flesh being white and clear, and separating easily into large flakes,
the skin clean and silvery. Most people consider cod improves by being
kept for a day or two and very slightly salted.
_Herrings_ must be absolutely fresh to be good, and when in this state
their scales shine like silver. If kept over long their eyes become
suffused with blood.
_Mackerel_ also must be quite fresh. They never should be bought
if either out of condition or season. If fresh they are peculiarly
beautiful fish, their backs of an iridescent blue green barred with
black, and their bellies of a pearly whiteness.
_Smelts_ should be stiff and silvery, with a delicate perfume faintly
suggestive of cucumber.
_Halibut_ is a wholesome fish. It should be middling size, thick and of
a white color.
_Lobsters, Crabs, Prawns, and Shrimps_ are stiff, and with the tails
tightly pressed against the body. With the former, weight is a great
guide, as the heavier they are the better; but if there be the least
sign of wateriness, they should be rejected at once.
Vegetables
Green vegetables always are at their best when cheapest and most
plentiful. Out of season they never have the same flavor, however
well they may be grown. Excepting artichokes, all summer vegetables,
as lettuce, peas, beans, and asparagus should be cooked as soon as
possible after gathering. The freshness of most vegetables may be
ascertained easily by taking a leaf or a pod between the fingers.
If fresh this will snap off short and crisp, while if stale it will
be limp and soft. It is an economy to buy winter vegetables, such
as carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, celery, and potatoes in large
quantities, if you have storage room, as if buried in sand and kept
from the frost they may be kept a considerable time. Onions should be
kept hung up in a cool, dry place. If allowed to sprout the flavor
becomes rank and coarse.
Eggs
A mode of ascertaining the freshness of eggs is to hold them before a
lighted candle or to the light, and if the egg looks clear, it will be
tolerably good; if thick, it is stale; and if there is a black spot
attached to the shell, it is worthless. No egg should be used for
culinary purposes with the slightest taint in it, as it will render
perfectly useless those with which it has been mixed. Eggs may be
preserved, however, for a considerable time without any further special
precaution than that of keeping them in a cool place. A very effective
method of preserving eggs for winter use is to rub a little melted
Crisco over each to close the pores, and then to pack the eggs in bran,
salt or sawdust, not allowing them to touch each other.
_Methods of Cooking_
There are seven chief methods of cooking meat--roasting, boiling,
baking, stewing, frying, broiling and poaching.
The first three are most suitable for joints weighing four pounds or
more, but not satisfactory for smaller pieces which are liable to
become hard and flavorless by the drying up or loss of their juices.
Of the other three methods, stewing may be applied to fairly large and
solid pieces, but it is better for smaller thin ones, while frying and
broiling can be used only for steaks, chops, and similar cuts.
Braising and steaming are combinations and modifications of these
methods.
Roasting
Roasting is one of the oldest methods of cooking on record, and still
remains the favorite form of cooking joints of meat or birds. The
success of every method of cooking depends largely upon the correct
management of the fire. In roasting, this is particularly the case,
as a clear, brisk and yet steady fire is needed. To roast a joint it
should be placed before great heat for the first ten minutes and then
allowed to cook more slowly. The great heat hardens the outside of the
meat and keeps in the juices. If allowed to cook quickly all the time
the meat is likely to be tough. The fire should be bright and clear.
The joint should be basted about every ten minutes, as this helps to
cook it, keeps it juicy and improves the flavor. The time allowed is
fifteen minutes for every pound, twenty minutes over for beef and
mutton; for veal and pork twenty minutes for every pound and thirty
minutes over.
Oven Roasting
Roasting in the oven of ordinary coal stoves or ranges is not
considered so good as roasting before an open fire; nevertheless it
may be said safely that the greatest part of meat roasting is done in
close ovens. It appears, from various experiments that meat roasted or
baked in a close oven loses rather less of its weight than if roasted
by an open fire.
The excellence of a roast depends to a great extent upon the amount of
basting it receives.
Some cooks season a joint before it is cooked, while others season it
with salt and pepper just before it is served. There is a difference of
opinion as to which is the more correct way of the two. Meat of newly
killed animals requires longer cooking than meat which has been hung
for a time.
In warm weather joints require slightly less time for roasting than in
cold.
Boned and rolled or stuffed meats require longer cooking than the
same joints would if neither rolled nor stuffed. The meat of young
animals and that of old ones requires different treatment. As a rule
young flesh, containing less fibrine, requires longer cooking. White
meat, such as pork, veal and lamb, always should be well cooked and
never must be served rare. The exact time and process of roasting
must be left to the good management of the cook, who must be guided
by circumstances and conditions. The cook’s business is to serve the
joint as full of nourishing qualities as possible. Though roasting is
considered one of the easiest and most simple processes of cookery, it
really requires quite as much attention to obtain perfect results as is
necessary to prepare so-called “made” dishes, the recognized test for
good cooks.
