The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-23


Helen Campbell, Mrs. Margaret T,
Sangster. Mrs. Kate Gannett Wells
Mrs. Louise E. Hogan, Miss Anna Bar
rows. Mrs. Mary Roberts Smith, Mis-.
Emily G. Balch. Miss Lucy Wheelocl
and others.
XII. THE SCIENCE OF COOKERY
In the strictest sense. cookery itsel
may not be science, but behind it.
processes lie the principles of many sci
ences. Chemistry, physics. botany ant
bacteriology all play their part in the
preparation of the food we eat.
We can hardly overestimate the i'm
portance of chemistry in the kitchen
but hitherto in the study Of foods il
often has been given an undue promi-
hence while other sciences have beer
neglected. Organic chemistry is Sc
complex that as yet the best chemists
are unwilling to give US many positive
statements about foods and the trans
| formation which they undergo in di-
| gestion, and while a single food mater
ial may be studied with comparative
ease, complications arise from the com
bination of our modern menus. Many
| changes once ascribed to chemical ac-
ton are now found to be caused by
bacteria
Many household processes can be used
| to illustrate science study in the
schools, and the principles which are
learned there may be applied at home
Physics teaches us the laws of fire and
water upon which changes of matter
mainly depend. Without heat. and
moisture. cookery would be impossible
! and the laws that rule these forces are
the same in the kitchen as elsewhere
We must learn that heated matter ex-
pands; that substances in fine particles
or in solution change form more rapid
ly than they could do otherwise; that
water is constantly changing its place
under the influence Of heat; that al
sea level it boils at a fixed tempera-
ture (212 degrees Fahrenheit or 10C
degrees centigrade). and cannot then
be made hotter under ordinary condi-
| tons.
The upward tendency of heated air
gives the clue to the most mysterious
arrangements of hampers and draughts
in a kitchen range. The contraction
and expansion of different metals and
their ways of transmitting heat have a
direct bearing upon the chemical
changes which take place in foods
cooked in different utensils.
Bright new tin reflects heat and is
best suited to baking in gas and kero-
sene ovens where the heat below is in
absorbs heat and should be used where
an oven does not bake well at the bot
TOM A knowledge of range of tenpera-
ture required for cooking common
foods is Indispensable to the house.
keeper who would feed her family
properly. 'to5
The mechanical effects of heat and
cold are also important. Gelatin some
times perplexes the cook by refusing to
harden properly. This may be due to
some ferment or bacterial action. but is
more often the result of too high de-
gree of temperature. Once try this
experiment and the thing is plain:
Strain coffee or lemon jelly into sew
eral small molds. leave one in a warm
place. put another in. a pan Of cold
water. third in a dish of cracked ice.
and surround fourth with ice and salt.
The last hardens rapidly and If left
long enough will freeze. as the tenn
perature of the ice and salt will be
considerably below, the freezing point.
The others will cool more slowly.
though the first will not begin to hard
en- for long time.
The use of oil in salad dressings and
of butter and kindred fats in pastry
and cakes is also subject to the laws Of
heat and cold. Any dough to be rolled
thin, like cookies or pie crust, should
be very cold A thermometer with wide
range of temperature is useful
kitchen appliance.
Economic botany teaches us the
times and seasons TO plant foods. and
the likeness of members of the same
families of plants upon food substan-
ces, must be studied by the methods of
the botanist.
Some knowledge Of the new science of
bacteriology is essential for the guard
ian of cellar and refrigerator. This
t1l rx-ft he
ever-present dust and all the danger
arising from 1t, but also with the prep
aration and preservation of foods The
scuring of milk. the flavor of butter.
the ripening of cheese fruit cakes and
mince pies. the spelling of canned goods
and the decay of fruits. vegetables and
meats are all due primarily to the mi
cro-organismS known as bacteria
Bringing his knowledge gained
through many patient experiments to
the aid of the housewife. the bacteriol-
ogist tells her that clean foods keep
better than dirty ones; that steriliza-
ton, which consists of subjecting any
substance for a sufficient time to the
temperature of boiling water. or. better
still to a higher point by dry heat or
superheated steam, will render suspect
ed water or food comparatively harm
less.
Because most bacteria do their work
more easily in liquids, concentrated or
drier substances are more easily pre-
served. Fruit juices in the form of jel-
lies rendered solid with sugar require
less protection than fruits with liquid
Juices; the latter must not only be
thoroughly sterilized, but also kept in
air-tight jars.
The consumer sometimes objects to
the change in form and color often
caused by a high degree of heat. hence
the professional food packers frequent
~ use certain chemicals to retard bac-
terial action. The use of preservatives
and chemical colors and flavors is
serious question at the present time.
Few housekeepers have the time.
knowledge or appliances for food analy-
sis. but all can bring suspected articles
to the local or state board Of health.
1t takes weil-trained chemist TO de-
tect fraud. and legal authority to fight
it. Fortunately. most of the common
adulteration of food is what is termed
sophistication. or the substitution of a
harmless. cheap substance for a more
costly one. Everv purchaser should be
sufficiently familiar with food values
TO recognize the impossibility of selling
the real articles at the prices for which
they are sometimes offered.
The principal chemical changes which
take place in food while cooking may
be described in a few words. but before
this can be done the foods must be
The substances in all foods
may be grouped under five divisions
water. mineral matter. proteid, fat and
carbohydrates. These substances are
combined in varying proportions in
foods or natural form as well as in the
of the cook.
Charts have been published by the
United States government which ex-
1ai cfo fra ch ha