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Title: Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cook Book. What to Do and What Not to Do in Cooking.
Author: Lincoln, Mary Johnson
Publisher: Boston: Roberts Brothers.

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> THE BOSTON COOK BOOK.

> COOKERY

COOKERY is the art of preparing food for the nourishment of the human body. When given its proper importance in the consideration of health and comfort, it must be based upon scientific principles of hygiene and what the French call the minor moralities of the household. All civilized nations cook their food, to improve its taste and digestibility. The degree of civilization is often measured by the cuisine.

Cooking (from the Latin coquo, to boil, bake, heat, dry, scorch, or ripen) is usually done by the direct application of heat. Fruits and some vegetables which are eaten in a natural state have really been cooked or ripened by the heat of the sun. Milk and eggs, which are types of perfect food, would be useless as food unless they came from the warm living animal. Fish, flesh, and fruits which have been dried in the sun or smoked, and are often eaten without any further preparation, have undergone a certain process of natural cooking.

Heat seems to create new flavors, and to change the odor, taste, and digestibility of nearly all articles of food. It swells and bursts the starch cells in flour, rice, and potatoes; hardens the albumen in eggs, fish, and meat; softens the fibrous substances in tough meats, hard vegetables and fruits. It develops new flavors in tea, coffee, roasted meat, crusts of bread, baked beans, etc.

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Cold is also an important matter to be regarded in the preparation of food. Sweet dishes and certain flavors, like honey, ices, and custards; the water, wine, or milk we drink; our butter, fruits, and salads,--are all more palatable when cold.

Water, or some other liquid, in connection with heat is necessary in many forms of cookery. Grains, peas, beans, dried fruits which have parted with nearly all their moisture in the ripening or drying process necessary for their preservation, need a large portion of water in cooking, to soften and swell the cellulose, gluten, and starch before they can be masticated and digested. In some vegetables and fruits water draws out certain undesirable flavors; it softens and dissolves the gelatinous portions of meat, and makes palatable and nourishing many substances which would be rendered unwholesome by a dry heat.

Air, or the free action of oxygen, upon our food while cooking develops certain flavors not otherwise to be obtained. Meat roasted or broiled has a much finer flavor than when boiled, baked, or fried. Toasted bread, thin corn cake baked before the fire, roasted apples, and many articles cooked in the open air, show the benefit of this free combined action of heat and air.

Drying in the sun was one of the earliest modes of cookery. Then came roasting before an open fire, or broiling over the coals, and baking in the hot ashes. This last was the primitive oven. As the art of making cooking-utensils developed, stewing, boiling, and frying were adopted. Then, to economize heat, portable ovens were invented; these were originally a covered dish set over or near the fire, having sometimes a double cover filled with coals. Afterwards, stoves which kept the fire and heat in a limited space were introduced; and improvements have been made in them so extensively that we now have them with conveniences for doing every form of cooking with wood, coal, oil, or gas.

Some one gives this distinction between man and other animals: "Man is an animal that builds a fire and uses it


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to cook his food." It is quite important then, as a stepping-stone to cooking, to learn the properties and management of a fire.

> Fire.

Fire is heat and light produced by the combustion of inflammable substances. Combustion is a chemical operation carried on in the air, or the chemical union of the oxygen of the air with some combustible body, like hydrogen gas or the solid carbon, and is attended with the evolution of heat and light. The heat and the light come from the sun. With every particle of vegetable matter that is formed by the combined action of the sun and the carbonic acid gas in the air, a portion of the sun's heat and light is absorbed and held fast in it. And whenever this vegetable matter is decomposed,--as in burning wood, coal, or oil, which are only definite forms of vegetable matter,--this heat and light are given out. The amount of each depends upon the mode of burning.

Air is composed mainly of two elementary gases, oxygen and nitrogen (one part oxygen and four parts nitrogen), with a small amount of watery vapor and carbonic acid gas.

Pure oxygen is a gas which has a wonderful attraction for, and power of combination with, every other element. If it were everywhere present in a perfectly pure state, it would consume or burn up everything; but it is diluted or mixed (not combined) with nitrogen, another gas which is incombustible, and which lessens the combustibility of everything with which it comes in contact. Owing to this dilution, the oxygen will not unite with the carbon and hydrogen with which it is everywhere surrounded, and produce rapid combustion, except at a high temperature. The temperature at which this union takes place is called the burning-point, and this varies in different substances. Thus combustion is within the power and control of man; and some extra means are usually employed to increase the temperature to the burning-point,--friction, or percussion, or the use of some more highly inflammable


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substances, like sulphur and phosphorus. This produces heat sufficient to complete the chemical union, or, in common phrase, "kindles the fire."

The heat generated for all household purposes is produced by the chemical action of the oxygen of the air upon the hydrogen and carbon which are found in the various kinds of wood and coal. The oxygen first combines with the carbon and decomposes it, producing carbonic acid gas, which escapes into the air, from which it is absorbed by plants, or by human lungs when there is no proper ventilation. The oxygen also combines with the hydrogen gas in the fuel, and this produces the flame; the larger the amount of hydrogen in the fuel, the greater the amount of flame. Some of the products of combustion are not entirely consumed, and pass off as smoke; some are incombustible, and remain as ashes. The intensity of a fire and the amount of heat which it produces are always in proportion to the amount of oxygen with which it is supplied. There should be just air enough for perfect combustion. An excess of air projected upon a fire conveys away the heat, cools the fuel, and checks the combustion. The supply of air should be controlled by confining it in a limited space.

