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KITCHEN
TEXTfrBQoK.
For tKe U/ of
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CooKINCJ
MRS.MARYJ.LINCOLM
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BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN
TEXT-BOOK.
LESSONS IN COOKING
FOR THE USE OF CLASSES IN PUBLIC AND
INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS.
BY
MARY J. LINCOLN,
AUTHOR OF
THE BOSTON COOK BOOK," "CARVING AND SERVING," ETC
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BOSTON
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
1914
THE NEW
PUBLIC RYi
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Copyright, 1887,
BY MRS. D. A. LINCOLN.
Copyright, 1909,
BY MARY J. LINCOLN.
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STjjt'g Book is Bctu'catcti
TO
MRS. MARY HEM EN WAY,
THE EARNEST AND GENEROUS FRIEND OF PRACTICAL
EDUCATION.
M. J. L
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YT is the accepted educational doctrine that all matter?
for school instruction should be taught, so far aa
possible, in the light of first principles. The under-
standing is to be engaged and thought awakened. A
memory laden with rules and precepts is not enough ;
nor is the faculty of imitation in itself worthy of much
care in the direct cultivation of it. The best educa-
tion embraces more and aims higher.
Therefore, if cooking is to have a place among school
exercises, the text-book ought to be, not a cook-book,
but a book mvinu the reasons for its directions, and
O o '
connecting these reasons with first principles. Such a
book this one appears to be. Its claim to the title
Boston School Kitchen Text-Book is justified by the
fact that the substance of all the lessons lias been
worked out in the cooking class-rooms or school kitch-
ens connected with the Boston public schools. That
this working out has been decidedly satisfactory I
gladly testify.
EDWIN P. SEAVEB,
Super 'inioidcnt of t/ie Boston Public School*.
PREFACE.
IN the preparation of this book the aim has not
been to furnish a complete cook-book, or to cater
to the widely prevalent desire for new receipts and
elaborate dishes; but rather to prepare such a study
of food and explanation of general principles in con-
nection with practical lessons in plain cooking as
should be adapted to the use of classes in public and
industrial schools.
There is a great lack of knowledge, even among
experienced housekeepers, of the nature of food and
its proper combinations, and much unwholesome cook-
ing has been the result of this ignorance.
Much of the dislike which many girls have for
cooking arises from their want of success, and the
failure is ascribed to ill luck, poor material, incorrect
receipts, or to any cause but the true one, ignorance
of first principles.
Cooking cannot be well done by guess-work. There
is a right way and a wrong way, and the right way
is usually the easier. To show this right way and
the reason for it, has been our endeavor in preparing
these lessons.
Vlii PHKFACE.
Beginners in tlie art should strive for a thorough
understanding of the principles that underlie all culi-
nary work. This is essential to success, both in the
preparation of the simple food adapted to the daily
table and in the intricate labor of the chef in charge
V ^?
of some grand entertainment.
Above all, our object lias been to elevate this de-
partment of work ; to show its bearing upon many
vital questions ; to impress upon girls that all work
well done is honorable; and that it is as really a
part of education to be able to blacken a stove, to
scour a tin, or to prepare a tempting meal of whole-
some food, as it is to be able to solve a problem in
geometry, to learn a foreign language, to teach a
school, to decorate a plaque, to make an elegant gown,
or to interpret the melodies and harmonies of the
great masters in music.
We have endeavored to show that there is some-
thing more in cooking than the mere putting of cer-
tain materials together for the gratification of the
palate ; that it is not all manual labor, but requires
study, and that it ought not to be considered drudgery
or done in a careless, slipshod, untidy fashion. And
more than all else we have insisted that the health
and comfort of the family depend upon the wholesome
and economical preparation of the daily food.
It cannot be expected to make professional cooks in
twenty lessons. But it is confidently believed that if
school-girls once master the elementary principles
which these lessons illustrate, they can, with practice
at home, acquire a degree of skill sufficient to do all
PREFACE. ix
that is necessary in plain family living. And when
this foundation is secured and a respect for the work
developed they can do more. They can take any
reliable cooking formula and work it out unaided, and
in time detect errors in proportions and invent new
combinations.
Youth is the time to begin to acquire this, as well
as other knowledge. Many a young housekeeper over-
whelmed with responsibility regrets that her mother
did not require her to learn these things in her girl-
hood. No matter how high her social position may
be, no girl is sure of retaining it through life. Though
in her youthful conceit she may boast of never scrub-
bing a floor, or washing a dish, and may think it
commendable to be ignorant of the mysteries of the
kitchen, the time may come when she will have
harder work than this to do, and will be thankful if
there is one thing she can do well, even if it be but
the washing of dishes or the cooking of wholesome
food.
And if her position should chance to be that of a
director of such work, rather than a doer of it, this
practical knowledge will be even more valuable. For
those can direct best who can do best; and those can
do best in any department of work who begin in early
life and learn by experience much that can be learned
in no other way.
If we can awaken in school-girls an enthusiasm
for the performance of the common duties of life,
an important part of our purpose will have been
accomplished.
PREFACE.
The author wishes to acknowledge her indebtedness
to Miss A. M. Romans, at whose suggestion this
manual was prepared ; to Miss Hope, and other
teachers in the Boston School Kitchens for their help
in the practical working out of these lessons; and to
Mrs Richards, of the Institute of Technology, for her
assistance in revising the scientific portion of the
work.
MARY J. LINCOLN.
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS ON THE MAN-
AGEMENT OF CLASSES.
IT is expected that all teachers in the cooking classes will
have had a special normal training for the work ; but even
with such training a few suggestions from one who has had
a large experience in both the practice and the teaching of
cookery may be helpful.
No definite rules can be given that will apply to all schools.
Teachers must govern the classes and adapt the instruction
as circumstances require, but it is of the first importance that
the order and discipline of the public schools should be
maintained in the cooking classes. Pupils must be required
to dress neatly and appropriately. A large apron or tire, a
holder suspended by a tape from the belt, a hand-towel at
the side, and a cap to cover the hair entirely, are necessary.
Rings and bracelets should not be worn during the lesson.
Personal cleanliness must be insisted upon. Many people
who consider themselves neat have objectionable habits, and
a word of caution will be given against such as have been
observed frequently in pupils. The hands and nails should
be perfectly clean ; wash the hands always before begin-
ning work and as often during the lesson as there is need.
Wiping them on the towel at the side will often be sufficient,
and should always be done just before touching any food.
Never allow the pupils to use their handkerchiefs or their
aprons in the place of a towel or a holder, or to work with
sticky or floured fingers, or to rest their hands on their faces
or hair, or to lick their fingers, or to use their handkerchiefs
xii SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS.
without immediately wiping their finders, or to taste with
the mixing spoon without wiping it before using it again, or
to use a hand-towel as a dish-towel, or the hand-basin for
food, or to do anything that is not neat and cleanly. The
only way to cure pupils of untidy habits is to be sure that
your own example is perfect in that respect, then be watch-
ful and let no fault, however trivial, pass unnoticed.
In classes of fifteen pupils, three may be housekeepers, and
the cooking may be done by the remaining members work-
ing in groups of two, three, or four, according to the number
in the class. The kitchen work may be divided among the
three according to the rules for housekeepers. These duties
may be shared in alternation, so that all the pupils may
learn both the cooking and the kitchen work.
The pupils should do all the work of keeping the class-
room in order, except the weekly scrubbing of the floor.
The room should be left in perfect order at the close of
every lesson. This part of the training should be considered
of equal importance \vith the cooking and should never be
slighted.
During the lesson the pupils should work under the direc-
tion of the teacher and not from the text-book. Let the
principles be explained, the receipts be given orally, and then
let each step of the work be done as directed by the teacher.
Endeavor to draw out what the pupils already know, and
let them think for themselves rather than cram them with a
multitude of facts. The pupils may study the text-book
after the lesson, and prepare at home the dishes they have
learned to make in the class, and at the next lesson report
the result, that the teacher may keep a record of the work
done at home.
Examine the classes frequently on the previous lessons.
Do not allow them to repeat verbatim any of the text in the
book, but question them in such a way that they may be
taught the art of expression. The receipts should be mem-
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS xiii
orized, for the pupils should know how to prepare all the
dishes in daily use without referring to a book.
It is advisable to follow the order of the lessons in the
book as far as practicable, but sometimes changes must be
made. Afternoon classes should take Lesson VI. before Les-
son V., and XV. before XIV., in order to finish the work
begun in the morning class, and to economize in the use of
material. In the spring sessions it ma} 7 be advisable to
have the baking lessons come before the invalid cookery,
and thus avoid the heat.
The amount of material used at each lesson will vary with
the number in the class, and the teacher must use her own
judgment as to how much to provide. As small an amount
as will suffice for thorough instruction should be the rule
always. Many of the receipts may be halved, but the ma-
jority of them are already as small as practicable, and they
have purposely been made as economical as we can make
them and have the result satisfactory. More dishes are
given in some lessons than can be prepared in the school
hour. The teacher will select such as are in season and are
adapted to the class, not confining the instruction to the one
dish that is being made, but leading the pupils to suggest
other dishes that may be made after the same general rule.
Pupils should never be encouraged to think that any part
of the preparation of food is disagreeable or unworthy of
their best effort.
The teacher should keep in mind that the object of the
lesson is not to prepare a certain amount of food to eat or
to sell, but to develop the powers of the children, the mental
with the manual, and not the one to the exclusion of the
other ; to teach them to work understandingly, so that by
being trained in youth to do well and intelligently the com-
mon daily duties of the home, they may be better fitted for
the arduous duties of mature life, and become better and
more useful women.
RULES FOE HOUSEKEEPERS.
HOUSEKEEPER No. I.
A. M.
Get kindlings and coal.
Build the fire.
Regulate the dampers.
Empty ashes into sifter.
Brush the stove and under and around it.
Blacken the stove.
Light the fire.
Polish the stove.
Regulate the dampers.
Fill tea-kettle and reservoir with fresh water.
Wash hearth or zinc under the stove.
Wash cloth and put to dry.
Sift ashes.
Bring cinders to kitchen.
Collect soiled dishes from desks and take them to the
sink.
Put clean dishes in their places.
P. M.
Regulate the fire.
Replenish kettles.
Empty kettles and copper boiler, and turn them over to
dry.
RULES FOR HOUSEKEEPERS. XV
HOUSEKEEPER No. II.
Dust the room thoroughly. Begin at one corner and take
each article in turn as you come to it. Dust from the high-
est things to the lowest, taking up the dust in the cloth,
not brushing it off on the floor. Shake the duster occa-
sionally in a suitable place, and when through wash and
hang it to dry. Use two or more cloths if needed.
Bring stores to teacher when directed.
Scrub dresser and teacher's desk.
Keep dresser in perfect order.
Wipe dishes if needed.
Sweep room at 11.40 and 3.40, beginning at one side and
sweeping toward one place. Hold the broom clone to the
floor; sweep with short strokes, and let the bioom take the
dust along on the floor instead of tossing it into the air.
HOUSEKEEPER No. III.
Polish the boiler.
Clean knives and spoons in dresser drawer.
Wash and wipe dishes.
Wash dish-towels.
Scrub sink outside and inside with hot suds.
Wash cloth and hang it to dry.
RULES FOR CLEANING DISHES.
COLLECT the knives, forks, and spoons. Scrape the dishes,
rinse the cups, and soak in cold water any dishes that have
egg or dough adhering to them ; pack them neatly where
they are to be washed. Have the dish-pan half full of hot
soapy water, and the drainer near. Wash the glass first,
one piece at a time, and wipe instantly. Wash the silver,
and wipe at once without rinsing. Then wash the china,
taking the less soiled dishes first, cups, saucers, pitchers,
plates, etc. Place the dishes on the drainer so they may
be scalded inside and outside. Scald with hot soapy water,
and wipe immediately. Glass, silver, and in fact, all kinds
of dishes look brighter and better if wiped from hot, slightly
soapy water instead of clear water. But be careful not to
leave the soap in the water. Use a soap strainer, or keep
the soap in a cup and pour the water over it.
Steel knives and forks should never be placed in the dish-
water. Keep them in the hand and wipe the handles with
the dish-cloth, wash the blades, scour if needed, then wash
again and wipe at once.
Be particular to wash bright tin ware in clean hot soapy
water with as much care as if it were silver. Do not forget
to clean the grooves and seams.
Greasy iron ware should be wiped out first with soft paper
to absorb the grease, then washed in scalding hot suds and
wiped dry, not with the dish-cloth, but with a dry towel.
Lukewarm or greasy water, and wet wiping towels, or the
dish-cloth used instead of the towel for wiping, should never
under any circumstances be allowed in cleaning dishes.
RULES FOR CLEANING. xvii
When all are wiped, see that your hands are dry, then
pack all things of a kind together and distribute to their
places. Wash the basin, dipper, soap-dish, dish-pan, and
sink with clean hot snds. Then take clean water and soap
and wash the towels and cloths; rinse in cold water, wring
them, shake them out thoroughly, and hang them up to drv,
in the sun, if possible. If the towels are only slightly
wet, and not soiled, they must be washed in clear water just
the same, and never allowed to dry with the dish-water or
rinse-water in them.
Tables and Bread Boards. Scrape off the dough or brush
oft' the crumbs, then dip a brush slightly in warm water, rub
on sand soap, and rub hard with the brush, always with the
grain of the wood, and hardest where there are grease spots.
Do not let the water run off over the edge, but be careful
to wash the edges. When clean, wash with a cloth in clear
h<t water, and when w r ell rinsed off, rub dry. Wash out the
cloth and brush, and leave the brush, bristles down, to drv.
Always wash the bread board and meat board on the table
v
where they have been used, never in an iron sink.
Tins. - ~ Use a soft, damp cloth, and mineral soap or sapoiio.
Hub the tins quickly back and forth, the same way and not
around. Wipe off all the sand, then wash quickly in clean
hot soapy water, and wipe at once on a clean dry towel.
J>rass, Copper, and Xickcl Plate. Moisten a soft woollen
cloth with Pultz pomade, and rub briskly. Where the ai 1i< ]<
to be rubbed is stationary, like a faucet, take an end of the
v '
cloth in each hand, bear down hard, and pull it briskly back
and forth over the surface. The friction does the work more
thoroughly than can be done by mere pressure with the hand.
When bright, polish quickly with a dry clean flannel.
REDUCED COPY OF CHARTS
Prepared at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by Professor
Sedgwick and Mrs. lite ha nix.
AVERAGE COMPOSITION
OF SOME COMMON FOODS
NITROGENOUS
'P ROTE IDS WATER ASH ETC
CARBOHYDRATES.^
STARCH SUGAR
APPLES
BUTTER
CABBAGE
POTATOES
BACON
MILK
BREAD. RYE
BREAD
RICE.
CLAMS
CRACKERS**
WHEAT
EGGS
INDIAN MEAL
BEEFAVERAGE,
OAT MEAL
MUTTON
HAM
MACKEREL
BLUE-FISH
TRIPE
FOWL
BEANS
PEAS
CHEESE
100 90 80 70 60 SO 40 30 20 10
a AN AVERAGE QAILY QIET SHOULD CONTAIN
PROTEIOS *fl^
STARCHtreiA),
SALTS
n
FOOD MATERIALS OBTAINED FOR2S$
POUNDS OF MATERIALS
POUNDS OF NUTRIENTS MEM
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13
OYSTERS /\TSO<fqt
BEEF; SIRLOIN ,,2S,,ib
COD, FRESH 8
BEEF, ROUND
MUTTON, LEG
SALMON,CANNED,
COD, SALTED
MACKEREL
BUTTER
MILK
BEEF, NECK
MILK,SKIMMED S,,qt
CHEESE ,,IS,,lb
HERR!NG,SMOKED 6,,
OLEOMARGARINE 15
FORK, SALT, FAT,, 12,,
RiCE 8.,,,
POTATOES M IOO,,bu
BEANS 10.. Ib
OATMEAL 5., .,
FLOUR, WHEAT., ^
INDIAN MEAL, r 3,,
X
INTRODUCTORY.
IN connection with the first and second lessons the pupils
should learn about the four most important elements, namely,
oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon.
OXYGEN.
Oxygen is a gas found as an element in the air and in
combination everywhere. It is one fifth of the air, one half
the solid crust of the earth, eight ninths of the water, about
four fifths of the weight of vegetable bodies, and three fourths
of the weight of animal bodies. It is the supporter of ani-
mal life ; we are constantly taking it into our bodies and
without it we should die. It sustains combustion and burns
or unites with all other elements except fluorine. At a low
temperature it unites slowly with iron, causing it to rust, and
with wood, causing it to decay. It attacks all vegetable and
animal substances and decomposes them, producing a form
of oxidation or slow combustion. In every such chemical
change heat is evolved, although it may not always be per-
ceptible to our senses.
At a high temperature oxygen combines rapidly with some
elements and produces fire or rapid combustion.
NITROGEN.
Nitrogen is a gas, and constitutes four fifths of atmospheric
air. It is found in all vegetable substances, but chiefly in
animal tissues. It forms about 26 per cent of the human
xxii INTRODUCTORY.
body. It dilutes the air and thus makes combustion less
furious than it would be in oxygen alone and renders the
air mild and suitable for us to breathe.
HYDROGEN.
Hydrogen is a gas, and is the lightest substance known.
i/
It is seldom found free in nature, but its compounds are
everywhere. Combined with oxygen it forms water. In
this form it is found in all animal and vegetable substances.
Pure hydrogen burns instantly in the air when lighted and
produces intense heat, and the result of the burning is water-
vapor.
CARBON.
Carbon is a solid elementar} T substance. Its combinations
with other elements are in the form of liquids, gases, and
solids.
It constitutes nearly one half of the weight of all dry
/ J
vegetable and animal substances. It exists in a pure state
in the diamond, and in a nearly pure state in charcoal and
so-called black-lead or graphite. Tl e charcoal that we burn,
the graphite in our pencils, and ine diamonds we wear are
all different forms of the same element, carbon. The black
mass left when bread is burned in the oven, or sugar on the
stove, or fat in the frying-pan, is also carbon.
For further information the teacher is referred to " First
Lessons on Minerals," by Mrs. Ellei? H. Richards.
CONTENTfc.
PREFACE vii
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF CLASSES xi
RULES FOR HOUSEKEEPERS xiv
RULES FOR CLEANING DISHES, ETC xvi
CHARTS SHOWING AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF FOOD . . . xviii
INTRODUCTORY xxi
LESSON I.
Cooking. Heat. - - Fuel. Fires. The Making and Care
of a Fire. --Suggestion to the Teacher. Receipts for
Baked Potatoes, Croutons, and Bread Crumbs. Abbre-
viations. Questions 1-13
/
LESSON II.
Food, how it builds up the Body and keeps it Warm.
Classification of Food : Nitrogenous, Carbonaceous, and
Mineral. Water. Suggestion to the Teacher. Meas-
uring. Table of Measures and Weights. Receipts for
Baked Apples, Baked Crackers, Baked Crackers with
Cheese, and Cracker Brewis. Questions .... 15-2C
LESSON III.
Boiling or Cooking in Water. Experiment with Starch.
Experiment with Albumen. -- Potatoes. (u-neral Rules
for Cooking Vegetables. Time-table for Boiling. Sug-
gestion to the Teacher. Receipts for Boiled Potatoes,
Rice Potato, Mashed Potato, Potato Cakes, Boiled Eggs,
and Beef Tea. Questions
XXIV CONTEXTS.
LESSON IV.
Steaming and other forms of Cooking in Boiling Water.
Milk. The Combination of Foods. Suggestion to the
Teacher. Receipts for Oatmeal Mush, Steamed llice,
Soft Custard, Coddled or Poached Eggs, Steamed Apples,
and Steamed Potatoes. Questions 45-53
LESSON V.
First Lesson in Meat. Boiled Meat. Suggestion to the
Teacher. Receipts for Boiled Mutton, Gravy, Smothered
Beef, Baked Heart, Beef Tea, and Clarified Fat or Drip-
ping. Diagram of an Ox. Questions 55-6S
LESSON VI.
Warming Over. Gravies. Sauces. Thickening. Maca-
roni. Suggestion to the Teacher. Receipts for Minced
Meat on Toast, Cottage Pie, Scalloped Mutton, Macaroni,
Hash, Tomato Sauce, and White Sauce. Questions . 71-78
LESSON VII.
Second Lesson in Meat. Soups. General Rule for Stock.
Suggestion to the Teacher. Receipts for Soup Stock,
Macaroni, Mixed Vegetable, Rice, Potato, and Baked
Beau Soups. Questions 81-S8
LESSON VIII.
Digestion, and Invalid Cookery. Cooking and Caring for
Invalids. Food for Invalids. Tea. Suggestion to the
Teacher. Receipts for Lemonade, Apple Water, Rhubarb
Water, Irish Moss Jelly, Milk Porridge, Oatmeal Gruel,
Orange for an Invalid, Chipped Ice, Tea, and Cocoa
Shells. Questions 91-99
CONTENTS. XXV
LESSON IX.
Invalid Cookery continued. Toast. Ice-Cream. Nutri-
tious and Innutritions Foods and Proper Proportion of
Food. Suggestion 1,0 the Teacher. Receipts for Toast,
Water Toast, Milk Toast, Eggnog, Beef Juice, Ice-Cream,
Blanc-Mange, and Wheatena. Questions .... 101-109
LESSON X.
Broiling. Pan Broiling. Time-table for Broiling. First
Lesson in Dough. Suggestion to the Teacher. Re-
ceipts for Broiled Steak, Mutton Chop, Broiled Meat
Cakes, Suet Pudding, Ginger and Fruit Suet Puddings,
and Lemon Sauce. To Chop Suet, To Clean Currants,
To Stone Raisins. Questions 111-122
LESSON XL
Stews. Suggestion to the Teacher. Receipts for Beef
Stew, Dumplings, Biscuit, Baked Apple Sauce, and Stewed
Prunes. Questions 125-129
LESSON XII.
First Lesson in Batters. Stirring and Beating. Sugges-
tion to the Teacher. Receipts for Griddle Cakes, Whole
Wheat or Graham Gems, Pop-overs, and Snow Pan-
cakes. Questions 131-136
LESSON XIII.
Thicker Batters, Muffins, and Doughnuts. Rolling. Fry.
iiig. Suggestion to the Teacher. General Directions
for Mixing. Receipts for Corn Cake, Rye Muffins, Gin-
ger-bread, Soft Molasses Cookies, Wheat Crisps, Fried
Rye Muffins, and Doughnuts. Questions . . . 139-147
xxvi CONTENTS.
LESSON XIV.
Bread. Yeast. The Heat for Baking. - - Time-table for
Baking. Suggestion to the Teacher. Receipts for
Yeast and Bread. Questions 149-158
LESSON XV.
The Care of Food. Suggestion to the Teacher. Receipts
for Pastry, Pies with no Under Crust, Apple and Rhubarb
Pies, Pies with no Upper Crust, Squash and Custard Pies,
Pies with two Crusts, Plain Mince Pie, and Lyonnaise
and Creamed Potatoes. Questions 161-168
LESSON XVI.
The Adaptation of Food to Age, Occupation, Climate, and
Means. The Cheapest Foods. Peas and Beans.
Suggestion to the Teacher. Receipts for Split-Pea Soup,
Scotch Broth, Steamed Brown Bread, Scalded Corn Cake,
and Fried Corn-Meal Mush. Questions .... 171-180
LESSON XVII.
Poultry. To Prepare Poultry for Cooking. Veal. Sug-
gestion to the Teacher. Receipts for Chicken Fricassee,
Veal Fricassee, Cranberries, Steamed Rhubarb, Cold Slaw,
Lettuce, Scalloped Apple and Cream Rice Pudding.
Questions 183-190
LESSON XVIII.
Fish. Suggestion to the Teacher. Receipts for Broiled,
Baked, Boiled, and Fried Fish, Stuffing for Fish, Drawn
Butter and Egg Sauce, Fish Chowder, and Fish Balls.
Questions 193-199
CONTENTS. xxvii
LESSON XIX.
Eggs. Oysters. Lobsters Cake Making and Baking.
Suggestion to the Teacher. Receipts for Plain Cake,
Water Sponge Cake, Frosting, Dropped Eggs, Omelet,
Egg Vermicelli, Preparing and Parboiling Oysters, Fried,
Stewed, and Scalloped Oysters, Opening Lobsters, Plain
Lobster, and Stewed Lobster. Questions . . . 201-211
LESSON XX.
Laving the Table. Waiting on the Table. Table Manners.
7
Suggestion to the Teacher. Receipts for Chocolate
and Coffee 213-222
Table of Average Cost of Material used in Cooking .... 223
Table of Cost of Meat and Game 224
Table of Cost of Fish 225
Additional Receipts for Baked Beans, Corned Beef, Boiled
Dinner, Baked Meat, Roast Chicken, Indian-Meal Pud-
ding, Berry Charlotte, Chocolate Creams, Creamed Wal-
nuts, Dates, and Almonds, Banana and Lemon-Jelly Cream,
Orange Jelly, and Fruit Ice-Cream 220-232
BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
LESSON I.
COOKING.
COOKING is the preparation of food, by the aid of heat,
to nourish the human body. We cook our food to
make it taste better, and that it may be more easily di-
gested and made a part of our bodies.
The word "cooking" is derived from the Latin coquo,
meaning "to boil, bake, seethe, dry, scorch, or ripen."
Cooking is usually done by the application of heat. The
ripening and the drying process, which some foods
undergo by the direct heat of the sun, is a kind of nat-
ural cooking.
The heat of the living animal also does its part in
preparing other varieties of food for our use; but the
greater part of the food we eat is cooked or prepared by
the more rapid action of artificial heat. This develops
and improves the flavor, changes the odor, taste, and di-
gestibility of nearly all articles of food, and thus renders
them more capable of nourishing our bodies.
The proper cooking of much of our food depends also
upon the use of water, or some other liquid, combined
with heat, and upon the free action of air during the
process of cooking.
1
BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
HEAT.
Artificial heat for household purposes is obtained
by rapid combustion, or the chemical union of the
oxygen in the air with the carbon and hydrogen found
in fuei.
Wood, charcoal, anthracite and bituminous coals, kero-
sene oil, and gas, all are composed of either carbon, or
compounds of carbon with a gas, hydrogen, forming
hydro-carbons. Sometimes they contain both.
All these varieties of fuel were originally derived from
vegetable matter. The living tree or plant, through its
leaves and roots, takes in from the air and soil carbonic
acid gas and water with earthy and nitrogenous mat-
ter dissolved in the water. It gives back to the air a
large part of the oxygen contained in the gas, but re-
tains some of it, and especially retains much of the
carbon and water. Upon these it lives, and from
these, with the help of the sunlight, it constructs the
woody fibre, sap, and other substances, compounds
which are rich in carbon. Since these compounds have
been built up by the energy of the sunlight, and can
unite with oxygen, they are readily combustible. When
we burn them in the form of wood, oil, fat, etc., this
energy is liberated, or set free, as heat, or light, or both.
By heat, which represents a certain amount of energy,
we are enabled to have work done : on a large scale,
when we burn coal under an engine, and on a small
scale when we burn it in our stoves, and use the heat
to cook our food. Artificial heat may thus be traced
to the sunlight, the chief source, also, of all natural
heat.
LESSON I. FUEL.
FUEL.
Wood is a product of vegetable growth, found in the
trunks and branches of trees. It contains hydro-carbons
in a solid form. It consists of slender fibres or tubes
closely packed together. When first formed these are
hollow, and contain the sap or vegetable juices; but
gradually they become hardened and consolidated, and
by their successive layers or rings indicate the age of
the tree.
The fibres in hard woods are more densely packed and
are of a purer quality than those in soft woods. When
freshly cut, wood contains a large amount of water or
sap, and soft wood contains more than hard. On ex-
posure to the air this water is lost by evaporation.
Wood should be well dried to be useful and economical
as fuel.
Charcoal is obtained by heating wood in close vessels,
or in covered pits, with a limited supply of air,
enough to decompose the wood, but not enough to con-
sume, or entirely burn it, a kind of partial or half-
smothered burning. The gaseous elements in the wood
are all expelled, and the coal or charred wood that re-
mains is nearly pure carbon.
Anthracite coal is 90 to 98 per cent carbon. It is
found in immense layers, deeply embedded in various
parts of the earth's crust. Ages ago the vast forests
and luxuriant forms of vegetation were submerged; and
by the action of pressure, heat, and other causes, they
have been changed to their present form. The gaseous
substances have nearly all been expelled, and the carbon
that remains forms the hardest kind of coal.
Other forma of ancient vegetation thus buried had less
4 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TKXT-IinnK.
charring, and much of the hydrogen, or gaseous element,
remains. These are called bituminous coals, from the
bitumen or pitch which they contain.
Petroleum, from which kerosene oil is made, contains
liquid compounds of hydrogen and carbon. It is ob-
tained from wells in the bituminous coal regions.
Illuminating gas is made by distilling or heating
bituminous coal with entire exclusion of air. Coke is
the black, porous mass left after the volatile gases have
been driven off, and is nearly pure carbon.
Carbon is the chief element in all these forms of fuel.
In burning, the oxygen unites with the carbon and hy-
drogen, forming, with the carbon, carbonic acid gas, and
with the hydrogen, watery vapor. Both escape into the
air, and the gas is absorbed by plants. Some of the
carbon is not consumed, and passes off as smoke.
Any fuel that burns with a flame must be at that
moment in a gaseous state. In burning gas we simply have
to heat the gas to its kindling-point, and we have a bright
flame. We light the wick in a candle and at first it burns
slowly ; the wax in the wick must first melt, then change to
a vapor, and when the vapor is heated to its kindling-point it
burns with a flame. Wood burns with a flame because it is
first decomposed by the heat. Gases are formed ; and the
burning of these gases, and not of the solid wood, produces
the flame. Hard coal is made up almost entirely of solid
carbon, which no furnace heat can change into gas. As there
are no gases first made by the heat, so there can be no flame
produced in the burning. Hard coal burns with a steady
glow without flame, provided there is plenty of air to burn
the carbon ; but when the coal is densely packed in the grate
and the supply of air is insufficient, a poisonous gas is formed
which burns with a blue flame. It disappears when the coal
burns freely. Coolers Chemistry, page 45.
LESSON I. FIRES.
Wood charcoal, being light and porous, ignites readily,
burns rapidly with little or no flame, and gives out more
heat than an equal weight of any other fuel.
Anthracite coal is next in heating power. Owing to
its density it kindles slowly, but when once thoroughly
ignited it burns with an intense heat, without flame,
smoke, or soot, and for a long time.
Bituminous coal ignites readily, burns with much flame
and smoke, but yields less heat than anthracite.
Soft woods kindle quickly, burn with much flame,
produce intense heat, and leave but few coals.
Hard woods kindle and burn slowly, with less flame,
but afford a large mass of coals, which retain the heat a
long time.
FIRES.
The carbon and hydro-carbons in fuel will not burn
or unite with oxygen and produce rapid combustion
except at a very high temperature, that is, when made
very hot. The temperature at which this union takes
place is called the burning-point. This varies in differ-
ent substances, and special means must be employed to
produce it.
Some substances, like the phosphorus on matches, will
burn very easily when heated by friction. The phos-
phorus ignites the sulphur, and the burning sulphur
makes the wood hot enough to burn, and thus we have
a little fire. If we hold the burning match near large
pieces of hard wood or coal it will not make them burn,
because the match will burn out before they are hot
enough to take fire. But if we place paper or shavings
and a pile of small pieces of soft wood under the hard
wood, and apply the lighted match to the paper, we soon
6 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
have a bright flame. The burning shavings heat and
kindle the soft wood ; this in turn kindles the hard wood
and coal ; and in this way we make our fires.
The wood or coal will burn until they are nearly con-
sumed, if they have the proper supply of air. The air,
entering from beneath, should have room to circulate
O '
freely through the entire mass of wood or coal. There
should also be a way for the smoke and products of
combustion to escape freely.
In wood and coal there is a small amount of mineral
matter. It will not burn, and in the process of combus-
tion it is left as ashes. These settle under the fire, and,
if allowed to accumulate, hinder the burning.
A fire for cooking purposes is best made in an iron
box, or, as it is usually called, a stove, or range. By so
doing we confine the heated air within a certain space,
and can obtain more or less heat, as may be required.
By means of a pipe we connect the stove with a chim-
ney having an opening into the outer air. The ashes
drop through a grate in the bottom of the fire-box into
the pan beneath. We control the amount of heat ob-
tained from the fire by dampers in the stove and pipe.
These increase or diminish the supply of fresh air, regu-
late the circulation of hot air through the flues of the
stove, and afford an outlet for the imperfectly burned
carbon and products of combustion.
Through ignorant or careless management of a fire,
much fuel is wasted, health is impaired, and not seldom
human lives are sacrificed. Charcoal and anthracite
coal should not be burned in close rooms, especially in
open stoves, with the pipe dampers closed, or where
there is a poor draught in the chimney. Poisonous
gases are f ormed, which if inhaled cause death by suffo-
LESSON I. MAKING A FIRE.
cation. It is, therefore, a matter of vital importance
that we so regulate our fires and ventilate our rooms
that the air may not be impregnated with these deadly
gases.
THE MAKING AND CARE OF A FIRE.
Remove the covers, and brush the ashes from inside
the top of the stove into the fire-box. Replace the
covers, close the dampers, and turn over the grate.
Shake the lower grate, letting the ashes sift through
into the ash-pan. When the dust ceases to rise, brush
out the oven, remove the cinders from the lower grate,
and reserve them to burn again. When taken out in
this way, the ashes in the pan will not require sifting.
If there be no lower grate, remove the ashes and cin-
ders together, and sift them. Pick over the cinders
o
carefully, and throw out any stones, slaty pieces, or
bits of clinker. These should never be burned, as they
injure the lining of the fire-box ; but any pieces of half-
burned coal should be saved. Always take out the
ashes before lighting the fire, for if they are left in
the pan, sparks and lighted coals will drop into them.
It is then highly imprudent to remove them, unless
they are to be placed in a fire-proof ash receiver. Fires
have often been occasioned by careless storing of hot
ashes.
Put into the fire-box, first, shavings or loose rolls of
newspaper, letting them come close to the front ; then
fine pine kindlings, arranged crosswise, that the air may
circulate freely between the pieces ; be careful to have
them touch each end of the fire-box that the coal may
not drop through to the grate. Then put on enough
hard wood, arranged in the same manner, to come to
8 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
the top of the fire-box. Put on the covers, open the
dampers, and brush the dust off the stove.
Moisten some stove-polish with cold water, and put
it on the stove with the " dauber." Rub the blacking
in thoroughly, then light the paper from below the
grate, and while the fire is kindling polish the stove
with the dry polishing brush. Blacken the stove while
it is cold, but polish as it begins to heat.
When the wood is well kindled, put in a few more
pieces of hard wood, and press the coals down to the
grate. Put on coal enough to cover the wood, and
when this has kindled fill the fire-box to the top of the
lining. By making sure that the hard wood kindles first,
and adding the coal gradually, much trouble is saved ;
for unless the kindling be well seasoned, and part of it
hard wood, and plenty of it used, it will either not
kindle or it will burn out before the hard coal kindles,
and then the coal must be removed and the fire rebuilt.
The blazing heat from the wood alone warms the stove,
and the oven quickly becomes hot. If you have char-
coal or Franklin coal, it may be put on at first with the
wood.
When the blue flame is no longer seen, close the
oven damper ; and as soon as the coal is burning freely,
shut the front clamper. Then regulate the fire by the
slide or damper in the pipe.
While making and watching the fire, empty the tea-
kettle, wipe out the inside, fill it and the reservoir with
fresh w r ater, never from the hot-water tank, finish
polishing the sides and back of the range, and brush up
the hearth and floor.
When a hot fire is needed for several hours, add a
sprinkling of new coal before the first has burned out,
LESSON L THE CARE OF A FIR?:. 9
and add to it often enough to keep the fire at a uniform
heat. Be careful not to add enough to cover and thus
check the fire, and never have the coal above the top
of the lining.
When the fire is not needed for the present, add a
little fresh coal, and close all the dampers in two or
three minutes, or as soon as the blue flame disappears.
Xever shut off all the draught on a red-hot fire without
putting on a little fresh coal, if you wish to keep it in
good condition to use again. It is important to remem-
ber that when all the coals are red they are nearly
burned out, and will not give out heat for so long a
time as when partly black and partly red.
To quicken an old fire, open all the dampers ; and if
the coal is black or only partly burned on top, pick out
the ashes underneath with the poker, and when it be-
gins to burn more freely add a sprinkling of coal and
shake the grate. Keep the grate free from ashes when
a very hot oven is needed. But if the old fire has
burned so low that all the coals look red or ashy, al-
ways put a few pieces of small coal on the red coals,
and when these are burning add a few more carefully ;
then shake the grate gently, or pick out the ashes. If
you shake a whity-red or dying fire, the arhes fly up
and settle on the coals and put out the little life there
is in them.
During cold weather, or when a fire is required for
heating purposes as well as for cookiug, it is more
economical, with most first-class stoves, to keep the fire
night and day, letting it go out occasionally if the grate
become clogged. Bat when it is no longer wanted for
either purpose, turn the grate over at once that there
may be no unnecessary burning of the coaL
10 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Once a month clean out the ashes and soot from
the flues back of the oven and under it. There are
openings made for that purpose.
