The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1917-12-21
Same Food In Field.

1t Is rather heartenfng to think THAT
the men can have the same food In
the field as they do In barracks. This
is accomplished by the bakeries which
are portable, easily taken down and
set up, and by the very remarkable
Trolling Kitchens" which cook a meal
as the army marches, having lunch or
supper ready when. the order comes to
pitch camp. There are several models
Of this rolling kitchen, some more In
| tricate than others and some very
much more substantis> than others.
The government has ordered a large
number of model which weighs 5000
pounds. All Of these kitchens have
stoves for burning oil and also ar
rangements for the use Of coal or
wood.
There is also an oven where roast
may be brought to turn, and, as
surprise to you, big, smooth plate
where f1apjacks come to life. One
kitchen will feed 200 men. war
strength company, and 1t will need
three men to operate it at Its maxi
mum capacity.
Trailing each kitchen Is a fireless
cooker with four large compartments.
There are now four regular schools
for army cooSs-at Fort Sam Houston,
Tex; Fort Riley, Kan; Monterey,
CAL; and Washington Barracks. The
new environments will increase these
schools MANIFOLD. It takes about four
months of rigorous instruction to make
first-class army cook, but under the
intensive method the cantonment cooks
will be educated In half this time.
Oddly enough, the fact that man
has had previous experience Is more
apt to be hindrance than help, and
there Is a great deal In his natural
endowment. AS the sergeant In charge
Of the cooking school at Washington
Barracks said, "You can do more with
some men In FIVE minutes talk than
you can with another in months
hard work" The work begins with a
talk on spices, which, to most Of us,
seems the final touch rather than the
rudiments of cooking. But in the ar
!, my they really begin with the first
principles. The desire for food, known
, as appetite, and certainly spices de
much toward making simple dishes
tempting and palatable.
, Take, for instance. the army Irisf
stew. It is far removed from the dull
wash-day dish which answers to tina
: name in most households. The vege
f tables are tender and flavorous; thu
meat Ground steak Is very delicious
, because it Is properly cooked; and thu
O gravy; it's thick, but not thlckening
Q and so very good with the meat juices
+ and vegetable flavorings skillfully &C
|. cented with spices that there is |
c iustlfiable temptation to wipe the las
! bit of it from the plate with a piec
0 of the excellent army bread.
e Bread Without MIX.
e To the average cook and housewife
e this bread is remarkable, for 1t I
made without milk and without LARD
Y When you see it going into action Il
d the Toured hands of a squad of baker
n your comment is that the shortening |
& "elbow grease" for it is worked unit
Is the dough is perfectly smooth. The
t. "cut 1t over" five times, which take
a. about As minutes Of hard working, S
l. hard no mixing machine is stron
h enough to do the work.
Ig The most difficult thing to teach tn
10 student bakers, or "sllck ears" a
p they are called, Is the shaping of
s. loaf. This must be uniform, as Their
~ must always be IL pounds, divided int
he six equal loaves, In pan. The rec1I
Mt for batch of bread calls for x
is pounds flour, pounds sugar, poune
lie salt, III pounds yeast. and 13A gailor
ar of water. The bakery at Washingto
es Barracks turns out $500 pounds da
and every man gets his pound.
ur There are many very delicious ar
re exceedingly efficient recipes In II
a manual for army cooks, and Unc
nd Sam gives his boys all three of the
,ir excellent meals for an average of .
Ell cents day. II the economy of Il
sir army kitchen could be brought In
ed all American homes we would hear Il
oh tie of food conservation, for the utiliz
. ton of every edible molecule is not
of ing short of marvellous, as Is the sy
tenn of accounting for every ingret
MT emf that comes out of the storeroom.