Boiling
Boiling (of fresh meat).--This is cookery by immersion in boiling
liquid, which after a few minutes is reduced to simmering. The object
of the high temperature at first is to harden the surface albumen and
so seal the pores and prevent the escape of the juices. If continued
too long, this degree of heat would tend to toughen the joint
throughout; after the first few minutes, therefore, the heat must be
reduced to about 180° F. The pan used for boiling meat should be only
just large enough to hold the joint, and the quantity of liquid no
more than is required to cover it. For the boiling of salt meat the
general rule of first hardening the surface is not to be followed. The
salting of meat withdraws a large proportion of its juices, while at
the same time the salt hardens the fibres, and this hardness would be
intensified by extreme heat. Very salt meat sometimes is soaked in cold
water to extract some of the salt, but whether this is done or not,
the rule for boiling salt meat is to immerse it in cold or tepid water
and bring slowly to boiling point; boil for five minutes to seal the
pores and prevent any further loss of juice, then reduce to 180° F.,
and maintain a uniform temperature till the meat is cooked. Salt meat
takes longer to cook than fresh meat, and the saltness may be qualified
by boiling vegetables with the meat, turnips especially being useful
for this purpose.
Baking
The actual differences between roasting and baking are not great, the
terms being frequently interchanged. Meat loses rather less weight when
baked than when roasted, but the flavor of meat is inferior and less
developed. The heat of an oven being steadier, baking takes somewhat
less time than roasting. In a gas oven having an open floor the current
of air is not impeded, and such baking very nearly approaches roasting,
and the flavor generally is acknowledged to be the same.
Stewing
Stewing is cooking slowly with a small quantity of liquid in a covered
vessel. The method is specially suitable for the coarser and cheaper
parts of meat, which are rendered tender without loss of their juices.
The usual plan is to make a gravy flavored and colored to suit the
stew, and after the ingredients are well blended and cooked to lay
the meat in the boiling liquid. After about two minutes boiling, the
temperature is reduced to simmering, about 160° F., a lower temperature
than that required for a large joint of “boiled” meat. The time depends
greatly on the quality of the meat, but none will stew satisfactorily
in less than from one and a half to two hours, and the longer allowance
is to be preferred.
Broiling
Broiling, sometimes called grilling, is cooking by the direct action
of fire brought almost into contact with the meat. The outer surface
is burned or seared, the albumen hardened and the juices, which have a
tendency to escape on the side turned from the heat, are retained in
the meat by frequent turning. The fire for broiling must be very clear,
intensely hot and high in the grate. The utensil required for broiling
is a gridiron, the bars of which are greased and heated to prevent
sticking and subsequent tearing of the meat. The gridiron is laid quite
close over the heat, so that the lower surface is dried and hardened at
once.
The meat must be turned at very short intervals before the juices have
been driven from the heat to the opposite surface. If once allowed to
reach the surface, they will be thrown off in turning and lost, the
meat being correspondingly impoverished. By constant turning the juices
are kept moving backwards and forwards, and the meat remains moist and
full of flavor. Each side should be exposed to the fire about three
times, and it is not desirable to use meat less than one inch or more
than one and a half to two inches thick for the purpose.
The thinner pieces should have even greater heat applied than the thick
ones, as the longer thin ones are exposed to the fire the more dry
and tasteless they become, while the thicker pieces may be slightly
withdrawn after thoroughly hardening the surface and cooked rather more
slowly that the heat may penetrate to the center. The frequent turning
must be continued, or the juices will reach the hardened outer fibres,
soften them, and escape.
If a double broiler is used the turning is managed easily, but with a
single gridiron care must be taken not to puncture the meat by using
a fork. Steak tongs are made for the purpose of lifting and turning
broiled meat, but a spoon or a spoon and knife will answer. A single
rim of fat on the chop or steak will tend to keep the edge moist and
baste the meat, but too much will cause flame to rise in continuous
jet, making the surface smoky. If there is absolutely no fat on the
piece to be broiled, morsels of finely chopped suet may be occasionally
thrown into the fire, so the sudden spurt of flame from this source
leaves a deposit of fat on the meat which improves the flavor, and,
without softening the albumen, prevents its becoming uneatably hard and
dry.
