Rock Island daily Argus., 1888-03-26
WOMAN AND HOME.
TRYING AN OLD BUT NOW UNUSED
PROCESS OF COOKING.

Leaving Something for Chiidren-The
English Servant GirI-SIiIk for the Ba-
Lies-Mr,. Langtry's Taste-The FASH
ipnnble Walst-suggestions.
1t is well known fact that better and
more delicious coffee is made by pouring the
boiling water over the ground coffee than by
boiling the coffee itself, as unfortunately is
yet 80 often done.
The boiling water that is poured over the
coffee ceases 10 boil the instant it leaves the
kettle in which it was boiled Through evap-
Grafton it IL already somewhat cooled on the
way 10 the coffee pot, and by further contact
with other bodies the temperature is still
further lowered until it is evident that the
tempcrature in the coffee pot is several de-
Crecs below the boiling point. The coffee is
consequently not made with boiling but with
warm wutcr.
1t is. therefore, but natural TO conclude that
other victnuls snay be prepared in the same
manner, as it is the heat, not the boiling
that causes tho necessary changes to convert
them into proper food. The boiling only
transforms some of the water into steam;
the llyelier it boils the more is evolved; but
the temperature is not increased thereby;
il is 2l2 legs. when it commences to boil and
remains so if you boil it ever 50 hard. All
the supcrlluous heat is used to make steam,
and leaves as steam, without doing any good
to the ia gradients to be boiletts
1t is a mistake TO suppose that piece of
swell bIiled' soup beef has been heated to
2l2 degs. throughout. The heat pcnetrates
SO slowly that a good sized piece of beef may
remain comparatively cold inside after stay
ing ia boiling water for an hour or more
aud if YOU actually measure the temperature
s,ft tI,,.. inn ~ moment
is ralcn out of the pot and pronounced 'well
donc,n you will tie surprised TO find that IL
seldom reaches over 10 dogs. 1t was, there
fore, cooked at Il temperature considerably
below the boiling point.
There Is, furthermore, good reason to sup
pose, that, if it is possible to prepare the food
properly 10y simply heating it to tho boiling
point and then Ceasiug, then we have found II
way to make our food more nutritious and
savoGy. True, it is mostly water that cvnpor-
ates during the long continued boiling, but
our smell tells us that something else is also
being lost, and it is but fair to suppose that
this something might improve the flavor of
the food if prevented from escaping. 1t is
moreover n common known fact that the
longer an egg is boiled the less toothsome and
digestibe does it become, but it is not so
commonly known that the most nutritious
part in meat is identical to that in the egg,
and as easily spoiled by long continued boil
ing.
The above should be sufficient to cause any
one to try an old, but, to my knowledge, in
this country unused process in cooking; one
that, moreover, possesses the advantage of
considerable saving in labor and fuel, and,
furthermore, makes it impossible to scorch
or burn anything.
The process is as follows: The food is
brought to n boil and allowed to boil for a
few minutes. The kettle is then removed
from the fire and carefully protected in
heat safe SO as to prevent the heat from es-
Gaping The food will then be cooked by its
own heat, or, in other words, the tempera-
ture will for several hours remain high
enough to produce the necessary changes in
the victuals under treatment.
The heat safe necessary for the foregoing
process can he easily constructed by any
body, and at II merely nominal cost. First
get u common packing box of a suitable size,
cover the bottom with layer of picked wool
or cotton two or three inches thick, then
from IA piece Of zinc or sheet iron make a
hollow cylinder little larger than the ket-
Tie used, place the cylinder in the box, and
fill the interval between the cylinder and
the box with cotton Or wool two to three
inches thick. a common pillow Will an
Swer for the lid, and the safe isready for use.
When tho kettle is removed from the fire
care should he taken not to raise the lid,
which should fit as closely as possible, and
when placed in the safe tho pillow must be
tucked well down all around After remain
ing in the heat safe for from two TO four
hours, according to circumstances, tho food
will be done, and you will be astonished to
find what a well cooked and tOothsome dish
you have prepared with so little trouble.
Hay or COW hair, being cheaper can be
substituted for wool or cotton but do not re-
tain the heat quite as well, especially in ap-
paratus of smaller size. The safe can, of
course, be made to contain several vessels at
one time, and meat, potatoes beans, etc, can
all be prepared at the same time.
Potatoes, beans, rice, peas and likes can be
placed in the safe as soon as they boil, but
large pieces Of meat should be boiled for
about half an hour, so as to allow the heat to
penetrate them better
With a little practice and use of common
sense anybody will soon be able to prepare
their food by this process, and thus save
much fuel labor and time.-Charles Osmund
in Detroit Free Press.