The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-05-19

The seventh lecture in the series of
twelve on domestic economy by Miss
Marie Parloa was delivered yesterday
afternoon before a fair sized audience
i'm the Young Mems Christian associa-
ton auditorium. The subject was
Cooking and the Principles Underly-
ing" Miss Parloa illustrated her re-
marks with practical demonstrations.
She began her talk by speaking of the
principle of cooking. Miss Parloa ad-
vised her pupils to study the subject
and make home tests
There is no knowledge like expert
mental knowledge" said Miss Parloa,
"and all you may get by listening or
reading will avail but little unless it
is put into practice. Theory is a good
thing but it must be welded to prac-
tice to do much good" The lecturer
then discussed albumnous matter
1t is of various kinds and is found in
animal and vegetable substances.
III their natural conditions albumens
are liquid but some are solid and some
have a consistency between the two.
Coagulation is one of the properties of
albumen and heat has the power of
coagulatinE nearly all albuminous sub
stances. Miss Parloa's remarks on
milk were very interesting. She said:
"Thc caseine of milk does not coagu-
late when subjected to heat, but if the
milk be heated to 100 degrees and an
acid be added it will coagulate as is
the case when we make rennet custard.
This solidined mass will be soft,creamy
and digestible.
PRODUCT WILL BE DIFFERENT.
IF the milk be raised to the boiling
point and we add the acid the albumen
will be COagulated, but the product will
be quite different from that which we
got by adding acid to the milk at 100
degrees. The higher temperature hard
ems the albumen, which separates from
the water thus giving us a curd and
whey. the longer the cooking is con-
tinued at this high temperature, the
tougher will become the Curd and the
clearer the whey"
The flbrine in blood coagulates on
exposure to the air and also when sub
jccted to heat. Albun,inous substances
when cooked at a temperature below
the boiling point will be soft and di-
gestible. When cooked at a tempera-
ture of 2l2 degrees or over the albumen
becomes hard and indigestibln. The
purer the albumen," stated Miss Par
loa, the more marked is this cOndi-
ton"
In Illustrating the point the lecturer
used a quantity of milk and eggs. An
| interesting fact Which was demonstrate
| ed was that the curd from skim milk
| is much tougher than when made from
! whole milk and if n little cream be
| added to the milk the Curd will be
! still softer.
! The white of an egg is almost pure
! albumen while the yolk contains nearly
! twice as much fatty matter as it does
| alburnen. Miss ParlOa then told of the
| albuminous substances in meats. Miss
| Parlca exhibited pieces of meat to show
| the several kinds of tissues and ma
terial and what they mean in cooking.
| An interesting demonstration was the
! placing Of piece of meat into water.
| The water became dark colOred while
the meat paled. The rest of the expert
ment is stated in her, Miss Parloa's,
! own words:
IT TASTES INSIPID.
"Now ! will heat portion of the
! liquid to nearly the boiling point, say
$50 degrees. 1 taste It and find that 4
is rather irsipid, but on adding a little
salt / find the flavor pleasant.
You will notice the liquid which
before it was heated was clear and
dark, has now become lighter and
cloudy, with a flaky substance hoatine
through il. l will now return the hot
liquid to the saucepan AMI heat it tC
the boiling point, letting it boil for c
few minutes. AS ii bOilS q frCth OF
scum rises to the top. If | should LEI
this boil for some time quite LITTLE
of this froth would appear and it woull
gradually change to a dark stringy
substance and the liquid would become
clearer.
This dark, uninviting looking mat
ter is the same WhiCh we saw as
fiaky substance, when the liquid was
heated to about $50 degrees. and is tht
albumen which was taken from tn,
meat by the water. The low tempera
ture of about PIP degrees has hardened
it and made it indigestible. This il
what happens when lean meat, poultry
fish or eggs are subjected to a higl
temperature for any length of time.
II will now show you the effect o
heat on the white Of an egg, which il
almost pure albumen. | will cook on,
egg at n temperature much below tn,
boiling point and another at the boil
ing roint. BY the first method tn,
white of the egg cCagulates into
soft, creamy, digestible mass. By tn
second a horny, indigestible substanc
is produced"
Miss ParlOa afterward showed tn
effect of heat on the egg substances
The science Of boiling, how to boil, L
stew, a la Casserole, etc, were ex
. planned by the lecturer. In speaking o
meats Miss Parloa said that it is a pit
mutton is not liked al it is nutritious
easy to digest and inexpensive. Sh
gave hundred and one hints on tn
matter of meats and their several de
glees Of nutrition, The latter part q
the lecture was taken up i'm giving yer
valuable hints FOR the preparation q
dishes, This feature was probably a
beneficial as any of Miss Parloas pre-
ViOus instructions.
The eighth lecture, which will be de
= livered Thursday afternoon will be uu
ON THE Characteristics Of Frenc
Cooking" The lecture will begin a
2.3O o'clock instead of at o'clock, as
has been formerly. Miss Parloa las
evening gave an interesting lecture q
the South Side branch of the Youu
I Womans Christian association.