Fires are usually kindled at the bottom of a flue or chimney. The heated air, being lighter, rises; the colder, denser air rushes in to take its place, becomes heated, and ascends. Thus a continuous current is established, and a constant supply of fresh air secured. The chimney serves to carry off the smoke and poisonous products of combustion; the heavier, incombustible products settle in the form of ashes. The force of this current of air drawing through the chimney (a matter of great importance) is called the draught. It varies with the temperature and amount of air in the room, and the length and width of the chimney.

> Fuel.

The materials generally used as fuel are wood, charcoal, coal, kerosene oil, and gas.

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Soft woods, such as pine or birch, kindle quickly, produce intense heat, and are best for a quick, blazing fire.

Hard woods, like oak, ash, and hickory, burn more slowly, but produce harder coals, which retain the heat longer, and are better where long-continued heat is required.

Charcoal, which is coal made by charring or burning wood with only a limited supply of air, burns easily and produces greater heat in proportion to its weight than any other fuel. It should never be burned in a close room.

Anthracite coal is a kind of mineral charcoal derived from ancient vegetation buried in the earth, and so thoroughly pressed that nothing is left but pure carbon, a little sulphur, and the incombustible ash. It kindles slowly, yields an intense, steady heat, and burns for a longer time without replenishing than the hardest wood.

Coke, often used in cities, is the residue of coal from which illuminating gas has been manufactured. The heat is intense, but transient.

Stoves for burning kerosene oil and gas have recently been introduced, and are now so nearly perfect that the care of a fire for cooking purposes is trifling. Gas can only be used in certain localities.

The cheapest fuel is the best kerosene oil. There need be no waste, no superfluous heat, no vitiated air, if the fire be extinguished immediately after the work is done, and if the stove be kept perfectly clean, so as to secure a free burning and perfect combustion. With two good stoves having all the latest and best improvements, a large amount of work can be easily and satisfactorily accomplished.

> The Making and Care of a Coal Fire.

If you intend to buy a new stove or range, get one simple in construction, that you may quickly learn all its parts and their uses; plain in finish, that you may easily keep it clean; and perfectly fitted part to part, with doors and dampers shutting absolutely close, so that you may control the fire and heat. This latter point is of essential


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importance in regulating the oven and in preventing a waste of fuel.

Become thoroughly acquainted with whatever stove you may have. If necessary, take it apart; learn how to clean it in the inside, to regulate the dampers for all the variations of wind, temperature, and fuel; and then learn how to make and keep a fire.

All stoves have a fire-box, with more or less space underneath for ashes; a slide damper under the fire, letting in the air; an outlet for the smoke; and a damper which regulates the supply of hot air, sending it around and underneath the oven, or letting it escape into the chimney. Remove the covers and brush the soot from the top of the oven into the fire-box; then clean out the grate; and if the stove have conveniences for so doing, sift the ashes in the stove and save all the old coal and cinders. Put in shavings or loose rolls of paper, then fine pine kindlings, arranged crosswise, and a layer of hard wood, leaving plenty of air space between the pieces. Be sure the wood comes out to each end of the fire-box. Put on the covers; and if the stove need cleaning, moisten some pulverized stove polish with water, and rub the stove with a paint brush dipped in the polish. When all blackened, rub with a dry polishing-brush until nearly dry. Open the direct draught and oven damper, and light the paper, as a slight heat facilitates the process of polishing. When the wood is thoroughly kindled, fill the fire-box with coal even with the top of the oven. Brush up the hearth and floor, empty the teakettle, and fill it with fresh water. Watch the fire, and push the coal down as the wood burns away, and add enough more coal to keep it even with the top of the fire bricks. When the blue flame becomes white, close the oven damper; and when the coal is burning freely, but not red, shut the direct draught. It seems impossible for some persons to understand that a coal fire is at its height as soon as well kindled, and needs only air enough to keep it burning. When it becomes bright red all through, it has parted with most of its heat, and begins to die out. Tons


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of coal are wasted in many kitchens, and ranges are needlessly burned out, by filling the fire-box till the coal touches the covers, and leaving the draughts open till the coal is red.

Nearly all stoves and portable ranges have the oven at one side of and a little below the fire. In brick-set ranges the ovens are sometimes over the fire. A stove has a door on each side of the oven, with the fire-box in front. A portable range has only one oven-door, and the fire-box at the end. In ranges where the oven is over the fire, the articles to be baked are placed on a grate near the middle, as the bottom of the oven is usually very hot. In stoves or portable ranges anything which has to rise in the oven, like bread, pastry, cake, etc., is placed on the bottom of the oven, and, if the heat be too great, a small rack or grate may be placed under it. Large pieces of meat are placed on a rack in a pan; while small cuts of meat, birds, etc., which are to be baked quickly, and any dishes which are to be merely browned, like scalloped dishes, must be placed on the grate near the top. Cultivate the habit of opening and shutting the oven-door quickly but gently. Learn the hottest and coolest places in the oven. Look at things as they are baking, and turn and watch till you are sure they can be left alone. If anything bake unevenly or too fast, put a screen between it and the heat,--a pan on the grate above or underneath, or a frame of stiff paper made larger than the pan, that it may not touch the dough. When the regulating dampers are closed and the oven is still too hot, lift a cover on the top partly off, although in a stove in which the parts are perfectly adjusted this will never be necessary. When the oven is not hot enough, open the direct draught, and rake out the ashes from the grate. Keep the grate cleaned out and the fire burning freely, when a very hot oven is needed. At other times keep the draughts shut and do not waste the coal.

