Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-01-02
Gentle Heat in Cooking.

1t is a simple method of reasoning TO
say that the greater the heat the quicker
the cooking is done | have often seen
| the fire increased in an emergency to
make the already boiling dishes cook
more quickly It is such an illusion of
the senses that they never seem to think
| of timing the difference. 1t needs bit
| of science to understand why boiling
water can never be made any hotter than
| 212 degrees, unless the steam is forcibly
| detained by immense pressure. SO
women have wasted their own physical
| strength in the unnecessary heat, have
| wasted no one can calculate how much
| fuel, have wasted food in many ways, and
| have kept our style of cooking in state
| of needless barbaritv.
| The gentle heat used is doubtless one
secret of the superior delicacy and rich
ness of the French cookery. We find
that some of their directions give certain
| numbers of sheets Of paper for cooking
| certain dishes. We do not intend to fol-
low their example in this, for we have.
not the utensils necessary to make paper
very available as fuel, nor would it be
economical in this country. We do not
| necessarily take the French authority for
example in anything, but we take a hint
from anybody, and improve on it if we
can.
With gentle heat and tight covers we
may have just the amount Of juice we
like in our vegetables. 1t is not even
necessary to have the heat quite up to
the boiling point Two hundred and ten
Fahrenheit will cook them perfectly, but
as this involves frequent trials with a
thermometer, I prefer to keep them sim
mering A glance will decide this, or per-
| haps the ear, if the hand at the same time
rests on the cover. Many kinds of meat
| can be cooked in this way very nicely.
| A rump steak three or fOu1 inches thick,
kept closely covered and cooked in its own
juices alone, will be far more tender than
when put in the oven, and this without
basting and without fat, the latter having
been trimmed off closely. With mushes
the improvement is equally great, prin-
cipally because it dispenses with the stir
ring. Mushes are stirred to prevent their
sticking and burning, though it is not
nearly so efficacious for this purpose, as
many imagine. 1t is the starch that
sticks and this is set free by the stirring,
so that in some cases the dish is more
likely to burn with stirring than with
out. This is true of samp, the southern
hominy. With four or five parts water
in tin vessel, it will cook quite smartly
to make it tender. without burning; but
stir it a little, and it will be qaite likely
to scorch If it barely SINNERS, however,
it will cook just as fast, and be in no dan
ger of scorching If it needs more water,
add it boiling hot, keeping the samp even
full. The small hominy mostly used at
the North has been found so difficult to
| cook, even over raging fires, that the
| hominy boiler has been devised for it, an
entirely superfluous article for that pur-
pose in some kitchens | wot Of. One part
| hominy is poured slowly into three parts
boiling water and stirred five minutes, or
until It sets (does not sink) then covered
closely d put where it will barely SIM
mer three fourths of all hour, or an hour,
according to its coarseness. Stir it as
little as possible in taking up with large
spoon, and, if a good article, 1t will be
light, delicate, delicious, and culver al
most like Jelly -Science Of Health.
Some years ago young woman IN
the city of New York wore $4,000 worth
of diamonds at her wedding, and now we
| find a poor sewing woman In Louisville,
who supports disabled husband and q
large family and pays rent by making
sixteen pairs of pantaloons week for
only 81 However, the young woman
who was married in New York is not the
poor woman who lives ia Louisville.
A novel claim has been before the
Irish Church Commissioners. A rector
claimed compensation for fifty-four ten
ants on his glebe, whose services he was
entitled to demand for four days in each
year. He threatened to evict tenant
| uho onoo rofucoH and tho Tenant vto1Iad