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THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

The

Fireless Cook Book

A Manual of the Construction and Use of
Appliances for Cooking by Retained Heat

WITH 250 RECIPES
By

MARGARET J. MITCHELL

• t

Anthor of "Cereal Poods and Thar Prepaxatxm"; foinieily IXeUtfan

(rf Manhattan State Hospital. New York: Director dt

Dotnestac Sdeoce in Public S^km^ Bradford, Pa.;

Instructor in Domestic Science, Drezel

Instxtnte. Philaddphia, Pa.

• ' ' » • " »•• »*• "* 2* ? ^

Garden City New York

DOUBLEDxW, PAGE & COMPANY

1013

COFXRIGHT, 1909, BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
PUBLISHED, MAY, igog

Assistance is gratefully acknowledged from Mr. Abra-
ham Henwood, Professor of Chemistry at Drexel Institute,
who supplied valuable information and revised the chem-
istry in the Appendix.

Thanks are also due to Mrs. Runyon, manager of the
lunch room in the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce, and to
Miss Armstrong, director of the Drexel Institute Lunch
Room, for information furnished by them upon the subject
of fireless cookery with large quantities ; and to many
others who have aided the author by advice, information,
and encouragement.

304671

PREFACE

The aim of this book is to present in a con-
venient form such directions for making and
using fireless cookers and similar insulating
boxes, that those who are not experienced, even
in the ordinary methods of cookery, may be able
to follow^ them easily and with success. The
fact that their management has been so little
understood has been the cause of failures among
the adventurous women who, attracted by their
novelty, have tried to experiment with them and
have come to the mistaken conclusion that they
are not practical, have limited scope, and are
altogether a good deal of a disappointment. Such
women have made the statement that they are
not adapted to cooking starchy foods; that they
will not do for most vegetables; that raised breads
and puddings cannot be cooked in them, and that
there is little economy in using them! It has
invariably been found, however, that a better
understanding of their management has resulted
in complete success, followed inevitably by
enthusiasm.

The first few chapters of the book give directions

viii THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

for making and using a cooker, methods of
measuring, and some tables for quick reference,
followed by a large number of frequently tested
recipes, some of which are entirely original, but
many of which are based on the well-tried recipes
from such books as Miss Farmer's " Boston
Cooking School Cook Book," Mrs. I/incoln's
"Boston Cook Book," Miss Smedley's "Institu-
tion Recipes," and Miss Ronald's "Century
Cook Book," somewhat modified and adapted
to hay-box cookery. "The Fireless Cooker,"
by Lovewell, Whittemore, and Lyon, has furnished
some excellent ideas, such as the refrigerating
box and home-made insulated oven and insulating
pail, which have been elaborated in this book.
Miss Huntington's bulletin, "The Fireless
Cooker," has also been suggestive of a number
of experiments which are to be found in the
Appendix.

The chapter on "Institution Cookery" was
introduced in the hope that many small institu-
tions, boarding-house keepers, and those who are
managing lunch-rooms, would be induced, by
finding recipes arranged in suitable quantities
for them, to introduce fireless cookers into their
kitchens, and benefit by the great saving in labour
and expense which is specially necessary to those
who are dependent upon their kitchens for sup-

PREFACE ix

port. When a little experience is gained by using
them, it will be found that all the other recipes
in the book can be enlarged without minute
directions.

It will be noticed that nearly every recipe in
the book states how many persons it will serve,
the idea being that, in spite of the variable quan-
tities which different people use, this would act
as a guide to those who wish to plan rather
closely. Where two numbers are given the vari-
ation is in proportion to the difference between
the amount eaten by men and by women.

The Appendix describes or suggests a series of
experiments illustrating the scientific as well as
the practical side of fireless cookery. Many of
them would be easy for the average housekeeper
to carry out, and would illuminate the subject
to an extent which would repay her; but they
are specially planned for students of household
economics who have time and opportunity for
such work, and who are supposed to know more
than mere methods of housework, and to require
an explanation of the principles involved.

CONTENTS

CHAPTEX

VAGX

The Fireless Cooker

11.

The Portable Insulating Pail .

III.

The Refrigerating Box

IV.

Cooking for Two

Measuring ....

VI.

Tables of Weights and Measures

VII.

Table of Proportions

VIII.

Seasoning and Flavouring Ma-

terials

IX.

Breakfast Cereals . .

Soups

XI.

Fish

XII.

Beef

XIII.

Lamb and Mutton .

106

XIV.

Veal

114

XV.

Pork

120

XVI.

Poultry . .

126

XVII.

Vegetables

136

CVIII.

Steamed Breads and Puddings

154

XIX.

Fruits . . . • •

168

XX.

Miscellaneous Recipes

183

XXI.

Recipes for the Sick

• i

195

xii THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

XXII.

Recipes for Cooking in Large

Quantities . . . ,

202

XXIII.

The Insulated Oven .

221

XXIV.

Menus

250

Appendix

257

Additional Recipes

. 277

Classified Index of Recipes

297

Alphabetical Index of Recipes

• 307

THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

The Fireless Cook Book

THE FIRELESS COOKER

DOES the idea appeal to you of putting your
dinner on to cook and then going visiting,
or to the theatre, or sitting down to read, write,
or sew, with no further thought for your food
until it is time to serve it ? It sounds like a fairy-
tale to say that you can bring food to the boiling
pointj put it into a box of hay, and leave it for a
few hours, returning to find it cooked, and often
better cooked than in any other way! Yet it is
true. Norwegian housewives have known this
for many years; and some other European nations
have used the hay-box to a considerable extent,
although it is only recently that its wonders have
become rather widely known and talked about in
America. The original box filled with hay has gone
through a process of evolution, and become the
fireless cooker of varied form and adaptability.
Just what can we expect the fireless cooker to
do .? What foods will it cook to advantage ?

4 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Almost all such dishes as are usually prepared
by boiling or steaming, as well as many that
are baked — soups, boiled or braised meats,
fish, sauces, fruits, vegetables, puddings, eggs,
in fact, almost everything that does not need to
be crisp can be cooked in a simple hay-box.
If the composition of foods and the general
principles of cookery are well understood, but
little special instruction will be needed to enable
one to prepare such dishes with success; though
even a novice may use a fireless cooker if the
general directions and explanations, as well as
the individual recipes, are carefully read and
followed. While such dishes as toast, pancakes,
roast or broiled meats, baked bread and biscuits,
are impossible to cook in the simpler form
of hay-box, the insulated oven, the latest
development of the fireless cooker, opens up
possibilities that may lead to a much wider adapta-
tion of home-made insulators to domestic pur-
poses. Roast meats, however, may first be
cooked in the oven and completed in the hay-box
or cooker, or they may be cooked in the hay-box
till nearly done and then roasted for a short time
to obtain the crispness which can be given only
by cooking with great heat.

During ordinary cooking there is a great loss
of heat, due to radiation from the cooking utensil

THE FIRELESS COOKER 5

and escaping steam. If, however, this heat could
be retained, the food would continue to cook
in the absence of fire. This is what occurs in the
hay-box. Hay, being a poor conductor of heat,
will, if closely packed around a kettle of boiling
food, maintain, for a number of hours, a sufficiently
high temperature to continue the cooking process.
The familiar practice of using newspapers or
carpet in keeping ice from melting depends upon
the same principle. In both cases a material
which is a poor conductor of heat, when interposed
between the surrounding air and articles which
are either colder or hotter than the air, being
found to preserve their temperature. Other
materials than hay or papers will act in the same
way; such, for instance, as excelsior, sawdust,
wool, mineral wool, and others. A vacuum will
have the same effect as insulating materials.
The "Thermos Bottle" and similar inventions,
which are glass bottles surrounded by a vacuum
and contained in metal cases, will keep foods
hot or cold for many hours. If heated with a
little boiling water before boiling food is poured
in they will even cook some foods satisfactorily.
A vacuum is expensive, as it is difficult to obtain,
and therefore the ordinary fireless cooker is better
suited to every-day use; but if one of these bottles
is at hand it may be utilized in cases of illness

6 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

or on journeys or in other unusual circumstances,
when a cooker is not available.

The general trend of recent scientific investi-
gation seems to indicate more and more clearly
that the prevalent idea that all food must be
cooked at a high temperature, such as that of
boiling w^ater (212 degrees Fahrenheit), is a
mistaken one. Experiments have shown that
starches are made thoroughly digestible at tem-
peratures varying from 149 degrees to 185 degrees
Fahrenheit. Cellulose, the woody fibre of vegetable
foods, becomes perfectly softened at a temperature
considerably below 212 degrees, while albuminous
materials, of which all animal and many vegetable
foods are largely composed, are not only well-
cooked at a low temperature, but are decidedly
more easily digestible than when cooked at the
higher temperatures of boiling or baking.

SPECIAL ADVANTAGES OF THE FIRELESS COOKER

First, its economy, not only of fuel and of space
on the stove, but of efi^ort, of utensils, and also of
food materials and flavour. It has been stated
that 90 per cent, of the fuel used in ordinary
cooking will be saved by the hay-box. This
percentage will vary with different housekeepers,
as some understand the economy of fuel much
better than others, but there is no doubt that it

THE FIRELESS COOKER 7

IS very great when the cooker is used. This is
especially true when the fuel is gas, kerosene,
gasolene, or denatured alcohol (possibly the com-
ing fuel for common use). Where a wood fire
or, particularly, where a coal fire must be main-
tained, the fuel saved by the cooker will, mani-
festly be less than with such fuels as can be
readily extinguished when their use is over, but
even in such cases there is some economy of fuel.
One must use the cooker to realize the saving
in work that it means. Think what it is to have
a method of cooking involving no necessity for
remaining in the kitchen to keep up a fire or watch
the food ! As most hay-box cooking takes a con-
siderable length of time, and many articles are
not specially injured by overcooking, this means
that foods can often be placed in the box and
left for hours, while the housekeeper is enabled
to go out for a day's work, or to occupy her time
in other ways, with a mind free from all care of
the meal that is cooking. The user of a hay-
box will soon find, too, that utensils are not so
hard to wash after lying in hay as when food
has been dried or burned on, and as the scraping
and scouring given to ordinary utensils wears
them out very fast, there is here also a considerable
economy of utensils. There is found to be a very
great saving of food materials on account of

8 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

"left-over" foods and others that might be
utilized, if the long cooking which they require
to make them palatable did not involve such
expense in the way of fuel as to offset the advan-
tage of using them, such as in the case of soup
stock, tougher cuts of meat, etc. Special atten-
tion is paid in this book to the preparation of a
variety of cheap foods and "left-overs."

The absence of heat and odours in the kitchen
is another of the advantages of this cookery.
On the hottest summer days a cooker will not
increase the heat of the room, while even in a
living-room, onions, turnips, cabbage, and such
ill-smelling foods could be cooked with no sus-
picion of the fact on the part of the family or
visitors. The fact that a cooker can also be
made attractive in appearance, and used in
rooms not ordinarily used for cooking, is of
interest to some people who are not able to com-
mand even the ordinary amenities of house-
keeping life.

In the matter of flavour there is a distinct
gain in fireless cookery. Many are familiar,
by experience or hearsay, with the specially
delicious flavour of food cooked in primitive ways,
such as burying the saucepan in a hole in the
ground, of clambakes, or of cooking food by
dropping heated stones into the mixture, in which

THE FIRELESS COOKER 9

cases the closely covered food is slowly cooked
at a low temperature. The praises given to such
cookery are often ascribed to the "hunger-sauce*'
that usually accompanies outdoor cookery, but
not with entire justice, for there is a real difference
in flavour.

As it has been well proved that tasteless food
is less easily or thoroughly digested than food
which has a good flavour, owing, probably, to
the fact that high-flavoured food stimulates the
flow of digestive juices, the advantage lies in
this respect also with hay-box food over much
of the ordinary food served.

The bearing of fireless cookery upon the servant-
problem might well fill a chapter by itself. Any
woman who uses this device for a year can
become eloquent upon this subject. When cook-
ing no longer ties one to the kitchen, is no longer
a labour that monopolizes one's time, dishevels
one's person, and exasperates the temper, the
cook may go. We shall save her wages, her food,
her room, and her waste, and have more to spend
in ways that bring a more satisfactory return.

DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING A HAY-BOX OR FIRELESS
COOKER

The box may be an unpainted one such as can
be obtained for a few cents from any store where

10 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

one of suitable size and shape is used, or it may
be a handsome hardwood chest, or even an old
trunk. In selecting it, choose one made of suffi-
ciently heavy boards to admit of having hinges and
a hasp put on it. If it is to be used in a dining-
room, or where attractive appearance is to be
desired, it may be covered with chintz or denim,
or a coat of paint, if not made of finished hard
wood. An old ice-box, one that has a hinged
lid at the top, has been utilized for this purpose
with success. A barrel makes an excellent hay-
box, especially for very large kettles, but the
cover cannot easily be hinged and must, there-
fore, be weighted to hold it down tight. In
size the box should be from two to five inches
larger in every dimension than the kettle it con-
tains. The kettle is, therefore, the first thing
to be secured, and full directions for choosing it
are given on page 13. The next point to con-
sider is the packing material. When this has
been chosen, the directions for packing the box,
given on page 15, will tell how much space must
be allowed for insulation and, consequently, of
what size the box must be. If it is so large as to
admit of more insulation than that absolutely
required, there is no objection, only a possible
gain. If it is intended to pack the box with
more than one utensil this will also have a bearing

THE FIRELESS COOKER ii

upon its size. Allow nearly, or quite, double the
insulation between the utensils that is provided
on the other sides, otherwise there may be diffi-
culty in removing one utensil while the other is
still cooking.

Hinges and a hasp, or some device to hold
the cover of the box shut, will be necessary, as
the packing should be such that there is a little
upward pressure on the cover.

A cushion is desirable to cover each kettle used,
one which is thick enough to fill the hay-box
after the kettle is in place. For making these
cushions use muslin, denim, or any thing of the
kind that is at hand, filling them, generally, with
the same material as that used in packing the
box. Shape them like a miniature mattress,
joining two pieces which are the dimensions of
the top of the box with a strip which is from two
and one-half inches to four or five inches wide,
the width depending upon the material with
which the cushion is stuffed, some materials
requiring thicker insulation than others.

The packing material may be either hay, straw,
paper, wool, mineral wool, excelsior, ground cork.
Southern moss, sawdust, or any other non-
conducting material that is adapted to filling the
space between the kettle and the box. If hay is
used, choose soft hay. Wool is, perhaps, the

12 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

best heat retainer of those mentioned, and it is
easy and pleasant to handle. Clean, soft wool
may be purchased at woollen mills and elsewhere.
It should cost about thirty-five cents a pound.

Hay-Box With Two Compartments.
Partly packed compartment of hay-box, Finished compartment

showing pail in place for packing. of hay-box. Cushion.

Cushion. " Space adjuster." Small Large Pail. Pan and

pail to fit in " space adjuster." cover.

but as it is very light it requires much less, by
weight, than of some other cheaper materials.
Mineral wool can be purchased at large hard-
ware stores. It costs about five cents a pound,

THE FIRELESS COOKER 13

but about five times as many pounds are required
as an equivalent for wool. Cheap cotton batting
can be obtained at dry-goods stores; ground cork
from large grocers. This is used by them as
packing for grapes or other fancy fruits. Saw-
dust, obtainable at sawmills, and perhaps else-
where, must be well dried before using. Excel-
sior is used by many kinds of merchants, and can
be bought for about two cents a pound. Hay
is plentiful in country places and can also be
purchased at feed-stores in the cities. Southern
moss, easily procurable in the Southern States,
can be found at many upholsterers' in the North
as well. Newspapers and hair, such as is used
by plasterers, are available in city and country.

The utensils. Perhaps the best shape for the
cooking utensil, that is, one which will have the
least possible radiating surface, is a pail about
the depth of its own diameter. The sides should
be straight and perpendicular to the bottom.
The cover should fit securely into place. If a
smaller utensil is to be used inside the large one,
which is often a great convenience, it must not
be so high that the cover of the larger pail will
not go on. A "pudding pan" may be used for
the inside utensil, resting on the rim of the pail;
but care must be taken, with this arrangement,
that a cover is secured that will fit the pan closely.

14 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

To select the material best adapted for cooker
utensils one must consider its wearing quality,
its heat-absorbing power, to some extent, and also
the action upon it of the water, acids, salts, etc.,
which are found in the foods. For instance,
iron utensils, as well as most tinware that has
been used for any length of time, will rust with
the long subjection to heat and moisture; acids
will make a disagreeable taste with iron or old
tin utensils; while acids in such long contact
with even new tin might also form poisonous
tin salts in sufficient quantity to be decidedly
injurious. Earthenware would seem ideal except
that it is likely to break when over the flame.
It is desirable that the covers be of the same
material as the utensil, or of some other rust-
proof material. It will pay to get the best, when
buying these kettles, for they will last well, with
reasonable care, aijd a poor utensil will soon
be of no use whatever. Well-enameled iron,
except for its weight, is good; also the best quality
of agate ware, ordinary aluminum, or, perhaps
best of all, for very large utensils at least, cast
aluminum. Aluminum is expensive, but its light
weight, excellently fitting parts, and lasting quali-
ties commend it above other materials, and it
will be found to pay in the end.

The size of the pails will depend to some extent

THE FIRELESS COOKER 15

upon the number of people to be served, although
there is a minimum size, below which there is
not a sufficient bulk of food to cook well. Under
the heading " Practical Suggestions on the Use
of the Fireless Cooker," this matter of quantity
is more fully discussed. For a family of five or
six persons a six-quart pail with a pan to fit inside
of it has been found satisfactory. It will be con-
venient to have also a larger pail for large pieces
of meat, such as hams.

Method of packing the box. This will vary
somewhat with the different insulating materials
used. These may be classified as:

Those into which the cooking utensil may be
set without any intervening covering, among
which are hay, excelsior, and paper.

Those requiring a covering material to keep
them in place and to protect them from contact
with the utensil, among which are wool, mineral
wool, cork, sawdust, and cotton.

Boxes to be filled with the first class of insulat-
ing materials are packed in the following manner:

Line the box and cover, smoothly, with one
thickness of heavy paper, or several thicknesses
of newspaper. This will prevent cold air from
finding its way through the cracks, and dust and
pieces from sifting out. Asbestos sheeting also
makes a good lining. Pack in the bottom of

i6 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

the box a firm layer of insulating material not
less than three or four inches in depth. This
must raise the cooking pail to within from three
to five inches of the top of the box. Set the
utensil in the middle of the space allowed for it
on this layer, and pack around it, very tightly,
until level with the top of the kettle. When this
is removed it will be found to have left a hole
just large enough for it to slip into again. A
little manipulation will make the rim of this
pocket less ragged than at first. The cushion
for boxes packed with excelsior or hay should
be at least four inches thick. In packing with
paper, lay first an even layer three or more inches
thick of folded papers, filling the space around
the kettle with soft, crumpled papers. In place
of the top cushion, make a bundle of papers
folded to just the right size. This can only be
done when perfectly flat pail covers are used,
unless a supplementary soft cushion be first laid
over the pail.

The box is now ready for cooking, but if, after
considerable use, the material shrinks so that
the whole space is not firmly filled, a little more
may be added. There should always be at
least a slight pressure when the cover is closed.
The paper lining described on page 20, while not
necessary to this class of boxes, is an improvement.

THE FIRELESS COOKER

Boxes to be filled with the second class of
material are packed in the following manner:

Line the box with a smooth covering of paper or
asbestos, tacked into place. Pack a layer of
insulating material, three inches or more in thick-
ness, in the bottom, laying a piece of heavy
paper on this. Sew two or three thicknesses of
pliable cardboard into the form of a cylinder that
will fit around the utensil loosely. (Fig. No. i.)

Figure No. i.
Pasteboard cylinder to fit the pail.

It must be of the same height as the kettle. Set
this cooker-pail, surrounded by the cylinder, on
the layer in the box. Holding the kettle in place
with one hand, pack tightly around it, to the
level of the top of the pail. (See page 12.) The
efficiency of the box depends largely upon this
packing. Cut a round hole, the size of the cooker
nest, in a piece of heavy pasteboard, to fit the
top of the box. Lay this over the packing, so
that it will cover it completely. The box is now

THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

ready for its cloth lining. To make this, cut three
pieces of cloth; one to be one-inch or more larger
than the top of the box, with a round hole cut in
its centre, one inch smaller than the diameter
of the cooker-pail (Fig. No. 2:1); another to be a

% 3

Figure No. 2.
Showing how to cut the cloth pieces for lining a home-made cooker.

round piece one-inch larger than the diameter
of the pail (Fig. No. 2:2); and the third to be a
strip one-inch wider than the height of the pail,
and long enough to go around it with an inch to
spare (Fig. No. 2:3). Sew the ends of this strip

THE FIRELESS COOKER 19

together to make a cylinder. Into one end of
this cyHnder sew the round piece. The other
end is to be sewed into the large piece, taking in
each case a half-inch seam. When this is put
into the box it will line the nest for the kettle,
and cover the pasteboard which rests on top.
(Fig. No. 3.) Remove the pail and tack this

Figure No. 3.
Showing the cloth lining just about to be placed in the box.

cloth lining in place, turning in the edges where
it is tacked to the box. A paper lining may be
substituted for cloth in the following manner:
Take a sheet of very heavy paper, at least one
inch larger in every dimension than the top of
the box. Draw a circle in the centre of it the
size of the pail. In the centre of this circle cut

20 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

a small hole large enough to insert the blade of
a pair of scissors. From this hole, cut to the
circle, so as to strike it at intervals of about one
and one-half inches. (Fig. No. 4.) Fit the paper
over the top of the packing in the box so that
this circle will come just over the nest for the pail.
Put the cooker-pail into the nest and it will
crease the points down at exactly the right place.

Figure No. 4.

Showing the manner of cutting the paper coyering

for a fireless cooker.

Figure No. 5 shows the cooker completed. A
paper lining is in some respects to be preferred
to cloth. It is easy and quick to make and can
be readily replaced if it becomes soiled.

With either class of cooker more than one nest
may be made. It is well, in that case, to have a
wooden partition put into the box before packing

THE FIRELESS COOKER

it, although this is not strictly necessary. Each
portion of the box can then be packed indepen-
dently and for utensils of different sizes if desired.
If possible, when packing a box with mineral
wool, do the work out of doors, wearing a pair of

Figure No. 5.
Showing the paper liniji/? of a fireless cooker in place.

gloves, as particles from it fly into the air and are
extremely irritating to the throat and skin.
Twenty-five pounds of mineral wool will pack
a nine-quart pail in a box fifteen by fifteen
inches and eleven inches high. Five pounds of
wool will pack the same box for using a nine-quart
pail. If a smaller pail is used, more wool or
mineral wool will be required.

22 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Sawdust is one of the easiest materials to handle.
It packs easily and does not require a cloth
covering, heavy paper answering the purpose
perfectly. Proceed with the packing as for wool
or mineral wool and such other materials, omitting
the pasteboard top. In place of this and the
cloth covering use a paper lining.

The "space adjuster'' is a padded cylinder
which slips into a cooker pocket and makes a

** Space adjuster" before it is covered; and small pad
to fill the space below the pail.

receiver for a smaller cooker-pail than that for
which the cooker was packed. It can be made
by putting together two pasteboard cylinders of
equal length, one of which will fit rather loosely
outside of the small pail, and the other of which
will slip easily into the cooker pocket and line it
from top to bottom. When the small cylinder is
stood inside of the larger one the space between
the two should be firmly packed, preferably with

THE FIRELESS COOKER 23

a soft material such as cotton or wool. To keep
the filling in place while packing it the cylinder
may be wound with twine, as shown in the accom-
panying illustration. It may then be covered
with a fitted muslin cover. Sew two tabs on this
cover, with which to lift the space adjuster out.
When slipped into the cooker pocket, and the
small pail placed in the new pocket thus formed,
there will be found to be a space below the pail,
which may be filled by a round cushion made
for the purpose.

Section Tiew of " space adjuster " showing the pail
and cushion in place.

Ready-made hay-boxes and fireless cookers
are to be found on the market, some of which
have advantages over the home-made article
along with some disadvantages. First of the
disadvantages is, perhaps, the cost, the expense
being considerably greater than for the home-
made box. Also the choice in the matter of shapes
and material for the utensils cannot be as great

24 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

as in home-made boxes, and some of the cookers
are unpractical in minor details. On the other
hand, the commercial cookers are ready for use,
some of them being excellently adapted to their
purpose, and to many people this would offset
the cost. Those that are made .of metal, on the
plan of refrigerators, perhaps not boxes at all,
would appeal to certain housekeepers as likely
to be more cleanly than upholstered boxes. But,
as food is always in tightly-covered vessels, and
as experience has shown that ordinary care will
prevent anything from being spilled, a hay-box
having been kept sweet and clean without refilling
for over a year, the danger of uncleanliness is not
so great as would at first appear. Doubtless
where servants are entrusted with the use of the
cooker there would usually be a greater necessity
for guarding against untidiness.

In selecting a ready-made cooker certain points
should be considered. See that the parts fit
closely together, are simple and strong in con-
struction; that there are no seams or pockets in
the kettles which would be difficult, if not impos-
sible, to get clean; that the kettles are a suitable
size, namely, not too large, if they are to cook
food for a small family, and not too small to ensure
sufficient heat for proper cooking; and that there
is no air space over the cover that will not be

THE FIRELESS COOKER 25

filled when the cooker is closed. In the case of
the metal cookers a round cover with a single
hinge is a point of weakness, for the cover is not
sufficiently supported to endure the strain of con-
stant use. Many of the cookers also use tin very
considerably, which is objectionable. Doubtless
there will be constant improvements in these
inventions, as there is a growing demand for them
and an increasing intelligence as to their use.

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR A HOME-MADE FIRELESS
COOKER

A box or barrel (see page 9).

One pair of strong hinges.

A hasp.

Material for stuffing (see page 11).

One or more large pails (see page 13).

One or more small pails or pans (see page 13).

Muslin, Iy yards or more, depending upon the size of the box,

A cooking thermometer.

Heavy pasteboard.

Pliable pasteboard.

Brown paper.

Tacks and screws.

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR USING A FIRELESS
COOKER

While success in using a cooker is reasonably
sure if directions are clear and detailed, and can
be followed exactly, yet it is well to understand,

26 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

in a general way, the conditions of success in
order that a deviation from directions, if such
should ever be found necessary, will not mean
failure.

As the cooking depends upon the retention of
heat, it stands to reason that there must be heat
to retain. A pint of food does not contain as
much heat as a quart, even though both be of
the same temperature to begin with. This can
be demonstrated by setting a pint and a quart
of boiling water side by side. The pint will lose
its small amount of heat and grow cold much
sooner than the quart, with its larger amount.
After an equal time eight quarts of food in the
cooker have been found to register 15 degrees
Fahrenheit higher than one and one-half quarts,
other conditions being the same. This explains
the failures of some beginners which are due to
the fact that such a small quantity of food was
taken that there was not sufficient heat to begin
with. Obviously this danger is less with foods
requiring only a slight cooking, since, even with
small quantities, some time elapses before the
food grows too cold to cook at all.

The total quantity of food is, therefore, seen to
be an important factor in success. The larger
the amount of food, the higher the temperature
will be at the end of a given length of time. Where

THE FIRELESS COOKER 27

the amount is very large, as in the case of hotel
and institution cookery, this gain is so great
that the time required for cooking is materially
reduced.

The proportion between the amount of food and
the size of the utensil in which it is cooked is
equally important. Experiments have shown
that one and one-half quarts of water, in a pail
just large enough to hold it, will register 15
degrees Fahrenheit more than the same measure
of water in a nine-quart pail at the end of an
hour; while at the end of twelve hours there is
28 degrees of difference. It is thus seen that a
well-filled kettle is more likely to cook success-
fully than one partially filled. When it is impos-
sible to cook in a smaller pail, and thus avoid
vacant space in the kettle, the difficulty may, to
some extent, be offset by using a pan for the food
with sloping sides and broad rim, such as a
''pudding pan," which may be set into the
cooker-pail and, by resting upon its rim, will be
suspended in it. This arrangement admits of
filling the lower part of the pail with boiling
water or with boiling food, in case a second
kind of food is to be cooked for the same length
of time.

Space between the pail and packing material
is also likely to be disastrous, so that it is not

28 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

advisable to try to use a small pail in a "nest"
made for a large one without the "space adjuster"
described on page 22. Even the space which
results after a short use of a newly packed box
will be sufficient for the escape of some heat
and should always be filled in.

Place the cooker near the stove, since it is
important to transfer the food very quickly from
one to the other. The cooker should be open,
the cushion removed and everything in readiness
before the food is taken from the fire; then, before
it has time to stop boiling, it should be in place
in the box. Loss of time at this juncture owing
to uncertain movements is a fruitful source of
failure among beginners.

Keep the box tightly closed from the moment
the food is put into it until it is entirely done, as
if for any reason the box is opened before the
appointed time, the contents must be reheated
to boiling point before being replaced.

The time for cooking foods on the stove, previous
to putting them into the cooker, is usually very
short. Food in large, solid masses, as ham, pot
roasts, moulds of bread, etc., must be boiled until
thoroughly heated to the centre, obviously requir-
ing longer boiling the larger and denser the
pieces are. Food that is broken and less com-
pact will be readily penetrated by heat and will

THE FIRELESS COOKER 29

be boiling hot nearly or quite as soon as the
surrounding water. Such foods need only a
moment's brisk boiling before being put into
the cooker. Cereals, although in fine parti-
cles, easily settle into a dense, impenetrable
mass during the long period of undisturbed
cooking, unless boiled until they are slightly
thickened.

The length of time for cooking in the cooker
depends upon several factors: (i) the kind of
cooker, whether well or ill packed, and whether
good or poor insulating material is used; (2)
the skill of the cook in getting the kettle into the
box quickly; (3) the amount, toughness, density,
and size of the pieces; (4) whether hard or
soft water is used. If hard water is used foods
require more cooking to become tender than
with soft water. Hard water may be softened,
however, by the addition of a little baking
soda. The time given in this book is adapted
to a home-made cooker, well packed with any
of the materials suggested in the section giving
directions for packing the cookers. With some
commercial cookers a shorter time may be
sufficient.

It is frequently stated that few foods are injured
by overcooking, but while this is true of a great
many foods, it has not proved to be the case with

30 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

all. Potatoes, rice, custards, raised mixtures,
such as dumplings, suet pudding, and brown
bread, as well as mzny other foods, are decidedly
injured by overcooking. The recipes generally
state the minimum and maximum time which
each food should have. This information will
also be found easily accessible in the classified
index. There is danger in leaving meats or
soup stock or even cereals in the cooker long
after they have cooled down, as they will be
likely to spoil.

Needless to say, careful reading of all the
directions given, and following them in every
particular, will be necessary until one becomes
well acquainted with this novel method of cookery.
Mistakes in temperature tests, in measuring, in
time, and in other conditions, may result in failures,
which must not be imputed to the cooker, but to
the cook.

It will probably not be long, after the first
experiment with a cooker, before several com-
partments are fitted up; in which case it is diffi-
cult to remember what food is in each and at
what time it is to be removed, since it is left for
so many hours. To meet this difficulty a slate,
hung in the kitchen near the box, will be found a
great convenience. It may be permanently ruled
and arranged in the form of a table, to be filled

THE FIRELESS COOKER

out with pencil. A good form to use is the one
given below. The compartments may be num-
bered or described.

Compartment

Food

Time put in

Time for removal

THE PORTABLE INSULATING PAIL

A CHEAP, portable retainer, for keeping food
hot or cold on picnics, automobile trips, and
other outings, will be found a great convenience
and will fill a long-felt want. Tight-fitting covers,
fastened in place, will be necessary to keep food
from spilling; and very cheap, easily obtained
insulating material should be used for these
pails, so that in case the packing becomes soiled
it can be discarded without loss. Newspapers,
hay, or excelsior are best for the purpose. The
object in using such pails is not to cook the food,
though this might be done if the inner pail were
small enough or the outer pail large enough to
allow of sufficient insulation, but to keep food
already cooked, or nearly cooked, at a temperature
which will make it appetizing. For this purpose
a couple of inches of insulation, with such
materials as those suggested, will answer very
well. If an ordinary fibre or wooden household
pail is used, this will carry two or three quarts
of food. Take for the inner utensil one just

PORTABLE INSULATING PAIL 33

large enough to hold the food, and pack the outer
pail to accommodate it, like any hay-box or
cooker. If designed for frequent use it will pay
to make a fitted cushion, but for a single occasion
it will not be worth while to take this trouble.
Any small cushion or pillow can be used, merely
turning the corners under, if it is square. In
order to protect it from danger of becoming
soiled, lay a number of thicknesses of newspaper
over the inner pail before putting on the cushion.
Be careful to pack it so that the cushion will fill
the upper space completely. A cover must be
found for the outer pail, and if a wooden cover
is not at hand, a round tray or large kettle cover
that will fit it may be utilized. A butter pail,
tin pail or candy pail will have its own cover.

To fasten the covers on, tie a loose slip-knot
in the middle of a piece of very strong twine (Fig.
No. 6:1); before puUing it up tight, slip the noose
over the cover of the pail and draw the remainder
of the knot out till it is loose enough to go around
the pail. If it is placed under the rim near the
top of the utensil, or under the fastenings of the
handle, it will be held by them from slipping off.
Then draw the knot up tight, and tie the two
ends of twine over the top. (Fig. No 6:2.) For
greater safety, especially on the outer pail, it will
be well to use two such strings, placing the logps

34 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

at right angles to one another. Soft copper wire
might be used for this purpose instead of twine.
When the food is in the inner pail, tie on the
cover, put it again on the fire until it is boiling hot,

Figure No. 6.
I* Mediod of tjing slip-knot. 2. Method of tying the coTcr on a pail.

and place it quickly in the insulating pail. More
than one kettle of food may be placed in the pail
if there is room. Food thus insulated will keep
hot for hours, even in cold weather.

Obviously, this arrangement will work equally
well in keeping cold foods cool in summer, such as

PORTABLE INSULATING PAIL 35

ice water, or cool drinks. Even frozen creams
and ices, if packed well in a mould, covered tin
pail or can, sealed and surrounded with a small
quantity of ice and salt, and the whole thus
insulated, will keep for many hours. To seal
the mould, dip a narrow strip of muslin in melted
fat and lay it quickly over the crack between the
cover and mould.

iir

THE REFRIGERATING BOX .

AS WE have seen in the case of the insulating
l\. pail, the principle involved in cooking
by retained heat may be reversed, and the heat
may, by similar means, be excluded from foods
which are to be kept cold. Ice-boxes and refrig-
erators are made with this end in view. They
are constructed with heavy walls, usually, if not
always, with an interlining of some non-conducting
material, to exclude the heat of the atmosphere.
Where such an article is needed permanently,
or for large quantities of food, the various refrig-
erators on the market are better adapted to the
purpose than a home-made box. But, in cases
of temporary necessity or to supplement a refrig-
erator, the home-made refrigerating box will
doubtless find a use. Ingenuity will suggest
variations in the manner of applying the principle
of insulation to keeping foods cold, but by way
of suggestion two forms of refrigerating boxes
are described below.

Take three or more stoneware crocks with
36

THE REFRIGERATING BOX

well-fitting covers of the same material. The
size of the crocks must be determined by the
quantity of food to be kept. Good results in
the way of temperatures have been obtained with
those holding a half gallon, but the amount of
food accommodated in them is, of course, small.

Refrigerating box packed with three crocks.

Proceed exactly as for packing a cooker, except
that the crocks must be set in place so that all
of them touch the central one, which is to be
filled with ice.

Although any insulating material suitable for
cookers will answer for a refrigerating box, saw-
dust will be found the easiest to handle, for the

38 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

reason that its fine particles will more readily
fill the acute angles between the crocks, which
must be carefully packed or the insulation is not
complete. It will be best to make one narrow
cushion that may remain in place over the central
crock, except when the ice is to be renewed, and
two others, each of which can be removed singly
when the crock under it is to be opened. Put
the food into dishes or pails that can be removed
with it and washed. This will obviate the
necessity for taking out the crocks frequently
and will mean a considerable saving of ice. In
lieu of one solid piece of ice, broken pieces will
be found to answer excellently. Fill the ice-
crock as full as possible, and do not open it until
it needs refilling. A little observation of your own
individual box will be necessary to tell you just
how long your crock of ice will last. It will
probably be safe, in any case, to leave it two full
days after filling it before opening it. If no
foods that have not been reasonably cooled are
put into the refrigerating box it is possible that
the ice may last three or four days.

Aside from the efficiency of the insulation, the
consumption of ice will depend largely upon the
amount and temperature of the food in the other
crocks and the frequency with which they are
opened to the warm outside air; therefore chose

THE REFRIGERATING BOX 39

as cool a place as possible for the box to stand,
and open it only when necessary. Try to think
of all the articles you want from it before taking
off the cushion. Better results in the way of
temperature can be obtained with these boxes
than with many commercial refrigerators, although
the skill and care in using either will be a large
factor in the economy of ice. When it is necessary
to open the box, let it be for as brief a time as
possible, as every moment that it is open means
an increase of temperature and, consequently, a
loss of ice.

Another variety of refrigerating box may be
made by thoroughly insulating a tin pail partly
filled with ice, or a bread box, containing a crock
for ice. Allow the same amount of insulation
as that called for with the various packing
materials used for hay-boxes or cookers, and
pack them similarly. It will not often be neces-
sary to remove the inner box if care is taken in
handling the dishes of food; but when it is to be
scalded, take it out, wash it well, boil or scald it
with soda and water, and cool it again before
replacing it in the packing.

COOKING FOR TWO

WHILE the fireless cooker is, perhaps,
especially adapted to families of average
size, or larger, there is no reason why small
quantities of food cannot be equally well cooked,
provided the cooker is properly made with that
in view.

A large utensil will involve a great waste of
gas and time, for in every case it will be necessary
to heat a considerable quantity of water which
is only required to fill the utensil. Select, instead,
a two-quart pail, pack it very tightly in a mod-
erately small box, allowing, however, the requisite
thickness of insulation (see page i6). This will
be suitable for much of the cooking to be done,
such as vegetables, steamed breads, etc., that are
cooked in much water; but for such articles as
oatmeal, stews, puddings, and some vegetables,
use a small pudding pan, just fitting into the pail
and resting on its rim, with a cover that will
closely fit the pan. The pail must always be
filled with boiling water or food to touch the upper

COOKING FOR TWO 41

pan, and if these conditions are fulfilled and the
food is put quickly, and while boiling hard, into
a cooker which stands close to the range, it will
be found to cook as perfectly as larger amounts.
Two kinds of food can thus be cooked at once,
but, when only water is used in the lower pail,
it can be kept in the cooker during the meal,
and will be hot when the time comes for washing
the dishes.

The fact that almost all the recipes in this
book tell the number of persons which they will
serve will make the quantity to be cooked easy
to ascertain. Where articles are to be cooked
in moulds, as steamed breads, puddings, meat
loaves, etc., one-half pound baking powder cans
may be used. It will be safer to test them to see
whether or not they leak. The only change
in the method of cooking such dishes that will
then be necessary is shortening the time of boiling
previous to putting them into the cooker. Small
cuts of meat will also require shorter preliminary
boiling. One-half the time given will be found
sufficient. The great majority of dishes may
be cooked as directed in the full-sized recipes,
without any change on account of the small
quantity.