To keep a brisk fire for several hours or all day, it is better to add a sprinkling of coal often, rather than to let it burn nearly out, and then, by adding a larger quantity,


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check the fire and retard the work. In using the top of the stove remember the hottest place is over the fire and toward the middle, not on the front of the stove. When you have once watched the flame in its passage over the top, down the back, and under the oven, then across, out and up on the opposite side and out into the chimney, you will understand where the greatest heat must be.

> Boiling.

The term "boiling" is often used erroneously in cookery. The expressions "the teakettle boils," "the rice is boiling," "boiled beef," etc., are all good illustrations of the rhetorical figure metonymy, but they are practically incorrect. In all cases it is only the water or liquid which boils. No solid can boil until first changed to a liquid. Solids become liquids at the melting-point. Liquids take the form of steam or vapor at the boiling-point. Boiling is the conversion of a liquid into steam by the application of heat sufficient to cause ebullition, or agitation of its surface. Boiling, therefore, as applied to the cooking of solids, is heating or cooking in a boiling liquid. It is one of the most generally used, and abused, forms of cooking. Boiling water, which is really cooked water, is the liquid usually employed. Water, as it is heated from below, expands into vapor. The air of the water and the steam shoot up in the form of bubbles; as they come in contact with the cold water near the surface, the bubbles collapse, the steam is condensed and descends with the cold water, making a double set of currents, which causes quite a commotion among the particles. As the whole body of water becomes hotter, these bubbles of steam rise higher and higher before collapsing, and occasion the sound which we call the "singing of the kettle." When the water is sufficiently heated, they rise and break at the surface, causing more or less agitation, according to the rapidity with which they are formed. Water is scalding hot at 150°, or when the hand cannot be borne in it. Water


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simmers when the bubbles all collapse beneath the surface, and the steam is condensed to water again, or at 185°. Water boils when the bubbles rise to the surface, and the steam is thrown off, as at 212°. When this boiling-point is reached, the heat escapes with the steam; and all the fire in the world cannot make the water any hotter, so long as the steam escapes. If the fire be very fierce, so that these bubbles are formed and expelled rapidly, and the water boils over, the water is no hotter; it only evaporates or boils away faster, and can only be made hotter by confining the steam, which in ordinary kettles is impossible, owing to the enormous expansive force of the steam. With a few exceptions it is a waste of fuel, time, and material to keep the water boiling at such a galloping rate that the cover has to be lifted to prevent boiling over.

A kettle should never be quite full, as the water expands in heating, and, in boiling over, makes needless work and injures the stove. Water will boil more quickly in a kettle with a rough surface than in one with a smooth surface, as the water adheres to a smooth surface with greater force, and this force or attraction must be overcome before boiling takes place. Small, clean gravel is sometimes kept in a smooth kettle to facilitate the boiling.

Water boils at a higher temperature when there is sugar, or salt, or anything in it to increase its density. It takes longer for it to boil; but it is hotter, when that point is reached. No one who has been burned by boiling syrup ever doubted this fact. Fresh water boils at 212°; salt water, at 224°. If we put salt with the water in the lower part of a double boiler, a greater degree of heat is obtained by which to cook the articles in the top.

Water boils at a lower temperature, that is, more quickly, when the pressure of the air upon the water is diminished. Before a rain the pressure of the air is lessened, because the air when filled with vapor is lighter. Observing housekeepers have often noticed how quickly things burn at such a time, and foretell a rain by the rapidity with which water evaporates.

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The pressure of the air is less the higher we ascend above the level of the sea, since we leave much of the air below us. Cooking in boiling water requires a much longer time in mountainous regions; for the water boils so quickly that it holds less heat than in lower altitudes, where it is subject to greater pressure. Water, in boiling, loses the air or gases which give it a fresh taste and sparkling appearance. It becomes flat and tasteless. If there be any impurity in water, boiling or cooking will destroy it. Then, by cooling, and exposing to pure air again, it becomes aerated and palatable. But water for cooking, unless there are impurities to be removed, should be used when freshly boiled. This is especially important in making tea and coffee.

Soft water should be used in boiling where the object is to soften the texture, and extract the soluble parts, as in soups, broths, tea, and coffee. Hard water, or soft water salted, is better where we wish to preserve the articles whole, and retain the soluble and flavoring principles, as in most green vegetables. Beans or dried peas, which contain casein or vegetable albumen in large proportion, should be cooked in soft water, as the lime in hard water hardens the casein, and prevents the vegetables from becoming soft.

