Evening star., 1923-06-01


mer. You can construct one your
self or buy one ready-made. In |
either case, 1t will soon pay for it
self
Foods cooked in a fireless cooker
may be left to themselves while the
cook is occupied with other duties, or
the family is away from home, with
out danger from fire or overlooking
the food The saving of fuel is one
of the greatest advantages of cook
ing by this method, especially where
gas or electric stoves are used. When
coal or wood Is the fuel, and the fire
in the stove is kept up most or the
day, the saving in fuel is less, but in
summer. or when the kitchen fire is
not needed for heating purposes, the
dinner can be started on the stove
early in the morning, and then placed
in the fireless cooker, the fire in the
stove being allowed to go out
fireless cooker is best suited to
the cooking Of those foods which re-
quire boiling. steaming, or any other
Foods cannot be fried in It,, pies
cannot be baked successfully in an
ordinary cooker without a radiator,
especially one made at home, nor can
any cooking be done which requires
a high, dry heat for browning. but
meats may be partially roasted in the
oven and then finished in the cooker.
or may be started in the cooker and
finished in the oven with much the
same results as II they were roasted
in the oven entirely.
1t is for cooking cereals. dried
beans and dried fruits, certain vege-
tables, steamed breads and puddlngs,
stews, baked beans, soups and the
tougher cuts of meat that the freless
cooker is most satisfactory, because
these materials need long, slow COOK,
ing to bring out their best flavor and
texture, and because the saving OF
fuel is then greatest.
Quick fried" meals. which house
wife busy with outside interests IS
apt to n stesk hepH the maSt and ali
otherS<meats to fry quickly are the
most expensive cuts you can buy.
You are then paying for tenderness
instead of securing 1t through slow
cooking. BY using a freless cooker,
you can buy cheaper meats and cook
long enough to make tender.
Making a Fireless Cooker.
The outside container of the cooker
that you make may be any good
sized box or bucket with tight
cover, either grocery box, butter
flrkin, wooden candy box, 100
pound lard can or a new garbage
can. The packing material can be soft
hay, excelsior, ground cork. saWdust,
tightly crumpled newspapers, or any
that can be packed in closely. This
packing material forms nest for the
cooking vessel. The success of your
cooker will depend to a great extent
upon the tightness with which you
crowd in the packing material, which
will prevent the heat from escaping
from your hot food. Place sheet as
bestos around the inside OF the pack
ing material, between II and the COOK
There must be at least three inches
of packing material between the
cooking vessel and the outside con
with a sheet of asbestos also on top.
The cooking vessel must have tight
cover and the yeSssl must Mt closely
in the nest ana yet slip IN and OUT
small vessels that will fit in, instead
of one large vessel, SO that you can
cook two or three things at the same
time.
The vessels should be either enamel,
granite or aluminium. Place collar OF
heavy cardboard on top, then on TOP
of this place cushion or denlm or
muslin stuffed with the packing ma,
terial. This cushion must be pressed
down across the top just under the
outside cover Of the box or oucket
which you use as your firelses cooker
new garbage pail makes an aSan eaSe,
box for the purpose. procure a very
thick box without any cracks or
breaks Of any kind. The cover should
be hinged and fastened down win
venient to move around. Such
cooker is without radiators or soap
stones. and can be used only iof
stews, soups. cereals. tough meats,
boiled and steamed puddings, oaklns
beans and other slow cooking.
Before placing any food In tne
cooker the food must first be as not
as possible. then put Immediately IN
the cooker. Once there II VIII stay
hot and keep on cooking. Tne Wails
of the fireless cooker keep the heat
in. just as the walls of good re1rls
orator keep the heat out.
When different foods are cooked
together. in any kind or q e nreiess
cooker they must be such as require
the same amount Of cooking, as the
cooker cannot be opened to take out
food without allowing the escape OF
a large amount of heat and making
it necessary to reheat the contents.
For instance, 1t would not do to put
foods which require one and one-hal1
hours of cooking into cooker with
a piece of meat which ought TO re-
main in for several hours.
Whatever size cooking vessel you
use, always fill it to the top with
food If you have only small guam
tity Of food, use a small receptacle
the receptacle. Less liquid should
be put into food to be prepared In a
fireiess cooker, as there is no chance
for water to evaporate.
To prevent a cooker from becoming
stuffy, when not in use, keep the
cover raised little so that the air
will circulate through. and always
wipe the cooker out after using.
Foods Prepared I'm Fireless Cooker.
Cereals: Prepare all cereals the
same as for cooking on a stove, but
use one sixth less water. Boil about
ten minutes, then place In the cooker
when boiling hot and leave in over
night. Rice will need only forty-f1ve
minutes in the cooker.
Soups and stews: To make soup
stock, cut up the meat, crack the
bones, and cover with cold water.
Let it reach the boiling point, then
place in the cooker for several hours.
table combinations will need to re-
main in the cooker for about six
hours
Dried vegetables. such as lima
beans, peas, corn and lentils, make
excellent soup without meat. Boil on
in the hreless cooker all night.
Fresh vegetables. such as peas.
string beans, onions, beets. turnips,
parsnips. satisfy, cabbage. caulihower.
and other vegetables, should be left
in the cooker for two and one-half
stove.
Creole stew in cooker: Take one
pound Of lean beef or one medium
sized fowl. two cupfuls Of tomatoes,
one cupful of carrots, or okra cut
small. one cupfuI of chopped sweet
one-fourth cupful of chopped onion,
one teaspoonful Of salt, and one ta-
blespoonfuI of fat. Cut the meat in
small pieces. or cut the fowl into