Frying
Frying may be looked on as a derivative of broiling, and passes by
easy stages, from broiling on a slightly greased metal plate, or
_sautéing_ in a shallow pan in a small quantity of Crisco, to
cooking by actual immersion into a bath of hot fat. In a house where
small and delicately made dishes are in demand, and where variety
in the re-dressing of cold meats has to be studied, this frying in
deep fat is one of the cook’s most needed accomplishments. Though
exceedingly easy to do well, it is also exceedingly easy to do badly.
Deep fat frying, which means submerging the food in the fat, is far
superior to shallow or saute frying, and can be done most economically
with Crisco. Little is absorbed by the foods, and the Crisco does not
take up the odor or flavor of the food which is fried in it. This
characteristic makes it possible to use Crisco for frying one article
of food after another.
Use _plenty_ of Crisco for frying. The temperature of the hot
Crisco then will be but little lowered when the food is added. There is
little absorption and what is left may be used for _all_ frying,
merely by straining out food particles after each frying.
Sufficient Crisco should be put into the pan to fill it about
two-thirds full. From two to three pounds for a pan eight inches
in diameter will not be too much. Into this pan or kettle a wire
“frying-basket” should fit quite loosely, the basket measuring quite an
inch less across the top than the pan.
Let Crisco get hot gradually in the pan. Do not put into an already hot
container. No fat should be treated in this manner.
Do Not Wait for Crisco to Smoke
Heat Crisco until a crumb of bread becomes a golden brown in
60 seconds for raw dough mixtures, as crullers, fritters, etc.
40 seconds for cooked mixtures, as croquettes, codfish balls, etc.
20 seconds for French fried potatoes.
Seconds may be counted thus: one hundred and one, one hundred and two,
etc.
The fat may be tested also by dropping into it a little piece of the
article to be cooked. When it rises to the top, bubbles vigorously and
browns quickly, the fat is hot enough.
When prepared, the foods must be placed in the basket, not too many at
a time or too close together, and then lowered gently into the fat.
They generally will sink to the bottom for a minute or two, and only
float when they have begun to brown. When a bright golden brown, take
up the basket and let the fried things drain in it, over the hot fat,
for a few seconds. Then take them out gently one by one, and lay them
on a sheet of brown or kitchen paper.
The draining over the pan is one of the principal things to attend to;
if this be neglected, the fat will cling about the fried things, making
them both look and taste greasy, whereas if properly drained in the
basket to begin with, they will afterwards scarcely mark the paper.
When, as is sometimes the case, no frying basket is used, each thing
fried should be drained between a spoon and the edge of the pan.
To Clarify
It is economy to use three pounds in the kettle, clarifying the fat
when it is put away. To clarify Crisco, take that which has been used
for deep frying and when it has cooled, but not solidified, strain
through a double thickness of cheese cloth, replace kettle on stove,
drop several slices of potato into the Crisco and reheat. When the
potatoes are golden brown, take out and pour the Crisco back into the
tin. With this little care, fish, oysters, onions, chops, fritters,
doughnuts, etc., may be fried over and over again in the same Crisco.
The dry or saute method of frying is less satisfactory, in that it
is difficult even after much practice to produce a uniformly colored
surface. A small quantity of fat only is needed, and where the fat,
i. e., the heat, ends, a crack is formed in the outer coat, through
which flavor escapes and fat enters; the appearance also is rendered
unsightly. Flat fish can be fried fairly well by this method, or,
indeed, almost any thin substance, as thin edges are not affected in
this way. For pancakes and other articles of similar nature it is the
best method. It rarely is possible to use the fat from the dry method a
second time, except for dishes of the same kind, as the fat always is
more or less flavored by the food cooked in it. The most digestible fat
for frying and the best for results undoubtedly is Crisco.
Steaming
Steaming is a process very similar to boiling, for it is cooking in the
heated vapor of water. This practice as a means of cookery is largely
adopted in hotels, clubs, schools and hospitals, and other large
institutions; also frequently applied in ordinary home cookery for
particular articles of food requiring a very slow process of cooking.
An ordinary kitchen steamer, with a close-fitting lid is generally
all that is required for simple household cookery on a small scale.
The articles of food which are to be steamed are prepared in exactly
the same manner as for boiling. Many puddings, some meats, and some
vegetables are considered better if cooked by steam, and inasmuch as
the process of cooking is a very slow one, there is no fear of the food
being destroyed by too fierce a heat, as the temperature in steaming
never reaches beyond 212° F. Fish, meat and poultry cooked by steam are
as a rule tender, full of gravy and digestible. By steaming, watery
vegetables are made drier; tough meats are softened and made tender;
while farinaceous mixtures and puddings develop a totally different
flavor when baked or fried.
