Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-04-07
WOMAN AND HOME.
TRYING AN OLD BUT NOW UNUSED
PROCESS OF COOKING.

Leaving Something for Children--The
English Servant Girl-IIilk for the Ia.
bies-Nrs. Langtry's Taste-The Fash.
ionable Waist-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 SO often done.
The boiling water that is poured over the
} coffee ceases to boil the instant it leaves the
kettle in which it was boiled. Through evap-
/ Grafton it is already somewhat cooled on the
way to the coffee pot, and by further contact
| with other bodies the temperature is still
| further lowered until it is evident that the
( temperature III the coffee pot is several de-
| grees below the boiling point. The coffee is
consequently not made with boiling but with
warm water.
1t is, therefore, but natural to conclude that
other victuals may be prepared in the same
manner, as 1t Is the heat, not the boiling,
that causes the necessary changes to convert
them into proper food. The boiling only
transforms some of the water into steam:
the livclier it boils the more is evolved; but
the temperature is not increased thereby;
1t is 212 degs. when it commences to boil, al |
remains so if you boil it ever so hard. All
tbs supertluous heat is used to make steam,
and leaves as steam, without doing any good
to the ingredients to be boiled
1t is a mistake TO suppose that piece Of
''well boiled" soup beef has been heated to
PIP degs. throughout. The heat penetrates
so slowly that good sized piece of beef may
remain cold i-cfIa
ing in boiling water for ar hour or more,
and If you actually measure the temperature
of the inner parts of the beef the moment it
is raken out of the pot and pronounced well
done" you will be surprised to find that il
seldom reaches over 10 dogs 1t was, there
fore, cooked at a temperature considerably
below the boiling point.
There is, furthermore, good reason to sup
pose, that, if it is possible TO prepare the food
properly by simply heating it to the boiling
point and then ceasing, then we have found a
way TO make our food more nutritious and
savory. True. it is mostly water that evapor-
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 It is
moreover common known fact that the
longer an egg is boiled the less toothsome and
digestible 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 70 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 boil. and allowed to boil for
few minutes. The kettle is then removed
from the fire and carefully protected in
heat safe so as to prevent the hest from es-
Gaping. The food will then be cooked By It's
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 merely nominal cost Frs.
get common packing baS of q suitable size,
cover the bottom with a layer Of picked wool
or cotton two or three inches thick, then
from piece of zinc or sheet iron make a
hollow cylinder little larger than the ket-
tie ussd, place the cylinder in the box, and |
fill the interval between the cylinder and /
the box with cotton or wool two 10 three /,
inches thick A common pillow viii an
swer for tho Id, and the safe is ready for use |
Nhen the kettle is removed from the fire 1
care should be taken not TO raise the I'D, /
which should lit as closely as possible, and l
when placed in the safe the pillow must be !
tucked well down Al around Alter remain
ing in TIE heat safe fer from two TO four
hours, according to circumstances, the food
viii be done, and you viii be astonishei to
ind what . Wen cooked AID tooshsone dish