Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 153, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 June 1911 — HINTS FOR THE COOK [ARTICLE]

HINTS FOR THE COOK

RIGHT AND WRONG WAYB OF PR»PARINQ MEAT. f -Simmering" and “Boning" Are DlffWw ’ ent Things—Steaming Excellent for Cooking Large. Joints— Braising Pan UsefuL The -ordinary housewife rarely understands the meaning of the words “simmer." Water boil* atj sea level at 212 degrees Fahrenheit;; at high altitudes it boils at lower temperature. We find by experience that meat becomes tender more quickly at simmering point—a temperature of 180 degrees—than when it la boiled at 214 degrees. Simmering is when the hubbies form on the bottom of the vessel, safely pads through the water and rupture at the top, says the Christian Science Monitor. This is not the boiling motion. To have a piece of boiled meat rare, juicy and tasty the outside must be thoroughly sealed, the same as in baking. -To do this* pat the meat into boiling water, bring quickly to the boiling point, boil for 20 minutes, then push the -kettle back) where the meat will simmer 15 min-, utes to each pound. If the meat Ml to be served rare 12 minutes will belong enough; -on the other hand, iff it is to be well done, cook it 20 minutes to the pound. Even when well done it should be juicy, tender and palatable. Boiled meats are more easily digested than baked meats, even when baked meats are carefully cooked. Broiled meats are preferable to thossf cooked in a dry pan, and dry-panned! meats are far superior to, those triad;’ in fact, fried meats have no place at a well-regulated table. Steaming la an admirable method at> cooking tough meats, or large joints like a leg of mutton or a ham. This . may be done in a common boiler, using sufficient water to create a good volume of steam. Place -the meat in the boiler, on a rack, above the water* As the water evaporates replace It with boiling water. Do not check the boiling or you reduce the heat and 1 soften the surface of the meat Braising is a cross between baking and boiling. This method is largely used for tough meats. A braising pan is a baking pan with a tight-fitting cover. These pans are sold under the astonishing name of “roasting pans;” roasting means to cook before a firs;: you cannot roast In a covered pim. These pans are, notwithstanding their illogical name; admirable utensils in which to cook fricandeau of veal, beef a la mode; leg of mutton, braised beef, or an . old-turkey or fOpL Place the meat in the pan and • partly fill-the pan with boiling stock or water; add, if you like, a sliced onion, a hay leaf and h Mttle chopped celery. Cover the pan, stand in & very hot oven and bake for three or four hours, /according to the size and the kind of meat A leg of mutton will require two; beef a la mode four, and fricandeau of veal three .hours. Veal, to be at all edible, must be very well cooked.