Braising
Braising is a combination of roasting and stewing small joints of
meats in a shallow stewpan. It is a favorite method of cooking with
the French, and is supposed to bring out an unusually fine flavor and
aroma. The pan in which a braise is to be made always should be lined
with slices of bacon, carrot, onions and herbs, upon which the meat
is placed. It usually is moistened with stock or stock and wine. The
more delicate meats, such as sweetbreads, fillets, fowls and turkeys
sometimes are covered with buttered paper; this is done to prevent the
heat from the top of the pan scorching or imparting too much of a roast
flavor to the meats which are to be braised. Occasional basting during
the process of this method of cooking is essential. When done, the
meat is taken up, the fat removed from the vegetables and gravy, which
latter is then reduced, strained and blended with some kind of gravy or
thin sauce.
Poaching and Marinating
Poaching is the name usually given to the process of cooking an article
by placing it for a few minutes in boiling water. Marinating or
pickling is a process with a formidable name with a simple meaning. To
marinate simply is to soak meat in a mixture for some hours, or even
days, with the idea of improving its flavor, of softening its fibres
and making it tender. Vinegar, oil, pepper and salt are mixed together
and the meat packed in the mixture; sometimes a sliced onion and herbs
are added. The meat, of course, should be wiped first, but not washed.
Cooking in Earthenware
Stone or earthenware cooking appliances are used to very great
advantage for various forms of preparing food. For the homely
_pot-au-feu_ the French housewife has used fireproof earthenware
dishes for generations, and does so today. But besides soups, various
savory dishes, and all sorts of stews are cooked in stoneware pots.
Indeed, so much has this form of cookery come into fashion that many
dishes are sent to table in the pots in which they are cooked. Cooking
in stoneware has no equal where slow cooking is aimed at, and there are
many dishes which one would do well to refrain from attempting unless
cooked in this fashion. These cooking pots are inexpensive, and certain
foods taste decidedly better if cooked in this way. For braising, pot
roasting, or stewing fruit and other articles which need to be cooked
slowly under close cover, the application of a moderate, even heat
produces far better results than if quick heat is applied. For such
cases the use of earthenware cooking pots is recommended.
_Time Table for Cooking_
Baking
Beef, loin or ribs, rare, per lb 8 to 10 minutes
Beef, loin or ribs, well done, per lb 12 to 16 minutes
Beef, ribs, rolled, rare 12 to 15 minutes
Beef, ribs, rolled, well done 15 to 18 minutes
Beef, fillet, rare 20 to 30 minutes
Beef, fillet, well done 60 minutes
Mutton, leg, rare, per lb 10 minutes
Mutton, leg, well done, per lb 14 minutes
Mutton, forequarter, stuffed, per lb 15 to 25 minutes
Lamb, well done, per lb 15 to 20 minutes
Veal, well done, per lb 18 to 22 minutes
Pork, well done, per lb 20 minutes
Venison, rare, per lb 10 minutes
Chicken, per lb 15 to 20 minutes
Turkey, nine lbs 3 hours
Goose, nine lbs 2½ hours
Duck, domestic 1 to 1¼ hours
Duck, wild 20 to 30 minutes
Grouse 25 to 30 minutes
Ham 4 to 6 hours
Fish, 3 or 4 lbs 45 to 60 minutes
Small fish and fillets 20 minutes
Beans with pork 6 to 8 hours
Bread, white loaf 45 to 60 minutes
Graham loaf 35 to 45 minutes
Baking powder biscuits 12 to 15 minutes
Gems 25 to 30 minutes
Quick doughs 8 to 15 minutes
Cookies 8 to 10 minutes
Gingerbread 20 to 30 minutes
Sponge cake 45 to 60 minutes
Cake, layer 20 to 30 minutes
Cake, loaf 40 to 60 minutes
Fruit cake 2 to 3 hours
Cake, wedding 3 to 5 hours
Cakes, small 15 to 25 minutes
Batter puddings 35 to 45 minutes
Pies 30 to 50 minutes
Tarts 15 to 20 minutes
Patties 15 to 25 minutes