In cooking meat, fish, and vegetables in water, we should remember these two facts:--

Cold water draws out the albuminous juices, softens the fibres and gelatinous portions of meat, and holds them in solution. It draws out starch, but does not unite with it.

Boiling water hardens and toughens albumen and fibrine, bursts the starch grains, and is absorbed by the swelling starch.

Meat is cooked in water for three distinct purposes:--

First. To keep the nutriment within the meat, as in what is usually called boiled meat. To do this, we leave the meat whole, that only a little surface may be exposed. Plunge it into boiling salted water, and keep it there for five or ten minutes; this hardens the albumen over the entire surface, and makes a coating through which the juices


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cannot escape. Then move the kettle where the water will simmer slowly. See that the cover fits tightly, to keep in the steam. The water should be salted to raise the boiling-point, and increase the density of the water, and thus prevent the escape of the juices. A small amount of the albumen in the outer surface will be dissolved and rise as scum. This should be removed, or it will settle on the meat and render it uninviting in appearance. If the meat be put in the kettle with the bones uppermost, then the scum will not settle on the meat. In turning the meat do not pierce into it to let the juices escape. It will take a longer time to cook in this way, but the fibrine will be softened, and the meat made more tender and of better flavor, than when kept boiling furiously.

Second. Meats are cooked in water to have the nutriment wholly in the liquid, as in soups and meat teas. Cut the meat in small pieces; soak in cold water, the longer the better; heat gradually, and keep hot, but not boiling, until all the goodness is extracted.

Third. Meats are cooked in water to have the nutriment partly in the liquid and partly in the meat, as in stews, fricassees, etc. Put the meat in cold water, let the water boil quickly, then skim, and keep at the simmering-point. The cold water will draw out enough of the juices to enrich the liquid; then, as it reaches the boiling-point, the meat hardens, and retains the remainder.

Fish is usually cooked in boiling water for the purpose of keeping the juices in the fish. As the flesh of fish breaks easily, the water should never be allowed to boil rapidly. Salmon, mackerel, or any very oily fish, should be put into cold water, and brought almost to the boiling-point quickly, as they have a very strong, rich flavor. A little of this flavor can be lost without injury to the fish.

Vegetables, which are mostly starch and water, should be put into boiling water and boiled rapidly, that the small portions of albumen which they contain may be hardened on the surface; then, if the starch grains are burst quickly, they will absorb the albuminous juices within.

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Milk boils at 196°. Being thicker than water, less of the steam escapes, and the whole liquid becomes hot sooner than water. The bubbles rise rapidly, and, owing to their tenacity, do not burst at the surface, but climb over one another till they run over the edge of the pan.

Milk, grains, custards, and any substances which, from their glutinous nature, would be liable to adhere to the kettle, are much more easily and safely cooked in a double boiler, or in a pail within a kettle of water. This is one form of steaming, or cooking over boiling water. In steaming, the water should not stop boiling until the articles are cooked. This is a convenient form of cooking many articles which it is troublesome to cook with a dry heat, and yet do not need the solvent powers of water. Watery vegetables are rendered drier by steaming; and tough pieces of meat which cannot be roasted, are first made tender by steaming, and then browned in the oven. Sometimes meat is steamed in its own juices alone; this is called smothering, or pot-roasting.

Stewing is another form of boiling or cooking in a small quantity of water, at a moderate heat, and for a long time. The word means a slow, moist, gentle heat. It is an economical mode of cooking, except where a fire has to be kept for this purpose alone. The long-continued action of a gentle heat softens the fibres; and the coarsest and cheapest kinds of meat, cooked in this way, with vegetables, may be made tender and nutritious. By judicious use of seasoning material, remnants can be made into savory and nourishing dishes. Whether we call it simply a stew, or ragout, haricot, or salmi, the principle is the same,--that of slow, steady simmering, rather than fierce boiling.

Fricasseeing (meaning "to fry") is a form of stewing. The term is usually applied to chicken, veal, or some small game, which is cut into pieces, and fried either before or after stewing, and served with a rich white or brown sauce, and without vegetables. Any meat that is quite juicy and not very tough may be first browned on the outside to keep in the juices, and improve the flavor. Coarse,


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tough pieces should not be browned, but dipped in vinegar to soften the fibre; and pieces containing much gristle should be put into cold water.

Braising is a form of stewing done usually in a braising-pan or kettle which has coals in the cover. Any granite or iron pan with a close cover to keep in the steam will answer the purpose. When placed in the oven, where it is surrounded by a slow, uniform heat, it needs very little attention. It is one of the most economical and satisfactory ways of cooking large pieces of tough, lean meat, pigeons, liver, fowls, heart, etc. Stock, vegetables, and bacon may be used, if a rich liquor be required; but water, herbs, and simple seasoning make it very palatable.

Baking is hardening or cooking in a dry heat, as in a close oven. Nearly all flour mixtures--bread, pastry, and some forms of pudding--are more wholesome baked than when cooked in any other way. Many forms of baking are really stewing; but the closely confined heat of the oven gives an entirely different flavor from that obtained by stewing over the fire. This is seen in the difference between stewed and baked apple-sauce, beans, etc.

