 teaspoonful salt to 1 quart soup stock, sauces, etc.

¹⁄₈ teaspoonful pepper to each teaspoonful salt.

2 to 4 egg yolks to 1 pint milk for soft custards.

2 or 3 whole eggs to 1 pint milk for cup custards.

1 teaspoonful salt to 1 quart water for boiling vegetables, meats, etc.

2 tablespoonfuls flour to 1 cup liquid for white sauces and gravies.

3 tablespoonfuls flour to 1 cup liquid for brown sauces.

Whites of 8 eggs make 1 cupful.

3 teaspoons equal 1 tablespoon.

16 tablespoons equal 1 cup.

2 cups equal 1 pint.

VIII

SEASONING AND FLAVOURING MATERIALS

Having always to substitute a familiar and time-worn flavouring, which is in the house, for the newer and particular flavour called for and required to give the distinctive “tang” to a dish, is what gives some people’s cooking a monotony that is no easier or less expensive to produce than a variety, if only the kitchen is as well supplied as it might be. Many different recipes can be made, using the same ingredients as a basis, by changing the flavouring, as in stews, cakes, etc. Macaroni and rice admit of a wide range of variation.

For the housekeeper who does not want all her cooking to taste alike, it will be found convenient to have always on hand a variety of flavouring and seasoning materials. A list is given below of the ones frequently called upon in this book; those which are commonly used in sweet dishes being grouped together, and those used in savoury dishes, such as soups, stews, etc., although in some cases these are used interchangeably:

=Flavourings for Sweet Dishes=

Vanilla bean or extract Almond extract Orange rind and juice Lemon rind and juice Cinnamon Cloves Nutmeg Allspice Ginger Wine

=Seasonings for Savoury Dishes=

Pepper Cayenne Curry powder Sage Summer savoury Sweet marjoram Thyme Bay leaves Worcestershire sauce Parsley Celery seed Celery leaves Dried peppers

Many of these can be prepared at almost no cost, and put away in tin cans or boxes, either whole or powdered with a mortar and pestle. The leaves of celery and parsley, the herbs and peppers may be washed well and hung near the kitchen stove or in the sun, if they can be kept free from dust and flies out of doors, or put into a warming oven. Orange and lemon rind make good flavourings for puddings and cakes, if correctly prepared, to vary the monotony of perpetual vanilla. The yellow part only of the rind should be grated, for cakes, or shaved off with a knife for custards and puddings, which can be strained to take out the pieces. Caramel is easy to make, and is useful in custards and creams.

_To make caramel._ Melt one cupful of sugar with one tablespoonful of water, in a frying-pan. Stir it constantly until it is a golden brown colour, add one-half cupful of water, one-half at a time. The sugar becomes very hot, and, if only a small amount of water is added, it does not cool it enough and will be so quickly turned to steam as to have almost the effect of exploding. If the sugar is allowed to become dark brown it will taste bitter. Such caramel is sometimes used to color gravies, but is not sufficiently delicate in taste for flavouring purposes.

Avoid using the same seasonings in every dish. It is better to put only a few flavours together for each dish than to mingle a great many and be obliged always to use the same. It is a good general principle, where several flavours are combined, to keep all somewhat equally balanced so that no one is conspicuously present. Public opinion seems to agree that the skilful cook is the one who makes something good, “but you can’t tell what’s in it.” This is done chiefly by the careful selection and equalizing of flavouring ingredients.

IX

BREAKFAST CEREALS

That so cheap and easy a food to prepare as cereals should so often be unappetizing, and even indigestible, because of poor cooking, is partly due to ignorance of the great improvement in flavour which long cooking gives them, and partly to the difficulties attending such long cooking. No one wants to rise two hours before breakfast to cook a cereal which is advertised on the package to cook in ten minutes or less, and those who do not have coal fires burning through the night are somewhat at a loss to know how to keep cereals cooking over night. The fireless cooker seems to fill a long-felt want in this direction. At the cost of a fraction of a cent for fuel it accomplishes an all-night cooking without danger of scorching, boiling dry, or needing to be stirred. The fallacious idea that boiling temperature is necessary for cooking starches and starchy foods has been proved false. As a matter of fact, a temperature of 167 degrees Fahrenheit is sufficient for the starch grains of some cereals, while long-continued cooking at much below boiling point will serve to soften and rupture the woody fibre which surrounds and entangles the starch and other nutrients. The nitrogenous or tissue-forming substance is probably rendered less easily digestible by boiling, and is perfectly cooked at a temperature which will cook the starches. Merely reaching these temperatures for a short time is not sufficient, however, to produce well-cooked cereals. A further change affecting the flavour, and perhaps the digestibility, is accomplished by long cooking.

The length of time required depends upon the amount and character of the woody fibre, whether the grains are left whole or ground fine, and the degree of cooking they may have had in the course of manufacture. Rolled oats and wheat are steamed to some extent, and do not, therefore, require as much cooking as whole or cracked wheat and oats. Preparations of corn, having more woody fibre than any of the other cereals, will, unless cooked during manufacture, require more cooking than equally finely ground preparations from other cereals. Rice requires the least cooking of all, as it contains the least woody fibre.