For such purposes as preserving and baking
(see page 228), a large pail will be needed, even

42 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

by a family of two, and it is suggested that the
cooker be packed first to accommodate such a
pail, and the box then be made to receive also
the two-quart pail by means of the space-adjuster
described on page 22.

MEASURING

ALL measurements given in this book are
IjL made in standard half-pint cups, table-
spoons, teaspoons, quarts, pecks, etc. The dry
materials are leveled even with the top of the cup,
spoon, or other measure by filling it heaping full,
then pushing off with a knife that which lies above
the top. When held level with the eyes, nothing
should be seen above the cup or spoon, and yet
the receptacle should be completely filled. Where
standard cups, with divisions in thirds and
quarters, are not to be obtained, it will be better
to use a straight-sided glass if one can be found
which holds an exact half-pint. It will be easier
to get an accurate half or third of a cupful in such
a measure than in one which grows smaller at
the bottom, as most cups do. A cupful or spoon-
ful of liquid is all that they can be made to hold.

Such materials as flour, powdered sugar, mus-
tard, meal, and others, that pack as they stand,
should first be sifted or stirred up, and must
have any lumps pressed out. Do not shake

44 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

such materials to level them, or they will settle
and the measure will be incorrect. Half cup-
fuls or other fractions of a cupful of dry mate-
rial, fat, etc., may be leveled with the back of
a tablespoon.

To measure fractions of a spoonful, whether
a teaspoon or a tablespoon, fill the spoon, level it,
then with a knife divide halves lengthwise of
the spoon; quarters crosswise of the halves;
eighths by dividing these in halves; thirds
crosswise; and sixths by dividing the spoon
first in halves, then in thirds across the halves.

TABLE OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

2 Cupfuls of granulated sugar . . . equals i pound

I Tablespoonful granulated sugar . . equals J ounce

2§ Cupfuls of powdered sugar .... equals I pound

2§ Cupfuls of brown sugar equals i pound

3J Cupfuls of bread flour not shaken down equals i pound

I Cupful of bread flour equals 5 ounces

3J Tablespoonfuls flour equals i ounce

1 Pint of milk or water equals I pound

2 Cupfuls of solidly packed butter . . equals I pound

2 Tablespoonfuls butter equals i ounce

2 Cupfuls of solidly packed lard . . . equals i pound

2 Cupfuls of chopped meat .... equals i pound

1} Cupfuls of rice equals i pound

I Cupful of rice equals 8 J ounces

I Cupful of raisins equals 7 ounces

2^ Cupfuls of raisins equals I pound

3^^ Cupfuls of currants equals i pound

1 Cupful of currants ...... equals 5 ounces

2 Cupfuls of hominy grits equals i pound

2 Cupfuls of samp equals i pound

I Cupful of split peas equals 8 ounces

I Cupful of dried beans equals 7 J ounces

I Quart of bread crumbs equals 7 ounces

I Cupful peanuts, chopped .... equals 5^ ounces

I Cupful prunes equals 6J ounces

46 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

I Cupful dried apricots or peaches equals 6 ounces

I Cupful macaroni equals J pound

I Cupful oatmeal equals 4 ounces

I Cupful commeal equals 6 ounces

8 Medium-sized eggs in shells . . . equals i pound

I Medium-sized egg in shell .... equals 2 ounces

10 Medium-sized eggs (broken) . . . equals i pound

I Cup almonds, blanched and chopped . equals 5 ounces

I Square Baker's chocolate .... equals i ounce

2J Tablespoons salt equals i ounce

4 Tablespoons pepper equals i ounce

2i Tablespoons ground ginger .... equals i ounce

2i Tablespoons ground cinnamon. . equals i ounce

VII
TABLE OF PROPORTIONS

Batters; i cupful liquid to i cupful flour.

Muffin or cake dough; i cupful liquid to 2 cupfuls flour.

Dough to knead; i cupful Hquid to 3 cupfuls flour.

Dough to roll out; i cupful liquid to 4 cupfuls flour.

6 teaspoonfuls baking-powder to i quart flour, if no eggs

are used; or
I J teaspoonfuls Ijaking-powder to i cupful flour.
J teaspoonful soda and i teaspoonful cream of tartar is about

equivalent to 2 teaspoonfuls baking-powder.
J cup liquid yeast equals i dry yeast cake, and J compressed

yeast cake.
I cupful liquid yeast, i dry yeast cake, or J compressed yeast

cake to i pint liquid if bread is raised during the day.
J cupful liquid yeast, J dry yeast cake, or J compressed yeast

cake to i pint liquid if bread is raised over night.
I J teaspoonfuls soda to i pint thick, sour milk.
I J teaspoonfuls soda to i pint molasses.
I teaspoonful soda to ij cupfuls thick, sour cream.
J cupful corn-starch to i quart milk for blanc-mange.

1 teaspoonful salt to i quart soup stock, sauces, etc.
i teaspoonful pepper to each teaspoonful salt.

2 to 4 egg yolks to i pint milk for soft custards.
2 or 3 whole eggs to i pint milk for cup custards.

I teaspoonful salt to i quart water for boiling vegetables,
meats, etc.

48 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

2 tablespoonfuls flour to I cup liquid for white sauces and

gravies.

3 tablespoonfuls flour to i cup liquid for brown sauces.
Whites of 8 eggs make i cupful.

3 teaspoons equal i tablespoon.
l6 tablespoons equal i cup.
2 cups equal i pint.

VIII

SEASONING AND FLAVOURING MATE-
RIALS

HAVING always to substitute a familiar
and time-worn flavouring, which is in
the house, for the newer and particular flavour
called for and required to give the distinctive
"tang" to a dish, is what gives some people's
cooking a monotony that is no easier or less
expensive to produce than a variety, if only
the kitchen is as well supplied as it might be.
Many diff^erent recipes can be made, using the
same ingredients as a basis, by changing the
flavouring, as in stews, cakes, etc. Macaroni and
rice admit of a wide range of variation.

For the housekeeper who does not want all
her cooking to taste alike, it will be found con-
venient to have always on hand a variety of
flavouring and seasoning materials. A list is
given below of the ones frequently called upon
in this book; those which are commonly used
in sweet dishes being grouped together, and
those used in savoury dishes, such as soups,

50 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

stews, etc., although in some cases these are
used interchangeably:

Flavourings for Sweet Dishes

Vanilla bean or extract Cloves

Almond extract Nutmeg

Orange rind and juice Allspice

Lemon rind and juice Ginger

Cinnamon Wine

Seasonings for Savoury Dishes

Pepper Thyme

Cayenne Bay leaves

Curry powder Worcestershire sauce

Sage Parsley

Summer savoury Celery seed

Sweet marjoram Celery leaves

Dried peppers

Many of these can be prepared at almost
no cost, and put away in tin cans or boxes, either
whole or powdered with a mortar and pestle.
The leaves of celery and parsley, the herbs and
peppers may be washed well and hung near
the kitchen stove or in the sun, if they can be
kept free from dust and flies out of doors, or
put into a warming oven. Orange and lemon
rind make good flavourings for puddings and
cakes, if correctly prepared, to vary the mono-
tony of perpetual vanilla. The yellow part only
of the rind should be grated, for cakes, or shaved
off with a knife for custards and puddings,

SEASONING AND FLAVOURING 51

which can be strained to take out the pieces.
Caramel is easy to make, and is useful in cus-
tards and creams.

To make caramel. Melt one cupful of sugar
with one tablespoonful of water, in a frying-
pan. Stir it constantly until it is a golden brown
colour, add one-half cupful of water, one-half
at a time. The sugar becomes very hot, and,
if only a small amount of water is added, it does
not cool it enough and will be so quickly turned
to steam as to have almost the effect of exploding.
If the sugar is allowed to become dark brown
it will taste bitter. Such caramel is sometimes
used to color gravies, but is not sufficiently
delicate in taste for flavouring purposes.

Avoid using the same seasonings in every
dish. It is better to put only a few flavours
together for each dish than to mingle a great
many and be obliged always to use the same.
It is a good general principle, where several
flavours are combined, to keep all somewhat
equally balanced so that no one is conspicuously
present. Public opinion seems to agree that
the skilful cook is the one who makes some-
thing good, "but you can't tell what's in it."
This is done chiefly by the careful selection
and equalizing of flavouring ingredients.

BREAKFAST CEREALS

THAT so cheap and easy a food to pre-
pare as cereals should so often be
unappetizing, and even indigestible, because of
poor cooking, is partly due to ignorance of
the great improvement in flavour which long
cooking gives them, and partly to the diffi-
culties attending such long cooking. No one
wants to rise two hours before breakfast to
cook a cereal which is advertised on the
package to cook in ten minutes or less, and
those who do not have coal fires burning
through the night are somewhat at a loss to
know how to keep cereals cooking over night.
The fireless cooker seems to fill a long-felt want
in this direction. At the cost of a fraction of
a cent for fuel it accomplishes an all-night
cooking without danger of scorching, boiling
dry, or needing to be stirred. The fallacious
idea that boiling temperature is necessary for
cooking starches and starchy foods has been
proved false. As a matter of fact, a temperature

BREAKFAST CEREALS 53

of 167 degrees Fahrenheit is sufficient for the
starch grains of some cereals, while long-con-
tinued cooking at much below boiling point
will serve to soften and rupture the woody
fibre which surrounds and entangles the starch
and other nutrients. The nitrogenous or tissue-
forming substance is probably rendered less
easily digestible by boiling, and is perfectly
cooked at a temperature which will cook the
starches. Merely reaching these temperatures
for a short time is not sufficient, however, to
produce well-cooked cereals. A further change
affecting the flavour, and perhaps the digestibility,
is accomplished by long cooking.

The length of time required depends upon
the amount and character of the woody fibre,
whether the grains are left whole or ground
fine, and the degree of cooking they may have
had in the course of manufacture. Rolled oats
and wheat are steamed to some extent, and do
not, therefore, require as much cooking as whole
or cracked wheat and oats. Preparations of
corn, having more woody fibre than any of the
other cereals, will, unless cooked during manu-
facture, require more cooking than equally finely
ground preparations from other cereals. Rice
requires the least cooking of all, as it contains
the least woody fibre.

54 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Rolled Oats

2i cups water i teaspoon salt

I cup rolled oats

Look over the oats and remove any husks or
pieces. Put water, salt, and oats in a pan, or
pail that fits into a cooker-pail, boil them for
five minutes, or until slightly thickened, stir-
ring them frequently, then put the pan over a
cooker-pail of boiling water and put it into a
cooker for from two to twelve hours. Although
soft and digestible after two hours, it is greatly
improved in flavour by longer cooking. If
cooked over night it will need to be heated,
somewhat, before serving. This can be done
by putting it over the fire while still in the cooker-
pail of water. When the water in the pail boils,
the oatmeal may be served.

Serves four persons.

Cornmeal Mush

4 cups boiling water i cup cornmeal

I teaspoon salt J cup cold water

Mix the meal with the cold water, add it to
the boiling salted water; let it boil five minutes,
stirring it frequently, then set it in a cooker-pail
of boiling water and put it into a cooker for
from five to ten hours. If the mush is to be
used for frying, use two cupfuls of milk and

BREAKFAST CEREALS 55

two cupfuls of water, reserving one-half cupful
of the milk cold to mix with the cornmeal.
When cooked, pour it into a wet bread pan,
and slice it when perfectly cold. If coarsely
ground meal is used, sift it through a coarse
sieve before cooking it, to remove the largest
particles of bran. Granulated meal will not
require sifting.

Serves six or eight persons.

Hominy Grits

5 cups water ij teaspoons salt

I cup hominy grits

Add the hominy to the boiling salted water,
boil it for ten minutes, and put it into a cooker
for ten hours or more.

Serves six or eight persons.

Cracked Wheat
i cup wheat i teaspoon salt

I cup cold water 2 cups boiling water

Soak the cracked wheat in the cold water for
nine hours or more; add the boiling water and
salt, and let all boil hard for ten minutes in an
uncovered pan. Place the utensil in a cooker-
pail of boiling water and put it into a cooker
for ten hours. Reheat it to the boiling point
and cook it again for ten hours.

Serves four or five persons.

56 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Steel Cut Oatmeal

i cup oatmeal J teaspoon salt

I cup cold water 2 cups boiling water

Cook it in the same manner as cracked wheat.
Serves four or five persons.

Pettijohn's Breakfast Food

2^ cups water i teaspoon salt

I cup Pettijohn's Breakfast Food

Add the salt and cereal to the cold water,
stir until it boils, boil it for five minutes, or until
it has thickened, and put it into a cooker for
from two to twelve hours. It is improved by
the longer cooking.

Serves four or five persons

Cream of W^heat
3^ cups boiling water i teaspoon salt

J cup cream of wheat

Put all together, stir until boiling, and put it
into a cooker for from one to twelve hours.
Serves four or five persons.

Wheatlet
Cook it in the same way as cream of wheat.

Farina
Cook it in the. same way as cream of wheat.

SOUPS

THERE are two classes of soup, (i) those
made with meat stock, which is the water
in which meat has been cooked, sometimes in
combination with other materials for seasoning
purposes, and (2) those made without meat
stock.

Soups made with meat stock include:

Bouillon, made from lean beef, always served
clear; or from clams.

Brown stock, made usually from beef, pre-
ferably one-half lean and one-half bone and
fat, with seasonings of vegetables, herbs, and
spices.

White stock, made from chicken or veal.

Consomme, made from several kinds of meat,
seasoned highly with vegetables, herbs, and spices,
and always served clear.

Broths or beef tea, made usually from lean
mutton, lamb, or beef, and not clarified.

Soups made without meat stock include:

Cream soups, made from vegetable or fish
57

58 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

stock with milk or cream and somewhat thickened
with flour or corn-starch.

Purees, made from vegetables or fish put through
a strainer, often with the addition of milk or
cream. They also are thickened with flour or
corn-starch and are usually thicker than cream
soups. White stock also is sometimes used in
purees.

Bisques are made like purees, except that
pieces of vegetables, fish, meat, or game are served
in them in addition.

SOUP MAKING

To make stock. Wash and cut the meat into
small pieces or gash it frequently; crack the bone;
let meat and bone soak in the cold water while
preparing the seasonings; then add the season-
ings, boil the stock ten minutes and put it into
a cooker for from nine to twelve hours. When
cooked, pour it through a wire strainer and set it
away to cool. When cold, it should be kept in a
refrigerator or other cold place. Be careful that
the pail is well filled, or the soup will cool with
the long cooking and may sour. If too small a
quantity is cooked to fill the pail or pan it should
be set over hot water. The cake of fat which
forms on top when the stock is cold should not be
removed until the soup is to be made, as it seals

SOUPS 59

the stock and keeps out air and germs, thus help-
ing to preserve it. When soup is to be made, the
fat is taken off, the stock heated, and any desired
seasonings or additions are put in.

To clear soup stock. Remove the fat, taste the
stock, and if it needs more seasoning add it before
the clearing. Put into each quart of the cold
stock the slightly beaten white of one egg and one
crushed egg-shell. Wash the egg before breaking
it. Stir the stock constantly while heating it.
Let it boil two minutes and set it in a cooker
for one-half hour or more. Remove the scum
and strain it through two thicknesses of cheese-
cloth laid in a colander.

To remove fat from hot soup or broth. Skim
off all that can be taken off with a spoon. With
a succession of small pieces of soft brown paper
take off the rest as if you were using blotting
paper on the surface of the soup. When no
spotted appearance is seen on the papers, the fat
is all removed.

To bind soups. This name is given to the
process of thickening cream soups and purees,
the liquid and solid part of which would separate
unless bound together. Melt the butter, and
when it is liquid add usually an equal quantity
of flour and rub them together till well blended.
They are then added to the soup and stirred

6o THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

constantly till perfectly mixed. If the proportion
of flour is greater than that of the butter it will
be better to add a little of the soup to the flour
and butter in a separate saucepan as for making
white sauce, and when enough has been added
to make a smooth sauce, it may be poured into
the soup.

Brow^n Stock No. i
3 lbs. shin of beef i sprig sweet marjoram

3 qts. cold water 2 sprigs parsley

i teaspoon peppercorns J cup carrot

6 cloves i cup turnip

i bay leaf J cup celery

3 sprigs thyme J cup onion

I tablespoon salt

Prepare the meat as directed for making stock,
brown one-third of it in a frying pan with the
fat. Wash the vegetables, scrape or pare them,
and cut them in small pieces. Put all the ingre-
dients together and bring them to a boil. When
they have boiled for ten minutes put them into
a cooker for from nine to twelve hours. Unless
there is a large quantity of soup it is not safe
to leave it more than twelve hours, lest it
grow cold and sour; but nine or more quarts
may safely be left for fifteen hours or more,
provided the kettle is at least two-thirds full.
Pour it through a wire strainer and cool it as
rapidly as possible.

SOUPS 6i

Brown Stock No. 2

ij lbs. meat and bone, raw 3 sprigs parsley

or cooked ^ cup carrot

I J qts. water J cup turnip

6 peppercorns J cup onion

3 cloves J cup celery

i teaspoon shaved lemon rind i teaspoon salt

Do not use salt or smoked meats for soup
stock, or any parts of meat which have become
charred or blackened in the cooking. Very little
of these would be enough to destroy the good
flavour of soup.

Cut from the bones all the meat that is easy
to get off. Tough ends from steak or roasts
should be cut off before they are cooked, and
saved for soup or stews. Cut meat for making
soup in small pieces. Separate the bones at the
joints and crack them if they are large. Soak the
meat in the water while preparing the seasoning.
Put all the ingredients together and bring them to a
boil. Boil them for ten minutes and put them
into a cooker for from nine to twelve hours,
standing the pan or pail in a large pail of boil-
ing water, unless this recipe fills the cooker pail.
Strain the stock through a wire strainer, and
cool it as rapidly as possible.

White Stock No. i
I chicken or fowl Water to cover the chicken

Salt (i teaspoon to i qt. water)

62 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Cook chicken or fowl according to the directions
given on page 131 for stewed chicken. The water in
which the chicken was cooked makes white stock.

White Stock No. 2
2 lbs. knuckle of veal 12 peppercorns

2 qts. cold water J cup celery or i tea-

1 tablespoon salt spoon celery seed

I onion

Prepare the meat as directed for making
stock. Pare and slice the onion; cut the celery
in pieces. If celery cannot easily be obtained,
substitute dried celery leaves, using three or
four sprays, or use celery seed.

Put all the ingredients together, let them boil
for ten minutes, and put them into a cooker for
from nine to twelve hours. Set the pail or pan
in a larger cooker -pail of boiling water unless
the soup nearly fills the cooker-pail.

Bouillon

3 lbs. lean beef from round or i tablespoon salt

shoulder J cup carrot

2 lbs. marrowbone J cup onion

3 qts. cold water J cup turnip
I teaspoon peppercorns J cup celery

Prepare the meat as directed for making
brown stock. Use the marrow fat for browning
the meat. Boil all together for ten minutes
and put them into a cooker for from nine to

SOUPS , 63

twelve hours. Strain the stock through a wire
strainer and cool it. When cold, remove the
fat and clear the soup as directed on page 59.
Serve in bouillon cups with crisp crackers.
Serves fifteen to twenty persons.

Beef Broth
I lb. lean beef from round or i pt. cold water
shoulder J teaspoon salt

Wash and chop the meat fine, removing any
pieces of fat. Add the salt and let the meat
soak for one hour in a cold place. In a small
cooker-pail or pan set over a larger cooker-
pail of hot, but not boiling water, heat the broth
till it registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Slip
the pails into a cooker for one-half hour. Strain
the broth through a coarse wire strainer, remove
all fat by the directions on page 59, and serve
it immediately in a heated cup; or it may be
chilled, or frozen to the consistency of mush.

Mutton Broth
3 lbs. mutton (from neck) Few grains pepper

2 qts. cold water 3 tablespoons rice or

2 teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons barley

Wipe the meat, remove carefully all skin and
fat, as these impart a rank flavour to mutton
broth. Cut the meat into small pieces, or put
it through a food chopper. Cover the meat
and bones with the water, add the salt, and

64 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

when boiling put them into a cooker for from
nine to twelve hours. If barley is used, soak
it over night and cook it in a small pail or pan
set into or ove the broth n the ame cooker-pail.
When broth and barley are bo h boiling, put
the pails together and slip them nto the cooker.
Rice would be over cooked if treated in this
way, and should be cooked in the strained broth,
or separately, for one hour in the cooker. When
the broth is done, strain it and remove every
particle of fat as directed on page 59.

Consomine

3 lbs. lower part of round or 2 tablespoons butter

shoulder of beef i tablespoon salt

I lb. marrow bone i teaspoon peppercorns

3 lbs. knuckle of veal i teaspoon shaved lemon rind

I qt. chicken stock 3 sprigs thyme

J cup carrot I sprig marjoram

J cup turnip 2 sprigs parsley

J cup celery i bay leaf

J cup onion 3 qts. cold water

Prepare the meat as directed for making
brown stock, using the ma row fat to brown half
of the meat. Soak the raw meat and bone in the
cold water while browning the remaining meat
and preparing the vegetables and seasonings.
Prepare the vegetables as directed for making
soup stock, and brown them in the butter. Bring
all to a boil together, reserving the chicken

SOUPS 6s

stock. Boil for ten minutes, and put it into the
cooker for from nine to twelve hours. Strain
this stock through a wire strainer, add the chicken
stock, and, if it is not seasoned sufficiently,
add what seasoning it needs. Cool it as rapidly
as possible, and when cold, clear it according
to the directions on page 59.

It is served, usually, with custard cut into
fancy shapes; or with noodles, macaroni, or
other Italian pastes, which are first cooked as
directed on page 143; or with delicate vege-
tables, such as peas or string beans, or other
vegetables cut into fancy shapes; or with cooked
chicken, cut in dice, and green peas. A poached
egg is sometimes served in each plate of soup.

Serves sixteen or twenty persons.

Mock Turtle Soup No. i

1 cairs head ij teaspoons salt

6 cloves 2 cups browri stock

8 peppercorns } cup butter

6 allspice berries J cup flour

2 sprigs thyme I cup stewed tomatoes, strained
J cup sliced onion Juice J lemon

J cup carrot cut in dice Madeira wine

Clean and wash the calPs head, reserving
the tongue and brains to use for some other dish.
Soak it for one hour in enough cold water to
cover it. Boil it in a covered pail for twenty

66 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

minutes with three quarts of salted water and
the vegetables and seasoning, and put it into
the cooker for from nine to twelve hours.
Remove the head; cut off the face meat and
reserve it; boil the stock until it is reduced to
one quart. Strain and remove the fat from
it as directed on page 59; or cool it, and remove
the hard fat. Melt the butter, add the flour
and stir it until it is well browned; then add
the brown stock, one-half at a time, stirring it
constantly, and allowing the mixture to boil
before adding the second cupful of liquid. To
this add the head stock, tomato, one cupful of
the face meat cut in dice, and the lemon juice.
Simmer for five minutes. Just before serving it
add Madeira wine to taste, more salt and pepper,
if desirable, custard cut in dice, and egg balls
or forcemeat balls. If the soup is prepared,
as it may be, some time before it is to be served,
slip the pail into the cooker until time for serving.
If kept many hours it will need to be reheated.
Mock Turtle Soup
I calf's or lamb's liver 4 cloves

I calf's heart i teaspoon peppercorns

I knuckle of veal 2 teaspoons salt

Water to cover (about 2 qts.) i bay leaf
J cup union 4 yolks of hard-cooked eggs

J cup turnip J lemon

i cup celeiy Madeira wine

SOUPS 67

Wash the meat, cover it with cold water in a
cooker-pail. Let it stand in a cold place while
the vegetables are being prepared. Wash the
vegetables and cut them in small pieces. Put
them and the seasonings with the meat, bring
all to a boil, and boil it for ten minutes. Put
it into a cooker for nine hours or more. Strain
ft, and add to it one cupful of the heart and
liver meat cut into small dice. Pour it into
a tureen in which the lemon and the egg yolks,
cut in quarters, have been placed. Add Madeira
wine to taste. The remaining heart and liver
may be used for stew or hash.

Serves ten or eleven persons.

Vegetable Soup with Stock

2 qts. brown stock ^ cup cabbage

i cup turnip J cup onion

i cup carrot i teaspoon salt

i cup celery 2 tablespoons rice or barley

Wash and pare the vegetables. Put all but
the celery through a coarse food chopper. Cut
the celery in fine pieces. Boil all the ingre-
dients, together hard for one minute. Put
them into a cooker for three hours or more.
If barley is used, soak it over night in cold
water and boil it till soft; or cook it in the
cooker with boiling salted water for five or
six hours.

68 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Cream of Celery Soup

2 cups white stock 3 tablespoons flour

3 cups celery, cut small 2 cups hot milk

I cup water i cup hot cream '

1 small onion, sliced i teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter J teaspoon pepper

Cook the first four ingredients together in a
cooker for three hours or more. Rub them through
a sieve; bind the soup with the butter and flour,
as directed on page 59, and add the milk, cream,
and seasonings.

Serves six or eight persons.

Asparagus Soup
3 cups white stock, or J cup butter

3 cups water in which aspara- i cup flour

gus has cooked 2 cups hot milk

I can asparagus, or i teaspoon salt

I pt. cooked asparagus i teaspoon pepper

I slice onion

If canned asparagus is used, drain and rinse it.
Cut off the tips about an inch long, and reserve
them. Put the stalks of asparagus, stock or
asparagus water and onion into a cooker-pail.
When boiling, put them into a cooker for two
and one-half hours or more. Rub through a
sieve, bind it with the butter and flour, as directed
on page 59, and add the remaining ingredients
and the tips.

Serves six or seven persons.

SOUPS 69

Tomato Soup with Stock
I qt. brown stock 4 tablespoons butter

I can or i qt. tomatoes J cup flour

I onion ij teaspoons salt

Cook the first three ingredients for one hour
or more in the cooker. Rub through a strainer,
bind it with the butter and flour, as directed on
page 59, and add the salt. Or bind the soup
before putting it into the cooker, and strain
it just before serving.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Creole Soup

I qt. brown stock J cup flour

1 pt. tomatoes J teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons chopped green Few grains of cayenne

sweet peppers 2 tablespoons grated horse-

2 tablespoons chopped onion radish

J cup butter i teaspoon vinegar

i cup macaroni rings

Cook the pepper and onion in the butter for
five minutes, add the flour, then the stock and
tomatoes gradually, and cook all in the cooker
for one hour or more. Rub it through a sieve,
and add the remaining ingredients. The maca-
roni rings are made by cutting cooked macaroni
into very short lengths. Do not soak macaroni
for making rings.

Serves six or eight persons.

70 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Ox Tail Soup

1 small ox tail i cup Madeira wine

l^ qts. brown stock i teaspoon Worcestershire

^ teaspoon salt sauce

Few grains of cayenne i teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter Flour

Cut the ox tail into small pieces, wash it,
drain it, and sprinkle it with the salt, pepper,
and flour. Brown it in the butter. Add it to
the stock with the vegetables, which have been
cut small or with French vegetable cutters.
Put it into the cooker for two hours or more.
Add the seasonings and lemon juice.

Serves six or eight persons.

Julienne Soup
I qt. brown stock 2 tablespoons peas

J cup carrot 2 tablespoons string beans

J cup turnip

Qarify the stock and add the cooked beans
and peas and the carrot and turnip, which have
been cut into thin strips one and one-half inches
long and cooked for two hours in the cooker.
When boiling hot, serve it.

Serves four or five persons.

Macaroni Soup

I qt. brown stock J cup macaroni rings

Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water for
two hours in the cooker. Drain it in a colander.

SOUPS 71

Cut it into very short lengths to make rings.
Heat them in the stock.

SOUPS MADE WITHOUT STOCK

Vegetable Soup

J cup carrot i pt. tomatoes

J cup turnip 5 tablespoons butter

} cup celery i tablespoon parsley

^ cup onion 2 teaspoons salt

li cups potato i teaspoon pepper

I qt. water

Wash the vegetables, scrape the carrot, pare
the turnip, potatoes, and onions, remove the
leaves and strings from the celery, and cut the
vegetables in small pieces, or put all except
the potatoes and celery through a coarse food
chopper. Measure the vegetables after they
are prepared. Put them all, except the potatoes
and parsley, into a frying pan with the butter,
and cook them for ten minutes; add the potatoes
and cook them for two minutes more, then
put all the ingredients, except the parsley,
together in a cooker-pail, and when they are
boiling put them into a cooker for three hours
or more. Add the parsley just before serving.
"Left-over" vegetables, in pieces, may be added,
in place of an equal measure of any of the first
five given.

Serves six or eight persons.

72 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Bean Soup

1 pt. beans 2 tablespoons Chili sauce

2 qts. water or stock 2 tablespoons butter
I onion 2 tablespoons flour
i lb. lean, raw beef, if stock is 2^ teaspoons salt

not used J teaspoon pepper

2 stalks celery

Wash and soak the beans over night, cut the
meat small, and pan-broil the pieces in a dry,
hot frying pan till brown. Put all the ingre-
dients except the butter and flour into a cooker-
pail, and when they are boiling put them into
a cooker for from nine to twelve hours. Rub
the soup through a strainer, and bind it.

Serves eight or ten people.

Black Bean Soup

1 pt. black beans J teaspoon pepper

2 qts. water J teaspoon mustard

1 small onion Cayenne

2 stalks celery, or 3 tablespoons butter
J teaspoon celery salt ij tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons salt 2 hard-cooked eggs

I lemon

Soak the beans over night, drain them and add
the two quarts of water. Cook the onion in one-
half of the butter; add onion and celery to the
beans, and, when boiling, put them into a cooker
for from eight to twelve hours. Rub the soup
through a strainer, add the seasonings, bind it,

SOUPS 73

and when it has boiled for five minutes pour it
over the sliced eggs and lemon in a soup tureen.
Serves eight or ten persons.

Tomato Soup

I can tomatoes, or i slice onion

I qt. raw tomatoes 2 teaspoons salt

I pt. water J teaspoon soda

12 peppercorns 2 teaspoons sugar

I small bay leaf 2 tablespoons butter

4 cloves 3 tablespoons flour

Cook the first six ingredients together in a
cooker for one hour or more. Strain, add the
salt and soda, and bind it. If it is not to be served
at once it may stand in the cooker, to keep hot,
for an indefinite period.

Serves six or seven persons.

Pur^e of Lima Beans

1 cup dried lima beans i cup cream or milk
3 pts. water 4 tablespoons butter

2 slices onion 2 tablespoons flour
2 slices turnip ^ 2 teaspoons salt

J teaspoon pepper

Wash the beans and soak them over night.
Drain them, and, when boiling, cook them with the
prepared onion and turnip and the water in a
cooker for four hours or more. Rub this through
a strainer, add the seasoning and cream or milk,
and bind it.

Serves seven or nine persons.

74 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Baked Bean Soup
3 cups cold baked beans 2 tablespoons butter

3 pints water 2 tablespoons flour

2 slices onion i tablespoon Chili sauce

2 stalks celery i teaspoon salt

li cups tomato J teaspoon pepper

Cook the first five ingredients in a cooker for
three hours or more, rub them through a strainer,
bind this with the butter and flour, as directed on
page 59, and add the seasonings.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Green Pea Soup
I can marrowfat peas, or i slice onion

1 pt. shelled peas 2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons sugar 2 tablespoons flour
I pt. water i^ teaspoon salt

I pt. milk J teaspoon pepper

If fresh peas are used take those which are too
old to be good to serve as a vegetable. If canned
peas are used, drain and rinse them, add the sugar,
water, and onion, and, when boiling, put them
into a cooker for two hours or more. Rub them
through a strainer, add the hot milk and seasoning
and bind the soup with the butter and flour, as
directed on page 59.

Bean and pea soups are very nourishing and
should not be followed by a rich, hearty meal.

Serves five or six persons.

SOUPS 75

Potato Soup

3 potatoes 2 tablespoons flour
I pt. milk I J teaspoons salt

1 pt. water J teaspoon celery salt

2 slices onion J teaspoon pepper

4 tablespoons butter Cayenne

I teaspoon chopped parsley

Scrub and pare the potatoes and cut them into
small pieces. Cook them in a cooker with the
water and onion for one and one-half hours or
more, standing the pail or pan in a larger cooker-
pail of boiling water. Rub the soup through a
sieve, bind it, and add the seasoning.

Serves five or six persons.

Fish Chowder
4 lbs. cod, haddock, or other ij inch cube fat salt pork

firm white fish i tablespoon salt

4 cups potatoes (in } inch dice) J teaspoon pepper
I onion, sliced 3 tablespoons butter

4 cups scalded milk § cup oyster crackers

Skin the fish (see page 82), cut the flesh into
two-inch pieces, put the head, tail, and bones into
a small cooker-pail or pan, add two cups of cold
water and bring it to a boil. Set this into a
larger cooker-pail of boiling water to which
one teaspoonful of salt has been added for each
quart of water. Put the potatoes in this lower
pail and, when boiling, cook all in the cooker
for one hour.

76 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Cut the pork into small pieces, try out the fat
in a frying-pan and fry the onion in it. When the
fish and potatoes are cooked, drain off the fish-
liquor, add all the ingredients except the milk
and crackers to it, bring it to a boil and place
it in the cooker for one-half hour. Add the
milk and pour the chowder over the crackers
in a tureen.

Serves twelve or sixteen persons.

Connecticut Chowder

Make this in the same manner as fish chowder,
substituting two and one-half cups of stewed or
canned tomatoes for the milk. The tomatoes
may be added to the other ingredients when they
are put together. If desired, crumble the crackers
and add them just before serving.

Serves ten or twelve persons.

Clam Chowder

i pk. clams in the shell i tablespoon salt

or I qt. clams J teaspoon pepper

I qt. potatoes, cut in f inch 4 tablespoons butter

dice I qt. scalding hot milk, or

I cup water 6 or 8 soda crackers, broken

I i inch cube fat salt pork or crumbled
2^ cups stewed tomatoes

Wash the clams in a strainer, pick them over,
to see that there are no bits of shell with them, and
cut off the soft parts. Chop the hard parts or

SOUPS 77

cut them into small pieces. Cut the pork into
pieces, try out the fat, and fry the onion in it.
Put all the ingredients together, except the crackers
and the milk, if that be used, into a cooker-pail.
Bring them to a boil and put them into the cooker
for from one to two hours. Reheat the soup and
add the milk and crackers.

Serves ten to sixteen persons.

Split-pea Soup
I pt. split peas 2 qts. cold water

I soup bone (2 lbs.) 2f teaspoons salt

J teaspoon pepper

Soak the peas over night and drain them.
Wash the bone, boil it for ten minutes in the water
and skim it, add the peas and seasoning, bring
all to a boil and put it into the cooker for four
hours or more. Take out the bone and serve
the soup without straining it. The peas must be
cooked until they fall to pieces easily when well
beaten. If desired, the meat may be taken
from the bone, cut into small pieces and served
in the soup.

Oyster or Clam Stew
I qt. oysters or clams J cup butter

I qt. milk li tablespoons salt

^ teaspoon pepper

Heat the milk till it boils. Heat the oysters
or clams in their liquor which has been strained

78 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

through cheese-cloth. Add the pepper and the
hot milk and put the stew at once into a cooker
for one-half hour or more. Oysters will keep
for some hours without curdling if they do not
boil after the milk is added and if the salt is put
in just before serving. It will be safer to keep
the clams and milk separate while in the cooker
and combine them just before serving. Less salt
will be needed for clams than for oysters.

SOUP GARNISHES

Noodles

I egg i teaspoon salt

Flour to make a stiff dough

Beat the egg until it is evenly mixed, add a
little flour, through which the salt has been mixed.
Gradually add more flour until a dough is made
that can be rolled out very thin. Knead it a few
minutes, then roll it as thin as possible. Let it
stand for fifteen or twenty minutes covered with
a towel, then roll it like jelly-roll and cut, from
the end of the roll, very narrow slices. Unroll
these strips and lay them on a board, covered
lightly with a towel or clean cloth, to dry. When
perfectly dry they are ready to use, or may be
put away in covered cans or boxes and kept in
a cool place.

If noodles are used as a vegetable they should

SOUPS 79

be prepared as macaroni, except that they must
not be soaked before cooking.

Egg Balls

4 ^ggs, cooked J teaspoon salt

I egg, raw I teaspoon butter

J teaspoon pepper

Put the eggs into enough cold water to more
than cover them (at least one quart for every
four eggs), bring this to a boil and put it into a
cooker for twenty minutes. Drop the eggs into
cold water, take off the shells and when they are
cold carefully remove the whites, leaving the
yolks whole. These may be dropped into soup
as they are, or they may be mashed, mixed with
the butter and salt and enough egg yolk, or egg
white or whole egg, beaten, to moisten them, so
that they may be moulded into balls about the
size of a hard-cooked yolk. Roll these in flour
and saute them in butter.

Forcemeat Balls
i cup fine, soft crumbs i egg

i cup milk § cup raw fish or meat

I teaspoon salt I tablespoon flour

I tablespoon butter

Cook the bread and milk to a paste, cool it,
add the beaten egg and fish or meat, forced
through a fine meat-chopper or chopped and
then ground fine with a mortar and pestle. Mould
it into balls, lay them in a pan with the flour

8o THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

and shake it until the balls are floured; then
saute them with the butter, shaking the pan
carefully from time to time, till the balls are
browned on all sides. Or the balls may be
dropped into boiling soup and put into the
cooker for one-half hour.

Croutons
Cut slices of bread one-half inch thick, spread
thinly with butter. Cut the slices into strips
one-half inch wide, and these into dice one-half
inch thick. Put them into a baking-pan, and
brown them in a hot oven, stirring them about
frequently that they may be brown evenly.
Add them to the soup just before serving, or
pass them after serving.

Soup Sticks
Prepare the bread exactly as for croutons,
except that the strips of bread are not cut into
dice. If desired the strips may be sprinkled
with grated cheese after they are cut. Lay
them side by side with enough space between
them to allow them to brown on the sides. Serve
them as an accompaniment to soup.

Crisp Crackers
Split plain, thick crackers; spread the rough
sides slightly with butter, and brown them
delicately in a hot oven.

FISH

OfiO tell fresh ph. The flesh of fresh fish
-^ is firm, and will rise quickly if pressed
with the finger; the eyes are bright, and the gills
red. Frozen fish may be kept for a long time,
but must be used at once when thawed, as it
spoils more quickly than fresh fish. Thaw
frozen fish in cold water.

Care of fish. Qean it and wipe it, inside and
out, with a cloth dipped in strongly salted water.
Do not put steaks or cutlets of fish into the water.
Lay it on a plate on cracked ice, or in a cool
place. It must not be kept in an ice-box unless
wrapped in two thicknesses of brown paper,
or it will impart an odour to milk, butter, and
other foods.

To clean a fish. Before opening it remove
the scales by scraping slowly from the tail toward
the head, holding the knife nearly flat on the
fish. Rinse the knife frequently in cold water.
Open the fish on the under side, cutting a slit
from the gills half-way down the body. Remove

82 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

the entrails clear to the backbone, scraping the
inside if necessary.

