The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1912-06-28
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COOKING.
MISUNDERSTANDING.
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Observation-Disclosures
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MISUNDERSTANDING
MERITS OF PAPER BAG COOKING
|. REVIEWED.
BY Martha Mcculioch williams.

In this final paper on my expert
ences with M. soyer's paper bag cook
cry, it may be well to sum UP briefly
it's claims and its performances.
In tho claims, item one, economy,
more than vital in the present state
of finance high and low.
Item two, nutrition; things cooked
in paper bags certainly set better
upon the stomach and return more
strength Of mind and body than the
same things cooked outside 1t.
Item three, prevention-the preven-
tion Of ptomaine and other obscure
poisons, bred betwixt food and air.
Not the widest microbe Of them all
can survive baking In the overland
after the baking the bag is thrown
| away.
Item four, increase and lettering Of
davors, which means increase and
lettering of food itself.
Item five, the making tender Of
tough, hence indigestible fiber, as in
round steak, old fowls and such like
things.
Item six, prevention Of smells-an
advantage so apparent a. to require
no more than bare mention.
Item seven, tho GROWING mercy.
the abolition OF scrubbing out pots and
pans.
A hne array truly. But not the
whole tale of benefits. The whole
might be tedious. Any way, in the
little remnant Of allotted space, other
things press to be spoken,
Words of caution, for example. In
cooking in paper bags mind, not your
p's and as, but the simple directions
for use. Namely, to grease the bags
well, not to overflll them, to fold
over the open end three times and
fasten the fold with wire clips, to lay
the filled bag always seam side up,
and If by chance 1t breaks, to put 1t
instantly inside another bigger bag,
to fl1ish the cooking.
Buy clips in several sizes. They are
cheap and almost everlasting. Use
them freely in fastening up tho bags
they can be pulled of before the
bag is thrown away and used over
and over.
Coal and wood ranges are not 30
well adapted to paper bag cooking as
gas ranges. Still, bag cooking can be
done with any kind OF heat-the
knack lies in the regulation Of 1t. The
theory Of paper Dag cooking IL this:
A cold bag put into a hot stove gets
warm very quickly throughout, and
the paper Of it crisps wherever It
touches nothing but air. This quick
heat n essential-it vaporizes the
liquids or the juices inside the bag,
and makes medium for softening
and davoring the food fiber But II
the heat Is too long continued, it de-
stroys the tensile strength Of the bag,
makes it break Of Itself, and spill its
contents. Hence, the importance of
lowering the heat, and quickly, before
this destruction is accomplished.
There are several ways of doing
this. They may be used in combina-
ton or separately. First, push in the
hampers, then open the oven door,
and set inside upon the oven floor a
shallow pan Of cold water. Leave the
oven door ajar for two or three min
utes, with a strip Of white paper on
the shelf beside tho bag. II the paper
turns pale yellow the heat 10 SUI
dciently reduced. II it turns brown
very quickly. set the door wide, take
out the water pan and refill after
emptying, with fresh cold water, then
set again upon the oven floor. Keep
the door ajar until the test paper