Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1869-08-11
agricultural.
How to Cook and What to Eat.

Professor Blot is a Frenchman who knows
everything relating 10 cookery. He has stud
led into the science of it, so that his meth
DDS not only make food most palatable, but
also most healthy and besides, he teaches
the true economy of getting the best and
the most out of all the materials used, allow
ing no waste. TIL professor has been talk
ing to Springfield (Mass.) housewives upon
his favOrite theme, and a sketch of his first
lecture is given below
A person with a correct knowledge of
cooking may have good food at a moderate
cost but without that knowledge, yery poor
living with any limit to the expense.
1t it is true that " the minds the stand
ard of the man." and that health of the
mind cannot exist without health of the DO
dy, and that the health of the body depends
greatly on what one eats, why is it not one
of the greatest accomplishments to know how
to cook well? This conundrum can be an
swered or be given up, as the reader may
choose, for now | am going to tell you a few
of the good things that Prof. Blot says ::
though 'twould be impossible to put down
half of them here, and | cannot by writing
enable my readers to see the Professor cook
any of his various dishes, nor give them a
taste with a spoon or a fork they must at
tend his lectures to get all that. l can only
repeat a few of his Instructions that are
worth knowing.
Boiling isithe most abused branch in COOK
ing. To boil meat, put it into the kettle
with fresh cold water, and let it gradually
heat till it boils then keep it boiling Just
as slowly as possible till done. If boiled
fast the flavor evaporates rapidly, and en-
tirely, finally, SO much water has to be used
in constantly supplying what has boiled
away Then another result of the rapid
boiling is that the meat will be hard, as well
as without good flavor.
Coffee should not be boiled at all, for the
same reason given for the meat-it takes out
all the flavor. If you smell the coffee when
you are coming down stairs to breakfast, it
is a sure sign that it will not be good only
the bitter is left for drink, the aroma having
assembled, perhaps to the attic. A tin cup
large enough to hold all the grounds necess-
airy for the pot, may be fitted to the top of
any tin eoffee-pot, removing the lid the bot
tom of the cup must be of fine wire gauze
or perforated tin will do if very fine the
coffee, ground much finer than it is usually.
must be put into the cup-allowing two
ounces for a quart of water-then boiling
water should be poured on the grounds and
allowed to filter through into the pot. The
latter should stand back on the stove where
it is hot, but not boiling, till a sufficient
quantity of water has gone through. when it
will be ready for use. 1t is better to have
the nose of the pot stopped bya tin cap or a
cork during the fltering, SO there will be no
evaporation. The strength of the coffee can
be extracted more thoroughly when it is
ground fine and by having it filtered in the
way above mentioned, no sediment is found
in the bottom.
When boiling cabbage there will be but
little odor from it-not enough, certainly,
to scent the whole house, if it IS only allow
ed to simmer, and not boil fast. For cook
ing purposes one should never use water that
has been standing over the fire for a long
time take fresh, cold water. and heat it
when just it is wanted. And it is better to
have only a moderate fire.
When necessary to keep a dish of>soOd hot
for a time after it has been taken up, it
should not be set into the oven, nor back on
the stove to dry; but it may be set into a
pan containing some water, boiling on the
stove, and the food will be kept hot without
drying up.