The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1896-01-23
Scientific Cooking.

=
culture began system of experiments to
aid mankind in living cheaper and Ill
obtaining the most nourishment from the
least bulk of food. Co cooperation is had
from selected schools and colleges having
courses of domestic science, including
cooking These act as experiment sta
tions, and students are experimental up
on scientifically, eating various foods at
various times and under varying condi-
tions. 1t is noted how much of the food
forms nutriment, how much is useless
waste and what nutriments are most val
liable.
Mr.. G. d. Woods, nutrition expert of
the Agricultural Department, has had
charge of the experiments with meats.
To him the writer is indebted for infor-
nation which will appear in an official
publication by the department.
Mr.. Woods has cooked foods, especially
meats, scientifically, and there would ap-
pear to be no reason why any other cook
who can read cannot do the same by using
his directions. All that the scientific
cook need have is a copy OF these direc-
tons, an accurate thermometer and an
ordinary intelligence. There is no special
brand of stove or frying pan in the para
phernalia.
Vegetables, Mr. Woods says, are less
readily and less completely digested than
animal foods. This is because the nutri-
tious parts of vegetable foods are inclosed
in cells with woody walls, which resist
the action of the digestive fluids. These
woody tibers, he says, initiate the lining
of the intestines, and the food is hurried
through them before properly digested.
Thus the woody tibers of vegetables often
prevent not only the digestion Of the vege
4,l1 ,f nj "A fnoI for al
the same time. Both meat and vegetables,
| however, are necessities. Vegetables con-
| tain large amounts of sugar and starch,
called carbohydrates. Meats contain
! protein and fats. Protein is the most val
liable ingredient of food 1t is a name
given to all compounds containing nitro
gen. All the protein and about % per
cent of the fat of meat are digested by a
healthy person.
Experiments Indicate that roasted meat
is more completely digested than boiled
meat.
The smaller the cut to be roasted the
hotter should be the fine. An intensely
hot fire makes thick crust on the outside
of the roast, by coagulation, and prevents
the drying up of the juice inside. If a
small cut be subjected to a mild fire the
inside will be dried up while the crust is
slowly forming. In other words, the
meat is incased in shell of non conductor
so rapidly that the heat has not time to
penetrate to the interior.
Large cuts, on the other hand, should
be subjected to less heat when roasted
than small ones. The juice of meat is a
poor conductor Of heat, and large roast
will become burned and changed to char
coal on the outside before the heat can
penetrate the inside. The result of hot
fire on large roast would, therefore, be a
| lump of raw meat covered with a thick
burnt crust.
The same rule holds good for broiling
according to our authority.
A steak exposed to an intense heat for
ten minutes will be thoroughly cooked
and yet have the desirable rare, Juicy
! appearance when cut.
If you are to make a meal of meat alone
it should be either roasted, broiled or
fried, for by these methods its juices are
saved.
If you are boiling meat remember that
it is impossible to make a rich broth and
obtain a juicy, highly favored piece of
meat at the same time If the meat is to
be eaten, and not the liquid, the cooking
in water should be as follows
Plunge the cut at once into a generous
supply of boiling water, and keep the
water at the boiling point for ten minutes
| Meat boiled in this way is covered with a
coating which seals the pores and pre-
vents the nourishng ingredients from es-
Gaping If the boiling is continued longer
than ten minutes the interior will become
hard. The temperature OF the water
therefore, should be allowed to cool to
about $50 degrees f., when the meat can
be cooked without becoming hard This
method will require longer time but the
meat will be tender and juicy instead of
tough and dry, as will be the case when
the water is kept boiling, or nearly boil
ing, during the entire time of cooking
If you are boiling delicate fish, such as
salmon, cod or halibut, do not plunge in
to boiling water, because Its motion tends
to break the fish into small pieces Fish
should first be put into water that is on
the point of boiling. The water should
be kept at this temperature for a few
minutes, and then allowed to cool to
about $50 degrees F., as in the case of
meats.
If you are boiling meat into soup or
broth, remember that the smaller the
pieces the longer the cooking, and the
hotter the water the richer will be the
broth and the poorer the remaining meat.
Do not have the water boiling when you
begin. Let it be cool when you put the
meat in, and allow it to become gradually
hotter The longer the water is heated
the tougher and more tasteess the meat
becomes.
The ''soup meat" or that which is left
in the pot after the broth is made, has
great nutritive value, though tasteless. 1t
is as easily and completely digested as the
same weight of ordinary roast. 1t con
tains nearly all the protein of the meat,
and if properly combined with vegetables
and well seasoned an agreeable and nutri-
tive food may be obtained.
If both the broth and meat are to be
used-that is, if a stew is to be made
the process should be entirely different.
For stewing, the meat should be cut into
small pieces and put into cold water, in
order that as much of the juice and ma
terial as possible may be dissolved The
temperature Of the water should then be
raised to about $50 degrees F., and kept
there for some hours. Treated in this
way, the broth will be rich and the meat
tender and juicy. If the water be made
much hotter than $50 degrees F., the re-
suit will be dry, hard libers. If this
higher temperature be maintained long
enough the connective tissues will be
| changed to gelatiDe and partly dissolved