Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-21

| ginning, so as to seal up the juices within,
but after that should be continued at a much
lower degree until the whole joint or cut oi
meat be thoroughly cooked.
Ii stove makers would give the matter
more attention, it is conceivable that an iron
stove might be made, in the use of which
the heat could be regulated and adapted to
each special purpose. The stove makers are,
however, obliged to meet the demand fol
quick work, which is almost invariably bad
work in cooking.
Introducing Right Kind of Methods.
In dealing with the problem myself the
first step was to find out a way to apply the
heat to the food receptacle without any d.
rect communication between the source OF
heat and inside of the receptacle, oven or
vessel in which the food is placed That is a
very simple matter, If you only know how
to do it. The ordinary stoves overlook or
burn, dry up or dessicate, and, in the com
mon practice, spoil most of the food that is
cooked in them. The right kind of stove
stops the evaporation in great measure even
of the water in the food The right kind of
heat in such stove renders tough meats
tender, saves the favors, and may be so ap-
piled as to make the maximum of stupidity
necessary to work any injury to the food.
There are degrees of stupidity, but the
maximum is seldom attained.
There are, however, very great obstruc-
tions in the way of introducing the ri ght
method of cooking into the domestic
kitchen; notably the inertia of woman and
the combined inertia and obstinacy of
"Biddy."
Cooking In a Pine Box.
NV first undertaking. was to put some
heat into pine box by way of column Of
water, then put the food into the box in
suitable cooking vessels and leave the heat
to do its work. Pine wood is one of the
best non-conductors of heat that can be
found. 1 devised method of heating
water with kerosene oil lamp in a copper
chamber corresponding to the water back of
the common kitchen range. put this heat
into the pine box by way of some pipes, the
box being lined with metal so as to prevent
leaking. In this pine box 1 subjected sew
eral kinds of food TO the simmering process.
tried everything without failure, even
when dealt with an old goose warranted
to be as tough as anything that could be
found. 1 cooked it in such tender and
nutritious manner that it could not be
carved, but had to be minced and served on
toast
But then what? I attempted to give
away this invention. published it, nota-
bly, at a meeting of working men aud
women, where 1 recommended it to the
14-hour wives of the S-hour men! But the
men would not take it; they said that they
did not want simmered food, that they
would not eat ''bone soup" No one else
took up the invention, and it is now dead.
What One Lamp Can Do.
The next problem was to try dry heat
without any column of water, and to adapt
1t to the conditions of an oven in which
mapy kinds of food could be cooked at the
same time. This, too, have accomplished.
I can cook fve-course dinner for ten peo-
pie in one food receptacle with only one
lamp.
The heat that may be derived from the
top of the chimneyof common central
duct lamp, which has wick one and one
half inches in diameter and in which
quart of oil is consumed in eight hours, is
to cook so pounds of bread. meat
and vegetables in three charges in the eight
hours Meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, onions
and custard pudding can all be cooked in
.he same oven at the same time
EDWARD ATKINSON.