To skin a fish. Cut a slit down the back to the
tail, on both sides of the dorsal fins, deep enough
to take them out. Insert a sharp-pointed knife
under the skin as near the gills as possible. Hold-
ing the head by the bony part near the gills,
work the knife down toward the tail.

Cooking of -fish. Fish is sufficiently cooked when
the flesh will easily flake away from the bones.
If boiled too long, it becomes soft and watery.
An acid flavour is palatable with fish, and
for this reason slices of lemon or an acid sauce
are often served with it.

Left-over boiled fish may be served in a variety
of ways, as creamed fish, scalloped fish, fish
souffle, croquettes, casserole of fish, etc.

TABLE OF THE SEASONS, ETC., OF FRESH-WATER

FISH

MAMK or nsB

WEIGHT

IN SEASON

Salmon

5 or 6 lbs., or more

May to Sept.

Shad

3 lbs., or more

Jan. to June

White fish

4 lbs.

Winter

Bass

3 to 8 lbs

Always

Perch

Average 8 to a lb.

Summer

Pickerel

I to 4 lbs.

Always

Brook Trout

Apr. to Aug.

Lake Trout

4 to 9 lbs.

Apr. to Aug.

Pike

Summer

FISH

TABLE OF SEASONS, ETC., OF SALT-WATER FISH

NAME or FISH

WEIGHT

IN SEASON

Cod

3 to 20 lbs.

Always

Haddock

5 to 8 lbs.

Always

Black Bass

3 lbs.

Aug. to Mar.

Cusk

5 to 8 lbs.

Winter

Halibut

Always

Flounders

i to 5 lbs.

Always

Red snapper

4 lbs., or more

Late winter

Bluefish

4 to 8 lbs.

June to Oct.

Tautog

July to Sept.

Sturgeon

Summer

Swordfish

July to Sept.

Weakfish

3 to 5 lbs.

Winter

Mackerel

i to 2 lbs.

May to Sept.

Turbot

Jan. to Mar.

Herring

6 or 8 to a lb.

Mar. and Apr.

Smelts

Average 8 to a lb.

Sept. to Mar.

Lobsters

I to 2 lbs.

Always

Oysters

Sept. to May

Clams

Always

Crabs

Summer

Boiled Fish

Put a three-pound fish, or three pounds of
small fish, into four quarts of boihng water to
which four teaspoonfuls of salt have been added.
Set it at once into the cooker for one hour.
Larger fish may be cooked in the same
way if more water is used. For instance, a
four-pound fish should be put into five or six

84 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

quarts of water. Or, with large fish, put them
into boiling water to cover them, let them come
to a boil, and put them into the cooker for
three-quarters of an hour or more, according
to the size of the fish. Fish when overcooked
will be watery, but will not break to pieces,
unless very much overdone, if cooked in a
hay-box or cooker.

Creamed Salt Codfish No. i
I lb. fish 3 or 4 qts. water

Wash the fish and, without shredding it,
put it into the cold water, bring it to a boil, and
put it into a cooker for one and one-half hours.
Drain, pick into pieces, and bring to a boil in
one cup of white sauce, omitting the salt. It
is improved by adding a beaten egg before
serving.

Serves six or seven persons.

Creamed Salt Codfish No. 2
I lb. codfish 4 eggs

3 or 4 qts. water J cup milk

J cup butter J teaspoon pepper

Cook the fish as for creamed salt codfish
No. I. When picked to pieces, put it into a
double boiler with the butter. When this is
absorbed by the fish add the remaining ingredi-
ents beaten together. Cook, stirring constantly,

FISH 85

until it thickens like custard. Serve at once or
it will curdle.

Serves six or eight persons.

Codfish Balls
I cup raw salt codfish, in 3 qts. cold water

small pieces i egg

I heaping pint potatoes in J tablespoon butter

i-inch pieces J teaspoon pepper

Bring the fish and potatoes to a boil in the
water. Put them into a hay-box for one and
one-half hours. Drain and shake them, un-
covered, over the fire to dry them as boiled
potatoes, till white and mealy. Mash them
thoroughly, add the other ingredients, and mix
them together thoroughly. If necessary, add
a little more salt. Take the mixture up by
tablespoonfuls and, without moulding them,
drop them into hot, deep fat. Fry until they
are a rich brown, and drain them on brown
paper.

To test the temperature of fat for fish balls,
drop a cube of stale bread into the fat. If it
grows a rich brown in forty seconds the fat is
of the right temperature. If fat is too hot,
fried food is injured in flavour and digestibility;
if not hot enough the food will be greasy. If
fish balls fall apart in the frying, it is because

86 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

the fish and potatoes were not well dried before
adding the other ingredients.
Serves four or six persons.

Salt Fish Souffle
I cup salt codfish 2^ tablespoons butter

I heaping pt. potatoes } cup milk

3 qts. water J teaspoon pepper

2 eggs

Cook the fish and potatoes as for codfish balls.
When drained and dried, add the butter, milk,
pepper, and yolks of eggs; then the whites, beaten
stiff. Turn into a buttered baking-dish, and
bake until puffed and brown (about one-half
hour) in an insulated oven, the stones heated
until the paper test shows a golden brown.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Salmon Loaf
I can salmon J teaspoon pepper

i cup butter (melted) li teaspoons salt

I cup soft breadcrumbs 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

4 eggs I small bay leaf

If only hard, dry crumbs can be obtained, add
one-fourth of a cup of water to the recipe, mix-
ing it with the eggs, and soaking the crumbs
one-half hour in the mixture.

Rub the fish and butter together, add the
other ingredients, and put all into a buttered
one-quart bread-mould or water-tight empty

FISH 87

coffee or baking-powder can. Set the mould
in enough cold water to reach two-thirds of the
way up its sides. Let this come to a boil, boil
fifteen minutes and put into the cooker for one
hour. It will not be injured by remaining in
the hay-box two hours. Or set the mould
into boiling water, boil one-half hour, and put
into the cooker for an hour.
Serves eight or ten persons.

Casserole of Fish
I cup cold flaked fish i cup mashed potatoes

I teaspoon salt 2 hard-cooked eggs

J teaspoon pepper

Butter a quart mould, put into it alternate
layers of fish, potatoes, and egg; seasoning each
layer. Stand the mould in a cooker-pail of
boiling water to reach two-thirds of the way up
its sides. Boil ten minutes and put it into the
cooker for from three-quarters of an hour to two
hours.

Serves six persons.

Cape Cod Turkey

I lb. salt codfish 4 qts. cold water

i lb. fat salt pork

Wash the fish and put it on the stove in the
water. When boiling, put it into a cooker and
let it cook from one and one-half to three hours.
While this is cooking cut the pork into one-fourth

88 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

inch slices, gash the slices occasionally, nearly
to the rind. Pour boiling water over it, drain it,
and try it out in a frying-pan till brown and
crisp. When the codfish is done, drain it and
garnish it with a border of the hot, crisp pork.
Serve drawn-butter sauce and boiled potatoes
with it.

Serves six or eight persons.

Creamed Oysters

1 qt. oysters i cup flour

2 cups milk or cream } teaspoon salt

i cup butter Few grains of white pepper

Drain and wash the oysters. Strain the liquor
through cheese-cloth. Heat the oysters in the
liquor by themselves and scald the milk. Rub the
butter and flour together, add them to the hot
milk or cream, and let it boil. Put this mixture
with the boiling oysters and set it in a cooker
for one-half hour or more. Just before serv-
ing add the seasoning. Serve it on toast or crisped
crackers, or in croustades.

XII

BEEF

TTb select gocd beef, (i) Quality. " Heavy "^
beef, that is, taken from fat, heavy
animals, is the best. It should be mottled with
fat all through the lean, and the large masses
of fat should be firm and of a creamy white
colour. Thegrainoftender meat is fine. Coarse-
grained meat, and meat streaked with con-
nective tissue or gristle, is sure to be tough.
(2) Freshness. Fresh beef is a good red colour,
modified, when it is very cold, to a purplish
shade. If black or greenish in tint the meat is
stale, and its odour will be bad. Meat is flabby
after it is killed, but soon grows firm. It is in
suitable condition for cooking before this change
takes place, or some days after it.

Uses of the different cuts: Beef is cut variously
in different parts of the country, and the same
cuts are not always similarly named. Merely
to call the cuts by name would, therefore, make
this chapter unintelligible to some readers; but

90 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

by consulting the accompanying chart the pieces
can be selected without reference to their names,
according to the part of the animal adapted
to each particular use. Those muscles which
are much used and which have hard work to do
will have the most juice and the best flavour,
though, at the same time, they will be the
toughest. For instance, all cuts, such as round,
shoulder, shin, and rump, which come from

Figure No. 7.

Diagram of the cuts of beef. The double line shows the division

between forequarter and hindquarter.

the legs or parts by which the legs are connected
with the body, will be tough and high-flavoured.
The neck also, and upper part of the shoulder,
by reason of the support they give to the weight
of the head, are tough, although rich in flavour.
Any cuts from these parts, by whatever name
they are called, are not suitable for cooking
with dry heat, such as that of baking, or broil-
ing, but will require long, slow cooking with
water to make them tender. Such pieces are

BEEF 91

the ones to buy for cooking in a hay-box.
They do not command the price of the tender
cuts from the back of the animal, and it is, there-
fore, a distinct economy to buy these cheap pieces
and by skilful cooking make them digestible
and palatable. The parts numbered i, 2, 7, 8,
9, in Fig. 7 are suitable for stews; those marked
II and 12, as well as all bones, are suitable for
soups. Numbers 2, 5, 6, and 10 may be used
for stews or broth, but are adapted also to pot
roasts, rolled steaks, cannelon, Hamburg steak,
etc., while only numbers 3 and 4 are adapted
to roasting or broiling.

Other parts of beef used as food, suitable for
cooking in the hay-box or cooker, are:

Brains, stewed or scalloped, or for croquettes.

Heart, stuffed and braised.

Liver, braised.

Tongue, boiled; fresh, corned, or pickled.

Kidneys, stewed.

Tail, soup.

TABLE SHOWING SOME OF THE NAMES GIVEN
TO CUTS OF BEEF IN DIFFERENT FARTS OF THE
COUNTRY.

The numbers indicate the part from which the cuts arc
taken, as shown on the chart (Fig. No. 7).

1. Neck, part of the Rattleran, and Sticking piece.

2. Chuck, part of Rattleran.

92 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

3. Chuck and Rib roasts.

4. Sirloin steak, Porter-house steak, Pinbone roast. Tha

latter includes also a part of Number 7.

5. Rump, Aitchbone.

6. Round.

7. Flank, Top of Sirloin.

8. Flank, Plate.

9. Brisket, Navel.

10. Shoulder, Shoulder clod, Rattleran, Bolar, Cross ribs.

11. and 12. Fore and hind shin. Soup bones.
13. Vein, Veiny piece.

Care of meat. All meat should at once be
removed from the wrapping paper when it comes
from the store, otherwise the paper absorbs the
juices and sticks to the meat. Never put
meat into water, except it be such parts as kid-
ney, liver, heart, etc., or the water will soak
out the juice which is the part of meat that con-
tains the flavour. Wipe it with a clean, wet
cloth, and keep it in a cool place. If it must be
kept longer than is safe for raw meat, it may be
partially cooked, cooled quickly, and kept cold
till time to complete the cooking.

Cooking meat. If meat is put into cold water
and gradually heated to the boiling point, a large
proportion of the juice will be extracted. The
meat will thus be rendered tasteless and the
water will contain the flavouring matter. Long
cooking in water dissolves the gelatine of the

BEEF 93

bones and connective tissue. These effects are
desirable for soups and broths, but undesirable
when the meat itself is also to be used.

If meat is put into boiling water, allowed to
boil a few minutes, and then cooked a long
time at a lower temperature, the albumen of the
juice is hardened on the surface of the meat and
the remaining juice is thus kept to a considerable
extent. The long cooking may then soften the
tough tissue while the meat retains much of its
flavour, the water becoming also flavoured. This
is desirable for stews, meat pies, pot roasts,
poultry, etc., in which cases meat and liquor
are both to be served.

Braised Beef
Wipe the beef with a wet cloth, cut off any
tough ends and bone if it will not mar the
appearance of the meat, as these parts will not
become palatable in the length of time required
for the remainder of the roast. They will be
found useful for soups, stews, cannelon of beef,
Hamburg steak, and such dishes. Roast the
meat in a hot oven for half an hour, transfer it
quickly to a cooker utensil, add enough boil-
ing water to nearly cover it, let the whole become
very hot in the oven, and place it quickly in the
cooker. The time that is required for com-
pleting the cooking will depend upon the size of

94 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

the piece and the degree of cooking desired.
A five-pound roast may be cooked four hours,
and if not found done to taste, it can be reheated
to boiling point and cooked longer. A larger
roast will require more time in the cooker. If
preferred, the meat may first be partially cooked
in the hay-box and browned in the oven after-
ward. It must then be boiled for half an hour,
cooked three or more hours in the cooker, and
then roasted. Lay a piece of raw fat on top
of the roast, or baste it with drippings to assist
in the browning.

Pot Roast
3 lbs. beef rump 2 small carrots

3 cups boiling water 2 sprigs parsley

I bay leaf J teaspoon celery seed, or

I small onion J cup celery, cut in pieces

Salt and pepper Flour

i teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Have the butcher bone and roll the meat,
dredge it well with salt, pepper, and flour, and
brown it on all sides in a frying-pan with* a little
of the fat from the meat, or one or two tablespoons
of beef drippings or pork fat. Put all the ingre-
dients together in a small cooker- pail, let it
simmer thirty minutes, set it into a larger pail
of boiling water and put into a cooker for nine
hours or more. Reheat it to boiling point;
strain and thicken the liquor for gravy. Round

BEEF 95

of beef may be used for pot roast, but it is drier
than the rump, which has some fat on it. Four
or five pounds of rump will make three pounds
when boned. Have the bone sent from the
market to use for soup stock.
Serves ten or twelve persons.

Beef a

la Mode

3 lbs. beef from the round

I onion

I oz. fat, salt pork

i teaspoon allspice

2 teaspoons salt

i teaspoon nutmeg

i teaspoon pepper

6 cloves

Flour

2 tablespoons rendered beef fat

Water to nearly cover it

Wash the meat, lard it with the pork cut into
strips, or gash it deeply and insert the pork in
the gashes. Dredge it with the salt, pepper, and
flour, and fry it in the beef fat till well browned
on all sides. Put the meat and other ingredients
into a two or three quart cooker-pail or pan,
and nearly cover the meat with boiling water.
Let it simmer for half an hour, then stand the
pail in a larger cooker-pail of boiling water and
put it into a cooker for from nine to twelve hours.
Unless several times this recipe is cooked at
once, do not allow the meat to cook more than
twelve hours, or it may ferment. Reheat it
before serving. Strain and thicken the gravy.

Serves ten or twelve persons.

96 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Corned Beef

Order eight or ten pounds of rump of beef
corned for four days. Put it into a large cooker-
pail and fill the pail with cold water. When
it boils, allow it to simmer for thirty or forty
minutes, then put it into a hay-box for ten or
twelve hours. Reheat it before serving it. If
ordinary corned beef is used it will be more delicate
if, when it is allowed to come to a boil, the water
is changed and fresh boiling water added. It
may then be cooked as directed above for that
specially corned.

Serves twenty or twenty-five persons.

Boiled Dinner

2 lbs. lean, salt pork i head cabbage

3 turnips I2 potatoes

4 beets J teaspoon pepper
2 carrots Water to cover

Wash the pork and gash it in slices; wash
and pare the vegetables. If preferred, the beets
may be cooked separately, without paring them.
Put all, except the potatoes, into the cooker-
pail and cover them with boiling water. When
boiling let them cook ten minutes on the stove,
then put the pail into the cooker for six
hours or more. Add the potatoes, reheat it
to boiling point, and replace it in the cooker
for two hours. If more salt or pepper is

BEEF

required add it when the potatoes are put in.
In order to save time the potatoes may be
cooked separately, drained and added to the
dinner before bringing it to a boil for serving.
Corned beef may be used in place of pork, if
preferred.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Beef Stew a la Mode

li lbs. beef brisket 6 cloves

Flour 2 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons rendered fat 2 slices lemon
I onion J teaspoon ground allspice

J teaspoon pepper J teaspoon nutmeg

Water to cover (about i pt.)

Buy two and one-half or three pounds of
brisket to get one and one-half pounds of clear,
lean meat. Cut the meat into one inch pieces,
roll them in flour, and fry them in the fat till
brown. The onion may be sliced and added
when the meat is nearly brown. Put the meat
with the other ingredients into a small cooker-
pail, cover it with hot water, boil for ten minutes,
and cook it in a hay-box for five hours or more.
If left for many hours the meat becomes a trifle
dry, but otherwise the stew is not injured by
overcooking. The gravy may be thickened, if
desired, with flour and water mixed together
in equal parts. The bones may be put in

98 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

with the stew during the cooking and removed
before serving, or they may be used to make
soup stock.

Serves five or six persons.

Stuffed Rolled Steak
I flank steak i teaspoon pepper

I cup soft breadcrumbs 2 tablespoons butter

I teaspoon salt i teaspoon thyme or summer

savoury
I tablespoon chopped parsley

Wash the steak and remove the membrane
that covers it, unless that has been done at the
market. Make a stuffing of the crumbs, melt-
ing the butter and adding the crumbs and other
ingredients to it. If the steak is large enough,
use more stuffing than one cupful. Spread
the stuffing over the meat to within two inches
of the edge. Roll and skewer or tie it into shape.
Brown it well on all sides in a dry frying-pan,
or dredge it with flour and fry it in rendered beef
fat. Lay it in a small cooker-pail or pan. Make
two cupfuls of Brown Sauce, or enough to cover
the roll. Boil the roll for two minutes and
set the pail in a larger pail of boiling water.
Put it for five or six hours into a cooker.
When it is to be served, remove the string or
skewers, lay the roll on a platter, and pour the
gravy over it.

BEEF

Round steak, cut about one-half inch thick,
may be used. Remove the bone before rolling it.

Beef Stew with Dumplings
2 cups cooked or raw beef i teaspoon salt
2 cups raw or cooked potatoes J teaspoon pepper
§ cup tomato J cup flour

1 onion, cut in slices i tablespoon chopped panley
4 tablespoons rendered fat or I J cups water, or more

butter

If cooked meat and potatoes are used, cut
them in three-quarter-inch dice, make a brown
sauce of the fat, flour, seasoning, and water,
add the vegetables and meat and enough water to
just cover the stew. Place the dumplings on
top, boil it for five minutes, and cook in a hay-
box for one and one-quarter hours. If the
meat is tough it will be better to treat it like
raw beef. If raw beef is used, cut it in pieces,
bring it to a boil with the water, and put it into
the cooker for three or four hours before adding
the other ingredients.

Dumplings for Stew

2 cups flour 4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons lard or butter J teaspoon salt

f to I cup water

Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together,
work the fat into them with the fingers, or cut
it in with a knife. Add enough water to make a

100 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

stiff dough. Drop it by tablespoonfuls on the
top of the stew. The dumplings should rest on
the meat and vegetables, as they will not be so
light if submerged in the gravy.
Serves six or seven persons.

Irish Stew
3 cups meat ^ cup celery

2 cups potatoes 2 teaspoons salt

i cup turnip J teaspoon pepper

J cup carrot J cup flour

J cup onion 4 tablespoons rendered fat

3 cups water

Wash and cut about two pounds of beef, from,
the leg, brisket or other cheap cuts, into one-inch
pieces. Remove most of the fat, or all of it, if
desired. Wash and pare the turnip and carrot
and cut them into small pieces. Pare the potatoes
and cut them into one-inch cubes. Slice the onion
and cut the celery into small pieces. Roll the
meat in the flour and fry it till it is brown in the
fat. Put all the ingredients, except the remaining
flour, into a cooker-pail and, when boiling, put
them into a cooker for five hours. Mix the remain-
ing flour with an equal quantity of cold water.
Stir it into the stew, and when it has boiled it is
ready to serve. It will not be harmed by being
kept hot in the cooker for another hour or more.

Serves eight or ten persons.

BEEF ^ : \ \^::' : i';^ ;' . - loL

Cannelon of Beef
I lb. lean beef, chopped 2 tablespoons butter or

Grated rind J lemon rendered fat beef

I tablespoon chopped parsley } teaspoon nutmeg
I cup soft breadcrumbs ^ tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon scraped onion J teaspoon pepper

2 eggs

Mix in the order given, add the eggs, which
have been slightly beaten, put it into a well-
greased one-quart brown bread mould or water-
tight can. Stand the mould in a large pail of
water, arranged on a rack, if necessary to raise the
top of the mould to the level of the top of the pail.
Fill the pail with boiling water, to within one-
third of the top of the mould. Boil it for one-half
hour and put it into a cooker for four hours. If
several times this recipe is used, and put into
larger moulds, it should be boiled a longer time.
It is good served hot, with brown sauce, or cold.

Serves six or eight persons.

Meat Pie

2 cups cooked or raw meat 2 onions

2 cups potatoes i teaspoon salt

1 cup tomatoes i teaspoon pepper

2 sprigs parsley, chopped J cup flour

J teaspoon celery salt i bay leaf, broken fine'

Water (about i pt.)

If cooked meat is used, cut it into three-quarter-
inch cubes. Cut the potatoes into similar pieces,

I02 . THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

slice the onions, put all the ingredients, but the
flour, together in a cooker-pail or pan, add the
boiling water, and, when boiling, add the flour
mixed to a paste with an equal quantity of water.
Boil five minutes and put it into a cooker for two
hours or more. Raw meat will require five
hours or more. If the stewed mixture is not
in a pan suitable for baking, transfer it to a
baking-pan or dish, cover with a crust and bake
for one-half hour.

Crust for Meat Pie

ij cups flour J teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder ij tablespoons butter
J cup water, or more

Mix and sift the dry ingredients, work in the
fat, and put in enough water to make a dough
stiff enough to roll on a board. Roll it out
to the dish and bake it. An inverted cup in
the centre of the pie, under the crust, will
prevent the gravy from boiling over during the
baking.

Serves six or eight persons.

Braised Beef's Liver
I liver 2 teaspoons sage leaves

\ lb. fat salt pork 2 teaspoons thyme

I onion i teaspoon salt

Flour ^ } teaspoon pepper

Fat Water to cover

BEEF 103

Lard the liver with the pork. Dredge it with
flour and brown it in a frying-pan, with rendered
beef or pork fat or butter. Put it into a cooker-
pail or pan just large enough to hold it. Cover
it with boiling water, boil it for five minutes,
set the pail in a larger cooker-pail of boiling
water, and put it into a cooker for ten hours
or more. Reheat it and serve it on a platter,
cutting it through, but not separating the slices.
Pour over it the gravy, which has been strained
and thickened with flour and water mixed to a
paste.

The number of persons that it will serve
depends upon the size of the liver. Allow one
pound for three or four persons.
Beef Kidney

Wash and soak two kidneys in a large amount
of water, for several hours or over night, changing
the water at least once. Cut them open, rinse
them and put them on to boil in boiling salted
water to barely cover them, in a small cooker-
pail. Let them boil five minutes, set the pail in
a larger pail of boiling water, and cook them ten
hours or more in a cooker. When tender, remove
the tubes and membranes and slice the kidneys.
Thicken as much of the gravy as you wish to use,
with one-fourth of a cupful of flour mixed with
one-fourth of a cupful of water to each pint of

104 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

gravy. Add the sliced kidneys and serve them
when they are boiling hot.

Stuffed Heart
I heart J teaspoon pepper

i cup crumbs I small onion, chopped

I tablespoon buttef J teaspoon powdered thyme

i teaspoon salt i thick slice bacon

Flour

Wash the heart, remove the arteries and veins
and squeeze out any clots of blood that there
may be. Stuff it with the soft bread crumbs
to which the seasonings and melted butter have
been added. Try out the fat from the slice of
bacon, dredge the heart with salt, pepper and
flour and brown it on all sides in the bacon fat.
Put the heart and the crisp bacon into as small a
cooker-pail as will hold it, cover it with boiling
water, boil it for five minutes and put the pail into
a larger cooker-pail with as much boiling water
as it will hold when the small pail is in place.
Put it into a cooker for ten hours, or over night.
Boil it again and cook it for three or four
hours. Reheat it when ready to serve it, thicken-
ing each pint of the gravy with one-fourth cup
of flour and an equal quantity of water mixed
to a smooth paste. The heart will look more
attra/:tive if sliced and covered with gravy
before serving.

BEEF 105

Beef or calPs heart may be cooked without a
stuffing and served with caper sauce.

Corned Tongue
Wash the tongue, put it into a cooker-pail of
from four to six quarts capacity. Fill the pail
with cold water, bring the tongue to a boil and
boil it for from twenty minutes to half an hour,
depending upon its size. Put it into a cooker for
ten or twelve hours. If not perfectly tender, bring
it again to a boil and cook it from two to four
hours longer. Plunge it into cold water, remove
the skin, and serve it cold, cut in thin slices.

Fresh Tongue
I tongue I teaspoon peppercorns

I onion 8 cloves

I bay leaf Salt

Wash the tongue, put it into as small a cooker-
pail as will easily hold it, add the other ingredients
and fill the pail with boiling water, using one
teaspoonful of salt to each quart of water. Let it
boil for twenty minutes or half an hour, depending
upon the size of the tongue. Put it into a cooker for
ten hours or more. If not perfectly tender, reheat
it to boiling point and cook it for from two to
four hours longer in the hay-box. Plunge it into
cold water and remove the skin. Serve it hot with
caper sauce, using the liquor in which the tongue
was boiled in place of water, to make the sauce.

XIII
LAMB AND MUTTON

SPRING lamb is the meat of lambs from six
weeks to three months old. It is obtain-
able in March and throughout the spring. Year-
ling is lamb one year old. The flesh of lamb is
lighter in colour than that of mutton and the bones
are pinker. It may be distinguished from mutton,
also, by the smaller size of the cuts, which are
otherwise the same in mutton and lamb. Mutton,
as all dark meats, may be served rare; but lamb,
being lighter, is classed with white meats in this
respect, and should be thoroughly cooked. The
rank flavour of mutton is greatly reduced if the
pink membrane, which surrounds the animal, is
pulled off before cooking. The fat of mutton has
a strong, disagreeable flavour, and most of it
should be removed. It will not be good for any
cooking purposes as veal, beef, and pork fat are.

Cuts of Mutton. The favourite cuts are the
rib and loin chops and the leg, but as other parts
of the sheep are much cheaper, it is well to know
their possibilities. Shoulder, boned and tied into

zo6

LAMB AND MUTTON 107

shape, will, when cooked in the hay-box or cooker,
make a very good substitute for the leg, while
shoulder of lamb makes a good roast for small
families who grow tired of perpetual steak and
chops.

Figure No. 8.
Diagram of the cuts of mutton and Iamb.

TABLE SHOWING THE WAYS IN WHICH THE VARIOUS

CUTS OF MUTTON AND LAMB MAY BE COOKED

IN THE HAY-BOX OR COOKER

1. Neck, stews and broth.

2. Chuck, stews, broth, meat pie, casserole of rice and meat,

hash.

3. Shoulder, braising, plain or boned and stuffed, casserole

of rice and meat, hash.
4 and 5. Loin chops, cooked as veal cutlets, breaded or plain.

6. Flank, soups, stews.

7. Leg, braised or boiled.

OTHER PARTS OF THE ANIMAL, USED FOR FOOD,

WHICH MAY BE COOKED IN THE HAY-BOX

OR COOKER

Heart, braised, plain or stuffed.
Liver, braised, or breaded as veal cutlets.
Tongue, boiled.
Kidneys, stewed.

io8 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

In the chapter on the Insulated Oven directions

are also given for roasting some cuts of mutton and

lamb. They are not included in this list, since

the oven is not an accompaniment of every cooker.

Boiled Leg or Shoulder of Mutton

Wipe the meat v^ith a damp cloth, put it into
a cooker-pail with boiling salted water enough
to cover it, and to permit of at least three or
four quarts of water being used, the amount
depending upon the size of the leg. Boil it
for half an hour and cook it in the cooker for
six hours or more. The broth should be saved
for soup stock and gravy. Serve it with brown
gravy or with caper sauce. Shoulder will not
require more than twenty minutes boiling, but
will take the full time in the cooker. Lamb
may be treated in the same manner.

Braised Leg or Shoulder of Mutton

Wipe the meat with a damp cloth, roast it in
a hot oven till brown, or dredge it with salt,
pepper, and flour, and brown it in a frying-pan;
put it, while still hot, into a cooker-pail with
enough boiling water to half cover it, or more.
Bring it to a hard boil, while tightly covered,
put it at once into a cooker for six hours or more.
Serve it with brown gravy, saving the remain-
ing broth for soup stock. Lamb may be treated
in the same manner.

LAMB AND MUTTON 109

Mutton Stew

2 cups meat i teaspoon salt

§ cup tomato J teaspoon pepper

I onion ij cups water, or more

1 tablespoon chopped parsley J cup butter, lard or beef fat

2 cups potatoes J cup flour

Wipe the meat with a damp cloth, cut it into
three-quarter-inch cubes, put it into a cooker-pail
with all the other ingredients, except the fat
and flour. The potatoes should be pared and
cut into one and one-half-inch cubes. Bring
all to a boil, boil it for five minutes and put it
into a cooker for from four to six hours. Make
a brown sauce, using the fat, flour, and liquor
from the stew. Heat the stew in this till boiling.
Or the meat may be dredged with the flour and
fried in the fat until meat and flour are brown,
before being put into the cooker. If cooked
meat is used, one and one-half hours in the cooker
will be enough, unless the meat is very tough,
in which case it may be cooked as long as raw
meat. The addition of one green pepper makes
a good variation of this stew.

Serves five or six persons.

Chestnut Stew
2 cups raw mutton 3 cups blanched nuts

2 onions 2 tieaspoons salt

2 tablespoons fat J teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons flour Water

no THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Wipe the meat with a damp cloth, cut it into
three-quarter-inch cubes; peel and slice the
onions. Dredge the meat with the flour, brown
it and the onions in a frying-pan with any fat
suitable for cooking. Put all the ingredients
into a cooker-pail, barely cover them with boil-
ing water, and let the stew boil Rve minutes
before putting it into a cooker for four hours
or more.

Serves six or eight persons.

Syrian Stew (Yakhni)
2 cups r?.w mutton 2 onions

2 tablespoons fat 2 cups tomatoes

3 tablespoons flour ij teaspoons salt
2 cups string beans J teaspoon pepper

Water

Wipe the meat with a damp cloth, cut it into
cubes, dredge it with the flour, and brown it in
the fat. Put all the ingredients together, scrap-
ing from the frying-pan all of the flour and fat.
Add enough water to barely cover them, let them
boil for five minutes, and put them into the
cooker for six hours or more, depending upon
the beans. If they are old and tough they may
require more than six hours to cook.

In Syria this stew is always served with boiled
or steamed rice.

Serves six or eight persons.

LAMB AND MUTTON in

Okra Stew

2 cups raw mutton 2 cups tomatoes

2 tablespoons fat 2 cups okra

J cup flour ij teaspoons salt

2 onions J teaspoon pepper

Water

Wipe the meat with a damp cloth, cut it into
cubes. Wash and cut the okra in pieces, dredge
it and the meat with the flour and fry them,
till brown, in the fat. Put all the ingredients
into a cooker-pail, add enough water to barely
cover them, boil them for five minutes, and
put them into a cooker for four hours, or more.

Serves six or eight persons.

Syrian Stuffed Cabbage

1 cup raw chopped meat 2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons fat J teaspoon pepper
^ cup raw rice i head cabbage

i lemon

Strip off the leaves from a head of cabbage,
throw them into boiling water, and let them
stand till they are wilted. Mix the remaining
ingredients, except the lemon, using for the meat
either mutton or beef. Lay a cabbage leaf
on a plate, remove the thickest part of the mid-
rib, so that it will roll. Spread on it a rounded
teaspoonful of the mixture and roll it like a
cigarette. Do the same with the other leaves,
packing each one, as it is finished, into a pan

112 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

which will fit over a cooker-pail, unless a pail is
used which will be nearly filled by the cabbage.
The rolls must be carefully packed or they will
float and unroll when the water is added. Cover
them with boiling water, bring all to a boil, and
boil it for five minutes, then put it directly into
a cooker, if the pail is full, or over boiling water
if not, and leave it for from four to six hours.
Take the rolls out carefully with a cake turner
or skimmer, lay them in a platter, and squeeze
the juice of half a lemon over them. They
are usually served as the meat dish for luncheon.
Serves six or eight persons.

Casserole of Rice and Meat
4 cups cooked rice (i cup raw) i teaspoon grated onion
2 cups cooked mutton i tablespoon chopped parsley

I teaspoon salt J cup breadcrumbs

i teaspoon pepper i egg

Stock or water

Line a greased mould of one and one-half
quarts' capacity with three cups of the rice.
Remove all the fat from the meat, chop it fine,
and mix it with the other ingredients, adding
enough stock or water to barely keep it from
crumbling. Pack the meat into the mould and
cover it with the remaining cupful of rice.
Grease the cover and put it on. Stand the
mould in a large cooker-pail of water to two-thirds

LAMB AND MUTTON 113

of its depth, or, if it is shallow, prop it on a rack,
so that the water will reach half its depth;
boil it for fifteen minutes, and cook it for one
hour or more in the cooker. Turn it out care-
fully on to a hot platter, and pour tomato sauce
around, but not over it.
Serves six or eight persons.

Ragout of Cold Mutton
2 cups cold mutton ^ can peas

I onion, sliced i teaspoon salt

1 cup mutton stock J teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons butter i head of lettuce

Farina balls

Cut the mutton into one-inch cubes. Put
all the ingredients except the lettuce and farina
balls into a cooker-pail together, cover it closely,
and when boiling put it into a cooker for one
hour. Serve it on a platter garnished with
lettuce leaves and farina balls.

Serves four to six persons.

XIV

VEAL

VEAL varies greatly with the age of the
calf from which it is taken. It should
be pink, with firm, white fat. Pale, flabby veal
comes from calves which have been killed too
young, or bled before death, and is likely to be
tasteless and stringy when cooked. The older
veal grows, the more like beef it appears. The
cuts are larger and the colour is darker and

Figure No. 9.
Diagram of the cuts of veal.

more like the red of beef. Veal can be purchased
the year round, but the best season for it is
spring and summer. Almost all parts of the
calf are tender, but the cheaper cuts correspond
with the cheaper cuts of beef, except the cutlets

I«4

VEAL 115

or steaks, which are taken from the same part
of the animal as the round of beef, and command
a good price. Veal, like other white meats,
should be thoroughly cooked. Its dehcacy com-
mends it for many purposes, but it often requires
the addition of pork, or high seasoning, to give
it flavour.

TABLE SHOWING THE WAYS IN WHICH THE
VARIOUS CUTS OF VEAL MAY BE COOKED IN THE
HAY-BOX OR COOKER.

1. Head, Jelly, soups, and broths, calf's head a la terrapin.

2. Neck, Stews, soup, veal pie.

3. Chuck, Veal loaf, stews, soup, veal pie.

4. Shoulder, Braised, stuffed and braised.

5. Shanks, Soups.

6. Ribs, Braised or breaded as veal cutlets.

7. Breast, Soups, stews, veal loaf.

8. Loin, Braised or breaded as veal cutlets.

9. Flank, Soups or stews.

10. Leg, Breaded cutlets or plain cutlets.

OTHER PARTS OF THE CALF, USED FOR FOOD,
WHICH MAY BE COOKED IN THE HAY-BOX OR
COOKER.

Brains, Stewed and creamed.
Heart, Braised, plain or stuffed.
Liver, Braised, or stewed.
Tongues, Boiled.
Sweetbreads, Stewed or creamed.
Kidneys, Stewed or creamed.

ii6 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Breaded Veal Cutlets
2 lbs. veal cutlets i pt. water or stock

Fine, dry breadcrumbs

^ cup butter or drippings

Salt

J cup flour

Pepper

I tablespoon chopped parsley

I egg

i teaspoon Worcestershire

Sauce

Wipe the cutlets with a clean, wet cloth. Cut
them into pieces suitable for serving, and sprinkle
them with salt and pepper. Dip them into sifted
crumbs, then into the egg, which has been beaten
slightly and mixed with one tablespoonful of
water. Dip the cutlets again into the crumbs
and fry them until they are a rich brown, in one-
half the butter or drippings. Put them into
a small cooker-pail or pan. Make Brown Sauce,
using the remaining ingredients. Pour the sauce
over the cutlets and, when boiling, stand the pail
in a large cooker-pail of boiling water. Put it
into a cooker for from two to four hours, depending
upon the age and toughness of the veal. Reheat
them before serving.

Serves six or eight persons.

Plain Veal Cutlets
Wipe the cutlets with a wet cloth, trim off any
tough membranes, and cut them into pieces suit-
able for serving. Brown them in a very hot
frying-pan with butter or rendered fat, being

VEAL 117

careful not to let them scorch. Sprinkle them
well with salt and pepper and put them into a small
cooker-pail or pan. Pour a little boiling water
into the frying-pan and, when all the brown juice
which has hardened on the pan has been dis-
solved, pour this over the cutlets. Add enough
boiling water to barely cover them and, when
boiling, stand the pail or pan in a large cooker-
pail of boiling water. Put it into the cooker for
from two to four hours, depending upon the age
and toughness of the veal. Reheat them before
serving, if necessary.

Veal Loaf

2 cups minced veal ij teaspoons salt

2 eggs 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

i cup melted butter 2 tablespoons chopped onion

I cup soft bread crumbs J inch slice fat salt pork

J teaspoon pepper § teaspoon ground sage

Wipe meat from the cheaper cuts of veal, re-
move the fat and toughest membranes, and put it
•through a fine food-chopper. Mix the seasonings
with the crumbs, add the melted butter, mix these
with the veal, add the pork and, lastly, the eggs.
Put the mixture in a well-buttered one-quart brown
bread mould or water-tight can. Spread it level
but do not pack it in the mould. Stand it in a
large cooker-pail with enough boiling water to
come at least two-thirds of the way up the mould.

ii8 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Boil it for twenty minutes and put it into the cooker
for four hours. Serve it either hot or cold.

Serves eight or ten persons.
Sweetbreads

Wash and soak the sweetbreads in cold water for
one hour. Plunge them into boiling salted water
(one teaspoonful of salt for each quart of water).
Boil them two minutes and put them into the
cooker for two hours. Plunge them into cold water,
remove the membrane which covers them, and they
are then ready to be broken in pieces for creamed
sweetbreads or rolled in crumbs and egg and fried.

Creamed Sweetbreads

Make a white sauce, using part milk and part
cream, if desired. To each cupful of sauce
add two cupfuls of prepared sweetbreads broken
into small pieces, let them come to a boil and
serve them at once, or put them into a cooker
to keep warm until they are needed.
Calfs Heart

CalPs heart may be cooked as beePs heart,
except that it will not require so long to cook.
Ten minutes is sufficient to allow for cooking over
the flame, and ten hours in the hay-box.
Calf's Liver

Prepare and cook it in the same manner as
beefs liver, allowing only four hours for it to
cook in the hay-box.

VEAL

119

Veal Kidney
These are almost as delicate as sweetbreads.
They may be cooked for two hours in the same
manner as beef kidney, or creamed or fried as
sweetbreads.

