Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1899-11-11
COOKING AS AN ART.
One OF the Most Useful and Is
Power for Good In Every
.".U Home, "".

" Home.
In olden times women of noble birth
and princcly heritage did not despisc
cooking as an art. In its primary
sense, an art is any acquired skill or
power. The narrow meaning given the
word in modern times has no founda-
ton SO far as its derivation can be
traced. In its powerful effect on the
health and physical strength, and thus
upon the entire we'll being Of man, the
art Of cooking must be regarded as one
of the most useful OF all arts. No wise
person, man or woman, can afford to
despise cooking. Like spinning and
sewing. cooking has always been es-
pecially Wonan's task. 1t was suited
to her strength and taste for dealing
With minutiac Wise men and women
have always recognized the immense
power for good or evil that lies in the
food Of people and in its preparation.
In primitive times, when war was the
chief business of mon, they had no
time to prepare food, and it was then
left exclusively to women, with other
tasks Of the household. Even the art
Of medicine was practced in those days
chiefly by women.
Cooking in olden times was an art
for queens TO attend to and supervise.
The old rhymes speak Of the housewife
~ skill Of princcsses with skillets and
sauccpans, as though it were the most
important part Of their business, as,
indeed, it was. No woman in old chiv-
.,1r 4i,,,a J., !, E.
fear she would be considered 4 mental
ii she displayed it. Like the queen of
hearts in the nursery tale, she made
her own tarts and bag buildings. super
intended the roasting OF vcnison and
the preparation of venison pastics and
other substantial dishes.
The art OF cooking does not, as some
ambitious young women Of to-day seem
TO imagine. lie chiefly in preparing or
namcntal dishes. The woman who
builds a pyramid of sugar icing, decor
ated in thc most dazzling and elaborate
manner, may know nothing Of cook
ing. In its best sense it implies the
knowledge Of the most wholesome.
most cn,icing. as we'll as the most ex-
peditious, methods of preparing the
best foods Of various kinds. There is
a failure In every method Of cooking
1000 that requires an undue expendi-
ture of time. 1t is necessary to an at
rractive table that there should be q
variety OF food. and it is also ncces-
sary to maintain the highest health
! is not often possible to spend a con
siderable amount Of time on one dish
W / ~.
is necessary that we learn to cook ex-
peditiously, or in such manner as
not to absorb too much attention dur
ing the time taken. The highest art
Of cookery also demands the prepara-
ton Of food in such manner thatth
shall be the least loss Of nutrimcrt.
In cooking meats there is proba bly, less
loss OF nutritiTe parts in broilnr and
IN roasting than in any other ways OF
cooking. This is also the way the prim-
tive man cooked the fruits of the chase.
and it is the best and most natural
method of preparing meats. In both
processes, which are analogous. the
meat is or should be subjected to a.
fierce heat first on one side and then on
the other. This sears over the surface
and forms a brown crust on the out
side. The meat is then withdrawn n
little from the heat and cooked through
more slowly. The difference between
the roast and the broil is in the greater
thickness Of the meat in roast, which
requires TO be more often bastcd 10
keep its surface from hardening or
burning in the cooking. We do not
mean baked meat or roast. The oven
IS a modern method, and the objection
to 1t is the same as The objection to
SpaAning' beefsteak, that is, irving
1t without grease" in q pan. It dries
the meat and does not give rs juicy a
steak The presence Of air around the
roast keeps it more moist The WON
an skilled in cooking must know this
and thousand and one other things
which only an intelligent woman can
know and apply. The common hirclinr
cannot learn to do the best cooking
n. Y. Tribune
Clever Phrase.