When anything is spilled on a hot stove, scrape oft'
the thickest part of it at once with an old knife, and
\vipe off the grease by rubbing hard with a crumpled
newspaper.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
The first lesson should be mainly about the chemistry and
management of the fire. Let the pupils become familiar
with the names of, and places for, all the utensils ; learn
the table of abbreviations, and, after preparing the receipts,
repeat from memory what they have done. But do not tell
them about the composition of potatoes until the next lesson.
For further information about fire, combustion, stoves, fuel,
etc., see " Boston Cook Book," pages 1-8.
It may be more practicable in some localities to use a wood,
gas or kerosene stove, and if so, pupils should be taught how
to manage them, and especially to keep them clean and
free from soot. The new portable stoves for the burning
of the gas from denatured alcohol are particulary valuable
for cooking schools in places remote from the gas supply,
and for itinerant teachers.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON I. 11
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON I.
BAKED POTATOES.
Select potatoes of uniform size. Wash arid scrub
them well. Bake in a clean, hot oven from 30 to 45 m.,
or until soft. Break the skins to let the steam inside
escape. Serve, at once, uncovered. Should there be
any potatoes left over, peel them at once, that they may
be in better condition to warm for another meal.
CROUTONS.
Cut stale bread in half-inch slices. Eemove the
crusts, and cut into half-inch cubes. Put them on a
shallow pan, and bake until brown. Use them in the
place of toast, or as a garnish, or in soups and stews.
BREAD CRUMBS.
Put the crusts, broken pieces, and crumbs of bread
on a shallow tin plate in a moderate oven, and heat
until dry and crisp. Roll fine, sift, and keep them in a
dry place. Use them to cover articles which are to be
fried.
Abbreviations.
tbsp. stands for tablespoonful.
tsp. " " teaspoonful.
sap. " " saltspoonful.
c. " " cupful,
hp. " " heaped.
apk. " " apeck.
m. stands for minute
h. " " hour,
qt. " " quart.
pt. " " pint.
Ib. " " pound.
oz. " " ounce
BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Questions on Lesson I.
1. What have you come here to
learn ?
2. Why do we cook our food ?
3. What is cookery ?
4. How is our food cooked ?
5. Is there anything which has
not been cooked, suitable
for us to eat ?
6. How do we obtain the heat to
cook our food ?
7. What is fire?
8. What is there in wood or coal
that burns ?
9. How came the heat and light
in the wood or coal ?
10. What is coal ?
11. From what is the oil we burn
made ?
12. From what is illuminating gas
made ?
13. What do we have to do to
wood or coal to make them
burn ?
14. Why is it better for us that
they will not burn without
our help ?
15. What is one of the quickest
substances to burn ?
16. How did people make a fire
before they had matches ?
17. What is it on the match that
burns first ?
1 8. Why not burn our wood or coal
outside the house, on the
ground ?
1 9. What is this iron box in which
we are making the fire
to-day ?
20. What is the difference between
a stove, a portable range,
and a brick set range ?
21.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
Why do we make our stoves
of iron I
Why do we place the stoves
near tin- chimney ?
Does all the wood or coal burn?
What is smoke ?
What are ashes ?
How do we control the heat
from the fire ?
What kinds of wood are hard ?
How can you tell soft wood
from hard wood ?
Which wood gives out the
most heat ?
Which wood is best for kin-
dling 1
How many ways of cooking
food can you mention ?
What is the easiest thing to
cook, that is, what re-
quires the least preparation
and the fewest things to
work with ? We have only
our stove and our fire ; no
hot water, no saucepans or
kettles. What can we cook ?
What is baking ?
Large potatoes require 45 ra.
to bake. Dinner is to be
served at 11.30 ; what time
must the potatoes be put
into the oven ?
Do potatoes require a hot, or
a moderate, oven ?
How can you tell when the
oven is hot enough ?
Why do you scrub potatoes ?
In what part of the oven do
we put them ?
QUESTIONS FOR LESSON I.
13
39. Why do we have a rack or
grate, across the middle of
the oven ?
40. Which are the best for baking,
-very small, medium, or
large potatoes ?
41. How can we tell when the po-
tatoes are done ?
42. Which is more important, -
to bake them until soft,
or just the 45 in. ?
43. If they chance to be done be-
fore we are ready to eat
them, what should we do ?
44. Some people send them to the
table in a covered dish, to
keep them warm. Is that
the best way ?
45. What happens to baked pota
toes if they are left for a time
with the skins unbroken ?
46. Tan they be warmed over ?
47. When some of the class talk
about potatoes I am re-
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
minded of a hard, soggy,
shrivelled, poorly baked po-
tato ; but when others speak
of them I immediately think
of a plump, smooth, menly,
well-baked potato. Can
you tell me why ?
What are croutons, and with
what are they eaten ?
What use can you make of
small pieces of bread ?
Should even a crumb of bread
be wasted ?
How can you keep bread
crumbs for a long time ?
What does "ssp."
stand for ?
How do you write or abbrevi-
ate " tablespoonful " ?
What is the meaning of "ab-
breviate " ?
W T hat is the abbreviation for
pound " ?
< i
NOTE. The questions given here are suggestive only, for the
teacher must adapt the questions as well as the instruction to each
class or pupil.
LESSON II.
FOOD.
WE learned in our last lesson about rapid combustion,
by which we obtain heat to cook our food. In this les-
son we are to learn what food is, and about animal heat,
a result of slow combustion.
Food is anything that nourishes the body, or helps to
support life.
To live, to grow, and to be in health, the human body
must have the power to move, and must be kept warm.
When the voluntary muscles of the body lose their
power of motion, they are said to be paralyzed ; and when
the heart ceases to move the whole body soon after dies.
Motion, whether of the whole body or of its smallest
part, results in waste. New material, equal to the waste,
must be supplied, or the body will be entirely worn out ;
and until maturity there should be material for growth
as well as for repair. The particles of worn-out tissue
must be removed from the body to keep it in a health-
ful state.
The living human body always has internal warmth.
No matter how the temperature of the external air may
change, the internal temperature keeps almost exactly
the same. A variation of a few degrees always causes
death.
Food, therefore, in order to support and nourish life,
must supply the body not only with building material,
but also with fuel to develop animal heat.
16 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
How is this supplied ?
All living bodies, whether vegetable or animal, are
capable of growth from within, and of repairing their
own waste. But lifeless substances, such as manufac-
tured articles, are constantly wearing out and cannot
restore themselves, but must be repaired by some power
from without
The living plant, if surrounded by air and a suitable
soil, light, and the proper temperature, has the power,
through its leaves and roots, to take from these sources
all that it needs for growth and nourishment.
The living animal also has similar power, but ani-
mals wander about from place to place, and are not, like
plants, always in contact with their food. Sometimes
they have work to do, and cannot be seeking food. For
these reasons animals are provided with a storehouse in
which to lay by, at intervals, a supply of material for
growth and repair. They are also provided with a
monitor, in the shape of nervous structure, to tell them
when the storehouse is empty, and are surrounded by
an almost unlimited supply of material from which to
select, according to their need.
All that is required of them, therefore, is to heed the
voice of this nervous monitor, replenish the storehouse
at the proper time, with a suitable amount of the right
kind of food ; and the remaining work the making of
the food into a part of themselves will be done by the
energy within.
How does food build up the body ?
Food, as we see it on our tables, bears little resem-
blance to our bodies ; but if we study and compare them
we shall find that they are composed of similar sub
LESSON II. COMPOSITION OF FOOD, ETC. 17
stances. The solid part of the flesh and blood is largely
fibrin and albumen, substances similar to the fibres and
juices of meat and fish. Eggs, milk, peas, beans, and
grains also contain other varieties of fibrin and albu-
o
men. When we analyze these substances still farther,
we find nitrogen is the element common to all ; and it
is from these nitrogenous foods that the bodily substance
is chiefly built up.
A small part of the body is fat, a substance similar to
the fat which we eat in the form of butter, oil, fat meat,
etc. Fats, from whatever source obtained, when ana-
lyzed, are found to consist of carbon, oxygen, and
hydrogen.
The bones, teeth, akin, hair, and nails contain, in
addition to these elements, a larger proportion of min-
eral matter. Grains, vegetables, fruit, meat, milk in
fact, all things we eat contain mineral matter, often-
times in solution.
Although dissimilar in appearance, the body and our
food are both made up of substances which contain the
same elements, the principal of which are oxygen, hy-
drogen, carbon, and nitrogen. There are small quan-
tities of phosphorus, sulphur, iron, potassium, silicon,
calcium, etc.
But food, in the form in which it is eaten, cannot
nourish the body and sustain life. It must first be
changed, and converted into a fluid that can pass through
very small channels into the blood. The blood, laden
with food, and enriched with oxygen in the lungs, is
carried by the arteries to the capillaries, which penetrate
every part of the body. There it is taken up by the
living cells, and changed by them into their own tissues.
Each little cell or particle of tissue, whether of bone,
2
18 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
flesh, brain, nerve, hair, nail, or gland, has the power to
select from this common supply such material as it es-
pecially requires, and convert it into its own substance.
By this power our food is assimilated, or becomes a
part of ourselves ; but only for a time, for the cells are as
constantly breaking down as building up. The wearing-
out process goes on incessantly, creating a demand for
new material as long as life lasts.
The particles of worn-out tissue and the surplus of
new material are taken out of the way, partly by the
capillaries and partly by the lymphatic vessels, and car-
ried as the venous blood to the lungs, where they are got
rid of or changed, as we shall learn in the next section.
How does food keep the body warm ?
To obtain heat in the stove we need carbon and hy-
drogen to be burned and oxygen to burn them. To
obtain animal heat, the same elements are essential.
All our food contains compounds of carbon and hydro-
gen, the same elements that are found in wood and
coal. Many of our foods contain compounds of nitrogen.
These carbonaceous and nitrogenous foods are eaten in
a natural or in a prepared state, and, after undergoing
certain processes of digestion, are absorbed into the gen-
eral circulation. Through the lungs, oxygen from the
air enters the blood. So we have in the arterial blood
all the elements we had in the coal fire, carbon and hy-
drogen in the form of new material and worn-out tissue,
and oxygen taken in at every breath. This blood is
carried all over the body ; and then in the cells, chiefly
in the muscles, the oxygen combines with the carbon
and hydrogen, producing carbonic acid gas and watery
vapor.
LESSON II. ANIMAL COMBUSTION. 19
This chemical action develops heat just as truly,
though at a lower temperature, as in the coal fire. But
instead of combining so rapidly as to produce fire and
light, this animal combustion goes on so slowly and
continuously as scarcely to be noticed except when
vigorous exercise increases the amount of fire, or lack of
fuel diminishes it.
Carbonic acid gas and watery vapor - - products of
combustion are given off from the lungs in the ex-
halations. The mineral salts and the nitrogenous resi-
due, together with the larger part of the water, escape
through the kidneys and skin.
Some of the food, being indigestible, never enters the
blood, but leaves the system as excrement.
In the coal fire, we have been advised to " keep the
grate free from ashes and clinkers when a bright fire is
needed." Equal care is essential in respect to the fire
within our bodies. The pores of the skin must be kept
open by frequent bathing, and a suitable amount of water
be taken daily, to aid in digestion and assimilation of
food, and in the removal of the waste products.
Coal burned in a stove gives out heat to warm our
rooms and to cook our food, and if burned in an engine,
converting water into steam, gives force with which to do
mechanical work. So, in animal combustion, the burn-
ing of the foods by the oxygen liberates their stored-up
energy. This energy is given out partly as heat
keeping the body temperature at 98 and partly in
the form of mechanical work.
Thus our food renders a threefold service to that most
wonderful machine, the human body : furnishing heat to
keep it warm, material to build it up, make it grow, and
keep it in repair, and energy with which it may do its
20 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
work, whether that work be the voluntary activity of
our hands, feet, and brains, or the involuntary motions
by which are performed the great functions of respira-
tion and circulation.
CLASSIFICATION OF FOOD.
NITROGENOUS FOODS.
Foods that supply material for growth and repair are
called nitrogenous foods, because some nitrogenous com-
pound is found in them.
They are also called proteids, from a Greek word
meaning " first," because in the living cells which are the
first principle or form of life there is always nitrogen.
A common name is albuminous foods, because the
most familiar form of these nitrogenous compounds is
egg albumen, as found in the white of an egg. The
word is derived from the Latin albus, meaning " white."
Albuminous substances exist in many forms, and are
called by different names in different things. They
are found largely in meat, fish, milk, peas, beans, and
grains. The albumen and fibrin in the juices and flesh
of meat and fish, and in the juices and membranes of
some vegetables and fruits, the casein in milk, the vege-
table casein in peas and beans, and the gluten of grains,
are all forms of nitrogenous substances, or proteids.
Nitrogenous foods are often classified as flesh-form-
ing, and other foods as heat-producing ; but these terms
are misleading, because nitrogenous foods also contain
carbon, and give out heat.
But there are foods containing carbon which do not
contain nitrogen ; and these, in which carbon is the
chief element, are called
LESSON II. CARBONACEOUS FOODS. 21
CARBONACEOUS FOODS.
Though the internal normal temperature of the body
is only 98, the amount of heat produced by the slow
combustion going on in the body, as mentioned on page
19, is considerable. It has been estimated that this
heat obtained during twenty-four hours, if confined
within certain limits, would be sufficient to raise nine
gallons of water from a temperature of 70 to 212.
A portion of this heat is derived from nitrogenous
foods, but the greater part of it is obtained from car-
bonaceous foods. These are classed as fats and carbo-
hydrates.
Fats. These include butter, the fat of meat and fish,
oils, eggs, and some kinds of cheese.
Fats stand at the head of heat-producing foods, and
are necessary in winter and in cold climates. They
serve other and important uses in the body. A small
amount is necessary in digestion, and indispensable to
perfect nutrition.
" Fat forms the principal material of certain tissues,
which, by filling the spaces between the bones, muscles,
and the different organs of the body, give rotundity and
beauty to the form, equalize external pressure, diminish
the friction of the parts, and being non-conductors of
heat, keep the body warm." An undue accumulation
of fat is a species of disease, and disease just as surely
results from a deficiency of fat.
Carbo-hydrates (Starch, Sugar, etc.). Other carbona-
ceous foods, called carbo-hydrates, are the starches found
in grains, peas, beans, and some vegetables, and the
sugars found in the sap and juices of plants, vegetables,
and fruits. Sugar is also found in milk ; but we take
BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
most of it in the form of pure sugar, made from the
sugar-cane.
These carbo-hydrates form the larger part of our diet,
and are very important and useful foods.
MINERAL FOOD OR ASH.
Under the general term salts, or mineral matter, are
included various combinations of lime, soda, potash, sul-
phur, phosphorus, magnesia, and iron, which are found
principally in cereals, milk, meat, fish, and fruits. They
are found in so minute quantities, that if, through igno-
rance or improper cooking, we are deprived of them, the
svstem suffers from the want of them ; and it is from
J
the ill effects which follow that we judge their office to
be a most important one. They replenish certain tis-
sues, and are indispensable to the pp.rrect building up of
the body. More mineral matter is needed when the
body is young ; and it is especially important that chil-
dren should not be deprived of it by being fed exclu-
sively on arrowroot, sago, tapioca, etc., which are purely
starch.
How much is needed we do not know ; but the best
development follows when the supply is from foods
which are naturally rich in mineral matter, rather than
from its addition to other foods.
Chloride of sodium, or common salt, seems to be es-
sential to the proper digestion and absorption of food,
and since there are many foods in which it is not found
in sufficient quantity, it must be added to them. From
habit, more is often used than the system requires ; and
when taken in excess it acts as an irritant, and some-
times occasions disease.
LESSON II. WATER. 23
On the charts these mineral substances are classed as
ash, because if the foods were burned there would be
left a solid residue, resembling the ashes left in burning
wood or coal.
WATER.
While water cannot in the usual sense be called a
food, it fills one of the most important offices in the
nutrition of the body, and ranks next to oxygen as a
supporter of life. It constitutes about three fourths
of the whole body. It forms a large part of the mus-
cular tissue, and is found even in the bones. It abounds
in the blood and secretions, giving them the necessary
fluidity, thus enabling them to dissolve the important
materials they contain, transport them over the body,
and carry away the used-up material.
Water is the great regulator of animal heat, for by
its evaporation in perspiration it prevents or reduces
any excessive temperature of the body.
We are constantly losing a large quantity of water
through the lungs, skin, and kidneys. This loss must
be supplied, or life cannot go on. A large amount of
water must be taken as a beverage, and care must be
taken to have it free from any harmful substance. Al-
though it is found in all kinds of solid food, yet there
are many foods to which it must be added in cooking.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
Review the lesson on making the fire and baking potatoes.
Illustrate the table of measures and weights. Give a brief
outline of the purpose of food and its classification, illus-
trating by the foods used in the two lessons.
24 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
MEASURING.
Accurate measurement is necessary to insure success
in cooking. Sift dry materials before measuring.
Measure flour lightly, without shaking down, and
butter by packing closely.
A cup holding just half a pint (beer measure) is the
standard measuring cup. See note, page 26.
A cupful is all the cup will hold without running
over, full to the brim. A scant cupful is within a
quarter of an inch of the top.
A tablespoonful of flour, sugar, butter, rice, chopped
vegetables, and crumbs, is a rounded spoonful.
A teaspoonful of salt, soda, pepper, baking powder,
and spice, is a level spoonful.
A heaped spoonful is all the spoon will hold.
Half a spoonful is measured by dividing through the
middle lengthwise, or by using the new half teaspoon.
A speck, or a shake, or a few grains is what you can
pile on a quarter-inch square surface.
TABLE OF MEASURES AND WEIGHTS.
4 ssp. = 1 tsp.
3 tsp. = 1 tbsp.
4 tbsp. = i^ c.
2 gills = 1 c.
2 c. = 1 pt.
2 pt. =1 qt.
4 qt. =1 gallon.
8 qt. =1 peck.
4 c. flour = 1 Ib.
2 c. solid butter = 1 Ib.
2 c. gran, sugar = 1 Ib.
3 c. meal = 1 Ib.
1 hp. tbsp. butter = 2 oz.
1 hp. tbsp. sugar = 1 oz.
2 c. solid meat = 1 Ib.
1 tbsp. liquid = ^ oz.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON II. 25
RECEIPTS FOB LESSON II.
BAKED APPLES.
1 tsp. sugar, 1 tbsp. water, to each apple.
Wipe the apples, remove the core, and put them in a
granite or earthen dish. Put the sugar in the centre
of each apple, and the water in the dish. Bake in a
hot oven from 20 to 30 m., or until soft, but not until
broken.
BAKED CRACKERS.
% tsp. butter to each whole cracker.
Split round crackers in halves, spread the inside with
a thin layer of butter. Put them, buttered side up,
into a pan, and brown in a hot oven. Serve plain or
with soups and oyster stews.
BAKED CRACKERS WITH CHEESE.
Mix 1 tbsp. crumbled or grated cheese, ^ ssp. salt,
l / ssp. pepper for each whole cracker. Toast as in the
first receipt, spread with the cheese mixture, return to
the oven, and warm until the cheese is melted.
CRACKER BREWIS.
Prepare the crackers with the cheese, put them in a
shallow earthen dish, add */ c. of milk to each whole
cracker. Bake until brown, or until the milk is absorbed.
The pepper may be omitted,
26
BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Questions on Lesson II.
1. What part of a tsp. is a ssp. ?
2. How many tsp. in a tbsp. ?
3. If yon had no cup, how could
you measure ^ c. of flour
with a tbsp. ?
4. What part of a c. is a gill ?
5. How many cups in a qt. ?
6. How do you measure }^ tbsp. ?
7. How many cups of gran, sugar
in a Ib. ?
8. If you wanted a Ib. of flour,
and had no scales, how could
yon measure just one Ib. ?
9. How much will ^ Ib. of but-
ter measure ?
10. How many hp. tbsp. of butter
in a cup ?
11. How many in % Ib. ?
12. How much would 1 tbsp. of
sugar weigh ?
13. What is there in the wood we
burn which is in the food
we eat ?
14. What is the purpose of car-
bonaceous foods ?
15. What do we mean by flesh-
forming foods ?
16. Are flesh-forming, albuminous,
and nitrogenous foods the
same ?
17. Where do we obtain the oxy-
gen to keep the fire within
us burning ?
18. Where do we obtain the fuel
for this fire ?
19. What is the bellows with
which we blow this fire ?
20. What vegetable that we have
learned to cook contains
carbon ?
21. What is this substance called ?
22. What foods that we have used
contain water; sugar; min-
eral matter; muscle-making
food?
23. In what form have we used fat
in these lessons ?
24. W T hy are we hungry after rig-
orous exercise ?
NOTE. The quart in beer measure is larger than that of liquid
measure by which milk is now sold. A quart of milk will not contain
4 cups, measured by the cooking-cup measure. The standard cooking
cup should be of a size that will hold just half a pound of water, or
granulated sugar, or butter packed in solidly. Two tin cups divided
by grooves, one into quarters and the other into thirds, and holding
just half a pint, beer measure, should be in every kitchen.
LESSON II. MEASURING. 27
Note to the Teacher.
On account of the variation in different pupils' ideas of
a rounded spoonful, many teachers prefer to use the level
measurement for everything ; but experience shows that it
is better to teach pupils to measure in a variety of ways.
Weighing is best for many things, but the eye may be
trained to exactness, and judgment may be acquired. After
memorizing the table of weights and measures, let the pupil
have frequent comparison of weights and measures and prac-
tise in measuring by the eye.
Liquids are always measured level, but if you dip a
tablespoon into melted butter, molasses, cream, etc. you
take up what adheres to the under side of the spoon and
have more than when you pour the liquid into the spoon.
Salt, pepper, spices, soda, and baking powder are measured
level, for a level teaspoonful is the proportion needed in
most combinations, and exactness is essential to keep the
proportions correct.
Flour, cornstarch, and sugar are commonly measured in
a tablespoon, and for the sake of accuracy it is better (until
the eye has been well trained) to use the level measurement.
With the left hand dip the spoon into the sifted material
and with a knife in the right hand scrape off all that is
above the rim of the spoon. But remember to use two
level tablespoonfuls where one is specified in these recipes.
As many recipes call for an ounce of butter and scales
are not always at hand, butter has been commonly mea-
sured by the rounded tablespoonful, an ounce filling the
spoon and rounding over or up as much above the edge as
the spoon hollows below. Time and butter are wasted by
packing butter into a tablespoon and scraping off to a level
measure ; unless the butter is soft it is difficult to pack ;
and if soft and you dip the spoon into the butter, you can-
not allow accurately for that which is on the under side.
28 BO&l'ON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Surely there can be no better opportunity to teach ac-
curacy of measurement, ami economy of time, labor, and
material, than to train a pupil to cut oil' at once the amount
of butter desired. Any one can learn and remember that
a rounded tablespoon is equal to two of level measure, and
make one motion answer for two. A rounded tablespoon
also equals one-eighth of a cup or one-fourth of a quarter
ib. print of butter. Divide this quarter Ib. once each way
and you have four cubes about one inch in size. These
cubes will be slightly larger in butter that is soft and
watery than in that which is close-grained and has been
thoroughly worked over. If you have not a pound print
or ball of butter, weigh a pound of tub butter and pack it
into rectangular shape ; divide it into halves when a cup-
ful is desired, or into quarters if you wish a half cup; and
divide the quarter into four cubes and lay aside until
needed ; and thus save the waste and uncertainty which
comes from packing butter into a cup or spoon.
Should the teacher prefer the level measurement, it will
be well to remember that in the following recipes a level
measure is intended where all teaspoons and saltspoons, or
tablespoons of liquid are called for; and that a rounded
measure is intended for all tablespoons of solid material,
unless a heaped measure is indicated ; a heaped is equal
to two rounded or four of level measurement.
LESSON III.
BOILING, OR COOKING IN WATER.
WE have learned abcmt baking, or cooking by dry,
confined heat, and now we are to learn about cooking in
a boiling liquid. This is the most common form of
cooking, and water is the liquid usually employed.
Nearly every kind of food needs the action of water,
or some other liquid, combined with heat, to cook it in
the best manner.
Some seeds and grains, when fully grown, lose by the
ripening process nearly all the water that was in them,
and become very hard. They need to absorb a large
amount of water in cooking to replace that which they
have lost.
Other foods contain so much water that simply heat-
ing them cooks them sufficiently, while still others are
improved by having the water they contain taken away
Some foods have flavors which are affected by the.
temperature of the water and the length of time they
remain in it.
To understand the different effects of cold water and
boiling water upon food, and also the time required for
cooking in water, we need first to learn about boiling
water. When we cook in boiling water, we really cook
the water first ; that is, we heat or boil it.
We will put a cupful of cold water in a saucepan over
the fire, and see what happens. When it becomes so
30 BOSTON SCHOOL KTTCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
lint that we cannot bear the fingers in it we will take
the temperature. This is scalding hot water. Soon we
see tiny bubbles forming on the edges and bottom of the
pan. This is the air in the water which expands by
the heat. These air bubbles disappear as they reach
the colder water near the top, and the cold water being
heavier goes to the bottom. This makes a slight motion
in the water which we call simmering, and which is often
mistaken for boiling. Water simmers at about 180.
After a while all the water is very hot, that nearer the
bottom is changed into steam, large bubbles of steam rise
rapidly and soon break above the surface, making quite
a commotion or bubbling all over the top, and we say
" the water boils."
We take the temperature, and find it boils at 212. As
the bubbles break the steam escapes, and when it comes
in contact with the cold air above and outside the kettle
it is changed, or condensed, into a fine mist. We call
this mist steam, but the real steam is invisible.
Thus we learn that boiling is the changing of water
or liquid into steam by the action of heat sufficient to
cause commotion or bubbling on the surface.
Any solid must first be melted into a liquid before it
can boil. We do not really boil our potatoes ; we cook
them in boiling water.
After boiling the water some time we take the tem-
perature again, and find the water is no hotter than 212.
We increase the fire to make the water boil faster, and
the force of the steam lifts the cover, and the water
runs over and spatters the stove ; but \ve find the water
is no hotter. The excess of heat escapes in the steam,
and in ordinary kettles it is impossible to retain the
whole of it.
LESSON III. BOILING WATER. 31
We cover the kettle, and some of the steam con-
denses into water on the inside of the cover, drops
back again into the kettle, and gives up its heat.
So although we do not gain any greater degree of heat
by boiling rapidly, yet by keeping the cover on more
of the heat is kept inside. The steam, as it changes
from a vapor to a liquid, gives back the heat that it
has, and by keeping in the steam we can economize
heat.
We cool a portion of the boiling water, and find it
tastes flat. This is because the gases, or air, which gave
it a fresh taste have escaped.
If we let the water all boil away, or be changed into
steam, we find only a riin or deposit of brown scum on
the edge of the pan.
We learn by this experiment in cooking or boiling
water
That it boils at 212, or when it bubbles all over the
top;
That when once it boils all over it becomes no hotter,
and fuel and heat are wasted when it boils at a gallop-
ing rate ;
That the kettle should never be so full that the water,
as it expands in heating, will boil over ;
That it loses its freshness by long boiling, and should
be used at once ;
That it boils away faster if uncovered ;
That in time it will all evaporate and pass off as steam,
and more must be added as needed ;
And, lastly, that the water leaves a deposit on the
kettle, which, if not removed, will in time affect the
taste of the water.
These are only a few of the many facts to be learned
3.5 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
about boiling water, but they are sufficient for our
lesson. 1
We will take for our experiment to-day some foods
which contain starch and albumen, and see what effect
cold water or boiling water has upon them. In this way
we learn how to cook our food in water.
EXPERIMENT WITH STARCH.
If we soak thin slices of raw potato in cold water,
after a while we find a sediment in the pan. This is
starch, which has dropped out of the cells which were
cut by slicing. This sediment may be purified and dried,
and then it will be like the pure starch of commerce.
Pure starch is a fine white powder, and is found en-
closed in cells in the various grains, seeds, and vege-
tables.
We will wet a teaspoonful of cornstarch with a little
cold water. It appears to mix with the water, but after
standing a short time the starch is found at the bottom
of the bowl, and the water is clear again, showing that
it has not united with the starch ; but by stirring this
wet starch till a smooth paste is formed, and pouring it
quickly into boiling water, we find that the membranes
1 Water boils at a higher temperature when there is sugar or salt or
anything in it to increase its density.
Water boils at a lower temperature when the pressure of the air up-
on the water is diminished. Before a rain the pressure of the air is
lessened, because the air when filled with vapor is lighter. Things
burn on more quickly at such a time because the water evaporates more
rapidly. The pressure of the air is less the higher we ascend above the
level of the sea, and at an elevation of 14,150 feet water boils at 188.6.
Cooking in boiling water requires a much longer time, therefore, in
mountainous regions, for the water boils so quickly that it has less heat
than at lower altitudes, where it is subject to greater pressure.
LESSON III. STARCH. 33
of the starch grains swell and burst,.and the fine powder
inside unites with the boiliuq; water.
o
We learn from this experiment that cold water does
not affect starch ; and that boiling water is absorbed by
the starch grains, causing them to swell and burst, and
form a thick, sticky mass, which, when cold, is quite
stiff. Starch is from the German word, stdrke, meaning
" stiff."
This experiment teaches us the first important princi-
ple of mixing dry and liquid ingredients ; and also the
rule for boiling starchy foods: Any starchy food in the
form of a powder, like flour or cornstarch, when it is to
be used as a thickening, should first be wet with a little
cold water to form a smooth paste. Then add more
cold water until it is thin enough to pour. Stir it
quickly into rapidly boiling water, and the grains will
burst uniformly.
If boiling water be poured upon fine dry starch, the
grains are so compact it will not reach all of them.
Some will burst more quickly than others, some will not
burst at all, and the mass will be lumpy.
But all other starchy foods, like whole grains, vegetables,
tapioca, etc., should be put directly into boiling water.
Starch in its uncooked, insoluble state is unwholesome.
All starchy foods should be moistened with a sufficient
amount of liquid, and subjected to a great degree of
heat, that all the grains may swell and burst.
EXPERIMENT WITH ALBUMEN.
Albumen is a substance found in many foods in both
solid and liquid forms.
The white of eggs is nearly pure albumen. The yolks
contain a smaller portion of it. The albumen in the
3
34 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
white of egg is in a clear, liquid form ; but if we put an
egg into boiling water, the white soon becomes opaque,
thick, and creamy, then tough, and finally the white is
quite hard and brittle, and the yolk dry and mealy, or
easily crumbled. The two kinds of albumen in the egg
coagulate at 122 and 160 F.
Blood albumen is found in the juices and fibres of
lean meat. A piece of lean meat, if put into boiling
water, shrivels and contracts, and the juices stay in the
meat. The water is unchanged. But these small pieces
of meat which were put into cold water at the beginning
of the lesson have colored the water red and given it a
taste, which shows that the juices have been drawn
into the water. On heating this water, we find the red
color changes to brown, and the water seems thicker.
Soon the brown substance becomes harder, separates en-
tirely from the water, and, when the water stops boiling,
settles. Blood albumen coagulates at 160.
By this experiment we have learned that cold water
draws out albuminous juices and holds them in solution,
and that boiling water hardens albumen.
Nearly all vegetables contain starch and a small
amount of albuminous matter, and are generally cooked
in water.
We shall learn to-day about cooking potatoes ; and as
the principles are the same for cooking all vegetables,
if we learn how to cook one kind well, we can, by follow-
ing the special directions, cook any kind as occasion may
require.
POTATOES.
Potatoes are three fourths water. The solid matter
consists largely of starch, with a small quantity of albu-
men and mineral matter, chiefly potash salts held in
LESSON III. "POTATOES. 35
solution in the juices. New potatoes, unless perfectly
ripe, contain but little starch. In late summer and in
autumn they are in their best condition. The amount
of starch and albumen diminishes by keeping ; and in
spring, or when the potatoes begin to sprout, a part of
the starch changes to gum, and this makes them sticky
or waxy. Some of the water has evaporated, the mem-
branes of the starch cells are dry and hard, and their
value as food is diminished.
The amount of albumen in potatoes, though small, is
more than that in any other of the moist vegetables.
This, together with the fact that they are cheap and pala-
table, combine well with other foods, and are easily cul-
tivated and kept, makes them a favorite vegetable food.
But they have been greatly overrated, and should not be
used alone, or in too great proportion. For they contain
little heat-giving and flesh-forming material, and if they
be depended upon mainly for sustenance, so large a bulk
of them is required that the system is overtasked. They
should be eaten with fat and meat to make perfect food.
As they contain starch, they must be cooked to be
wholesome, and it is important not to lose any of their
nutriment in the process of cooking. The most eco-
nomical methods are baking, steaming, and boiling.
There is a difference of opinion as to whether pota-
toes should be pared or not pared before cooking. Many
claim that the most nutritious part of the potato is the
part in and near the skin, and that this is lost by paring.
This is chiefly mineral matter, silica, an element
needed by the hair and nails. The potash salts the
most valuable mineral constituent are probably held
in solution all through the juices, and if these juices are
drawn out, no doubt much of the potash escapes.
36 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Potatoes are often grown in soils not adapted to them,
and are liable to disease. They belong to a poisonous
family, and contain a bitter juice in and near the skin,
which makes them indigestible. In cooking, this bitter
CJ CJ '
principle is set free by the heat, and goes off with the
steam, if they are opened or uncovered at once ; if not,
the potato absorbs it and becomes bitter. So, unless po-
tatoes are sound and of the best quality, it is better to
pare them before boiling, and to take off quite a thick
paring, that all this juice may escape; and they should
always be pared when they are to be cooked for people
with weak digestion. If any of the potash salts are lost
by paring, they can be supplied by the use of salads and
other green vegetables and fruits. If not pared they
should be thoroughly scrubbed, to remove all the earthy
matter adhering to the skin. The skin of new potatoes
is thin, and may be removed by scraping instead of
paring.
Potatoes, when pared, turn brown if exposed to the
air, and each should be covered with cold water as soon
as pared, and should not be pared long before cooking.
In the spring, when they are shrivelled and become
gummy, soaking improves them by supplying the water
they have lost and dissolving the gum, making them
less sticky ; but at any other time it is undesirable.
If we examine the potato under the microscope, we
can understand why, in cooking, it should be put into
boiling water rather than into cold. The starch is found
throughout the potato, enclosed in cells the walls of
which are thin membranes of an albuminous nature.
Each cell contains ten or twelve grains, surrounded by
a watery, albuminous juice. In cooking the potato, this
juice becomes boiling hot, the starch grains absorb it and
LESSON III. COOKING VEGETABLES. 37
burst ; so that each cell, which before cooking was wet
and hard, is now filled with soft, mealy starch. If we
begin to cook our potatoes by putting them into cold
water, some of the gum and potash salts will be drawn
out, and the starch will not begin to cook until the
water boils. Hence, though the potatoes may look and
taste well, no time is gained in cooking, and they must
^J O' \J
have lost some portion of their nutriment. But if put
into freshly boiling water, this hardens the albuminous
membranes of the outside cells, and prevents the escape
of the juices. The water should boil gently, to prevent
the potatoes from breaking. Salt should be added to
slightly increase the density of the water and thus raise
the boiling-point, and help retain the soluble matters.
And lastly, and most important of all the steps in the
process, the potatoes should be taken up the moment
they are done, that is, when a fork will pierce them
easily. They should be drained at once, then shaken,
and left uncovered, to let the water inside, which has
not been absorbed by the starch, pass off as steam. If
we cook them after the starch is all softened, the starch
on the outside will absorb the bitter, boiling water in
the kettle ; after a time the potato will break up and
partly dissolve, and we shall have a bitter, pasty, potato
gruel, instead of a firm, but soft and mealy potato.
GENERAL RULES FOR COOKING VEGETABLES.
Prepare them for cooking as follows :
Potatoes, scrub, and pare when necessary.
Parsnips, scrub till white, trim off the fine roots.
Carrots, scrub, and scrape off the thin outer surface.
Turnips, scrub v ""t in slices, and pare.
35 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-HOOK.
Beets, wash carefully, for if the skin be broken the
sugary juices will escape.
Cabbage and cauliflower, trim and soak top down to
draw out any insects.
Celery, wash, and scrape off any rusty portions.
Spinach and other greens, pick over and wash in
several waters.
Onions, peel and soak.
Green corn, husk with clean hands, but do not wash it.
Peas and beans, shell with clean hands and wash
quickly.
Soft-shell squashes, wash, pare, and cut as desired.
Hard-shell squashes, wash, split, and cook in the
shell.
Asparagus, wash and break off the tough end, tie in
bundles, or break into inch bits.
String beans, strip off the ends and strings on each
side, cut or break into small pieces, and wash.
Fresh vegetables do not require any soaking in cold
water, and it is better not to prepare them until you
are ready to cook them. But if they be wilted, soaking
will freshen them ; and if they must be prepared long
before cooking they should be covered with cold water
to prevent them from wilting or from becoming dis-
colored.
Put vegetables into freshly boiling w r ater, slightly
salted, and cook quickly until done. The time will
depend upon the age or freshness of the vegetable.
With green peas, shelled beans, green corn, asparagus,
celery, and spinach, use as little water as possible, and
let it boil away, leaving just enough to moisten, and
thus save all the desirable soluble matter that may have
been drawn out. Do not salt until nearly done.
LESSON III. TIME-TABLE FOR BOILING, ETC. 39
Cook cabbage and cauliflower, uncovered, in a large
kettle of rapidly boiling salted water, with a saltspoon
of soda.
Onions, scald and change the water twice.
All others, cook in water enough to cover, and drain
it off' after cooking.