Calfs Head a la Terrapin

1 calf's head 2 tablespoons flour
Salt J teaspoon pepper
Water J cup cream

2 tablespoons butter 4 egg yolks

Madeira Wine

Carefully clean a calf's head and put it into a
cooker-pail. Cover it with boiling water, add
one teaspoonful of salt to each quart of water and
let it boil for twenty minutes. Put it into a
cooker for nine hours or more. Cool it and cut
the face meat into small dice. Make a cupful
of sauce using the butter, flour, pepper, one-half
teaspoonful of salt and one cupful of the water
in which the head was boiled. Add the cream
and, when boiling, the raw yolks of two eggs
which have been slightly beaten. Stir it con-
stantly for about two minutes until the eggs
have cooked. Then add two tablespoonfuls of
Madeira wine and the yolks of two hard-cooked
eggs cut into quarters.

Serves five or six persons.

PORK

WHATEVER may be true of the extent to
which pork and pork products are whole-
some for particular individuals, there can be
no doubt that its delicious flavour will insure its
being eaten by a large number of people who
either do not know or do not care whether it
agrees with them or not. Experiments under-
taken under the management of the Department
of Agriculture* have resulted in the conclusion
that pork is as thoroughly and easily digested,
under normal conditions of health, as any meat,
although personal experience would indicate that
pork does not agree with some people as well as
other kinds of meat. It is specially important,
however, that pork be very well cooked or well
cured, in order to insure against the danger from
trichinosis. We are told by B. H. Ransom f that
it is only by eating raw or insufficiently cooked
or cured pork that there is thought to be any

* Office of Experiment Stations, Bulletin 193, 1907.

* U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry, Circular 108, 1907.

PORK

121

danger of this disease. Curing is the process of
smoking, salting, or combined salting and smoking
of meat, which acts as a preservative for it. We
thus see that, not only because it is a white meat,
as mentioned in the chapter on veal, pork and pork
products should be cooked until very well done.
As pork is the fattest of all meats, it is suitable
for a cold-weather diet and will probably be
found to agree better at that season. For what-
ever reason it may be, fresh pork seems to be less

Figure No. lo.
Diagram of the cuts of pork.

wholesome than when cured, bacon having the
reputation of being one of the most easily digested
of all fats.

Young pigs (four weeks old) are frequently
dressed and roasted whole.

Pork is usually cut for market in the manner
illustrated in figure No. lo.

The back is fat and is used for salt pork or lard.
The ribs are used for spare-ribs, and the loin or

122 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

chine, which is the backbone with its adhering
meat, is used for roasts or chops. The legs are
roasted, if fresh, or they are cured, by salting and
smoking, for hams, sugar being used in the salting
process, which gives the name "sugar-cured
hams"; the shoulders are treated in the same way
and may be used very much as hams, although
the flesh is not so thick and the proportion of bone
is greater. The belly is cured for bacon, the head
and feet are soused or pickled, and the trimmings
of fat and lean are chopped, highly seasoned,
and used for sausage, or combined with meal
and made into scrapple.

To select fresh pork. The meat should be firm
and of a pale red colour, the fat hard and white
and the skin white and clear. Yellowish fat,
with kernels in it, and soft, flabby flesh are an
indication of inferior pork.

Boiled Ham or Shoulder
Put a ham or shoulder in a large enough cooker-
pail to allow of its being covered with eight or
ten quarts of water. A special oblong or extra
deep utensil may be required for cooking hams
and such very large cuts of meat. Put in the
ham, add cold water to fill the utensil, and bring
it to a boil. This will serve to draw out a good
deal of the salt from the meat and will not extract
much of the meat flavour, if the ham be whole. A

PORK 123

cut ham may be covered with boiling water which
will seal the pores on the surface of the meat and
help to retain its juices. Allow the ham to
simmer for twenty minutes, or, if very large, for
one-half hour, then put it into a cooker for seven
hours or more. The larger the ham the greater
the quantity of water must be, a fifteen-pound
ham taking as much as fifteen quarts of water.
Success in cooking large cuts of meat will depend
to a great extent upon using sufficient water.
Fresh Pork with Sauerkraut

Wash and gash a two-pound piece of fresh,
lean pork into slices. Put it with one quart of
sauerkraut into a cooker-pail of boiling salted
water. Let it boil for fifteen minutes, tightly
covered. Place it in a cooker for eight or ten
hours. Reheat till boiling, drain it, and serve
the pork in a platter, with the sauerkraut arranged
as a border; or put the sauerkraut into a vegetable
dish. It grows cold quickly and must be served
promptly and on hot dishes.

Serves six or eight persons.

Head Cheese

Cut a hog's head into four pieces. Remove
the brain, ears, skin, snout, and eyes. Cut ofF
the fat to try out for lard. Put the lean and
bony parts to soak in cold water over night to
extract the blood. Clean the head thoroughly,

124 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

put it into a cooker-pail, cover it with cold water,
boil it for fifteen minutes and put it into the
cooker for ten hours or more. If the meat
will not then slip readily from the bones, bring
it again to a boil and put it into the cooker until
it will (perhaps six hours more). Remove the
bones and hard gristle, drain off the liquor,
reserving it for future use. Put the meat through
a food-chopper, return it to the cooker-pail
with enough of the liquor to cover it, and salt,
pepper, and powdered sage to taste. Let it
boil, put it into a cooker for an hour or more,
then pour it into a shallow pan or dish; cover
it with cheese-cloth and a board with a weight,
to hold it in place. When cold it will be solid,
and is ready to serve, thinly sliced.
Souse

Treat a hog's head in the same manner as for
head cheese, adding a little vinegar with the
other seasonings.

Scrapple

Treat a hog's head in the same manner as for
head cheese, up to the point where the liquor
is added to the chopped meat. The heart and
liver may also be cooked with the head, and any
scraps or bloody parts of the meat may be soaked
and cooked with it. When the meat is freed
from bone, gristle, and skin, and chopped finely,

PORK 125

and all the liquor is added to it, it is seasoned
with salt, pepper, sage, thyme or marjoram,
and brought to a boil. Enough corn-meal,
or corn-meal and buckwheat flour in the pro-
portion of one-third cupful of buckwheat to two-
thirds of a cupful of corn-meal, is added, to make
the mixture of the consistency of corn-meal mush.
About one cupful of the two combined will be
required for each three pints of the pork mix-
ture. Let this come to a boil, stirring it constantly;
boil it five minutes, and put it into a cooker for
four hours or more. Pour it into a mould or bread
pan and, when cold, slice and fry it like sausage.

Pickled Pigs' Feet
Wash the pigs' feet, soak them in warm water
for one-half hour, then scrub and scrape them
well; soak them again for twelve hours in cold,
salted water, and clean them again. If neces-
sary, singe them; remove the toes, and bring
them to a boil in salted water to more than cover
them. Boil them five minutes, and cook them
for ten hours or more in a cooker. If not tender,
reheat them till boiling, and cook them again.
Remove them from the water, split them with
a cleaver, unless this is done before cooking, pack
them in a jar, and cover them with hot, spiced
vinegar, preferably made from white wine. They
are eaten cold, or dipped in batter and fried.

XVI

POULTRY

IN buying poultry select that which has
clean, unbroken skin and is as fat as
possible. Young chickens have often a darker
appearance than old, owing to the fact that
there is less fat under the skin or that the skin
is thinner. They have few hairs, many pin-
feathers, and the end of the breast-bone, toward
the tail, is limber and cartilaginous. In old
chickens (fowl) this bone is stiff, there are many
hairs, few pin-feathers, and the scales on the
legs are hard and horny. The wing joint is
firm in old chickens, but is sometimes broken by
poultry dealers in order to make the purchaser
think the poultry younger than it is.

Chickens are frequently kept in cold storage
for months, or even years, and they undergo
decided changes during these periods. The
effect of eating such storage poultry is still under
debate; but, while there is uncertainty as to
whether they may not be responsible for some
obscure intestinal disorders or other disturbances,

126

POULTRY 127

it is well to know how to tell them from fresh-
killed birds. In an article entitled "Changes
Taking Place in Chickens in Cold Storage/' in
the Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture,
for 1907, we read that the fresh chicken is a
pale, soft yellow, without any tinge or sugges-
tion of green in the colour of the skin, while there
is enough translucency to show through it the
delicate pink of the muscles underneath. It
can be plainly seen that the pink tint is not of
the skin itself. While the skin is perfectly flexible,
and is not adherent over any part of the body, it
is well filled by the tissues below, so that areas
distended by either fluids or gases are want-
ing. The feather papillae are perfectly dis-
tinct, and, though of the same tint as the skin,
are plainly visible because of their elevation.
In those regions where the papillae are most
numerous, or support heavier feathers, they
lend a much brighter yellow hue to the skin.
The neck is smooth and well rounded, the comb
and gills red, and the eye full.

With storage birds the skin becomes somewhat
dried, and finally quite leathery and stretched in
appearance; is less translucent than that of the
fresh, and the feather papillae tend to flatten and
disappear. In time the colour of the skin alters in
places to browns, reds, purples, or greenish tints.

128 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Care of poultry. Poultry should be drawn as
soon as purchased, if it has not been already
done; it should be wiped out with a dry cloth,
if not to be cooked immediately, and kept in
a cold place. Old chickens can be made as
tender as young chickens in a cooker, and will
have more flavour.

To draw poultry. Cut off the head, turn back
the skin of the neck and cut off the neck close
to the body. If the crop has food in it, remove
it from the neck, otherwise it will come out with
the other organs. Cut off the windpipe. Make
an opening above the vent with a small sharp
knife, cut around the vent, being careful not to
cut into the intestine. Put the hand just inside
the wall of the body and work it carefully over
the whole inner surface of the body, detach-
ing the organs in one mass. When the hand
can pass freely all around them, draw them all
out together. The lungs and kidneys, imbedded
in the bones, will remain behind and must be
removed separately. Cut out the little oil bag
on the back of the tail. Singe the chicken,
and wash it well inside and outside. The heart,
liver, and gizzard are the giblets, and are boiled
and often used in the gravy.

To cut up a chicken. After it is drawn, a chicken
may be cut for stew or fricassee, into thir-

POULTRY 129

teen pieces. First remove the neck, then the
legs, by cutting the skin, etc., that holds them
to the body; then cut on either side down to the
joint which lies almost at the back. Bend the
leg out from the body and this will break the
ligaments that hold it. Separate the two joints
of the leg in large chickens. Remove the wings
by cutting around the joints and bending them
out as the leg was done. Next cut off the wish-
bone by placing the knife across the breast and

Figure No. 11.
Method of cutting chicken for stew or fricassee.

cutting close to the end of the breast-bone toward
the neck. If desired, remove the meat from the
breast in two fillets, beginning to cut at the top and
following the bone closely, separating the meat
from the breast-bone and sides of the chicken.
Next cut from the back to the front, through the
ribs. Separate the "side bone" from one side,
and break the back in two where the ribs end.
To truss poultry. Stuff the poultry two-thirds

130 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

full, from the tail opening. It may be skewered
into shape, but the quickest and easiest way is
to tie it. The slight mark left by the string
on the breast may be covered with a garnish of
parsley or fine celery leaves. Fold the neck
skin under the body, putting the loop end of a
doubled piece of string under it; bring the ends
of string up and cross them over the breast so
as to hold the wings in place; carry the string
down over the thighs to the under side of the

Figure No. 12.
Chicken, trussed for roasting or braising.

tail to hold the thighs in place, and bring it up
around the tail and the ends of the drumsticks,
^nd tie it securely. This will hold the leg bones
down to the tail. If this is not sufficient to hold
in the stuffing, close the opening with a skewer,
or sew it with heavy thread before trussing
the bird. Old chickens, turkeys, and tough
ducks or geese can be stuffed, trussed, and cooked
for some hours in a cooker then be removed and
browned in an oven.

POULTRY 131

Stuffing for Poultry
I cup soft breadcrumbs i teaspoon powdered thyme or

I tablespoon butter sage

I teaspoon salt i teaspoon grated onion

^ teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons water

Stewed Chicken
Draw and cut up a fowl. Put it, with the
giblets, in enough boiling sahed water (one
teaspoonful of salt to each quart of water) to
cover it. Let it boil for ten minutes and put
it into a cooker for ten hours or more. If not
quite tender, bring it again to a boil and cook
it for from six to eight hours, depending upon
its toughness. Skim off as much as possible of
the fat from the liquor, pour off some of the
liquor and save it to use as soup or stock, and
thicken the remainder with two tablespoonfuls
of flour for each cup of liquid, mixed to a paste
with an equal quantity of water. A beaten
egg or two, stirred into the gravy just before
serving, improves it. Add pepper and salt
to taste, and serve the chicken on a hot platter
with the gravy poured around it. The platter
may be garnished with boiled rice piled about
the chicken.

Chicken Fricassee
Draw a fowl and cut it in pieces, cook it as
directed for stewed chicken, dredge the cooked

132 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

pieces with salt and pepper, roll them in flour
and saute them in fat taken from the stewed
chicken. When richly browned, place the pieces
on a hot platter and pour around them a brown
sauce, made with the fat and the stock from the
stewed chicken. Chicken fricassee is often
served on a platter of hot toast.
Chicken Pie

Prepare and cook the chicken as for stewed
chicken; cut the meat from the bones, put it into
a baking-dish, cover it with chicken gravy, and
put over the top a crust made as directed for
meat pie on page 102. Bake this for thirty min-
utes in a moderate oven.

Curried Chicken

Prepare and cook one fowl as for stewed chick-
en, adding two onions, pared and cut into slices.
Add one tablespoonful of curry powder to the flour
when thickening the gravy. Or the chicken may
be rolled in flour and browned in butter, and the
curry powder added before putting it into the
cooker. It is served with a border of boiled rice.

Creamed Chicken
Prepare and cook a fowl as directed for
stewed chicken. Make White Sauce, using
half chicken stock and half cream for the liquid.
A little grated onion and one-fourth can of
mushrooms may be added.

POULTRY 133

Braised Chicken

Draw, stuff, truss and roast a young chicken
in a hot oven until it is brown; put it into a hot
cooker-pail with water about one inch deep
in the pan. Cover it quickly, bring it to a boil,
and put it into a cooker for two and one-half
hours or more. Make a brown sauce of the
liquor in the pan. The giblets may be added
when the chicken is put into the water, and may
be chopped and added to the gravy, Only^
young, tender chicken can be treated in this way.
A tough bird may be trussed and cooked in
water to half cover it for ten or twelve hours
before it is stuffed and browned. Baste it
when in the oven with fat taken from the broth.
Jellied Chicken

Draw, clean, and cut up a fowl of about four
or five pounds. Put it into a cooker-pail^ add
one teaspoonful of salt, two or three slices of
onion, and cover the fowl with boiling water.
Boil it for ten minutes, then put it in the cooker
for ten or twelve hours. Boil it up again and
replace it in the cooker for six hours or more.
Repeat this if the meat is not found to be ten-
der enough to fall readily from the bones. Remove
the meat from the bones; take off the skin and
season the meat with salt and pepper. Skim
off all possible fat from the liquor and boil it down

134 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

to about one cupful; strain it, and take ofF the
remaining fat. Decorate the bottom of a mould
or bread pan with parsley and slices of hard-
cooked egg, pack in the meat and pour over it
the stock. Place the meat under a weight,
and leave it in a cold place till firm.

Braised Duck
Prepare and cook the duck in the same man-
ner as braised chicken. If the duck is tough
it may be cooked for eight or more hours in
water in the cooker, then stuffed and browned
in the oven, basting it with fat from the broth.

Braised Goose

Prepare it as braised chicken; or, if it is tough,
cook it in water in a cooker as old braised chicken,
until it is nearly tender. Remove it, stuff it,
and brown it in a hot oven, basting it with fat
from the broth.

Potted Pigeons

Clean, stuff, and truss six pigeons, place them
upright in a cooker-pail and pour over them
one quart of water in which celery has been
cooked. If the water was not salted for the
celery, add one teaspoonful of salt. Cover
the pail, boil the birds for five minutes, and
put them into a cooker for five or six hours,
or till tender. Remove them from the water,
sprinkle them with salt and pepper, dredge

POULTRY 135

them with flour, and brown the entire surface
in pork fat. Make two cups of Brown Sauce,
using butter and stock from the pigeons; heat
the birds in this, place each one on a piece of
dry toast, and pour the gravy over it. Gar-
nish it with parsley.

XVII
VEGETABLES

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING VEGETABLES

THE flavour of vegetables is best preserved if
they are put on to cook in boiling water.
For cooking in a fireless cooker the water must
be salted when the vegetables are started. The
expression "salted water," as used in this book,
means water to each quart of which one tea-
spoonful of salt has been added. Such vege-
tables as asparagus, peas, lima beans, etc.,
which have a delicate flavour, must be cooked
with very little water; usually in a smaller pail
or pan set into a larger cooker-pail of water.
All vegetables should be washed before cooking,
and such as potatoes, beets, turnips, etc., should
be scrubbed with a small scrubbing-brush, kept
for that purpose. Few vegetables are injured
by overcooking in a fireless cooker.

Asparagus
Wash, and if desired, break into two-inch
pieces, as much of the asparagus as will snap

136

VEGETABLES 137

easily. That which will not snap, if fresh, will
be too tough to eat. Cook it in enough salted
water to barely cover the asparagus, setting the
pan in a large cooker-pail of boiling water.
It may be tender in one hour.

Cabbage

Cut a head of cabbage into two pieces; soak
it in a large bowl of salted water for one-half
hour or more. Cut it in quarters or smaller
pieces, discarding the tough central stalk and
any leaves which may not be perfect. Put it into
four quarts of salted water to which one-fourth of
a teaspoonful of baking soda has been added.
Bring it to a boil and put it into a hay-box for
from one and one-half to twelve hours. Winter
cabbage will require three or four hours of cooking
at the least. Drain it into a colander and serve
it with White Sauce or with butter, pepper, and
salt to taste. If cooked many hours, reheat it
before serving.

Cauliflower

Soak the whole head in a large bowl of salted
water for one-half hour or more. If insects are
in it this will cause them to crawl out. Bring
it to a boil in four quarts of boiling salted water
and cook it in a hay-box from one and one-
quarter to four hours. If much overcooked it
will be difficult to remove the head whole. Take

138 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

it out with a skimmer and serve it on a platter,
pouring over it one cupful of White Sauce. A
large head will require more sauce.

Cauliflower a la Hollandaise is prepared in
the same way, substituting Hollandaise Sauce for
White Sauce.

Cauliflower au Gratin is prepared by removing
the cooked head to a baking dish, covering it
with buttered crumbs and baking it until the
crumbs are brown, or by covering it with grated
cheese before the crumbs are added.

Carrots
Scrub and scrape carrots. (Very young carrots
need not be scraped.) Cover them with boiling
salted water, bring them to a boil and put them
into a cooker for from one to three hours, accord-
ing to the age and condition of the carrots.
They will not be injured by cooking twelve
hours. If old and wilted they should be soaked
several hours in cold water before being prepared
for cooking. When done, cut young carrots in
rounds or strips, or serve them whole. Old
carrots may be cut into slices before cook-
ing. Drain away most of the water and make
Sauce for Vegetables, using the remainder of
the water. Or all the water may be drained off
and the carrots served with butter, salt, and
pepper to taste.

VEGETABLES 139

Corn
Husk fresh green corn, using a clean whisk-
broom to remove the silk that clings to the ear.
Put it into a cooker-pail, cover it with salted water,
bring it to a boil and put it into the cooker for
from fifty minutes to two hours. Drain it and
serve it on a hot platter, covering it with a napkin.

Beets

Scrub new beets, that is, those freshly pulled.
Cut off the stalks three inches from the beets, put
them into four quarts or more of boiling, salted
water, boil five minutes, and put them into a
cooker for five hours or more. Old beets, if
wilted, should be soaked till firm, and cooked as
new beets. They will require six or more hours
according to their age and condition. When
sufficiently cooked the skin of beets will easily slip
off. Remove them from the water one by one,
peel and slice them. Serve them with butter,
pepper, and salt. If they cool while slicing them,
reheat them before serving.

Fresh Shelled Beans
Wash from one pint to one quart of fresh
shelled beans, put them into three quarts of boiling
salted water, to which one-fourth teaspoonful
of soda has been added, boil, and put them into
a hay-box for two and one-half hours. They
are not injured by several hours' cooking. Drain

140 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

them and add salt, pepper, and butter to taste.
The exact quantity of water in which the beans
are cooked is not material. They will bear a
large amount, as their flavour is strong.

String Beans

2 qts. string beans 3 teaspoons salt

3 qts. water J teaspoon baking soda

Wash the beans, cut them into small pieces, and
put them on to boil with the water, salt, and soda.
Put them into a cooker for six hours. They will
not be injured by cooking for ten or twelve hours.
If fewer beans are to be cooked, the water must
not be decreased, unless the pail of beans is full
or set into a larger pail of boiling water.

Serves six or eight persons.

Lima Beans
Wash the beans and put them on to cook in
boiling salted water, to each quart of which one-
eighth of a teaspoonful of soda has been added.
If the quantity is small, put them into a small
pail set into a larger pail of water. If the whole
will fill a two-quart cooker-pail it will cook without
the larger pail. Put them into a cooker for one
and one-half hours or more.

Dried Lima Beans
Soak the beans over night, put them to boil
in at least twice their bulk of salted water. Add

VEGETABLES 141

one-fourth teaspoonful of soda to each quart of
water. Boil, and put them into a cooker for
three or four hours or more. Drain, add butter,
pepper, and salt, and reheat them before serving,
if necessary.

Dried Navy Beans

Soak one cupful of beans over night. In the
morning drain off the water, add three quarts of
boiling salted water and one teaspoonful of soda.
Boil, and put them into the cooker for eight hours
or more. When soft, drain them and add butter,
pepper, and salt to taste. Or make pork and
beans of them.

Serves five or six persons.

Chard

Put a pint of water and a teaspoonful of salt
into a cooker-pail. When boiling add, little by
little, the well-washed chard. If, after boiling
two or three minutes, there is not enough water
to cover the chard, add more boiling water. If
a small amount of chard is cooked the pail or pan
must be set into a cooker-pail of boiling water.
Put it into a cooker for three hours or more.
Drain in a colander and add salt, pepper, and
butter to taste. Serve with slices of hard-cooked
eggs as a garnish.

One dozen stalks and leaves serve four or five
persons. Many persons cook the stalks separately

142 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

and serve them with a white sauce, using only
the leaves for greens.

Spinach
Cook in the same manner as chard, allowing
two hours or more in the xooker.

One peck serves six or eight persons.

Beet Greens
Cook in the same manner as chard, allowing
two and one-half hours or more in the cooker.
Do not remove the little beets. When cooked,
cut through the greens frequently with a knife,
to make them less awkward for serving.

Stewed Celery

3 cups prepared celery i teaspoon salt

I qt. water

Scrub the celery with a small brush, remove the
strings, cut it in one-half-inch pieces and drop
it into the boiling salted water. When it is
boiling, set the pail or pan into a cooker-pail
of boiling water and put it into the cooker for
from two to four hours or longer, depending
upon the toughness of the stalks. It will not be
injured by long cooking. When tender, drain
it, saving one-half cupful of the water to use in
making the sauce. Serve with one cupful of
Sauce for Vegetables.

Serves six or eight persons.

VEGETABLES 143

Macaroni
J lb. macaroni (i cup broken i qt. water
in pieces) i teaspoon salt

Break the macaroni into one-inch pieces.
Soak it in cold water for one hour, then drain it;
or cook it without soaking. Drop it into the
boiling water, let it boil, and put it into the hay-
box for one and one-half hours if soaked, or two
hours if not soaked. Stand the pail or pan in a
cooker-pail of boiling water while in the hay-box.
Macaroni will break to pieces if cooked too long.
When tender, drain it in a colander and serve it
plain, seasoned to taste with salt and pepper, or
make it into Macaroni and Cheese or Macaroni
and Ham.

Serves five or six persons.

Macaroni Italienne

I cup macaroni in one-inch 4 cloves

pieces i small bay leaf

I pt. stewed and strained i teaspoon salt

tomatoes 2 teaspoons sugar

I cup stock or water J teaspoon pepper

I medium-sized onion i cup cheese, grated or shaved

Soak the macaroni in cold water for one hour;
stick the cloves into the onion. Drain the mac-
aroni, put it into a pan or pail, add the other
ingredients, except the cheese, and, when boiling,
set the pan or pail into a cooker-pail of boiling
water and put it into a cooker for two hours.

144 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Remove the onion and bay leaf and add the
cheese. If it cannot be served as soon as the
cheese is melted, slip the pail back into the
cooker.

Serves five or six persons.

Macaroni Milanaise

I cup macaroni i cup water

1 small onion i tablespoon butter

2 cloves J cup grated cheese
I pt. tomatoes, stewed and 6 sliced mushrooms

strained J cup smoked tongue or ham,

cut in strips

Break the macaroni, soak it for one hour, then
drain it, and put it, with the other ingredients^
except the last three, into a pan or pail. When
boiling, set the pan into a cooker-pail of boiling
water and put it into a cooker for two hours.
Remove the onion and cloves, add the last three
ingredients, and when the cheese is melted it is
ready to serve. If it cannot be served at once
replace it in the cooker.

Serves six or seven persons.

Spaghetti
Spaghetti may be 'treated in the same way
as macaroni. It is a similar paste moulded
into a different form. Vermicelli is also the
same paste, moulded into still finer threads. It
is frequently used in soups, and should be broken

VEGETABLES 145

into short pieces and added not more than two
hours before it is served, or it will become so
soft as to break to pieces and lose its attractive
appearance.

Noodles

Noodles are made from a richer paste than
macaroni, having eggs in place of water to supply
the moisture. They may be used exactly as
macaroni and similar pastes. They should not
be soaked before cooking.

Creamed Mushrooms

Wash the mushrooms, cut them in slices if
they are large, bring them to a boil in enough
salted water to nearly cover them. It should
take about a pint for each quart of mushrooms.
Set the pan or pail in a cooker-pail of boiling
water and put it into the cooker for from two
to six hours. When it is nearly time to serve
them, drain the water off, reserving three-fourths
of a cupful to use in making one and one-half
cupfuls of Sauce for Vegetables, or White Sauce.
Fricasseed Mushrooms

Wash the mushrooms and dry them thor-
oughly on a towel. Let them stand on the towel
some time before cooking them, so that they
may drain dry. Fry them in butter till they
are brown in a cooker-pail or pan, and make
one and one-half cupfuls of Brown Sauce for

146 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

each quart of mushrooms, using any liquor
that may have come from them, and water for
the liquid of the sauce. Pour this sauce over
the mushrooms. If a small quantity of mush-
rooms is being cooked, stand the pail or pan
in a large cooker-pail of boiling water. Put
them into a cooker for two hours or more.
Onions

Pare onions under water, to avoid their irri-
tating effect on the eyes. They are so strong
in flavour that they will bear an excess of water
in cooking. Salt the water as directed in the
General Directions for Cooking Vegetables.
Four quarts of water may be used for cooking
one quart of onions. Bring them to a boil in
a cooker-pail, and put them into a hay-box for
from two hours, for very tender, fresh onions,
to eight hours or more. When done, drain them
dry and add butter, pepper, and salt to taste
and, if desired, a little cream of milk. If the
onions are very large let them boil live minutes
before putting them into the hay-box.
Boiled Potatoes

Scrub potatoes well with a small scrubbing-
brush. Pare them, and if they are inclined to
be black when cooked, let them stand an hour
or more in cold water before cooking them.
Cook them in a large amount of boiling salted

VEGETABLES 147

water in a cooker-pail. When they have boiled
one minute put them into the cooker for from
one and one-half to three hours, depending upon
their quantity, size, and age. New potatoes
will not require so long to cook as old. Large
potatoes cut into pieces will cook in one hour.
Creamy Potatoes

1 qt. sliced potatoes ' 2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons butter J teaspoon pepper

J pt. milk

Wash and pare the potatoes and cut them into
thin slices. Four medium-sized potatoes will
make a quart when sliced. Put all the ingredients
together in a small cooker-pail or pan, set this
in a large cooker-pail of boiling water, and
when it is steaming hot, put the small utensil
directly over the heat until it boils. Replace
it in the pail of boiling water and set it in the
cooker for one hour.

Serves four or five persons.

Stewed Potatoes

1 qt. cold, diced potatoes 2 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk 2 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons butter J teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Melt the butter in a small cooker-pail or pan,
add the flour and blend the two evenly, then
add the milk, one-third at a time; when it boils,
put in the salt, pepper, and potatoes. Let

148 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

the whole reach boiling point and set it in a
large cooker-pail of boiling water, unless it
fills a small pail full, in which case it can be
placed directly in a cooker nest which exactly
fits it, and left for one hour or more.
Serves six or eight persons.

Peas

Shell young, green peas and bring them to a
boil, using about one cupful of salted water for
each quart of shelled peas. Put the pail or pan
inside of another cooker-pail of boiling water
and set all in a cooker for from one to two hours
or more. Old peas may be left all night or all
day in the cooker.

Rice, No. I

I cup rice 3 qts water

3 teaspoons salt

Look over the rice and remove any husks or
undesirable substances. Wash it by allowing
cold water to run through a strainer containing
the rice. Sprinkle it, gradually, into the boiling
salted water in a cooker-pail. When it is boil-
ing put it into a hay-box for one hour. There
is a considerable difference in rice, and the time
for cooking it will vary; but one hour will usually
be found sufficient. Rice is injured by over-
cooking. When the rice is soft, drain it in a
colander and set this in the oven, with the door

VEGETABLES 149

open, for five minutes. Serve at once. Rice,
when cooked, swells to four times its original bulk.
Serves six or eight persons.

Rice, No. 2
I cup rice 2 to 2| cups water

I teaspoon salt

Look over and wash the rice as directed in the
recipe for Rice, No. i. Bring it to a boil in the
salted water, and put it into a hay-box for one hour.

Serves six or eight persons.

Savoury Rice
I cup rice 4^ cups highly seasoned stock

2 tablespoons butter

Look over and wash rice as directed in the
previous recipes, bring it to a boil in the stock,
with the butter, and cook it in a hay-box for one
hour, standing the pail or pan that contains it
in a larger pail of water, unless more than one
cupful of rice is being cooked and the cooker-
pail would be at least two-thirds full. Serve
with a border of salted peanuts. The rice
should be moist but not sticky when cooked.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Turkish Pilaf
J cop rice I teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons chopped green i J cups stock or water

sweet pepper or onion i tablespoon butter

I cup tomatoes I teaspoon salt

150 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Pick over and wash the rice, as directed in
the recipe for boiled rice, No. i. Chop the
onion or pepper, discarding the seeds, and,
if raw tomatoes are used, remove the skins and
cut the tomatoes in pieces before measuring
them. Put all the ingredients together in a
small cooker-pail or pan, and, when boiling,
set it in a larger cooker-pail of boiling water.
Put it into a cooker for one hour. When ready
to serve it, stir it lightly with a fork till all the
ingredients are evenly mixed. Pilaf is injured
by much overcooking.

Serves five or six persons.

Samp (Coarse Hominy)
i cup samp I teaspoon salt

I cup cold water 3 cups boiling water

Soak the samp in the cold water for eight
hours or more. Add the salt and boiling water;
boil it hard for one hour, and put it into a cooker
for from six to twelve hours. It is improved
by the longer cooking. The pail or pan in which
it is cooked should be stood in a large cooker-pail
of boiling water. A tablespoonful of butter may
be added before serving if it is used as a vegetable.

Serves five or six persons.

Summer Squash

Scrub young, tender summer squashes and
cook them whole, in the cooker, with enough

VEGETABLES 151

salted boiling water to fully cover them, for
from one to three hours. If they are not young
enough to have a soft rind, they must be pared
and the seeds removed. It will then be better to
cook them as winter squash. When they are
tender, drain off the water and mash the squashes
in a colander. This will allow a little of the juice
to drain away and leave the squashes drier.
Season them highly with salt and pepper, and
add two tablespoonfuls of butter to each pint
of squash. If not very hot when mashed, reheat
before serving.

Stewed Tomatoes

1 qt. tomatoes i onion, sliced

2 teaspoons salt i cup buttered crumbt
J teaspoon pepper 2 teaspoons sugar

Scald and peel the tomatoes, remove the cores,
and cut them into pieces before measuring
them. Add the other ingredients, omitting the
sugar and crumbs, if preferred; bring all to a
boil, and put them into a cooker for from one
to two hours or more. They will not be injured
by indefinite cooking.

Serves five or six persons.

Hubbard or Winter Squash
Scrub, pare and cut the squash into pieces,
removing the seeds. Put it into a strainer that
will fit into the cooker-pail, placing a rack under

152 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

it to raise it above the water in the pail. Fill
the pail below the strainer with boiling water.
Steam the squash directly over the fire for ten
minutes, then put it into the cooker for from
five to eight hours, depending upon the age of
the squash and the amount cooked. A pail
of not less than six quarts' capacity should be
used, so that there may be at least three quarts
of water under the squash. When tender, mash
it through the strainer, or drain it in a cheese
cloth, squeezing it as dry as possible. If it is
to be served as a vegetable, season it highly with
salt and pepper, and add two or three tablespoon-
fuls of butter to each pint of squash. If it is
to be made into pies, omit these ingredients.
Pumpkin

Select a pumpkin with a soft rind, if possible.
Prepare and cook it in the same manner as
winter squash. It may be used as a vegetable
or made into pies.

Creamed Turnips

Scrub, pare, and cut turnips into half-inch dice.
Cook each pint of prepared turnips with at
least one quart of boiling salted water, in the
cooker, for from one and one-half to three hours
or more. When tender, drain them, reserving
enough of the water to make one cupful of Sauce
for Vegetables for each pint of turnips.

VEGETABLES 153

Mashed Turnip
Scrub and pare the turnips and cut them into
pieces. Cook each pint of turnip with at least one
quart of boihng salted water in the cooker for
from one and one-half hours to three hours or more.
When tender, drain and mash them in a colander
and add to each pint one teaspoonful of salt,
one-fourth teaspoonful of pepper, and two table-
spoonfuls or more of butter. Serve very hot.

Italian Chestnuts
I qt. chestnuts ij qts. water

2 teaspoons salt

Shell and blanch the nuts by the directions
given on page 189. Bring them to a boil with
salted water, put them in a cooker for from
two to four hours. Press them through a potato
ricer or serve them whole, adding a little butter
if desired. One quart of nuts will make about
one pint when shelled and blanched.

Serves four or five persons.

Brussels Sprouts

1 qt. sprouts Salt

2 or more qts. water Pepper

Butter

Wash the sprouts, bring them to a boil in salted
water; put them into the cooker for from one to
two hours, drain them and add salt, pepper,
and butter to taste.

Serves six or seven persons.

XVIII
STEAMED BREADS AND PUDDINGS

GENERAL DIRECTIONS

A DEEP mould is best for cooking steamed
breads and raised puddings, since there
will be less risk of the water's boiling over into
the food, and a larger amount may be used.
It is important to have one that is the right
size for the recipe, for if it is filled too full, the
mixture might rise and push off the cover or
be heavy from its pressure, and if not sufficiently
full, it would be unsteady in the water. The
water in the pail should come to two-thirds of
the height of the mould. The mould should
be not less than half-full of dough, and, generally
not more than two-thirds full. If a small mould
or a number of small moulds are to be used in a
large cooker-pail, stand them upon a rack or
similar device to raise them until there may be
no difficulty in filling the cooker-pail at least
two-thirds full of water. The cover as well as
the mould should be greased on the inside with

154

BREADS AND PUDDINGS 155

the same fat as that used in the dough or with
butter. If a bread mould is not available, an
empty baking-powder can, coffee can, or any
tin can or box with straight sides which has a
tight-fitting cover may be used, providing it is
found by trial to be water-tight. If it leaks,
it may be soldered at small expense, and may
then be kept for cooking purposes only. Where
a tightly covered can or box cannot be pro-
cured, an uncovered utensil could be used by tying
on securely a cover of heavy, well-greased paper.

Boston Brown Bread
I cup rye meal f tablespoon soda

I cup graham flour } cup molasses

I cup corn-meal 2 cups sour milk or

I teaspoon salt if cups sweet milk or

buttermilk

Mix and sift the dry ingredients together. Mix
the liquid ingredients and add them, gradually,
to the dry mixture. Put the dough into a well-
buttered, one-quart brown bread mould or water-
tight can of the same capacity. Stand the
mould in a six-quart cooker-pail in enough warm
water to come two-thirds of the way up the mould.
Bring it quickly to a boil and boil it half an hour.
Put it into a hay-box for five hours. It will not
be spoiled by six hours in the cooker, but will not
have quite such a dry crust. If sweet milk is

156 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

used add one tablespoonful of cream of tartar;
or omit the soda and use, instead, two table-
spoonfuls of baking powder.
Serves six or eight persons.

Graham Pudding
i cup butter ij cups graham flour

i cup molasses J teaspoon baking-powder

J cup sweet milk J teaspoon soda

I egg I teaspoon salt

I cup raisins, seeded and cut in pieces

Melt the butter, add the egg, well beaten,
molasses and milk. Mix the dry ingredients and
add to them the liquid mixture. Pour it into a
well-buttered, one-quart mould or into several
smaller moulds. Do not fill them more than two-
thirds full. Place the moulds on a rack in a
six-quart cooker-pail of warm water, bring quickly
to a boil and boil thirty minutes if the larger
cans are used; fifteen minutes, if the small cans
are used. Put it into the cooker for five hours.
If sour milk is available, omit the baking
powder and add an extra one-fourth teaspoonful
of soda.

Serves six persons.

Steamed Apple or Berry Pudding

1 cup flour I tablespoon butter

2 teaspoons baking powder J cup milk (sweet)

J teaspoon salt 4 apples cut in eighths

2 tablespoons sugar

BREADS AND PUDDINGS 157

Mix and sift the dry ingredients, cut the butter
into them, or rub it in with the fingers, add the
milk, cutting it in, Hghtly^, with a knife. When
the dough is barely mixed, so that no loose flour
is left, toss it on a floured board and pat or roll
it lightly till one-half inch thick. Spread the
apples on it and roll it like a jelly roll. Carefully
place it in a well-buttered, one-quart bread
mould or water-tight can. Cover it tightly and
stand it in at least a six-quart cooker-pail with
enough warm water to come two-thirds of the way
up its sides. Bring it quickly to a boil, boil thirty
minutes and place it in a cooker for three hours.
Serve immediately with warm apple sauce and
Hard Sauce. If berries are used add one cupful
to the dough, serve with berry sauce and omit the
apple-sauce.

Serves five or six persons.

Suet Pudding
J cup chopped suet J teaspoon salt

i cup molasses J teaspoon ginger

J cup sour milk J teaspoon grated nutmeg

I J cups flour J teaspoon ground cloves

J teaspoon soda i teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mix and sift the dry ingredients and add the
suet. Mix the milk and molasses and add them
to the dry mixture. Put the dough into a buttered,
one-quart bread mould or water-tight covered

158 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

can, and stand it in a six-quart cooker-pail of
warm water which reaches two-thirds of the way
up the can. Boil it one-half hour and put into
the cooker for five hours.
Serves six or eight persons.