Meat and fish, if baked in the right way, lose less in weight than when boiled or roasted. To bake them properly, the juices must be kept within the meat. An intense heat at first is necessary to harden the albumen; then reduce the heat, that the outside may not become too hard, and baste frequently to prevent drying. No water should be put in the pan at first, as it will then be impossible to have a greater heat than that of boiling water (212°), while for baking meat 280°, or more, is required. Put one or two tablespoonfuls of beef drippings, or some of the fat from the meat, in the pan, to use in basting, as the fat can be made much hotter than water. If the joint be very large, or the meat need thorough cooking, like poultry, veal, or pork, water can be added to check the heat as soon as the outside is cooked sufficiently to keep in the juices. This will keep the meat moist. Small cuts, and meats to be eaten rare, are better baked without water.

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Many persons accustomed to meat roasted before the open fire object to the flavor of baked meat. If the oven be very hot at first, and opened every five minutes just long enough for the basting, which is an essential part of the cooking process, the smoky odor escapes. If there be no damper to check the heat underneath the oven, put the grate or another pan under the dripping-pan, as no heat is required under the meat. This will prevent the fat in the pan from burning and smoking the meat. Place the meat with the skin side down at first; then, if the juices begin to flow, the skin keeps them in; and, when turned, it brings the side which is to be up in serving next the hottest part of the oven, for the final browning. All baked meat or fish should be salted and floured all over. Salt draws out the juices; but the flour unites with them, making a paste which soon hardens, and keeps them within. Baste often, and dredge with salt and flour after basting. If there be no shelf attached to the stove near the oven, keep a box or frame of wood just the height of the oven, near by, and pushed up close to it; it will be found very convenient to pull the pan out upon it when basting or turning the meat.

> Frying.

Frying is cooking in hot fat,--not boiling fat, as it is so often called, for fat can be made much hotter than the temperature required for cooking, which is 385°; the temperature for boiling fat is from 565° to 600°. Frying, when properly done, is immersion in smoking-hot fat. The fat should be deep enough to entirely cover the articles to be cooked; and as it may be used many times, it is not so extravagant as some suppose to use such a quantity. The prime secret of nice frying is to have the fat hot enough to harden instantly the albumen on the outer surface, and thus prevent the fat from soaking into the inside of whatever is to be fried. As a much higher temperature is required than that for boiling or baking, the articles are


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very quickly cooked; and they have a flavor quite unlike that given by any other form of cooking.

All articles to be fried should be thoroughly dried and slightly warmed. If very moist, or very cold, or too many articles be fried at the same time, the fat becomes chilled, and the grease soaks into them. Then, as the moisture heats and boils, it causes such a commotion that the fat and water boil over, and there is great danger from the fat taking fire and spreading to your clothing, to say nothing of the trouble of cleaning the stove and floor. For this reason be careful not to let a drop of water, or of condensed steam from another kettle, fall into the hot fat.

Meat, fish, oysters, croquettes, etc., should be dried, and rolled in fine bread-crumbs, to absorb any moisture; then rolled in beaten egg, and in fine crumbs again. The hot fat hardens the albumen of the egg instantly; and that, with the crumbs, makes a fat-proof crust.

Fish balls, fritters, and fried muffin mixtures contain egg and albumen sufficient to keep them from soaking fat, if the fat be only hot enough. A Scotch bowl, or deep iron or granite kettle, and a wire basket small enough to fit down into the kettle, are best to use in frying.

The Test for Hot Fat.--When the fat begins to smoke put in a bit of bread; if it brown quickly, or while you can count sixty as the clock ticks, it is hot enough for fried potatoes, doughnuts, etc. When hot enough to brown the bread while you count forty, it will do for fish balls, croquettes, etc.

When ready to fry, plunge the basket into the hot fat to grease it, and then place in it the croquettes, or whatever you may be frying, so that they will not touch each other. Hold the handle of the basket with a long fork, and plunge it quickly into the fat, but do not drop the handle, because if the fat begin to boil up, you can then raise the basket quickly, and wait till the ebullition has subsided before plunging it in again; and thus avoid the danger of burning from the overflowing fat. The fat cools rapidly, when many articles are fried at once, and


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should be reheated to the test point before frying any more.

Time.--Any cooked mixture, such as fish balls and croquettes, or very small fish, oysters, scallops, etc., will be fried brown in one minute. Thicker fish, chops, and fritters require longer cooking; and, after plunging them into the hot fat, the kettle should be set back from the fire to prevent them from becoming too brown before they are sufficiently cooked. While frying, be careful not to spill any fat on the stove. Keep a tin plate in your left hand, and hold it under the basket, or ladle, as you take things from the fat.

Draining.--Thorough draining is another secret of nice frying, and you cannot find a much hotter place than right over the hot fat; so hold your basket of fried food over the hot fat, and shake slightly, till all dripping has stopped. Then place the fried articles on soft or unglazed paper, to absorb the fat, and keep them hot till ready to serve. Never pile fried articles one on another.

> Fat for Frying.