Rolled Oats

2¹⁄₂ cups water 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup rolled oats

Look over the oats and remove any husks or pieces. Put water, salt, and oats in a pan, or pail that fits into a cooker-pail, boil them for five minutes, or until slightly thickened, stirring them frequently, then put the pan over a cooker-pail of boiling water and put it into a cooker for from two to twelve hours. Although soft and digestible after two hours, it is greatly improved in flavour by longer cooking. If cooked over night it will need to be heated, somewhat, before serving. This can be done by putting it over the fire while still in the cooker-pail of water. When the water in the pail boils, the oatmeal may be served.

Serves four persons.

Cornmeal Mush

4 cups boiling water 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup cornmeal ¹⁄₂ cup cold water

Mix the meal with the cold water, add it to the boiling salted water; let it boil five minutes, stirring it frequently, then set it in a cooker-pail of boiling water and put it into a cooker for from five to ten hours. If the mush is to be used for frying, use two cupfuls of milk and two cupfuls of water, reserving one-half cupful of the milk cold to mix with the cornmeal. When cooked, pour it into a wet bread pan, and slice it when perfectly cold. If coarsely ground meal is used, sift it through a coarse sieve before cooking it, to remove the largest particles of bran. Granulated meal will not require sifting.

Serves six or eight persons.

Hominy Grits

5 cups water 1¹⁄₂ teaspoons salt 1 cup hominy grits

Add the hominy to the boiling salted water, boil it for ten minutes, and put it into a cooker for ten hours or more.

Serves six or eight persons.

Cracked Wheat

¹⁄₂ cup wheat 1 cup cold water ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt 2 cups boiling water

Soak the cracked wheat in the cold water for nine hours or more; add the boiling water and salt, and let all boil hard for ten minutes in an uncovered pan. Place the utensil in a cooker-pail of boiling water and put it into a cooker for ten hours. Reheat it to the boiling point and cook it again for ten hours.

Serves four or five persons.

Steel Cut Oatmeal

¹⁄₂ cup oatmeal 1 cup cold water ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt 2 cups boiling water

Cook it in the same manner as cracked wheat. Serves four or five persons.

Pettijohn’s Breakfast Food

2¹⁄₂ cups water 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup Pettijohn’s Breakfast Food

Add the salt and cereal to the cold water, stir until it boils, boil it for five minutes, or until it has thickened, and put it into a cooker for from two to twelve hours. It is improved by the longer cooking.

Serves four or five persons.

Cream of Wheat

3¹⁄₂ cups boiling water 1 teaspoon salt ¹⁄₂ cup cream of wheat

Put all together, stir until boiling, and put it into a cooker for from one to twelve hours.

Serves four or five persons.

Wheatlet

Cook it in the same way as cream of wheat.

Farina

Cook it in the same way as cream of wheat.

X

SOUPS

There are two classes of soup, (1) those made with meat stock, which is the water in which meat has been cooked, sometimes in combination with other materials for seasoning purposes, and (2) those made without meat stock.

Soups made with meat stock include:

_Bouillon_, made from lean beef, always served clear; or from clams.

_Brown stock_, made usually from beef, preferably one-half lean and one-half bone and fat, with seasonings of vegetables, herbs, and spices.

_White stock_, made from chicken or veal.

_Consommé_, made from several kinds of meat, seasoned highly with vegetables, herbs, and spices, and always served clear.

_Broths or beef tea_, made usually from lean mutton, lamb, or beef, and not clarified.

Soups made without meat stock include:

_Cream soups_, made from vegetable or fish stock with milk or cream and somewhat thickened with flour or corn-starch.

_Purées_, made from vegetables or fish put through a strainer, often with the addition of milk or cream. They also are thickened with flour or corn-starch and are usually thicker than cream soups. White stock also is sometimes used in purées.

_Bisques_ are made like purees, except that pieces of vegetables, fish, meat, or game are served in them in addition.

SOUP MAKING

_To make stock._ Wash and cut the meat into small pieces or gash it frequently; crack the bone; let meat and bone soak in the cold water while preparing the seasonings; then add the seasonings, boil the stock ten minutes and put it into a cooker for from nine to twelve hours. When cooked, pour it through a wire strainer and set it away to cool. When cold, it should be kept in a refrigerator or other cold place. Be careful that the pail is well filled, or the soup will cool with the long cooking and may sour. If too small a quantity is cooked to fill the pail or pan it should be set over hot water. The cake of fat which forms on top when the stock is cold should not be removed until the soup is to be made, as it seals the stock and keeps out air and germs, thus helping to preserve it. When soup is to be made, the fat is taken off, the stock heated, and any desired seasonings or additions are put in.

_To clear soup stock._ Remove the fat, taste the stock, and if it needs more seasoning add it before the clearing. Put into each quart of the cold stock the slightly beaten white of one egg and one crushed egg-shell. Wash the egg before breaking it. Stir the stock constantly while heating it. Let it boil two minutes and set it in a cooker for one-half hour or more. Remove the scum and strain it through two thicknesses of cheese-cloth laid in a colander.