Rich Plum Pudding

i lb. raisins J cup flour

J lb. currants J lb. brown sugar

2 oz. candied orange peel J nutmeg, grated

2 oz. citron ^tablespoon powdered cinnamon

J lb. chopped suet J teaspoon ground allspice

J lb. stale, soft breadcrumbs J pint brandy

(2J cups) 4 eggs

Wash and seed the raisins; rub the currants
with a little flour, then sift out the flour and allow
water to run over the currants in the sieve until
they are clean. Spread them on a towel and
remove any stems, stones, etc., that may be
among them. Let them stand, covered with a
towel to keep out dust, until they are dry. Cut
the orange peel and citron very fine, or put them
through a food-chopper. Chop the suet or put
it and the raisins through a coarse food-chopper;
a trifle of the flour may be mixed with the suet
before it is chopped to help to keep it from
sticking to the chopping-knife. Beat the eggs till
blended. Mix all the dry ingredients very thorough-
ly, add the eggs and then the brandy. Put the
pudding into a covered, greased mould, chopping

BREADS AND PUDDINGS 159

down through it a few times with the end of a
knife, to be sure that it fills the mould without
hollow spaces, and to avoid packing it firmly.
Stand it in at least three quarts of warm water,
in a cooker-pail. Heat it slowly but steadily
till the water boils; let it boil one hour if the
pudding is in one mould, or one-half hour if it is
in two smaller moulds. Put it into the cooker
for five hours. Remove it at once from the
mould. If it is not to be used when first made,
it may be kept several weeks, replaced in the
mould and reheated before serving, by putting
it in warm water, heating it to the boiling point
and boiling it one-half hour or more. Serve it
with brandy sauce.

Serves ten or twelve persons.

Steamed Cranberry Pudding
J cup butter 2j cups flour

§ cup sugar i tablespoon baking powder

2 eggs J cup milk

I cup berries

Rub the butter till it is soft and add the sugar
gradually. Separate the eggs and add the beaten
yolks to the butter and sugar. Mix and sift the
baking powder and flour together and add a
little flour, alternately with a part of the milk,
to the dough. When all is in, add the stiflly
beaten whites and the berries. Put the mixture

i6o THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

into a buttered, one-quart mould, stand it in hot
water and bring it, gradually, but steadily, to a
boil. Let it boil one-half hour and put it into
a cooker for five hours. Serve it with sweetened
cream or hard sauce.

Serves six or eight persons.

Ginger Pudding
J cup butter 3J teaspoons baking powder

J cup sugar i teaspoon salt

I egg 2 teaspoons ginger

aj cups flour I cup milk

Cream the butter, add the sugar gradually,
and the well-beaten egg. Mix and sift the dry
ingredients and add a little of the mixture alter-
nately with part of the milk. When all is in,
put the dough into a buttered mould, cover it,
and boil it one-half hour in a large cooker-pail of
water, then put it into a cooker for five hours.
Serve it with Vanilla Sauce or Nutmeg Sauce.

Serves six or eight persons.

St. James Pudding
3 tablespoons butter i teaspoon salt

} cup molasses i teaspoon cloves

J cuo thick, sour milk J teaspoon allspice

i§ cups flour 1 teaspoon nutmeg

} teaspoon soda } lb. dates, stoned and

cut in pieces
Mix the molasses, melted butter, and milk and
add them to the dry ingredients, which have

BREADS AND PUDDINGS i6i

been mixed and sifted. Add the dates and turn
the dough into a buttered, one-quart mould.
Boil it in a large cooker-pail of water for one-
half hour and put it into a cooker for five hours.
Serve with Hard Sauce.
Serves five or six persons.

Harvard Pudding
J cup butter 3i teaspoons baking powder

i cup sugar J teaspoon salt

I egg li cups flour

I cup milk

Mix the butter and sugar, add the egg, then
the dry ingredients, previously mixed and sifted
together, alternating part of the dry ingredients
and the milk until all are in. Turn it into a
buttered, one-quart mould, boil in a large cooker
pail of water for one-half hour and put it into a
cooker for five hours. Serve it with warm apple
sauce and Hard Sauce.

Serves six or eight persons.

Sw^iss Pudding

J cup butter Grated rind of one lemon

|- cup flour 5 eggs

2 cups milk J cup powdered sugar

Cream the butter, add the flour, gradually;
scald the milk with the lemon rind, add it to the
first mixture and cook it five minutes over hot
water. Beat the yolks of eggs until they are

i62 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

thick, add the sugar, gradually, and combine these
with the cooked mixture; cool it and cut and fold in
the stiffly beaten whites of eggs. Turn it into a
buttered, one-quart mould, boil it in a large cooker-
pail of water for twenty minutes, then put it into
a cooker for three hours.

Serves six or seven persons.

Rice Pudding

I qt. milk J teaspoon grated nutmeg

I tablespoon butter J teaspoon salt

J cup rice J cup sugar

Heat the milk and other ingredients in a
pudding pan over a cooker-pail of water. When
the water boils, remove the pan and bring the
pudding also to a boil. When it is boiling replace
the pudding in the large pail of boiling water,
cover and put it into the cooker for three or
four hours. It may then be put into the oven
for fifteen minutes and browned, although this
is not necessary. This pudding may be cooked
all night, but if cooked more than four hours
it is not quite so creamy. Serve either hot or
cold. One-half cupful of small, unbroken seed-
less raisins may be added to this recipe.

Serves six or eight persons.

Indian Pudding
2 cups water 2 teaspoons ginger

I cup molasses j cup corn-meal

I teaspoon salt 3 cups milk

BREADS AND PUDDINGS 163

Boil the water, molasses, salt, ginger, and meal
together for ten minutes in a pail or pudding
pan. Add the scalding milk. Bring it to a
boil and set the pan in a cooker-pail of boiling
water. Put it into a cooker for twelve hours.
When done, brown in a hot oven. Serve with
plain or whipped cream.

If fresh ground or coarse Southern corn-meal
is used it may first be sifted with a coarse sieve
to remove the largest particles, which will not
grow soft with this amount of cooking. Granu-
lated corn-meal will not require sifting.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Tapioca or Rice Custard

J cup pearl tapioca 2 eggs

{ cup water i tablespoon butter

3 cups milk J cup sugar

J teaspoon salt J teaspoon vanilla

Soak the tapioca in the water for one hour.
Add the milk, sugar, butter, and salt. Set the
pan in a cooker-pail of boiling water. When
the milk is scalding remove the pan and let
the pudding come to a boil. Replace it in the
boiling water and put it into the cooker for one
and one-half hours. Take it from the cooker,
add the beaten eggs, replace it in the pail of hot
water and stir it over the fire till it registers
165 degrees Fahrenheit, using a dairy or chemist's

i64 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

thermometer. Put it again into the cooker
for one hour. When cold, add the vanilla.

Rice may be used instead of tapioca.

Serves six or eight persons.

Tapioca Fruit Pudding

J cup pearl tapioca } cup sugar

I qt. water J teaspoon salt

6 apples, pared and cored 2 tablespoons butter

Soak the tapioca one hour, bring it to a boil
with the other ingredients in a two-quart pail,
if that will fill the cooker "nest,'' or in a pud-
ding pan to be set over boiling water. Put it
into a cooker for one hour. Serve cold with
cream. If it is preferred to serve the pudding
warm, use only three cups of water.

Serves six or eight persons.

Chocolate Bread Pudding
I qt. milk 2 or 3 eggs

1 pt. soft breadcrumbs J teaspoon salt

2 oz. or squares chocolate I teaspoon vanilla

§ cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Scald the milk, add the crumbs, and soak
them for one-half hour. Separate the eggs,
reserving two of the whites for a meringue.
Beat the three yolks and one white of egg together
and mix them with half the granulated sugar.
Melt the chocolate in a pudding pan set in a
cooker-pail of boiling water, add the remaining

BREADS AND PUDDINGS 165

half of the granulated sugar, and, gradually,
the bread and milk, stirring it in well while
still over the boiling water. Then add the yolks
of eggs, salt, and vanilla. Stir it constantly,
and cook it over the water until the pudding is
160 degrees Fahrenheit. Set the pail contain-
ing the pudding pan in a cooker for from one to
two hours. When done, put it into a baking-
dish suitable for serving, and cover the top with
a meringue made by beating the whites of eggs
till stiff, and adding the powdered sugar. Brown
the meringue in a very hot oven, watching it
carefully that it may not scorch. Serve warm,
with cream. If preferred, two whole eggs may
be used in the pudding, and in place of the
meringue use sweetened, whipped cream.
Serves six or eight persons.

Queen of Puddings
I qt. hot milk 3 eggs

I pt. soft breadcrumbs J teaspoon salt

J cup sugar I teaspoon vanilla, or

J cup melted butter J teaspoon spice

J glass jelly

Melt the butter in the milk; soak the crumbs
in the milk for one-half hour; beat the yolks
of three eggs and the white of one till mixed,
add the sugar, salt, and spice to them. Mix
all together and pour it into a pudding pan

i66 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

to fit in a cooker-pail of boiling water. Stir it
till the pudding is i6o degrees Fahrenheit, then
cover it and put it into a cooker for from one
to two hours. Make a meringue as directed
in the recipe for chocolate bread pudding, using
the whites of two eggs and two tablespoonfuls
of powdered sugar. Pour the pudding into a
baking-dish for serving, spread the jelly on top
and the meringue over this, and brown it in a
hot oven.

Serves six or eight persons.

Steamed Cup Custard
I qt. milk J cup sugar

4 eggs i teaspoon vanilla, or

J teaspoon grated nutmeg

Heat the milk, beat the eggs, add the sugar
and flavouring. Strain the mixture into hot
custard cups, set them on a wire rack or inverted
strainer or perforated pan, which is arranged
in a large cooker-pail of rapidly boiling water
in such a way that several quarts of water may
be below the custards but not touch the cups.
Cover tightly at once and set it into a cooker
for one-half hour.

Serves six or eight persons.

Compote of Rice and Fruit

} cup rice 3 tablespoons sugar

3J cups milk J teaspoon salt

BREADS AND PUDDINGS

167

Heat all together in a pan which is set into a
cooker-pail of boiling water. When the water
in the kettle boils, take out the pan and bring
the mixture in it to a boil. Replace it in the
and put it into the cooker for from one to

Figure No. 13.

Wire rack arranged for steaming, with perforated tin can as a

stand to raise it above the water.

three hours. Put it into a mould, and, when
shaped, but while still warm, turn it out on to
a serving dish. Put stewed or canned fruit on
top, and pour the juice around it.
Serves six or eight persons.

XIX

FRUITS

Apple Sauce

l) qts. sour apples i pt. water

I cup sugar

Wash, pare, core, and cut the apples into pieces,
add the water and sugar and bring them to a
boil. Put them into the cooker for from one to
three hours or more, depending upon the ripe-
ness of the apples. If they are not very tart
or high-flavoured the juice of half a lemon w^ill
improve them. Apple sauce will not be harmed
by indefinite cooking in the cooker. Beat it
well when cooked, or, if preferred, it may be
strained.

Serves six or eight persons.

Stewed Apples in Syrup
I qt. water lo cups sugar

J lemon i8 cloves

10 qts. prepared apples

Pare, core, and cut tart apples in halves, unless
they are small. Crab-apples may be used, but
should not be pared nor cored. Wash and slice

i68

FRUITS 169

the lemon. Put all the ingredients into a cooker-
pail and let them come to a boil. Put them
into a cooker for three hours. If the apples
are not very ripe they may cook as long as twelve
hours without becoming too soft.
Serves twenty-five to thirty persons.

Apple Jelly
6 quarts prepared apples 7 cups water

Wash the apples carefully, cut them into small
pieces and remove any decayed parts. Put the
apples and water into a cooker-pail and let them
come to a boil, then set them in a cooker for four
hours or more. When very soft, pour them into
a jelly bag and hang this over a large bowl for
several hours or over night. Measure the juice,
boil it for fifteen minutes, add three quarters as
much sugar as the measure of juice, boil the
mixture for five minutes more, or until a drop
will jelly on a cold plate if left for a few minutes.
Skim the jelly carefully while it is boiling. Fruit
that is slightly under-ripe is best for jelly. When
cold, seal it in the following manner: For each
glass cut a small piece of white paper to fit inside
it, lying on the jelly. This is to be dipped into
alcohol or brandy and laid in place. Cover the
top of the glass with another paper cut three-
fourths of an inch larger than the top of the glass,
and paste it down on the sides of the glass, using

170 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

white of egg or any paste without a strong odor.
Or seal jelly glasses with melted paraffin poure4
over the top until the jelly is completely covered.
Do not let the paraffin get very hot or it may give
a bad flavour to the jelly.

Blackberry and Apple Jelly

5 qts. blackberries 2 cups water

Apple juice

Look over the berries carefully; put them, with
the water, into a cooker-pail and let them come to
a boil. Put them in a cooker for three hours or
more, then pour them into a jelly bag and let
them drip for a least six hours. To each cupful
of juice add half a cupful of apple juice prepared
as for apple jelly. Boil these juices for fifteen
minutes, then add five cups of sugar to each six
cups of juice and boil it for five minutes longer
or until a drop will jelly on a cold plate if left for
a few minutes. Pour it into glasses and seal it
when cold, as directed for apple jelly.

Stewed Blackberries
Pick over two quarts of berries, put them, with
one cupful of sugar, into a cooker-pail and let
them slowly come to a boil, stirring them occa-
sionally as they are likely to scorch if cooked over
a flame or very hot fire. When boiling, put them
into a cooker for two hours or more. If cooked
a very long time the juice comes out and leaves

FRUITS 171

the berries rather small and seedy, but otherwise
no amount of cooking hurts them.
Serves twelve or fifteen persons.

Currant Jelly
Wash twelve quarts of currants, add one cupful
of water and put them on to boil. Stir them
occasionally so that they will not scorch. When
boiling, put them into a cooker for four hours or
more. Pour them into a jelly bag and let them
drip for at least six hours. Measure the juice,
and when it has boiled fifteen minutes add an
equal measure of sugar. Boil the mixture for
five minutes, or until a few drops will jelly on a
cold plate if allowed to stand a few minutes.
Skim the jelly several times during the boiling.
When it is done, pour it into glasses, and seal it,
when cold, as directed for apple jelly.

Cranberry Jelly

I J qts. berries i cup water

Sugar

Wash the berries and remove any soft and
decayed ones. Bring them to a boil with the
water and put them into a cooker for one or two
hours or more. Mash them through a fine
strainer or sieve, measure the pulp and add equal
parts or three-quarters of the amount in sugar.
Boil five minutes, or till a few drops will jelly
on a cold plate. Pour it into moulds which

172 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

have been wet with cold water. When cold, it is
ready to serve.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Cranberry Sauce
l} qts. cranberries 2^ cups sugar

I cup water

Wash the berries and remove any that are soft
and decayed. Put the berries, water, and sugar
into a cooker-pail and bring them to a boil, stirring
them frequently. When boiling, place the pail
in a cooker for two and one-half hours or more.
Serve cold.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Dried Fruits
Wash the fruit very thoroughly. If it is first
soaked for five minutes and then washed, it will
clean more thoroughly. To each cupful of fruit
add two cupfuls of water and let it soak for at
least six hours. It is better if soaked ten hours.
Add the sugar and bring all to a boil. Put it
into a cooker for from two to twelve hours, depend-
ing upon the fruit. Prunes are improved by long
cooking, apples are not injured by it, but peaches
or apricots, which are more attractive if they are
not broken to pieces, will be better if removed
as soon as they are perfectly soft. The amount
of sugar varies for different fruits; apricots,
prunelles, and such sour fruits requiring about

FRUITS 173

one cupful of sugar for each pint of dried fruit;
prunes, peaches, and apples requiring from one-
fourth to one-half as much.

Stewed Rhubarb
I J qts. prepared rhubarb f cup water

2 cups sugar

Wash the stalks, pare them if old, cut them
into one-inch pieces and put them, with the sugar
and water, into a two quart cooker-pail. When
boiling, set the pail in a cooker for from one to
three hours or more, depending upon the character
of the rhubarb. Some people prefer to use brown
sugar with rhubarb.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Stewed Figs
I lb. figs Juice of one lemon

I J cups sugar Water to cover figs

Use pulled figs; those which come in boxes
crack open when they are pressed and are not so
attractive when stewed. The natural form is
preserved in pulled figs, and they have, besides,
the advantage of being cheaper. Wash the figs
and put them, with the other ingredients, into a
pan which fits the cooker-pail. Boil them, set
the pan in the pail of boiling water and put it into
a cooker for seven hours or more. When cold,
serve the figs with whipped crean*-

Serves eight or ten persons.

174 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Sweet Pickles
8 lbs. fruit (prepared) f cup stick cinnamon

5 lbs. brown sugar f cup whole allspice

I qt. vinegar J cup cloves

Prepare the fruit as directed below. Tie the
spices in several cheese-cloth bags, and bring
them to the boiling point in a cooker-pail, with the
sugar and vinegar. Add the fruit, let it barely
come to a boil, stirring it carefully, so that it will
not break to pieces. Set it in a cooker for the
time directed below for each particular kind of
fruit. When it is sufficiently cooked, remove it
from the syrup and put it into cans or crocks.
Boil the syrup until it loses its thin, watery con-
sistency, and pour it over the fruit. If this
occupies more than one receptacle, put one spice
bag in each. Cover or seal the cans while still
hot. Sweet pickles should not be eaten until
they have stood for several weeks.

Peaches :

Select firm, ripe peaches, rub them well with
a woolen cloth, but do not pare them. Cook
them whole, as directed above, for from one to
two hours or more, depending upon the hard-
ness and size of the peaches.
Pears :

Wash, pare and, if desired, cut the pears in
half, removing the cores. Cook them, as directed

FRUITS 175

above, for from one to two hours or more, depend-
ing upon the hardness and size of the pears.

Crab Apples:

Wash and dry the apples and cut out the
blossom. Drop them into the syrup as soon as
the sugar is dissolved. Let them boil and cook
them, as directed above, for from two to
three hours.

Watermelon Rind or Citron:

Pare the rind and cut it into pieces. Put it
into a cooker-pail of boiling salt and water,
mixed in the proportion of one-half cup of salt
to one gallon of water. Slip the pail at once into
a cooker for ten hours or over night. When the
rind is soft drain it and wash it in cold water.
Drain it in a colander and add it to the syrup,
prepared as directed above, and cook it, as
other sweet pickles, for from four to six hours.
The fruit shrinks to about one-half its bulk after
cooking in the brine.

Prunes:

Soak the prunes for five minutes, wash them
well, then soak them for six hours in enough
water to cover them. Remove the pits, crack
them, and chop the kernels. Cook the prunes
and kernels in spiced syrup as directed above
for ten hours or over night. Weigh the fruit

176 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

after it has been soaked in order to estimate the
amount of syrup needed.

Plums:

Wipe the fruit, prick it and put it into the
syrup, bring it slowly to a boil and cook it as
directed above, for from one to two hours. If
each plum is pricked once with a sharp-pointed
fork or nut-pick it will not burst.
Quinces:

Wash the fruit and wipe it. Peel, quarter,
and core it and bring it to a boil in enough water
to half cover it; cook it in a cooker for ten hours
or over night or steam it in a wire rack over boiling
water for ten minutes and place it in a cooker
for three hours; put it over the fire and bring it
again to a hard boil and replace it in the cooker
for another three hours. The quinces, unless
very hard, will then be ready to cook in the syrup
as directed above, for ten hours or over night. If
they are first cooked in water instead of by steam-
ing, the water may be used for making a syrup
to use as a pudding sauce or for other purposes.

Orange Marmalade

1 large grape-fruit I large lemon

2 large oranges Sugar

Water

Wash the fruit with a brush, wipe it dry and
cut it, in very thin slices, removing only the seeds.

FRUITS 177

Discard the first and last slices, which consist
of nothing but skin. Measure the sliced fruit,
and to every quart of fruit add three cups of
water. Bring it to a boil and put it into a cooker
for ten hours or over night. Bring it again to a
boil and cook it again for ten hours. Add the
equivalent measure of both fruit and water
in sugar, bring it to a boil, and put it again into
the cooker for ten hours or more. If it is not
sufficiently thick in consistency, boil it slowly
until a drop will jelly slightly if put on a cold
plate and left a few minutes. As marmalade is
not usually sealed with air-tight covers it will
evaporate somewhat, and become thicker by
long standing, and will therefore not need to be
boiled until very stiff. The longer it is boiled the
less delicate the flavour becomes. This recipe
should make five pints or more of marmalade.

Candied Orange or Grape-Fruit Peel
Peel of 6 oranges or 2 grape- 3 cups sugar

fruit I J cups water in which peel was

cooked

Carefully scrub the fruit till very clean, remove
the peel in quarters and soak it in water for a
few hours. If it is to be used as candy, scrape
away a little of the white part, and cut it into very
narrow strips. If to be used for cooking pur-
poses, it need not be scraped or cut small. Put

178 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

it into a cooker-pail and cover it with boiling
water. Let it boil and set it in a cooker for ten
hours or more. Reheat it to boiling point and
cook it again for ten hours or more. This will
be enough for grape-fruit, but orange-peel may
require one more such period of cooking. When
soft and nearly transparent, drain the peel, saving
one and one-half cups of the water. Add to
it three cups of sugar, and, when this is dissolved,
the peel. Boil it, slowly toward the last, until
most of the water has boiled away. Remove the
strips and lay them in a bed of granulated sugar,
covering them also with sugar. Let them stand
until cold, then shake off the loose sugar, which
can be used for cooking purposes, and put the
candied peel into covered boxes or cans.

Canned Quinces

6 qts. quinces (prepared) 6 qts. water

4j lbs. sugar

Wash, peel, quarter, and core the quinces before
measuring them. Bring them to the boiling point
with the water in a cooker-pail. When they are
boiling hard put them into a cooker for ten hours
or more. If they are not then very soft to the
centre of the pieces, bring them again to a boil and
cook them for from six to ten or more hours,
according to their condition. When perfectly
tender add the sugar and bring all again to the

FRUITS 179

boiling point. Set them in a cooker for four
hours or more. Bring them to a boil and put
them at once into clean, sterilized cans. When
overflowing full, seal the cans at once.
This recipe makes about eleven quarts.

Preserved Quinces

8 lbs. prepared quinces 8 lbs. sugar

2 qts. water

Wash, peel, quarter, and core the quinces
before measuring them. Put them into a cooker-
pail, add the w^ater, and v^hen they are boiling
hard, put them into a cooker for ten hours or
more. If not perfectly tender, heat them again
to the boiling point and set them in the cooker
for as many more hours as they require, depend-
ing upon their ripeness. Thoroughly ripe
quinces v^ill probably not require this second
period of cooking. Add the sugar, bring them
to a boil, and set them in the cooker for four
hours or more. If they are not rich enough, boil
them slow^ly, uncovered, until they are of the
desired consistency. Long, slov^ boiling is
what gives quinces the red colour so much
admired.

Citron and Ginger Preserves
6 lbs. fruit (prepared) J lb. green ginger

4 lemons i J qts. water

6 lbs. sugar

i8o THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Pare the citron and cut it into thick slices.
Remove the seeds, cut the sHces across into cubes,
strips, or fancy shapes, and weigh them. Wash
the lemons, slice them and remove the seeds.
Wash and peel the ginger. Put the citron,
lemon, ginger, and water into a cooker-pail.
Bring them to a boil and put them into a cooker
for eight hours or more, depending upon the
hardness of the citron. When this is soft and
nearly transparent, add the sugar, boil it, and
cook again for four hours or more. Remove the
fruit, put it into cans or jars, and boil down the
syrup until it will just cover the fruit. Pour it at
once over the fruit and close the cans when cooled.
Caver them with a clean towel while cooling.

Watermelon rind may be preserved in the
same manner.

Grape Jam

Remove the grapes from the stems,- wash them
in a colander, then press the pulp from the
skins. Boil the pulp for a few minutes, until it
will easily separate from the seeds. Rub it
through a sieve, add the skins, and weigh or
measure the mixture. Add an equal quantity
of sugar, heat it over a moderate fire until it is
simmering, stirring it frequently. Do not let
it boil hard or the skins will be toughened.
Set it in a cooker for three hours or more. Put

FRUITS i8i

it into sterilized glasses or jars, cover it with a
towel until it is cold, and seal it as directed for
apple jelly on page 169.

Grape Juice

Remove ripe Concord grapes from the stems,
wash them in a colander, bring them just to
the boiling point over a moderate fire, stirring
them frequently. Put them into a cooker for
five hours or more. Drain them in a jelly bag
for at least eight hours. Each quart of loose
grapes should yield about one pint of juice.
Add one cup of sugar to every quart of juice;
bring it just to the boiling point and pour it at
once into sterilized bottles, not filling the bottles
quite full. Cork them at once. When cold,
press the corks down more firmly, cut them off
level with the top of the bottle, and dip the inverted
bottles, for an instant, into Wax for Sealing. If
bubbles appear in the wax around or over the
cork, break them and dip the bottle again.
'Wax for Sealing Bottles

Melt together equal parts of beeswax and
rosin. As soon as it is liquid it should be used
or drawn back on the stove where it will not
burn. It will keep indefinitely.
Preserved Ginger

Buy fresh, green ginger, of good size and
quality. Peel or scrape it and cut it into lengths

i82 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

for serving. Cook it in a cooker for ten hours
or more in boiling salted water (one-half cupful
of salt to one gallon of water). Drain away
the brine and add fresh boiling water to more
than cover it. When boiling put it again into
the cooker for ten hours or more. Change
the water and cook it again, repeating this pro-
cess until the ginger is very tender. It may take
several days. Make a syrup, using two cupfuls
of sugar to each cupful of water, bring the ginger
to a boil in this syrup, set it in a cooker for
five or six hours; remove the ginger, boil the
syrup down to a rich consistency, and pour it
over the ginger.

MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES

White Sauce
2 tablespoons butter I cup milk

2 tablespoons flour J teaspoon salt

Few grains of white pepper

Melt the butter over moderate heat, add the
flour, and blend the two thoroughly. Heat the
milk over hot water, add it, one-third at a time,
to the butter and flour, stirring constantly and
allowing the mixture to become perfectly smooth
and glossy before adding more milk. Season it
and allow it to come to the boiling point. If it is
not to be served immediately, cover it and slip
it into the cooker to keep hot.

Sauce for Vegetables

2 tablespoons butter J cup milk

2 tablespoons flour J teaspoon salt

J cup of vegetable stock Few grains of white pepper

Make the sauce in the same manner as
white sauce, blending the milk and water in
which the vegetables were cooked, which is
called vegetable stock.

x83

1 84 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Brown Sauce

2 tablespoons butter or clari- I cup brown stock

fied fat J teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons flour y^ teaspoon pepper

Brown the butter slightly, add the flour and
stir constantly until the flour is a rich brown.
Add the seasoning and stock, one-third at a time,
stirring it until smooth. If butter is not used,
add the flour as soon as the fat is melted, as
other fats will acquire a strong flavour if allowed
to brown before the flour is added. Mutton or
lamb fat, or that from smoked or salted meats,
is not suitable for brown sauce.

Drawn Butter Sauce
J cup butter i cup boiling water

2 tablespoons flour J teaspoon salt

Y^ teaspoon white pepper

Melt the butter, add the flour and season-
ing, and mix them well. Add the water, one-
third at a time, stirring until the sauce grows
smooth. When it has come to the boiling
point it is done.

Caper Sauce

Drain one-half cup of capers, and add them
to one cupful of drawn-butter sauce.

Egg Sauce
To one cupful of drawn-butter sauce add two
hard-cooked eggs, cut in one-fourth- inch dice.

MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 185

Sauce for Fish
To one cupful of drawn-butter sauce add one-
half tablespoonful of lemon juice and one-half
tablespoonful of chopped parsley.

HoUandaise Sauce

J cup butter J teaspoon salt

Yolks of two eggs Cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice J cup boiling water

Rub the butter until soft and creamy, add
the egg yolks, lemon juice, and seasoning, and
rub them till blended, then pour on the boiling
water and stand the covered bowl, containing
the sauce, on a rack over a cooker pail of boil-
ing water and put it into a cooker for three min-
utes; or cook it on the stove over hot water as
soft custard, stirring it constantly.

Tomato Sauce
J can tomatoes, or i teaspoon salt

2 cups raw tomatoes J teaspoon pepper

I slice onion 3 tablespoons butter

J bay leaf 3 tablespoons flour

J cup water or stock

Cook all the ingredients but the butter and
flour in a cooker for one hour or more. Rub
them through a strainer and add this, gradually,
to the blended butter and flour.

Hard Sauce

I cup butter i cup powdered sugar

Nutmeg

1 86 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Rub the butter till soft and creamy, add the
sugar gradually. When perfectly blended, pile
the sauce on a small dish or plate and put it into
a refrigerating box or other cold place till time
for serving, then grate nutmeg over the top.

Fruit Sauce
I glass of jelly, or f cup boiling water

J pint grape juice Sugar to taste

Cut the jelly into small pieces, add the water,
and bring the mixture to a boil. Let it stand in
a cooker for one-half hour or more, or leave it
on the stove till melted. If very sour jelly is
used, some sugar may be required to make it
sweet enough. With grape juice about one-half
cupful of sugar may be used. The sugar and
water should be brought to a boil, the grape juice
added, and the sauce immediately set aside to cool.

Brandy Sauce
} cup butter 2 tablespoons brandy

I cup sugar J cup milk or cream

Yolks of two eggs Whites of 2 eggs

Warm the butter to soften, but not melt it;
add the sugar gradually, and rub the two together;
add the beaten yolks and, when mixed, the
brandy and the milk or cream. Heat the sauce
over warm water in a cooker-pail until it regis-
ters i6o degrees Fahrenheit, stirring it con-
stantly. Cover it, and set the pail into a cooker

MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 187

for twenty minutes. When it is nearly ready,
beat the whites of eggs stiff and pour the hot
sauce over them, beating it until it is smooth.
Serve immediately.

Serves six or eight persons.

Vanilla Sauce
2 tablespoons butter i cup boiling water

I tablespoon flour } cup sugar

I teaspoon vanilla

Rub together the butter and flour in a sauce-
pan, add the water and cook until it thickens.
Add the sugar, and, when dissolved, the vanilla.
Serve hot.

Nutmeg Sauce

Make it in the same way as vanilla sauce,
substituting brown sugar for white, and using
one-eighth teaspoonful of grated nutmeg in
place of the vanilla.

Buttered Crumbs
I tablespoon butter J teaspoon salt

I cup soft, stale breadcrumbs Few grains pepper

Use bread that is at least one day old, and
not sufficiently stale to be hard. Grate the
bread, or crumble it in the fingers ; or cut it
into one-inch slices, and these into quarters,
and rub two quarters together. If any large
pieces break off, crumble them fine with the
fingers. If bread is being crumbled for scalloped

i88 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

dishes, it should be carefully done; if for stuff-
ing, bread puddings, and such uses where
it becomes moistened and softened it may be
cut into very thin slices, then across into strips
and small dice one-eighth inch in size. Mix
the seasoning with the crumbs, then add them
to the melted butter. When first mixed a few
crumbs absorb all of the butter, but if lightly
stirred with a fork for several minutes they will
become evenly buttered. If richer crumbs are
needed, the quantity of butter may be doubled.

Salted Nuts
I pt. water i cup blanched nuts

J cup salt I teaspoon butter

Blanch the nuts according to directions given
below. Boil them in the salt and water for
eight minutes, drain them and put them into
a roasting-pan or pie plate with the butter. When
warm, stir them well that the butter may coat
each nut. Bake them in a moderate oven until
they are a very light brown, stirring them fre-
quently. When they are done, spread them
out to cool and allow them to stand until crisp
before putting them into a covered receptacle.
If peanuts are used, take raw nuts.
To Blanch Nuts

Pour boiling water on to shelled nuts, let
ihem stand two or three minutes, drain them

MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 189

and pour cold water over them. Press them
from their skins.

To Shell Italian Chestnuts
Cut a slit in each nut with a sharp knife; put
them into a frying or roasting pan with one
teaspoonful of butter for each pint of nuts. Shake
them over moderate heat until the butter is
melted, and put them into a moderate oven for
five minutes; or continue to shake them over the
fire for that length of time. This loosens the
shell so that it may be removed with a knife.

To Sterilize Jars or Cans
Wash cans, jars or bottles and their covers
and put them into a large pan of cold or tepid
water, which is deep enough to fill and cover
them.

Bring the water to a boil over moderate heat,
unless a rack in the pan prevents contact of the
glassware with the bottom of the pan, in which
case a hot fire may be used. Let them boil
for five minutes or more, and remove them, one
by one, as they are to be filled. A clean stick
or long wooden spoon-handle thrust into them
may be used to take them out. Rubbers for
cans should not be sterilized, as the heat will
injure them. Corks may be dipped into boil-
ing water or allowed to remain in it for a
minute; but unless very stiff and shrunken.

190 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

they will swell too much to fit the bottles if left
long in the water.

Boiled Dressing

I teaspoon salt i teaspoon sugar

J teaspoon mustard i egg

Cayenne J cup milk

2^ teaspoons butter J cup vinegar

Mix the dry ingredients, add the beaten egg
and milk; heat them over a cooker-pail of warm
water until i6o degrees Fahrenheit, stirring it
constantly. Put it into a cooker for twenty
minutes. Add the vinegar when it is cold, unless
it is to be used for cole-slaw, in which case the
hot vinegar is added at once and the dressing
poured over the cut cabbage.

Soft-Cooked Eggs, No. i
Into a cooker-pail put as many eggs as are
to be cooked. Pour over them one pint of
boiling water for one egg and one cup extra
for each additional egg. Without heating it
further, put the pail into the cooker for ten
minutes. Remove them promptly at the end
of that time and place them in a folded napkin
to keep warm.

Soft-Cooked Eggs, No. 2
Put the eggs and cold water to more than cover
them into a cooker-pail. Heat them over the
fire until 165 degrees Fahrenheit, then put them

MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 191

into a cooker for ten minutes. Remove them
immediately and serve them in a folded napkin.
Hard-Cooked Eggs
Put the eggs and enough cold water to more
than cover them into a cooker-pail. Heat them till
simmering, then put them into a cooker for twenty
or thirty minutes, depending upon their size.

Chocolate

2 squares chocolate i cup hot water

J cup sugar 3 cups hot milk

J teaspoon vanilla

Melt the chocolate in a pan to fit over a cooker-
pail of boiling water; add the salt and sugar and,
when mixed, the water. Remove the pan from
the pail and let the chocolate cook directly on
the stove until it has thickened, add the milk,
gradually, and when scalding hot, but not boiling,
put the pan back into the cooker-pail of boiling
water. Set all in a cooker and leave it until it is
to be served. Just before serving beat it well
with an egg-beater and add the vanilla.
It will keep hot without injury for a number of
hours and makes a good drink for a late evening
supper. It can be prepared before going out and
on returning from concert, theatre, or other
entertainment, will be found ready to serve. A
tablespoonful or two of cream improves it.

Serves four or five persons.

192 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Cocoa

I J tablespoons cocoa 2 cups boiling water

2 tablespoons sugar 2 cups hot milk

Few grains salt

Mix the cocoa, sugar and salt. Mix it to a
paste with boiling water, add to the remain-
ing water, and let it boil one minute. Add
the scalding milk and beat it well with an
egg-beater and serve it; or put it into a cooker
to keep warm until it is to be used. It will
keep for several hours and should be beaten
upon removal. Reception cocoa is generally
made with double the quantity of cocoa and is
served with a spoonful of whipped cream laid
on top.

Serves four or five persons. For reception
serves eight persons.

Cocoa Shells
I J cups shells 3 cups milk

3 cups water Sugar to taste

Bring the shells and water to a boil, put them
into a cooker for eight hours or more. Add the
hot milk, strain the liquid off, pressing the shells
with a spoon to squeeze it out. Add the sugar
and heat all until boiling. By adding one-third
of a cup of cocoa nibs a more satisfactory drink
is obtained. This recipe makes one quart.

Serves four or five persons.

MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 193

Coffee
J cup coffee Cold water

J egg I qt. boiling water

Mix the coffee, egg and washed shell with
enough water to moisten it, in a cooker-pail or
pan. Add the boiling water and let it just come
to a boil. Put the pail or pan into a large pail
of boiling water and set it in a cooker for one hour
or more. If a larger quantity of coffee is made
and it will nearly fill the cooker-pail, the outside
pail of water may be omitted.

Cereal Coffee

} cup cereal coffee ij qts. water

Put the coffee into a cheese-cloth bag and drop
it into cold water. Bring it to a boil and put it
into a cooker for five hours or more. It is best
cooked over night and is a different thing from
ordinary cereal coffee prepared by boiling. All
brands of cereal coffee may be treated in this way.
Serve, if possible, with cream.
Croustades

Cut stale bread into slices one and one-half
or two inches thick. Cut off the crusts, making
rectangular blocks of the bread, or cutting it with
a large biscuit cutter, into rounds. With a fork,
carefully scoop out the centres, leaving cases
with walls about one-fourth of an inch thick.
Brush them lightly with melted butter and brown

194 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

them in a moderate oven. Creamed oysters,
lobster, fish or meat and some vegetables are
served in croustades.

Farina Balls

J cup farina Dash of cayenne

2 cups milk 5 drops of lemon juice

i teaspoon salt Yolk of one egg

Cook the milk and farina in a cooker for two
hours or more, over boiling water, until all the
liquid has been absorbed, then add the other
ingredients while still over the water, and when
well mixed remove it and spread it on a dish to
cool. When cold, roll it into balls one inch in
diameter, roll them in sifted crumbs, then in egg
to which one tablespoon of water has been added
and slightly beaten, and again in crumbs, and fry
them in hot, deep fat until a golden brown. Drain
them on soft brown paper laid on a plate in the
open door of an oven. Any cold cereals may
be used in this way.

XXI
RECIPES FOR THE SICK

Flaxseed Lemonade
2 tablespoons whole flax- J cup lemon juice

seed i cup sugar

I qt. boiling water A little grated lemon rind

Pick over and wash the flaxseed in a strainer,
put it into a cooker-pail and add the boiling water.
When it boils put it into a cooker for from two
to two and one-half hours. Strain it and add the
sugar and lemon.

Farina Gruel

1 tablespoon farina I cup milk

2 cups boiling water I egg

I tablespoon cold water f teaspoon salt

Mix the farina and cold water, add them to
the boiling, salted water and when boiling set
it in the cooker, over boiling water, for one
and one-half hours. Then scald the milk in
a double boiler and add it and the beaten
^gg ^o the cooked farina. The egg may be
omitted, in which case only one cup of water
should be used.

195

196 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Imperial Granum
I tablespoon Imperial Granum J cup boiling water
I tablespoon cold water J teaspoon salt

i cup milk

Mix the Imperial Granum with the cold water,
add it to the boiling water. Add the salt and
milk and cook it in a small cooker-pail or pan
over the fire until it boils, stirring occasionally.
Then put it into a pail of water and set it in a
cooker for one hour or more. If preferred, more
milk may be added.

Cracker Gruel
I tablespoon plain cracker i cup milk
crumbs J teaspoon salt

Scald the milk in a small double cooker-pail,
with boiling water in the under pail. Add the
cracker, and put it into a cooker for one hour or
more. Add the salt just before serving. It is
often convenient to keep such gruels hot for use
in the night, being improved rather than harmed
by the long cooking. Care must then be taken
that they are hot, not merely warm. Milk is
considered scalding hot when a thick skin forms
on the top and bubbles appear next the pan, or
when it registers i8o degrees Fahrenheit.

