The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-08-15
FTRELEss COOKING.

ture is introducing to the farming
community In one of its bulletins. OF
course 1t sounds almost too good to be
true, out the department says that ex-
periments have been made, and the
areleSs cooker has delivered the goods.
The theory is that many eatables,
especially those. that are boiled, are
Deeter when cooked for a long time at
low temperature than they are cooked
Ior short time at a high temperature.
vegetable keep more of their flavor
and nutriment by the slow method.
and meats of all kinds are more tender
and palatable. And another joy is that
a mere fraction of the, fuel is used in
the process
The contrivance that the department
has been experimenting with comes
from Norway and is known as the
make one for himself.
The cooker has been in use in Nor
way for a long time and was a part
OF the Norwegian exhibit at the Paris
exposition in 1867. 1t is simply a box,
lined thickly with straw or hay or
newspapers. with a close-fitting nest
that will hold tightly-covered bucket.
The bucket contains a chicken or
piece of meat or anything else that is
to be cooked. The bucket is placed on
fire. its contents brought to a boil.
ana then the bucket is tightly covered,
dropped into it's nest in the hay cooker
and covered up. 1t is allowed to stay
there, without any other source of
heat.stwo or three times as long as
would be ordinarily required. The
heat of boiling water is retained by
the hay-filled box. and the cooking is
done at a minimum expenditure of
fuel and labor.
The bulletin says that the scheme
of Slow cooking is an old one, Count
Rumford having devised a cooking
box of much the same sort many
years ago. 1t has also been found
that eggs placed in boiling water, COW
al to etc nd
fectly cooked by the time they were
cold enough to eat.
The practical application of the
cooker. to family economy is in the
preparation of meats, vegetables.
macaroni and cereals that are the bet
ter for long, slow cooking. The water
may be brought to a boil at night,
and the food placed in the hay cook
er, where it will be hot and ready for
breakfast in the morning. Soup made |
in the same way in the early morning |
is in prime condition for dinner. In |
fact almost anything that is wanted |
for dinner can be cooked in the morn |
ing and will be ready by the time din |
ner is wanted, without keeping up the |
fire at ALL A single burner of an oil |
or gas stove that will boil the water /
Will suffice for preparing a whole i
meal, and it can be set away in the !
hay box and allowed to cook itself, |
without heating up the dining room |
or kitchen.
If several receptacles are to be used |
at the same time for meat and diff |
ferent sorts of vegetables more than |
one bueket-needs to be used. In fact, |
an old-fashioned ice chest that will |
hold three. or four buckets in a row |
can be. divided off into nests tightly |
packed with felt or paper. and with a |
thick covering inside the lid. The |
buckets must have tight-ftting tin |
covers. With such an arrangement it |
is said that Whole meal can be easily |
and economically prepared with one |
boiling of water and without any
smell or heat.
The German government has been
for the benefit of poor families having
to economic in their fuel bills. The
American Army hass-also been trying |
them. not from motives of economy.
that beans. vegetables and anything
else that the army wants to cook can
be loaded into the fireless cookers
when camp is broken in the morning,
the transport wagons all day and a
hot, well-cooked dinner produced,
ready to serve. when camp is made m
the evening The comnissary general
says he has found that the fireless
cookers work excellently for army
purposes. and there seems no parti-
cular reason why they should not
work even better in civil life.
Something of the same plan was
advocated number of years ago by
fame, who produced the Aladdin
cooker, that he said at the time was
destined to frevolutionize housekeep-
ng all over the world. His cooker
principle, but instead of depending on
polling water for its heat, it was plac-
ID over an ordinary lamp. The cook
er was the same sort of an insulated
81, TIM 49, Gel
hin sheet metal and an air space be-
ween.
There was a hole in the bottom for
he top of the lamp chimney. and an
,ther opening at the top for the draft.
Cooking was carried on in the box as
n an ordinary oven, and all sorts of
hinRs from boiled onions to rice pud-
iings could be cooked in the oven at
he same time without any mingling
Il havOrS.
Mr. Atkinson gave many demon {
trations of his cooker in the larger {
tiles and achieved some remarkable I
esults. He required two or three
ines as long to cook anything in his
insulated box as one required on a :
tove. but he would start it going in I
he afternoon in a large hall. and af- {
er lecturing would open the oven and !
erve supper to his audience, all sorts ]
f meats. vegetables and buildings,
nd even, bread, being cooked simply !
" the heat of an ordinary reading
amp.
The cooking box rested on thin iron
egs over the top of the lamp. and Mr..
.tkinson pointed out that it did not
Interfere with the use of the lamp for
Illuminating purposes. ana tnat tnere
-as no smell The wife could put on {
he breakfast in the evening and the I
amily could sit around and read and |
hen go to bed, leaving the lamp
urning all night, awakening in the g
corning to find their meal ready
ooked 4
1t was a beautiful scheme, and
God many cookers were sold, ana
ONE of them at least did all that was
laimed for them But for some reas-
n they never secured any vogue and