Greens, summer squash, cabbage, and other watery
vegetables should be pressed in a cloth or strainer, and
well drained.
TIME-TABLE FOR BOILING.
Eggs, coffee, clams, oysters 3 to 5 m.
Green corn, small fish, and thin slices of fish .... 5 to 10 "
Rice, sweetbreads, peas, tomatoes, asparagus, hard-boiled
eggs 15 to 20 "
Potatoes, macaroni, squash, celery, spinach, cabbage . . 20 to 30 "
Young beets, carrots, turnips, onions, parsnips, cauliflower 30 to 45 "
String beans, shelled beans, oyster plant 45 to 60 "
Winter vegetables, oatmeal, hominy, and wheat, chickens
and lamb 1 to 2 hrs.
Fowls, turkey, veal 2 to 3 "
Corned beef, smoked tongue, beef a la mode 3 to 4 "
Ham 4 to 5 "
Small pieces of meat, allow 15 m. to warm through, then
for every Ib 15 m.
Halibut and salmon in cubical form, per Ib 15 "
Blue-fish, bass, etc., per Ib 10 "
Cod, haddock, and small fish, per Ib 6 "
Seasoning. One pint of vegetables, mashed or
sliced, or one pint of small whole vegetables, requires
1 tbsp. butter, y 2 tsp. salt, ]/ 2 ssp. pepper. Squash,
peas, and beans are improved by 1 tsp. sugar. Milk
or the vegetable liquid may be used to moisten such as
are too dry.
40 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
Let the pupils try the experiments as given in the lesson,
and thus learn by observation about boiling water and its
effect upon starch and albumen. Three or four potatoes
may be boiled, then riced, mashed, seasoned, and made into
cakes. Beef tea may be prepared from the meat used in
the experiment, and the bit of meat put into hot water may
be minced and mixed with the potato cakes. The effect of
boiling water upon eggs may be illustrated by allusion to
what they already know, leaving the boiling of eggs till
another lesson, or for the pupil to try at home. Potatoes
have been discussed quite minutely as an illustration of the
method of teaching the composition of food, but other foods
will not be explained so fully for want of space. The
teacher should be familiar with all the subjects taught, and
give oral information as to their nature, composition, man-
ner of growth or production, modes of cooking, digestibility,
etc., illustrating from the charts and museum. For further
information about vegetables, see " Boston Cook Book/' pages
289-316.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON III. 41
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON III.
BOILED POTATOES.
Select potatoes of uniform size. Wash and scrub
them. Pare and cover with cold water. Put them in
a saucepan of boiling salted water. (1 qt. of water and
1 tbsp. of salt for 6 large potatoes.) Cook l / 2 h., or until
soft. Drain off every drop of water. Place the sauce-
pan, uncovered, at the back of the stove to let the steam
escape. Shake it gently. Serve very hot.
EICE POTATO.
Mash the potatoes as soon as they are boiled and
drained. Rub them with a wooden masher through a
strainer into a hot dish.
MASHED POTATO.
To 1 pt. of hot boiled potatoes, add 1 tbsp. of butter,
V 2 tsp. of salt, a spk. of pepper, and enough hot milk-
to moisten. Mash in the saucepan in which they were
boiled ; beat with a fork till light and creamy, and turn
out lightly on a hot dish.
V.
POTATO CAKES.
Make cold mashed potato into small round cakes
about y 2 inch thick. Put them on a baking tin, and
brush them over with milk. Bake in a hot oven till
golden brown.
SOFT-BOILED EGGS.
Put the eggs into a saucepan, cover with boiling
water, and let them stand from 6 to 10 m. where the
water will keep hot (180) but not boiling. The white
42 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHKN TKXT-BOOK.
should be soft ami jelly-like, and the yolk soft but not
liquid. If cooked in boiling water, cook from 3 to 5 m.
HAKD-BOILED EGGS.
Cook them 20 m., in water just bubbling. The yolk
of an egg cooked 10 m. in rapidly boiling water is tough
and indigestible ; cooked 20 in. it is dry, mealy, and
easily digested.
BEEF TEA.
Cut lean, juicy raw beef into quarter-inch dice.
Cover with cold water, and add */ 2 tsp. salt to every
cup of water. Press the meat often, and after an hour
squeeze out all the juice. Heat the juice, stir it con-
stantly, and serve as soon as it looks thick and is hot.
Questions on Lesson III.
1. Can you think of any grains
or seeds which become hard
and dry when ripe ?
2. What vegetables contain water
enough to cook them ?
3. What vegetables need to have
the water they contain
pressed out after cooking ?
4. What are the first bubbles
which, we see when water
begins to be heated?
5. How do the steam bubbles
differ from the air bubbles ?
6. Do we really see the steam ?
7. What is boiling?
8. What is the temperature of
boiling water ?
9. Does rapid boiling increase
the temperature of boiling
water ?
10. What becomes of the excess of
heat
11. Why does boiled water taste
flat?
12. How do you use starch as a
thickening ?
13. Should starchy food be put
into cold or into boiling
water ?
14. What is the effect of boiling
water upon egg albumen ?
15. What is the effect of boiling
water upon blood albumen ?
16. When .are potatoes best as
food ?
17. What do they lack, and what
should be eaten with them ?
18. When should they be pared ?
19. When is it better to soak
them ?
20. "Why should they be taken up
as soon as done ?
21. Why do we leave them un-
covered ?
LESSON IV.
STEAMING, AND OTHER FORMS OF
COOKING IN BOILING WATER.
WE have found that some starchy foods need rapid
cooking in boiling water, directly over the fire. The
danger of burning them is avoided by using plenty of
water.
Sometimes it is desirable to cook more slowly than
we can in boiling water, and some foods require only
a limited amount of water ; or it may be they are sticky
nnd glutinous, and it would be inconvenient to be con-
stantly stirring them to prevent burning. It is then
better to cook either over boiling water or by steam.
Puddings, brown bread, mushes, custards, and other
soft, sticky, glutinous mixtures are often cooked in a
covered pail or mould, which is placed in a kettle of
boiling water. There should be a trivet or muffin-ring
under the pail to keep it from the bottom of the kettle,
and allow the water to be under as well as around it,
The kettle should be closely covered to keep in the
steam, and the water kept boiling steadily the required
time. The heat in the inner pail is less than that of
boiling water, but it is sufficient to cook the mixture.
It takes a longer time than some other ways of cook-
ing, but if the fire be rightly prepared, and the supply
of water sufficient, it needs less attention. It is an
economical and satisfactory method, answering well the
46 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCIIKX TEXT-BOOK.
first great purpose in cooking,- -that of developing flavor
with little loss of substance.
A double boiler is a utensil made for cooking on this
principle. It has two boilers ; the upper one, holding
the food, fits tightly half way down into the lower one,
which contains the boiling water. The steam is partially
confined, and as it changes from the gaseous to the
liquid form, or condenses on the inner boiler, it gives
up its heat sufficiently to cook the food. 1
These modes of cooking are often called steaming, but
they are only other forms of boiling ; the cooking by
real steam is a very different process. Sometimes super-
heated steam is forced through pipes into a receptacle
containing the food, and in this way a greater degree
of heat is obtained.
But cooking by steam is commonly done in a steamer
<>r covered pan with perforations in the bottom. This
is placed over boiling water, and the food is kept en-
tirely out of the water, but in direct contact with the
steam, which, coming through the perforations, condenses,
gives up its heat, and cooks the food. Some vegetables,
fruits, meats, and other foods or mixtures which have
sufficient moisture in themselves are cooked in this way.
Watery vegetables are made drier ; tough, dry meats are
softened, and made tender ; and flour mixtures have a
different flavor from that obtained by dry heat or cook-
1 It has been supposed that adding salt to the water in the lower
boiler would increase the temperature of the boiling-point from 212 to
224 ; but it would take one pound of salt to a quart of water to raise it
to that point, and this quantity would soon corrode the boiler. Two
ounces of salt to a quart of water would raise the boiling-point two
degrees.' But by using the same amount of chloride of calcium,
not chloride of lime, --the temperature could be raised to 240; and
if a pound to a quart were used it would reach 350.
LKSSUN IV. OATMEAL.
ing in water. In the first two methods the heat is con-
veyed from the boiling water through the boiler to the
food. In the real steaming, the steam carries the heat
directly to the food.
To-day we are to learn more about starch as it is
found in grains like rice and oatrneal ; also about an al-
buminous substance contained in grains and called glu-
ten, because when dry it is tough and sticky like glue.
These grains of oatmeal are hard and drv. You re-
O v
member we learned in the last lesson that many things
dried in ripening, and needed a large amount of \valrr
to sw 7 ell and soften them. If we were to cook oatmeal
in the oven, without anything else, as we did the baked
potatoes, it would be harder and drier than it is now.
But the potatoes became softer by baking.
If we wanted a thin gruel of oatmeal we should cook
it in a large quantity of water until the starch and
gluten were swollen and softened ; but when we make
oatmeal mush we want to have it more like solid food
than pasty gruel. We cannot drain off the water as
easily as we did from the potatoes, so we must be care-
ful to use only so much water as is needed to swell and
soften the starch and gluten. Oatmeal, for mush, re-
quires four times its bulk of water; fine oatmeal a little
less.
We use boiling water because oatmeal is not a fine
powder like the flour, and the grains will separate easily
without being first wet in cold water, and because the
boiling water bursts the starch grains quickly, and be-
gins at once to cook them. If we put the meal into cold
water, the starch will come out into the water, and make
it gluey and pasty. This thickened, gluey water can-
not soften the gluten quickly, so it takes a longer time
48 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT- BOOK.
to cook, and it always has a raw, pasty taste. We add
salt because there is not enough in the grain, and then
we must cook it until the gluten is thoroughly softened.
Cook it rapidly at first, directly on the stove, about ten
minutes, to burst all the starch grains. When the water
is nearly absorbed, place the pan into, or over, another
of boiling water. The steam will keep the water in the
meal hot enough to soften the gluten, but not hot enough
to boil and waste away and so make the mush too dry ;
and this slow cooking will soften the gluten more
thoroughly than rapid boiling, and develop a better
flavor.
Eice may be cooked in a double boiler ; but as it will
absorb a great amount of water and yet only needs a
little to soften it thoroughly, it is important to use the
right proportion, or it will be too moist. It requires
only twice its bulk of boiling water, and will cook in
half an hour.
MILK.
Iii cooking some kinds of food, milk is used in the
place of water. Milk contains water, sugar, salts, fat,
albumen, and casein.
After it stands awhile, the fat separates and rises as
cream. The sugar and salts are dissolved in the water
of the milk. The casein is dissolved in fresh milk, but
when the milk becomes old, and sours, it separates from
the watery part and forms a thick mass which we call
curd. This curd is made into cheese. Now as milk con-
tains all these substances it is thicker than water, and
when we boil it, it adheres to the pan and burns quickly.
The bubbles of water in the milk, as they change into
steam, rise rapidly, the albumen hardens, and forms a
LESSON IV. MILK AND EGGS. 49
skin-like coating ; as this skin is thick and tenacious,
owing to the other substances in the milk, these bubbles
do not break quickly at the surface as clear water bubbles
do, but stretch and climb one upon another till they run
over the edge of the pan. By heating milk in a double
boiler we avoid the danger of its burning or running over.
When the whole surface is covered with air bubbles,
not steam bubbles, the milk is hot enough, though not
actually boiling. The temperature of boiling milk is
slightly higher than that of boiling water, and it will not
boil over boiling water.
Rice may be cooked in boiling milk as well as in
water, but milk being the thicker, a little more will be
required than of water.
Eggs are also cooked in hot milk. When we break
an egg, we find the white is soft and without form, and
the yolk seems round and firmer than the white ; but
if we break the film or membrane on the outside of the
yolk we find that it, too, is soft and liquid. By beating,
we can mix the yolk and white, and be unable to dis-
tinguish them. Sometimes we want to use the two
parts separately, and it is quite an art to break and
divide an egg, and not mix the yolk with the white.
When eggs are cooked in milk, the albumen in the egg
thickens, and if cooked slightly, and stirred constantly,
forms a smooth, soft, creamy mass. If cooked longer,
and without stirring, it becomes thick and solid ; but if
cooked too long the casein and albumen become quite
hard, and separate from the watery part, or the mass
curdles.
Eggs cooked in milk, and seasoned with salt, pepper,
and butter, are called poached eggs. When they are
sweetened we call the mixture a custard.
4
50 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
When eggs are eaten raw, or cooked in any way in
which the result is to be a smooth, soft mass, the thick
white substance uniting the yolk and white should be
removed before cooking, unless the cooked mixture is to
be strained, as in soft custard. This substance hardens
into a lump, and it is unpleasant to find it in what
would otherwise be a smooth mass. In eggs cooked in
the shell, or cooked hard as in cake, it is not perceptible.
THE COMBINATION OF FOODS.
All the different kinds of food material- -water, salts,
sugar, starch, fat, and albumen must be combined in
our diet, for a substance which fulfils only one of the
purposes required in our food w r ill not support life. A
man cannot live on water or salt, yet he would soon die
without them. If our clothing is torn we do not repair
it with sand. So if the muscles are worn out by hard
work we cannot replace them by eating sugar.
The albuminous foods, though they are considered the
most nutritious, must not be taken in excess, for they
will load the blood with more building material than it
can use. If more fat be taken than the oxygen will
burn, or than is needed for storage, we may suffer in
several ways.
Many articles of food do not contain all the necessary
elements, and few foods contain them in the right pro-
portion. It is necessary, therefore, to have different
kinds of food, and to proportion them rightly, so that
one kind will supply what another kind lacks.
Some flavors are more highly developed by combina-
tion with other foods ; and one great purpose in cook-
ing is to bring out flavors that shall tempt the appetite
and increase our enjoyment of food. For food, first
LESSON IV. --COMBINATION OF FOODS. 51
by its savory odors, then by its attractive appearance,
should gratify the senses of smell and sight, before the
sense of taste is awakened. When this is done, the
pleasures of taste are heightened ; and food that tastes
good is more readily digested and assimilated, and we
really derive more nourishment from it.
It must also be adapted to the state of one's health,
and to the various circumstances of age, occupation, and
climate.
In our lesson to-day we have an illustration of the
proper combination of food materials.
Neither rice, potatoes, apples, cheese, eggs, nor oatmeal
should be taken alone.
Eice and potatoes contain little except water and starch,
supplying only two of the needful substances. Large
quantities of them must be taken to give sustenance.
Eggs and cheese, though rich in muscle-making ele-
ments, lack water, and are too highly concentrated.
Apples, taken alone, supply little beside water, and oat-
meal alone is dry and unpalatable. But by serving the
custard as a sauce with the rice, the milk, egg, and
sugar furnish what the rice lacks.
Serve the steamed apple with the oatmeal, adding
milk, or cream, and sugar, if desired. The tart apples
improve the taste of the mush. Eat butter with the
potatoes, and crackers with the cheese. Add salt to
everything, and thus have a suitable combination.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
The important points in the lesson are accurate measure-
ment, comparison of weights and measures, care in the break-
ing of eggs, the beating with a fork in place of an egg-beater,
the use of a covered pail as a substitute for double boiler,
and the proper combination and serving of food.
52 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
RECEIPTS FOB LESSON IV.
OATMEAL MUSH, WITH BAKED APPLES.
y 2 c. coarse oatmeal. i 2 c. boiling -water.
YZ tsp. salt. I
Pick over the oatmeal, put it with the salt and boil-
ing water into the upper boiler. Place the upper boiler
on the stove and boil rapidly 10 m. Stir occasionally
with a fork ; then place it over boiling water, and cook
from 40 in. to I h. Serve with baked or steamed apples,
and milk and sugar.
Fine hominy and granulated wheat are cooked in the
same way, but they require only three times as much
water as meal.
Whole or cracked wheat requires five times as much
water as meal, and should cook four or five hours.
STEAMED RICE.
Y> c. rice. 1 c. boiling water.
YI tsp. salt.
Pick over and wash the rice in three or four waters.
Put it with the boiling water and salt into the top of the
double boiler. Steam for 20 m., or until tender. Serve
as a pudding, with boiled custard, or as a breakfast dish
with poached eggs.
BOILED OR SOFT CUSTARD.
1 c. milk, scalded.
1 egg.
1 tbsp. sugar.
Yt tsp. flavoring.
Beat the egg to a froth, add the sugar, and a spk. of
salt ; mix well ; add the scalded milk, and stir over boil-
ing water till it thickens. Strain at once, and when cool
add the flavoring. Serve alone or as a sauce with rice.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON IV.
53
CODDLED OR POACHED EGGS.
1 ssp. salt.
l /2, ssp. pepper.
j^ c. milk, scalded.
1 egg.
1 tsp. butter.
Beat the egg slightly, add milk, butter, salt, and
pepper. Stir over hot water till it is quite thick.
Serve hot, on toast or rice.
STEAMED APPLES.
Wipe, core, and pare the apples. Place in a steamer
and cook until soft.
STEAMED POTATOES.
Wash and pare the potatoes. Place in the steamer
and cook about 30 m., or till they are soft.
Questions on Lesson IV.
i.
3.
4.
5.
6.
8.
10.
11.
What kinds of food are usually
cooked over boiling water ?
What is a double boiler ?
What is a good substitute for
a double boiler ?
How does the heat reach the
food in a double boiler ?
What is steaming ?
Which do we do, pare, or
peel, an apple ; a banana ; a
squash ; an onion ?
What is gluten ?
Why not bake oatmeal as we
baked potatoes ?
Why is it necessary to measure
the water in cooking oat-
meal ?
Why do we put it into boiling
water ?
Why do we cook it slowly after
the first ten minutes ?
12. How much water will be re-
quired to cook one cup of
rice ?
13. What is cream ?
14. What is casein ?
15. Why does milk boil over
the pan more quickly than
water ?
16. What is the safest way to heat
milk ?
17. What is custard ?
18. What are the substances which
we need in our daily food ?
19. Does any food contain them
all?
20. What foods contain them in
nearly the right proportions?
21. Why can we not live on rice
alone ?
22. Why can we not live on eggs
alone ?
LESSON V.
FIRST LESSON IN MEAT.
MEAT is a general term applied to the flesh of animals
used for food. It includes the muscular flesh, sinews,
fat, heart, liver, stomach, brains, and tongue, and is di-
vided into three classes :
Meat proper, including beef, veal, mutton, lamb, and
pork ;
Poultry, including chicken, turkey, geese, and ducks,
or all domestic fowls ;
Game, including partridges, grouse, pigeons, quail,
and other birds, venison, arid any wild meat that is
hunted in the forest, or field.
All meat should be removed from the brown paper in
which it is wrapped as soon as it comes from the mar-
ket, or the paper will absorb the juices, and the meat
will taste of the paper.
Let us examine a piece of meat. We first wipe it all
over with a clean, damp cloth, to cleanse it ; but it should
never be put into water, as this draws out the juices.
We find large masses of red flesh or muscle, made up
of little bundles of thread-like fibres, separated by white
membranes, and the large masses separated by cellular
tissue. These fibres seem full of a red, watery juice.
There is fat on the edge, or inner skin, also between the
fibres, and large masses of it are between the muscles
and in the hollow bones. We find a small amount of
56 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
bone; a hard, white, gelatinous substance around the
joints, called gristle ; and white, shining, tough mem-
branes or tendons at the ends of the muscles.
These masses of fibre we call the lean meat. In one
place the thread-like fibres seem coarse and flabby, sepa-
rate easily, and have thin membranes connecting them.
If we press it we find only a little juice. In another
section the fibres are smaller, finer, are very close to-
gether, and feel hard and firm. We cannot separate them
there is so much of the tough, white membrane ; but
there is a large quantity of juice. In still another piece
we find soft, tender fibre, with very little membrane and
juice.
Good beef should be bright-red when first cut, well
marbled with yellowish fat, and with a thick outside
layer of fat. The flesh must be firm, and when pressed
with the finger no mark should be left. The suet should
be dry and crumble easily. The best mutton is that
from a large, heavy animal, and should have an abun-
dance of hard, clear-white fat, and the flesh should be
fine-grained and bright-red. Poor mutton has but little
fat and little flesh as compared with the bone. More
depends upon the quality of the meat than upon its
location in the creature. A piece from the sirloin in
a poorly fed creature may not be so rich in flavor and
nutriment as one from the flank in a stall-fed animal.
The muscles that are used most are the toughest, but
they contain the larger amount of juice, for the blood cir-
culates more freely through them. The heart is a muscle
used more than any other, and has a very tough, close,
compact fibre.
The legs have large, thick muscles which start near
the lower end, among a mass of tendons and cords, and
LESSON V. MEAT. 57
grow larger, thicker, and more tender, till at the uppei
end they are very thick. Here is where we shall rind
the largest masses of lean meat with only the small
round leg bones. The upper part of the leg is called the
round, and the lower end the shin.
On the thighs, or rump, there are large, broad bones,
with large muscles, branching out in several directions,
which are tender and very juicy. The muscles on the
upper part of the fore leg are smaller, and not so tender
as those on the round.
Where the fore leg joins the shoulder, and down the
back, we find the shoulder blade a broad, flat bone
and the backbone, also a number of small muscles run-
ning in all directions. We cannot expect to find any
large masses of meat there ; but we do find bone, gristle,
and fat, with thin layers of meat interspersed between
them.
Under the shoulder blade, and extending down the
backbone to the loin, are the ribs, running at right angles
with the backbone, meeting at the breast and tapering
off at the loin. These bones are covered with a thick
muscle near the back, and with many layers of muscle,
fat, and tough membranes, extending round to the breast.
On the loin, and close to the backbone, there is a
muscle which is not much used. It is merely a cushion
over the bones ; and this is all tender and juicy, and is
considered so choice that it has been named " Sir Loin."
Inside of the loin and under the short ribs is another
muscle which is so little used that it is very soft and
tender, and it has but little juice or flavor. This is
called tenderloin.
On the flank or under part of the body there are no
bones, but a great many thin, flabby muscles with large
58 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
classes of elastic membrane between them, so they can
be stretched to a great size. They cross, and lap over,
and extend in many directions, and sometimes have
large quantities of fat stored between and under them.
The ends of the legs, and the large joints, have large
masses of gristle and tendon, which contain gelatine, a
substance which softens in cold water, and then dissolves
by long, slow cooking in hot water. But when cooked
by dry heat it becomes very hard.
You can easily see that in an animal there is a great
amount of bone, fat, etc., and only a small portion of
choice, tender, juicy, lean meat. The thick, lean, ten-
der portions on the rump and loin are the choice and
expensive parts. These are best when cooked quickly,
by intense heat, as in roasting and broiling ; they have
so much juice and such tender fibre, they do not need
the solvent agency of water. We shall learn about this
in another lesson.
But the tougher, cheaper parts of lean meat are very
juicy, and when properly cooked afford a large amount
of nutriment. The bones contain nitrogenous and min-
eral matter, a portion of which can be dissolved by
proper cooking ; the fat is rich in heat-giving material ;
and the gelatinous portions are useful.
The juices of meat contain many substances which are
valuable as food, and the savory principle which gives
flavor to the meat and causes it to differ in different ani-
mals. Meat should always be cooked in such a manner
as to retain the largest proportion of this juice.
In salting meat this juice is drawn out into the
brine, and although there is some nutriment in the
fat and fibre of salt meat, it is less nutritious than
fresh meat.
LESSON V. BOILED MEAT. 59
It is therefore important, as a matter of economy and
health, that we learn how to cook all parts of meat so as
to obtain the greatest amount of nutriment.
The fibrin of meat is hardened and contracted by
dry, intense heat, but softened by moderate and long-
continued heat. Albumen dissolves in cold water, but
hardens in hot water and by dry heat. Therefore all
meat that has a tough, hard, or flabby fibre, with much
gristle, tendon, and bone, should be cooked in water,
and at a moderate heat.
We cook meat in water for three distinct purposes :
First, to keep the nutriment within the meat, as in
boiled meat ;
Second, to draw it all out into the water, as in soups
and meat broths ;
Third, to have it partly in the meat and partly in the
water, as in stews, where we eat the broth with the
meat.
We are to learn to-day about several ways of cooking
meat, where the object is to keep the nutriment in the
meat.
BOILED MEAT.
In boiling meat we leave the meat whole, that only a
small surface may be exposed. Plunge it into boiling
salted water enough to cover, and keep it there for five
or ten minutes. This hardens the albumen over the
entire surface, and makes a coating through which the
juices cannot escape. Then move the kettle where
the water will be just below the boiling-point. Cover
tightly to keep in the steam and the volatile, aroma-
tic compounds which give flavor to the meat. A small
amount of albumen from the outer surface will be dis-
60 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
solved and rise as scum. This should be removed, or it
will settle on the meat and render it uninviting in ap-
pearance. The salt coagulates this albumen and helps
it to rise. It also slightly raises the boiling-point of the
water, and by increasing its density aids in preventing
the escape of the juices.
Meat cooked in this way requires a longer time than
when kept boiling furiously, but it is made more tender,
and has a better flavor. It will take fifteen or twenty
minutes for the heat to penetrate to the centre of the
meat before the cooking process begins. Then allow
twelve or fifteen minutes for each pound of meat. 1 Two
pounds in a cubical form will require a longer time than
the same weight cut thin and having a broad surface.
Notwithstanding the pains we take to keep the nutri-
ment in the meat, some portion of it escapes into the
water, and therefore the water should be saved and used
for a gravy or in warming over the meat.
Meat is sometimes cooked in water in the oven instead
of over the fire, and this way of cooking is often erron-
eously called roasting.
Eoasting means to heat violently, and is done either
before the open fire, or in a very hot oven without any
water. If water be used the meat cannot be made any
hotter than boiling water ; and a much greater degree of
heat is required to cook such meats as have tender fibre
and are rich in juice and flavor, so that the outside sur-
face may be quickly seared and prevent the escape of
the juices.
Tough pieces, which require the solvent power of
water, and which are lacking in flavor, are improved
by the addition of a savory stuffing, or by seasoning the
water with herbs and vegetables ; also by first browning
1 See page 62.
LESSON V. THE FAT OF MEAT. Gl
the meat in hot dripping. The flavor imparted by the
partially confined heat of the oven is stronger than that
of boiling.
Sometimes meat is steamed over boiling water until
it is made very tender, then put in the oven to be
browned and receive the flavor which can be obtained
only by means of this dry heat.
Another way is to steam it in its own juices. This is
called smothering, or pot roasting. The meat should be
left whole for convenience in slicing and serving neatly,
particularly if to be served cold. If cooked over the
fire a little water should be put in the kettle to prevent
burning, and be kept hot but not boiling. Some of the
juices are drawn out into the water, and the steam from
this heats and softens the meat. These juices make a
rich and savory gravy.
A convenient way is to put the meat into a tightly
covered jar, place it in a very moderate oven for one
hour, or until some juice is drawn out, then increase
the heat and cook a half hour for every, pound of meat.
There will be a large quantity of juice in the jar, which
should be diluted with water, thickened, and used as a
gravy. The meat may be cut in small pieces when the
time for cooking is limited.
These are all savory and wholesome modes of cook-
ing the cheaper parts of meat ; and fresh meat cooked
properly is equally palatable and far more nutritious
than corned or salt meat, which forms too large a pait
of the diet of many people.
The fat of meat is a useful article of food, especially
in winter. Every scrap of it, particularly of beef fat,
should be used, and all that is not eaten with the meat
may be clarified, or made pure and clear.
BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Ly heating the fat with water to prevent burning, or
with thin slices of raw potato, the water evaporates and
the steam carries off the odors or gases. The organic
matters in the fat are decomposed or deposited as sedi-
ment and adhere to the sliced potato. Clarified fat or
dripping answers for many purposes in cookery, fry-
ing, basting roast meat, greasing pans, and as shortening
for bread, plain pastry, and various things.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
If it be difficult for pupils to locate the different cuts of
meat by studying a diagram, let them imagine an ox as it
looks in life, and then compare it with the human body, as
that would look if men walked with hands as well as feet.
The position of the bones of the legs, back, and ribs can
be shown ; also the large and small muscles, and the joints,
cords, tendons, etc. Then from the meat which is to be
used in the lesson explain its composition. Show the differ-
ence between tough and tender fibre, gristly, gelatinous por-
tions, fat, bone, juice, etc., and tell briefly how the different
parts are to be cooked. Serve the calf's heart for a lunch,
and after tasting the beef and mutton, reserve them for the
next class to use in warming over.
As meat varies, according to its age and feeding, in the
tenderness of its fibre and the amount of connective tissue,
gristle, tendon, etc., it is safer to allow at least an hour for
the boiling or stewing of any kind, whatever the shape or
weight; then increase the time from two to five hours as
per time-table.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON V. 63
RECEIPTS FOB LESSON V.
BOILED MUTTON.
Wipe, remove the fat, and put the meat into well-
p,:ilted, boiling water. Boil 10 m. Skim, and summer
12 m. for each pound of meat, or until tender. One
quarter of a c. of rice is sometimes boiled with the
mutton. Serve with thickened gravy or parsley sauce
poured over the mutton.
GRAVY FOR MUTTON.
To each cup of boiling water in which the mutton
was cooked add 1 tbsp. of flour moistened with a little
cold water, 1 tsp. vinegar, spk. of pepper, and y 2 ssp.
salt. Boil 5 m., stirring till smooth. Add 1 tbsp. fine
chopped parsley, or capers if desired.
SMOTHERED BEEF.
Cut 1 Ib. of round of beef into one-inch cubes, and
put it, in a tightly covered jar, into the oven for 1 h.
Let it be in a cool part of the oven for the first y* h.,
then increase the heat. Thicken and season the juice
and serve as a gravy.
BAKED HEART.
Wash the heart thoroughly in cold water to remove
the blood, and cut out the veins and arteries. Make
a stuffing with 1 tbsp. bread crumbs, 1 tsp. chopped
onions (which must first be scalded), 1 ssp. powdered
sage, y? ssp. salt, and a spk. of pepper. Moisten it with
milk or water. Stuff this into the cavity and sew the
64 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
edges together. Peel, slice, and brown an onion in
1 tbsp. drippings, then brown the heart in the same fat,
and put it with the onion in a deep dish, and half cover
with boiling water. Bake in a hot oven 1 h.,or till ten-
der, basting every 10 in., and add more water if needed.
BEEF TEA.
1 lb. shin of beef. ^ tsp. salt.
1 pt. cold water. |
Scrape the meat very fine and put it into the cold
salted water. Let it stand 1 to 2 h. Put it into
double boiler and cook 30 in. Press it through a
strainer. Eemove the fat with paper. This is very
strong beef tea, and may have more water added if
liked.
CLARIFIED FAT OR DRIPPINGS.
Save any scraps or pieces of fat. Cut into half-inch
cubes, put in pan, and cover with cold water. Place in
an oven and cook slowly for 4 or 5 h., or until the
scraps are quite brown and the water evaporated.
Several slices of raw potato put in with the fat will aid
in the clarifying. When slightly cooled, strain, and set
away to cool.
Always clarify and strain fat after using it for frying.
LESSON V. DIAGRAM OF OX.
Diagram of Ox.
1. Tip of Sirloin.
2. Middle of Sirloin.
3. First Cut of Sirloin.
4. Back of Rump.
5. Middle of Rump.
6. Face of Rump.
7. Aitch Boue.
8. Lower part of Round.
8.V. Top of Round.
9. Vein.
10. Poorer Part of Round.
11. Poorer Part of Vein.
12. Shin.
13. Boneless Flank.
14. Thick Flank with Bone.
15. First Cut of Ribs.
c. Chuck Ribs.
d. Neck.
36. Rattle Rand.
17. Second Cut of Rattle Rand.
18. Brisket (a. the navel end : 6. the
butt end).
19. Fore Shin,
6G
BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
LESSON V. EXPLANATION OF CUT.
67
Hind quarter of Beef.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Kound of Beef.
7, 8, 9, Rump.
10, 11, 12, Sirloin.
13, 14, Flank.
1. Shin. Suitable to be used for
soups and stock.
2. Lower or poorer part of the
round, used for stews, etc.
3. Upper and best part of the
round, used for steak and beef tea.
b. Top of round. The best round
steak as far as the ridge of fat.
4. Lower or poorer part of vein,
used for stews, chopping, braising.
5. Upper and best part of vein,
used for boilinsr, steak, beef tea,
spiced beef, etc.
6. Aitchbone, used for roast, stew,
and stock.
7. Face of rump, used for a roast
or steaks.
8. Middle of rump, used for steak.
9. Back of nunp, used fur roasts
or steaks.
These steaks may be cut with the
grain, or across the grain, of the
meat. The cross-cut steaks are much
the best.
10. First cut of sirloin, used for a
roast or steaks. It contains tender-
loin.
1J. Second cut of sirloin, used for
roasts or steaks; it contains tender-
loin.
12. Tip of sirloin, used for roast
or short steaks. Contains no tender-
loin.
13. Thick end of flank. Used for
corning, rolling, boiling.
14. Thin end of flank. Used for
corning, rolling, boiling.
B. Fore quarter of Beef.
1, 2, 3, Back-half.
4, 5,6,7,8,9, 10, Rattle rand.
1. First five ribs or prime ribs.
Five-rib cut. Used for roasts and
steaks.
2. Five chuck ribs. Poorer roasts
and steaks.
3. Neck, used for beef tea, stews,
boiling, etc.
4. Sticking piece, used for corn-
ing.
5. Shoulder, used for steaks, corn-
ing, etc.
6. Shin, used for soups and soup
stock.
7. First strip rattle rand, used for
corning.
8. Middle strip of rattle rand,
used for corning.
9. Butt end of brisket, used for
corning.
10. Navel end of brisket, used for
co r> iing.
08
BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-HOOK.
Questions on Lesson V.
1.
o
What is meat ?
How many varirtios of moat
can you mention ?
3. What is the first thing to do
when meat comes from the
market ?
4. How should it bo cleansed ?
5. Does every part of meat con-
tain nutriment .'
6. How would you select good
beef?
7. Where would you find the
most juicy meat ?
8. In what parts would you find
the least bone ?
9. "What part of the creature is
the round ?
10. Which is the most nourish-
ing, the tenderloin or the
shin ?
1 1 . Which costs most, the rum p
or neck ?
1*2. How should meat that con-
tains bone and gelatine be
cooked ?
13. Which portions of meat art-
best cooked by quick, in
tense heat ?
14. What arc our three objects in
cooking meat ?
15. How may meat be cooked in
water ?
16. What kind of a piece of meat
would be best to boil ?
17. Why do we keep it whole ?
IS. Why use boiling water ?
19. What is the advantage in slow
cooking ?
20. What use can we make of
the water in which we cook
meat ?
21. How do we improve the flavor
of meat cooked in water ?
22. What is smothered meat ?
23. How may we use the fat of
nu'at ?
LESSON VI.
WARMING OVER.
To be able to prepare nice, tempting dishes from the
odds and ends that are left over is not only desirable, but
should be regarded as a duty ; for it is wrong to waste
food, even if we have abundant means. By waste I do
not mean such remnants of food as are given away or
fed to animals, but all good food which is thrown into
the refuse barrel or the fire, because there is so little of
it.
With care not a scrap of food need be wasted. Be-
cause there is not enough for an entire meal, or for every
member of the family, is no reason for throwing it away.
By combining small portions of different foods that will
blend agreeably, quite a large dish may be prepared.
Right here I am tempted to tell you of a dish that I
prepared ; and although you may not have the same
materials, it will show you how to save and combine
fragments of food. About a pint of meat left from a
roast leg of lamb was made into a stew, with potato,
onion, and tomato. After serving for two meals for a
family of two, there was left what would fill one small
soup-plate, mostly meat and broth. I carefully re-
moved all the meat, and strained the broth ; chopped the
meat very fine and put with it the yolk of a boiled egg left
from breakfast, and two broken slices of egg toast, also
chopped fine ; warmed the broth, thickened it slightly
72 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
with flour, and mixed it with the meat. As it needed
more moisture, an egg was beaten, and part of it put
with the meat. As the stew had been highly seasoned,
no seasoning was needed except a little salt. From this
mixture I made eight cylinder-shape rolls about three
inches long, rolled them in fine bread crumbs, then in
the remainder of the egg (to which two tablespoonfuls
of milk had been added), then in crumbs again, and
browned them in 'at. So from several fragments, each
of which seemed hardly worth saving, enough was pre-
pared, in a tempting form, to serve as a part of two more
meals, making that small leg of lamb seem not unlike
the " five loaves and two small fishes."
These pieces of meat which we are to use to-day have
been cooked until they were tender, and we only need
to look tnem over carefully, and remove the bones, skin,
and gristle, and some of the fat, before chopping them.
But some kinds of meat which you may have occasion
to use at home, such as the tough ends of steak and
chops, and the harder and poorer parts of roast meat,
should be cooked slowly in just water enough to cover
until they are very tender. They may then be cut fine,
and used in any of the ways we are to learn about in
this lesson.
The secret of warming over meat successfully is to
warm quickly such parts as are already tender, and to
make tender by long, slow cooking such as are hard or
tough. Care in removing all objectionable portions, and
a judicious use of seasoning materials, are also necessary.
The chief objection to hash is the presence of small
bones, hard gristle, skin, etc., in the mixture, or the
greasy, half- browned, soggy condition in which it is
served. But when carefully prepared it is a savory and
LESSON VI. GRAVIES AND SAUCES. 73
palatable dish. It is not necessary to have corned beef,
as many suppose. Fresh beef, if made tender by stew-
ing and seasoning properly, is more wholesome. It may
be varied by making it into round, flat cakes and brown-
ing each side, or by using warm boiled rice instead of
potato, with such seasoning as may be desired.
