The Yale expositor., 1912-06-27
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, 1t may be well to sum up briefly
its claims and its performances.
In the 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 it.
Item three, preventlon-the proven
ton 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
flavors, 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 as to require
no more than bare mention.
Item seven, the browning mercy,
the abolition of serubbing out pots and
pans.
fine 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 exa~ple. 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 overtill them, to fold
fasten the fold with wire clips, TO lay
the filled bag always seam side up,
and If by chance it breaks, to put It
instantly inside another bigger bag,
to filish the cooking.
Buy clips in several sizes. They are
cheap and almost everlasting. Use
them freely in fastening up the bags
they can be pulled off before the
bag is thrown away and used over
and over.
Do not be niggard as regards bags
Often it is better to use two or three
small ones than single one OF medi-
um or large size.
Coal and wood ranges are not so
we'll adapted to paper bag cooking as
gas ranges. Still, bag cooking can be
done with any kind CT heat--the
knack lies In the regulation of 1t. The
theory Of paper bag cooking is 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 is essential--it vaporiZes the
liquids or the juices inside the bag,
and makes medium for softening
and iiavoring the food fiber. But If
the heat is too lcrg continued, it de-
stroys the tensile strength Of the bag,
makes it break of Itself, and spill it's
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
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. If the paper |
turns pale yellow the heat is suf- |
ficiently reduced. If it turns brown /
very quickly, set the door wide, take |
out the water pan and refill after |
with fresh cold water, then |
set again upon the oven floor. Keep |
the door ajar until the test paper |
merely yellows. Fy that time the |
dampers should have dono their work
Close the oven door.
leaving inside another strip OF clean
white paper. In three minutes look
1T tiff it is browning too fast, set
the door again ajar. but if merely yell
lowing let the door stay closed
This regulation OF heat Is vital
part of the problem. but much less in
tricate than it sounds. 4 gas range |