Lard, a mixture of half suet and half lard, drippings, or oil, may be used for frying. Suet and drippings are cheapest, and are preferred by many. Suet used alone cools very quickly and leaves a tallowy taste. Drippings should be carefully clarified (see page 18) and freed from water, or the articles cooked will soak fat. Lard, with a small proportion of suet or drippings, is more generally satisfactory. There is often a very disagreeable odor to new lard, and more or less water in it, as is shown by the froth and ebullition as soon as it becomes hot. Before it is used for any purpose it should be clarified with slices of raw potato and heated until it becomes still. Olive oil is the purest fat for frying, but it is too expensive for general use. Cottonseed oil has been recently introduced for cooking purposes, and is an excellent fat for frying, though many dislike its peculiar odor. It may be heated much hotter than lard,


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without burning, and, when properly used, imparts no flavor to the food. When the fat becomes too brown for potatoes or doughnuts, use it for croquettes, etc., and then use it for nothing except fish balls and fish. When it becomes very brown, put it with the soap-grease.

If you wish to fry several kinds at the same time, begin with potatoes, following with doughnuts or flour mixtures, and crumbed articles last; otherwise the crumbs will fall off; and adhere to whatever is put in subsequently. After every frying, strain the fat through a fine wire strainer or fine strainer cloth into a tin pail, not pouring it, but dipping it from the kettle with a small long-handled dipper. Let it cool slightly before straining as, if very hot, it will melt the strainer. Sprinkle coffee on the stove, while frying, to disguise the odor.

> Sautéing.

The ordinary way of frying in a shallow pan with only a little fat, first on one side and then on the other, which the French call sautéing, answers very well for some purposes,--omelets, fried cakes, and many things browned in butter; but nearly everything that requires any more fat than just enough to keep it from sticking, is much better immersed in hot fat. Fish balls, chops, and oysters are more quickly cooked, and absorb less fat, when fried by immersion than when sautéd. Some people are extremely unwilling to make the change, and persist in going on in the old way of cooking in a little, half-hot fat which spatters over stove and floor, soaks into the fish or meat, and is often served as the only gravy. Upon such, dyspepsia is a fell avenger.

These directions for frying are given thus minutely not from any desire to recommend this method of cooking; but, if people will fry their food, they should do it in the only correct way. With the exception of salt-fish balls and small, dry, white fish, there is nothing fried, even in


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the right way, that would not be equally good, and much more conducive to health, were it cooked otherwise. Saratoga potatoes, or chips as they are called, are really chips, for persons with weak digestion. Oysters, chops, fritters, and the materials in croquettes, muffins, and doughnuts may be cooked in many better ways.

Frying answers very well for open-air cooking, on the seashore or in camp, where appetite and digestion are strengthened. But in most modern houses, where the odors from the kitchen penetrate the remotest nook and corner, there are many serious objections, apart from the indigestibility of the food thus prepared. The acrid odors given off during the heating of fat are very irritating to the mucous membrane of the nose and throat, and they are equally so to a sensitive stomach. Some persons who can usually digest fried food cannot do so when the stomach has been irritated by the odor in frying. If all those who are so fond of croquettes, fritters, etc., were obliged to inhale the smoking fat, these dishes would seldom appear on the table.

> To clarify Fat.

Any uncooked fat, such as suet, the fat from chickens, and all superfluous beef fat, should be saved and clarified, or made pure and clear. Cut the fat into small pieces, cover with cold water, and cook over a slow fire until the fat has melted, and the water nearly all evaporated. Then strain and press all the fat from the scraps. When cool, remove the cake of hard fat, or, if soft, draw it to one side and let the water underneath run off. You may put with the new fat any fat from soup stock, corned beef, drippings from roast beef, veal, fresh pork, or chicken; in fact, anything except the fat from mutton, turkey, and smoked meat. If there be any sediment adhering to the fat, add a little very cold water, and, after stirring well, pour the water off, or skim the fat from the water. Place the fat in a pan over the fire, and, when melted, add one small raw potato, cut into thin slices. Let it stand on the top


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of the stove or in the oven till the fat has stopped bubbling, is still, and the scraps are brown and crisp and rise to the top. Strain through a fine strainer, and keep in a cool place. Fat thus cleared will keep sweet for weeks, if melted occasionally, which should always be done when any new fat is added.

Boiling the fat causes the water in it to evaporate, and the organic matters or impurities to be decomposed, and deposited as sediment; the potato, owing to its porosity and power of absorption (being mostly starch and carbon), absorbs any odors or gases, unites with the sediment, and thus cleanses the fat, very much as charcoal purifies water. Clarified fat (or dripping, as it is usually termed) answers for many purposes in cooking,--frying, sautéing, basting roast meat, greasing pans; and as shortening for bread, plain pastry, and gingerbread.

> Egg and Bread Crumbing.

Hints on saving bread crusts and stale pieces, for egg and bread crumbing, are given on page 75. The crumbs should be sifted through a fine sieve. For fish or meat mix a little salt, pepper, and chopped parsley with them. Beat the eggs slightly with a fork in a shallow dish. Add one tablespoonful of water or two tablespoonfuls of milk for each egg. Add a little sugar if they are to be used for sweet dishes, and salt and pepper for all others. Sprinkle the crumbs on a board, and roll the chop, fish, or croquettes first in the crumbs; shake off all that do not adhere. Cover all the articles with the crumbs and let them stand till dry, then dip into the beaten egg, and be careful to have every part covered. Drain from the egg, and roll again in the crumbs. Croquettes or any soft mixture should be held on a broad knife while being placed in the egg. Then dip the egg over them, and slip the knife again lengthwise under the croquette, drain, and put it carefully into the crumbs. Scallops and very small oysters can be more easily crumbed by placing them with the crumbs in a


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sheet of paper, and tossing or turning till all are crumbed. Remember the order: crumbs first, then egg, then crumbs again.