Oatmeal Gruel
i cup rolled oats I teaspoon salt

3 cups boiling water Milk to taste

RECIPES FOR THE SICK 197

Put the oatmeal, salt and water into a cooker-
pan, boil it five minutes and set it in a cooker
for eight or ten hours over a cooker-pail of boiling
water. Rub it through a strainer, dilute it
with hot milk and pour it again through a strainer.

Barley Flour Gruel

1 cup water 3 tablespoons cold water
3 tablespoons barley flour J cup milk

i teaspoon salt

Mix the barley and cold water to a paste, add
the boiling water and salt, bring it to a boil and
cook it over boiling water for one hour or more
in a cooker. Strain it, dilute it with the milk and
heat it over hot water.

Indian Gruel

2 tablespoons meal 2 tablespoons cold water
I tablespoon flour 3 cups boiling water

i teaspoon salt Milk or cream

Mix the flour and meal, add the cold water and
add this mixture to the boiling, salted water.
Boil it and let it cook over boiling water in a
cooker for ten hours; strain it, add the milk or
cream, heat it over hot water and serve it. Or
less water may be used for the long cooking and
more milk or cream be added before serving.

Arrowroot Gruel

1 cup boiling water i tablespoon cold water

2 teaspoons Bermuda arrow- J teaspoon salt

root

198 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Mix the arrowroot and cold water, add them
to the boiling, salted water, let the mixture boil
and cook it over boiling water in a cooker for one
hour or more.

Pasteurized Milk
There is a certain degree of heat which, if
maintained for a sufficient period of time, will
destroy disease germs and certain other harmful
germs which tend to spoil milk, while at the
same time it is not high enough to cause the deli-
cate flavour of raw milk to disappear. Bringing
milk to this exact condition is called *' pasteurizing"
it. Into feeding bottles put the amount of milk
that is to be used at one time. Plug them with
sterilized (baked) cotton. Stand them on a
rack in a cooker-pail, surrounded, to the depth of
the milk, with warm water. Gradually raise
the temperature till the milk in the bottles registers
150 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover the pail, and
set it in a cooker for from twenty minutes to
half an hour or more. Remove the bottles, cool
quickly and keep the milk in a cold place, but not
freezing, till needed. Do not remove the milk
from the bottles if it is used for feeding infants.
If used for adults do not remove it until it is to
be used. Pasteurized milk will keep for a long
time without souring, but is dangerous unless
continuously kept very cold. Milk "to be kept

RECIPES FOR THE SICK 199

hot in a cooker for use in the night, should be put
in while scalding hot, not merely pasteurized,
since "any device for keeping milk [merely]
warm should never be used." *

Rice and Milk

I cup rice ij cups milk

} teaspoon salt

Bring the ingredients to a boil in a cooker-
pan, set it over boiling water and put it into a
cooker for one hour or more.

Peptonized Beef Broth

i lb. lean beef i cup water

J tube Fairchild's peptogenic powder

Remove all fat from the meat, chop it fine and
heat it with the water until it boils, stirring it
constantly. Drain off the liquid and grind the
meat to a paste with a mortar and pestle. Put
it, with the liquid and Fairchild's powder, or its
equivalent, into a sterilized glass can, close it
and shake all together vigorously till it is well
mixed. Stand the jar with the cover laid on it,
but not fastened securely, on a low rack in a
cooker-pail of warm water. Place it over moder-
ate heat until the water is 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cover it and put it into a cooker for three hours.
Warm the cooker-nest, previously, with a pail of

♦" Bacteria in Milk," by L. A. Rogers. Yearbook of the Department of
Agriculture, 1907, p. 194.

200 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

boiling water set into it for half "an hour. Take
out the broth, put it into a saucepan and quickly
bring it to a boil. If it is for a very sick patient
it should be strained. Keep it cold unless it is
used immediately. Add one-fourth teaspoonful
of salt before serving it.

Peptonized Milk

i pt. fresh milk J cup water

i tube Fairchild's peptogenic powder

Put the powder with the water, which has been
boiled and cooled, into a sterilised pint glass can,
and shake them until the powder is dissolved.
Add the milk and shake it slightly again. Put
the can into a cooker-pail of warm water and heat
it over a moderate fire until the water is 115
degrees Fahrenheit. Set it into a previously
warmed cooker for from ten to thirty minutes.
If it remains too long it will develop an unpleasant
flavour. When done, remove it to a saucepan
and bring it quickly to a boil. Keep it in a cold
place if it is not used immediately.

Apple W^ater

I large sour apple 2 teaspoons sugar

I cup boiling water

Wash the apple thoroughly; cut it into pieces,
removing the core but not the skin. Bring it
to a boil in the water; cook it over boiling
water in a cooker for two hours or more. Strain

RECIPES FOR THE SICK 201

It through a wire strainer and add the sugar.
Serve it cold.

Barley Water
3 tablespoons barley Salt

2 cups cold water Lemon juice

Sugar

Pick over the barley and soak it over night
or for several hours. Bring it to a boil and put
it into a cooker for eight hours. Strain it, add
salt, sugar and lemon juice to taste. Serve it hot.

XXII

RECIPES FOR COOKING IN LARGE
QUANTITIES

FIRELESS cookers are specially adapted to
use on a large scale, as it is in cases where
cooking is done on a business basis that economy
in fuel, range space, and labour form such an
important factor, and because there some intelli-
gent person will generally oversee the work of
the ignorant and careless. In their present
form they are not, perhaps, adapted to very
large institutions, where many hundreds of
persons are fed, since there is a limit to the
size of utensils which can be lifted in and
out of the insulating box. But for small
institutions, hotels, boarding-houses, restaurants,
and lunch rooms the fireless cooker will, inevit-
ably, become indispensable as soon as it is
understood.

The United States Army has used the fireless
cooker and, owing partly to its demand, some
of the manufacturers of commercial cookers make
them in sizes appropriate for use on a large

COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 203

scale. For those who wish to try them without
an initial outlay of much money the home-made
cooker will be found in every way satisfactory.
As an encouragement to those who wish to use
them for such purposes, it may be said that
there is less chance of failure in cooking large
quantities of food than with small.

In the main, the directions for making and
using cookers are the same no matter what the
size, but a few points may be suggested as more
necessary for large than small cookers.

In many kitchens there will be no space near
the range for a cooker or a number of cookers,
and it will be a matter of necessity to have one
which can easily be moved. Instead of ordinary
castors, use, for these, such small iron wheels
as are put on hand trucks. They will be found
to run more easily and to injure a floor much
less. Select a box which will fit under a table,
when loaded, and then it will not seem to make
the kitchen any fuller than before. Fit it with
two strong handles, preferably on the front of the
box, so that it may be guided when pulled out
from under the table.

The portable insulating pail may be found
useful for transporting hot food from a cen-
tral kitchen to outlying dining-rooms, as is so
often done in large institutions, aluminum utensils

204 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

and the lightest packing material that is prac-
ticable being advisable for these.

The temperature maintained by a large mass
of food in a well-made box, will result in more
rapid cooking than with small quantities, and
this must be taken into account with foods,
such as potatoes, which are easily overcooked.

There is always a difficulty in stating the
number of persons that may be served by any
recipe, since the amount served to each varies
to such an extent with circumstances. The
number indicated in this book is a mean
between the small table d'hote and the large
a la carte portions, and is based upon the
amount served at an ordinary family table.
Three-quarters of a cupful is allowed for each
portion of soup.

Rolled Oats
7J qts. water 4 tablespoons salt

3 qts. rolled oats

Boil the water, add the salt and sprinkle in the
oats gradually. When boiling put it into a cooker
for two hours or more. It is improved by
twelve hours' cooking.

Serves forty or fifty persons.

Cornmeal Mush
8 qts. water 2^ tablespoons salt

7 cups cornmeal

COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 205

Mix the meal with one quart of the water,
bring the remainder to a boil, add the salt
and stir in the meal paste. Let it boil four
minutes and put it into the cooker for five hours
or more.

Serves thirty-five or forty persons.

Hominy Grits
7jqts. water 3 tablespoons salt

I J qts. hominy grits

Add the hominy to the boiling, salted water;
let it boil for ten minutes and put it into the
cooker for eight hours or more.

Serves forty or fifty persons.

Samp

1 qt. samp 3 tablespoons salt

2 qts. cold water 6 qts. boiling water

Soak the samp in the cold water for eight hours
or more. Add it to the boiling water and salt,
let it boil uncovered for one hour and put it
into a cooker for six hours or more. A little
butter added before serving improves it, if it is
used as a vegetable.

Serves forty or fifty persons.

Cracked Wheat
5 cups wheat zj tablespoons salt

2i qts. cold water 5 qts. boiling water

Soak the cracked wheat in the cold water for
\iine hours or more. Add it to the boiling water

2o6 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

and salt, let it boil for ten minutes and put it
into a cooker for at least nine hours; reheat
it to the boiling point and cook it again for
nine hours or more.

Serves forty or fifty persons.

Steel-cut Oatmeal
5 cups oats 2} tablespoons salt

ij qts. cold water 5 qts. boiling water

Cook it in the same manner as cracked wheat.
Serves forty or fifty persons.

Petty ohn's Breakfast Food
7 J qts. water 4 tablespoons salt

3 qts. Pettijohn's Breakfast food

Cook it as directed on page 56.
Serves forty or fifty persons.

Cream of Wheat
8^ qts. water 3 tablespoons salt

5 cups cream of wheat

Cook it as directed on page 56.
• Serves forty or fifty persons.

Wheatlet
Cook it in the same way as cream of wheat.

Farina
Cook it in the same way as cream of wheat.

Rice

3 to 5 qts. water J cup salt

I J qts. rice

COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 207

Wash the rice, add it to the boiling salted
water; let it boil and put it into a cooker for
one hour.

Serves forty or fifty persons.

Brown Stock

10 lbs. meat and bone i tablespoon sweet marjoram

10 qts. water 3 tablespoons chopped parsley

ij teaspoons peppercorns 2 cups carrot

I teaspoon cloves 2 cups turnip

3 bay leaves 2 cups celery
I tablespoon chopped thyme i cup onion
J cup salt

Make it as directed on page 60.
Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

White Stock

10 lbs. knuckle of veal 2 teaspoons peppercorns

10 qts. water J cup onion

J cup salt 2 cups celery, or

I tablespoon celery seed

Make it as directed on page 62.
Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

Mutton Broth

15 lbs neck of mutton i teaspoon pepper

10 qts. cold water i cup rice, or

I cup salt I cup barley

Make it as directed on page 63.
Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

2o8 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Mock Turtle Soup

5 lambs' livers i teaspoon cloves

5 calves' hearts
5 knuckles of veal
10 qts. water
2 cups onions
2 cups turnip
2 cups celery

ij tablespoons peppercorns

J cup salt

5 bay leaves

i} doz. yolks of hard-cooked

eggs
2j lemons
Madeira wine

Make it as directed on page 66.
Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

Creole Soup
6 qts. brown stock 2 cups flour

3 qts. tomatoes
I cup chopped green sweet

pepper
} cup chopped onion
li cups butter

I J tablespoons salt
J teaspoon cayenne
J cup grated horseradish
2 tablespoons vinegar
li^ cups macaroni rings

Make it as directed on page 69.
Serves forty or forty-five persons.

Cream of Celery Soup

3 qts. white stock i cup flour

4J qts. celery, cut small

I J qts. water

1} cups sliced onion

} cup butter

3 qts. hot milk
li qts. hot cream
2 tablespoons salt
f teaspoon pepper

Make it as directed on page 68.
Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 209

Asparagus Soup

5 qts. white stock, or i} cups butter

5 qts. water in which aspara- if cups flour

gus has cooked 3^ qts. hot milk

7 cans asparagus, or i tablespoon salt

7 pts. of cooked asparagus f teaspoon white pepper
I large onion

Make it as directed on page 68.
Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

Macaroni Soup
10 qts. brown stock 2J cups macaroni rings

Make it as directed on page 70.
Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

Vegetable Soup with Stock
10 qts. brown stock 2J cups cabbage

ij cups turnip ij cups onion

2^ cups carrot i tablespoon salt

2J cups celery | cup rice or barley

Make it as directed on page 67.
Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

Ox Tail Soup

6 ox tails li cups Madeira wine

9 qts. brown stock 2 tablespoons Worcestershire

2 teaspoons salt sauce

J teaspoon cayenne 2 tablespoons lemon juice

i cup butter Flour

Make it as directed on page 70.
Serves forty or forty-five persons.

210 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Julienne Soup
10 qts. brown stock ij cups peas

2 J cups carrot ij cups string beans

2j cups turnip i teaspoon salt

Make it as directed on page 70.

Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

Tomato Soup with Stock
5 qts. brown stock ij cups butter

5 cans or 5 qts. tomatoes i§ cups flour

I cup chopped onion 2^ tablespoons salt

Make it as directed on page 69.
Serves forty-five to fifty persons.

Vegetable Soup without Stock
2 cups carrots 3 qts. tomatoes

2 cups turnips i cup butter

3 cups celery J cup chopped parsley
3 cups onion J cup salt

2 qts. potatoes ij teaspoons pepper

6 qts. water

Make it as directed on page 71.
Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

Bean Soup
5 pt8. beans i cup chopped celery

10 qts. water or stock § cup Chili sauce

1 cup chopped onion § cup butter

2i lbs. lean, raw beef, if § cup flour
stock is not used i cup salt

I J teaspoons pepper

Make it as directed on page 72.
Serves fifty or fifty-five persons.

COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 211

Black Bean Soup
2J qts. black beans f teaspoon pepper

10 qts. water
I cup chopped onion
I cup chopped celery, or
I J teaspoons celery salt
J cup salt

5 lemons

Make it as directed on page 72.
Serves fifty or fifty-five persons.

i^ teaspoons mustard

i teaspoon cayenne

I cup butter

^ cup flour

10 hard-cooked eggs

Tomato Soup

7 cans or quarts of tomatoes 2 large onions

3J qts. water J cup salt

1 tablespoon peppercorns i teaspoon soda
4 large bay leaves J cup sugar

2 teaspoons cloves J cup butter

ij cups flour

Make it as directed on page 73.
Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

Potato Soup

24 medium-sized potatoes i cup flour

4 qts. milk

4 qts. water

f cup chopped onion

2 cups butter

i cup chopped parsley

Make it at directed on page 75.
Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

i cup salt

2 teaspoons celery salt
I teaspoon pepper
i teaspoon cayenne

212 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Puree of Lima Beans
5 cups dried lima beans 5 cups cream or milk

7 J qts. water ij cups butter

i cup chopped onion § cup flour

f cup chopped turnip J cup salt

I J teaspoons pepper
Make it as directed on page 73.
Serves forty- five or fifty persons.

Baked Bean Soup

3 qts. cold, baked beans i cup butter

6 qts. water J cup flour

J cup chopped onion J cup Chili sauce

I cup chopped celery 4 teaspoons salt

I J qts. tomatoes J teaspoon peppei

Make it as directed on page 74.
Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

Green Pea Soup
8 cans marrowfat peas, or J cup chopped onion

4 qts. shelled peas i cup butter

5 tablespoons sugar i cup flour

4 qts. water 3 tablespoons salt

4 qts. milk ij teaspoons pepper

Make it as directed on page 74.
Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

Split-Pea Soup
2 qts. split peas 8 qts. water

8 lbs. soup bones, beef J cup salt

I teaspoon pepper
Make it as directed on page 77.
Serves fifty persons

COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 213

Fish Chowder
12 lbs. cod or other firm, 3 qts. scalded milk

white fish J lb. fat salt pork

3 qts. potatoes, in J-inch dice 3 tablespoons salt
f cup sliced onion J teaspoon white pepper

J cup butter 2 cups oyster crackers

Make it as directed on page 75.
Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

Connecticut Chowder

Make this as directed for fish chowder, sub-
stituting two quarts of stewed fresh or canned
tomatoes for the milk, which may be added to
the chowder before putting it into the cooker.

Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

Creamed Salt Codfish
6 lbs. codfish 2 doz. eggs

12 qts. water 3 cups milk

I J cups butter f teaspoon pepper

Cook it as directed for Creamed Salt Codfish,
No. 2 on page 84.

Serves forty or fifty persons.

Codfish Balls
2 qts. raw, salt codfish, About 12 qts. cold water

in small pieces " 8 eggs

4 qts. potatoes, in l-inch J cup butter

pieces i teaspoon pepper

Cook it as directed on page 85.
Serves forty or fifty persons.

214 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Pot Roast
12 lbs. beef from round or J teaspoon pepper

rump I cup carrot

I J oz. beef drippings i cup turnip

(3 tablespoons) i cup onion

Flour I cup celery

I tablespoon salt 4 bay leaves

3 qts. water

Have the butcher bone and roll the meat,
if it is from the rump. Wipe it with a damp
cloth, dredge it with flour and brown it on all
sides in the drippings. Wash, pare, and cut the
vegetables into pieces. Put all the ingredients
with the hot, browned meat, into a cooker-pail,
add the water, boiling hot, let it boil for thirty
minutes and put it into a cooker for nine hours
or more. Before serving bring the meat to a
boil, remove it, put it in a warm place, and
make three quarts of brown sauce. Strain the
liquor in the pail and use it for the sauce. If
there is fat on the top of the liquor remove it
and use it in making the sauce.

Serves fifty persons.

Brown Sauce
^ cup butter or fat 2 teaspoons salt

J cup flour i teaspoon pepper

I qt. stock or water

Make it as directed on page 184.
Serves sixteen or twenty persons.

COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 215

Beef a la Mode

12 lbs. round of beef i cup sliced onion

i lb. fat salt pork i teaspoon allspice

Flour i teaspoon grated nutmeg

3 tablespoons salt i teaspoon whole clovc$

I teaspoon pepper J cup rendered beef fat
About 3 qts. water

Cook it as directed on page 95, except that there
need not be an outer pail of boiling water.
Serves fifty persons.

Irish Stew
5 lbs clear meat 2^ cups celery, in pieces

li qts. potatoes, in dice 3 tablespoons salt

2 J cups turnips, in dice i teaspoon pepper

2J cups carrots, sliced 2^ cups flour

I J cups onions, sliced J cup clear fat

4J qts. water

Cook it as directed on page 100.
Serves forty or fifty persons.

Beef Stew k la Mode

10 lbs. beef brisket i teaspoon pepper

Flour I teaspoon ground allspice

I cup rendered fat i teaspoon grated nutmeg

I J cups sliced onion I teaspoon whole cloves

J cup salt I lemon, sliced
Water to cover

Buy twenty-five or thirty pounds of brisket
to get ten pounds of clear, lean meat. Cook it
as directed on page 97.

Serves forty or fifty persons.

2i6 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Boiled Dinner
8 lbs. lean, salt pork 5 heads cabbage

1 pk. turnips ij pks. potatoes

J pk. beets ' 2 teaspoons pepper

I qt. carrots Water to cover

Cook it as directed on page 96.
Serves forty or fifty persons.

Cannelon of Beef
6 lbs. lean meat, chopped § cup clear fat or butter

Grated rind ij lemons f teaspoon nutmeg

J cup chopped parsley 3 tablespoons salt

1 doz. eggs f teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons grated onion i J qts. soft breadcrumbs

Cook it as directed on page loi.
Serves forty or fifty persons.

Okra Stew

6 lbs. clear, lean mutton 3 qts. tomatoes

§ cup clear beef fat 3 qts. okra, in pieces

I J cups flour 3 tablespoons salt

2 cups sliced onion i teaspoon pepper

3 qts. water

Cook it as directed on page ill.
Serves forty or fifty persons.

Creamy Potatoes
I pk. potatoes J cup salt

4 qts. milk i tablespoon pepper

I J cups butter

One peck of potatoes will maKe about ten
quarts when prepared for creamy potatoes.

COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 217

Melt the butter in the cooker-pail, add the milk,
and, while it is heating, slice the potatoes which
have been pared and soaked, for two hours or
more, in cold water. As each quart of potatoes
is sliced put it into the hot milk. The potatoes
will thus be heated to boiling point, quart by
quart. Add the seasoning. When boiling, after
the last quart of potatoes has been added, put all
into the cooker for one hour or more.
Serves forty or fifty persons.

Veal Loaf

5 lbs. minced veal 2^ tablespoons salt

10 eggs f cup chopped parsley

ij cups melted butter f cup chopped onion

5 cups soft breadcrumbs J lb. fat salt pork

} teaspoon pepper 2J teaspoons ground sage

. Cook it as directed on page 117.
Serves forty or fifty persons.

Macaroni Italienne

2 qts. macaroni, in one-inch 32 cloves

pieces 4 large bay leaves

4 qts. stewed and strained 3 tablespoons salt

tomatoes J cup sugar

2 qts. stock or water I teaspoon pepper

8 medium-sized onions 2 qts. grated or shaved cheese

Cook it as directed on page 143.
Serves forty or fifty persons.

21 8 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Turkish Pilaf

I qt. rice 2j tablespoons salt

8 green sweet peppers (2 cups) 2 tablespoons sugar

3 qts. tomatoes i^ qts. water

i cup butter

Cook it as directed on page 149, without the
lower pail of water.

Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

Pork and Beans

2 qts. dried beans 2 lbs. salt pork
I tablespoon soda i cup molasses

9 qts. water I tablespoon mustard

3 tablespoons salt f teaspoon pepper

Water to half cover

Soak the beans, drain them, cook them for
seven hours or more, as directed on page 141,
with the nine quarts of water, soda, and salt.
Drain them, add the other ingredients, and
bake them till browned.

Serves forty-five or fifty persons.

Boston Brown Bread

2 qts. rye meal J cup soda

2 qts. granulated commeal i cup salt

2 qts. graham flour ij qts. molasses

4 qts. thick, sour milk, or 3^ qts. buttermilk

Mix and cook it as directed on page 155. t^ut
it into seven or eight moulds.
Serves fifty persons.

COOKING LARGE QUANTITIES 219

Suet Pudding
3 cups chopped suet i J tablespoons salt

3 cups molasses li teaspoons ginger

3 cups thick, sour milk ij teaspoons nutmeg

2i qts. flour I teaspoon cloves

I J tablespoons soda i tablespoon cinnamon

Mix and cook it as directed on page 157. Put
the pudding into six moulds. Serve it with a
liquid sauce.

Serves forty or fifty persons.

Rice Pudding
6 qts. milk li cups rice

3 cups sugar f teaspoon salt

I teaspoon nutmeg J cup butter

Cook it as directed on page 162, except that the
outer pail of water may be omitted. If served
cold and not browned, omit the butter.

Serves thirty or thirty-five persons.

Indian Pudding
3 qts. water 2 tablespoons salt

4j qts. milk (scalding hot) J cup ginger
I qt. cornmeal li qts. molasses

Mix the dry ingredients with one pint of the
water, add them to the boiling water and molasses,
add the milk. Let all come to a boil and put it
into a cooker for ten hours or more. Put it into
baking dishes and brown it, or serve it without
browning, either plain or with cream.

Serves forty or fifty persons.

220 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Chocolate Bread Pudding
6 qts. milk, 2 cups sugar

3 qts. soft breadcrumbs i8 eggs

I tablespoon salt } lb. chocolate

2 tablespoons vanilla

Cook it as directed on page 164, in three pud-
ding pans, set over cooker-pails of water.
Serves forty or fifty persons.

Stewed Apples
15 qts. prepared apples } teaspoon whole cloves

7 lbs. sugar 2 lemons

I J qts. water

Cook them as directed on page 168.
Serves thirty-five to forty-five persons.

Apple Sauce

I pk. sour apples ij qts. water

3 lbs. sugar

Cook it as directed on page 168.
Serves forty-five to fifty persons.

XXIII
THE INSULATED OVEN

MANY women in these days will find it
difficult to believe that it is possible
to bake without the constant presence of fire,
but our great-grandmothers were well aware
that foods continued to cook in the brick ovens

Insulated oven with stones and pan in place.

long after the fire in them had burned out or
was raked out. The insulated oven represents
an adaptation of old-fashioned ideas to new
and modern conditions. Although we cannot
go back to the days of brick ovens, superior as

222 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

they were, in certain respects, to the portable
range with its quickly fluctuating heat and great
waste from radiation, yet the insulated oven will
not be found impossible or very difficult to set
up, and the adventurous woman will, perhaps,
not be content until she has tried this develop-
ment of the fireless cooker.

The advantages of an insulated oven lie in the
even brown and thorough baking which it gives;
the development and retention of flavours, which
is greater than with ordinary baking; the economy
in fuel where food requires long cooking; the
absence of heat in the kitchen; and the possibility
of baking where only a camp-fire is obtainable.

The principle is the same whether a portable
oven is insulated or a cooker-pail is utilized.
There must be hot stone slabs, iron plates, fire-
brick, or some such heat-radiators, which can be
made very hot and which will retain their heat
well. Stones or fire-brick are preferable to
iron in this respect. There must be insulation
for the oven or utensil, and cooking will then
proceed, although somewhat differently from
the familiar method of baking with a fire.

TO INSULATE AN OVEN

Choose as small a portable oven as will hold
the food to be cooked, since the larger the oven

THE INSULATED OVEN 223

the larger or more numerous the stones must be
to heat it. Very large stones are heavy and
awkward to manage, and with their number
the cost of using the oven increases. A portable
oven is on the market which is about thirteen
inches in each dimension. This is a good size
for a family of four or five. Cut six pieces of
heavy sheet asbestos, fitting one to each surface
of the oven, except the door, and two to the
bottom. One of the two pieces for the bottom
is to go inside the oven. Place the asbestos
so that it entirely covers the oven. These pieces
may be tied on temporarily to hold them in
place during packing. Select a box which is at
least two or three inches larger in every dimen-
sion than the corresponding dimension of the
oven. It should be fitted with cover and hasp
just as any cooker. Lay it, while packing, with
the cover opening upward. Pack in the bot-
tom a sufficient layer of insulating material,
such as is used for other cookers, to raise the
oven to within a couple of inches of the top.
Place the oven, lying upon its back, on this
layer with the door uppermost, and opening in
the same direction as the cover of the box. Pack
on all sides around it till level with the door.
If desired, a facing may be made to cover
the packing material, from a piece of cloth cut

224 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

a few inches larger, in each direction, than the
top of the box. Draw on it a square the size of
the oven. In the centre of this cut a small hole
to insert the blade of scissors. From this hole
cut diagonally to the corners of the square.
When the cloth is put in place over the pack-
ing the triangular flaps thus made may be tucked
between the asbestos and the packing, while the
edges of the cloth may be tucked between the
packing and the sides of the box. Fit a cushion
that will fill the space left at the top and nail it
to the cover of the box. Face this with a piece
of the sheet asbestos nailed into place. It will
be well to reinforce the nail-heads with little
rounds of tin, in order to prevent them from
pushing through the soft asbestos. The box is
then ready for use and should be stood up on
end so that the cover will open like a door, and
the oven will be right side up. The extra piece
of asbestos may be laid in the bottom, the stones
heated, and the food put in to cook.

Method of using the oven. Heat the slabs
very gradually the first time that they are used.
It will be best to put an asbestos mat or piece
of the sheet asbestos between a hot gas flame and
the stones for a few minutes, noi turning the gas
on full force for the first five minutes. After
the first using it will be safe to heat the stones

THE INSULATED OVEN 225

directly over the flame, providing it is not burn-
ing with ' full force for the first few minutes.
The degree of heat in the stones will regulate
the heat of the oven. For most baking, the centre
of the top side of the stones should be about as
hot as a flatiron for ironing. This will mean
that the side toward the flame is very much
hotter, perhaps red hot. Another and better
test is the browning of a piece of white tissue
paper laid on the centre of the stones when they
are put on to heat. When this grows a shade
darker than manila paper, or a golden brown,
the stones are right for loaf cakes, pastry, apples,
potatoes, beans, scalloped dishes, most pud-
dings, and bread. For a hot oven the paper
should be a rich brown. This is suitable for
biscuits, small cakes, roasting meat, etc.

Although gas is the fuel here mentioned any
other fuel will serve to heat the stones, provid-
ed a hot enough flame can be procured. The
stones may, when warmed, be set directly on a
hot coal or wood fire to complete the heating,
and, for out-of-doors use, a crude fireplace might
be built up of rough stones to support the soap-
stones, or they may be buried directly in the hot
coals. In such a case it will probably be neces-
sary to have some device, perhaps ice-tongs,
for removing the stones, as the metal handles

226 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

might in time become burned off, bent, or weak-
ened so as to be unsafe.

Small soapstone griddles or foot-warmers make
excellent slabs for the home-made insulated oven.
Griddles are on the market that are as small as
twelve inches in diameter, and foot-warmers
come in many sizes. Those measuring eight by
ten inches will be about as large as most women
can easily handle, since they are thicker than
the griddles, and are very heavy for their
size. It will not be difficult to get an extra
handle fitted to these, which will make them
less awkward to manage. For baking many
loaves of bread and cake, and for foods to
cook over night, or for many hours, more
than two stones may be necessary to maintain
enough heat.

The oven should not be opened during the
baking, but if the food is not found to be cooked
when it is opened, it may be quickly closed again,
and left till the food is done. A succession of
articles may be baked in an already heated
oven by quickly removing the finished article
and one or two stones to be reheated and tested,
and slipped again into place. In this case the
door of the oven should be instantly closed
after removing anything from it. This method
of baking a number of things in quick succession

THE INSULATED OVEN 227

is very economical as a few minutes will reheat the
already warm stones.

Lay one hot stone on the asbestos at the bot-
tom of the oven with the hotter side down; put
a wire oven shelf on this, and the food on the
wire shelf. If the food will not rise higher
than the top of the pan, a hot stone may be laid
directly across the pan, but if this is not possible
place the second wire shelf as close over the food
as the cleats at the side of the oven will permit,
and the stone on this shelf, also with the hot
side down. In case more than one pan is to go
in at once, and two stones will not supply enough
heat, hot flatirons or stove lids may be used
to supplement them. It is often convenient,
when the oven is heated for baking one article,
to put other things in to cook at the same time,
even though they may not require browning.
For instance: A chicken or roast may be cook-
ing between two stones, while on top of the
upper stone the giblets may be stewing in water,
or some vegetables be boiling. It will be best
in such cases to heat these foods till boiling
before putting them in the oven, or they will
cool it too much. Such foods, as do not require
browning, will not need another stone on top.
It may not be wise to put so much watery food
in the oven when baking anything so' critical as

228 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

bread or loaves of cake, as it cools the oven to
some extent.

No matter how carefully the directions are
given and followed some experimentation will
probably be required before a novice, or even
an experienced cook, will feel at ease with this
new method of cookery, since the conditions
may be so variable. , But there is no reason why
a careful observation of results and their causes
should not soon lead one to become mistress
of her own insulated oven, and it is likely that
she will then become sufficiently attached to it
to justify her perseverance.

In case a cooker-pail is to be utilized for bak-
ing it will be well to surround it, on top, bottom,
and sides, with the heavy sheet asbestos described
for insulating the oven. A wire rack will be
needed for separating the food from too direct
contact with the hot stones, and some device,
such, perhaps, as an inverted wire frying-basket
for supporting the upper stone.

LIST OF ARTICLES REQUIRED FOR MAKING AND
USING AN INSULATED OVEN

Box.

Hinges.

Hasp.

Packing material, hay, excelsior, etc.

Portable oven.

THE INSULATED OVEN 229

Two or more stone slabs, or iron plates.

Cooking utensils, baking pans, etc.

Cloth for facing and cushion.

Nails and screws.

One dozen small rounds of tin about one
inch in diameter.

One and one-quarter yards sheet asbestos
(price about 20 cents a yard).

Roast Beef
Weigh the meat, trim off all parts which
will not be good to serve, and save them for soups
or stews. Wipe the meat clean with a damp
cloth. Dredge it well with salt, pepper, and
flour, put it into a dripping pan, and cook it in
an insulated oven heated as directed for roasts of
meat on page 225. Heat the pan and meat a
little before putting them into the oven. The
time for roasting beef depends upon the size
and shape of the roasts. Thick pieces weigh-
ing under ten pounds will roast rare in twelve
minutes to a pound, medium rare in from fifteen
to eighteen minutes, and well done in twenty-
five or thirty minutes a pound. Thin pieces
will take a few minutes less to each pound.

Roast Mutton or Lamb
Prepare the meat for roasting as directed for
roast beef. Cook it in an insulated oven heated

230 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

as directed for roasts on page 225, allowing twenty-
five minutes to each pound for lamb, and from
fifteen to eighteen minutes for mutton.
Roast Veal

Prepare the meat for roasting as directed for
roast beef. Cook it in an insulated oven, heated
as for roast beef, allowing from twenty-five to
thirty minutes for each pound.
Spareribs

Wipe the meat clean with a damp cloth;
sprinkle it with pepper and salt, put it in a pan,
and roast it in an insulated oven, heated as directed
for roasts on page 225, allowing twenty minutes
or more to each pound. Heat the pan and
meat a little before putting it in the oven.
Brown Gravy for Roasts

Drain away all fat from the pan, leaving the
brown sediment. Add to this enough water
to make the desired amount of gravy. Using
this in the place of stock or water make Brown
Sauce, using a measured quantity of the fat from
the roast. Various seasonings may be added
to this sauce to make a variety. Wine, Wor-
cestershire sauce, ketchup, currant jelly, etc.,
are used in this way.

Roast Chicken

Draw, stuff, and truss a chicken as directed
on page 130. Put it on its back in a baking-pan.

THE INSULATED OVEN 231

lay strips of fat salt pork on the breast, or rub
breast, legs, and wings with butter or clarified
veal fat. Dredge it well with salt and pepper.
Heat the pan and chicken over the fire for a few
minutes, and put it into an insulated oven heated
as directed for roasts on page 225. Allow twenty-
five minutes a pound for roasting chicken.
Remove the string and skewers and serve it
with Brown Gravy for Roasts to which the chopped
giblets have been added. The giblets may be
cooked, with salted water to cover them, in the
insulated oven at the same time that the chicken
is roasting; but in this case the stones should
be hotter than otherwise.

Roast Goose

Singe and remove the pin-feathers from a
goose. Wash it in hot, soapy water. Draw it
and rinse it in cold water. Fill it two-thirds
full with Stuffing for Poultry, or Potato Stuffing.
Truss it, and rub the surface with butter, or
lay fat salt pork on the breast. Dredge it with
salt and pepper, heat it to warm the pan, and
roast it in an insulated oven heated as directed
for roasts on page 225, allowing fifteen or twenty
minutes a pound.

Roast Leg of Venison

Prepare and cook it as roast mutton, allowing
from twelve to fifteen minutes a pound for it to

232 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

roast. Venison should be served rare, with
Brown Gravy for Roasts, to one pint of which
one-half tumbler of currant jelly and two table-
spoonfuls of sherry wine have been added.

Potato Stuffing
2 cups hot potato, mashed J cup melted butter

1 cup soft, stale bread- J cup milk

crumbs 2 teaspoons salt

i cup chopped salt pork i teaspoon powdered sage

2 tablespoons chopped onion i egg

Mix the ingredients in the order given.

Roast Wild Duck
Draw, clean, and truss a wild duck in the same
manner as a goose. If it is to be stuffed, use
Stuffing for Poultry, omitting the herbs; or merely
fill the cavity with pared and quartered apples,
or pared, whole onions. These should be
removed before serving, but Stuffing for Poultry
should be served with the duck. Roast it for
from twenty to thirty minutes in an insulated
oven, the stones heated a little hotter than for
other roast meats. Serve it with mashed
potato and currant jelly.

Grouse

Draw and clean a grouse, remove the feathers

and the tough skin of the breast. Lard the breast

and legs. Truss it, and lay fat salt pork on the

breast. Dredge it with salt and flour, put it

THE INSULATED OVEN 233

into the roasting-pan with scraps of fat salt
pork. Roast it for twenty or twenty-five
minutes in an insulated oven heated as for
wild duck. Remove the strings or skewers,
sprinkle it with browned breadcrumbs, and
garnish it with parsley.

Roast Quail
Prepare the quail in the same way as grouse.
Roast it for fifteen or twenty minutes in an
insulated oven heated as for duck.

Roast Plover
Prepare and cook it the same as quail.

Potted Fish
3 shad or 6 small mackerel J cup peppercorns
J cup salt J cup whole allspice

J teaspoon cayenne pepper i onion, sliced
J cup whole cloves Vinegar to cover

Clean the fish, remove the head, tail, fins,
skin, and large bones. The small bones will be
dissolved in the vinegar. Cut the fish into pieces
for serving. Mix the salt, pepper, and spices.
Pack the fish in layers in a small stone crock
or deep agate-ware utensil, sprinkling the salt
and adding pieces of onion between the layers.
Pour over it vinegar to completely cover it.
In the absence of a tight-fitting cover, use heavy,
buttered paper tied on. Bake it for five or six
hours in an insulated oven, the stones heated

234 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

until the paper test shows a delicate brown.
Potted fish will keep well if put into a cold place
and kept covered with vinegar. It makes a
good relish for lunch or tea.

Pork and Beans

I cup beans i teaspoon molasses

I teaspoon salt i tablespoon butter, or

I teaspoon sugar } lb. salt pork

Water to cover

Cook the beans for four or more hours, as
directed in the recipe for dried navy beans.
Put them into a baking-dish, add the other
ingredients, gashing the pork frequently and
laying it on top. Put it into an insulated
oven with stones that will turn white tissue
paper a golden brown. Bake them for eight
hours or more.

Baked Potatoes

Select potatoes of equal size, so that they
will all bake in the same length of time; wash
them and bake them in an insulated oven
with the stones heated till the paper is a
golden brown as explained in the test on
page 225. Good-sized potatoes (eight ounces)
should bake about forty-five minutes. Lay them
on a rack to prevent them from touching the
hot stone. They will bake better than in an
ordinary oven.

THE INSULATED OVEN 235

Macaroni and Ham
I cup macaroni, in one-inch i tablespoon flour
pieces J teaspoon pepper

1 small onion, grated J teaspoon salt

li cups milk ij cups minced, cooked ham

2 tablespoons butter 2 cups buttered crumbs

Cook the macaroni as directed in the recipe
for macaroni. Make white sauce of the milk,
butter, flour, and seasoning, add the onion,
ham, and macaroni. Put it into a buttered
baking-dish, cover the top with the crumbs, and
bake it until the crumbs are brown, heating the
stones until the paper test shows a golden brown.

Serves six or eight persons.

Scalloped Oysters
I pt. or 30 oysters J cup oyster juice

3 cups buttered crumbs i tablespoon finely chopped
i teaspoon salt celery leaves

Few grains pepper

Wash the oysters, strain the juice through
cheese-cloth. Put one-fourth of the crumbs in
the bottom of a baking dish, add half the oysters,
half the salt and pepper and celery leaves; repeat
these layers, pour over it the oyster juice, and
put the remaining crumbs on top. Bake it in an
insulated oven till brown, as directed for scalloped
dishes, page 225. If double this recipe is used
allow three-quarters of an hour for the baking,
and do not heat the stones quite so hot.