_To remove fat from hot soup or broth._ Skim off all that can be taken off with a spoon. With a succession of small pieces of soft brown paper take off the rest as if you were using blotting paper on the surface of the soup. When no spotted appearance is seen on the papers, the fat is all removed.

_To bind soups._ This name is given to the process of thickening cream soups and purées, the liquid and solid part of which would separate unless bound together. Melt the butter, and when it is liquid add usually an equal quantity of flour and rub them together till well blended. They are then added to the soup and stirred constantly till perfectly mixed. If the proportion of flour is greater than that of the butter it will be better to add a little of the soup to the flour and butter in a separate saucepan as for making white sauce, and when enough has been added to make a smooth sauce, it may be poured into the soup.

Brown Stock No. 1

3 lbs. shin of beef 3 qts. cold water ¹⁄₂ teaspoon peppercorns 6 cloves ¹⁄₂ bay leaf 3 sprigs thyme 1 sprig sweet marjoram 2 sprigs parsley ¹⁄₂ cup carrot ¹⁄₂ cup turnip ¹⁄₂ cup celery ¹⁄₃ cup onion 1 tablespoon salt

Prepare the meat as directed for making stock, brown one-third of it in a frying pan with the fat. Wash the vegetables, scrape or pare them, and cut them in small pieces. Put all the ingredients together and bring them to a boil. When they have boiled for ten minutes put them into a cooker for from nine to twelve hours. Unless there is a large quantity of soup it is not safe to leave it more than twelve hours, lest it grow cold and sour; but nine or more quarts may safely be left for fifteen hours or more, provided the kettle is at least two-thirds full. Pour it through a wire strainer and cool it as rapidly as possible.

Brown Stock No. 2

1¹⁄₂ lbs. meat and bone, raw or cooked 1¹⁄₂ qts. water 6 peppercorns 3 cloves ¹⁄₂ teaspoon shaved lemon rind 3 sprigs parsley ¹⁄₄ cup carrot ¹⁄₄ cup turnip ¹⁄₆ cup onion ¹⁄₄ cup celery 1 teaspoon salt

Do not use salt or smoked meats for soup stock, or any parts of meat which have become charred or blackened in the cooking. Very little of these would be enough to destroy the good flavour of soup.

Cut from the bones all the meat that is easy to get off. Tough ends from steak or roasts should be cut off before they are cooked, and saved for soup or stews. Cut meat for making soup in small pieces. Separate the bones at the joints and crack them if they are large. Soak the meat in the water while preparing the seasoning. Put all the ingredients together and bring them to a boil. Boil them for ten minutes and put them into a cooker for from nine to twelve hours, standing the pan or pail in a large pail of boiling water, unless this recipe fills the cooker pail. Strain the stock through a wire strainer, and cool it as rapidly as possible.

White Stock No. 1

1 chicken or fowl Water to cover the chicken Salt (1 teaspoon to 1 qt. water)

Cook chicken or fowl according to the directions given on page 131 for stewed chicken. The water in which the chicken was cooked makes white stock.

White Stock No. 2

2 lbs. knuckle of veal 2 qts. cold water 1 tablespoon salt 12 peppercorns ¹⁄₂ cup celery or 1 teaspoon celery seed 1 onion

Prepare the meat as directed for making stock. Pare and slice the onion; cut the celery in pieces. If celery cannot easily be obtained, substitute dried celery leaves, using three or four sprays, or use celery seed.

Put all the ingredients together, let them boil for ten minutes, and put them into a cooker for from nine to twelve hours. Set the pail or pan in a larger cooker-pail of boiling water unless the soup nearly fills the cooker-pail.

Bouillon

3 lbs. lean beef from round or shoulder 2 lbs. marrow bone 3 qts. cold water 1 teaspoon peppercorns 1 tablespoon salt ¹⁄₂ cup carrot ¹⁄₃ cup onion ¹⁄₂ cup turnip ¹⁄₂ cup celery

Prepare the meat as directed for making brown stock. Use the marrow fat for browning the meat. Boil all together for ten minutes and put them into a cooker for from nine to twelve hours. Strain the stock through a wire strainer and cool it. When cold, remove the fat and clear the soup as directed on page 59. Serve in bouillon cups with crisp crackers.

Serves fifteen to twenty persons.

Beef Broth

1 lb. lean beef from round or shoulder 1 pt. cold water ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt

Wash and chop the meat fine, removing any pieces of fat. Add the salt and let the meat soak for one hour in a cold place. In a small cooker-pail or pan set over a larger cooker-pail of hot, but not boiling water, heat the broth till it registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Slip the pails into a cooker for one-half hour. Strain the broth through a coarse wire strainer, remove all fat by the directions on page 59, and serve it immediately in a heated cup; or it may be chilled, or frozen to the consistency of mush.

Mutton Broth

3 lbs. mutton (from neck) 2 qts. cold water 2 teaspoons salt Few grains pepper 3 tablespoons rice or 3 tablespoons barley