Other easy and attractive ways of serving nearly every
kind of cooked meat or fish are the cottage pie and the
scalloped meat. The latter admits of a great variety of
combinations, care being taken to use such foods as are
agreeable when combined. Potatoes are best with beef
or fish. Rice, macaroni, oysters, and bread crumbs may
be used with mutton, veal, or chicken. Onions and
tomatoes improve every kind of meat. White sauces
are best for fish and light meats ; brown gravies are
best for dark meats ; and tomato or some acid sauce
blends well with everything.
All the bones and scraps of gristle, fat, etc., that are
not used in the made-over dishes should be covered with
cold water, and simmered until the bones are clean and
the gristle dissolved. Then strain it, throw the scraps
away, and when the liquid is cool, remove the fat, and
clarify it for dripping; use the water for gravies witli
warmed-over meat, or combine it with some vegetable
pulp, and use it for soups.
GRAVIES. SAUCES. THICKENING.
Gravy is the cooked juice of meat, or a mixture of it
with water, thickened with flour.
The term "sauces" is often supposed to include only
certain preparations of fruit, like apple-sauce, cranberry-
sauce, etc. ; or mixtures of butter, sugar, etc., eaten with
74 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK
puddings ; but anything eaten with food to improve its
relish may be called a sauce. Gravies are sauces, but
not all sauces are gravies.
Gravies are made with meat juice or broth, and may
be either light or dark. Sauces are made with meat
juice or broth, water, milk, cream, or fruit juice, or mix-
tures of two or more of these materials. We are to learn
to-day only about those which are used with meats.
The consistency of gravies and sauces may be varied
by using more or less flour in proportion to the liquid.
The simplest way of making a thickening for gravy
or sauces was explained in the third lesson ; but when
butter or fat is also to be used, it is better to make it
according to the direction for tomato sauce, using the
onion or riot as preferred.
Cooking the flour in the hot butter or fat cooks it
thoroughly ; for the fat, when it stops bubbling, is much
hotter than boiling water. When done in this way the
flour never has a raw, uncooked taste, and the butter or
fat is absorbed by the flour instead of floating on the
surface of the gravy.
When a brown sauce is desired, heat the butter and
flour together long enough to have them turn brown,
before adding the liquid. The fat browned alone will
burn easily, and the flour browned alone in the oven, as
many writers not cooks recommend, will be baked
so hard that it will only color the gravy, not swell and
thicken it.
In making a white sauce, be careful to cook the flour in
the hot butter, without browning them ; and at all times
add the liquid hot, that it may boil quickly and cause
the starch in the flour to swell and burst; and gradually,
that the sauce may be stirred, while it is like a thick
LESSON VI. MACARONI. 75
paste, until it is smooth. If all the liquid be poured on
at once, or the mixture be not stirred thoroughly while
it is thick, the sauce will be lumpy. Enough liquid
must be used to swell all the flour, and make the sauce
of the desired consistency. The usual proportion is one
tablespoonful of fat and one rounded or two level table-
spoonfuls of Hour to one cup of liquid ; and by varyino-
these proportions, and using different liquids and sea-
sonings, a great variety of gravies and sauces may be
made from this general rule as the foundation.
MACARONI.
Macaroni is a nutritious and economical food, and
should be used more freely than it is. Much of the dis-
like for it arises from ignorance as to the proper mode
of cooking. It is made from the choicest varieties of
wheat, a grain which contains all the substances
needed as food, though not in the proper proportion.
Wheat lacks water and fat. Macaroni, being only wheat
flour and water made into a hard, dry paste, is not pala-
table unless cooked, till tender, in plenty of water or
other liquid, and seasoned well or combined with other
foods, particularly some form of fat, as butter, milk,
cheese, eggs, or meat broth.
Macaroni is prepared in a variety of forms, spaghetti,
Italian paste of fanciful shapes, vermicelli, and round,
tubular, and flat macaroni. The paste, while soft, is
rolled into sheets, and cut with fancy cutters, or it is
forced through metallic plates which have perforations,
sometimes in the form of small rings with the centre <t
the hole filled. It is then dried thoroughly, and will
keep in a dry place a long time.
70 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHKN TKXT-HOOlv.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
The meat used in this lesson is taken from that which
was cooked in Lesson Y. Use the boiled mutton for the
minced meat on toast ; the smothered beef for the hash and
cottage pie. The broth in which the meat was boiled will
answer for the gravy. The toast should be browned in the
oven, for the pupils will have a special lesson in toasting
over the coals. Impress upon them the importance of care
in preparing these dishes. Save the bones and remnants,
with the addition of some new meat, to start stock for next
lesson.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON VI. 77
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON VI.
MINCED MEAT ON TOAST.
Remove the fat and gristle from the mutton, and chop
it fine. To 1 c. of meat, add 1 ssp. of salt, a spk. of
pepper, and y 2 c. thickened gravy. Heat quickly in a
saucepan, and pour over slices of toast. Serve hot.
COTTAGE PIE.
Chop cold meat very fine. Boil and mash some pota-
toes. To every cup of meat add 1 ssp. salt, y 2 ssp.
pepper, a spk. nutmeg, and j c. of gravy or stock.
Put the meat, seasoning, and gravy in a pie dish, cover
it with mashed potato, and bake in the oven till golden
brown. Omit the nutmeg and add 1 tsp. of finely
chopped onion if liked.
SCALLOPED MUTTON.
Cut cold, cooked mutton into small thin pieces.
Remove all bone, fat, and gristle. Put a layer of bread
crumbs on the bottom of a shallow baking: dish, then a
O '
layer of mutton, then a layer of boiled macaroni, then
gravy. Moisten ^ c. of crumbs in 1 tbsp. melted but-
ter, spread over the top. Bake until the crumbs are
brown, about 20m.
MACARONI
y 2 c. macaroni, measured after breaking into inch
pieces. Cook in boiling salted water 20 m., or until
tender. Drain, pour cold water through it, and serve
plain, with hot white sauce or tomato sauce, or use it
with meat, in scalloped meat.
78
BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
HASH.
1 c. tender cooked meat chopped fine, 2 c. hot mashed
potato, y 2 tsp. salt, y 2 ssp. pepper. Mix until there are
no lumps.
Put 2 or 3 tbsp. of hot water into a spider. Melt in
it 1 tbsp. of butter or dripping. Put in the hash, and
let it simmer slowly till it lias absorbed the water and
formed a brown crust. Do not stir it. Fold over, turn
out on a hot platter.
TOMATO SAUCE.
Melt 1 tbsp. butter in a saucepan ; cook in it 1 tbsp.
fine chopped onion until yellow, add 1 tbsp. flour, stir-
ring well. Add, gradually, 1 c. mutton liquor, and ^ c.
strained tomato. Season with y 2 tsp. salt and y 2 ssp.
pepper.
WHITE SAUCE.
Melt 1 tbsp. butter in a saucepan ; cook in it 1 tbsp.
flour. Add gradually 1 c. hot milk or cream. Season
with y 2 tsp. salt and y 2 ssp. white pepper.
Questions on Lesson VI.
1. How do you prepare tender
meat for made-over dishes ?
2. What must first be done with
tough meat ?
3. How many kinds of meat
can you think of that
might be prepared as we
did the hash?
4. How many like the scalloped
mutton?
5. What use may be made of the
bones, gristle, and fat ?
6. What is macaroni ?
7. Why is it better to cook flour
for gravy in hot fat instead
of in hot water ?
LESSON VII.
SECOND LESSON IN MEAT,
SOUPS,
NEARLY all parts of an uiirnal may be used as food,
but from some parts we can obtain the nutriment in
only one way. These are the bones and the gristle,
tendons, and other gelatinous portions, some kinds of
fat, and the lean meat which is tough and coarse in
texture, or difficult to separate from the gristle and cord
imbedded in it. Many people consider these portions
undesirable, and dealers often have to dispose of them
as refuse. But when cooked slowly in water at a
moderate heat a large part of their nutriment is dissolved
in the water, and may be used in this liquid form. The
bony portions in roasted or baked meat are deemed even
more undesirable, and are often thrown away as unfit
for food. But even if previously cooked, some nutri-
ment may be obtained from them, and they should
always be saved and used in soups.
These parts of meat are very cheap, and every family
should know how to utilize them. It is better to cook
a large quantity at a time, as considerable time is re-
quired to extract all the nutriment; and the broth, when
obtained, may be kept a week or more.
This liquid in which the meat has been cooked, and
which contains all the juices and soluble parts, is used in
making soup ; and because it can be stored or kept on
6
8_' BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN 'I EXT-BOUK.
hand and drawn upon when needed, it is called st> .
ck is from the word n, ' ; to -tick, or stay by."
In making soup our object is to draw the nutriment
from the meat and bones into the water. So we cut them
into small pieces, and soak in cold water before heat-
ing, that we may soften and loosen the fibres and extract
all the nutriment that is soluble. S 'ine car-.l-.-~s cooks
soak the meat to cleanse it and then throw the water awav.
V
It should be cleansed by wiping with a damp cloth.
We may use all kinds of meat, beef, veal, mutton, or
poultry, either t- _ . r ,r -;.. irately. As each kind of
meat has its distinctive flavor, we mav have a greater
\. o
variety of - 5 them separal >. A very good
- ;p may be made from a mixture of all the bones and
fragn. .-f meat which we may happen to have. But
to make the most nutritious and palatable soup we need
both cooked and uncooked meat, also bone, gelatine, fat,
and a variety of seasoning material
The salts found in the bio .d juices of uncooked
h are valuable a.s food ; t 11 portion of
. meat i~ ntial in nnki:.. ip. Browned or
roasted meat improves the flavor of the broth, because in
such meats the flavor has been more highly developed.
The marrow found-in the shin bone, and the browned
fat of cooked me ts _:ve a fine flavor; and such portions
as contain gelatine afford a certain amount of nutriment,
and by hardening like jelly when the stock is cold, en-
able us to keep it longer than if it were in a liquid form.
jetables which have been cut fine, sweet herbs, spices,
etc., are used tc on and flavor the .stock
When the juices are drawn out and the water is rel,
we draw the kettle forward where the water will aim' .
boil, just bubble on one side of the kettle. Tin.';
LESSON vii. sours. 83
gentle heat, continued steadily and for a long time, will
dissolve the gelatinous portions. The water must bub-
ble slightly, for if the temperature be allowed to fall too
low the soup will sour.
The kettle should be closely covered to keep in the
steam and the savory odors which would be wasted by
evaporation if it were uncovered. It is wasteful to skim
soup stock. The scum that rises as the water heats
contains some of the very substances we have been try-
ing to get into the water. They increase the flavor of
the stock, and should be retained. After a time they
settle as sediment, and all the sediment that is fine
enough to ^o through the strainer should be used. In
O o o
clear soups it may be removed by clearing, but clear
soups are not the most nutritious.
After simmering several hours, or until the bones are
clean and the meat is in shreds, strain the stock, and
throw away the scraps. This worthless residue of mus-
cular fibre, bones, etc., is dry, tasteless, and useless as
food. When we need the fibrin from meat, it is better
to cook the meat in other ways, as in stews, which are
often called soups, but are different, as we shall learn
later. Remember, we are not to depend upon soup as a
complete food, only as one of a variety of foods, a sort
of stimulant to prepare the stomach for more hearty
food.
The stock will keep better if the fat be not removed,
as when cold it forms an air-tight covering over the
stock. As the fat is more easily removed when cold, it
is best to make the stock the day before it is needed,
and to strain it into several small jars, that such a por-
tion as may be required may be used without disturbin
the remainder.
. i
D
84 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
When you are ready to use this stock for soup, t;tke
off every particle of the fat, and save it for clarifying.
Heat the portion of stock to the boiling-point, and serve
it alone, or put with it any vegetable, rice, macaroni,
barley, tapioca, etc., which has been previously cooked
till tender.
A general rule for stock : equal parts by weight of
meat and bone, and one quart of water to every pound
of meat and bone. Where there is more bone than
meat, or only cooked meat, water enough to cover is a
good proportion. For every quart of water use
1 even tsp. salt.
4 peppercorns.
4 whole cloves.
1 tsp. mixed sweet herbs.
1 tbsp. each vegetable cut
fine.
If allspice, mace, and celery seed be used, less of each
spice will be required. The herbs are whole thyme,
marjoram, summer savory, and bay leaves. Strip off
the leaves and blossoms, break the small stalks in tiny
pieces, mix them, and keep them in a tin box. Use a
teaspoonful of the mixture, not of each herb. The vege-
tables generally used are onion, carrot, turnip, celery, and
parsley. If you have only two kinds, use more of each.
They are only intended to give additional flavor to the
broth. When it is desired to eat them with the soup
they should be cooked separately, and added to the soup
just before serving.
There are some kinds of soup in which portions of
the meat are served with the broth. These are made
from chicken, veal, ox-tails, calf's head, etc. The meat
is not cut as small as when it is to be used for stock.
As soon as it is tender it is removed, and then added to
the strained stock just before serving.
Soups made from light meats, like veal and chicken,
LESSON VII. VEGETABLE SOUPS. 85
and from fish, are often made richer by the addition of
milk or cream.
Soups are also made from the water in which some
vegetables have been boiled, and thickened with the
o *
pulp of the vegetables, mashed fine and sifted. Milk or
cream is added to improve the flavor and make them
more nutritious. The liquid and vegetable pulp should
be blended with a little flour, or other starchy thicken-
ing, to keep them from separating. Celery, tomatoes,
green peas, green corn, carrot, and parsnip may be used
for soup in the same general way as the potatoes.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
For further information about soups, with and without
stock, see " Boston Cook Book," pages 119-158.
86 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
RECEIPTS FOB LESSON VII.
SOUP STOCK.
2 Ibs. hind shin of beef.
2 qts. cold water.
6 whole cloves.
6 peppercorns.
1 bunch of sweet herbs.
1 inch blade mace.
2 tsp. salt.
1 small onion.
y 2 ' ' carrot.
y 2 ' ' turnip.
1 sprig parsley.
Wipe and cut the bones and meat into small pieces.
Put the marrow, bones, and cold water into the kettle.
Soak y?, h. before heating. Add spices and herbs, and
the vegetables cut fine. Simmer 6 or 7 h., and strain.
When needed for soup remove the fat, heat the stock to
the boiling-point, and season to taste.
MACARONI SOUP.
1 c. stock.
V 2 stick macaroni.
1 ssp. salt.
1 spk. pepper.
Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water about y 2 h.,
or till tender. Drain, and cut into thin slices or rings ;
put them into the soup tureen with the salt and pepper,
and pour over them the boiling stock.
MIXED VEGETABLE SOUP.
1 c. stock.
1 tbsp. carrot.
1 tbsp. turnip.
1 ssp. salt.
Wash and scrape the carrot, and pare the turnip.
Cut into quarter-inch dice. Put into boiling salted
water, and cook until tender. Drain and add, with
the salt, to the boiling stock.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON VII. 87
EICE SOUP.
1 c. stock. 1 ssp. salt.
3^ tbsp. rice.
Cook the rice in boiling salted water y 2 h., or until
tender. Drain and add to the boiling stock.
POTATO SOUP.
3 potatoes.
1 pt. of milk or half milk
and half water.
1 tsp. chopped onion.
1 tsp. salt.
1 spk. white pepper.
l /2 tbsp. flour.
y?, tbsp. dripping.
Wash and pare the potatoes, put them into boiling
water and cook till very soft. Cook the onion in the
milk in a double boiler. When the potatoes are done,
drain and mash them. Add the boiling milk and the
seasoning. Eub them through a strainer, and put them
back into the double boiler to boil again. Melt the
dripping in a small pan, add the Hour, and stir till
it thickens. Stir it into the boiling soup. Let it boil
5 m. Add 1 tsp. finely chopped parsley, and serve very
hot, with croutons. If the soup be too thick add a little
more hot milk or water.
BAKED BEAX SOUP.
Take the cold baked beans, add twice the quantity
of cold water, and let them simmer until soft. When
nearly done add half as much tomato. Rub them
through a pure'e strainer. Add more water till the
right consistency, season to taste witli salt, pepper, and
mustard. Heat again and serve with toasted crackers
or fried dice of bread.
88
BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
-Questions on Lesson VII.
1. What is the most economical
way to use the bones and
tough parts of men t ?
2 What is stock ?
3. Why do we use cold water in
starting stock ?
4. Why is it better to soak the
meat before heating it ?
5. Should we leave the meat
whole ?
6. What is the advantage of using
p portion of uncooked meat ?
7. May we also use any fragments
of cooked meat ?
8. Is it enough to put the kettle
on the stove, and leave the
broth to simmer or not as
the case may be 1
9. Why do we cover the kettle ?
10. What is the scum ?
11. What shall we do with the
residue ?
12. Is soup a complete food ?
13. How does fat help to keep the
stock ?
14. What is a general rule for
stock ?
15. What is thyme ? marjoram ?
16. Can soups be made without
meat ?
LESSON VIII.
DIGESTION, AND INVALID COOKERY.
DIGESTION.
IN studying digestion it is well to keep in mind the
nitrogenous and carbonaceous classification of food, be-
cause the process of digestion differs with the different
foods.
The use of digestion is to get the food into a liquid
form ; for food in the stomach is not really in the tissues
of the body, and cannot enter the body through the
stomach or intestinal surfaces, except in a fluid form.
There are several steps in the process, mastication,
swallowing, and stomach and intestinal digestion. Each
portion of the alimentary canal has its own specific work
to do, and is furnished with its own distinctive fluid to
help it do that work.
All food should be first divided or crushed, if neces-
sary, by the teeth, then mixed with the saliva and thus
softened, and above all moistened thoroughly. The
saliva is poured into the mouth in large quantities when
the presence of food in the mouth excites the salivary
glands to secrete it; and sometimes even the sight or
thought of food makes the mouth water. The saliva is
alkaline, and helps to digest in part the starchy foods
by rapidly changing them into sugar, provided they
are kept in the mouth long enough for a thorough
mingling with the saliva, but it does not cause any
92 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
important change in the nitrogenous foods. Bread, po-
tatoes, rice, and all other starchy foods should therefore
be thoroughly masticated and mingled with the saliva.
Some substances that are very soft, like thin, starchy
gruels, or that become soft and pasty when moistened,
like hot fresh bread, are swallowed quickly and almost
involuntarily ; and although the starch is mostly un-
changed, and they may be difficult of digestion by some,
no permanent harm comes to healthy people from the
absence of salivary digestion, as it is supplemented by
the pancreatic.
The stomach carries on the second part of digestion.
It pours from its walls an acid fluid, and is furnished
with muscles which, by alternate wave-like contraction
and relaxation, produce a sort of churning, which helps
materially to bring all parts of the food under the action
of the gastric juice. This juice dissolves the albumen
and fibrin of food, forming peptones, which are very
soluble. Tiie starch, sugar, and fat are not changed,
except mechanically, the fat being melted, and thus set
free.
Such of the albuminoids as are dissolved, and large
portions of water, may at once be absorbed into the cir-
culation by the veins of the stomach. The remaining
food, in the form of chyme, passes from the stomach
into the intestines. Here it meets the bile, originally
made in the liver, but stored ready for meal-times in
the gall bladder, and also the pancreatic juice, derived
directly from the pancreas. These fluids are feebly alka-
line, and readily neutralize the weak acid of the gastric
juice. They convert the starches into sugar, the ni-
trogenous foods left over by the stomach (if any) into
soluble bodies, and the fats into a finely divided state
LESSON VIII.--EiGESTION.
called an "emulsion," in which the large granules of
tat and oil are broken up into minute particles and held
in this fluid, very much as cream is held in fresh milk.
The intestinal juice secreted in the mucous membrane
the entire length of the intestines has also feeble di-
gestive powers.
The contents of the intestines are now called chyle.
The combined amount of the salivary, gastric, pan-
creatic, biliary, and intestinal fluids secreted daily is
said to be about twenty-one pints, of which the gastric
juice forms more than one half.
There are mechanical aids to intestinal as well as to
stomach digestion. The writhing, worm-like, or "peri-
staltic" movement of the muscular coats of the intestines,
forces the food downward and tends to bring all portions
of it in contact with the digestive fluids.
Some of the nutritive and perfectly digested parts of
the chyle are next absorbed into the lacteals, which are
closely connected with the lining or mucous membrane
of the intestines. From these they are emptied into the
thoracic duct, and finally into the great veins above the
heart. Other portions are carried by the finer branches
of the portal vein into the liver, and thence pass into
the great veins below the heart.
Thus the venous blood, bringing raw materials from
the portal veins and the lacteals, and from the lym-
phatic vessels waste material, enters the heart through
the right auricle, passes through the valves down into
the right ventricle, out through the pulmonary artery
into the lungs, where as purple venous blood it is driven
to the most remote capillaries of the lungs. If the lungs
be full of fresh air, the oxygen of the air passes in and
changes the purple blood into red oxygenated blood.
94 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
This oxygenated blood returns from tlie lungs and enters
the heart through the left auricle, then, through the
\ ulves, passes into the left ventricle, then out through
the aorta, the great artery, or " main," from which
smaller arteries carry it to the capillaries all over the
body. There this new material in the blood is given
up to the cells and changed by them as described in
Lesson II.
COOKING AND CARING FOR INVALIDS.
In waiting upon invalids, several things are essential
beside the careful preparation of their food, perfect
ventilation, cleanliness, quiet, and strict obedience to the
physician's orders.
L ,'
Have plenty of fresh air and sunshine, but be careful
to shield the patient from a draught and any glaring
light. Allow nothing in the room that will vitiate the
air, like decaying flowers, kerosene lamps burning low,
soiled clothing, etc. Keep the bed, the patient, the
room, and everything about yourself, absolutely clean.
Avoid all noise, whispering, loud talking, rustling, or
any abrupt or suspicious movements. Admit no visitors
except with the consent of the physician.
Anticipate the wants of the patient, but do not annoy
by unnecessary attentions. When feeding the patient,
do it gently and neatly. Serve in small quantities often,
and in varied and tempting forms.
Serve hot, liquids ordered to be served hot, and avoid
slopping. When the meal is over, remove every trace of
food from the room.
LESSON VIII. FOOD FOR INVALIDS. 95
VOOD FOR INVALIDS.
When we are well and strong, we need food to
keep us so, and also to give us force or energy to do
work.
When we work we wear out faster, and so need more
food. We need a variety of food, some kinds that are
digested quickly and some that are digested slowly, for
if everything we ate were changed at once we should be
faint and hungry again very soon.
But when we are ill, sometimes we do not need any
food for a time, as it is better for the system to have a
period of complete rest or comparative inaction. At
other times, we need only a small quantity of food,
just enough to satisfy hunger ; but that little must
be food that can be digested easily, or that will re-
duce inflammation and quench thirst but will not
stimulate. Food in a liquid form is quickly absorbed
into the system. Mucilaginous, acid, and aromatic
drinks, oranges, grapes, and other fruits, gelatinous
broths and jellies, and starchy gruels are useful at
such times.
TEA.
Boiling water draws out some flavors which are desir-
able, if they are simply drawn out and not boiled. We
pour boiling water on tea to draw out the flavor. If the
tea is steeped, the infusion is agreeable; but if boiled,
other substances tannin, etc. are drawn out, which
are not only unpalatable, but unwholesome. Infuse
means "to pour into;" steep means "to soak." Infuse,
or steep, tea ; never boil it. Tea should be steeped in
an earthen teapot, never in tin. The water should be
freshly boiled.
9G BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
Pupils should be taught something about digestion. Even
if they have never studied physiology they can comprehend
the most important steps in the process. A calf s or sheep's
heart and a pig's stomach may be procured from the market
and used in illustration, or the teacher may illustrate from
drawings on the blackboard.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSoX VIII. 97
RECEIPTS FOB LESSON VIII.
LEMONADE.
1 lemon. lj^ c. Lolling water.
1 tbsp. sugar.
Remove the peel in very thin parings, put them int< >
a bowl, add the boiling water, and let it stand 10 m..
covered. Add the lemon juice and sugar, and when
cold strain it, and add ice if liked.
APPLE WATER.
1 apple. 1 c. boiling water.
1 tbsp. sugar. 1 strip lemon peel.
Wipe a large, sour apple, and cut it, without paring,
into thin slices. Put them into a bowl with the lemon
peel and boiling water; cover it, and let it stand till
cold. Add the sugar, and when dissolved strain it.
RHUBARB WATER.
1 small stalk rhubarb.
1 c. boiling water.
1 strip lemon peel.
1 tbsp. sugar.
Wipe the rhubarb, cut into pieces an inch long. Add
lemon peel and boiling water. Let it stand till cold.
Add sugar, and when dissolved strain it.
IRISH Moss JELLY.
c. Irish moss.
4 figs.
1 lemon or orange.
c. sugar.
1 pt. boiling water.
Soak, pick over, and wash the moss. Put it into
the boiling water, add the figs and the thin rind of the
7
98 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
lemon. Simmer until the moss is dissolved. Add
the lemon juice and sugar, and strain into a cold, wet
mould.
MILK PORRIDGE.
2 doz. raisins, quartered.
2 c. milk.
1 tbsp. flour.
1 ssp. salt.
Boil the raisins in a little water 20 in. Let the
water boil away, and add the milk. When boiling,
add the flour rubbed to a thin paste with a little cold
milk. Boil 8 or 10 m. Season with salt, and strain
before serving.
OATMEAL GRUEL.
Pound y^ c. of coarse oatmeal till it is mealy. Put
it in a tumbler with cold water. Stir well, let it settle,
then pour off the mealy water into a saucepan. Fill
again and pour off the water, and again repeat this,
being careful each time not to disturb the sediment in
the bottom of the tumbler. Then boil the water 20 m.,
stirring often. Add 1 ssp. salt. If too thick add a
little cream or milk. Strain, and serve hot.
To PREPARE AN ORANGE FOR AN INVALID.
Pare (not peel) around the orange, cutting in deep
enough to cut off the inner white membrane. Cut near
the membrane of one of the sections straight in to the
core ; cut in again on the opposite edge. Slip the knife
under and scoop out the pulp, but leave the membrane
on the core. Lay the membrane back under the left
thumb, and cut in the same way into the next section.
When all the pulp is removed the membrane should be
left on the core. The pulp and juice are miore delicious
QUESTIONS ON LESSON VIII.
99
when taken out in this way than when squeezed out.
Remove all the seeds, sweeten to taste, and serve with
chipped ice, if desired.
To CHIP ICE.
With a thimble on your finger press a large needle
into a piece of ice, and chip it off into bits as large as
a pea. Mix it with an equal quantity of acid jelly or
fruit juice.
TEA.
1 tsp. tea. | 1 c. freshly boiling water.
Steep 5 m. in an earthen teapot.
l / 2 c. shells.
Boil 20 m.
COCOA SHELLS.
| 1 pt. freshly boiling water.
Questions on Lesson VIII.
l.
2.
3.
What is the use of digestion ?
Where is our food digested ?
What is the first step in the
process ?
4. How is our food crushed?
5. Is it necessary to chew soft
food?
6. What is the saliva ?
7. Is it in the mouth except when
food is there ?
8. Is the saliva acid or alkaline ?
9. What kinds of food does it
affect ?
10. How does the food get into
the stomach ?
11. What is the gastric juice ?
12. What kinds of food does it
affect ?
13. What are the digested albu-
minous foods called ?
14. What is chyme ?
15. What happens to fats and
starchy food in the stomach ?
16. How is the food moved about
in the stomach ?
17. Where is the bile secreted ?
18. Where is it stored ?
19. What is the pancreatic fluid ?
20. How is the food changed in
the intestines?
21. What is an emulsion ?
22. What is chyle ?
23. How much digestive fluid is
secreted daily ?
24. What pushes the food along
in the intestines ?
25. How does the chyle leave the
intestines ?
26. How does it enter the blood ?
27. How is the blood oxygenated ?
28. Describe the circulation of the
blood.
LESSON IX.
INVALID COOKERY, Continued.
WHEN there is a lack of nutrition from any cause, or
after any long-continued or prostrating disease, the sys-
tem demands immediate nourishment. Food that con-
tains the most nutriment in the most easily assimilated
form is now needed.
Milk, to be taken slowly, sipped by the spoonful, -
is given in many cases. Eggnog, meat broth, farina and
oatmeal gruel, beef juice, and beef tea are suitable at
such times.
After the crisis of disease is past, the system needfc,
gradual but complete nutrition. The appetite is clamor-
ous, fickle, or perhaps altogether wanting. Much de-
pends upon judicious diet, and care must be taken
against over-feeding. Broiled game, chicken, chops, and
steak are the most easily assimilated meats. Eggs,
cream toast, baked potatoes, ice-cream, blanc-mange,
simple puddings, and stewed fruits may be used.
TOAST.
We toast bread not merely to brown it, but to take
out all the moisture possible, that it may be more per-
fectly moistened with the saliva and thus easily di-
gested ; then we brown it to give it a better flavor. If
the slice be thick and carelessly exposed to a blazing
fire, the outside is blackened and made into charcoal
102 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
before the heat can reach the inside. The moisture
is only heated, not evaporated, and makes the inside
doughy or clammy ; and butter, when spread upon the
bread, cannot penetrate it, but floats on the surface in
the form of oil, and the result is one of the most
indigestible compounds.
The correct way is to have the bread stale and cut
into* thin uniform slices, and to dry it thoroughly before
browning it. Such toast, even if moistened with water
or milk, may be easily and thoroughly acted upon by
the digestive fluids.
ICE-CREAM.
Some foods are more palatable when cold, especially
in hot weather, and means are often used to make them
very cold. This is done by freezing. Ice-creams
mixtures of cream, milk, eggs, sugar, and flavoring and
sherbets or fruit and water ices are often tempting
to an invalid. They should be eaten slowly and in
small quantity, or the digestive fluids will be too quickly
chilled.
A patent freezer is a convenient article to have, but it
is not a necessity, for a small quantity of cream may be
frozen in a covered can or pail which is surrounded by
broken ice and coarse salt.
Salt has a great attraction for water, and causes the
ice to melt ; and ice, in changing from a solid to a
liquid, absorbs heat. The mixture of melted ice and
coarse rock salt is many degrees colder than the ice
alone ; cold enough to reduce to the freezing-point
the temperature of any substance placed in the ice
and salt. The finer the ice is crushed the quicker it
melts, and the more the mixture is stirred the sooner
all parts become chilled.
LESSON IX. STIMULATING FOODS. 103
NUTRITIOUS AND INNUTRITIOUS FOODS, AND
THE PROPER PROPORTIONS OF FOOD.
Nutritious foods are those which contain substances
that can be digested, absorbed into the blood, and as-
similated or made a part of our bodies, and so promote
growth and supply the waste.
Nutritious foods are nourishing or stimulating.
Nourishing foods are those that supply all the nutri-
tion that the body needs, and develop perfectly every
animal function, but do not increase the strength and
rapidity of organic actions beyond the point of full
nutrition.
Bread, vegetables, fruits, grains, sugar, salt, and water
are nourishing foods.
Stimulating foods. All food that nourishes the body
is in one sense stimulating, as it gives renewed energy
to the bodily functions. But there are foods which
impart more speed and energy to the organs than are
necessary to perfect nutrition. Animal food is of this
class. People who work, either with their brains or
their muscles, wear out faster than people who only live
and grow ; and they need stimulating food to give the
excess of energy that work demands, not stimulants,
but stimulating food. Stimulants are quite different.
Stimulants. Condiments and alcoholic drinks are
classed as stimulants, because they impart no nourish-
ment, do not make new tissue, nor help to remove the
waste. They simply excite the bodily organs to greater
activity for the time being, as a whip spurs an animal to
greater speed ; and the result is either greater weakness
after the stimulating effect has passed, or a craving for
these excitants that nothing else will satisfy. The
104 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
bodily functions are spurred to unnatural activity ; and
there is truth, in more senses than one, in the expression,
" He is living too fast."
Innutritions foods are those which are not assimi-
lated, which are by nature indigestible, or have been
made so by improper combinations and modes of
cooking.
The bran of wheat and other grains, the skins of peas,
beans, and corn, the skins, cores, and seeds of fruit,
neavy bread, soggy pastry, rich heavy cake, and all
greasy fried food are either entirely unassimilated, and
therefore do not nourish, or they are so difficult of diges-
tion that some of the organs are excited to excessive
action to rid the system of them, and so the digestive
organs and, in time, the whole system suffer from being
overtaxed. We often speak of food as digestible and
indigestible, and many suppose that indigestible food
should never be eaten. But there are some foods, por-
tions of which are entirely indigestible and pass from
the system unchanged and without causing any disturb-
ance in the digestive canal. And it is evidently the
provision of Nature that such foods should be eaten, for
a certain bulk seems necessary in our food to stimulate
a thorough action of the digestive fluids. If we do not
o o
eat enough to distend the stomach, so that the churning
motion of the muscular coats can affect every part of the
food, the digestion is imperfect. Or if the food be suf-
ficient in quantity, but be wholly nutritious or highly
condensed food, that is capable of entire absorption, the
effect is too stimulating, and serious disorders of the ali-
mentary canal are the result. To remedy this, it is
generally necessary for persons in health, arid who have
strong digestion, to eat a certain amount of innutritions
LESSON IX. MIXED DIRT. 105
food, which furnishes the bulk required and giv^s all
parts of the digestive apparatus their proper amount of
work to perform. While there is a marked difference in
the length of time required for digestion by the various
nutritious foods, there is often as great a difference in
the digestive power of individuals, so it is impossible to
prescribe the same diet for everybody. Milk is con-
sidered a wholesome food, and cheese is a cheap and
nourishing food for laboring people ; yet there are some
persons who cannot take milk, and others to whom
cheese is an active poison.
Many argue in favor of an exclusive vegetable diet
because we ;^aa obtain from vegetables or grains all the
necessary elements of food. No doubt many people eat
too much animal food, but it is unwise to go to the ex-
treme of excluding it altogether. 'The structure and
conformation of the teeth and alimentary canal are
equally well adapted to the digestion of animal or
vegetable food or an admixture of both, and the highest
degree of bodily and mental vigor is found usually
among those who use a mixed diet. It was evidently
intended by Nature that we should eat both animal and
vegetable food, and until Nature's laws have been vio-
lated and our appetites perverted, it is safe to follow
them in our choice of food. " A natural, healthful ap-
petite for plain, wholesome food is the voice of the
physical system making known its needs, and may
always be trusted as an unerring guide to the proper
choice of diet." But when we have to resort to condi-
ments or stimulants to excite an appetite, we may be
sure that something is wrong.
A fair proportion by weight is one third animal and
two thirds vegetable food.
106 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
It has been estimated that an average daily diet
should contain the different substances proportioned
as follows : 1
Proteids, .40 pounds.
Starch, etc., 1.00 "
Fats, .40
Salts, .10 pounds.
"Water, 6.00 "
Suggestion to the Teacher.
For further information .and receipts on cookery for inva-
lids, see "Boston Cook Book," pages 407-413, and "Diet
for the Sick," by Mrs. Henderson. Do not allow the pupils
to make any dish in the lesson involving any principle not
explained in this or previous lessons.
1 See " The Chemistry of Foods and Nutrition," by Professor At-
water, beginning in the "Century," May, 1887.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON IX. 107
RECEIPTS FOB LESSON IX.
TOAST.
Cut stale bread in slices l / inch thick. Put it on a
toaster or fork. Move it gently over the fire till dry,
then hold it nearer until golden brown. Serve dry.
WATER TOAST.
Have a shallow pan with 1 pt. of boiling water and
y 2 tsp. of salt. Dip eacli slice of dry toast quickly in
the water, then spread with butter and serve very hot.
MILK TOAST.
1 c. milk, scalded.
tbsp. cornstarch, or 1
tbsp. butter,
ssp. salt.
tbsp. flour.
Melt the butter in a granite saucepan, add the dry
cornstarch, mix well, add ^ of the milk, stir well as
it boils and thickens, then add more milk, stir again,
and when smooth add the remainder of the milk and
tlie salt. Pour this between each slice of toast, and over
the whole. If liked very soft, dip the slices first in hot
salted water.
EGGNOG.
Beat the yolk of one egg, add 1 tbsp. sugar and beat
till creamy. Add ^ c. of milk. Beat the white of
the egg till foamy (but not stiff and dry) and stir it in
lightly.
1 c. of tea, or coffee, or beef tea may be added to make
a variety.
108 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
BEEF JUICE.
y 2 lb. lean, juicy beef. Cut into quarter-iiich dice. Put
them in a wide-mouthed bottle, cover, and set on a trivet
in a kettle of cold water. Heat gradually, and keep it
simmering 2 h., or until the meat is white. Strain, press
out all the juice, and season with salt to taste.
ICE-CREAM FOR AN INVALID.
y 2 c. cream.
2 tsp. sugar.
^ tsp. melted chocolate, or
1 tsp. coffee, or
2 tsp. fruit juice.
Put into a pint pail having a tight tin cover, or into
a water-tight tin can. Beat with an egg-beater until
foamy. Set this pail into a larger pail, and fill the
space with snow, or fine ice, and salt. Turn the small
pail back and forth, then open and scrape the crearn
from the sides. Cover and turn again. Eepeat this
until the cream is hard.
BLANC-MANGE.
%. c. Irish moss. y z ssp. salt.
1 pt. milk. % tsp. vanilla.
Soak the moss in cold water till soft, pick over, wash,
tie in a thin lace bag, and put it into the double boiler
with the milk ; boil until it thickens when dropped on
a cold plate. Add the salt, strain, and add flavoring.