236 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Macaroni and Cheese

1 cup macaroni in one-inch J teaspoon salt

pieces J teaspoon pepper

I cup grated or shaved cheese 2 cups buttered crumbs

Cook the macaroni in salted water as directed
in the recipe for macaroni. When tender, drain
it and add the salt, pepper, and cheese. Turn
it into a buttered baking-dish and cover the top
with the crumbs. Bake it until the crumbs are
brown, heating the stones until the paper test
shows a golden brown.

Serves six or seven persons.

Scalloped Chicken and Mushrooms

2 cups buttered crumbs i cup White Sauce

I J cups cold, cooked chicken J teaspoon celery salt
or fowl i cup mushrooms

Cut the chicken in small pieces, slice or cut
the mushrooms small. Put one-fourth of the
crumbs into a buttered baking-dish. Mix the
other ingredients and pour them into the dish.
Spread the remaining crumbs on top and bake
it in an insulated oven till brown, as directed
for scalloped dishes, page 225.

Scalloped Tomatoes
I can of whole tomatoes, or 3 tablespoons butter
8 good-sized raw tomatoes i tablespoon salt

3 cups soft breadcrumbs J teaspoon pepper

I small onion

THE INSULATED OVEN 237

If canned tomatoes are used, drain away the
liquid from them, using only the solid tomatoes.
If raw tomatoes are used, scald them in boiling
water and remove the skins and hard core.
Melt the butter, add the crumbs, and stir them
lightly until they are evenly buttered. Put
one cupful in the bottom of a baking dish, lay
the tomatoes over them, sprinkle the salt, pepper
and grated onion over these and cover the top
with the remaining crumbs. Bake them for one
hour in an insulated oven, heating the stones
until the paper test, given on page 225, shows a
light brown colour.

Serves six or eight persons.

Scalloped Apples (Brown Betty)

3 cups chopped sour apples J teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups soft breadcrumbs J teaspoon nutmeg

4 tablespoons butter J lemon, juice and rind
J cup brown sugar J cup water

Melt the butter, add the crumbs, and stir
them till they are evenly buttered. Mix the
spice and grated rind with the sugar. Divide
the buttered crumbs in quarters. Into a but-
tered baking dish put one-fourth of the crumbs.
On this layer spread one-half the apples, then one-
half the sugar. Sprinkle half of the lemon
juice and water over this. Repeat these layers
with one-fourth the crumbs and the remaining

238 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

apple, sugar, etc. Cover the top with the crumbs
that are left. Bake it for one hour and a half
in an insulated oven. The stones should be
heated till the test given on page 225 v^ill show
the papers a delicate brown colour. Look at
the apples at the end of one hour, closing the
oven after a quick glance, and alter the heat of
the oven, if necessary. Serve it with Hard Sauce.
Serves five or six persons.

Rice Pudding
I qt. milk i cup sugar

} cup rice } teaspoon salt

J teaspoon nutmeg

Put all the ingredients together in a baking-
dish. Bake it for three hours in an insulated
oven. The stones should be heated until the
paper test, given on page 225, will show a light
brown shade. The pudding, if correctly baked,
will be creamy, with a golden brown, soft crust
on top.

Serves five or six persons.

Pastry for Two Crusts
ij cups pastry flour J teaspoon salt

J teaspoon baking-powder J or J cup butter or lard

Water

Mix and sift the dry ingredients together;
cut the butter or lard in with a fork. Add
enough water to make a paste barely moist

IHE INSULATED OVEN 239

enough to hold together, using a knife and cut-
ting through the dough to mix it. Roll half of
it with as little pressure of the rolling-pin as
possible, until it is about one-eighth of an inch
thick. If a two-crust pie is to be made, lay
this crust on the inside of an unbuttered pie
plate, trim the edge, and put the trimmings
with the remaining paste and roll it out for the
upper crust. If a single under crust is to be
used, as for lemon pie, lay the paste on the out-
side of a pie plate, trim the edge and prick
through the crust in several places. Bake it
for about fifteen minutes in a moderate insulated
oven, with the pie plate upside down in the oven.
Remove the baked crust and fill it.

Apple Pie
Sour apples } lemon, juice and rind

J cup sugar J tablespoon butter

J teaspoon cinnamon

Make pie crust by the preceding recipe, put
half of it in the bottom of the plate. Pare
enough apples to fill the pie heaping full, when
cored and cut into eighths. Fill the pie with
the apples, spread the sugar and cinnamon and
grated rind over them. Roll out the upper
crust, cut several gashes in it to allow steam
to escape; lay it over the pie, trim the edges
and press them together with a fork. Bind

240 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

the edge of the pie by laying around it a wet
strip of cloth about one inch wide. Bake it
for one-half hour in an insulated oven with
the stones heated until the paper test shows
a golden brown colour.

Apple and berry pies are better made with-
out an under crust in an extra deep pie plate.

Berry Pie
Pick over the berries. Line a deep plate with
crust, or omit the lower crust; fill the pie heap-
ing full of berries, cover them with one-half
cupful or more of sugar mixed with one-fourth
cupful of flour. Add the upper crust, bind it,
and bake it as apple pie. The amount of sugar
will depend upon the acidity of the fruit.

Cherry or Plum Pie
Wash the fruit, remove the stones, and make
the pie in the same manner as berry pie.

Pumpkin Pie
li cups cooked pumpkin i cup sugar

I cup boiling milk J teaspoon salt

I egg J teaspoon cinnamon

Cook the pumpkin as directed on page 152.
Put it into a cloth and press it with the back
of a strong spoon to squeeze out the water.
Mix all the ingredients, put it into a pan set
over a cooker-pail of boiling water; stir it until
it is 165 degrees Fahrenheit, then put the whole

THE INSULATED OVEN 241

into a cooker for one hour. Fill the baked crust
with the mixture. Cover the top thickly with
whipped cream.

Lrexnon Pie
J cup flour Rind of one lemon

I cup sugar, granulated 4 teaspoons butter

I cup boiling water J cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice 2 eggs

Mix the sugar and flour together, add the
boiling water slowly, stirring it all the time.
Boil it gently for twenty minutes, stirring it
frequently. Mix the lemon with the yolks, pour
the hot mixture slowly on the yolks, return it to
the fire and cook it below boiling point until
the eggs have thickened; then add the butter.
Cool the filling a little before putting it into a
baked crust. Beat the whites of eggs until very
stiff, add the sugar, and when barely mixed
with the whites, spread it over the pie for a
meringue; bake it till a delicate brown in a very
hot oven, or put it for a few minutes into an
insulated oven with one very hot stone close
over the pie. Serve it warm, but not hot.

Serves five or six persons.

Baked Apples
Wash and core sour apples of uniform size.
Put them into a pudding dish, fill the cores with
sugar, and if more is desired put it into the

242 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

bottom of the dish, not over the apples. Pour
in enough boiHng water to fill the dish one-fourth
full. Bake them in an insulated oven for one-
half to three-quarters of an hour, depending
(Upon the size and ripeness of the apples. The
stones should be heated until the paper test
shows a golden brown colour.

Baked Spiced Apples

6 apples 2 cups water

30 cloves § cup sugar

6 slices lemon

Pare the apples, remove the cores and stick five
whole cloves into each apple. Make a syrup of
the water and sugar. Put the apples into a pud-
ding dish, pour the syrup over them, and place a
slice of lemon over the top of each. Bake them in
a slow insulated oven for one hour with the stones
heated until the paper test shows a light brown.

Baked Pears

Prepare and cook the pears as directed for
baked sweet apples. If desired, a bit of butter
the size of a bean may be put on each pear before
baking.

Baked Quinces

Prepare and cook the quinces as directed
in the recipe for baked sweet apples. Twice as
much sugar and water will be required for quinces,
and, perhaps, more time for baking. This

THE INSULATED OVEN 243

will depend upon the size and ripeness of the
fruit. It is usually cut in halves before baking.

Baked Sweet Apples

8 sweet apples J cup sugar

I cup boiling water

Prepare the apples as for baked apples. Cook
them in a slow insulated oven, for about three
hours. The stones should be heated until the
paper barely changes colour, as explained in
the test given on page 225.

Bread

I pt. water or milk i cake compressed or } cake dry

1 tablespoon butter or lard yeast and

2 teaspoons salt i cup warm water, or
2 teaspoons sugar J cup liquid yeast

Flour to make a dough

Soak the yeast for a few minutes in the half
cupful of warm water. Scald the milk or boil the
water, add the fat, let it cool till lukewarm,
then add the remaining ingredients, except the
flour. If compressed yeast is used, add as
much flour as is needed to make a dough that
may be kneaded. If dry yeast or Hquid yeast
is used, add only one and one-half pints of flour;
beat the mixture well, and let it rise till full of
bubbles, usually over night; then add the remain-
ing flour. The rest of the process is the same,
no matter what yeast is used. Knead the dough

244 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

until it is smooth and elastic, return it to the bowl,
set it in a warm place to rise until it has doubled
in size. Knead it again until all large bubbles
are pressed out, mould it into two loaves, put
it into greased pans and let it again rise until it
has doubled in size. Heat the insulated oven
stones until the paper test, given on page 225,
shows a golden brown. Put the bread in and
bake it from fifty minutes to one hour. If two
stones will not make a hot oven for a large amount
of bread to be baked, use hot flatirons or stove
lids to supplement them.

Rolls
Add one tablespoon of butter to the recipe
for bread, or knead the butter into the dough
just before moulding it. Shape it into rolls,
put them into a buttered pan, and when risen to
a little more than double their size, bake them
for twenty minutes in an insulated oven with
stones that will turn the paper a rich brown,
as explained in the test on page 225.

Baking Powder Biscuits

4 teaspoons baking-powder, or i pt. flour

I teaspoon soda and two tea- J teaspoon salt

spoons cream of tartar 2 tablespoons butter or lard
J to I cup milk or water

Mix and sift the dry ingredients, work in the
fat with the fingers, or mash it in with a fork.

THE INSULATED OVEN 245

Add the liquid, one-third at a time, mixing the
dough in three separate portions in the bowl.
Cut through these three masses until they are
barely mixed, then roll the dough to about one-
half inch thickness; cut it into biscuits, lay them
on a greased pan, brush the tops with milk or
melted butter, and bake them for fifteen or twenty
minutes in an insulated oven with stones heated
so as to turn the paper a rich, dark brown, as
explained in the test on page 225.

Cup Cake

i cup butter i cup milk

1 cup sugar i teaspoon nutmeg, or
I J cups flour I teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs I J teaspoons baking-powder

J teaspoon salt

Cream the butter, add the sugar, then the beaten
yolks of eggs. Mix and sift the dry ingredients,
add them, one-third at a time, to the butter
mixture, alternating with the milk. Beat the
whites till stiff, add them and the vanilla, beat
the dough till barely mixed, and pour it into a
greased pan. The dough should not much more
than half fill the pan. Bake it for forty minutes
in an insulated oven, tested as explained on
page 225, for loaves of cake.

This recipe may be varied by adding one-half
cupful of raisins, currants, chopped citron or

246 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

nuts. Or two ounces of chocolate may be
melted and added to the dough.

If baked in layers or in gem pans the stones
must be heated somewhat hotter than for a loaf
cake. Allow fifteen or twenty minutes in the oven.

Sour Cream Cake
3 large eggs ^ teaspoon baking powder

I cup sugar ij cups flour

} cup thick sour cream J teaspoon nutmeg

J teaspoon soda i cup raisins

Beat the yolks of the eggs, add the sugar,
then the cream. Mix and sift the dry ingredients,
add them to the liquid mixture, then add the
raisins, which have been floured with a little
of the measured flour, and, lastly, the stiflBy
beaten whites of eggs. Put it into a greased
pan and bake it for forty minutes in an insulated
oven, heated for loaf cake, as explained in the
test on page 225.

Apple Sauce Cake

(Made without butter, milk or eggs)
' ^ cup white veal or beef drip- ^ teaspoon cloves
pings I teaspoon nutmeg

I cup sugar i cup raisins

I cup sour apple sauce i teaspoon soda

li teaspoons cinnamon 2 cups flour

Mix the ingredients in the order given, beat
the dough well, put it into a greased pan, and

THE INSULATED OVEN 247

bake it for forty minutes in an insulated oven,
heated for loaf cakes, as explained on page 225.
This cake seems, when baked, very much like
any spice cake.

Sponge Cake
6 eggs Juice and rind of J lemon

I cup sugar i cup flour

J teaspoon salt

Beat the yolks of the eggs, add the sugar
and lemon; beat the whites of eggs till stiff, add
them to the mixture, and when barely mixed
add the flour and salt, folding them in lightly.
Put it into a bright, ungreased tin, and bake
it fifty minutes or an hour in an oven heated
not quite so hot as for butter cakes. The paper
should turn light brown when tested as explained
on page 225.

Let the cake stand five minutes before remov-
ing it from the pan.

Plum Cake

i cup butter i cup currants

2 cups sugar f cup pickled fruit syrup or
4 eggs molasses

i cup chopped nuts 2 cups flour

^ cup candied orange peel ^ teaspoon soda

I cup raisins J teaspoon cream of tartar

2 teaspoons mixed spices

Mix and sift the flour, soda, cream of tartar,
and spices. Put all the ingredients together

248 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

in the order given, flouring the fruit with a little
of the measured flour. Put it into a greased
pan and bake it for one and one-quarter hours
in an insulated oven, with stones heated as
explained on page 225, till the paper is a light brown.

Rich Fruit Cake

J lb. butter (i cup) J lb. citron

J lb. sugar (i cup) } lb. candied orange peel

6 eggs I teaspoon nutmeg

J cup brandy J teaspoon cloves

J cup lemon juice i teaspoon cinnamon

Rind of I lemon, grated J teaspoon allspice

2 cups blanched, chopped i lb. raisins

almonds i lb. currants
i lb. flour (if cups)

Line the pan with three thicknesses of paper,
buttering the top layer. Mix the flour and spices.
Flour all the fruit except the citron. Mix the
ingredients in the order in which they are given.
The pan may be filled nearly full, as this cake
rises but little. Bake it for three hours or more
in a very moderate insulated oven. Test the
stones as explained on page 225, until the paper
will barely change colour. If, at the end of
two hours, the cake is not browned at all, take
out one or both of the stones very quickly and
heat them again till they will slightly brown the
tissue paper. The oven must be promptly closed
when the stones are removed, or the cake will be

THE INSULATED OVEN 249

injured. Test it with a steel knitting needle or
straw. The needle will come out only a little
greasy when the cake is done.

Let the cake stand at least five minutes after
removing it from the oven before taking out of
the pans, or it is likely to break. Fruit cake
should be kept for at least a week in a tightly
covered tin box or a crock, before it is ready for
use. It will keep for months, and improves
with time.

XXIV

MENUS

THE planning of a menu is an art in itself.
Only a knowledge of the food value of
different dishes, combined with a good sense of
taste and fitness, and some idea of the com-

parative wholesomeness of different methods of
cooking, can produce a meal that is scientifically
correct as well as pleasing to the palate. And
now the conditions under which menus must
be planned will be further modified in order to

ISO

MENUS 251

obtain the freedom from the kitchen that fire-
less cookery makes possible. It is thought
that a classified time-table of the various dishes
given in the book, giving the length of time
which they require or may be allowed to cook,
will be of assistance in grouping dishes that can
be started at one time, put on to cook, perhaps,
in one cooker, and left for the same period of
time.

The illustration at the head of this chapter,
shows a cooker-pail so arranged as to cook more
than one article at once. With this arrangement
a cooker with several compartments would accom-
modate a number of different foods at one time.

The fireless cooker makes it possible to plan a
breakfast which would be ready to serve at once,
or would take only a few minutes to prepare*
If started in the evening, cereals may cook all
night, and be entirely ready in the morning;
some meat dishes may cook all night. Coffee,
although better when made fresh, may be put
into the cooker over night, cereal coffees being
at their best after all-night cooking. With these
for a basis, the menu may be varied by dishes
which would cook quickly, such as eggs; or which
might cook through the night and be completed
in a few minutes in the morning, such as creamed
codfish; or which might be cooked the day before,

252 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

if served cold, such as stewed fruits; or by fresh
fruits. But little of the precious early morning
time would thus be required.

BREAKFASTS

No. I
All dishes cooked over night, or served cold.
Ready to serve at once

Apple Sauce

Oatmeal

Beef or mutton stew

Postum

No. 2
Ready to serve in fifteen minutes.

Stewed rhubarb (served cold)

Cream of Wheat (cooked all night)

Soft-cooked eggs (cooked in the morning

in the already warm water over which

the cereal was cooked)

Coffee (cooked in the morning or over night)

No. 3
Ready to serve in ten minutes.

Stewed prunes (served cold)

Cornmeal mush (cooked all night)

Stewed kidney (cooked all night, finished in the

morning)

Cocoa (cooked in the morning or all night)

For a midday dinner the cooker may often
be filled in the morning, after breakfast, with

MENUS 253

foods requiring about three or four hours to
cook, such as vegetable soup, beef stew, spinach,
etc. Where a late dinner is served, it may be
filled in the morning and allowed to stand all
day, provided foods are chosen that need or will
not be harmed by the long cooking; or it may be
partly filled after breakfast and other dishes be
added after lunch. Even where the entire meal is
not cooked in a fireless cooker, it may be conve-
nient to have one or two dishes so prepared, and the
remainder served cold or cooked on the stove.

DINNERS

No. I
To be left in the cooker three or four hours.

Creole soup

Veal cutlets

Mashed potatoes

Carrots

Stewed celery

Rice pudding

No. 2
Put into the cooker in the morning and cooked

all day.

Cream of celery soup

Pot roast

Beets

Dried lima beans

Tapioca fruit pudding (previously cooked and

served cold)

254 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

No. 3
Put into the cooker in the morning and cooked
all day.

Mutton broth
Stuffed heart

Cabbage

String beans

Compote of rice and fruit (previously cooked and

served cold)

No. 4

Part cooked all day, and part cooked through
the afternoon.

Consomme

Fricasseed chicken

Samp

Winter squash

Creamed turnips

Stewed figs with cream

SUPPERS OR LUNCHES
No. I

Hot dishes in the cooker two hours.

Breaded veal cutlets

Creamy potatoes

Stewed apricots

Cocoa

MENUS 255

No. 2

Hot dishes requiring only one hour to cook.

Turkish pilaf

Salmon loaf

Lettuce salad

Canned quinces

Cake

Tea

MIDNIGHT SUPPERS

Served after theatre or entertainment, the
hot dish to be put into the cooker before going
out. Ready to serve at once.

No. I

Stewed oysters

Saltines

Celery

Bonbons

No. 2

Cocoa

Salad

Bread and butter sandwiches

Olives

APPENDIX

Reading references and experiments illustrat-
ing the principles upon which fireless cookery
is based.

J. A test of the insulating powers of different
materials.

Apparatus:

One or more boxes and fittings, described on pages 9 to II.

One or more pails of the same size, shape and mate-
rial, preferably of from two to four quarts' capacity, with
close fitting covers.

Cooking thermometer

Sawdust

Wool

Newspapers

Mineral wool

Ground cork

Cotton batting or waste

Southern mosi

Excelsior

Pencil

Hay

Notebook

Pack the box successively with as many of
the different packing materials given above as
are to be tested, following the directions given
on page 15; or have several exactly similar boxes
packed at the same time. For all tests fill the
cooker-pail with water, bring it to the boiling

•57

258 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

point, let it boil one minute, to permit all parts
of the utensil and its contents to reach the sayne
temperature; then put it at once into the cooker-
box and leave it for an equal length of time,
not less than one hour. Record the temperature
of the contents of the pail at the expiration of
this period. In order to get a full record and
a fair comparison it would be well to repeat this
experiment with varying periods of time, taking
the temperature, for instance, at the end of one,
three, six, nine, and twelve hours. In taking
temperatures do not wholly remove the cushion
and cover of the pail, but slip them to one side,
enough to insert the thermometer. This is, of
course, a crude method of taking temperatures,
but answers for purposes of comparison. If it is
desired to make more accurate records this can
be done by boring the cover of the box, the
cushion and the pail cover, and inserting a
thermometer through corks which are used to
close the bored holes. The temperature can
then be read while the apparatus is closed.
However, the first method, if carefully done,
will give probably within one degree of the
correct temperature. Record the results in
tabular form.

Which material do you find gives the best
insulation ?

APPENDIX 259

Winkelman,* DufF,t and other writers on
physics give tables of the conductivity of felt,
asbestos paper, paper, cotton, flannel, and other
materials; but as different figures are shown,
from different sources, for the same material,
it is likely that the insulating power of any mate-
rial used for packing a cooker will depend as
much or more upon the way it is packed as upon
the material used.

Experiment: Conductivity of different materials.

Take a piece of copper wire about six inches
long in one hand, and a piece of steel wire of the
same length and thickness in the other. Put
one end of each piece in a flame, holding the
wire by the extreme end. Notice which first
becomes too hot to hold at the end farthest from
the flame. This illustrates the different con-
ductivity of the two materials, steel and copper.
There is not a great deal of difference in the
conductivity of different materials, but metals
are relatively good conductors, and air is a very
poor conductor.

2. Heat is carried from the pail partly by con-
vection, except where solid insulating material,
such as wood or indurated fibre, is used; and

♦ " Handbuch der Physik."
t" Textbook of Physics."^

26o THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

that manner of packing which best entangles
the air and prevents air currents will, there-
fore, most increase the effectiveness of the
insulation.

Experiment: Convection.

Into a glass flask of cold water drop a few
crystals of potassium permanganate, being
careful not to agitate the flask. Apply a flame
to the bottom of the flask. As the water
becomes heated its density is reduced and it
rises, forming convection currents which are
coloured by the permanganate and may be
distinctly seen.

Convection currents may be formed in any
liquid or gas; for instance, air. By means of
them heat will be carried from one part of the
liquid or gas to another. Thus air heated by
contact with a kettle of food will, if allowed
to flow freely, carry the heat away from the
food.

3. Heat is also lost by radiation. This takes
place less rapidly from a bright, highly polished
surface, and for this reason "Thermos" and
similar bottles are encased in polished nickle.
A cooker-pail with polished outside surface
retains heat better than one with a dull finish.
In those cookers made with a metal outside

APPENDIX 261

retainer, the surface should not be painted
or roughened or dulled by any means.
Experiment: Radiation.

Take two empty tin cans of the same size and
shape. Wash off the paper labels. Keep one
of them bright and shining, but move the other
through a candle flame until the entire outer sur-
face is smoked. Into each pour exactly the same
quantity of water at the same temperature.
Note carefully the temperature and the time.
At the end of any given period, say one hour,
again take the temperature of each. Which
has lost the most heat, that in the bright can or
that in the dull can }

^. The effect of different degrees or thicknesses of
insulation.
Materials:

The same as those used in the experiment,
section i, with the addition of boxes of various
sizes, some smaller, some larger, than the one
used in the first experiment.

Pack the boxes with one or more of the
various insulating materials used in the first
experiment, so as to allow varying thicknesses
of insulation around the cooker-pail. This
should be the same or an exactly similar pail
in each case. Fill the pail for all tests with

262 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

an equal quantity of water, boil it for one
minute, and leave it in the boxes for an equal
length of time. Record the temperature main-
tained in each test. Keep the record in tab-
ular form.

What thickness of insulation do you find
gives the best result with the materials used in
your experiment .? Is it necessary to assume
that the same thickness will be required with
all insulating materials ?

5. The effect of the density of foods upon the
temperature maintained.

Materials:

One cooker or hay-box Cooking thermometer

Starch Scales

Water Litre or quart measure

Salt Notebook and pencil

Bring one or more litres or quarts of water to
a boil, boil it for one minute, and put it into the
cooker for one hour or more. Repeat the test,
using, successively, five grams of salt to each
litre, or one teaspoonful to each quart, and 5,
10, and 20 per cent, mixtures of starch
with water. Record the temperatures in tabular
form, and compare the results. What would
you gather to be the effect of density upon the
temperatures maintained ?

APPENDIX 263

6. The effect on temperature of filling the
cooker-pails one-fourthy one-half y three-quarters^
and entirely full.

Materials :

Cooker or hay-box pail of "Space adjuster"

eight quarts' capacity Water

Pail of two quarts' capacity Thermometer
Notebook and pencil

Fill the large cooker-pail one-fourth full of
water. Bring it to a boil and put it into the
cooker for a definite period of time, not less
than one hour. Record the resulting temperature.
If desired to make the test more comprehensive,
leave the water in the cooker for six, nine, or twelve
hours, being careful to allow the cooker to become
cold between each test. Perform the same
experiment with the same pail one-half full,
again when it is three-fourths full, and again
when entirely full. Record the results in tabular
form and compare them. Repeat these tests
with a pail of two quarts' capacity. What is
the influence on temperature of having pails
partially, or completely, filled ?

The explanation is that evaporation takes place
in partially filled pails.

7. Chemistry of the action of food materials
(salty soday acidsy water, etc.) upon cooking

264 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

utensils made of tin, or aluminum, when used
in a cooker or hay-box.

The amount of tin dissolved by foods is indi-
cated by the corrosion of the utensil, which can
often be seen by the naked eye to be altered in
appearance. The exact quantity of tin salts
or other tin compounds which may be formed
can only be determined by careful chemical
analysis. It has been found that many canned
goods supposed to be inert, such as squash and
pumpkin, have a marked effect upon tin. Crude
tests with a number of different foods can be
made with tin, iron, aluminum, and copper
utensils, as in many cases there is evidence to
the eye of action upon the metals. It must be
borne in mind, however, that such tests are
crude and not decisive of the fact of there being
no action in case no action is plainly visible.
Only chemical analysis can prove this.

The action of foods upon tin cans bears a close
relation to their action upon the utensils when
used in fireless cookery, since there is time with
the long cooking involved for similar reactions
to take place in the cooker. *

Tin utensils rust badly after short use in a
cooker, and thus affect the flavour of food cooked

* See ** Food Inspection and Analysis," by Leach, published by John
Wiley Sons, New York, 1904, page 694.

APPENDIX 265

in them. This is due to the action of acids and
water on the iron which forms the basis of sheet
tin. When the thin plating of tin is worn off,
the iron is left exposed to the action of water, etc.
Soda dissolves aluminum, and leaves a black
surface on aluminum utensils. This black sub-
stance is iron, which is present with the aluminum
in the utensils. To remove the black appear-
ance, clean the utensil with acid. Do not try
to remove it by scouring, as this will not do the
work well, and is laborious and injurious to
the pail.

Detection of poisonous metals that may be
dissolved from the cooker utensils.

Experiment A. Tin, In a tin cooker-pail
boil such foods as apple sauce, tomatoes, squash,
or others that act on tin, and put them into a
cooker for twelve hours. Transfer them to an
agate ware or porcelain utensil, evaporate them
over steam until they may be burned in a porce-
lain dish until charred and brittle. Pulverize
this charred mass, and extract it with hydro-
chloric- acid. Filter and wash it. Saturate the
filtrate with hydrogen sulphide gas; add a satu-
rated solution of potassium acetate to neutralize
the hydrochloric acid present and assist in the
coagulation of sulphide of tin. Warm it slightly,
filter and wash out the stannic sulphide, dry it

266 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

and weight it as stannic oxide, from which the
tin dissolved may be calculated.

Experiment B. Aluminum. To simplify the
experiment a weak solution of malic acid may
be used (seven grams per litre being about the
average amount found in apples). Bring this to
a boil in an aluminum cooker-pail and put it
into a cooker for twelve hours. Transfer it to
a porcelain vessel and add ammonia to precipi-
tate the alumina. Filter and wash this, dry
and weigh the aluminum oxide. It is probable
that a smaller quantity of aluminum would be
dissolved by foods of a mushy consistency than
would be found in this clear solution.

8. The efficiency of home-made refrigerating
boxes compared with other means of keeping
foods cold.

Materials:

One box fitted as for fireless cooking, with two or three
covered crocks of at least one-half gallon capacity, packed
as directed on page 37, with either sawdust, hay, straw,
excelsior or paper. Sawdust is specially recommended.

Thermometer

Ice

Notebook and pencil

Fill the central crock with a weighed quan-
tity of ice. Fill one or both of the other crocks
with water at room temperature. Cover the crocks

APPENDIX 267

and close the box. Record the temperature of
the water at the end of six, twelve, twenty-four,
and forty-eight hours.

Make repeated observations of the tempera-
tures found in ordinary household refrigerators,
cellars, cold storage rooms, and any other places
used for keeping foods cold. Compare these
with the temperatures obtained with a home-
made refrigerating box. Is there any economy
in using these boxes f

Bacteriology of Insulating Boxes

p. Temperatures which kill disease and putre-
factive germs y or check their growth.

It is taken for granted that the student of this
subject will be more or less familiar with the
nature of bacteria and the elements of bacteri-
ology. It will be recalled that bacteria are a
vegetable form of life; that, like all plants, they
have, under certain conditions, the power of
growth which is shown, largely, by their repro-
duction; and that under other conditions they
are killed. When their growth is merely checked,
they are in a dormant state, or perhaps form
spores, in either of which cases they are ready
to develop as soon as their environment permits.
Temperature has much to do with the state of
bacteria. If the temperature and other conditions

268 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

are such that they are in an active or growing
state, they will multiply with enormous rapidity.
When in food stuffs they effect certain changes
by reason of the products which they form as a
result of their life processes, or of the alteration in
the food materials, owing to their abstraction
of some chemical elements or compounds used
for their nutrition. When bacteria form
unpleasant smelling or tasting substances we
speak of them as "putrefactive bacteria." Those
which, if introduced into the bodies of humans
or animals, will cause diseases, are called "disease
bacteria." Foods are liable to contain both kinds;
and, therefore, it is, obviously, wise to do all that
is possible to kill them or prevent their growth.
Most forms occurring in foods grow best
at from 80 degrees to 98 degrees Fahrenheit.
Few bacteria grow at above 100 degrees, and,
if kept at 125 degrees, the weaker ones soon die.
After subjection to a temperature of 150 degrees
to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, for ten minutes, if
water is present, almost all kinds are killed
unless they are in the spore state. Prolonged
boiling will often be resisted by spores. Dry heat
is not as effective in killing bacteria as moist, and
a higher temperature must, therefore, be reached
to effect this end. Below 70 degrees Fahrenheit
the growth of bacteria is more and more retarded,

APPENDIX 269

but not entirely checked until freezing point is
reached. The popular idea that freezing may be
relied upon to destroy bacteria is not true.

The bearing of these facts upon the subject
of bacteria in foods cooked in insulating boxes
is evident. Whether foods are cooked or kept
cold, care must be taken that such a temperature
is reached that bacteria may not grow.

In application of these principles we see that
foods must be heated sufficiently to kill bacteria
before it will be safe to subject them to the com-
paratively low temperature of the cooker for
the long period necessary. This is one reason
why foods in large pieces, such as roasts of meat,
whole vegetables, and moulds containing a mass
of food, must be boiled for a considerable time
before being put into the cooker. Heat will not
penetrate at once to the centre of such foods,
and they would be likely to ferment or putrefy
unless boiled long enough to heat the centre
beyond the point where bacteria thrive. The
fact that meats, cereals, and other foods have
been known to sour or ferment, even after such
boiling, if left in the cooker for a very long time,
may be explained by the fact that, though all
growing bacteria were killed, spores, which
resisted the boihng, might have been present
in the food, and when it cooled to a point con-

270 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

ducive to the germination of these spores, and
remained at this temperature for long, they might
have developed, become active, and produced the
objectionable changes characteristic. of their kind.

In the case of foods to be kept in refrigerating
boxes, a temperature considerably below 70
degrees Fahrenheit must be maintained. 50
degrees Fahrenheit, or lower, will be found an
excellent preventive of germ growth.

Mr. L. A. Rogers has written a clear and
concise description of the nature, growth, and
conditions necessary to combat bacteria such as
are found in food, in his paper entitled " Bacteria
in Milk," published in the Yearbook of the
Department of Agriculture, 1907, pages 180 to 196.

Other books which give information on this
subject are "Bacteria Yeasts and Molds in the
Home," by Conn, and "Household Bacteri-
ology," by S. Maria Elliott.

Yeasts and moulds also may take part in the
changes which spoil foods; but the temperature
conditions which control bacteria would be
practically the same for them.

10. Cooking temperatures of different starches.
Experiment: Cooking starch.

Pare and grate one or more potatoes. Wash
the gratings by placing them in a cheesecloth

APPENDIX 271

bag and immersing them in cold water. Squeeze
and press the contents of the bag until no more
starch seems to pass through the cloth. Let it
settle, pour off the water; add clear water and let
the starch settle again. Pour off the second
water. Take one tablespoonful of the starch,
mix it with one cupful of cold water. Heat it
slowly over a moderate fire, stirring it constantly,
and recording the temperature at which the
mixture becomes noticeably clearer and thickens.

Repeat this experiment with corn-starch;
wheat starch, washed from wheat flour, as is done
with the grated potato; with starch washed
from rye flour; and, if desired, with rice, bean,
pea, oat and tapioca starches, also.

"Food and the Principles of Dietetics," by
Hutchison, gives, on page 378, a Hst of different
starches and the temperatures at which they
gelatinize.

In a bulletin entitled "Digestibility of Starch
of Different Sorts as Affected by Cooking,"
by Edna D. Day, Ph.D. (U. S. Dept. of Agri-
culture, Ofiice of Experiment Stations, Bulletin
No. 202, page 40), we read that starch takes
up water at 60 degrees to 80 degrees Centigrade
(140 degrees to 176 degrees Fahrenheit) and
forms a sticky, colloidal substance known as
starch paste, in which form it is very easily digested.

272 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Long boiling, at least to the extent of three
hours, does not make it more quickly digestible.
There is something to be considered besides
the mere starch in cooking starchy foods, and
the fact that potato starch will form paste at
149 degrees while rice starch requires 176 degrees
does not mean that less cooking will be needed
for potatoes than for rice. The woody fibre
or other constituents of foods, as well as their
density and difference in size, must be taken
into account.

II. Cooking temperatures of proteids.

Egg Albumen

In the bulletin entitled "Eggs and Their
Uses as Food,'' by C. F. Langworthy, Ph.D.,
published as Farmers' Bulletin, No. 128, by
the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the state-
ment is made that "egg white begins to coagulate
at 134 degrees Fahrenheit. White fibres appear
which become more numerous until at about
1 60 degrees Fahrenheit the whole mass is coagu-
lated, the white almost opaque, yet it is tender
and jelly-like. If the temperature is raised to
212 degrees Fahrenheit, and continued, the
coagulated albumen becomes much harder and
eventually more or less tough and horn-like; it
also undergoes shrinkage. It has been found

APPENDIX 273

by experiment that the yolk of egg coagulates
firmly at a lower temperature than the white.*'

It also says that these changes in the albumen
suggest the idea that it is not advisable to cook
eggs in boiling water in order to secure the most
desirable result.

Experiment A: To show the changes that
take place in egg white at various temperatures.

Materials :

Test-tube and holder Thermometer

Beaker or saucepan of water Egg white

Put the white of egg into the test-tube. Insert
the thermometer. Hold the test-tube in the pan
of cold water to the depth of the egg white.
Gradually heat the water and observe the tem-
perature at which the first change in the egg
albumen takes place. Notice also the tempera-
ture of the water at this point. Continue the
experiment until the water in the outer vessel
has boiled ten or twenty minutes, noting the
temperatures at which the various changes occur.

Experiment B: To show the temperatures
obtained in the proper cooking of eggs.

Materials :

Fireless cooker Water

Eggs Thermometer

Cook eggs as directed for soft-cooked eggs on
page 190, observing the temperature of the water

274 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

after the eggs are added to it, and when they
are removed from the cooker; also the condition,
flavour, etc., of the eggs.

Cereal Proteids

Professor Harcourt, in his bulletin, "Break-
fast Foods," published by the Ontario Depart-
ment of Agriculture, pp. 20 and 29, says that
long cooking of cereals renders the protein more
digestible. The cooking which he describes was
carried on in a double boiler, and, therefore,
below boiling temperature, and in this respect
is similar to fireless cookery. He says that
while short cooking, which was done at boiling
temperature, seemed to make cereal proteids
less digestible, the long cooking at below boiling
temperature, which followed, somewhat changed
them and made them more digestible.

While little study appears to have been made
of the digestibility of cereal proteids when cooked
for a long time at a low temperature, it is prob-
ably fair, in the absence of further definite infor-
mation, to assume that, like animal proteids,
it is better to cook them at a low temperature
such as that of the fireless cooker, than at the
temperature of boiling water or higher.
Meat Proteids

In the bulletin entitled "A Precise Method
of Roasting Meat/' by Elizabeth A. Sprague

APPENDIX 275

and H. S. Grindley, published by the Univer-
sity of Illinois, a study is made of the tempera-
tures at which the changes take place from
raw meat to "rare**; from "rare" to "medium
rare," and from this to "well done" meat. The
authors found that if the centre of the meat is
between 130 degrees and 148 degrees Fahrenheit
(55 degrees and 65 degrees Centigrade), it is
rare; if it is between 148 degrees and 158 degrees
Fahrenheit (65 degrees and 70 degrees Centi-
grade), it is medium rare; and if it is between
158 degrees and 176 degrees Fahrenheit (70
degrees and 80 degrees Centigrade), it is well
done. They found no advantage in cooking
meat in a very hot oven (385 degrees Fahrenheit,
or 195 degrees Centigrade), but rather a diffi-
culty to keep it from burning; that in an oven
which was about 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175
degrees Centigrade), the meat cooked better;
and that in an Aladdin oven which kept the
meat at about 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degree
Centigrade), it cooked best of all; that is, it was
of more uniform character all through, more
juicy, and more high flavoured. This seems
to point to an advantage in fireless cookery for
meats, and practical experience bears it out.
The initial heat of the insulated oven serves
to sear and brown the meat, and when this

276 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

heat is reduced by the cooling of the stones, the
low temperature found to be best for completing
the roasting is obtained. With regard to meats
cooked in water in the cooker, experience has
shown that they become well done and are more
tender than when boiled, showing that the tem-
peratures necessary to reach that degree of
cooking are obtained even in the centre of a large
piece of meat, without toughening or hardening
the outside of the meat, as is done when more
intense heat is applied.

The hardening effect of long cooking at a
high temperature on meat proteids can be de-
monstrated by broiling a tender piece of steak
until it is rare, cutting off a small piece, continuing
the broiling for a few minutes, cutting off another
piece and comparing these pieces with the
remainder, which should be broiled until very
well done.

ADDITIONAL RECIPES

278 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

ADDITIONAL RECIPES 279

28o THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

ADDITIONAL RECIPES 281

282 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

ADDITIONAL RECIPES 283

284 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

ADDITIONAL RECIPES 285

286 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

ADDITIONAL RECIPES 287

288 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

ADDITIONAL RECIPES 289

290 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

ADDITIONAL RECIPES 291

292 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

ADDITIONAL RECIPES 293

294 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

ADDITIONAL RECIPES 295

296 THE FIRELESS COOK B06k

CLASSIFIED INDEX OF RECIPES

AND TIME TABLE
FOR THE FIRELESS COOKER

CEREALS

Boil on St
Minute

ove

Rolled Oats

Corn-Meal Mush . .

In Cooker

Hours

2 -12 . . .
1; -10 or more

PAGX

54. 204
54. «>4

60
10

Hominy Grits . . .

Samp

Cracked Wheat . . .

10 or
6 -12

re .

55. «>5
150, 205

55.^5

Steel-cut Oats . . .

