Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/111

 t!ie whole time of cooking the joint. The lieat must be intense enough at first to harden quickly the albumen which lies all over the surface of the meat, otherwise the juices will escape, and the meat become dry and tasteless. But, at the same time, the heat must not be so great that it hardens the albumen all through the joint, as this would make it tough. So, after the first ten or fifteen minutes, reduce the heat so that the meat may not become tough and charred outside before it is cooked through. For a large joint the heat should be less after the outside is sealed than for small cuts, poultry, etc., for if these are too slowly cooked they will be dry. Though, properly speaking, roasting is done before an open fire, yet it can also be performed in a properly ventilated oven. The flavour of joints is, perhaps, superior when cooked before the fire, yet the second way is exceedingly convenient and very generally used. Meat loses slightly less in weight if cooked by this method. BAKINQ is a process of cooking by means of dry heat in a hot oven. The oven may be heated by coal, gas, or oil. The chief point is to keep the interior scrupulously clean, otherwise the fumes arising from burnt bits, grease, sugar, etc., will spoil the flavour of all food baked in it. Particularly will this be noticeable in the case of milk puddings. If using an oven attached to the kitchen range, it will be impossible to obtain good results unless the flues are kept perfectly clean and free from soot. FRYING This, the quickest of all cooking methods, is cooking food in smoking hot fat, or oil. Cheap pieces of meat with tough fibres should never be fried, the quick cooking only rendering them more tough and hard. Fat must reach a far higher degree of heat than boiling water before it is fit to fry food in, so it is incorrect to speak ot " boiling fat," " smoking fat " being more descriptive. For frying purposes the pan should be made of strong iron, for the intense heat melts the soldering of tin utensils, and enamel-lined pans soon chip. There are two methods of frying : 1. The shallow or English method. 2. The deep or French method. In SHALLOW FRYING Only a small amount of fat is used, enough to prevent the food from sticking to the pan, and an ordinary frying-pan is employed. Sausages, eggs, pan- cakes, chops, bacon, etc., are cooked this way. In DEEP FRYING a deep pan is used, con- taining enough fat to cover well the food to be fried. This method is used for rissoles, filleted fish, fish-cakes, etc. ; and the article to be fried is usually coated with batter, egg and crumb, or pastry. Of the two methods the second is the more 93 KITCHEN AND OOOKCRY economical, for though a large amount ot fat is required at the beginning, yet after u.se, when it has cooled slightly, it can be .strained through a piece of muslin, and can be u.sed over and over again for sweet or savoury articles, even fish. In the case of shallow frying only one or two ounces of fat will be used each time, and what little is left over is probably full of crumbs and bits, and so is thrown away. THE IMPORTANT POINT The success or otherwise of any fried food depends entirely on the temperature of the fat when the food is put into it. Bubbles on the surface of water denote that it is boiling, whereas if fat bubbles it shows there is moisture still in it. This must be evaporated by boiling before the fat can attain the right temperature. It will then be quite still, and a faint bluish smoke will rise from it before it is ready to use. Food that is very cold or moist will greatly lower the temperature of the fat, so let the fat reach the right temperature again before putting in more. As it is both bad for digestion and un- pleasant in appearance to have grease adhering to fried foods, they must be hfted out of the fat on to a piece of kitchen paper. This absorbs all grease, and the article will then be crisp and dry. There are, however, some exceptions to this rule — e.g., sausages, bacon, meat of all kinds which is not encased in batter or egg and crumbs, should not be so treated, as any gravy flowing from them must also be served. GRILLING This is also called broiling, and is taken from a French word meaning to burn. Both methods imply cooking small pieces of meat, fish, poultry, game, etc., over or before a clear fire. Like roasting, it is rather an extravagant method of cooking, as only the best cuts of meat, etc., can be successfully treated in this way. It is a quick way of cooking, and if pro- perly done the results are digestible and savoury. The meat, etc., must be exposed to great heat at once so as to harden the outside albumen and seal in the juices. The gridiron, or griller, must be well heated and greased before the article to be cooked is placed on it, and the food must be so placed that the thickest part of it will be opposite the centre of the fire, so that it may obtain the greatest heat. At the same time, should there be any fat, it must be placed at the top, so that as it melts it trickles down on the meat and thus bastes it. BRAI5INQ resembles stewing, inasmuch as the food is very slowly cooked in a small quantity of liquid in a closely covered pan. The food is placed on a bed of mixed vegetables in the pan, as they impart a specially rich flavour to the meat, while the hquid is slowly reduced to form a rich gravy.