New-York tribune., 1911-11-14
Converfin9 fbe Cook
to the .S0Yer Method
When She Sees That 1t Will Save Her the Scour-
ina of Pots and Pans She Will Speedily
Fall in Love with the Paper Bag.
ev Martha McCuIloch Williams.

But would IT he easy to get the COOK
to take up Soyers method of paper bag
cooking"
That question was put to me the other
day by one OF my friends who has been
oaptivated with the paper-bsgged lunch
cons and dinners I have invited her to eat
with me.
| In reply to her query | told her how
| had converted one cook to NJ. soyers
method with ore demonstration This
! PARTICULAR queen of the kitchen was
! Creole cook who has followed her madam
UP North. away from the delights of her
native New Orleans. She feels that she
knows pretty well all that is to be known
| about cooking, especially of the finer parts.
and not without reason-her gumbo. her
tomatoes with shrmps her red snapper
la Creole. are things whose first eating
may serve TO mark gastronomic epoch.
| Because her madam is my friend, and
| had eaten things out Of paper bags, the cook
was sent to see the new method for her
self. Less than respectful she cannot pos
sibly be. especially toward one whose cook
cry she had deigned TO approve, yet | was
conscious OF certain bewildered amuse-
ment in her though she said cvilly to my
! opening explanations:
"Yessum ! done kivered things wild
Taper. to keep um from brownin' too hard.
Cake-and stuffed aigpl1rt-and sech as
dat. Reckon hits putty much de same
1T is. and it isn't" | said Covering
paper doesn't hold in all the steam. though
1t does stop crusting over"
| At that she looked doubtful more doubt
ful than ever but her eyes were hawk
keen as he watched me grease bags and
| slip into the biggest OF them well seasoned
! nllets of blueish, along with a thinly sliced
| onion, tomatoes peeled and Sliced, a good
( lump of butter and generous squeeze OF
| lemon juice. When ] mounted the tight
| sealed bag upon a wire trivet, and set IL
| I'm the hot oven on the grid shelf. she
thrust in. her hand-lt is better than any
thermometer-and said almost apulogetl-
| cally: Oats scorchin hot
! 1t has To be, | explained. AT first.
YOU know-to get the cooking well started J
almost green. unpeeled bananas. putting In
with them little water. and finding the
| trivet that would best fit the remaining
| shelf space. saw my critic smlc-a faint,
! heeting, ghosty smile and look affection
ately at the scrubbing brush. ! was sure
she saw herself mentally undoing the
! tragic results of my doing by scrubblng
out the stove floor when bursting bags
| had made it messy.
| The bananas were an eXperiment-bui
! that was my reckless day I had only
/
| 10 my imagination Boiled thus in a paper
bag, served with melted butter, Vinegar,
salt and pepper ] felt Il In my palate they
! would go beautifully with my nsh. |
popped thcm IN the oven, keeping a wealth
| or eye on the clock. They take only ten
minutes you know" | said to my invoun
| tary pupil.
| had chosen a first lesson in fish. know
| inE how she prided herself upon the un
approachable eXcellences Of her ways of
| cooking H. My bag Of sliced potatoes
| living
the broiler when the fish went in. Because
] wanted them brown they had had the
iieroest early heat. They had been cut as
for frying. dropped I'm cold water drained.
put rather thinly in a thickly buttered bag,
with lump Of butter on top. then sealed
up and set cooking
| was getting q hurry luncheon-partiy
Lecause there was need of haste, partly to
show my pupil how quickly things could
be done. lemon pie and fresh biscuits
were keeping hot in the broiler space be-
| meath the oven, shielded from burning by
the inverted broier pan.
| Adele, the cook, had not seen them. I
meant them for the finishing stroke. Cook
Ing them had got the oven right for the
ether things-hot through and through, and
the gas flame clear and steady They were
still In their bags hence, knew would
keep quality. The pie had been set on the
| range bottom, covered with "A big inverted
bread pan. upon which the biscuit bag
rested secure from all harm. Heat de-
scends, but faintly-mOreover, there was "a
good space clear between biscuit bag and
the broer pan.
After FIVE minutes a look-in showed bag
corners brown so ] turned of one gas jet
and busted myself getting dishes hot. That
for the bananas was deep and round. At
the end OF ten minutes | took them out
| With the help of sharp knife and a
blunt fork | peeled them, poured over
them the destined sauce. covered the dish
and set II on top the range.
Adele was staring At the bag. IL was
brown, almost crisp at the corners, but
only lightly rinEed on top, and under
meath as sound and tough as when II went
In Yet she had seen bananas come out
of it-and her judgment assured her that
they were thoroughly and beautifully
cooked But she was still doubtful
Maybe hit is good fer things dat don
take long" she said "Rut I'd be feared
ter trus hit wild all my dinner
BY the time the bananas were out OF hand
the fish was ready-six fair sized fllets
made a brave showing in the platter. with
the tomatoes splashed over them. the
onion showing pearl rings In their red
Supplemented with the potatoes. which
came ont thoroughly cooked and delicate
brown and the bananas, they made sat-
iSfying meal Adele looked at them with
some approach to awe-as who should say:
This Il no place for a self-respectng
cook" The awe deepened yisibly when the
biscuit came I'm view-brown. crisp as she
herself could have made them. and literally
popping open In their lsntness. The pie
consoled her a trlhe--the merIngue on II had
fallep haif Not thrOugh the bags fault