Turn into a mould that has been wet with cold water.
WHEATENA.
1 c. boiling water. 3 tbsp. wheatena.
% tsp. salt.
Put the salt in the water. Add the meal and stir
quickly. Bpil 2 m. Eat with, cream.
QUESTIONS ON LESSON IX.
109
Questions on Lesson IX.
1. What do invalids need beside
daintily prepared food ?
2. What objectionable things are
sometimes left in a sick-
room ?
3. What can you think of that
would give comfort to an
invalid ?
4. What would cause them dis-
comfort ?
5. Is it ever well for us to do
without food for a day or
two ?
6. What kinds of food are suita-
ble in the beginning of sick-
ness ?
7. What are infusions ?
8. Why do we infuse our tea in-
stead of boiling it ?
9. What foods are suitable when
the system demands imme-
diate nourishment ?
10. What are the most easily
assimilated foods ?
1 1 . Why do we toast our bread ?
12. What is the proper way to
prepare toast ?
13. How do we freeze ice-cream
without a patent freezer ?
14. Why is melting ice colder
than the ice itself?
15. What is the meaning of "nu-
tritious " ?
16. What are stimulating foods ?
17. What are stimulants ?
18. What foods are nourishing and
not stimulating ?
19. What is the after-effect of
stimulants ?
20. Is it necessary to eat some in-
digestible foods ?
21. What proof have we that it
was not intended we should
confine ourselves to one form
of food ?
22. What is the best guide as to a
choice in our diet ?
23. How should food be propor-
tioned in our dailv diet <
LESSON X.
BROILING.
BROILING, from Irulcr, meaning " to burn," is cooking
directly over the hot coals. It is the hottest form of
cooking. The heat is so intense that the food would
O
be quickly burned if allowed to remain continuously
over the fire. We avoid burning by turning it fre-
quently. This rapid cooking by such direct, intense heat
combined with the action of the air, which has free access
to the meat, gives a flavor quite unlike that obtained by
cooking meat in water.
It is only certain kinds of meat that are suitable for
broiling. A pound of beef cut in cubical form could
not be cooked inside sufficiently without burning the
outside. But the same weight of beef, if cut in the form
of a slice about an inch thick, could be broiled perfectly,
and would have a better flavor than when cooked in any
other way.
Meat for broiling should have tender fibres, much
juice, and but little fat, bone, or gristle. There is neither
time nor moisture to soften tough fibres, and we learned
in the first lesson on meat that water, and slow, long-
continued heat are necessary to cook tough meat. If
there be much fat it will melt, drip into the fire, and
smoke the meat. Slices, cut from three fourths of an
inch to an inch and a quarter in thickness, and taken
from the thick part of the round, the rump, and the
112 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
sirloin, arc the best for broiling. The tender parts of
mutton may be broiled, but not veal and pork, for these
need to be very thoroughly cooked. Very small chick-
ens, some kinds of game and birds, tripe and liver, thin
slices of ham and bacon, any small, thin fish, and oysters
are also cooked by broiling.
The fire for broiling should be bright-red, but not
blazing, and should bt near the top of the fire-box. It
should be made ready some time before it is needed that
it may be in the proper condition at the last moment.
There should be little or no flame, as that will smoke
the meat. The oven damper should always be open dur-
ing the broiling, that the smoke of the dripping fat, and
the poisonous gases may be carried into the chimney.
A bed of hard-wood coals is the best fire for broiling.
Next to this is a charcoal fire. Wood gives an entirely
different flavor to steak from that obtained by a coal
fire. Some stoves for burning wood have a hearth in
front into which the bright coals may be drawn for the
cooking of the steak.
There is nothing better to use for broiling than a
double wire broiler. Grease it with a bit of fat from
the meat, or with salt pork, to keep the meat from stick-
ing. Place the thickest part of whatever is to be
cooked next to the middle of the broiler. If there is a
fat edge on the steak, place this uppermost. Then, as
the fat melts, it drips down over the meat, and by thus
basting it keeps it from becoming too dry. Hold the
broiler slanting down into the fire, and if there is a
blaze do not lift the broiler up into the smoke, but keep
it in the flame, turning it often. Use a coarse towel to
protect the hand if the heat be very great.
In every form of cooking meat, where the meat itself
LESSON X. BROILING. 113
is to be eaten, we want to keep the juices in the meat ;
and this is especially important in broiling, for if not
retained in the meat they drip into the fire. Do not
salt the meat, as salt draws out the juices. Eemove the
bone and part of the fat. Jplace the meat close to the
fire. The intense heat instantly sears the albumen and
fibrin on that side, and starts the flow of the juices ; as
they become hot they rise ; and if the meat be cooked
long on one side they will force their way through the
fibres, and form little pools on the surface of the meat,
which run off and drip into the fire, and so we feed the
fire with the best part of the meat. But if we turn the
meat before the juices ooze out, this other surface is
brought next to the fire and seared, and the juices can-
not escape in that direction, so they rise again and try
to get through the top. But that being already hardened
they have to stay inside the meat. As the water of the
juices is converted into steam by the heat, it expands
and gives the meat a puffy appearance. If the meat be
not turned often, or the broiling be carried on too long,
these watery juices will gradually ooze between the fibres
to the surface and be evaporated, leaving the meat dry,
leathery, and indigestible.
Meat should be broiled only long enough to loosen all
the fibres and start the flow of the juices. As long as
there is juice inside, the steam will cause the meat to
spring up instantly when pressed with a knife, and when
it ceases to do this the juices have begun to evaporate,
and the meat shrinks. When cooked it should be pink
and juicy, not raw and purple, nor brown and dry. It
should be so full of juice that when cut on the platter no
other gravy will be required than its own hot savory
juices.
114 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Broiled food should be served very hot. All other
dishes should be prepared first, the platter hot and
the seasoning ready. Have a long shallow pan near
to hold under the broiler when you remove it from the
fire, and thus avoid dropping the grease on the floor.
When everything else is ready, begin to broil, and do
not leave the broiler an instant until the meat is cooked.
Turn the broiler over every ten seconds, counting as
the clock ticks, and always keep the broiler over the
fire while turning, and not off over the stove or floor.
If there be much fat, lift the broiler over the pan while
turning, and let the fat drip into the pan. The burning
fat will not smoke the meat if the meat be kept close to
the coals, but if held on the top of the flame it will
soon be smoked. After the first thorough searing hold
the broiler farther from the fire. When the meat is
done, rest the broiler on the pan; take the meat off care-
fully, without sticking the fork into it, and put it on
the hot platter. Season with salt and, if desired, with
butter and pepper, but it is much nicer with only salt.
Wipe the edge of the platter before sending it to the
table.
PAN BROILING.
It is sometimes inconvenient to broil over the coals,
and nearly the same effect may be obtained by cooking
in a dry, hissing-hot frying-pan. Heat the pan to a
blue heat, and with a perfectly smooth pan no greasing
is necessary. Sear the meat quickly on one side, then
turn with a broad knife and fork, without cutting in-
to the meat, and brown the other side, before any juice
escapes into the pan. Cook from 4 to 8 m., turning
twice, and add a sprinkling of salt just before the last
turning.
LESSON X. FIRST LESSON IN DOUGH. 115
Chops are much nicer broiled in this way than when
broiled over coals, as the fat may be cooked till crisp,
without becoming smoked, and the lean meat will not
be over-cooked.
If the pan be hot enough and no fat used (and it
seems difficult to convince some people that none need
be used), this is not frying ; it is broiling on hot iron ; and
the flavor and texture are very different from those of
fried meat. If there be much fat on the meat it should
be drained off as it melts.
The smaller and thinner the article to be cooked, the
hotter should be the fire.
The larger the article, the more temperate the fire, or
the greater the distance from the fire.
Meat, of close, compact fibre takes longer to soften and
start the flow of the juices than meat of tender fibre.
TIME-TABLE FOR BROILING.
Steak, one inch thick 4 to 6 m.
Steak, one and a half inch thick 6 to 10 "
Small, thin fish 5 to 8 "
Thick fish 12 to 15 "
Chops, broiled in paper 8 to 10 "
Chickens 20 "
FIRST LESSON IN DOUGH.
Thus far in our lessons we have learned about only
two ways of cooking the various grains which form so
large and so important a part of our diet, namely, that of
steaming the whole or broken grains, making a form of
mush ; and that of boiling them in a large quantity
of liquid, making gruels.
Wheat, rye, corn, buckwheat, and some other grains
11(5 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
are ground coarse, and called meal, or fine, and called
flour ; and in these coarse or fine forms they are used in
a great variety of ways, but always with water or some
other liquid, for the same reason that we learned about
in making mush.
These mixtures of moistened meal or flour are called
doughs if the mass is only slightly moistened, and batters
if enough liquid is used to make a mixture that will
pour, or that can be beaten. Dough is from a word
meaning " to wet or moisten ; " and batter is from a
word meaning " to beat."
Other ingredients are added to change and improve
the texture and flavor, and then these mixtures are
cooked in a great variety of ways, boiling, steaming,
baking, and frying. They may all be classed under the
general names of breads, cakes, pastry, and puddings,
and in one form or another are probably used in every
family at every meal.
When properly combined and prepared they afford
cheap, wholesome, and palatable forms of food. But
their proper combinations involve so much knowledge
of the principles of chemistry as applied to cookery, that
we have purposely left the study of them till you shall
have become familiar with some of the simpler forms of
cooking.
Flour or meal, if merely wet, and then heated or
cooked, will be dry, tough, and compact, and when eaten
it will be difficult for the digestive fluids to penetrate the
mass. To be digestible, doughs and batters must be
light and porous. There are various ways of making
them so. For the present we shall consider only one of
these ways, as illustrated in our receipt for suet pudding,
and that is by the use of baking-powder.
LESSON X. BAKING-POWDER. 117
Baking-powder is a mixture of an acid salt (cream of
tartar) and a carbonate of an alkali (soda),- -substances
which do not act upon each other when dry. We will
put a teaspoonful of baking-powder in two tablespoonfuls
of water and see what happens. A chemical action takes
place, by which carbonic acid gas is liberated. This gas,
as it tries to escape, fills the liquid, and causes effer-
vescence. Soon the gas disappears and the liquid is
still, and is neither acid nor alkaline, because the soda
and cream of tartar have neutralized each other. But if
there had been too much soda in the baking-powder the
liquid would have had an alkaline taste, and if too much
acid, an acid taste.
On account of the difficulty of measuring in the
kitchen these two substances in the correct proportion,
some manufacturers have mixed them by weight for us
and called them baking-powders. And until you have
learned more about cooking, it will be safest to use soda
and cream of tartar in the form of baking-powder.
Now in making our pudding, if we put baking-pow-
der in the flour, and mix it thoroughly, so that every
particle of Hour will have its share of the powder, when
the flour is wet and made into dough carbonic acid gas
will be liberated and try to escape, as it did from the
water ; but on account of the sticky and elastic nature of
the gluten in the wheat flour, the gas cannot escape so
readily, but will stretch and expand the dough and
make it full of bubbles or air cells. Then, if the dough
be cooked quickly, before the gas escapes, the starch
grains will be ruptured by the combined effect of heat
and moisture, the glutinous walls of the air cells will be
hardened, and we shall have a light, porous loaf of pud-
ding. Loaf is from the word Idifian, " to raise, to lift up."
118 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
s
This receipt also shows us how dough mny be made
more tender by the use of fat or shortening. Suet is
one form of beef fat. Tt is used in doughs or flour
mixtures to make them tender. It is a wholesome and
economical form of fat, and particularly suitable for
winter diet. By adding different flavoring ingredients,
such as ginger, molasses, nutmeg, or fruit, we may make
a variety of puddings with one formula.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
Broiling is an important lesson, and follows the lesson on
Invalid Cookery, as it is the most wholesome way of cooking
meat for invalids.
It will be impossible to give the pupils a lesson in roast-
ing meat, either before the fire or in a hot oven ; but by a
thorough explanation of the action of heat in broiling the
principles of roasting may be made clear. See " Boston Cook
Book," pages 13, 14, 20, 21, 220-223, 233, 239, 24G, 256,
257, 261, 263.
As the proper making of flour or dough mixtures is one
of the most difficult forms of cooking, do not attempt to
crowd much of it into one lesson. The action of baking-
powder in the suet pudding, briefly explained, is enough foi
the first lessou.
RECEIPTS FOR LEiSSON JL 119
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON X.
BROILED STEAK.
Wipe, trim off the superfluous fat. and remove the
bone. Grease the gridiron with some of the fat. Broil
over a clear fire, turning every ten seconds. Cook 3 or
4 m. if liked rare : longer, if wail done. Serve on a hot
platter, season witn salt, and butter and pepper, if
desired.
MUTTON CHOP. (Pan Broiled.)
Wipe, remove the pink skin and extra fat. Have a
frying-pan hissing hot, without any fat ; put in the
chops and cook 1 in., turn and sear the other side,
then cook more slowly until done, 5 m., if liked rare.
Stand them up on the fat edge to brown the fat, without
over-cooking the meat. When nearly done sprinkle a
little salt on each side. Drain on paper and serve very
hot, on a hot dish, without a drop of grease.
BROILED MEAT CAKES.
Chop tough, raw, lean beef quite fine. Season with
salt, pepper, and a few drops of onion juice. Make it
into small flat cakes and broil on a hot frying-pan.
Spread with a little butter and serve very hot.
PLAIN SUET PUDDING.
1 pt. flour.
1 tsp. baking powd.T.
1 ssp. salt.
2 oz. beef suet (4 tbsp. when
chopped).
ColJ vvater to make a soft dou<rh.
Mix the flour, baking-powder, and snlt ; add the
chopped suet and mix it well. Add the cold water
120 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
gradually to form a soft dough. Grease a mould or
several cups, fill to within an inch of the top, and cover
with greased paper. Put them into a kettle of boiling
water enough to come half way up the mould. Cover
the kettle and steam 2 h. if in a mould, and 1 h. if in
cups. Serve on a hot platter, and eat with hot gravy or
a sweet sauce.
GINGER SUET PUDDING.
Add to the plain suet pudding ^ c. molasses and y 2
tbsp. ground ginger. Serve with lemon sauce.
FRUIT SUET PUDDING.
Make the same as for plain suet pudding, adding to
the dry ingredients :
]^. c. currants.
2 tbsp. raisins.
2 sq. in. citron, sliced.
Boil 2 to 3 h.
c. sugar,
spk. nutmeg.
LEMON SAUCE.
2 c. hot water.
1 c. sugar.
3 level tbsp. cornstarch.
Grated rind and juice
of 1 lemon.
1 tbsp. butter.
Mix the sugar and cornstarch thoroughly ; add the boil-
ing water. Cook 8 or 10 m., stirring often, add the
lemon rind and juice, and the butter. Stir until the
butter is melted, and serve at once. If the water boil
away and the sauce become too thick, add more hot
water till of the right consistency. By mixing the
cornstarch with the sugar, the boiling water may be
poured directly upon it without making it lumpy.
LESSON X. SUET, CURRANTS, AND RAISINS. 121
To CHOP SUET.
Cut into small pieces, remove the membranes, shave
each piece in thin slices, and chop on a board. Or, if a
large quantity is to be prepared, sprinkle the pieces
with flour, and chop them in a tray in a cold room.
This will prevent the suet from becoming soft and
sticky.
To CLEAN CURRANTS.
Put them in a squash strainer, and sprinkle thickly
with flour. Rub them well until they are separated, and
the flour, grit, and fine steins have passed through the
strainer. Then place the strainer and currants in a pan
of water and wash thoroughly. Lift the strainer and
currants together, and change the water and wash again
until the water is clear. Drain between towels, then
pick over carefully and dry them in a sunny place or
between towels, but do not harden them by putting
them into the oven.
To STONE RAISINS.
Pour boiling water over them, a few at a time.
When cool enough to handle, drain and rub eacli raisin
between the thumb and finger till the seeds come out
clean, then cut or tear apart, or chop if wanted very
fine.
122
BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Questions on Lesson X.
1. What is the meaning of
"broil"?
2. How does the degree of heat
in broiling compare with
other forms of cooking ?
3. How do we avoid burning food
when broiling it ?
4. How should meat be cut, and
what kinds of meat are suit-
able for broiling ?
5. What kind of a fire is needed
in broiling ?
6. Why should the oven damper
be open during broiling ?
7. Why do we grease the grid-
iron ?
8. How do you place the meat in
the broiler ?
9. Do we hold the meat over the
flame or in the flame near
the coals ?
10. Why not cook the meat wholly
on one side before turning it ?
11. What is pan broiling ?
12. What two ways of cooking
grains have we learned
about ?
13. What are the grains called
when ground?
14. Are there any other kinds of
flour beside that made from
wheat ?
15. Why do we cook grains,
whether whole or ground,
in water ?
16. What is dough ?
17. What is a batter ?
18. In what forms are flour and
meal cooked ?
19. What is the easiest way to
make dough light ?
20. What is baking-powder ?
21. What is suet ?
22. How do you prepare raisins,
currants, and suet for cook-
ing?
LESSON XI.
STEWS.
IN the third and last way which we are to learn about
of cooking meat in water, the object is to have the
nutriment partly in the meat and partly in the water.
We use a small quantity of water, less than in mak-
ing soups, and cook at a moderate heat for a long time.
This mode of cooking is called stewing. The word
means a slow, moist, gentle heat, a sort of sweating.
As some of the nutriment is to be in the meat we do
not cut it as small as for soups, but into pieces conven-
ient for serving. We put the bones, gristly portions, and
the poorer parts of the lean meat into cold water. This
draws out enough nutriment to enrich the broth. When
the water boils we add the tender portions, that their
juices may be kept in them. By this slow, steady sim-
mering, rather than by fierce boiling, the fibres are soft-
ened, and the coarsest and cheapest kinds of meat are
made tender and nutritious.
Any meat that is quite juicy and not very tough may
be first browned on the outside to keep in the juices,
and improve the flavor ; but if you have any cold pieces
of roast beef or steak, these may be used and will have
the same effect. Some proteids are soluble in vegetable
acids, like acetic acid, lemon juice, etc., so if coarse,
tough pieces of meat are soaked awhile in vinegar, the
fibres will be softened and the meat made more tender.
126 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Pieces containing much gristle should be put into cold
water. Cheap pieces of meat from the upper part of
the shin, the aitch bone, the flank, the neck, and shoul-
der, are suitable for stews.
Fowls, tough game, the tougher parts of mutton, lamb,
or veal, any meats which have been previously cooked,
and any kind of large white fish may be stewed. Meat
that has some bone and fat makes a richer stew. A
great variety of economical, wholesome, and palatable
dishes may be prepared as stews, and there are many
names given to this form of cooking.
A stew usually has vegetables and dumplings cooked
with the meat.
A haricot of mutton or any other meat is a stew with
the meat and vegetables cut fine, into small bits, the
size of a haricot bean.
A ragout is a stew highly flavored with wine.
A salmi is a stew of game.
A chowder is a stew of fish.
A fricassee is a form of stewing where the meat is
fried or browned in fat, either before or after stewing.
o'
and is usually served without vegetables.
A pot pie is a stew with the dough put on as a crust
instead of in the form of dumplings.
Braising is a form of stewing usually done in a
covered pan in the oven. The slow, uniform heat from
the confined hot air in the oven gives a richer, stronger
flavor than that obtained by stewing over the fire. The
calf s heart as cooked in the fifth lesson was really a
form of braising.
Onions, carrots, turnips, and potatoes are often used
in a stew. Onions may be put in with the meat, but
the other vegetables should be cut small, and added
LESSON XL DUMPLINGS. 127
about half an hour before the stew is done. The kettle
should be drawn forward, that the water may boil, not
simmer, while the vegetables are cooking. This will
not harm the meat as it would if boiled rapidly at first.
Remove the bones and fat before adding the vegetables.
A dumpling is a small ball or portion of dough
dropped or dumped quickly into the boiling liquid.
There should be only liquid enough to come nearly to
the top of the meat and vegetables, that the dumplings
may rest on them and not sink into the liquid. The
steam from the savory broth will cook the dumplings
and impart a richer flavor than that obtained when
they are cooked in a steamer over the stew. Cover the
kettle closely, as soon as the dumplings are in, and let
the stew boil steadily ten minutes, without lifting the
cover. Serve them at once. These dumplings are
another form of dough made on the same principle as
the pudding in the last lesson. As they are to be eaten
with meat they require no shortening. The same dough
may be cut into small cakes and baked as biscuit.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
In this, as well as in other lessons where there is some
time between the first and last steps in the preparation of a
dish, it will be well to give the class practice in sharpening
the knives, polishing the tins, etc. All this work has to be
done, and must be taught. Do not feel that all the time
must be spent in cooking. See " .Boston Cook Book," page
226.
128 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
RECEIPTS FOB LESSON XI.
BEEF STEW.
% lb. beef.
]/ 2 onion.
% c. turnip, cut in half-inch dice.
^ c. carrot, diced.
2 potatoes.
Salt and pepper.
Flour.
Water to cover.
Wipe the meat, cut it into small pieces, and remove
all the fine crumbly bones. Put the larger bones
and tough meat into the kettle and cover with cold
water. Melt the fat in a frying-pan, dredge the
tender meat with salt, pepper, and flour, and brown it
in the hot fat. Brown the sliced onions also, then put
the meat and onions into the kettle. Add boiling
water to cover. Simmer from 2 to 3 h., or till the
meat is tender. Half an hour before serving remove
the fat and bones, and add the other vegetables. Pare
the potatoes, cut them into quarters, parboil them 5 m.,
then add them to the stew. Cook 20 m. When ready
to serve, skim out the meat and potatoes, put them on a
dish, thicken the gravy if needed, add more seasoning,
and *^ c. of strained tomato if desired. Pour the gravy
over the meat.
DUMPLINGS.
1 pt. flour. 2 tsp. baking-powder.
Y 2 tsp. salt. I 1 scant c. milk.
Mix the dry ingredients, stir in the milk gradually to
make a soft dough. Drop quickly by the spoonful into
the boiling stew, letting them rest on the meat and pota-
toes. Cover closely to keep in the steam, and cook just
10 m., without lifting the cover. Serve at once.
RECEIPTS FOIl LESSON XL
BISCUIT.
Make the same as for dumplings, and if liked shorter
rub y 2 tbsp. of lard or dripping into the flour. Mix
just as soft as can be handled easily, turn the dough
out on a floured board, pat it down with the roller until
y 2 inch thick. Cut in small rounds and bake in a
very hot oven.
BAKED APPLE- SAUCE.
Fill a deep pudding-dish with apples, quartered, pared,
and cored. For 1 qt. of apples allow ^ c. of sugar and
YZ c. of water. Bake, closely covered, in a very moder-
ate oven several hours, or till dark-red.
STEWED PRUNES.
Wash carefully, and if hard and dry soak 1 h. before
cooking. Put them in a granite pan and cover with
boiling water. Simmer, closely covered, until swollen
and tender. Add I tbsp. of sugar for 1 pt. of prunes,
cook 5 m. longer, and set away to cool.
Questions on Lesson XI.
1. What is the most economical
way of cooking meat ?
2. What is stewing ?
3. How do we prepare the meat
for stewing ?
4. What parts of meat are to be
put into boiling water?
5. What into cold water, and why ?
6. Can a stew be made of cold
steak or roast beef !
7. How may we make tough moat
tender before stewing it ?
8. What kinds of meat are suit-
able for a stew ?
9. What is a haricot; a ragout; a
salmi; a chowder ; a fricas-
see ; a pot pie ?
10. What besides meat do we put
into a stew ?
11. What are dumplings, and how
do you make them ?
12. What are the important points
to remember iu cooking
dumplings ?
9
LESSON XII.
FIRST LESSON IN BATTERS.
BATTERS are thin mixtures of flour and liquid made
in the proportion of one scant measure of liquid to one
full measure of flour. If merely mixed and cooked
slowly they would be hard and compact. But they are
made light by the admixture of air or gas and by quick
cooking before the air has a chance to escape.
Air at 70 expands to about three times its volume
when exposed to the temperature of a hot oven. So,
as the mixture heats in cooking, the expansion of the
air in the batter makes it light and porous.
We entangle air in batters by beating the mixture
thoroughly, as in whole- wheat gems ; by beating air
into eggs, and using the beaten eggs in the mixture, as
in pop-overs ; and by the air or gas obtained by the
union of an acid with an alkaline carbonate, as in the
use of baking-powder in the griddle cakes. Sometimes
we may use newly fallen snow. The expansion of the
snow as it is changed to water, and then to steam, light-
ens the batter, if used quickly.
As it is important that batters be Linked at once be-
fore the gas escapes, it is always well to see that the
fire is in the proper condition, and to have the pans
and ingredients ready before you begin to put the ma-
terials together, that there may be no needless delay.
Td'2 nnSTOX SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
The general rule for mixing all batters is to mix the
salt and baking-powder (if that is to b<; used) with the
flour, beat the eggs, add half the liquid to the beaten
eggs, and stir this gradually into the flour, then add
the remainder of the liquid, beat all thoroughly, and
bake quickly. When the expression " beat the eggs sep-
arately " occurs in a receipt it means beat the yolks and
whites separately.
This lesson illustrates two of the ways of mixing,
namely, stirring and beating. Also the simplest way of
cooking in hot fat.
Stirring. We stir simply to blend or mix two or
more materials. In mixing dry materials, stir or move
the spoon round and round in the materials till you can-
not tell one from another. In mixing dry materials
with liquids, add the liquid gradually, and stir slowly at
first to avoid spattering. Be sure that the bowl of the
spoon not the edge nor the tip merely touches the
bottom and sides of the bowl. This is mashing as well
as stirring, and the mixture soon becomes a paste.
When perfectly smooth, add more liquid till you have
the desired consistency. We stir flour and water to-
gether for a thickening, and we stir flour and butter and
milk for a sauce, but when we wish to add air to the
mixture, we beat.
Beating. Tip the bowl slightly, and hold the spoon
so that the edge scrapes the bowl, and bring it up
through the mixture, and over with a long quick stroke
to the opposite side ; under and up through again, lifting
the spoon out of the mass, cutting clear through, and
scraping from the bottom at every stroke. We beat
eggs and batters and soft doughs. The albumen of
the eggs and the gluten of the flour, owing to thei
LESSON XII. BEATTXG. 133
viscidity or glutinous properties, catch the air aud hold
it in the form of bubbles, something as we make soap
bubbles by blowing air into soapy water. The faster
we beat, and the more we bring the material up from
the bowl into the air, the more bubbles we have ; but
one stirring motion will break them. So in any mixture
where we wish to obtain all the air possible we must be
careful to beat and not to stir.
Thin batters, like gems made without eggs, and pop-
overs should be beaten vigorously just before baking.
Batters require to be baked in a hot oven, but if it be
too hot, the sudden expansion of the air bursts the bub-
bles, and the mixture falls.
All the mixtures we are to make to-day are to be
cooked in iron or tin, and we grease the dishes to keep
the mixture from sticking. The i'at on the dish heats
quickly, and so helps to cook the outside of the mix-
ture, and this heat gives a flavor and texture to the
crust different from those of the inside ; and the greater
heat of the fat on the hot griddle gives a crust different
o o
from that obtained by baking in the oven. There the
crust that comes in contact with the greased pan is
unlike the top crust which had no fat in contact with
it, arid all these crusts are unlike that of the steamed
pudding, because they have been subjected to greater
heat. The brown color and the flavor of crusts are
probably caused by the change of some of the starch
into dextrine.
Cooking on a greased griddle is a two-sided baking,
first on one side, then turning and baking the other
side. It is one form of cooking with hot fat, and from
o
carelessness, too much fat is often used. It is called fry-
ing; but true frying is immersion in hot fat. A "well
134 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-liOOK
greased griddle or pan " is one greased uniformly, not
a daub here and there, nor masses of grease in the cor-
ners, but just a thin coating of fat laid uniformly over
the entire surface. Any more fat than enough to pre-
vent the food from sticking is unnecessary, and is ab-
sorbed by the food, making it unwholesome.
Very thin batters, or those containing eggs and sugar,
require more fat than other kinds ; but stiff doughs like
pastry and plain cookies often need none.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
In these lessons on batters and doughs the general
principles should be clearly explained, for these are really
the most intricate forms of cooking. Much depends upon
the heat of the oven, and experience is the best teacher
in determining this. See "Baking," page 153. The qual-
ity of materials will vary, and though definite proportions
are given in many of the receipts, the teacher must use
judgireiit, and change them if necessary. See " Bostor
Uook Book," pages 80- IU7 .
KECEIPTS FOK LESSON XII. 135
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON XII.
GRIDDLE CAKES.
1 c. flour.
1 ssp. salt.
l ssp. salt.
1 tsp. baking-powder.
1 c. sweet milk (scant).
1 tsp. melted butter.
Sift flour, baking-powder, and salt together. Add the
milk, using enough to make a batter about like thick
cream. The amount will vary with the quality of the
flour, and the surest way is to fry a spoonful, and add
more liquid if the batter be too thick to run easily on
the griddle, and more flour if they spread too much or
will not hold their shape in turning. Add the butter
last. Pour from the end of a large spoon on a hot, well-
greased griddle. When one side is full of bubbles turn
the cakes over and brown the other side until it stops
puffing.
One egg may be used, but it is not necessary. With
sour milk, use ^ tsp. soda and omit the baking-powder,
and with sour cream, omit the butter. Half flour and
half fine white corn meal, or whole-wheat flour may be
used.
WHOLE-WHEAT OR GRAHAM GEMS.
% c. Graham flour. }'* c. milk or water.
y 2 ssp. salt. J
Mix salt with flour, add liquid gradually till smooth.
Beat thoroughly. Drop by spoonfuls on a hot, well-
greased griddle, or bake in hissing hot, buttered gem-
pans, 30 m.
130 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
POP-OVERS.
1 c. flour.
1 ssp. salt.
1 e. milk.
egg.
Mix the salt with -the flour, add half of the milk
slowly, and when a smooth paste is formed, add the
remainder and the egg beaten thoroughly. Beat well
before filling the pans. Cook in hot, buttered gem-
pans, or earthen cups, in a quick oven half an hour, or
until the puffs are brown and well popped over.
SNOW PANCAKES.
% c. flour. j Yz c. milk.
1 ssp. salt. 1 hp. tbsp. snow.
Mix the same as Graham gems, and after beating
well, fold in the snow (which must be freshly fallen).
Cook like large griddle cakes, and when done spread
them with sugar or jam and roll them over and over.
Questions on Lesson XII.
1. What are batters ?
2. Why should batters be light
and porous ?
3. How does air make a batter
light ?
4. How are pop-overs made light ?
5. What do we use in the griddle
cakes to make them rise ?
6. Why should batters be cooked
soon after they are mixed ?
7. What is the proportion of flour
and liquid for a batter ?
8. What is the difference between
stirring and beating ?
9. How do you mix a batter ?
10. When do we stir, and when do
we beat, a mixture ?
11. Why do we grease a dish in
which a batter is to be
cooked ?
12. What causes the differences in
crusts of anything cooked
on a griddle, in the oven,
and by steam ?
13. How many kinds of griddle
cakes may be made ?
14. How could you vary the pop-
overs ?
LESSON XIII.
THICKER BATTERS, MUFFINS, AND
DOUGHNUTS; ROLLING AND FRYING.
THERE are several degrees of thickness in batters.
Thin batters are about the consistency of thin cream ;
thick batters are like thick cream ; still thicker batters
are stiff enough to keep their shape when poured from
a spoon. Any batter is a pour batter until it is made
so stiff that it breaks in the pouring and drops from the
spoon. Then we call it a drop batter. So long as it is
soft enough to be beaten it is a batter, but when a spoon
can no longer be made to go through it easily, with a
beating motion, it is a dough. Doughs may be of any
thickness, from " just stiff enough to be shaped," or " as
soft as can be handled easily," to those that are so stiff
that they may be rolled thin as a wafer. It is better
to become familiar with the proper consistency of batters
and doughs by learning these descriptions, than to trust
to such phrases as these, " stiff as pound cake," "soft
as ginger-bread," etc., which one often hears.
Muffin mixtures are thicker than the batters we
learned to make in Lesson XII. The general propor-
tion is one scant measure of liquid to two full measures
of flour. The proportions will vary somewhat accord-
ing to the thickness of the liquid cream, milk, or
water and the thickening quality of the meal or
flour.
140 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHKX TK XT-BOOK.
This lesson shows us another way of nl>l;iiniii" cur-
/ o
bonic acid gas to lighten batter, namely, by the union of
.soda with molasses. Old-fashioned molasses (not syrup)
contains acetic acid, and when it is mixed properly with
soda, carbonic acid gas is liberated, and the soda is
neutralized.
Soda may also be neutralized by the lactic acid in
sour milk. In using soda with any acid, care must be
taken to use the correct proportion, so that no alkali
may be left, as any excess of alkali hinders digestion.
As the amount of acid in sour milk varies, it is often
difficult to know how much soda to use. Sour milk is
best when it sours quickly and becomes thick and solid.
Then the proportion is 1 even tsp. of soda to 1 pt. of
milk. When the milk is so old that it becomes watery
and separates, or has a mouldy scum on the surface, it
is unfit to use.
In winter, milk grows bitter before it sours, and often
tastes sour but is not thick. Then it may be used as if
it were sweet milk, with baking-powder, or in ginger-
bread or brown bread where you have molasses to com-
plete the acidity.
x /
Some people dissolve the soda in water, but as some
of the gas escapes as soon as the soda is wet, a better
way is to mix the soda with the flour, or other dry in-
gredients. Soda becomes lumpy in keeping, and should
always be finely pulverized before it is measured, and
then sifted through a fine wire strainer, and thoroughly
mixed with the flour. Then when the liquid is added,
the chemical action takes place in the dough, and none
of the gas is lost, provided the mixture be quickly
cooked.
Cream of tartar, made from the crystals w r hich collect
LESSON XIII. SODA AND ACIDS. 141
in wine casks, is the most convenient acid to use \vitb
soda ; for it unites with soda only when heated, and the
i;as therefore is not all liberated until the mixture is in
the oven. Unless you have pure cream of tartar, it is
safer to use a reliable baking-powder.
The proportion of soda and acids is as follows :
1 level tsp. soda and 2 slightly rounding tsp. cream of tartar for
1 qt. of flour.
1 level tsp. baking-powder for each cup of flour. -
1 level tsp. soda to 1 pt. of thick sour milk.
1 level tsp. soda to 1 c. of molasses for batters.
l /t tsp. soda to 1 c. of molasses for stiff doughs.
In any receipt where soda is to be used with cream
of tartar you may substitute baking-powder, in the pro-
portion of one level teaspoonful of baking-powder to
each cup of flour or meal.
Where only a small amount of carbonic acid gas is
desired, it is safer to use baking-powder, as it is more
accurately measured than fractions of a spoonful of soda
and cream of tartar.
In preparing all kinds of batters and soft doughs,
which are made light with soda and an acid, mix the
dry ingredients in one bowl ; then mix the liquids with
the beaten eggs, stir this quickly into the dry mixture ;
add the butter, melted, and when these are thoroughly
mixed, bake or fry immediately.
ROLLING.
Soft doughs which are to be cut into shapes should be
mixed as soft as can be handled easily, then tossed out
lightly on the floured board until they are well floured,
patted with the rolling-pin until half an inch thick,
then cut with a floured, sharp-edged cutter.
142 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Stiff doughs which are to be rolled very thin, like
cookies, etc., require about four measures of Hour to one
of liquid. Roll only a small portion at a time, and roll
with a light quick stroke, not bearing down hard enough
to make the dough stick. Cut the shapes close together
and put the scraps with another portion, knead *hem
slightly, just enough to make a smooth mass, then roll
again. In rolling any soft dough, use enough flour to
prevent sticking, but no more, and be sure that the
dough does not stick. When it has adhered to the
board, always scrape it off before adding more flour.
Flour the roller, and keep that and the board free
from lumps of dough.
FRYING.
Jurying is cooking in hot fat. To be done properly
there should be fat enough to float the articles to be
cooked, or in some instances to cover them. Lard and
dripping may be used, and as they often contain water
they should be heated until all the water is evaporated.
So long as there is water in them they can be made no
hotter than boiling water, and they will bubble and
sputter until the water has all evaporated. It is useless
to attempt to cook anything in the fat until it is still.
Clear fat may be made very hot, but for cooking pur-
poses it is never boiling hot, as some receipts indicate,
as it would burn before it reached that point. When it
smokes in the centre as well as on the edge it is about
385, and is hot enough for the quickest Vind of frying.
For flour mixtures like the doughnuts we are to make
to-day, it is better to test the heat with a bit of the mix-
ture. It should rise at once to the surface, swell, and
LESSON XIII. FRYING.
begin to brown on the under side. The hot fat hardens
the gluten in the dough, and forms a crust through
which the fat cannot penetrate ; but if the fat be not
hot enough, the dough will soak the fat and the cakes
will be greasy.
If too great a proportion of soda be used, more than
can be neutralized, doughnuts will soak the fat. It is
not extravagant to use eggs in doughnuts, as the albumen
in the eggs hardens quickly, and helps to keep out the
fat, and thus makes them more wholesome.
Drop cakes, or fried muffins, are mixed soft, and
dropped from a spoon into the fat, and shape them-
selves in cooking. They will also turn over when half
done. Doughnuts are mixed stiff, rolled and cut into
different shapes, and must be turned over in the fat.
