The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-10-11
CHEAP MEALS.
The Useful Work of the Female Supcrin-
tcndcnt of the New York Cooking school
Cheap and wholesome Food-ynlunbIc
Su IN q estiOus.

Suggestions.
The vital question in these days of re-
duced salaries, of lack of employment
AMI general shrinkage of incomes, is how
to live, how to sustain life, how to keep
up with the least outlay of money neces-
sary. This question has been most sat-
isfactorily answered by little cook book
entitled "Fifteen Cent Dinners for
Workingmen's Families" which has
been issued by Miss Juliet Corson, Su-
perintendent of the New York Cooking
School, at No. 8 st. Marks place, New
York. The book is intended for gratui-
tous distribution, and is filled with val
liable suggestions as to the proper and
judlcious selection of healthful, nourish-
ing food at the lowest possible cost. The
work contains useful hints regarding
marketing, cooking, seasoning, and every
thing appertaining to the procuring, pre-
pairing and furnishing meals in satis-
factory and economic manner. The
author attempts no ridiculous and i'm
practicable efforts to limit the frugally
disposed to an unvarying vegetable or
farinaceous diet, but shsws by facts and
figures that good blood and bone-making
meals can be prepared by modest drafts
ttDOu SltuutlcSb DtiISC. LII ltlt DlC-
face Miss Carson says /:
"The first food of nearly all living
creatures is milk, the only entire natural
food; that is, the only food upon which
health and strength can be sustained for
any length of time, without using any
other nourishment. For this reason it is
the best food you can give the children
if you must restrict their diet at all;
and it also is valuable addition to the
food of grown persons. While this fact
about milk is settled, it is generally ac-
knowledged by people who study the
subject that we thrive best on n variety.
We get warmth and strength from
fat meat, wheat, rye, barley, rice,
milk, sugar, fruit, peas, beans, lentils,
macaroni, and the roots of vegetables
we gain flesh from lean meat, unbolted
flour, oatmeal, eggs, cheese, and green
vegetables and, if we want to think
clearly, we must use fish, poultry, the
different grains, and good variety of
fruit and vegetables.
In the chapter headed elbow to Cook,
Season and Measure" we find the fol-
lowing valuable suggestions:
Roasting or Baking.-The first is the
most extravagant way of cooking meat,
as it wastes nearly third of its sub
stance in drippings and steam ; the se-
cond is also very wasteful, unless the
meat is surrounded with vegetables, or
covered with flour paste. When you
do bake meat without covering of paste,
put it into a hot oven at the start, to
crisp the outside and to keep in the val
liable juices ; you can moderate the heat
of the oven as soon as the meat is brown,
aud let it finish cooking slowly by the
heat of the steam which is constantly
forming inside of it. 1t generally takes
twenty minutes to bake each pound of
of meat.
Broiling.-This is another extrava-
CANT way of cooking meat, for a great
deal of the fat runs into the fire, and
some nourishment escapes up the CHM
ney with the steam. IT you must broil
meat, have your fire hot and clear, and
your gridiron perfectly clean and, I'M
less it has ledge to hold the drippings,
tip it toward the back of the fire, SO that
the fat will burn there, and not blacken
the meat as it would if the gridiron were
laid flat, and the fat could burn under
the meat. Never stick fork into broiled
meat to turn it and do not cut it to see
if it is done for if you do either you
will let out the Juice. Study the follow
ing table, and then remember how near
the time given in it comes to cooking
according to your taste. Fish will broil
in from five to ten minutes ; birds and
poultry in from three to fifteen minutes ;
chops in from ten to fifteen minutes, and
steak in from ten to tive nty minutes.
Boiling and SteWing.-Boiling food
slowly, or stewing it gently, saves all
its goodness. After the pot once boils
you cannot make its contents cook any
faster if you have fire enough under it
to run a steam engine so save your
fuel, and add it to the fire, little, only
enough at time to keep the pot boiling.
Remember, if you boil meat hard and
and fast it will be tough and tasteless,
and most of its goodness will go up the
chimney, or out of the window, with
the steam. Boil the meat gently, and
keep it covered close to save the steam
it will condense on the inside of the
cover, and fall back in drops of moisture
upon the meat. The following table
shows how much is wasted in the
different ways of cooking we have
just spoken of. Four pounds of beef
waste in boiling or stewing, about one
pound of substance, but you have it all
in the broth if you have kept the pot
covered tightly, in baking one pound aud
n quarter is almost entirely lost unless
you have plenty of vegetables in the
dripping pan to absorb and preserve it
in roasting before the fire you lose nearly
one pound and half. Do you think
you save the waste in the shape of drip
pings it is poor economy to buy fat at
the price of meat merely for the pleasure
of trying it out.
Fiying.-This is very good method
of cooking fish, and of warming cold
meat and vegetables. To fry well put
into your frying pan enough fat to cover
what you mean to fry, and let it get
smoking hot, but do not burn it E; then
put in your food, and it will not soak
fat, and will generally be done by the
time it is nicely Drowned. To saute or
half-fry any article, you should begin
by putting in the pan enough fat to
cover the bottom, and let it get smoking
hot, but not burn, before you put in the
food. This also is good way to warm
over meat, vegetables, oatmeal or pud-
ding.
A very good way to cook meat and
earthen jar, cover it tightly, and cement
the cover on with flour paste then bake
for about four hours.
If you are going to use piece of meat
cold do not cut it until it cools, and il
will be more juicy. If the meat is salt
let it cool in its own pot liquor, for the
same reason.
Salt and Smoked Meats. - These