56, 206

Pettijohn's Breakfast Food

2 -12

56,206

BoU .

Cream of Wheat . . .

I -12

56, 206

Boil .

Wheatlet

I -12

56,206

Bofl .

Farina

1 -12

56,206

Boa .

Rice

1-2

149, 206

SOXJPS

Boil on

Stove

In Cooker

MinuUs

Hows

White Stock . . .

. 9 -12

To Clear Stock . . .

Brown Stock, No. 1

. 9 -12

Brown Stock, No. 2

. 9 -12

Warm

Bouillon ....
Beef Broth ...

. 9-12

Boil .

Mutton Broth . .

. 9 -12

Consomme

. 9 -12

aoand5 .

Mock-Turtle Soup No. i

. 9-12

297

^ or more

PAGE

62, 207

60, 207

63,207

298 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Boil on Stove

In Cooker

Minutes

Hours

PAGE

. Mock-Turtle Soup No. 2

9 or more

66. 208

. Vegetable Soup with Stock

3 or more

67,209

Boa .

. Cream of Celery Soup .

3 or more

68,208

BoU .

. Asparagus Soup . . .

2| or more

. 68, 209

Bofl .

. Tomato Soup with Stock

1 or more

69, 210

Boa . .

. Creole Soup ....

I or more

. 69, 208

Bofl .

. OxTaflSoup ...

2 or more

70,209

Bofl . .

. Julienne Soup . . .

2 or more

70, 210

Bofl .

. Macaroni Soup . . .

2 . .

70,209

. Vegetable Soup . . .

3 or more

71, 210

Bofl .

. Bean Soup ....

. 9-12 . .

72, 210

Bofl . .

. Black Bean Soup . .

8-12 . .

72, 211

Boil .

. Tomato Soup

I or more .

73> i"

Bofl . .

. Puree of Lima Beans . .

4 or more

Bofl . .

. Baked Bean Soup . .

3 or more

74, 212

Bofl . .

. Pea Soup

2 or more

74,212

. Split-Pea Soup . . .

5 • •

77,212

Bofl . .

. Potato Soup

I ^ or more

75,211

Bofl . .

. Fish Chowder . . . .

I and^

75» ^n

Bofl .

. Clam Chowder . . .

1-2 . .

Bofl .

. Connecticut Chowder .

I and J

76, 213

Bofl . .

. Oyster Stew ....

J or more

Bofl . .

. Clam Stew

FISH

J or more ,

Boil on St

ove

In Cooker

Minutei

Hours

VAOK

Bofl .

. BofledFish ....

I . . .

Bofl .

. Creamed Salt Codfish No. i

1 i or more

Bofl .

. Creamed Salt Codfish No. 2

I J or more

84, 213

Bofl .

. Codfish Balls ....

li . .

85,213

Bofl .

. Salt Fish Souffl6 . . .

li . .

»5

. . Salmon Loaf ....

1-2 . .

. . Casserole of Fish . .

f-2 . .

Bofl .

. . Cape Cod Turkey . .

. li- 3 . .

Bofl*".

. . Creamed Oysters . .

§ or more

. . Lobster

3 . .

. . Crabs

. 1-3 . .

INDEX AND TIME TABLE

VEGETABLES

299

Boil on Stove

In Cooker

Minutes

Hours

PAGE

Boil .

Asparagus . .

i . . ,

136

137

Boil . .

. Cabbage, Summer

. iJrii . .

Boa .

. Cabbage, Winter

. 3 or 4-12 .

»37

Boil .

Cauliflower

li- 1

137
,38

139
139
139
139

Boil .

. Carrots

*4^ 3

I — 1 or more

Boil . .

. Com ....

h z . .

5 .
S •

Boa . .

. Beets, new

. 5 — 6 or more

. Beets, old .

. 6 or more

. Fresh Shelled Beans

2 J or more

Boa . .

. String Beans .

6-12 ...

140
140
140

Boa . .

. Lima Beans . .

I J or more

Boa . ,

. Dried Lima Beans

3 or more

Boa . .

. Dried Navy Beans

8 or more

141

Boa .

. Chard ....

■I or more

141
142
142

Boil .

Spinach

2 or more

Boa . .

. Beet Greens . .

. . 2^ or more

Boa . .

. Stewed Celery .

. . 2-4 . .

142

Boa .

. Macaroni, soaked

. . I i, or 2 if not soaked

Boa .

. . Macaroni and Cheese, sc

)aked i J, or 2 if not soaked

236

Boa .

. Macaroni and Ham, soa

ied 1 J, or 2 if not soaked

^35

Boa .

. Macaroni Italienne,soali

ed 1 i, or 2 if not soaked

143

Boa .

. Macaroni Maanaise, so£

iked I ^, or 2 if not soaked

144

Boa .

. Spaghetti, soaked

. I ^, or 2 if not soaked

144

Boa .

. Noodles ....

2 ...

»i4S

Boa .

. Creamed Mushrooms

2-6 ...

'45

Boil .

. Fricasseed Mushrooms

. . 2-6 . .

»4S

Boa .

Onions ....

2-8 . .

146
146

. Potatoes ....

. ii-3 . .

Boa .

. Creamy Potatoes

. i-3i . .

147

216

Boa .

. Stewed Potatoes . .

• ' -3 • •

147

Boil .

. Peas

1-2 or more ,

148

Boa .

. Old Peas ....

2 -la

Boa .

. Rice, No. I . . .

148

Boa .

. . Rice No. 1 . . .

. . I . .

149

206

Boa .

Savoury Rice . . ^

. . I

149
218

Boa .

. Paaf ....

. . I

1494

300 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Boil on Stove

Minutes

60
Boil .
Boil

Bon .

Boil .

Samp ......

Summer Squash .

Tomatoes

Hubbard or Winter Squash

Pumpkin

Creamed Turnips
Mashed Turnips . .

Chestnuts

Brussels Sprouts .

^In Cooker

Hours

PAGE

or more .

150

,ao5

I - 3

. . .

150

or more .

151

5-8

. . .

151

5-8

. . .

i5»

ii-3

or more .

152

ii~3

or more .

153

i r 4

. . .

»53

1-2

. . .

>53

BEEF

Boil on Store

In Cooker

Minutes

Hours

JAOE

30 •

. Roast Beef ....

2 or more

229

. Pot Roast .. , .

9 or more

. 94,214

30 •

. Beef a la Mode . . .

9-12 . .

• 95»"5

30-40 .

. Corned Beef ....

10 -12 . .

. Boiled Dinner . . .

6 or more

. 96, 216

. Beef Stew a la Mode . .

5 or more

. . 97,215

. Stuffed Rolled Steak .

5 or 6 . . .

5 '

. Beef Stew with Dumplings

li . .

Boil . .

. Irish Stew ....

5 or more

100,215

. Cannelon of Beef . .

4 • •

loi, 216

5 .

. Meat Pie

2 or more

lOI

5 •

. Braised Beef Liver . .

10 or more

102

5 •

. Beef Kidney ....

10 or more

103

5 .

. Stuffed Heart . . .

10 or more

104

ao-30

. Corned Tongue . . .

10-12 . .

105

20-30

. Fresh Tongue . . .

xo or more

105

. . Braised Beef . . . .

4 or more

MUTTON AND LAMB

Boil on Store

In Cooker

Minutes

Hours

PAGB

20-30 . .

Boiled Leg or Shoulder .

6 or more . .

loS

20-30 . .

Braised Mutton . . .

6 or more .

108

s • •

Stew

4 or more .

109

INDEX AND TIME TABLE 301

Boil on Store
Minutes

S
5
5
>S
5
BoU .

Chestnut Stew ...
Syrian Stew ....
Syrian Stuffed Cabbage .
Casserole of Rice and Meat

OkraStew

Ragout of Boiled Mutton

In Cooker

Hours

4 or more
4 or more

5-6 . .

I to 3

4 or more
I or more

PAGE

109
no
III
112

I, 216
113

VEAL

Boil on Stove

Minutes

Boa .

Boil .

20
2

10
Boil .

In Cooker

Hours yAOB

Breaded Cutlets .... 2-4 .... 116

Plain Cutlets i~4 .... 116

Veal Loaf 4 . . . 117,217

Sweetbreads 2 . , . . ri8

CalPs Heart 10 or more . . 118

Calf's Liver 4 or more . . 118

Veal Kidney 2 or more . . 119

CalPs Head a la Terrapin . 9 or more . . 119

PORK

Boil on Stove In Cooker

Minutes Hours

20-30 . . Boiled Ham or Shoulder . 7 or more

15 . . Fresh Pork with Sauerkraut 8 -10 or more

15 . . Headcheese 10 and i or more

15 and 5 . Scrapple 10 and 4 or more

15 . . Souse 10 and i or more

5 . . Pickled Pigs* Feet ... 10 or more

PAGE

122
123
123
124
124

I2S

POULTRY

Boil on

Stove

In Cooker

Minutts

Hours

PAGE

. .

Stewed Chicken . .

10 or more . .

131

Fricasseed Chicken .

. . 10 or more . .

131

Chicken Pie . .

10 or more .

'3*

Curried Chicken

. . 10 or more . .

132

. .

Creamed Chicken ,

5 -10 or more . .

132

302 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Boil on Store

In Cooker

Minutes

Hours

PAO8

30 in oven

Braised Chicken . .

2^ or more .

10 . .

Jellied Chicken . .

. 10 and 6 or more .

30 in oven

Braised Duck

2 J or more .

30 in oven

Braised Goose . .

2^ or more .

5 • .

Potted Pigeons . .

. s-6 ' ' '

STEAMED BREADS AND PUDDINGS

Boil on Store

In Cooker

Minutes

Hours

. Boston Brown Bread

. 5-6

15-30

. Graham Pudding

. . Apple or Berry Pudding

. Suet Pudding . . ,

. 5-6

30-60

. . Rich Plum Pudding . .

. Cranberry Pudding .

. Ginger Pudding . . .

. St. James Pudding . .

. Harvard Pudding . .

. Swiss Pudding . . .

Boil .

. Rice Pudding

3 -4 or

. Indian Pudding . . .

Boa .

. Tapioca Custard . . .

I ^ and I

Boa .

. Rice Custard ....

I J and I

Boa .

. Tapioca Fruit Pudding .

1-2

Warm

. Chocolate Bread Pudding

1-2

Warm

. Queen of Puddings . .

1-2

Steamed Cup Custard .

BoO .

. Compote of Rice and Fruit

1 -3

PAGE

15s, 218

156

157, 219

158

'59

160

161

162, 219

163

164

164, 220

i6s

. 166

FRUITS

Boil on Store

Minutes
Boa . . .
Boa . . .
Boa . . .

Boa .

Apple Sauce .
Stewed Apple in Syrup
Apple Jelly . . .

. Blackberry and Apple Jelly

In Cooker
Hours

■ 3 or more .

■12 ...

4 or more .

3 or more .

PAGE

168, 220

169

170

INDEX AND TIME TABLE

303

Boil on Stove

In Cooker

Minutei

Hours , PAGE

Boil .

. Stewed Blackberries .

2-3 ....

170

Boil .

Currant Jelly .

4 or more
I or 2 or more

171
171

Boa .

. Cranberry Jelly . .

Boa .

. Cranberry Sauce .

2^ or more

172

Boa .

. Dried Fruits (soaked)

2 -12 . .

172

Boa .

. Rhubarb ....

I - 3 or more

173

Boa .

Stewed Figs . . .

7 or more
1 - 2 or more

173
174

Boa .

. Sweet Pickled Peaches

Boa .

. Sweet Pickled Pears .

I - 2 or more

174

Boa .

. Sweet Pickled Crab Apples

2-3 . .

175

Boa .

. Sweet Pickled Melon Rind

4-6 . .

175

Boil .

. Sweet Pickled Plums

1-2 . .

176

. Sweet Pickled Quinces .

12 or more

176

Boa .

. Orange Marmalade . .

30 or more

176

About 30

. Candied Orange Peel] .

20 or more .

177

Boa .

. Canned Quinces . . .

20 or more

178

Boa .

. Preserved Quinces .

20 or more

179

Boa .

. Citron and Ginger Preserve

12 or more

179

5or n
Boa .

lore Grape Jam ....

3 or more
5 or more
Several days .

180

. Graoe Juice ....

. 181

BoQ .

. Preserved Ginger

181

MISCELLANEOUS

Boil on St

Minutes
8 .

ove

. HoUandaise Sauce

Boa . .

. Tomato Sauce

Boa . .

. Fruit Sauce . .

Warm
Warm
Boa .
Boa .

. Brandy Sauce
. Soft-Cooked Eggs
. Hard-Cooked Eggs
. Chocolate . . .

Boa .

. Cocoa ....

Boa .

. . Shells ....

Boa .
Boa .

. CoflFee ....
. Cereal Coffee . .

Boa .

. . Farina BaUs . .

In Cooker

Hours

i . . .

I or more .

\ or more .
20 minutes .
10 minutes .
20 minutes .\

5 min. to 5 hrs.

8 or more .

5 -10 or more .
2 or more .

PAGE

185
185
186
186
190
191
191
192
192
193

193
194

304 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

RECIPES FOR THE SICK

Boil .

. Flaxseed Lemonade

Bofl .

. Farina Gruel . .

Boil .

. Imperial Granum

Scald .

. Cracker Gruel .

. Oatmeal Gruel .

Boil .

. Barley Flour Gruel

Bofl .

. Indian Gruel . .

Boil .

. Arrowroot Gruel .

Warm

. Pasteurized Milk

BoU .

. Rice and Milk .

Boil .

. Peptonized Beef Bro

Boa .

. Peptonized Milk .

In Cooker

Hours

I - I ^ or more

I or more

8 -lo . .

I or more

lo or more

I or more

2o -30 minutes

1-3 . .

3 • •

10 -30 minutes

195
19s
196
196
196
197
197
197
198
199
199
200

RECIPES FOR THE INSULATED OVEN

In the Oven

Minutes
12 to 30 min. per pound
12 to 25 min. per pound
25 to 30 min. per pound
20 min. per pound

15 min. per pound

15 to 20 min. per pound

12 to 18 min. per pound

VAOB

. Roast Beef 229

. Roast Mutton or Lamb .... 229

. Roast Veal 230

. Spareribs 230

Brown Gravy for Roasts .... 230

. Roast Chicken 230

. Roast Goose 231

Potato Stuffing 232

. Roast Leg of Venison 23 1

20 to 30 minutes Roast Wild Duck 232

20 to 25 min Grouse 232

i5to2ommutes Roast Quail 233

15 to 20 minutes Roast Plover 233

5 or 6 hours Potted Fish 233

8 hours or more Pork and Beans 234

45 minutes Baked Potatoes 234

30 minutes Macaroni and Ham 235

30 minutes Macaroni and Cheese ..... 236

30 minutes Scalloped Chicken and Mushrooms . 236

30 to 45 minutes Scalloped Oysters ...... 235

INDEX AND TIME TABLE 305

PACK

I hour . . Scalloped Tomatoei 236

I i hours Scalloped Apple 137

3 hours Rice Pudding 238

15 minutes Pastry , . 238

30 minutes Apple Pie 239

30 minutes Berry Pie 240

30 minutes . . . > . . . Cherry or Plum Pic ..... 240

I hour . Pumpkin Pie 240

Lemon Pie 241

30 to 45 minutes Baked Apples 241

I hour Baked Spiced Apples 242

3 hours Baked Sweet Apples 243

3 hours Baked Pears 242

3 hours or more Baked Quinces 242

50 to 60 minutes Bread 243

20 minutes Rolls 244

15 to 20 minutes Baking-Powder Biscuits .... 244

40 minutes Cup Cake, loaf 245

15 to 20 minutes Cup Cake, layers ...... 245

40 minutes Sour-Cream Cake 246

40 minutes Apple-Sauce Cake 246

50 to 60 minutes Sponge Cake 247

l^ hours Plum Cake 247

3 hours or more ... . Rich Fruit Cake = 248

ALPHABETICAL INDEX

Advantages of Fireless Cooker, 6 to 9.
Albumen, Temperature of Cooking,

272.
Aluminum, Detection of, 266.

Utensils, 14.
Appendix, 257 to 276.
Apple Jelly, 169.

or Berry Pudding Steamed, 156.

Pie, 239.

Sauce, 168, 220.
Cake, 246.

Water, 2cx).
Apples, Baked, 241.

Scalloped, 237.

Stewed, 168,220.
Articles Required for Making Insul-
ated Oven, 228.
Arrowroot Gruel, 197.
Asparagus, 136.

Soup, 68, 209.

Bacteriology of Insulating Boxes, 267
Baked Apples, 241.
Spiced, 242.
Sweet, 243.

Bean Soup, 74.

Pears, 242.

Potatoes, 234.

Quinces, 242.
Baking Powder Biscuits, 244.
Balls, Codfish, 85, 213

Egg, 79-

Farina, 194.

Forcemeat, 79.
Barley Flour Grud, 197.

Water, 201.
Barrel Used for a Cookeri 10.
Beans, Dried Lima, 140.
Navy, 141.

Fresh Shelled, 139.

Beans, continued

Lima, 140.

Puree of Lima, 73.

String, 140.
Bean Soup, 72, 210.

Soup, Black, 72, 211.

Soup, Baked, 74.
Beef, 89

A la Mode, 95, 215.

Broth, 63.

Broth, Peptonized, 1 99.

Braised, 93.

Care of, 92.

Cannelon of, 1 01, 216.

Cooking, 92.

Corned, 96.

Cuts of, 91.

Diagram of Cuts, 90.

Kidney, 103.

Liver, Braised, 102.

Other Parts Used for Food, 91.

Roast, 229.

Stew a la Mode, 97, 215.

Stew with Dumplings, 99.

To Select, 89.

Uses of Different Cuts, 89.
Beet Greens, 142.
Beets, 139.
Berry Pie, 240.

Pudding, Steamed Apple or, 156.
Bind Soup, To, 59.
Biscuits, Baking Powder, 244.
Bisques, 58.

Blackberries, Stewed, 170.
Blackberry and Apple Jelly, 170.
Black Bean Soup, 74.
Blanch Nuts, To, 188.
Boiled Dinner, 96, a 1 6.

Dressing, 190.

Fish, 83.

307

3o8 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Bouillon, 57, 62.
Boston Brown Bread, 155, 218.
Box for Making Cookers, 9.
Braised Beef, 93.

Beef's Liver, 102.

Chicken, 133.

Duck, 134.

Goose, 134.
Brandy Sauce, 186.
Bread, 243.

Boston Brown, 155, 218.
Breads and Puddings, Steamed, 154.
Breakfast Cereals, 52.
Breakfast Food, Pettijohn's, 56, 206.
Broth, Beef, 63.

Peptonized, 199.

Mutton, 63, 207.
Broths, 57.
Brown Betty, 237.

Bread, Boston, 1 55, 218.

Gravy for Roasts, 230.

Sauce, 184,214.

Stock, 57,60, 207.
Brussels Sprouts, 153.
Buttered Crumbs, 187.

Cabbage, 137.

Stuffed, Syrian, iii.
Cake, Apple Sauce, 246.

Cup, 245.

Plum, 247.

Rich Fruit, 248.

Sour Cream, 246.

Sponge,247.
Calf's Head a la Terrapin, 119.

Heart, 118.

Liver, ii8.
Candied Orange or Grape Fruit

Peel, 177.
Canned Quinces, 178.
Cannelon of Beef, 1 01, 216.
Cans, to Sterilize, 189.
Cape Cod Turkey, 87.
Caper Sauce, 184.
Caramel, 51.
Carrots, 138.
Careof Poultry, 128.
Casserole of Fish, 87.

of Rice and Meat, 112.

Cauliflower, 137.

a la HoUandaise, 138.

au Gratin, 138.
Celery, Stewed, 142.

Soup, Cream of, 68, 208.
Cereal Coffee, 193.
Cereals, Breakfast, 52.
Chard, 141.

Cheese, Macaroni and, 236.
Cherry Pie, 240.
Chemistry of Utensils, 263.
Chestnuts, Italian, 153.

To Shell, 109.
Chestnut Stew, 109.
Chicken, Braised, 133.

Creamed, 132.

Curried, 132.

Fricasseed, 131.

Jellied, 133.

Pie, 132.

Roast, 230.

Stewed, 131.

To Cut Up, 129.

To Draw, 128.

To Truss, 130.
Chocolate, 191.

Bread Pudding, 164, 220.

Cup Cake, 245.
Chowder, Clam, 76.

Connecticut, 76, 213.

Fish, 75, 213.
Citron and Ginger Preserve, 179,

Sweet Pickle, 175.
Clam Chowder, 76.

or Oyster Stew, 77.
Cloth Lining for Cooker, 18.
Cocoa, 192.

Shells, 192.
Codfish Balls, 85, 213.

Creamed, Salt, No. 1,84.

Creamed, Salt, No. 2, 84, 213.
Cold Foods, To Keep, 35.
Coffee, 193.

Cereal, 193.
Compote of Rice and Fruit, 166.
Connecticut Chowder, 76, 213.
Conductivity, 259.
Consomm^, 57, 64.
Convection, 259.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX

309

Cooking Temperatures, 6.

of Starches, 6, 270.

of Proteids, 272.
Cereal, 274.
Egg, 272.
Meat, 274.
Cooking for Two, 40.
Corn, 139.
Corned Beef, 96.

Tongue, 105.
Corn Meal Mush, 54, 204.
Covers Fastened on Utensils, 33.
Crab Apple Sweet Pickle, 175.
Crabs, 298.
Cracker Gruel, 196.
Crackers, Crisp, 80.
Cracked Wheat, 55, 205.
Cranberry Jelly, 171.

Pudding, Steamed, 159.

Sauce, 172.
Creamed Chicken, 132.

Mushrooms, 145.

Salt Codfish, No. 1,84.

Salt Codfish, No. 2, 84, 213.

Turnips, 152.
Cream of Celery Soup, 68, 208.

Wheat, 56, 206.
Creams, Frozen, to Keep, 35.
Cream Soups, 57.
Creamy Potatoes, 147, 216.
Creole Soups, 69, 208.
Crisp Crackers, 80.
Crocks for Refrigerating Box, 37.
Croustades, 193.
Croutons, 80.
Crust for Meat Pie, 102.
Crumbs, Buttered, 188.
Cup Cake, 245.
Cup Custard, Steamed, 166.
Currant Jelly, 171.
Cushions for Fireless Cookers, ii.
Custard, Steamed Cup, 166.

Tapioca or Rice, 163.
Cutlets, Breaded Veal, 1 16.

Plain, Veal, 116.
Cylinder, 17.

Density of Foods, Experiment, 26a.
Diagram of Cuts of Beef. 90.

Diagram of Cuts, continued

Lamb or Mutton, 107.
Pork, 121.

To Cut up a Chicken, 1 29
To Truss a Chicken, 131
Digestibility of Fireless Cooking, 9.
Dinner, Boiled, 96, 216.
Directions for Making Fireless

Cookers, 9.
Drawn Butter Sauce, 184.
Dressing, Boiled, 190.
Dried Fruits, 172.

Beans, Lima, 140.
Beans, Navy, 141.
Duck, Braised, 134.

Roast, Wild, 232.
Dumplings for Stew, 99.

Egg Balls, 79.

Sauce, 184.
Eggs, Hard-Cooked, 191.
Soft-Cooked, No. i, 190.
Soft-Cooked, No. 2, 190.
Excelsior, 5.

Experiment on Bacteriology of Fire-
less Cookers, 267-270.
Chemistry of Utensils, 263.
Conductivity, 259.
Convection, 259.
Cooking Temperatures, 270.
Proteids, 272.
Cereal, 274.
Egg, 272.
Meat, 274.
Starches, 270.
Density of Foods, 262.
Detection of Poisonous Metals,
Tin, 265.
Aluminum, 266.
Effect of Evaporation on Tem-
perature, 263.
Efficiency of Refrigerating Boxes,

266.
Insulation, 257, 261.
Radiation, 260.

Farina, 56, 206.
Balls, 194.
Gruel, 195.

310 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Fastening Covers on Utensils, 33.
Figs, Stewed, 173.
Fireless Cooker, the, 3.

Advantages of, 6.

Army Use of, 202.

Barrel Used for, 10.

Box Used for, 9.

Directions for Making, 9.

For Large Quantities, 203.

Ice Box Used for, 10.

Possibilities of, 3, 4.

Practical Suggestions for Using,

Principle of, 5.

Trunk Used for, 10.
Fish, 81.

Balls, Codfish, 85, 213.

Boiled, 83.

Care of, 81.

Casserole of, 87.

Chowder, 75, 213.

Cooking of, 82.

Salt Cod, Creamed, No. i, 84.
Creamed, No. 2, 84, 213.

Sauce for, 185.

Seasons, etc.

Fresh Water, 82.
Salt Water, 83.

Souffle, Salt, 86.

To Clean, 8 1.

To Skin, 82.

To Tell Fresh, 8 1.
Flavouring Materials, 49~5i*
Flaxseed Lemonade, 195.
Forcemeat Balls, 79.
Fresh Shelled Beans, 139.
Fresh Tongue, 105.
Fricasseed Chicken, 131.

Mushrooms, 145.
Fruit Cake, Rich, i^.

Sauce, 186.
IVuiti, 168.

Eh-ied, 172.

Gamiihef, Soup, 78.
Ginger, Preserved, 18 1.

Pudding, 160.
Goose, Braised, 134.

Roast, 231.

Graham Pudding, 156.

Grape Fruit Peel, Candied, 177.

Jam, 180.

Juice, 181.
Gravy for Roasts, Brown, 230.
Green Pea Soup, 74, 212.
Greens, Beet, 142.
Grits, Hominy, 55, 205.
Grouse, 232.
Gruel, Arrowroot, 197.

Barley Flour, 197.

Cracker, 196.

Farina, 195.

Indian Meal, 197.

Oatmeal, 196.

Ham or Shoulder, Boiled, 122.
Hard-Cooked Eggs, 191.
Hard Sauce, 185.
Harvard Pudding, i6i.
Hasp, II.
Hay, 6.
Hay-Box, 3.
Head-Cheese, 123.
Heart, Beef's StuflFed, 104.

Calf's, 1 18.
Hinges, II.

HoUandaise Sauce, 185.
Hominy Grits, 55, 205.
Hubbard Squash, 151.

Ice Cream, to Keep, 35.
Imperial Granum, 196.
Indian Gruel, 197.

Pudding, 162,219. 1

Insulate an Oven, To, 222.
Insulated Oven, The, 221.
Insulation, Experiments,

EflFect of DiflFerent Thicknesses,
261.

Test of Materials for, 257.
Irish Stew, 100. 215.

Jam, Grape, 180.
Jars, to Sterilize, 189.
Jellied Chicken, 133.
Jelly, Apple, 169.

Blackbeny aad Apple, I7eb

ALPHABETICAL INDEX

Jelly, continued

Cranberry, 171.

Currant, 171.
Juice, Grape, 181.
Julienne Soup, 70, no.

Kidney, Beef, 103.
Veal, 119.

Lamb and Mutton, 106.
Cuts of, 106.
Diagram of Cuts, 107.
Roast, 229.

Table of Cuts and Uses, 107.
Other Parts Used for
Food, 107.
Leg of Mutton, Boiled, 108.

Braised, 108.
Lemonade, Flaxseed, 195.
Lemon Pie, 241.
Lima Beans, 140.
Dried, 140.
Purdeof,73,2i2.
Liver, Braised Beef's, io2

Calf's, 118.
Loaf, Salmon, 86.

Veal, 117,217.
Lobster, 298.

Macaroni, 143.

and Cheese, 236.

and Ham, 235.

Italienne, 143,217.

Milanaise, 144.

Soup, 70, 209.
Marmalade, Orange, 176.
Mashed Turnip, 153.
Materials for Packing Cookers, 11,
257.

for Utensils, 14.

Needed for Home-made Cookers,
25.
Measures, Table of Weights and, 45.
Measuring, 43.
Meat Pie, 101

Crust for, 102.
Menus, 250-255.
Method of Packing a Hay-Box, 15.

Using the Oven, 224.

Milk, Pasteurized, 198.

Peptonized, 200.

Rice and, 199.
Mineral Wool, 5, 1 1,21.
Mock Turtle Soup, No. i, 65.

No. 2,66,208.
Mush, Corn Meal, 54, 204.
Mushrooms, Creamed, 145.

Fricasseed, 145.

Scalloped Chicken and, 236.
Mutton, Cuts, 106.

Diagram of Cuts, 107.

Lamb and, 106.

Leg of. Boiled, 108.
Braised, 108.

Ragoutof Cold, 113.

Roast, 229. ^

Stew, 109.

Table of Uses of Cuts,
107.
Other parts Used, 107.

Navy Beans, Dried, 141.
Noodles, 78, 145.
Nutmeg Sauce, 187.
Nuts, Salted, 188.
To Blanch, 188.

Oatmeal Gruel, 196.

Steel Cut, 56, 206.
Oats, Rolled, 54, 204.
Okra Stew, 111,216.
Onions, 146.
Orange Marmalade, 176.
Orange or Grape Fruit Peel, Can-
died, 177.
Oven, Articles Requhred for Mak-
ing, 228.

Method of Using, 224.

The Insulated, 221.

To Insulate, 222.
Ox-Tail Soup, 70, 209.
Oysters, Creamed, 88.

Scalloped, 235.

Stew, 77.

Packing Materials, 5, 1 1.
Pail, Portable Insulating, 32.
Pails, 13.

312 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Paper Insulation, 5,11.

Lining for Cooker, 19.

Test for Oven, 225.
Pasteurized Milk, 198.
Pastry for Two Crusts, 238.
Peaches, Sweet Pickled, 174.
Pears, Baked, 242.

Sweet Pickled, 174.
Peas, 148.
Pea Soup, Green, 74, 212.

Split, 77, 212.
Peptonized, Beef Broth, 199.

Milk, 200.
Pettijohn's Breakfast Food, 56,

206.
Pickled Pig's Feet, 125.
Pickles, Sweet, 174.
Pie, Apple, 239.

Berry, 240.
Pie, Cherry or Plum, 240.

Chicken, 132.

Lemon, 241.

Meat, loi.

Pumpkin, 240.
Pigeons, Potted, 134.
Pilaf, Turkish, 149,218.
Plover, Roast, 233.
Plum Cake, 247,

Pie, 240.

Pudding, Rich, 158.
Plums, Sweet Pickled, 176.
Poisonous Metals, Experiment,

265.
Pork, 120.

and Beans, 149,218,234.

Diagram of Cuts, 121.

Fresh, with Sauerkraut, 123.

To Select, 122.

Uses of Cuts, 121.
Portable Insulating Pail, 32.
Potatoes, Baked, 234.

Boiled, 146.

Creamy, 147, 21 6.

Soup, 75, 211.

Stewed, 147,

StuflBng, 232.
Pot Roast, 94, 214.
Potted Fish, 233.

Pigeons, 134.

Poultry, 126.

Care of, 128.

Stuffing for, 131.

To Cut up, 129.

To Draw, 129.

To Truss, 130.
Practical Suggestions for Using the

Cooker, 25.
Preserved Citron and Ginger,
179.

Quinces, 179.
Proportions, Table of, 47.
Prunes, Sweet Pickled, 175.
Pudding, Chocolate Bread, 164.

Cranberry, Steamed, 159.

Ginger, 160.

Graham, 1 56.

Harvard, 161.

Indian, 162,219.

Pan, 13
Puddings, Queen, of 165.

Rice, 162, 219, 238.

Rich Plum, 158.

Steamed Apple or Berry, 156.

St. James, 160.

Suet, 157,219.

Swiss, 161.

Tapioca Fruit, 164.
Puddings, Steamed Breads and,

154-
Pumpkin, 152.

Pie, 240.
Purees, 58.

Quail, Roast, 233.
Quantity of Food Cooked, 26.
Queen of Puddings, 165.
Quinces, Baked, 242.

Canned, 178.

Preserved, 179.

Sweet Pickled, 176.

Radiation, Experiment, 260.
Ragout of Cold Mutton, 1 13.
Ready-made Cookers, 23.

To Select, 24.
Recipes for Large Quantities,

202.

For the Sick, 195.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX

3'i

Refrigerating Box, 36.

Efficiency, Experiment, 261.

Made with Bread Box, 39.
Crocks, 37.
Pail, 39.
Rice, No. 1, 148.

No. 2, 1 49, 206.

and Milk, 199.

Custard, Tapioca or, 163.

Pudding, 162, 219, 238.

Savoury, 149.
Rich Plum Pudding, 158.
Rhubarb, Stewed, 173.
Roast Beef, 229.

Chicken, 230.

Duck, Wild, 232.

Goose, 231.

Grouse, 232.

Mutton or Lamb, 229.

Plover, 233.

Quail, 233.

Veal, 230.

Venison, Leg of, 231.

Wild Duck, 232.
Rolled Oats, 54, 204.

Steak, Stuffed, 98.
Rolls, 244.

Salmon Loaf, 86.
Salt Fish Souffle, 86.
■ Salted Nuts, 188.
Samp, 150,205.
Sauce, Brown, 184, 214.
, Brandy, 186,

Caper, 184.

Drawn Butter, 184.

Egg, 184.

for Fish, 185.

for Vegetables, 183.

Fruit, 186.

Hard, 185.

HoUandaise, 185.

Nutmeg, 187.

Tomato, 185.

Vanilla, 187.

White, 183.
Savoury Rice, 149.
Sawdust, 5, 22, 37.
Sauerkraut, 123.

Scalloped Apple, 237.

Chicken and Mushrooms, 236.
Oysters, 235.
Tomatoes, 236.
Scrapple, 124

Sealing Wax for Bottles, 181.
Seasoning Materials, 49-5 1 .
Sick, Recipes for the, 195.
Shell, Italian Chestnuts, to, 189.
Shelled Beans, Fresh, 139.
Shells Cocoa, 192.
Shoulder of Pork, Boiled, 122.
Slate for Recording Time, 30.
Soft-Cooked Eggs, No. i, 190.

No. 2, 190.
Souffle, Salt Fish, 86.
Soup, Asparagus, 68, 209.
Baked Bean, 74, 212.
Bean, 72, 210.
BlackBean, 72, 211.
Cream of Celery, 68, 208.
Creole, 69, 208.
Garnishes, 78-80.
Green Pea, 74, 212.
Julienne, 70, 210.
Macaroni, 70, 209.
Making, 58.
Mock Turtle, No. i, 65.

No, 2, 66,208.
Ox-Tail, 70, 209.
Potato, 75, 211.
Split Pea, 77, 212.
Sticks, 80.
Stock, Brown, 57.

Brown, No. i, 60, 207.
No. 2,61.
To Clear, 59.
To Make, 58.
To Remove Fat from, 59.
White, 57.
No. 1,61.
No. 2, 62, 207.
Tomato, with Stock, 69, 210.

without Stock, 73, 211.
Vegetable, with Stock, 67, 209.

without Stock, 71, 210.
Cream, 57.
To Bind, 58.
Sour Cream Cake, 246.

314 THE FIRELESS COOK BOOK

Souse, 124.

Space Adjuster, 22.

Spaghetti, 144.

Spare Ribs, 230.

Spiced Apples, Baked, 242.

Spinach, 142.

Split-Pea Soup, 77, 212.

Sponge Cake, 247.

Squash, Hubbard, or Winter, 151.

Summer, 150.
Starch, Cooking Temperature, 6, 270.
Steak, Stuffed, Rolled, 98.
Steamed Breads and Puddings, 41,

154.

General Directions, 154.
Steamed Apple or Berry Pudding, 156

Cranberry Pudding, 159.

Cup Custard, 166.
Steel Cut Oatmeal, 50, 206.
Sterilize Jars or Cans, To, 189.
Stew, Beef a la Mode, 97, 215.

Beef, with Dumplings, 99.

Chestnut, 109.

Irish, 100,215.

Mutton, 109.

Okra, 111,216.

Oyster or Clam, 77.

Syrian (Yakhni), 1 10.
Stewed Apples in Syrup, 168, 220.

Blackberries, 170.

Celery, 142.

Chicken, 131.

Cranberries, 172.

Figs, 173.

Potatoes, 147.

Rhubarb, 173.

Tomatoes, 151.
St. James Pudding, 160.
String Beans, 140.
Stuffed Cabbage, Syrian, 1 1 1.

Heart, 104.

Rolled Steak, 98.
StuflSng for Poultry, 131,

Potato, 232.
Suet Pudding, 157, 219.
Suggestions for Using a Firdeti

Cooker, 25.
Summer Squash, 1 50.
Sweet Apples, Baked, 243.

Sweetbreads, 118.

Creamed, 1 18.
Sweet Pickles, 174.

Crabapples, 175.

Peaches, 174.

Pears, 174.

Plums, 176.

Prunes, 175.

Quinces, 176.

Watermelon Rind, or Citron,

Swiss Pudding, 161.
Syrian Stew (Yakhni), 1 10.
Syrian Stuffed Cabbage, 1 1 1.

Table of Cuts of Beef, 91.

Mutton and Lamb, 107.
Veal, 115.
flavourings for Sweet Dishes,

SO-
Materials for Home - made

Cooker, 25.
Seasonings, 50.

Seasons of Fresh Water Fish,
82.
Salt Water Fish, 83.
Proportions, 47.
Weights and Measures, 45.
Tapioca or Rice Custard, 163.
Temperatures of Cooking Starches,
6,270.

Proteids, 6, 272.
Cereal, 274.

Terrapin, Calf's Head a la, 119.
Time for Cooking in Cooker, 29, 41.

On Stove, 28.
Tin, Detection of, 265.
Thermos Bottle, 5, 260.
To Insulate an Oven, 222.
Tomatoes, Scalloped, 236.

Stewed, 151.
Tomato Sauce, 185.

Soup, with Stock, 69, iio.
Without Stock, 73, III.
Tongue, Corned, 105.

Fresh, 105.
To Tie Cover on Utensil, 33.
To Truss a Chicken, 130.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX

315

Turkish Pilaf, 149, 218.
Turnips, Creamed, 152.

Mashed, 153.
Turtle Soup, Mock, No. i, 65.

No. 2, 66, 208.

Using Insulated Oven, Method of,

224.
Utensils, Material for, 14.

Shape, 13.

Sire, 14, 40.

Vacuum Insulation, 5.
Vanilla Sauce, 187.
Veal, 114.

Age, 114.

Cooking of, 115.

Cutlets, Breaded, 116.
Plain, 116.

Diagram of Cuts, 1 15.

Kidney, 119.

Loaf, 117,217.

Roast, 2^0.

Season for, 1 14.

Veal, continued

Table of Cuts, 115.

Other Parts used, 115.
Vegetables, 136.

Directions for Cooking, 136.

Sauce for, 183.
Vegetable Soup with Stock, 67, 209.

without Stock, 71, 210.
Venison, Roast Leg of, 23 1 .

Water, Apple, 200.

Barley, 201.
Watermelon Rind Sweet Pickle, 175.
Wax for Sealing Bottles, 181.
Wheat, Cracked, 55, 205.

Cream of, 56, 206.
Wheatlet, 56, 206.
White Sauce, 183.

Stock, No. 1, 61.
No. 2, 62, 207.
Wild Duck, Roast, 232.
Winter Squash, 151.
Wool, 5, 11,21.

Mineral 5, 11,21.

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