The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-06-22
Country Captain
RY JAM. EDDINGTOS.

J
one may hesitate to speak of chicken
as a reliable summer food. although
/ IL is most popular at this time. II il
! safe. undoubtedly on the farm and even
| when chickens arc fresh killed and
| rightly cared for Immediately after
ward I'm the hot city. II they have not
! first been subjected TO tho inhrman
conditions which arc SO common.
Farmer. expr"ssunn. and wholesaler
are all guilty Of an inhumanity to
! chickens which ultimately costs tho
| consumer hundreds OF dollars, directly
I and indirectly. no one can estimate how
! much one has but to visit the whole
! sale regions to the poor things
I crowded In crates which are often
I thrown around In much tho same man
ner that the worst sort OF a baggage
/ snasher handles trunks. And after
! this the chickens are left TO pant and
/ die without n drop of water to drink
on the hottest days. This was a mat
! tor OF observation twice during one hot
| day.
/ Il would seem as though it would
! cost less TO provide the water trays. as
| some dealers do. than to transfer chick
! ems once or twice n day from ono
! crate TO another because OF those which
I have died. Ard this is not the worst
/ side or the matter by very great deal
/ There are facts connected with this
/ business that are sensat ionally repul-
| sive from tho caters standpoint.
But suppose we eau get safe chicken
! ,neat one may even then hesitate To
/ give q recipe for cooking 1t. whether
/ n he the finest chicken or tn. tough
| est fowl. after .ccinK highly trained
cook. or one with that reputation. get
| but mediocre results from the best ma
| terials In the market
Almost any country housekec2er
would 90 better. for somehow. even
+. lao, tir,tl I'M t
/ farmers wives and village housekeep-
ers do cook chicken. and even old fowl.
/ supremacy welt They cannot SO easily
| zee. too high temperature for their
! work as those who use gas for cook
! ing, and this usually goes down OF IL
| self With gas a temperature that IS
| high enough at tho beginning is much
| too nigh for the final cooking. after
! mea: has been heated throuSh, Chicken
In n casserole Is good because tho con
.aincr somewhat regulates the heat.
In hot countries they quite uni
versally flavor chicken more highly
| than In more temperate ATTITUDES. Tho
I following is famous recipe used In
! India:
Country Captain-Cut fowl in
! PIECES, wash we'll. ana cook In water
| with little salt until tender. Warm a
heapcd dessert spoonful! of dripping or
| better and brown thrne or four sliced
onions and set aside. Brown the fowl
IN the same dripping or butter adding
more IL needed with two green chillis
and IN inch OF ginger root c'it in slices.
or pounded pepper Add ths gravy OF
the boiled fowl, cook for about ten
minutes longer. add q teacupful of
boiling water, and let the country cap
tain simmer for half an hour or longer.
! Serve with fried onions strewed over
| with rice.
It Is quite universally agreed that
chicken should be boiled In water be-
low 2l2 degrees. or tho boiling point
| of water. II may he that hot to start
and kept ut about that heat until the
| chicken is heated through and then
| considerably below. This Was discOv
| cred at least forty years ago. when
| men who had to camp carried cook
ing chicken in a Norwegian cooking
box. the original rreless cooker and
without stones. Put into this boiling
hot. at the end Of twelve hours tho
chicken would be finely cooked
Old meat quite universally has more
flavor than young meat, and this ID
why tho old hen IS so much liked for
chicken loavcs. etc. So as the laying
season comes to an end when IL gets
200 hot, old hens are likely to get into
the market. An experimental Of note
had the following experience with one:
al killed n superannuated kenmore
than six years old, but otherwise in
very good condition. Cooked I'm the
ordinary way she would have been un-
eatahy tough. Instead of being thus
cooked she was gently stcwcd for about
four hours. I cannot guarantee the
maintenance OF the theoretical temper
allure, having some suspicion OF some
simmerinE Cooking just at the boil
ing polnD. After this the hen was left
in the water until cooled, and on the
following day was roasted I'm the usual
ranner---that is. in the oven. The re-
suit was excellent. ar tender as n full
grown chicken roasted in the ordinary
way and OF quite equal flavor in spite
of the very good broth obtained by the
preliminary stewinG. This surprised
me. 7 anticipated the softening of tho
tcndons and ligaments. but supposed
that the extraction OF the juices would
have spoiled the flavor. IT must have
diluted IL. and that so much remained
was probably due to the fact that an
old :owl is more fully Favored than n
young chicken. The usual farmhouse
method Of cooking old hens is to stew
them simply, tho ru,e being one hour
In The pot for every year of age"
Tho common people of Italy cook a
chicken on so little IRE that even the
bones mast he Il good deal softened,
for they eat them with the rest.