> Roasting.

Roasting (meaning "to heat violently") is cooking before an open fire; it implies the action of a much greater degree of heat than that employed in any of the previously specified methods of cooking. The heat of an open fire is about 1,000°.

In the days of open fireplaces this was the general way of cooking large pieces of meat; but now it is adopted only in large establishments, or by those who can afford the additional expense of a tin kitchen, and a range constructed especially for roasting. Baking, or roasting in a very hot oven, being a cheaper and more convenient way, is more generally used. Ovens in stoves and ranges are now well ventilated; and meat when properly cooked in a very hot oven, and basted often, is nearly equal in flavor to that roasted before an open fire. The fire for roasting should be clear and bright, and of sufficient body to last, with only a slight sprinkling of coal, through the time for roasting.

The meat is placed on a spit, and hung in the jack in a tin kitchen, and made to revolve slowly before the fire by winding a spring in the jack, or by turning the spit at regular intervals. The meat should be rubbed with salt and flour, and placed on the spit, very near the fire at first, to harden the albumen; then removed a little distance to prevent the meat from burning, before the inside is cooked. Place two or three spoonfuls of dripping in the pan to use in basting the meat; baste often, and dredge two or three times with flour. When the joint is very large, place a buttered paper over it.

As the juices of meat are composed largely of water, the water will be evaporated as soon as it reaches the boiling-point, or 212°. When meat is placed in a moderate oven, the heat is not sufficient to harden the albumen


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on the outer surface; the watery juices evaporate, the steam escapes, and the meat becomes dry and tasteless. But when meat is exposed to the intense heat of an open fire, or a very hot oven, the albumen hardens; and if basted frequently with hot fat, the meat is completely enveloped in a varnish of hot melted fat, which assists in communicating the heat to the inside, and checks the evaporation of the juices; this prevents the escape of the steam, so that the inside of properly roasted meat is really cooked in the steam of its own juices. The evaporation of juices is proportionate to the amount of surface exposed. A small joint has a larger surface in proportion to its weight than a large joint weighing double or treble the amount; therefore the smaller the joint to be roasted, the higher the temperature to which its surface should be exposed, that the evaporation may be more quickly arrested.

For very thin pieces of meat, which have a still larger surface in proportion to the weight, such as steaks and chops, a greater heat is required. This is accomplished by broiling, which should be done near the burning-point, the highest degree of heat employed in any form of cooking.

> Broiling.

Broiling (meaning "to burn") is cooking directly over the hot coals. The degree of heat is so intense that the articles to be cooked would be very quickly burned, were they allowed to remain for any length of time over the fire. The secret of nice broiling is frequent turning. The fire should be bright red, and nearly to the top of the fire-box, so that the broiler may almost touch the fire. There should be no flame, as the flame from coal is due to the combustion of tarry vapors, and will cause a deposit of coal tar on the meat, giving it a smoky, nauseating flavor. When the fat from the chop or steak drips on the coals and blazes, it deposits a film of mutton or beef fat all over the meat, which has a very different flavor from that of the coal flame. When the steak has much fat, remove


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part of it. A little fat will improve the flavor, baste the meat, and keep it from becoming too dry. The oven damper should always be opened while broiling, that the smoke of the dripping fat may be carried into the chimney.

There is nothing better for broiling than a double wire broiler. It is well to have several sizes. Grease it well with a bit of the fat from the meat, or with salt pork rind. Place the thickest part of whatever is to be broiled next the middle of the broiler. Do not salt the meat, as salt draws out the juice. Have the platter heating, and everything else ready, that you may not leave the broiling for an instant. Hold the broiler firmly, with a coarse towel wrapped around your hand to protect it from the heat. Place it as near the fire as possible, to sear the outside instantly; count ten, then sear the other side. The heat hardens the outside, and starts the flow of the juices. They cannot escape through the hardened outer surface; but if the meat were cooked wholly on one side before turning, they would soon come to the top, and then, in turning the meat, the juices would drip into the fire. But if the meat be turned before the juices reach the top, the other surface is hardened, and they cannot escape, but flow to the centre, and are there retained. As the juices are converted into steam by the heat, they swell and give the meat a puffy appearance. If the broiling be carried on too long, these juices gradually ooze between the fibres to the surface, and are evaporated; and the meat becomes dry, leathery, and indigestible.

Meat should be broiled only long enough to loosen all the fibres, and start the flow of the juices. The meat will spring up instantly when pressed with the knife; and when it ceases to do this, the juices have begun to evaporate, and the meat shrinks. A little experience will enable one to decide just when to remove the meat. Do not cut into it, as this lets out the juices. It should be pink and juicy, not raw and purple, nor brown and dry. Turn over as often as you can count ten, and cook four minutes, if


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one inch thick; six, if one inch and a half thick. The smaller and thinner the article, the hotter should be the fire; the larger the article, the more temperate the fire, or the greater the distance from the fire.

