Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/90

62 inches. A complete set of 7 strong, well-made tin stewpans, 1 glazepot and 1 soup-pot, in a bain-marie pan of wrought steel, may be obtained for £2. Or, the same number of utensils in wrought steel, fitted in a bain-marie pan, 16 x $12 1/2$ inches, would cost £3 13s.; and in the best quality of copper £6. Larger sizes may be bought at a corresponding increase in price.

Warren's Cooking Pot is a vessel in three divisions, in which meat and vegetables may be cooked at the same time, but in separate compartments. The peculiarity of the process consists in cooking without the viands coming in contact with water or steam; the meat, kept from water entirely, is cooked in an inner cylinder, the outer one containing the water, being kept at boiling point. The food thus prepared is cooked in its own vapour, and none of its nutritious properties are wasted. These utensils are also convenient where cooking space is limited, and economical when cooking by gas, because one ring of burners would serve instead of two or three. The price of the round saucepan is from 7s. 9d. to 20s., and the smaller size in the oval cooking pot costs 21s.

The Bottle-jack.—The action of this familiar piece of kitchen furniture, so called from its resemblance to an ordinary glass bottle, is so well known that very little explanation is needed. When the joint is hooked on, the jack requires winding up, an operation which must be repeated once or twice during the time the meat is cooking. A bottle-jack complete, capable of carrying a joint of 20 lbs., may be had for 6s. 9d. This bottle-jack is large enough for ordinary family use; but larger sizes, to carry from 25 to 70 lbs. may be had from 8s. 6d. to 20s. In cases of necessity it may be dispensed with, and a suspender formed of a skein of worsted, knotted here and there throughout its length, used instead.

Meat Screen.—When the meat is roasting a meat-screen should be placed in front of the fire, to concentrate and reflect the radiated heat as much as possible. It is made of tin, 3 feet in width, and costs 12s. 9d. to 15s. 3d. Round screens known as bottle-jack screens, having bands at the top, from which the bottle-jack is suspended, and a dripping-pan in the bottom, are sold in three sizes, varying in price, according to stoutness of make, as follows: No. 1, from 12s. 6d. to 26s.; No. 2, from 15s. 9d. to 25s.; and No. 3, from 19s. 6d. to 30s.

The Dripping-pan.—This is a receptacle for the droppings of fat and gravy from the roast meat. In some cases it forms an integral part of the meat screen, but when it is separate from it, it is supported on an iron stand. The pan is arranged with a well in the centre, covered with a lid, and round this well is a series of small holes, which allow the dripping to pass into the well free from cinders or ashes. When the meat is basted, the lid of the well is lifted up. The basting-ladle used to apply the dripping to the meat is half covered over at the top with a piece of metal perforated with small holes, so that