After every frying, as soon as the fat is slightly cooled,
strain it through a fine cloth into a pail. Never set it
away to harden in the frying kettle without straining
it, for the flour or crumbs which settle on the bottom
will burn easily when it is heated again, and will ad-
here to anything that may be fried in it.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
For further information see " Boston Cook Book," pages
14-17, 80-82, 102; Williams's "Chemistry of Cookery,"
pages 84-110.
144 BOS ION SCHOOL KITCIJEN TEXT-BOOK.
RECEIPTS FOB LESSON XIII.
GENERAL DIRECTIONS.
Have the pans ready and greased, if necessary, the
fire in good condition, and all the ingredients at hand
before you begin to put together. By measuring dry
things first, then the liquid, one cup will do for all,
without washing. Beat the eggs in a small bowl, and
use some of the liquid (milk or water) to rinse the egg
from the bowl. Measure accurately, and use every grain
of dry material and every drop of liquid. Scrape all the
dough from the bowl, but never scrape the dough from
the knife on the edge of the pan. Put it into the spoon,
and then from the spoon into the comer of the pan.
Fill the mixing bowl with cold water if not ready to
wash it immediately, but if an egg-beater be used, wipe
it at once with a damp cloth and then with a dry one.
CORN CAKE,
1 c. flour.
% c. fine yellow corn meal.
% c. sugar.
Yi tsp. salt.
1 tsp. cream of tartar. 1
1 c. sweet milk ; if sour
milk be used, omit the
cream of tartar.
1 egg.
1 tbsp. butter or dripping.
tsp. soda (mashed fine).
Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly in the order
given. Add the milk with the egg (well beaten), and
the multed butter last. Beat well and bake in muffin-
pans, or a shallow pan in a hot oven about 20 m. This
cake is very good without the egg, and when it is to b'. j
eaten with meat the egg is unnecessary; but when this
is the most substantial part of the meal, the egg should
be used.
1 Use 2 tsp. baking powder in place of soda and cream of tartar if
preferred.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON XIII. 145
EYE MUFFINS.
1 c. rye meal (sifted).
1 c. white flour.
% c. sugar.
y^ tsp. salt.
2 tsp. baking-powder.
1 c. milk.
Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly. Beat the egg
add the milk, and stir quickly into the dry mixture,
Bake in hot gem pans, 25 m. '
GINGER-BREAD.
c. molasses
tbsp. ginger
tsp. salt,
tsp. soda.
1 tbsp. dripping.
^ c. boiling water.
1 c. flour.
Sift the ginger, salt, and soda into the molasses, add
the dripping softened ; beat well, add the boiling water
and flour. Beat thoroughly and bake in a shallow pan
in a hot oven about 20 m.
SOFT MOLASSES COOKIES.
l
* c. molasses.
2 tsp. salt.
2. tbsp. ginger.
2. tsp. soda.
1 tbsp. warm water.
^ c. dripping, softened
Flour to mix soft enough
to be rolled.
Roll out y$ inch thick, cut with a small round cutter,
and bake about 10 m. Handle as little as possible, and
do not use much flour.
These may be made into balls, and placed some dis-
tance apart on a greased tin, then flattened with the
bottom of a round tin box.
10
146 BOSTON SCHOOL K1TCHKN 'I'E XT-BOOK.
WHEAT CRISPS.
c. cream.
1 tbsp. sugar,
spk. salt.
c. fine granulated wheat
flour, or enough to
a stilf dou"h.
Mix quite stiff, knead well, roll out thin as a wafer,
cut with a small round cutter, and bake on uugreased
tins in a very hot oven.
FRIED RYE MUFFINS.
% c. rye meal.
X c. flour.
YZ tsp. soda (mashed fine).
1 tsp. cream of tartar.
, i
1 tbsp. sugar.
1 ssp. salt.
1 1 56-
l /2 c. milk.
Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly, beat the egg,
add the milk, stir this into the dry mixture. Take up
y 2 tbsp. on the end of a spoon, and with a knife scrape
it into the hot fat. Cook until the muffins will not
stick when tried with a fork.
DOUGHNUTS.
1 pt. flour.
c. suar.
i/.
tsp. salt.
tsp. soda (mashed fine).
y 2 ssp. cinnamon.
YZ to J^ c. milk.
1 egg.
1 tsp. butter (melted).
1 tsp. cream of tartar. 1
Mix in the order given, add y* c. of milk to the beaten
egg, and use enough more milk to make the dough as
soft as can be handled. Take a small portion at a time,
roll out y$ inch thick, and cut with a ring cutter. Put
the scraps with another portion and roll again. When
all are rolled, fry in deep hot fat. Turn when brown,
and when done drain on paper or in a colander.
1 Use 2 tsp. baking powder if preferred.
QUESTIONS ON LESSON XIII.
147
Questions on Lesson XIII.
1. "\Vhat is the consistency of a
thin batter ?
2. What are some of the terms
used to designate the thick-
ness of batters ?
3. What is the proportion of flour
and liquid in muffin mix-
tures ?
4. In how many ways may we
use soda in cooking and
obtain carbonic acid gas ?
5. How much soda should be
used with 1 pt. of sour
milk ?
6. How much with 1 tsp. of
cream of tartar ?
7. How much with 1 c. of mo-
lasses ?
8. "Why is it better to mix the
soda with the flour rather
than to dissolve it ?
9. Why should soda be finely
pulverized ?
10. AY hat is cooking soda ?
11. What is cream of tartar ?
12. What should be the propor-
tion of baking-powder to
one cup of flour ?
13. How would you roll soft
doughs ?
14. What is frying ?
15. What kinds of fat may be used?
16. How may you tell when fat is
hot enough for frying ?
17. Why should fried food be
drained ?
The combined amount of the old-style measurement of
one level teaspoon of soda and two slightly rounded tea-
spoons of cream of tartar, and the fraction of cornstarch or
rice flour which is a necessary ingredient of pure bakiiig
powder, would be from four to five level teaspoons. This
is the average amount for one quart of flour for biscuits,
making the amount for one cup of flour a trifle more than
one level teaspoon. Mixtures that are rich in butter require
a trifle more, as it is harder for the gas to lift up a dough
heavy with fat; and those that have eggs to help make
them light, require slightly less than this proportion. Use
always as little as will make the dough light, and as flours
vary and baking powders vary, the right amount must often
be determined by experience. Too much baking powder
gives a salty taste, causes doughnuts to soak fat and makes
cake too porous.
LESSON XIV.
BREAD.
BREAD is a form of food made from the meal or flour
of certain grains.
The word is derived from the verb "to bray or pound/'
expressive of the old method of preparing the grain.
Bread is therefore made of something brayed, as brayed
wheat or corn. The brayed grain is moistened and
made into dough ; various substances are used to raise
the dough, and the raised mass is stiffened by the heat
in cooking, and thus held in shape, and becomes a loaf.
Bread is made principally from wheat flour, because
wheat is the only grain which contains the right pro-
portion of gluten essential to the making of light, spongy
bread. Rye used alone makes a moist, close, sticky
bread. Corn meal alone makes too dry and crumbly a
loaf, but either of these grains may be used to advan-
tage with wheat.
The gluten of wheat is a tough, gray, elastic sub-
stance, consisting chiefly of vegetable fibrin. It will
swell to four or five times its original bulk. Wheat
also contains a large amount of starch, and more min-
eral matter than any other grain. When the whole of
the nutritious part is used, wheat is the most useful food
we have, but fine white flour contains only a portion of
the desirable elements.
Bread is sometimes made by using soda and an at' id
to make the dough light ; but these mixtures are usually
150 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
baked in small forms, and called biscuit, muffins, etc.
In all these methods there is no chemical change in the
Hour ; the dough is simply made light by the gas from
the soda.
But the perfect loaf of light, spongy bread is made
by a process quite unlike anything we have studied
about, and that is, by the addition of a ferment which
causes chemical changes in the flour.
A ferment is some albuminous substance in a state of
change or decomposition, and when introduced under
proper conditions into any other albuminous substance,
in however minute a quantity, causes a change or fer-
mentation in the whole mass.
The germs of these ferments are alwa}^s present in
the air, and when any substances which are rich in
sugar, starch, and gluten are exposed to air, warmth,
and moisture, these ferments cause a change by which
new compounds are formed.
There are several kinds of fermentation. Lactic fer-
mentation is the change in milk when it sours.
Alcoholic fermentation is the change in fruit juices
when preserves ferment, or when wine is made from
grape-juice, cider from apple-juice, and beer from
grains.
Acetic fermentation is caused by allowing alcoholic
fermentation to go on too long, or in too warm a place,
as when cider changes to vinegar.
In lactic and acetic fermentation, a sour taste is de-
veloped ; but in alcoholic fermentation, if not carried too
far, there is no unpleasant taste, since the acid produced
is carbonic acid gas, which goes off into the air ; and as
a large amount of carbonic acid gas is formed, this kind
of fermentation is most suitable for bread making ; the
LESSON XIV. --YEAST. 151
object being not to produce alcohol, but to puff up the
dough and make the bread light.
Wheat flour contains starch and gluten, and a ferment
called diastase, and if moistened and kept warm it would
in time change, or ferment ; but when this change takes
place slowly the dough will be sour. This change may
be hastened by the addition of a ferment or some albu-
minous substance which has already begun to change,
and which will leave no unpleasant taste. The ferment
commonly used is yeast.
Yeast, in its natural state, when viewed under the
microscope is found to be a plant or germ of the fungus
tribe, of which mould, mildew, etc., are familiar forms.
It is one of the simplest and smallest forms of vege-
table life. Each little cell has an albuminous skin or
membrane, and contains liquid or sap. These cells are
found in fruit juices and sprouting grains, and they bud
off from each other, and expand rapidly when they are
exposed to air and warmth, and in this change or growth
they decompose the sugar. But they can be made to
grow even more rapidly, and this is what happens when
yeast, which is made from sprouting grains, is added to
anything containing starch or sugar. Grains which
contain starch and gluten are moistened and left for
these ferment germs or yeast cells to grow for a while ;
then the fermentation is checked, and they are prepared
in various ways for keeping, and sold under the forms
of dry, liquid, and compressed yeast. But the life of
the yeast cells is not destroyed, and they will grow
again when exposed to warmth and moisture, and given
food to live upon ; the same as other forms of vegetable
life, after being kept for a time, will grow when planted
in proper soil. The temperature of boiling water will
152 In/STOX SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
kill the yeast plant, and so we must be careful, in using
yeast, to have the proper temperature. In making
bread, we put yeast with the flour, moisten it, keep it
warm, and we have just the food and conditions neces-
sary to waken the yeast plant into life again. The
yeast cells begin to grow in the dough, and in thus
growing they cause a change in the flour. The dias-
tase ferments and causes some of the starch to change
into a kind of sugar ; the sugar changes into carbonic
acid gas and alcohol. In converting the starch into
sugar in the dough, there is no change evident to the
eye, but as soon as the sugar is changed to carbonic
acid gas and alcohol, large bubbles of gas appear. The
gas, being lighter than the dough, rises, and in its efforts
to escape puffs up the gluten, and as the gluten is very
elastic it can stretch to several times its original ^ulk.
It is on account of the peculiar tenacity or power of the
wheat gluten to hold the gas that wheat flour makes
the lightest bread. The gas fills the dough with minute
air cells, which if the yeast have been uniformly
mixed with the flour make it light and spongy.
When this expansion has reached the desired limit,
that is, before the alcoholic fermentation has changed
to the acetic and soured the dough, or the tough, gluti-
nous walls of the air cells are broken, making large, un-
equal holes, we check the fermentation by baking the
dough in a hot oven. The alcohol escapes into the
oven, the starch is swollen and ruptured, and absorbs
water, some of the starch is changed to gum and forms
the crust, which by the intense heat assumes a brown
color.
In yeast bread the chemical change in some of the
starch is similar to the change which takes place in
LESSON XIV. BAKING. 153
starch during digestion, namely, its conversion into sugar.
This gives a sweet, nutty flavor and a light, spongy tex-
ture, very different from those of soda bread. It is,
when properly made and baked, usually considered the
most wholesome form of bread.
THE HEAT FOR BAKING.
The heat of the oven for baking is a very difficult
matter for a beginner to determine. There are no rules
that can be strictly followed in every case. Testing
the heat by a thermometer is not always practicable.
Testing by the length of time one can bear the hand in
the oven will vary with every hand that tries it. Much
depends upon the construction of the stove, the condi-
tion of the fire, and the nature of the fuel. You may
learn to judge of the oven in this stove, but your stove
at home may be different, and the same rules will not
apply to both.
Experience is the best teacher, and by care in observ-
ing and comparing results, much may be learned. Study
carefully your own stove, and remember which kinds of
fuel give a quick, flashing fire, and which a steady, long-
continued heat. Observe the amount of fuel needed to
produce greater or less heat in the oven. Learn how to
increase the heat quickly or gradually, or to diminish it
as the case may require. Also how to detect the differ-
ence between a fire that is bright red on top but nil
ashes underneath, and one that is a solid bed of glowing
coals. Test the oven by opening the door quickly, and
notice how the heat puffs out into your face, or see how
long you can keep your hand in the oven.
Compare the heat when there is a quick, blazing fire
154 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
aud all the draughts are open, with that when there is a
large body of fire and the dampers are closed, and still
again with that when there is but little fire. In this
way make your own standard of a very hot, a hot and a
moderate oven.
The general rules are as follows : Rolls, biscuit,
breakfast-cakes, puff paste, game, and small pieces of
meat, require a very hot oven, and quick baking, half
an hour or less. Have a bright fresh fire of clear glow-
ing coals, all through. Large pieces of meat, poultry,
etc., require a very hot oven at first. After five or ten
minutes check the fire. Have sufficient body to the
fire to last the required time without replenishing, or if
that be impossible, add a little fuel often that the heat
may be kept uniform.
Bread, pastry, and fish require a hot oven. Cakes,
ginger-bread, puddings, etc., a moderate oven.
Flour mixtures and other things that have to rise in
the oven, require heat from underneath to -help in the
rising, and should be placed on the bottom of the oven,
with the rack underneath, if there be danger of burning.
If the oven be too hot on the top they will brown before
rising. A pan of water on the middle rack, or a paper
hood over the pan, will prevent them from browning
too fast. See page 205, Lesson XIX.
Meat requires more heat above than below, and should
be placed on a rack in the pan, with the oven rack or
another pan underneath the dripping-pan to prevent burn-
ing the fat in the pan. In some stoves the heat may
be turned away from the bottom of the oven. Small
pieces of meat, scalloped dishes, and other things which
require only a browning of the surface, may be placed
on the rack near the top of the oven.
TIME-TABLE FOR MAKING.
155
The old notion that you must not look at anything
in the oven is erroneous, and until you have learned by
experience how to regulate the fire and oven, it is better
to look at tilings as they are baking, and turn and watch
till you are sure they can be left without further care.
But look for only an instant at a time. Cultivate the
habit of opening and shutting the oven door quickly
but gently.
TIME-TABLE FOR BAKING.
Baking Bread, Cake, and Puddings.
Loaf bread . . . .
Rolls, biscuit . . ,
Graham gems . . ,
Ginger-bread . . .
Sponge cake . . . .
Plain " . . . .
Fruit " . . . .
Cookies
Bread pudding . . .
Rice and tapioca . .
Indian pudding . .
Plum " . .
Custards
Steamed brown bread
Steamed puddings
Pie crust
Potatoes
Baked beans . . .
Braised meat . . .
Scalloped dishes , .
40 to 60 m.
10 to 20 "
30 "
20 to 30 "
45 to 60 "
30 to 40 "
2 to 3 hrs.
10 to 15 m.
1 h.
1 "
2 to 3 "
2 to 3 "
15 to 20 m.
3 hrs.
1 to 3 "
about 30 in.
30 to 45 "
6 to 8 hrs.
3 to 4 "
15 to 20 in.
Baking Meats.
Beef, sirloin, rare, per Ib. 8
Beef, sirloin, well done,
per Ib 12
Beef, rolled rib or rump,
per Ib 12
Beef, long or short fillet, 20
Mutton, rare, per Ib. .
Mutton, well done, per
Ib
Lamb, well done, per Ib.
Veal "
Pork " "
Turkey, 10 Ibs. wt. . .
Chickens, 3 to 4 Ibs. wt. 1
Goose, 8 Ibs
Tame duck .... 40
Game " .... 30
Grouse
Pigeons ......
Small birds .... 15
Venison, per Ib. . . .
Fi.-h, 6 to 8 Ibs.; long,
thin iMi
Fish, 4 to 6 Ibs. ; thick
halibut
Fish, small .... 20
to 10 m.
to 15 "
to 15 "
to 30 "
10 "
15 "
15 "
20 "
30 "
3 hrs.
toH "
2 "
to CO in.
to 40 "
30 "
30 "
to 20 "
15 "
1 h.
1 "
to 30 111
luG BOSToX SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
This lesson should be combined with the following one.
Morning classes should mix the bread and make the pastry
as given in Lesson XV.
Afternoon classes bake the bread and prepare the warmed
over potatoes. Follow the same order the next week.
For full information about bread and yeast, see " Boston
Cook Book," pages 3G-7G. " Food Materials and their
Adulterations," by Mrs. Richards, pages 150-156. "Chem-
istry of Cookery," by M. Williams, pages 194-210.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON XIV. 157
RECEIPTS FOB LESSON XIV.
YEAST.
1 large potato.
1 tbsp. hops (loose).
1 pt. boiling water.
1 hp. tbsp. flour.
1 lip. tsp. sugar.
1 hp. tsp. salt.
% tsp. ginger.
y 2 yeast cake or ^ c. yeast.
Wash, pare, and soak the potato. Steep the hops
in the water. Mix the flour, sugar, ginger, and salt in
a large bowl. Grate the potato into the flour mixture.
Let the hop water boil briskly for 1 m., strain it over
the potato, and mix quickly. If it does not thicken
like starch place it over the fire for a few moments.
If too thick add boiling water till thick as cream.
When lukewarm or at 70 add the yeast, Rise in a
warm place till frothy. Beat it down every y 2 h.
Bottle and keep cooL
BREAD.
1 c. water or milk (lukewarm).
^ tsp. salt.
l /2 tsp. sugar.
c. yeast or }/% yeast cake dis-
solved in c. water.
3 to 3^ c. flour.
Put the salt, sugar, and yeast in the mixing bowl,
add the water, and when the sugar is dissolved add
about 3 c. of the flour and mix with a knife. Add
more flour till stiff enough to knead. Turn it out on a
floured board, and knead till it is soft and elastic and can
be worked without any flour. Put it back in the bowl,
cover with a cloth and tin cover, and let it rise in a
warm place (80) till double its bulk (over night in
winter, 3 or 4 h. in summer). When light, work it
over in the bowl, doubling it over from the edges to tho
centre of the bowl until smooth. Let it rise a^ain till
158
BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
double its bulk, then divide into two parts, shape into
round or long loaves, or into biscuit. Once more let it
rise, closely covered, till double its bulk. Bake in a hot
oven (400 or 12 seconds by the hand). Bake a loaf
40 to CO m., biscuit from 10 to 20 m.
One third white flour and two thirds brown flour
may be used in the same way, but without kneading.
Brown flour means any good flour prepared from the
whole grain. The Health Food Company's fine granu-
lated wheat flour and some other brands, are improved
varieties of what was formerly called Graham flour.
Questions on Lesson XIV.
1 . What is the meaning of bread ?
2. From what grains is bread
made ?
3. Why does wheat make the
best bread?
4. What is gluten ?
5. What is fermentation ?
6. How is bread dough made
light ?
7. How many kinds of fermenta-
tion ?
8. What is yeast ?
9. What conditions are necessary
to enable yeast to grow in
flour ?
10. What change takes place in
the flour when yeast is
added to dough ?
11. How can we tell when dough
is risen enough ?
12. What happens if it should rise
too long ?
13. Why do we bake bread ?
14. What foods require to be
baked in a very hot oven;
a hot oven ; a moderate
oven ?
15. What kind of a fire do we
need for quick baking ?
16. What for baking meat ?
17. What for baking puddings ?
18. What is pastry ?
19. How do you make plain pas-
try?
20. What would you do if any-
thing baked too rapidly ?
21. What are the objections to
pastry as food ?
22. Can it be made in a whole-
some manner ?
LESSON XV.
THE CARE OF FOOD.
YOUR instruction would not be complete if \ve omitted
to tell you how to take care of food, both before and
after cooking, and how to prevent the waste that is so
often occasioned by lack of such knowledge.
It is a well-known fact that all albuminous substances
when exposed to the air soon pass into a state of de-
composition, or putrefaction. Milk sours ; eggs, fish, and
meat putrefy ; fruits and vegetables decay ; butter, fat,
and oils become rancid ; preserves ferment ; meal and
flour become musty, and bread and cake mouldy. It
is therefore quite important to know how to care for
our food, so that it may be kept in good condition as
long as possible.
As it is air, moisture, and warmth that occasion the
change in food, these must be excluded. So it is well
to have our store-rooms in a cool and dry part of the
house, and to keep many of our materials in air-tight
cans or jars. But even with all these precautions much
food will be lost unless it is examined daily.
Nearly all groceries, such as rice, tapioca, raisins, meal,
and grains of all kinds, are best kept in large, wide-
mouthed bottles or jars. These are easily cleansed, and
the contents are plainly seen, and may be kept air-tight.
Small jars or bottles are suitable for soda, cream of tar-
tar, spices, and other articles usually purchased in small
11
102 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
quantities. Air-tight tin cans are suitable for tea, coffee,
crackers, etc. Covered buckets are convenient for flour
and sugar.
Keep the jars and boxes clean on the outside, and
when they are empty, or at regular intervals, cleanse the
inside. Be careful never to handle them with sticky or
floured fingers.
Do not put moist articles in tin. Do not keep any-
thing in paper bags ; they break easily and give a very
untidy appearance to a pantry. Empty the bags as
soon as the stores are sent in from the market. Fold
the bags and put them away neatly to use for other
purposes.
Do not keep milk in a tin can. Pour it into a large-
mouthed pitcher or jar, or into a shallow pan. All
dishes in which milk is kept, must be thoroughly washed
first in cold water, then in hot suds and scalded with clear
boiling water and dried perfectly, or the milk will sour
quickly. Keep anything that has a strong odor away
from milk, cream, or butter, as these articles absorb
odors readily.
Fruit should be kept uncovered in a cool, dark place.
Examine it often and remove all decaying portions.
Salt fish has a disagreeable odor, and it should be cut
into small portions and packed in glass jars. Onions
and other strong vegetables should be kept covered in a
dark cool place, and where there are no other foods.
Lemons should be put into a jar and covered with
cold water, with a saucer over them to keep them under
the water. They will keep fresh and juicy for a long
time. The water must be changed twice a week. Lemon
and orange peel may be dried and grated, or put into al-
cohol and used for flavoring. Cranberries may also be
LKSSOX XV. CARE OF FOOD. 163
kept for some time, if covered with cold water. Extracts,
spices, etc., should be kept air-tight that their strength
be not wasted.
Meat and fish should be examined as soon as they
come from the market and be wiped all over with a damp
cloth. Then put them on a plate, never in paper, in a
cool dark place, not on the ice, but near it. In warm
weather examine the meat carefully, particularly in the
folds and crevices, as sometimes there are minute eggs
on it. The marrow, or soft, fatty substance, should be
removed from the backbone in mutton and lamb ; also
the pink skin over the fat, and the thin shiny membranes
under the chops and steaks, as these spoil quickly and
then taint the whole piece.
Fresh vegetables should also be examined daily.
Dripping and other fats should be re-melted often, as
they keep better in a solid than in a broken form.
Eggs should be wiped as soon as brought in, and the
shells may then be used for clearing coffee.
Cooked food should not be shut up tightly when hot.
Clean and scald the bread and cake jars every other
day, and never let the crumbs and broken pieces accu-
mulate in the jars.
Remnants of food should never be put away on the
large table dishes, but on small ones kept for that pur-
pose. They should be utilized in some way as soon as
possible. In preparing a breakfast or lunch see what
use you can make of the " left overs " before you decide
on using new material.
Cooked vegetables will sour quickly in hot weather,
especially if seasoned with butter or milk. It is better
to cook in small quantities and have just enough, than
to have large portions left over.
1'4 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Keep everything in a pantry absolutely clean ; the
shelves washed and wiped dry, the crumbs removed ; the
molasses jug outside, free from stickiues- ; the lard and
dripping pail free from grease. And be sure that no
rancid fat, or wormy meal, or mould, or anything objec-
tionable be allowed to remain there.
Inspect the refrigerator daily, and clean the spout and
pan as well as the inside.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
The chapter on the Care of Food is inserted here merely
as a matter of convenience. The information contained in
it should be given in connection with the foods as they are
used in the various lessons.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON XV. 165
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON XV.
PASTRY.
1 hp. c. pastry flour.
1 ssp. baking-powder.
1 tbsp. dripping or butter.
1 tbsp. lard.
1 ssp. salt.
Sift flour, salt, and baking-powder together, and rub
or chop in the dripping. Mix quite stiff with cold
water (^ c. or more). Turn out on a floured board,
pat into a flat cake, roll out ^ inch thick, and spread
the lard over the surface. Sprinkle with flour, fold over
and over, and roll out again into a long narrow strip.
Then roll over and over like a jelly roll, and cut off
from the end as needed. This receipt makes just
enough for two crusts for plates of the usual size. Divide
the dough into two parts, turn each half over on the
side and pat into a round shape. Then roll uniformly,
keepiog the shape circular till it will fit the plate.
PIES WITH xo UNDER CRUST.
Make all fruit pies in a deep earthen dish and without
an under crust. Fill the dish with fruit, add sugar and
cold water. Cut a strip of paste ^ inch wide, wet the
edge of the dish, lay the strip of paste on the wet edge,
wet the paste, then cover with a piece of paste the size
of the top of the dish, press the edges gently, trim and
bake in a hot oven about 30 in., or until the fruit is soft
APPLE PIE.
Wipe and cut sour apples in quarters, remove the
cores and skins, and cut each quarter in two pieces
Jliti BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
lengthwise. Allow 1 tbsp. sugar for an ordinary apple,
and if not juicy add ^ tbsp. water.
RHUBARB PIE.
Wash and cut the stalks into inch-pieces. Allow
y? c. sugar and % c. water to each c. of fruit.
PIES WITH NO UPPER CRUST.
Line a shallow plate with the paste, let it come Y^
inch over the edge, turn the paste under to fit the plate,
and make a scalloped edge by pressing it with the
right forefinger between the thumb and finger of the left
hand; or roll the crust to fit the plate, wet the edge, and
lay a narrow strip of paste on the rim.
SQUASH PIE.
\ l /2 c. squash.
1 c. boiling milk.
y 2 c. sugar.
tsp. salt.
1 ssp. cinnamon.
1 e gg-
a dry mealy squash, stew and sift it, then add
the other materials. Bake 30 m., or until it puffs up
all over.
CUSTARD PIE.
3 eggs.
3 tbsp. sugar.
1 ssp. nutmeg.
3 c. scalded milk.
1 ssp. salt.
Beat the eggs until light, add sugar and salt, and beat
again ; add spice and scalded milk. Strain into the
plate. Bake slowly, and the moment it puffs and a
knife-blade comes out clean it is done.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON XV. 167
PIES WITH Two CRUSTS.
Mince and other pies which are to have both upper
and under crusts should be baked on flat or very shal-
low plates.
Roll each crust to fit the plate that there may be no
waste. The upper crust may be rolled a trifle larger,
and the fulness thrown back into the centre to allow for
the shrinking in baking. Make several holes in the
upper crust of meat pies to let the steam escape.
PLAIN MINCE PIES.
1 c. meat.
2 c. apples.
1 tsp. salt.
1 tsp. cinnamon.
1 tsp. allspice.
2 c. rasns.
^ c. currants.
1 c. of sweet-pickle vinegar, or
^ c. water and juice of
2 lemons.
1 c. brown sugar.
Use any remnants of cold steak or beef, which have
been simmered till tender. Chop fine, the meat, ap-
ples, and the stoned raisins. If you have no sweet-
pickle vinegar boil the plain vinegar, sugar, spice, and
raisins together for 10 m. Then add the other mate-
o
rials and cook until the applet are soft.
LYONNAISE POTATOES.
1 pt. cold boiled potatoes.
^ tsp. salt.
y 2 ssp. pepper.
1 tbsp. ninced onion.
1 tbsp. dripping.
1 tbsp. chopped parsley.
Cut the potatoes into half-inch dice and season with
gait and pepper. Fry the onion in the hot dripping
until light brown, add the potato. Stir with a fork till
they have absorbed the fat. Add the parsley and serve
hot. 1 tsp. of vinegar gives the potatoes a good flavor.
168
BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
CREAMED POTATOES.
1 pt. cold potatoes.
l /2 c. milk,
spk. pepper.
1 tbsp. butter.
Yz tsp. salt.
1 tsp. chopped parsley.
Cut the potatoes into dice or thin slices. Put the
milk into a shallow pan, and when hot add the potatoes
and cook until they have absorbed nearly all the milk.
Add the butter and seasoning, cook 5 m. longer, and
serve hot.
Questions on Lesson XV.
1 . How may cold boiled potatoes
be utilized ?
2. What is parsley ?
3. What happens to our food if
it is left exposed to air and
moisture ?
4. How should groceries and dry
materials be kept ?
5. Why not keep moist articles
in tin ?
6. Why should canned food be
poured at once from the
cans when opened ?
7. Are paper bags suitable to
keep food in ?
8. Why is it better to keep milk
in a shallow pan rather than
in a can ?
9. How are lemons and cranber-
ries best kept ?
10. Shall we keep butter and
onions in the same closet ?
11. How often shall we examine
the bread and cake jars ?
12. Why should we clean the pan
and spout of a refrigerator :
LESSON XVI.
THE ADAPTATION OF FOOD TO AGE, OCCUPA-
TION, CLIMATE, AND MEANS.
WE have learned that we need a variety of food in
our daily diet, and that the selection of food should be
determined by the state of health, and by individual di-
gestive power. Age, occupation, climate, and our means,
should also influence our choice.
Children and growing persons need the most nutri-
tious food, and plenty of it at regular intervals, but
nothing stimulating or exciting. They should be re-
quired to take sufficient time for eating, and should be
taught to masticate everything slowly and thoroughly.
They should eat milk, whole- wheat and corn-meal bread,
oatmeal, farina, wheatena, and hominy mush ; plenty of
ripe fruit, raw and stewed fruit sweetened.
They may have a small portion of beef, mutton, veni-
son, or poultry, either roasted, broiled, or boiled ; baked
potatoes, asparagus, lettuce, celery, and spinach ; green
peas, beans, and sweet corn provided every hull be first
broken or cut. They may eat eggs sparingly, either
plain or in omelets and custards ; plain sponge cake and
ginger-bread ; ice-cream, if eaten slowly and not too hard
and cold ; simple puddings made of fruit and bread,
tapioca or farina ; plain molasses cookies, whole-wheat
cookies and wafers.
172 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Children should avoid eating hot bread and griddle
cakes ; fried meats, fried cakes or doughnuts ; any highly
seasoned food, rich gravies, rich pastry and cake; pickles
and preserves ; sago, arrow-root, aud other starchy foods
except when combined with milk, eggs, or fruit, and eaten
with cream and sugar ; raisins unless stoned and cooked
three hours; and especially veal and pork. They should
not drink tea, coffee, or any other stimulant.
Milk should enter largely into the diet of children.
It contains caseine or flesh-forming material, cream and
sugar, which are heat producers, mineral salts for the
bony structure, and water as a solvent for all the other
materials necessary in nutrition. It should be taken
slowly and with rolls or mush, or sipped by the spoon-
ful. Milk as taken into the stomach is a fluid, but as
soon as it meets the acid of the gastric juice, it is changed
to a soft cheese-like substance. If a large portion of milk
be swallowed suddenly it will form a lump of dense
curd which rolls over and over in the stomach like a
heavy weight, and as the gastric juice can only attack
its surface, it digests slowly. But if taken slowly, the
curd forms in small lumps which break up easily every
time the stomach turns them over, and the gastric juice
readily dissolves them.
All children have a fondness for sugar, which is nat-
ural and should be gratified in moderation, rather than
repressed. Do not give them candy, cake, and sweet-
meats, however, between meals ; but give them occasion-
ally, as a part of the dessert, either pure block sugar,
maple sugar, or simple home-made candies.
Aged 2 )e ople should have a diet much like that of
children, only less abundant. They should eat in small
quantities often and regularly, and eat only plain whole-
LESSON XVI. OCCUPATION, CLIMATE, ETC. 173
some food that may be easily digested. Many of the
ills of old age might be avoided by a simple diet.
Adults may have a variety of wholesome food cooked
in different ways and adapted to their occupation.
Occupation. If the occupation tax the muscular
strength use muscle-making food ; not wholly meat as
many suppose, for you will see by the charts that there
are many foods that contain as much as, or more, pro-
teid matter than meat, namely, peas, beans, cheese, and
some grains.
Those who labor or exercise in the open air need a
large quantity of wholesome food, and it need not be the
most digestible, as they require food that will stay by
them.
Persons engaged in sedentary occupations, or who
take little exercise and live in close, confined rooms,
cannot digest as much, or as easily as those who labor
out of doors. They should have food that contains a
great amount of nutriment in a small compass, and it
should be prepared in the most digestible form. Those
who tax their brains severely, should have some animal
food, and the most digestible forms of starchy and
warmth-giving food, and avoid any excess of fat.
Climate and Season. People who live in cold climates
find it necessary to consume large quantities of fat in
the form of blubber oil and oily fish, as a protection
against the severe cold.
Those in extremely hot climates live on rice with a
small amount of olive oil, flesh, or fish.
Animal food is a better diet for cold weather than for
hot. Fat is not digested easily unless some exercise
be taken. It is therefore a suitable winter diet for labor-
ing people. Fruits, vegetables, aud grains eaten with
174 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
milk, butter, or oil furnish the carbo-hydrates needed in
summer.
Means. People who have only limited means should
choose the foods that contain the greatest amount of nu-
triment for the least money.
It will be seen by the charts that corn meal, whole-
wheat flour, oatmeal, dried peas and beans are
THE CHEAPEST FOODS.
Indian corn is used in many forms. Some varieties
which contain a large proportion of sugar are eaten
green from the cob as a vegetable. The whole grains,
hulled, are eaten as samp, or hulled corn ; broken grains
of various sizes, as hominy ; the ground grains, as either
coarse or fine meal. Cornstarch, a very fine powder,
is prepared from Indian corn. Meal grows musty very
quickly when ground by the old process, owing to the
moisture of the corn and the heat of the stones. In
the new-process, or granulated meal, the corn is first
dried for two years, then ground into coarse grains like
sugar. Corn meal, when cooked, is best made into small
O '
loaves or cakes and eaten hot. It is rich in nitrogen,
and contains more fat than the other grains. This
causes it to attract the oxygen from the air, and spoil
rapidly. It should be purchased in small quantities.
It is suitable for a winter diet and is a cheap, whole-
some food, adapted to strong laboring people, and to
those who are deficient in natural warmth ; but it is
heating for persons with weak digestion, and should not
be given to scrofulous children, or to invalids when there
is any inflammatory condition of the system.
Oatmeal is highly nutritious, being richer in nitrogen
LESSON XVI. CHEAPEST FOOD. 175
than any other grain ; but as it does not contain a tough,
adhesive gluten, like wheat, it is not easily made into
fermented bread. Its nitrogenous matter resembles
caseiue more than gluten, and is called avenin (from
avena, "the oat "). It is used as a mush or porridge, eaten
with sugar and milk. It is rich in food for muscle and
brain, useful for children and laboring people, but irritat-
ing to many people whose digestive powers are weak.
Rye meal and flour are used, more especially in New
England, in the form of bread and mush. Eye is sweeter
than wheat, and makes a moist bread which can be kept
for some time without becoming hard and unpalatable.
Eye should be purchased in small quantities, kept in a
cool dry place, sifted and examined thoroughly before
using.
Barley is used in soups and sometimes in gruels. It
cannot be made into good bread, as it has too little glu-
ten. It is nutritious, being rich in phosphates. It con-
tains starch and mucilage, and in the form of gruel
makes a soothing drink in fevers. The husk is removed,
the grains are ground and polished, and then it is termed
pearl barley.
Buckwheat has less flesh -forming and more heat-giving
elements than wheat. It is therefore suitable only when
used in cold weather and by those who labor hard or
exercise freely. It is used principally in the form of
griddle-cakes. These should be eaten sparingly and not
be depended upon for nourishment. Children should
never eat them. The custom of making a breakfast of
buckwheat cakes and syrup has been the cause of
years of indigestion with many people.
Rice contains very little of the flesh-forming element,
It has more starch and less fat than any other grain.
17G BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
It is cheap, and is largely used by people in very hot
climates. It should always be used with milk, eggs,
or some fatty substance, and is a suitable summer diet.
When rice is cooked in a large quantity of water, some
of the nitrogenous and mineral constituents, of which
rice has but a small amount, are lost in the boiling
water, and unless the water be used for soup, to boil
rice is a wasteful process. Steaming is a much easier
method and more economical.
PEAS AND BEANS.
The seeds of leguminous plants, such as peas and beans,
contain a large proportion of albuminoids in the form
of vegetable caseine. They are deficient in fat, but rich
in mineral matter.
