The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1901-01-24

~ 90 .EUIur4
H4s.saie wsiters and family physl-
clans are constantly decrying fried
food. and vita good cause. for next
to cur national dish-pie-the frying
OF foods must bear the responsibility Of
our national ailment-dyspepsla In
reality, however. the trouble is not 50
much In the frying as IN the way Il ID
done. A writer in the London Queen
explains that the failure Of so many
cooks in frying is due TO the fact that
they dry fry" everything. having no
notion whatever Of "wet frying. The
Queen explains that to esaater, as the
French call it.. or dry fry" is to cook
food in a small quantity in hot fat
and in a shallow pan. Omelets, pan
cakes. liver and bacon. chopped yege-
tables cut small. are samples of the
sort Of food which may be correctly
cooked thus.
Small pieces Of meat and fish may
also be sauter. and when done are very
good. although it is open to question
whether they would not be much more
satisfactory il fried In a larger pan.
with a more generous proportion Of fat
When sauter, articles should be IN con-
slant motion. owing TO the pan being
jerked to keep them from sticking; and
they should be turned SO that they
may be equally cooked on both sides.
To wet fry is to immerse in hot fat.
and this method II Is Of which cooks
are so much afraid, which constitutes
real frying, The first necessity for ii
is to have plenty Of fat; sufieient. that
Is. 10 cover the food all over 50 that
the heat shall be conveyed TO every
part alike, above and below. Nor need
1t be supposed that to use quantity
OF fat thus is extravagant It is, on the
contrary, economical. as the fat can be
used again and again The small guam
tity OF fat that is melted in a frying
pan gets burnt. and Is always thrown
out; whereas fat properly cared for
need never be thrown out; Il is strain
ed free from any little pieces Of bread
or batter that may have got into it, Is
washed when dirty, and can be con-
stantly renewed, little pieces Of fat be-
ing melted or drained into It, thus
keeping up its bulk and also its quail
lty II is never allowed to burn. be-
cause 1t IS never left on the hot plate
moment after 1t has done its work.
1t cannot be too strongly insisted
upon, that for successful frying the
temperature Of the fat is Of supreme
Importance When fried articles come
TO the table broken. sodden. uneyen
and notified looking, the probability is
that they have been cooked in too lit
tie fat. When they come TO table
greasy. the fat has not been hot enough.
A good brown color and a crisp dry
surface are the marks Of good frying.
It Is requisite to have a clear idea Of
what is meant by this. Boiling water
registers 212 degrees on the thermome-
ter, but different fats boil at different
Temperatures. so It Is no guide to say
fat must boil and as a matter Of fact
fat must not boil; it must simply be
hot enough 10 produce what the French
graphically call the surprise" that Is.
hot enough TO contract the tissues Of
the meat and earbonize its surface
Fat has attained this condition when
It is still water OF course, bubbles when
it boils), and when a blue fume rises
from the center The ordinary domes-
tic test Is a good one. Throw piece
Of bread into the fat II It browns i'm
medlately the fat is hot enough; II It
remains pale the fat needs to heat a
little longer And. 1t may be added.
the smaller the article to be fried. the
hotter should be the fat. Supposing we
could test the heat Of fat by a ther-
mometer, we should let it attain tenn
perature OF 365 degrees for articles that
need to be fried through. and OF 400
degrees for such as can be cooked in
stantly. We can rarely test the heat
thus, but the fat must be hotter than
II is for others.