Los Angeles herald., 1892-03-16
AN ITALIAN OVEN,

Contrivances That Prevent Dust, Smoke
and Other Annoyances.
When the Italian cooking apparatus is
used. neither dust. dirt. gas, smoke,
heavy cake, soggy potatoes nor explo-
sions ruf1ies tempers. 1t is neither range
nor simply stove. 1t looks like a tub
covered with shining tiles of blue and
white porcelain. It is a tritie high, and
in order to operate it to the best advan-
tage it Is best to stand on a little foot
stool OF. platform. Under the stove is a
semicircular closet reaching up to about
half it's height and holding from one to
three sacks (about four bushels) of char
coal. On the top are one, two or three
openings-little square, boxlike CRATES,
sinking perhaps four or five inches. and
about eight inches square. Under the
CRATES are receptacles with doors for
ashes, and in the center is larger re-
ceptacle for heating dishes.
Over the stove and about half way up
the wall is a canopy, shaped like the
stove at the bottom, but gradually mar
rowing to the top at the front and side
until it is almost tunnel shaped, where
it joins the chimney, is an opening into
the chimney, about the size of a very
small stovepipe. There is always q
good draft without hampers
For boiling, few bits of cane are put
in the square or CRATE over which the
kettle or the saucepan is to be PLACED;
then shovelful of charcoal is put over
the canes, light is applied and, if you
are in hurry, over the hole is put Gu
rious contrivance very like stoyepipe
perhaps two feet high, with funnel at
the top, contrivance that is expressively
known in Italian as ''il diavolor' possibly
because it starts the fire in such mar
velously short time.
If the articles to be boiled are vegeta-
bles, the kettle is placed directly over
the CRATE, and I'll diavolo' is laid upon
the shelf above. If, however, some
thing more delicate is to be cooked. a
tripod about three inches high is put
over the CRATE and the boiler is placed on
that, so that there is not even possi-
bility of burning or scorching; then a
circle of Goals is put on the outside OF
the stove about the boiler, which is
tightly covered. 1t takes from twenty
minutes to half an hour to cook this
way, and everything cooked is cooked
all over.
For baking, the preliminary prepara-
tions are the same, but the dish hold
ing the mixture is placed in an outer
dish of block tin, and over it is put that
wonderful magician, the "forno d1
campagna," that locks like a peck OF
half bushel measure, according to its
size, made of sheet iron and inverted
There is an opening at one side, III
which slips the handle of the baking tir
or the saucepan, and over which the
form slips, settling firmly down on the
stove.
Under the dish that contains the ma
terial to be baked is the charcoal fire il
the CRATE; about it glowing Goals are pu
and replenished before the glow dies out
and on top of the "forno" more glowing
Goals are placed and treated in the same
way. Everywhere there is an equal diff
fusion of heat. Mince pies, sponge cake
custards, bread and turkeys are Drowned
perfectly. The .'forno" wasn't invented
by an Italian, but by Frenchman, ant
it would be quite possible to use it will
our charcoal stoves. New York Sun.