They are used in the green unripe state as a fresh vege-
table. They should be cooked in soft water, using just
enough to soften them, and when done the water should
boil nearly away, and the little that is left should be
served with the vegetables that all the soluble matter
o
may be saved. Green peas and beans are easily digested
if the hulls are broken by a fork or the teeth, but if swal-
lowed whole none of the digestive fluids can penetrate
the hull, and serious illness often results.
The dried varieties are less digestible than the green,
and need long, slow cooking in water to render them
suitable for food. They contain a bitter substance,
which may be removed by soaking and changing the
water.
As they are deficient in potash salts, some authorities
recommend adding a small amount of bicarbonate of
potash to the water in which they are cooked as well as
LESSON XVI. BEANS AND PEAS. 177
to that in which they are soaked. This intikes them
more soluble.
Peas are used for soups or purges ; the split peas are
better than the whole, for the hull being removed they
are more easily cooked and more digestible. Dried
beans are used in soups, bean porridge, and baked with
pork.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
Much valuable information may be given to the pupils,
by means of the charts and museum, but as all schools will
not be furnished with these aids to instruction the teacher
should thoroughly inform herself, and teach the pupils at
each lesson respecting the composition of food, its cost, and
the amount of nutriment as proportioned to the cost.
178 UOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON XVI.
SPLIT-PEA SOUP.
ytt c. dried split peas.
3 c. cold water.
Y Z tbsp. butter.
l / 2 tbsp. flour.
l /2 tsp. sugar.
}/2 tsp. salt.
1 ssp. white pepper.
Milk to thin it.
Pick over and wash the peas. Put them with the
cold water ou the back of the stove. Let them soak
YZ h. then simmer 2 h. or until soft. Eub them through
a fine strainer, and put on to boil again. Add milk or
water to make it like a thick soup. Cook the flour in
the hot butter, and add it to the strained soup when
boiling. Add the seasoning, and serve with croutons
or crisped crackers.
A small slice of onion may be boiled with the peas.
When there is sufficient time the peas should be soaked
before cooking.
SCOTCH BROTH.
y 2 c. pearl barley.
2 Ibs. neck of mutton.
2 qts. cold water.
% c. each of carrot, turnip,
onion, and celery.
2 tbsp. butter or dripping.
1 tbsp. flour.
2 tsp. salt.
1 ssp. white pepper.
1 tbsp. chopped parsley.
Pick over, and soak the barley over night or several
hours in cold water. Wipe the meat with a clean wet
cloth. Remove the fat and skin. Scrape the meat
from the bones and cut it into half-inch dice. Put the
bones on to boil in 1 pt. of cold water, and the meat in
o pt. of cold water. Let the latter boil quickly, and
after it has boiled 20 in. skim off the fat, and then add
the barley. Cut the vegetables into ^ inch dice, fry
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON XVI. 179
them 5m. in 1 tbsp. of the butter, and add them to the
meat. Simmer 3 or 4 hours, or until the meat and
barley are tender. Strain the water in which the bones
have simmered. Cook 1 tbsp. of butter in a saucepan
with 1 tbsp. of flour. When smooth, add the strained
water gradually, and stir into the broth. Add the salt,
pepper, and parsley. Simmer 10 m. and serve without
straining.
STEAMED BROWN BREAD.
1 c. corn meal.
1 c. rye meal.
c. wheat flour.
tsp. soda,
c. molasses.
z c. sweet milk.
^ tsp. salt.
Mix meal, flour, and salt. Mash the soda, sift it into
the meal, and mix thoroughly. Add the molasses and
milk, then beat well and turn into a greased mould,
cover and steam 2% h. Or use small cups, cover with
greased paper, and steam 1 h.
SCALDED CORN CAKE.
% c. fine white corn meal.
1 ssp. salt.
Boiling milk, or water
enough to scald it.
Mix the meal and salt. Stir in boiling milk until
the meal is all swollen and the mixture is thick enough
o
not to spread when put on the griddle. Grease the
griddle with salt pork fat, drop the mixture on with a
tablespoon. Pat the cakes till about y$ of an inch
thick. Cook them slowly, and when browned put a
few drops of fat on the top of each cake and turn them
over. When the other side is browned serve them, and
eat with syrup or in the place of bread with meat.
180
BOSTON 3CIIOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
FRIED CORN-MEAL MUSH.
1 c. corn meal.
^ tsp. salt.
l /2 tbsp. flour.
1 c. cold milk.
1 pt. boiling water.
Mix the meal, salt, and flour, and wet the mixture
with the milk. Stir it gradually into the boiling water.
Stir often, and after 10m. cook it over boiling water for
30 m. Then turn it into a wet bread-pan, and when
cool cut in half-inch slices. Cut each slice in two pieces
and dip them in flour. Fry several slices of breakfast-
bacon or salt pork, drain them, fry the mush in the fat,
and serve the bacon with the mush.
Questions on Lesson XVI.
1. What kinds of food are suita-
ble for children ; old people ;
for those who labor in the
open air ; for those who work
with their brains ; for those
who live in cold climates ?
2. How should milk be taken ?
3. How are beans and peas used ?
4. What are some of the cheapest
foods ?
5. In how manj 7 forms is Indian
corn used. ?
6. "What is its value as food ?
7. How is rye meal used ?
8. What is the best way to cook
rice ?
LESSON XVII.
POULTRY.
THE flesh of poultry has less red blood and is drier
than the flesh of animals. It is not marbled with fat,
and as it abounds in phosphates it is valuable food, par-
ticularly for invalids. The fibres are not closely con-
nected by tough membranes, and are therefore easily
separated and digested.
The best chickens have soft yellow feet, short thick
legs, smooth moist skin, plump breast, and the cartilage
on the end of the breastbone is soft and pliable.
Pin feathers always indicate a young bird and long
hairs an older one. Old fowls have long thin necks
and feet, and sharp scales ; the end of the breastbone is
hard, the flesh has a purplish tinge, and there is usually
a large amount of fat.
To PREPARE A FOWL FOR COOKING.
Pick out the pin feathers, remove the hairs by singe-
ing over a blaze, and wipe with a damp cloth. Cut off
the head, slip the skin back from the neck and cut the
neck off close to the body, leaving skin enough to fold
over on the back. Uemove the windpipe, pull the crop
a\vay from the skin on the neck and breast and cut it
olf close to the body.
Never cut the skin on the breast to remove the crop,
but take it out from the end of the neck. Cut out the
184 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
oil bag in the tail. Make an incision near the vent, in-
sert two fingers, loosen the fat from the skin, and sepa-
rate the membranes lying close to the body. Keep the
fingers up close to the breastbone until you can reach
in beyond the liver and heart, and loosen on either side
down toward the back. This will enable you to avoid
breaking the gall bladder which lies on the left side
under the liver. When the membranes are all loosened,
clasp the fingers round the gizzard and draw everything
out. The kidneys and lungs will not come with the
others, and must be looked for in the hollows near the
backbone and between the ribs. Wipe the chicken in-
side and outside with a damp cloth.
If the chicken is to be baked or boiled ivhole fill the skin
where the crop was with stuffing, and put some inside
the body. Skewer or tie the legs and wings close to
the body.
If the chicken is to be broiled split it down the entire
length of the backbone, before removing the entrails.
If to be stewed or fricasseed, cut off the legs and wings
at the joints. Cut from near the vent through the mem-
brane lying between the end of the breastbone and tail,
down to the backbone, on either side. Then remove the
entrails. Break off the backbone just below the ribs, cut
through the cartilage dividing the ribs, and separate the
collar-bone from the breast.
To clean the giblets : Slip off the thin sac round the
heart and cut out the veins and arteries. Remove the liver
and cut off all that looks green near the gall bladder.
Be careful not to break the gall bladder. Trim off the
fat and membranes from the gizzard, cut through the
thick part, open it and remove the inner lining without
breaking it. Cut off all the white gristle and use only
LESSON XVII. VEAL. 185
the thick fleshy part. The trimmed gizzard, liver, and
heart are all that are used. Wash and soak them in
cold water, then stew them until tender.
VEAL.
The fat of veal should be white and clear, and the
lean meat pink or flesh-color. White veal, or that from
a calf less than six weeks old, is unfit to eat. Veal has
but little juice, flavor, and nutriment, but as the fibres
are tender and it contains much gelatine, it is a favorite
food with many people. It may be cooked in a variety
of ways and is made palatable by the addition of proper
seasoning and savory sauces. It should always be
thoroughly cooked, as under-done veal is not wholesome.
It should never be depended upon for nourishment, but
may be used occasionally to give a variety.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
This will be an expensive lesson if a whole fowl be used
for each of ten lessons, therefore I would suggest that two
fowls be purchased and made to serve for five lessons each.
If three can be afforded, use two for four lessons each, and
the third one for the last two lessons. Keep one fowl whole
as long as possible to use for illustration. Singe half of the
fowl and show how to remove the crop, oil bag, and entrails,
and the kidnev and Inns* from one side.
\J
The pupils have learned how to prepare stuffing in the
fifth lesson ; but it will be well to show them where and how
to stuff a fowl, and also how to truss it for baking, but do
not have them bake it.
From the half of the fowl that has been cleaned take off
the leg and wing, and use these for a fricassee in the first
lesson. Use the other leg and wing in the second lesson.
186 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
The second day split the fowl down the back and use half
the breast and half the back for each of the third and fourth
lessons. Use the second fowl in the same way for the next
four lessons, and for the fifth day use half the third fowl at
each lesson. This will enable you to have at each lesson a
whole fowl or half of one for illustration, and show how to
bake a fowl and also how to make soup and fricassee at each
lesson.
Proportion the receipt for the chicken soup and fricassee,
according to the amount of fowl used. Simmer the por-
tions of fowl until tender, brown them in hot fat, and serve
on toast or not, as you please. Reserve part of the broth
and put it with the bones and boil again for soup. For the
soup use as much milk as chicken broth, boil it, thicken
with flour in the proportion of ^ tbsp. of flour to 1 c. of
liquid and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with
croutons or crisped crackers.
This lesson may be given as a dinner and the pupils may
have some practice in estimating its cost (see table of cost
of food, pages 223-225), and may become familiar with the
time required for its preparation, and with the proper order
of work.
In the spring classes, veal may be substituted for chicken,
cream rice pudding for the scalloped apple, steamed rhu-
barb for the cranberries, and lettuce for the cold slaw.
KECEIPTS FOR LESSON XVII. 187
i
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON XVII.
CHICKEN FRICASSEE.
Clean the chicken, and at the joints cut into pieces
for serving. Cover with boiling water, add 2 tsp. salt
and I ssp. pepper.
Simmer till the meat is tender. Eemove the large
bones and cook them again in the water. Dredge the
meat with flour and brown in hot dripping. Put on
toast on a hot dish.
Strain the broth, and remove the fat. To 1 c. chicken
broth add 1 c. milk and thicken with 2 tbsp. flour
cooked in 1 tbsp. butter, as directed for white sauce.
Add more salt and pepper if needed, and 1 ssp. celery
salt and 1 tsp. lemon juice.
VEAL FRICASSEE.
The ends of the ribs, the breast, the neck, and the
smaller part of the knuckle may be utilized in a stew
or fricassee.
Cut the meat, 2 Ibs., in small pieces and remove all
the fine crumbly bones. Dredge with flour and brown
it in dripping or salt pork fat. Cover the meat with
boiling water, skim as it begins to boil, and add 2 small
onions, 1 tsp. salt, and 1 ssp. pepper. Simmer until
very tender. Eemove the larger bones, add a flour
thickening and more seasoning if necessary. Cook 10
in., add }4 c - of llu ^k and 1 tbsp. of butter.
Potatoes and dumplings may be cooked with the veal
if a stew be desired.
188 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
CRANBERRIES.
1 c. cranberries. ^ c. cold water.
Y 2 c. sugar.
Pick over and wash the cranberries, put them in a
granite saucepan, sprinkle the sugar on top of them,
pour on the water, and after they begin to boil cook
them 10 m., closely covered, and do not stir them.
Push them down with a wooden spoon if they are in-
clined to boil over. The berries will be tender, will
jelly when cold, and are much nicer than when sifted.
STEAMED BHUBARB.
1 c. rhubarb. | y 2 c. sugar.
Wash the rhubarb and cut into inch-pieces. Put it
into a granite double boiler, sprinkle the sugar over it
and steam until soft. Do not stir it.
CABBAGE OR COLD SLAW.
1 c. shaved cabbage.
1 tsp. salt.
YZ tsp. mustard,
spk. cayenne.
1 egg.
DO*
^ c. milk.
] tbsp. butter.
^ c. vinegar.
1 tbsp. sugar.
Trim off the decayed leaves, cut into quarters, soak
awhile in cold water, drain, cut off the hard stalk, then
slice or shave it off in thin strips. Mix the salt, mustard,
cayenne, and sugar, add the beaten egg, the milk, butter,
and vinegar. Cook it in a small saucepan over the
fire, or in a double boiler, stirring constantly until it
thickens like a custard. Pour it while hot over the
cabbage and set away to cool.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON XVII. 189
LETTUCE.
Pick off each leaf and wash it separately in cold
water; remove any decayed portions, drain arid arrange
in a deep dish, the outside leaves on the edge and the
inner ones in the centre. Serve with salt, pepper, oil,
and vinegar, and sugar if preferred, or with a dressing
like that given with cold slaw.
SCALLOPED APPLE.
c. suar.
ssp. cnnamon.
lemon rind grated.
c. butter.
_
1 c. soft bread crumbs.
3 c. sliced apples.
Mix the sugar, cinnamon, and lemon rind. Melt
the butter and stir it into the crumbs. Butter a pud-
ding-dish, put in }/ of the crumbs, ^ of the apple, and
sprinkle with ]/ 2 of the sugar. Then put in another
layer of crumbs, apple, and sugar and the remaining
half of the crumbs on the top. If the apples are not very
tart add the lemon juice to each layer ; and if they
are not juicy add ^ c. of cold water. Bake slowly,
covered at first, and when the apples are soft remove
the cover and brown the crumbs. Serve with cream.
You may use ripe berries in place of the apples, ami
oatmeal or wheat mush in place of the bread crumbs.
CREAM RICE PUDDING.
2 tbsp. rice.
2 tbsp. sugar.
2 c. milk.
spk. salt.
^2 SS P- nutmeg.
Pick over and wash the rice. Put it in a shallow
baking-dish. Dissolve the sugar and salt in the milk,
190
BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
add the nutmeg, and pour it over the rice. Bake slowly
the first half hour, stirring often, then increase the heat
and cook until the rice is tender and slightly browned.
Serve hot with butter. Raisins may be added, if
preferred.
Questions on Lesson XVII.
1. How does the flesh of poultry
differ from that of animals ?
2. How would you prepare a fowl
for a fricassee ?
3. What parts of a fowl are not
used as food ?
4. Why should veal be thoroughly
cooked ?
5. How do cranberries grow ?
6. How should they be cooked ?
7. What part of a plant is rhu-
barb ; lettuce ; cabbage ?
LESSON XVIII.
FISH.
FISH, on account of its abundance, cheapness, and
wholesomeness, is invaluable as an article of food. It
is pound for pound less nutritious and less stimulating
than meat, but is rich in phosphorus and has a large
proportion of nitrogenous material. The white varieties,
like flounder, halibut, cod, and haddock, have the oil in
the liver, and are the cheapest and most digestible.
Red-blooded fish, like salmon, mackerel, and blue-fish,
have the oil distributed through the body, and the flesh
is dark. They are nutritious for those who can digest
them, but they are too rich and oily for invalids.
Fish should be perfectly fresh and thoroughly cooked,
or it will be very indigestible and sometimes poisonous.
The flesh of good fresh fish is firm and hard ; if not
fresh it will be soft and flabby.
Fish, after being dressed at the market, should be
cleaned by scraping, if necessary, and by wiping with a
cloth wet in cold salted water. As they are slippery
to handle, dip the fingers into salt while dressing them.
Fish may be cooked in a variety of ways, but broiling
and baking are the. most wholesome methods. Small
fish and pieces of large white fish are good if fried,
oily fish should never be fried.
13
19-i BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT- BOOK.
. .. _ _ _
Suggestion to the Teacher.
It will be impossible in twenty lessons to give more than
one lesson on fish ; but several ways of cooking may be
shown from one fish, then, by following the general direc-
tions as given in the receipts, the pupils may cook any kind
of fish at home.
For the lesson : Procure a haddock, weighing 2^ or 3
Ibs., also a cod's head. Have the fish cleaned, but left
whole. Show how it may be stuffed and prepared for bak-
ing. Then cut off the head and end near the tail, and re-
serve them with the cod's head for a chowder. Cut off the
thick end as far down as the opening, fill the inside with
stuffing proportioned after the rule on page 197. Sew and
bake, or steam it, in milk enough to baste it. Cut off a square
piece from the thicker end remaining, and strip off the skin ;
remove the flesh from the bone, and keep it as whole as pos-
sible, and prepare it according to the directions for fried
fish, dipping it in batter instead of in egg. Save all the
remainder of the fish, scrape the small bits from the bones,
and use these with the bones for a chowder. A small por-
tion of fish may be steamed for fifteen minutes, between two
buttered plates.
Any pieces of cooked fish may be freed from bones and
skin, moistened with white or tomato sauce, covered with
buttered crumbs and baked. See directions for scalloped
meat, pages 73, 77.
LESSON XVIII. BROILED FISH. 195
RECEIPTS FOR COOKING FISH.
BROILED FISH.
To broil mackerel, white fish, small blue-fish, trout,
small cod, shad, or any other thin fish, split them down
the back, and remove the head and tail. Sometimes it
is well to remove the backbone also.
To broil halibut, salmon, and other thick fish, cut
them into inch-slices across the backbone, and remove
the skin and bone. Cut flounder, bass, and chicken
halibut into fillets, or the natural divisions each side of
the bone. Oily fish need only salt and pepper, but dry,
white fish should be spread with soft butter before
broiling.
Grease a double wire broiler with salt pork rind.
Put the thickest edge of the fish next the middle of the
broiler ; broil the flesh side first until it is brown, lift-
ing it up often that it may not burn. Cook the other
side just enough to crisp the skin. The time will vary
with the thickness of the fish.
The flesh, when done, should look white and firm,
and should separate easily from the bone. Loosen the
fish from each side of the broiler, open the broiler and
slide off the fish, or hold a platter over the skin side of
the fish, and invert platter and broiler together. Season
with butter, salt, and pepper, and lemon juice, if liked.
Some acid condiment is usually agreeable with fish.
BAKED FISH.
Cod, haddock, blue-fish, small salmon, bass, and shad,
may be stuffed and baked whole.
19G BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Clean, wipe, and dry the fish, rub with salt, fill with
stuffing, and sew the edges together. Cut gashes two
inches apart on each side. Put narrow strips of fat salt
pork in the gashes, and in the pan under the fish. Place
the fish upright in the pan by propping it up with pota-
toes, or by skewering the head one way and the tail the
other. Dredge the fish with flour. Put it into a hot
oven without water; when the flour is brown, baste
with the pork fat, and baste often. It is done when
the flesh separates easily from the bone. Remove it
carefully to a hot platter, draw out the strings or skew-
ers, and serve with drawn butter or egg sauce.
Thick pieces of halibut or cod may be stuffed, or not,
and baked in the same way. Fish may also be baked
in milk enough to cover the bottom of the pan. When
cooked in this way no pork or flour is needed. The
milk keeps the fish moist, and makes it brown better.
It is a good substitute for pork, and is especially nice
for any dry, white fish.
BOILED FISH.
To boil nicely, without breaking, fish should be of
uniform thickness. A small salmon, or the middle cut
of a large one, or the thickest part of cod or blue-fish,
or a thick piece of halibut, should be selected for
boiling.
The most economical way is to cook the fish in a
steamer over boiling water. If that is not convenient,
put the fish in a wire basket, or on a plate, and the
plate in a square of cloth ; when done lift cloth, plate,
and fish together. Put the fish into boiling salted water,
and let it simmer (not boil) till done. The time will
LESSON XVIII. FRIED FISH. 1 ( ,7
vary with the shape of the fish. See time-table for
boiling, page 39. Boiled fish should be well drained
and be served with a rich sauce.
FRIED FISH.
Smelts, perch, trout, and other small pan fish may be
fried whole. Cod, halibut, and other thick fish should
be skinned and boned and cut into slices one inch
thick and two or three inches square. Fish for frying
should be thoroughly cleaned, dried, and seasoned with
salt, then covered with flour, or fine meal, or fine bread
crumbs, then dipped in beaten egg, then in crumbs
again. Or they may be dipped in flour paste instead
of egg, before dipping in the crumbs. Fry in deep,
smoking hot fat, or in a small amount of hot salt pork
fat, from two to five minutes. Drain on paper, and
serve with tomato sauce. The fat for frying fish should
be hot enough to brown a bit of bread while you count
O v
40.
STUFFING FOR BAKED FISH.
Weighing from four to six pounds.
1 c. cracker crumbs.
1 ssp. salt.
1 ssp. pepper.
1 tsp. chopped onion.
1 tsp. chopped parsley.
1 tsp. capers.
1 tsp. pickles.
1 c. melted butter.
This makes a dry, crumbly stuffing. If a moist stuff-
ing be desired, moisten the crackers with cold water, or
use stale (uot dried) bread crumbs, and moisten with
one beaten egg and the butter.
It is not necessary to have all the seasoning given in
the receipt, but some acid, like pickles, lemon, or vin-
egar, is more agreeable than sweet herbs, in a stuffing
for fish.
19S BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
DRAWN-BUTTER SAUCE.
1 pt. hot water or milk.
Yi c. butter, scant.
2 tbsp. flour.
Yt tsp. salt.
Yt ssp. pepper.
Put half the butter in a saucepan ; be careful not to
let it become brown ; when melted add the dry flour,
and mix well. Add the hot water, a little at a time,
and stir rapidly as it thickens. When perfectly smooth
add the remainder of the butter, one small piece at a
time, and stir till it is absorbed. Add the salt and
pepper. When carefully made, this sauce should be
free from lumps ; but if not smooth, strain it before
serving.
For sauce for boiled fish use the water in which the
fish was boiled.
Egg Sauce. Add to the drawn butter two or three
hard boiled eggs, either chopped or sliced.
FISH CHOWDER.
1 lb. cod or haddock.
1 inch cube salt pork.
Yt onion.
2 potatoes,
spk. pepper.
1 tbsp. flour.
1 tbsp. butter.
1 c. milk.
2 crackers.
1 tsp. salt.
Cook the fish bones and head half an hour, then strain
the water. Cut the salt pork and onion into dice, and
fry till light brown. Slice the potatoes, scald them
5 in., pour off the water, add the strained pork fat,
and the bone water. When boiling add the fish, sim-
mer 10 m., or until the potatoes are tender. Add the
seasoning, and the butter, flour, and milk cooked to-
gether as for white sauce ; serve with crackers.
QUESTIONS ON LESSON XVIII.
199
SALT FISH BALLS.
1 c. potatoes.
^ c. salt fish.
1 tsp. butter.
spk. pepper.
Fat for frying.
Wash the fish and shred it into half-inch pieces.
Pare the potatoes, and if large cut into quarters. Put
the potatoes and fish in a stew-pan and cover with boil-
ing water. Cook 25 m., or until potatoes are soft.
Drain very dry, mash fine, add butter, seasoning, and
beaten egg. Beat well, shape on a spoon, drop into
smoking hot fat, fry till brown and drain on paper.
The same mixture may be cooked as hash.
Questions on Lesson XVIII.
1. Why is fish a valuable food ?
2. How does fish compare with
meat ?
3. How do the white varieties of
fish differ from the dark or
red-blooded fish ?
4. Which are better for invalids ?
5. What is the test for the fresh-
ness of fish ?
6. How may salt cod be used ?
7. What kinds of fish may be
baked ?
8. Which are best broiled ; fried ;
boiled ?
9. How do you prepare fish -for
frying ?
10. Why is it necessary to have
the fat smoking hot ?
11. How do you make a fish
chowder ?
LESSON XIX.
EGGS.
SOME people consider it extravagant to use many eggs
in cooking. It is extravagant to use them unnecessarily,
that is, to use four in a place where one would answer
the same purpose, as in muffins or corn cake, or to use
them in the ways in which we get the least good from
them, as in rich, heavy cake, or to use them freely in
the season when they cost the most. But in the spring,
when the price is IOW T , they may be used in any of the
simple ways of boiling, poaching, etc., or in plain cake
and custards and other wholesome combinations. Eggs
are nutritious and contain all the elements we need in
food ; but as they are too highly concentrated we must
supply what they lack by using bread, rice, butter, or
milk with them.
The shells of newly-laid eggs are almost full, but as
the shells are porous, on exposure to the air the water
inside evaporates, and the eggs grow 7 lighter, while air
entering in fills the place of the water, and causes the
elements in the egg to change, and the eggs soon spoil.
This explains why a good fresh egg is heavy and will
sink in water, and why a stale egg is lighter, lias a rat-
tling or gurgling sound, and floats in the water.
Eggs should be kept in a cool dark place and handled
carefully, as any jarring motion may rupture the mem-
202 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
brane which separates the white from the yolk, and if
they become mixed, the egg spoils quickly. Anything
which will entirely exclude the air from the eggs will
help to keep them.
OYSTERS.
Oysters are used more extensively and are more
highly prized than any other shell-fish. They are easily
digested when fresh and only slightly cooked, but when
over-cooked they are tough and leathery.
They contain so little nutriment, however, in propor-
tion to their cost, that they are a very expensive food,
and are more suitable for a convalescent, or to give
variety, than to furnish vigor for either brain or muscular
effort.
LOBSTERS.
The city markets are now so well supplied with these
delicious shell-fish that they may be obtained in good
condition all the year, but they are usually cheaper in
the spring. Lobsters are put alive into boiling salted
water, and cooked twenty minutes from the time the
water boils. The shells are dark green when alive, but
turn bright red when put into boiling water.
Lobsters should not be eaten until cold, and should
never be kept more than eighteen hours after boiling.
They have been considered difficult of digestion, prob-
ably on account of their being eaten when not fresh, or
with an excess of condiments, or in unwholesome com-
binations ; for it has been proved repeatedly that per-
sons whose digestive organs are weak can eat plain
lobster without any unpleasant effect.
LESSON XIX. CAKE. 203
CAKE MAKING AND BAKING.
It is riot our purpose to give much time or attention
to cake making in these lessons. There is little danger
of this branch of cooking being neglected ; and gratifying
as it would be to school-girls generally, to make cake in
every lesson, there are so many more important things
to learn, that this subject must be kept in the back-
ground. It is well for girls to emulate their mother's
and grandmother's skill in cooking, but not in the art of
making " eleven kinds of cake for a party."
There are really only two kinds of cake, those with
butter and those without. If you understand the pro-
per methods of mixing and how to regulate the baking,
you will be successful with any reliable receipt.
You have become familiar with the general rules for
batters and doughs ; and the principles underlying these
apply in cake making, only in the latter a greater
amount of butter and sugar is used, and there is some
variation in the manner of mixing.
Batter cakes, or those made with butter, include all
the varieties of cup cake, pound cake, fruit cake, etc.
There are two ways of mixing. First, soften the butter
and rub it to a cream, add the sugar and beat both until
creamy ; beat the yolks till light-colored and thick, thi'ii
beat them into the sugar and butter. Mix the soda,
cream of tartar, and spice with the Hour; then add milk
and flour alternately, beati'iit-' well, and lastlv add the
/ 7 /
whites beaten stiff. All butter cakes should lie beaten
just before being poured into the pan until smooth and
fine-grained. If fruit is used, Hour it well to keep it
from sticking, and add it last.
204 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
The second and easier way of mixing plain cake is
similar to that of mixing breakfast cakes. Tut the flour
in the mixing bowl, and sift and mix with it the soda,
cream of tartar, and spice. Add the sugar and mix
thoroughly. Beat the yolks, add the milk, and stir this
into the flour mixture. Then stir in the butter melted,
and the stiffly beaten whites last, and beat all together
vigorously, just before putting it into the pans.
Sponge Cakes. These are made without butter, and
when quite rich contain only eggs, sugar, flavoring, and
flour. A cheaper kind is made by using some liquid,
usually water, and more flour, and substituting soda and
cream of tartar for part of the eggs. In mixing, beat the
yolks of the eggs until light and thick, add the sugar,
flavoring, and water, then the flour mixed w r ith the soda
and cream of tartar, and lastly the beaten whites of the
eggs. When only eggs, sugar, and flour are used, there
must be vigorous beating of the yolks and sugar, and no
beating at all after the whites and flour are added,
only a mixing of the ingredients.
Baking Cake. Do not attempt to make cake unless
you can have entire control of the fire. It should be
rather low, but sufficient to heat the oven moderately.
^ '
and to last without replenishing through the entire
baking. Thin cakes require a hotter oven than those
baked in thick loaves. Cakes made with baking-powders
or soda and cream of tartar should bake more quickly
than pound cake or sponge cake made light with eggs
alone. Cakes with molasses in them require a quick
oven, but as they burn quickly they must be baked with
care ; whichever kind you are baking, ascertain from the
time-table on page 155 the time required and divide it
into quarters. Look at it quickly, within five minutes
LESSON XIX. --BAKING CAKE. 205
During the first quarter of the time the cake should
merely rise and not brown.
If it brown before rising, the oven is too hot and must
be cooled. It should continue to rise on the edges dur-
ing the second quarter and begin to brown in spots. In
the third quarter it should rise in the centre and become
all over a rich golden brown, and perhaps crack a little
in the middle. In the last quarter it should settle to a
level, brown in the crack and shrink from the pan.
During the first and second quarter the cake may be
moved carefully if necessary, but in the third quarter, or
when it is fully risen but not stiffened by the heat, there
is danger of its falling, and it is better to protect it by
a paper hood l than to move it. Slamming the oven
door will often cause the cake to fall.
Cake is done when it shrinks from the pan and stops
hissing, or when a straw inserted in the centre comes
out clean.
Loosen the edges of the cake with a knife and turn
the pan over carefully upon a cloth laid over a bread
cooler or sieve.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
In this lesson, use oysters in the fall and lobster in the
spring. One or two receipts will he sufficient for illustra-
tion. Make the smallest possible quantity of cake. The
receipt for plain cake may be halved. Poach one egg to
show how it is done, then cook the same egg longer until
hard and use it in making the e<rg vermicelli.
1 Crease a piece of stiff paper on each end so that the e, Jges will
rest on the oven bottom, and the top of the paper will be at least an
inch above the cake.
206 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
RECEIPTS FOB LESSON XIX.
PLAIN CAKE.
^ c. butter.
1 c. sugar.
2 eggs.
y, c. milk.
1 tsp. baking-powder.
\Y^ c. flour.
1 ssp. spice, or
/2
tsp. flavoring.
See that the fire and oven are right, and have all the
ingredients at hand. Line the pans with buttered paper.
Mix the baking-powder and spice with the flour. Sepa-
rate the eggs. Measure the butter, rub it till creamy,
add the sugar, and in scraping out the sugar take all
the butter that has adhered to the cup. Beat well, add
the well-beaten yolks and the flavoring. Einse out the
yolk with the milk, then add milk and flour alternately,
and the whites, beaten to a stiff froth, last. Beat well,
bake in a shallow pan about 20 m., or until it shrinks
from the pan.
Vary the cake by adding y 2 c. currants, or nuts
chopped fine, or by coloring a part with dark spices or
chocolate.
WATER SPONGE CAKE.
3 tbsp. cold water.
^ c. flour.
1 even tsp. baking-powder.
c. sugar.
y 2 tep. lemon juice.
Beat the yolk of the egg, add the sugar and beat
again, add the lemon juice and water, then the flour in
which the baking-powder has been mixed, and lastly
the whites beaten stiff. Bake in a small shallow pan,
or in scalloped tins.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON XIX. 207
FROSTING.
1 c. powdered sugar. 1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbcp. boiling water. (not extract).
Add a few drops more of boiling water until it is
thin enough to settle when you stop stirring.
A little melted chocolate may be used to give variety.
DROPPED OR POACHED EGGS ON TOAST.
Toast a slice of bread for each egg and trim neatly.
Have a clean shallow pan nearly full of salted boiling
water. Eemove all the scum and let the water simmer.
Break each egg carefully into a saucer, and slip it
gently into the simmering water. Dip the water over
them with a spoon, and when a film has formed over
the yolk and the white is firm, take each egg up with a
skimmer, drain, trim off any rough edges, and place it on
the toast. Sprinkle salt and pepper on each egg.
OMELET.
2 eggs. 1 ssp. salt.
2 tbsp. milk. 1 ssp. pepper.
Beat the yolks of the eggs till light-colored and
creamy, add the milk, salt, and pepper. Beat the whites
till they are stiff and dry. Cut and fold them lightly
into the yolks till just covered. Have a clean smooth
omelet pan or small spider. When hot, rub it round
the edge with 1 tsp. of butter on a broad knife; let the
butter run all over the pan, and when bubbling turn in
the omelet quickly and spread it evenly on the pan.
Lift the pan from the hottest part of the fire and cook
208 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK
carefully, until slightly browned underneath. Put it
on the oven grate to dry but not to brown on the top.
When dry in the centre run a knife round the edge,
then under the half nearest the handle and fold over
toward the right. Hold the edge of a hot platter
against the lower edge of the pan, and invert the omelet
upon the platter.
EGG VERMICELLI.
Separate the yolk from the white of hard-boiled eggs.
Chop the white fine, and mix it with a little hot milk
or thin white sauce. Season with salt and pepper, pour
it on toast, and rub the yolk through a strainer over
the top.
To PREPARE OYSTERS FOR COOKING.
Pour y 2 c. cold water over 1 qt. of oysters ; then with
clean hands take out the oysters separately, and remove
any bits of shell or sea-weed. Serious accidents have
often resulted from the presence of pieces of shell. The
oyster liquor is seldom used, as enough comes from the
oysters in cooking, but if desired it should be strained
before using.
To PARBOIL OYSTERS IN THEIR LIQUOR.
Put them iri a saucepan without water; stir them,
or shake the pan slightly ; as soon as heated, sufficient
liquor comes from them to keep them from burning.
When the edges curl and the oysters look plump in-
stead of flat, they are cooked. It takes but a few
minutes, and care must be taken not to over-cook them.
LESSON XIX. OYSTERS. 209
When seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter it is called
a, plain r octet ; if put on toast, a fancy roast.
FRIED OYSTERS.
Season large prepared oysters with salt and pepper.
Uoll them iii fine cracker crumbs. Melt a little butter
in a frying-pan. Brown the oysters on each side and
serve very hot. Or cover with fine bread crumbs, egg,
and crumbs, and fry in deep, smoking hot fat.
STEWED OYSTERS.
1 c. milk scalded.
1 pt. oysters.
ssp. pepper,
tbsp. butter.
When the milk is scalding hot, put the prepared oys-
ters in another saucepan and heat them until the edges
curl ; add the pepper, butter, and salt, if needed, and
the hot milk. Serve at once.
SCALLOPED OYSTERS.
1 pt. oysters.
1 c. cracker crumbs,
c. melted butter.
1
tsp. salt,
ssp. pepper.
Prepare the oysters and season them with the salt
and pepper. Stir the crumbs in the butter with a fork.
Butter a shallow dish, put in J/ of the crumbs, then ' a
of the oysters, another l / of the crumbs, the remaining
oysters, and a thick layer of crumbs on the top. Bake
20 m., or until the crumbs are brown and the juice
bubbles up on the edges.
In doubling the rule do not double the crackers, for
u
210 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
it takes no more for the lower and upper layers, only
for the middle layer. Half as many more will be
sufficient.
To SELECT AND OPEN LOBSTERS.
Choose one that is heavy, of medium size, with a hard
shell streaked with black.
Wipe it, break off the claws, separate the tail from
the body, and the under part of the body from the shell.
Remove the meat from the tail, claws, and the body,
save the green liver and the coral, but be careful to
discard the vein in the tail, and also the gills, stomach,
and head.
PLAIN LOBSTER.
Cut the meat into small pieces and mix the liver
with it ; dry the coral and rub it through a strainer
over the meat. Serve with vinegar, melted butter, or
with cold slaw dressing ; or mash the liver to a smooth
paste, season it with salt and pepper. Thin it with
oil or melted butter and vinegar and pour it over the
lobster.
STEWED LOBSTER.
Cut the lobster fine. Allow ^ c. milk to 1 pt. lob-
ster. Heat the milk, add the lobster, 1 tbsp. butter,
and a little pepper. Boil up once and serve plain or on
crisped crackers.
Cook the lobster just long enough to heat it, as longer
cooking renders it tough.
QUESTIONS ON LESSON XIX.
211
Questions on Lesson XIX.
1. When is it extravagant to use
eggs?
2. "What should be eaten with
eggs?
3. Why is a fresh egg heavier
than a stale egg ?
4. Does it injure eggs to handle
them roughly even if the
shell is not broken ?
5. What is the value of oysters
as food ?
6. How may they be cooked ?
7. How are lobsters prepared for
the table ?
8. What are the two principal
varieties of cake ?
9. How are butter cakes mixed ?
10. How are sponge cakes mixed?
11. What is the general rule for
all cake baking ?
LESSON XX.
LAYING THE TABLE.
THESE directions are not intended merely for occa-
sional dinners. They are for eveiy-day home life ; and
though every detail may not be adapted to all families,
yet any housekeeper, no matter how limited her means,
who has a table, a cloth to cover it, and dishes for food,
may follow the principal suggestions. Habits of order
and neatness may be cultivated at a pine table, with
twenty-five cent table-linen, and the cheapest crockery.