Vol-au-vent 50 to 60 minutes
Muffins, yeast 30 minutes
Muffins, baking powder 20 to 25 minutes
Indian pudding 2 to 3 hours
Rice or tapioca pudding 1 hour
Bread puddings 45 to 60 minutes
Scallop dishes 15 to 20 minutes
Custard 35 to 45 minutes
Custard in cups 20 to 25 minutes
Boiling
MEATS 2 to 6 hours
Corned meat 4 to 6 hours
Ox tongue 3 to 4 hours
Ham, 12 to 14 lbs 4 to 5 hours
Turkey, 10 lbs 3 to 3½ hours
Fowl, 4 to 5 lbs 2 to 3 hours
Chicken, 3 lbs 1 to 1½ hours
Fish, 2 to 5 lbs 30 to 45 minutes
Lobster 25 to 30 minutes
Cod, 3 to 5 lbs 20 to 30 minutes
Haddock, 3 to 5 lbs 20 to 30 minutes
Halibut, thick piece, per lb 15 minutes
Salmon, thick piece, per lb 10 to 15 minutes
Asparagus 20 to 30 minutes
Beans, shell or string 1 to 3 hours
Beets, young 50 minutes
Beets, old 3 to 4 hours
Brussels sprouts 15 to 20 minutes
Cabbage 35 to 60 minutes
Carrots 1 hour
Cauliflower 25 to 30 minutes
Corn 12 to 20 minutes
Macaroni 20 to 35 minutes
Turnips 30 to 45 minutes
Onions 45 to 60 minutes
Parsnips 30 to 45 minutes
Spinach 15 to 20 minutes
Tomatoes, stewed 15 to 20 minutes
Rice 20 to 30 minutes
Broiling
Steak, 1 inch thick 4 to 10 minutes
Steak, 1½ inches thick 8 to 12 minutes
Lamb or mutton chops 6 to 10 minutes
Chicken 20 minutes
Quails 8 minutes
Squabs 10 to 12 minutes
Shad, whitefish and bluefish 15 to 20 minutes
Fish slices 12 to 15 minutes
Liver 4 to 5 minutes
Frying
Smelts and other small fish 3 to 5 minutes
Breaded chops 5 to 8 minutes
Potatoes, raw 4 to 8 minutes
Fish balls and croquettes 1 minute
Muffins, fritters, and doughnuts 3 to 5 minutes
Weights and Measures
27⅓ grains 1 dram
16 drams 1 ounce
16 ounces 1 pound
1 teaspoonful 60 drops
3 teaspoonfuls 1 tablespoonful
4 tablespoonfuls 1 wineglass,
½ gill, or
¼ cup
16 tablespoonfuls 1 cup
2 gills 1 cup
2 cups 1 pint
2 pints 1 quart
4 quarts 1 gallon
2 tablespoonfuls Crisco 1 ounce
2 tablespoonfuls salt 1 ounce
2 tablespoonfuls sugar 1 ounce
4 tablespoonfuls flour 1 ounce
1 tablespoonful liquid ½ ounce
1 square chocolate 1 ounce
⅓ cupful chopped nut meats (blanched) 1 ounce
1 cupful currants ¼ pound
1 cupful crumbs ¼ pound
4⅓ cupfuls coffee 1 pound
3½ cupfuls confectioners’ sugar 1 pound
4½ cupfuls graham flour 1 pound
2⅔ cupfuls oatmeal 1 pound
5 cupfuls rolled oats 1 pound
4⅓ cupfuls rye meal 1 pound
1⅞ cupfuls rice 1 pound
2⅓ cupfuls dry beans 1 pound
2 cupfuls granulated sugar 1 pound
2⅔ cupfuls brown sugar 1 pound
2⅔ cupfuls powdered sugar 1 pound
1 cupful (volume) 8 ounces
1 cupful water 8⅓ ounces
1 pint butter 1 pound
1 quart flour 1 pound
10 small or 9 medium eggs 1 pound
All materials are measured level, i. e., by filling spoon or cup more
than full and leveling with a case knife.
To measure meal, flour, sugar and similar ingredients, sift lightly
into the measure, then level.
Standard measuring cups made of tin, aluminum or glass holding half
a pint always should be used. Coffee and teacups vary so much that
correct proportions can not be obtained by using them.
To measure a spoonful of dry material, fill the spoon heaping, then
level. To measure a half-spoonful, fill and level the spoon, then
divide in half lengthways; for quarter-spoonfuls, divide the halves
crossways.
_Use level measurements in all recipes in this book._
_The Art of Carving_
Carving is an art, and one which anybody, with a knowledge of a few
general directions, can acquire easily.
A proper set of carving tools is almost indispensable, and should
comprise: a good thin, sharp-bladed knife, a solid two or three pronged
fork, and a pair of carving scissors. Anything that needs to be carved
at table should be placed on a dish sufficiently large to allow the
joint to be turned without moving the dish from its position. The dish
should be placed close in front of the carver. Such joints as beef,
veal and ham should be cut very thin; while lamb, mutton, and pork
should be cut a trifle thicker.