Fish should be floured to keep the skin from sticking. A large baking-pan to keep in the heat should be held over anything which is very thick and requires to be cooked a long time.

Chickens, which need to be thoroughly broiled but not burned or dried, require about twenty minutes. A safe way is to wrap them in buttered glazed paper; cook the inner side first, and after the first searing keep them at a little distance from the fire.

Chops, bacon, birds, and dry fish are also improved by broiling in the buttered paper. Take a large sheet of white letter paper, or two small sheets. Rub them well with softened butter. This keeps out the air. Season the chop or fish with salt and pepper, place it near the centre of the paper, and fold the edges of the paper over several times and pinch them together close to the meat. The paper will char a long time before blazing, if care be taken not to break through the paper and thus let in the air and let out all the fat. The meat will be basted with its own fat and juices. A longer time will be required for the broiling; but when the paper is well browned, the chop will be done. It will be found juicy and delicious,--free from any smoky flavor.

Pan-broiling is broiling in a hissing hot spider or frying-pan. Heat the pan to a blue heat. Rub it with a bit of the beef fat, just enough to keep the meat from sticking, but do not leave any fat in the pan. Sear the meat quickly on one side, then turn without cutting into the meat, and brown the other side before any juice escapes into the pan. Cook about four minutes, turning twice, and serve very hot with salt and butter. If the pan be hot enough and no fat used, this is not frying, it is broiling on hot iron; and the flavor is almost equal to broiling over the coals.

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> Time Tables for Cooking.

Baking Bread, Cake, and Puddings.
Loaf bread . . . . . . . . .	40 to 60	m.
Rolls, biscuit . . . . . . .	10 to 20	"
Graham gems . . . . . . . . .	30	"
Gingerbread . . . . . . . . .	20 to 30	"
Sponge cake . . . . . . . . .	45 to 60	"
Plain " . . . . . . . . . .	30 to 40	"
Fruit " . . . . . . . . . .	2 to 3	hrs.
Cookies . . . . . . . . . . .	10 to 15	m.
Bread pudding . . . . . . . .	1	hr.
Rice and Tapioca . . . . . .	1	"
Indian pudding . . . . . . .	2 to 3	"
Plum " . . . . . . .	2 to 3	"
Custards . . . . . . . . . .	15 to 20	m.
Steamed brown-bread . . . . .	3	hrs.
Steamed puddings . . . . . .	1 to 3	"
Pie-crust . . . . . . . . . .	about 30	m.
Potatoes . . . . . . . . . .	30 to 45	"
Baked beans . . . . . . . . .	6 to 8	hrs.
Braised meat . . . . . . . .	3 to 4	"
Scalloped dishes . . . . . .	15 to 20	m.

Baking Meats.
Beef, sirloin, rare, per lb. . . . . .	8 to 10	m.
Beef, sirloin, well done, per lb. . . .	12 to 15	"
Beef, rolled rib or rump, per lb. . . .	12 to 15	"
Beef, long or short fillet . . . . . .	20 to 30	"
Mutton, rare, per lb. . . . . . . . . .	10	"
Mutton, well done, per lb. . . . . . .	15	"
Lamb, well done, per lb. . . . . . . .	15	"
Veal " " " . . . . . . .	20	"
Pork " " " . . . . . . .	30	"
Turkey, 10 lbs. wt. . . . . . . . . . .	3	hrs.
Chickens, 3 to 4 lbs. wt. . . . . . . .	1 to 1 1/2	"
Goose, 8 lbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . .	2	"
Tame duck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	40 to 60	m.
Game " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	30 to 40	"
Grouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	30	"
Pigeons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	30	"
Small birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	15 to 20	"
Venison, per lb. . . . . . . . . . . .	15	"
Fish, 6 to 8 lbs.; long, thin fish . .	1	hr.
Fish, 4 to 6 lbs.; thick halibut . . .	1	"
Fish, small . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	20 to 30	m.

Boiling.
Eggs, coffee, clams, oysters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	3 to 5	m.
Rice, green corn, peas, tomatoes, asparagus, hard-boiled eggs . . .	15 to 20	"
Potatoes, macaroni, squash, celery, spinach, sweetbreads . . . . .	20 to 30	"
Young beets, carrots, turnips, onions, parsnips, cauliflower . . .	30 to 45	"
Young cabbage, string beans, shell beans, oyster plant . . . . . .	45 to 60	"
Winter vegetables, oatmeal, hominy and wheat, chickens and lamb . .	1 to 2	hrs.
Fowls, turkey, veal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	2 to 3	"
Corned beef, smoked tongue, beef à la mode . . . . . . . . .	3 to 4	"
Ham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	4 to 5	"
Halibut and salmon in cubical form, per lb. . . . . . . . . . . . .	15	m.
Blue-fish, bass, etc., per lb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	10	"
Cod, haddock, and small fish, per lb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	6	"

Frying.
Smelts, small fish, croquettes, fish balls . . .	1	m.