Meals may be served in a proper way, even if one can-
not follow every change which fashion may suggest.
Place the centre of the cloth in the centre of the
table, and have the middle fold outside, and straight
with the edge of the table. A spotless cloth, smooth and
straight, is essential to the enjoyment of a meal. Lay a
plate, right side up, for each person, one plate at each end,
and those at the sides opposite each other. At break-
fast and dinner, or when hot plates are needed, place
them all in a pile, in front of the one who is to serve.
Lay the knife with the sharp edge toward the plate, the
tumbler with the top up, and the butter-plate at the
right of each plate ; the fork with tines up and the
napkin, at the left; the spoons with the handles toward
the right, in front of the plate. Place a small dish at
the left corner, to be used for potato skins, bones, egg
shells, hot rolls, etc., to prevent soiling the cloth.
214 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Fruit or flowers, if used, should occupy the centre of
the table. The salt and pepper, vinegar and oil, pickles
or jelly, butter, etc., place at the corners. Lay a soup-
ladle in front of the hostess, the handle toward the
right ; the carving knife, steel, and fork, on the carving-
rests in front of the host ; the butter-knife beside the
butter, and two large tablespoons crosswise, at opposite
corners. Have spoons, or knives and forks, suitable
and sufficient in number for each dish to be served.
Arrange the various dishes on the table in regular
order, straight with the table, and exactly in front of
those who are to serve them ; or if at an angle, let there
be some uniformity. The cups, plates, and dishes for
hot food should be heated.
At breakfast or supper, arrange in a semicircle in
front of the hostess the tea or coffee, tray-bowl, spoon-
glass, sugar-bowl, cream-pitcher, and hot water, with
the cups and saucers inside the circle.
Finger-bowls are by some people considered a luxury,
and are not usually placed on the table until the des-
sert ; but there are other occasions when they are
equally necessary, and there is no reason why they
should not be used. They may be put on at the left
of the plate, at the beginning of the meal. When fruit
is used as a first course at breakfast, and when sweet
corn is served on the cob, finger-fowls are almost
indispensable.
Arrange the chairs so far away that they will not
have to be drawn out when the family are being
seated.
In announcing the meal, do not ring the bell when
there are invited guests, but tell the hostess that dinner,
or whatever, the meal may be, is served. In simple
LESSCX XX. WAITING ON THE TABLE. 215
family life a be-11 is allowable, but it would be better to
tf
have a regular hour for each meal, and then for each
member to come promptly at the hour.
WAITING ON THE TABLE.
The want of a maid to wait on the table is no excuse
for the sort of every-one-for-himself stvle of servin^
*f */ O
which is too often seen. Children, boys as well as girls,
should be taught and allowed to help in the serving,
even if one have a waitress. If they can have a daily
share in the duties, filling the glasses, passing butter or
sauce, removing the dishes between the courses, etc.,
nothing will give them more ease and self-possession
when unexpectedly called to fill the place of mother or
father at the- table, or better help to counteract the evil
habits of hurried eating and indifference to the wants of
others, or better enable them to direct if they should
ever have homes and domestics of their rwn. The
following general directions may be adapted to any
Myle of living.
If the serving be done wholly by the family, special
pains should be taken, in laying the table, to provide
everything necessary, that there may be no occasion to
leave the table. Spoons for tea or sauce may be laid
at the plates, butter-plates and glasses filled, and other
thiiv's made ready before the family are seated.
*/ i/
At breakfast, nearly every one wants coffee or other
drink first, and there should be no undue haste in pa -
ing the substantiate until these have been served. As-
certain the preference of each one as to sugar and (Team,
and put them in the cups, instead of passing them
separate! v.
216 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Do not fill the plates indiscriminately, and send them
to go the round of the table, but consult individual tastes
or needs, and give each one the opportunity of choice
as to the various dishes. Serve first those whom you
wish most to honor.
It makes less confusion for some one to sit near the
one who carves, and to help to the vegetables and vari-
ous dishes that are to be served on the same plate with
the meat, instead of passing them back and forth.
Be careful to pass all the accompaniments with the
principal dishes, the butter and syrup with hot cakes,
the cream and sugar with mush and fruit, the condi-
ments and relishes where they are needed, etc., and
avoid having many things passing round at the same
time.
There are many families where the lady of the house
is the only person who can leave the table to arrange
for the change of courses, but if there be other and
O
younger members of the family capable of ruch service,
it should be performed by them. No girl, old enough
to carry a dish without breaking it, should ever permit
her mother to leave the table for any such purpose. A
side table on castors may be placed within easy reach,
and will save much confusion in family serving.
Whether the waitress be one trained to the work, or
one of the children, the same rules will apply. The
waitress should remove the cover from the tureen or
any other dish, turning it over deftly so it will not drip
on the cloth, and lav it on the side table. Stand at the
*/
left of the one who is serving, and take on the tray each
plate in turn to the one for whom it is intended.
In passing a plate of soup or meat, set it on the tablb
in front of the person ; the cup of coffee or any other
LESSON XX. WAITING ON THE TABLE. 2l7
drink place at the right hand, and thus avoid reaching
across the plate, and also relieve the one at the table
from the awkwardness of taking the dish from the tray.
But in passing vegetables or any dishes from which a
person is to take a portion, pass them on the tray at the
left, that it may be taken with the right hand. The
tray should be held firmly, and low and near enough
that the dish may be within easy reach. Put the dishes
back on the table in their places, and keep everything
on the table in good order.
In passing a plate hold it so the thumb will not rest
on the upper surface. In filling glasses, take the <Jr.s.s
near the bottom, never with the hand over the top, draw
it to the edge of the table, but do not remove it, and lili
only three-quarters full. When a change of plates is
required, remove the plate on the table with the left
hand, before attempting to put the other plate in its
place.
%
At a dinner of many courses, as soon as a guest has
finished the course remove his plate; but at the family
dinner do not remove any plates until all are through.
When one course is finished, take the tray in one hand,
and with the other remove from the left all the spoons,
or knives and forks ; this will prevent the danger of
dropping them if taken away on the plates, and make less
confusion in washing. Take away the plates, never more
than one in each hand; and also everything not needed
for the next course. Before the dessert, remove the
crumbs with a broad knife or scraper into a plate.
After a meal, first set the chairs in their places, and
always brush up the crumbs that may have fallen, lest
they be trodden into the carpet. In clearing a break-
fa-t or tea table, where therp lias been no change of
'21S BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
courses, remove the glasses and silver first. Put any
food that may be used again on small dishes, never on
the table dishes. Scrape the dishes, empty and rinse
the cups, and neatly pack together those of a kind, near
where they are to be washed. Brush the crumbs from the
cloth, fold it in the creases, and put it away carefully.
TABLE MANNERS.
There is no place where it is more essential, or where
there is a better opportunity to observe the golden rule,
than at the daily home table.
" If you please," and " No, I thank you," are in far
better taste than " Yes, thanks," and " No, thanks."
Accept what is offered or placed before you ; but should
your preference be asked, and you have any, it is allow-
able to name it at once. When a plate has been filled for
you, keep it, and do not from mistaken courtesy pass it
to the next person. Make some sign of acknowledgment
for what is served you, either by an inclination of the
head or a quiet " thank you," whether it be offered by
those presiding at the table or by the waitress. Cour-
tesy to all, and especially to a child or a servant, should
be the daily habit.
In family serving, wait until all are helped before
you begin to eat, and be on the alert to assist in the
serving as much as possible. But where there are
trained waiters and several courses, begin as soon as
you are helped that there may be no delay.
Keep the spoon in the saucer, because if left in the
cup, both are liable to be overturned.
Do not talk or drink while food is in the mouth.
Take your soup quietly, from the side of the spoon,
LESSON XX. TABLE MANNERS. 219
lest in bending your arm to put the end of the spoon in
your mouth you interfere with your next neighbor.
Dip it into the plate from instead of toward you, and
thus avoid dripping the soup.
Break the bread or roll, and eat it separately, not in
the soup, because it is awkward to take the bread from
the side of the spoon. Never lay the bread on the
table while spreading it with butter, nor bite from a
large piece. Break off a small portion, and spread with
butter as needed.
Use the knife only as a divider; use the fork to con-
vey the food to the mouth. Do not pile food on the
back of the fork, but pick it up with the fork, or when
necessary hold the fork inside up and use it as you
would a spoon. Keep a bit of bread in the left hand to
assist in the use of the fork.
In passing your plate for a second portion remove the
knife and fork, letting them rest on the edge of the
butter-plate, or on a bit of bread, but do not hold them
in your hand. When not using the knife as i divider,
keep it on the butter-plate, and then if you have occasion
to pass your plate the knife is already out of the way.
During the meal keep everything about your plate
as neat as possible, and after passing anything put it
back in its place.
When your meal or one course is finished, place the
knife and fork in the centre of the plate, the tines down
and handles directly in front, that they may not be in
the way in removing the plate. This signifies to a
trained waitress that you are ready to have your plate
removed.
At the close of the meal fold your napkin, that the
iable may be left in an orderly condition.
220 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
Whether serving, waiting, or eating, do everything
quietly, easily, and neatly. Never be so absorbed in
your own enjoyment of a meal as to be unmindful of
the needs of others.
If you are in doubt as to what to do, imitate as far as
possible those whose habits show that their opportuni-
ties for cultivating good manners have been superior to
yours ; but uu the other hand, when with those whose
privileges are less than yours, make no pretentious or
unnecessary display, and never cause any one discom-
fort by noticing any habit that may not be in accord-
ance with your notions. Should you be at a table
where butter-knives are not provided, it would be more
courteous quietly to use your own knife than to call
attention to the omission. If an elderly guest prefers
to drink her tea from the saucer, make her feel more at
ease by taking yours in the same way. Should a friend
prefer sugar and vinegar, rather than French dressing
on lettuce, or prefer to eat celery with the other dishes
instead of by itself, allow her to do so and never call
attention to any personal preferences.
It is not a breach of good manners if you happen to
eat your oysters with the common fork because you arc
unfamiliar with the one provided for that purpose, or
choose a small spoon instead of a large one for your
soup, or prefer to soak your bread or toast in your soup
or coffee ; but it is unpardonable to annoy others by
noisily eating, or drinking, or smacking the lips, or by
picking the teeth at the table or doing anything that
would interfere with another person's liberty or enjoy-
ment. And it is equally unpardonable and even more
impolite to be annoyed by anything in others whom you
are not at liberty to correct and whose intentions are
LESSON XX. TABLE MANNERS. 221
kind even if some of their habits may be awkward. No
matter how you may feel or what the blunder or accident
may be, never show any displeasure to either servant or
guest. " Be mistress of yourself though china fall."
Many more hints might be given but the following
general suggestion will apply to every occasion.
In table etiquette any custom is commendable that
is based on the golden rule, or is sanctioned by those
whose general behavior not table manners, merely
shows that good-breeding with them means, not selfish-
ness, but thoughtfulness for others. But all notions
whose root is in a desire to imitate persons whose style
of living is pretentious, and whose tastes and habits
are capricious are worse than useless. They destroy
alike our happiness and our self-respect.
Suggestion to the Teacher.
All schools should have dishes sufficient to set a table, for
it is highly desirable that the pupils occasionally prepare
a complete meal and be trained in the proper serving of it.
But if the table conveniences be limited, much may be taught
by using the common cooking dishes, and if there be not
time to prepare a dinner, a form or ceremony may be gone
through with, which will impress upon the minds of the
pupils all the important points in laying the table, waiting
upon people, and in personal habits at the table. This in-
struction need not be left until the last lesson, but may be
given in portions whenever there is opportunity.
222 JJOSTOX SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
RECEIPTS FOR LESSON XX.
CHOCOLATE AND COCOA.
1 c. milk scalded. 1 oz. or square chocolate.
1 c. hot water. 1 tbsp. sugar.
Cut the chocolate in small pieces and put it with the
sugar and 2 tbsp. of the water into a saucepan. Stir
over the fire until smooth and glossy. Add the re-
mainder of the water gradually, and then the milk.
Serve at once. Use twice as much chocolate if a richer
drink be desired. For cocoa use 1 tbsp.
COFFEE.
1 hp. tbsp. coffee to 1 c. boiling water.
Eeduce the proportion of coffee, taking level tbsp.
when several cups are required. Mix the coffee with
1 clean egg shell or 1 inch of fish skin. Put it in the
pot, add the boiling water, and boil only 5 m. Set it
where it will keep hot but not boil. Add ^ c. of cold
water. Pour out a little and pour it back, to clean the
grounds from the spout.
Questions on Lesson XX.
This is to be a general examination. Each teacher
should therefore be left to prepare her own questions, being
expected so to frame them as to bring out in the answer the
various and complete knowledge of the pupils.
COST OF FOOD MATERIAL.
223
TABLE OF AVERAGE COST OF MATERIAL USED IX COOKIXG.
\ cup of flour or meal ... 80
.01
1
.06
1
1 " butter
.20
1
.03
1
1 cup of molasses ....
.05
1
1 " m ilk
.02
1
1 tablespoonful of wine . .
.02
1
1 " " brandy .
.04
1
1 teaspoonful of vanilla . 4
.02
1
1 " " spice . . .
.02
1
1 " " soda, and 2
1
teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar
.02
i
1 tablespoonful of butter . .
.03
i
Butter size of an egg . . .
.05
1
1 tablespoonful of olive oil .
.02
1
2 tablespoon fills of coffee . .
.05
i
2 teaspoonfuls of tea . . .
.01
i
1 quart of milkman's cream .
.25
r
1 " Deerfoot cream . .
.60
i
1 box of gelatine
.16
i
.02
i
.03
1 pound of raisins ....
.18
i
1 " currants ....
.10
i
1 " citron
.18
i
1 " crackers ....
.10
i
1 " tapioca ....
.07
i
.09
i
1 '* macaroni . . .
.18
i
1 pound of spaghetti . . . $0.16
" corustarch ... .10
1 can of tomatoes 15
salmon .18
lobster 15
devilled ham and tongue .30
1 tumbler of jelly 35
1 jar of marmalade .... .25
1 pound of tea 75
" coffee 38
" chocolate . . . .40
" nutmeg 32
" mace 60
" cloves, cassia . . .15
ginger 10
mustard 12
herbs, ground . . .10
Package of whole herbs . . .08
1 pound of cheese .... .18
Parmesan cheese . .50
1 peck of potatoes 25
apples .50
1 quart of onions .10
1 carrot 02
1 turnip 05
1 bunch of celery 20
1 handful of parsley . . . .05
1 bunch of watercresses . . .05
1 head of lettuce 10
..
These prices are for the best materials, and are estimated
for the season, from October to June, when butter and eggs
are higher than during the summer.
BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
TABLE OF COST OF MEAT AND GAME.
Shin of beef, 3 to 6 cts. per Ib.
Middle cut of shin, 7 to 10 " "
Lower part of
13 to 15 " "
20 to 25 " "
20 to 25 " "
8 to 10 " "
17 to 22 " "
25 to 28 "
22 to 30 "
28 to 33 " "
round,
Vein,
Top of round,
Aitch bone,
Face of rump,
Middle *'
Back "
Sirloin,
Whole tenderloin, 75 c. to $1.00
Small " 30 to 45 cts.
Tip of sirloin, 22 to 30 "
First cut of rib, 17 to 25 "
Second cut of rib, 15 to 20 "
Chuck rib,
Second cut rib,
corned,
Brisket,
Boneless brisket,
Flank,
Liver,
Tripe, plain,
7 to 14 "
12 to 15 "
8 to 12 "
15 "
6 to 11 "
10 to 12 "
6 to 18 "
Tripe, honey-comb, 15 "
Heart, 3 to 10 "
Suet, 7 to 12 "
Mutton, leg, 12 to 20 "
Mutton, loin, 14 to 20 "
Mutton, saddle, 15 to 20 "
Mutton, chops, 15 to 25 "
Mutton, fore
quarter, 8 to 12 "
Mutton, neck, 6 to 9 "
(I
u
(i
tt
u
tt
11
tt
Lamb, leg,
Lamb, chops,
Lamb, fore
quarter,
Veal, knuckle,
Veal, cutlet,
Veal, breast,
Sweetbreads,
Calf's liver,
Calf's heart,
Calf's head,
Fresh pork,
Salt pork,
Bacon, bag,
Bacon, sliced,
Ham, bag,
Ham, sliced,
Lard,
Leaf lard,
Sausage,
Turkeys,
Fowl,
Chickens,
Ducks, wild,
Ducks, tame,
Ducks, Canvas-
back,
Grouse,
Partridge,
Pigeon, wild,
Pigeon, tame,
Squab,
Quail,
14 to 30 cts. per Ib.
15 to 40 " "
10 to 25 " "
12 to 17 " "
22 to 28 "
9 to 14 "
25 to 70 "
25 to 70 "
5 to 8 "
25 to 60 "
9 to 15 "
11 to 15 "
17 to 20 "
15 to 18 "
17 to 20 "
20 to 25 "
11 to 15 "
10 to 15 "
12 to 20 "
20 to 35 "
12 to 30 "
18 to 75 "
25 c. to $1.50 each.
20 to 37 cts. per Ib.
$1.50 to $2.00 each.
75 c. to $1.25 "
75 c. to $1.25 "
75 c. to $2.00 per d.
12 to 25 cts. each.
$2. 50 to $4. 50 per d.
$1.50 to $3.00 "
u
u
whole.
u
each,
it
per Ib.
it
u
ii
U
u
TABLE OF THE COST, ETC., OF FISH.
225
TABLE OF THE COST, ETC., OF FISH.
[Where no time is specified the fish are always in season.]
Cost.
Weight.
How Sold.
When In
Season.
Cod.
Haddock.
Cusk.
Halibut
8 cts. per Ib.
6 to 8 cts per Ib.
8 cts. per Ib.
12 to 20 cts ner Ib
3 to 20 Ibs.
5 to 8 Ibs.
5 to 8 Ibs.
Whole.
Whole.
Whole.
By thelb.
Winter.
Flounders.
Salmon.
Shad.
Blue-fish.
Tauto<*.
6 to 10 cts. per Ib.
25 to 50 cts. per Ib.
$ 1.25 in March
25 cts. in May.
7 to 15 cts. per Ib.
1 '? fts rpr Ih
\ to 5 Ibs.
4 to 10 Ibs
Whole.
By the Ib.
Whole.
Whole.
Whole.
May to Sept.
Spring.
June to Oct.
July to Sept.
White-fish.
Bass.
Sword-fish.
20 cts. per Ib.
12 to 25 cts. per Ib.
4 Ibs.
3 to 8 Ibs.
Whole.
Whole.
By thelb.
Winter.
July to Sept.
Smelts.
Perch.
10 to 25 cts. per Ib.
20 cts. per dozen.
j Average
1 8 to a Ib.
Sept, to Mar.
Summer.
Pickerel.
Trout Brook
15 cts. per Ib.
75 cts. per Ib.
1 to 4 Ibs.
Whole.
Whole
Snrinsr.
Mackerel.
5 to 25 cts. each.
Whole.
*~ 1" 111 6'
April to Oct.
Eels.
Lobsters.
Oysters
15 cts. per Ib.
12 cts. per Ib.
35 to 50 cts. per qt.
| to 1 Ib.
1 to 2 Ibs.
Whole.
Sept. to May.
Clams.
Crabs.
FTprri nor
20 cts. per qt. ; 40
cts. per pk. in
the shell.
$1. 25 to $1.50 per
dozen.
20 cts per dozen.
....
....
Summer.
Mar. Apr.
Salt Cod-fish.
Smoked Fish.
10 cts. per Ib., best.
20 to 35 cts. per Ib.
ADDITIONAL KECEIPTS.
As a lesson in some dishes which are in common
use would require too long a time, or would be too ex-
pensive to attempt at the school, the following receipts
are given for those pupils who wish to try them at
home:
BAKED BEANS.
1 qt. pea beans.
^ Ib. salt pork, fat and lean.
1 tsp. mustard.
$ c. molasses.
1 tsp. salt.
Soak the beans in cold water over night. In the
morning put them into fresh cold water, and simmer
till soft enough to pierce with a pin, being careful not
to let them cook enough to break. If you like, cook one
onion with them. When soft, turn them into a colander,
and pour cold water through them. Place them with
the onion in a bean-pot. Pour boiling water over the
pork ; scrape the rind till white ; cut the rind in half-
inch strips ; bury the pork in the beans, leaving only
the rind exposed. Mix the salt use more if the pork
is not very salt and mustard with the molasses. Fill
the cup with hot water, and when well mixed pour it
over the beans ; add enough more water to cover them.
Keep them covered with water until the last hour, then
lift the pork to the surface and let it crisp. Bake 8 h.
in a moderate oven. Use more salt and y$ c. butter
if you dislike pork, or use y 2 Ib. fat and lean corned
beef. If liked richer use 1 Ib. pork.
ADDITIONAL RECEIPTS. 227
The mustard gives the beans a delicious flavor, and
also renders them more wholesome. Many add a tea-
spoonful of soda to the water in which the beans are
boiled, to destroy the acid in the skin of the beans.
Yellow-eyed beans and Lima beans are also good when
baked.
CORNED BEEF.
Select a piece of beef which has a fair proportion of
fat the brisket or second cut of rattle rand and has
not been in the brine more than three or four days.
Wash quickly in cold water. Beef that is very salt
should be soaked in cold water ; but if only slightly
salted, use boiling water that the goodness may be kept
in the meat. Cover with boiling water and skim care-
fully when it begins to boil. Cook slowly, simmering
(not boiling) until so tender that you can pick it to
pieces with a fork. Let the water boil away toward
the last, and let the beef stand in the water until par-
tially cooled. Lift it out of the water with a skimmer,
and pack it in a brick-loaf pan ; let the long fibres run
the length of the pan ; mix in the fat so that it will be
well marbled. Put a thin board, a trifle smaller than
the inside of the pan, over the meat, and press by put-
ting a heavy weight on the board. When cold, cut in
thin slices. It has a very attractive appearance, and is
a delicious way of preparing the meat. It is also the
most appetizing way of serving the fat of the meat,
which in corned beef is the most nutritious part, and
is often untouched if offered in a mass on the edge of
the lean.
228 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
BOILED DINNER.
4 Ibs. corned beef.
2 beets.
1 small cabbage.
2 small carrots.
1 small French turnip.
6 potatoes.
1 small squash.
Wash the meat quickly in cold water, and if very
salt, soak it ^ h. Put it in the kettle, cover with
boiling water, and simmer about three hours, or till
tender. Wash the vegetables, scrape the carrots, and
cut the cabbage into quarters ; pare the turnip and
squash, cut into three-quarter inch slices, arid pare the
potatoes. Two hours before dinner-time skim off all
the fat from the liquid, and add more boiling water. Ee-
move the meat when tender, then put in the carrots,
afterward the cabbage and turnip, and ^ h. before din-
ner add the squash and potatoes. Cook the beets sepa-
rately. When tender take the vegetables up carefully,
drain the water from the cabbage by pressing it in a col-
ander, slice the carrots and beets, and cover the beets
with vinegar. Put the meat in the centre of a large
dish, and serve the carrots, turnips, and potatoes round
the edge, with the squash, cabbage, and beets in sepa-
rate dishes.
GENERAL EULE FOR BAKED MEAT.
All meat for baking or roasting should be dredged
all over with salt and flour, but not until just before
cooking. Salt draws out a little of the juice, but the
flour absorbs it, and when the heat hardens the albumen,
this helps to make a thick crust through which the
juices cannot escape.
ADDITIONAL RECEIPTS. 229
Use no water at first, nor at all with small pieces
which require quick cooking or to be done rare ; but
alter the first searing, large pieces that require to be
cooked thoroughly may have a little water added to
prevent them from burning or becoming too dry. Baste
often, and bake according to the table on page 155.
*
ROAST CHICKEN.
Clean and prepare the chicken as directed in Lesson
XVII.
Stuffing. Moisten 1 c. cracker or soft bread crumbs
with % c. melted butter, season highly with mixed
sweet herbs.
Place the chicken on one side on a rack in a drip-
ping-pan. Rub all over with salt, soft butter, or
dripping and flour. Put 3 tbsp. of chicken fat or beef
dripping over it and in the pan. Use no water at first.
Put the pan in a very hot oven with the oven rack
underneath to keep the fat from burning.
In 5 m. check the heat, baste with the fat, and
when the flour is brown add a cup of hot water and
baste often, adding more hot water as it boils away.
Turn the chicken that it may brown uniformly, and
baste often that it may not become dry.
Luke a 4-11). chicken 1*^ h., or until the joints sepa-
rate easily. Pour off nearly all the fat, thicken the
liquid in the pan with flour wet in cold water, cook
10 m., and strain the gravy before serving.
INDIAN-MKAL PUDDING.
Rub 1 tbsp. of butter around the bottom and sides
of a smooth iron kettle, -flfrani*e or porcelain will
230 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
do ; when melted, add ^ c. boiling water. This will
prevent the milk from burning. Add 1 qt. rnilk. Let
it boil up and almost over the kettle ; then sift ia
1 pt. of fine yellow granulated corn-meal, sifting with
the left hand, and holding the meal high, that every
grain may be thoroughly scalded. Stir constantly; add
Y?, tsp. salt, and set away till cold. Then add ^ pt. of
New Orleans molasses and 1 qt. of cold milk. Put
into a well-buttered deep pudding-dish, cover w r ith a
plate, and bake very slowly 10 or 12 h. Put it in a
" Saturday-afternoon oven," where the fire will keep
low nearly all night. Let it remain over night, and
serve for a Sunday breakfast.
BERRY CHARLOTTE.
Stew 1 pt. of berries, either blueberries, raspber-
ries, or blackberries, sweeten to taste, mash well, and
pour it, boiling hot, over soft white bread. Have the
bread cut in small, thin squares, arrange a layer in a
bowl or mould, and pour on enough sirup to wet the
bread, then another layer of bread and sirup. When
cold, turn out and serve with cream. Berries that have
large seeds may be strained after stewing.
CHOCOLATE CREAMS.
Put the white of 1 egg in a small glass, then measure
an equal quantity of cold water, add 1 tsp. of vanilla,
and beat thoroughly. Beat in gradually enough con-
fectioner's sugar, sifted, to make a stiff dough. Mould
small pieces of the mixture into the shape of thimbles ;
put them on a buttered pan in a cool place to harden.
Melt 2 squares of Baker's chocolate in a saucer over the
ADDITIONAL KECEIPTS. 231
teakettle. When the cream balls are hard, dip them
in the melted chocolate. Use two steel forks, let the
balls drain on the forks, then put them on the tins
again till dry.
CREAMED WALNUTS.
The white of 1 egg and an equal amount of cold
water, flavored with 1 tsp. of lemon or vanilla. Beat
until thoroughly mixed, then beat in confectioner's
sugar, sifted, until the dough is stiff enough to mould.
O * ' O O
Break off pieces the size of a nutmeg, roll them in the
palm of the hands until smooth and round. Press the
halved walnut-meats on each side, letting the cream
show slightly between the meats. One egg will require
about \ Ib. of suar.
CREAMED DATES, ALMONDS, ETC.
Stone the dates and shell the almonds. Make the
sugar dough as directed for creamed walnuts. Put a
ball of the dough into the centre of the date and cover
the almonds with the dough. Creamed nut-cakes may
be prepared by stirring the chopped nuts into the dough.
Press it out into a flat sheet ^ ioch thick, then cut in
inch squares.
BANANA AND LEMON-JELLY CREAM.
}. 2 box gelatine.
1 c. eoM water.
1 pt. boiling water.
1 c. sugar.
fv
3 4 c. lemon juice.
1 square inch stick cinnamon.
Soak the gelatine in the cold water. Shave the
lemon rind, using none of the white. Steep it with
the cinnamon in the boiling water 10 m. ; add the
232 BOSTON SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXT-BOOK.
soaked gelatine, sugar, and lemon juice, and when dis-
solved, strain into shallow dishes. When cold, cut it
in dice or break it up with a fork, put it in a glass dish
in layers with sliced bananas. Pour a cold boiled cus-
tard over them, and cover with a meringue. Brown the
meringue on a plate, and slip it off over the custard.
ORANGE JELLY.
*
^ box gelatine.
l /2 c. cold water.
1 c. boiling water.
Juice 1 lemon.
1 c. sugar.
1 pt. orange juice.
Soak the gelatine in cold water until soft. Add the
boiling water, the lemon juice, sugar, and orange juice.
Stir till the sugar is dissolved, then strain through fine
linen into moulds or shallow pans, which have been wet
in cold water.
FRUIT ICE-CREAM.
3 oranges.
3 lemons.
3 bananas.
% can apricots.
3 c. suar.
3 c. cold water.
Place a strainer over a large bowl, squeeze into it the
juice of the oranges and lemons, then add the bananas
and apricots, and rub them through the strainer. Add the
cold water to help in the sifting. Add the sugar, and
when it is dissolved, freeze the same as any ice-cream.
Add from y 2 c. to 1 pt. of cream if you have it, but the
mixture is delicious without the cream.
tbsp. granulated gelatine equals l / 2 box.
ALPHABETICAL INDEX.
PACK
ABBREVIATIONS 11
Albumen 20, 33
Albuminous Foods .... 20
Almonds, Creamed .... 231
Apple, Baked 25
Pie 165
Sauce 129
Scalloped 189
Steamed 53
Water 97
Ash 22
Ashes 6, 7
Asparagus 38
BAKING, Heat for 153
Time-table for .... 155
Baking-Powder 117
Banana and Lemon-Jelly Cream 231
Bailey 175
Batters 131, 139
Beans 38, 176
Baked 226
Soup 87
Beating !'*-
Beef, ('..tned 227
Juice 108
Smothered 63
Stew 128
T-:i 42, fU
To Choose 55, 59
Beets 38
Berry Charlotte 230
Biscuit 129
Blanc Mange 108
Dolled Dinner 2_>8
PAGE
Boiling 29
Braizing 126
Brass, To Clean xvii
Bread Boards, To Clean . . . xvii
Bread, Chemistry of .... 149
Crumbs 11
Receipt for 154
Brewis 25
Broiled Chops 119
Meat Cakes 119
Steak 119
Broiling Ill
Pan 114
Time-table for .... 115
Broth, Scotch 178
Buckwheat 175
Burning Point 5
Butter, Drawn 198
CABBAGE 38, 39, 138
Cake 203
Plain 206
Water Sponge . . . . 20P
Caper Sauce 63
Carbo-IIydrates 21
Carbon xxii, 2, 4
Carbonaceous Food .... 2L
Carbonic Aeid Gas . 117, 140, 141
Caulitlower 38
Celery 38
Charcoal 3
Charlotte, Berry 230
Charts xvii
Cheese 25
Chicken, Fricassee .... 187
234
ALPHABETICAL INDEX.
Chicken, Roast . . .
Soup
Chocolate . . . .
Creams . . . .
Chops
Chowder
Cleaning, Rules 'or .
Coal
Cocoa Shells . . .
Coffee
Coke
Cold Slaw . . . .
Combustion . . . .
Animal . . . .
Cookies
Cooking, Meaning of .
Copper, To Clean . .
Corn Cake ....
Scalded . .
Meal ....
Mush . . . .
Corned Beef ....
Cottage Pie ....
Cracker Brewis . . .
Crackers, Baked . .
Cranberries ....
Cream of tartar . . .
Crisps, Wheat . . .
Croutons
Currants
Custard . ...
PACE
229
180
232
230
119
126
xvi
3,4
99
222
4
188
5
19
145
1
xvii
144
179
174
180
227
77
25
25
188
140
146
10
121
52
DATES, Creamed 231
Diastase 151
Diet, Animal or Vegetable . . 105
for Children, etc. . 171, 173
91
xvi
Digestion
Dishes, Rules for Cleaning .
Dough 115
Doughnuts 14G
Drawn Butter 198
Dropped Eggs , 207
Dumplings 127, 128
EGGNOG ....
107
201
PAOB
Eggs, Boiled . . .41, 42, 49
Coddled 53
Dropped or Poached . . 207
Egg Vermicelli 208
FAT OF MEAT . .... 61
Clarified 62, 64
Fats 21
Ferment 150
Fermentation 150
Fires 5, 7, 8
Fish 193
I'aked 195
Balls 199
BoiL-d 196
Broiled 195
Chowder 198
Fried 197
Scalloped 194
Steamed 194
Flame 4
Food, Adaptation of ... 171-174
Care of 161-164
Cheapest . . .... 174
Classification of .... 20
Combination of .... 50
for an Invalid . ... 95
Nourishing 103
Nutritious 103
Object of ..... 15-13
Proportion of 103
Stimulating ..... 103
Fowl, To Prepare for Cooking . 183
Fricassee 126
Chicken . . ... 187
Veal 187
Frosting 207
Fruit Ice-Cream 232
Pudding 120
Frying 142
Fuel 3
GAS 4
Giblets 184
Ginger-bread 145
Gluten 149
Gems .......
ALPHABETICAL INDEX.
235
PACE
uravies 73
Griddle Cakes 135
Gruels 98
HARICOT
Hash
136
72, 78
Heart, Baked ...... 63
Heat ......... 2
for Baking ...... 153
Hominy ........ 52
Housekeepers, Rules lor . . xiv, xv
Hydrogen ....... xxii
ICE-CREAM 102
for an Invalid .... 108
Fruit 232
Ice, To Chip 99
Indian Corn 174
Meal Pudding .... 229
Indigestible Food 104
Invalid Caring for an ... 94
Cookery 91-101
Food for an 95
Irish Moss Jelly 97
Italian Paste 75
JELLY, Irish Moss 97
Lemon . .... 231
Orange .... . 232
KEKDSENE.
LEMONADE . 97
Lemon Jelly 2'U
Sauce " 120
Lettuce 159
Lobst.-rs 20-2
Plain 210
Stewed 210
To Seiect and Open ... 210
MACARONI 75, 77
Management of Classes ... xi
PAGE
Meat 55
Baked 228
Boiled 59
Pie 77
Roasted 60
Smothered 61
Steamed 61
Warmed over .... 71-78
Measuring 24
Milk 48, 172
Porridge l>8
Toast . . .... Io7
Minced Meat 77
Mince Pies liitj
Mineral Food 22
Mixing 13i>, 141
Molasses 140, 141
Cookies 145
Ginger-bread 145
Muffins 139
Fried Rye 146
Rye 145
Mutton, Boiled 63
Scalloped 77
NICKEL PLATE, To Clean . . xvil
Nitrogen xxi
Nitrogenous Foods .... 20
OATMEAI 47, 174
Gruel 98
Mush t>2
Omelet 207
Orange, for an Invalid ... 18
Jelly . . .... -2','2
Ox, Diagram of .... 65, Uo
Oxygen xxi
Ovsters 202
Fried 209
Scalloped 2<9
Stewed 209
To Parboil 208
To 1'repare 208
PAN B KOI LING
fancaki's. Snow
Purslev Sauce
114
136
ALPHABETICAL INDEX.
Pastry
Peas
Pea Soup
Petroleum
Phosphorus
Pies
Apple
Custard
Mince
Rhubarb ....
Squash
Pop-overs
Porridge, Milk ....
Potato Cakes ....
Soup
Potatoes
Baked
Boiled
Creamed ....
Lyonnaise ....
Slashed
R-iced
Steamed ....
Pot Pie
Poultry, To Prepare . .
Proteids
Prunes
Puddings, Berry Charlotte
Cream Rice . . .
Fruit Suet ....
Ginger
Indian Meal . . .
Plain
Scalloped Apple . .
Pudding Sauce ....
PAUE
165
176
178
4
5
165
165
166
166
166
166
136
98
41
87
34
11
41
168
167
41
41
53
126
183
20
129
230
189
120
120
229
120
189
120
RAGOUT 126
Raisins 121
Rhubarb, Steamed .... 188
Water 60
rfce 48
Pudding 189
Steamed 52, 175
Roasting Meat 60, 118
Rolling 141
Rye Meal and Flour .... 175
Muffins 145
Fried . . . 146
PACK
SALMI 126
Salt 22
Sauce, Caper 63
Drawn Butter .... 198
Egg 198
Lemon 120
Pudding 120
Tomato 78
White 78
Sauces 74
Scalloped Apple 189
Dishes 73
Fish 194
Meat 77
Mutton 77
Oysters 209
Scotch Broth 178
Shells, Cocoa 99
Soda 14C
Soup 81
Baked Bean 87
Chicken 186
Macaroni 86
Pea 178
Potato 87
Rice 87
Scotch Broth 178
Stock 82, 86
Vegetable 85, 86
Sour Milk 140
Spaghetti 75
Starch 32
Steak 119
Steaming 43
Stews 125
Beef 128
Oyster 209
Stimulants 103
Stimulating Food 103
Stirring 132
Stock 82, 86
Stoves 6
Stuffing, for Chicken . . . . 229
Fish 197
Baked Heart . . 63
Suet 118
Pudding .... 119, 120
To Chop 121
ALPHABETICAL INDEX.
237
PAGE
TABLES, To Clean xvii
of the Cost of Food . . . 225
Tea 95, 99
Thickening 33, 73
Time-table for Baking . . . 155
Boiling .... 39
Broiling .... 115
Toast 101, 107
Tomato Sauce 78
VEAL 185
Fricassee 187
Vegetables, General Rules for . 37
Soup 85
PAGE
Vermicelli 75
Egg 20S
WALNUTS, Creamed . . . . 2C1
Warming over 71
Water 2-3
Weights, Table of 24
Wheat 52, 149
Crisps 140
Wheatcna 108
Wood 3
YEAST 151
Potato 157
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
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