Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 281, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 November 1911 — GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR PAPER BAG COOKING. [ARTICLE]

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR PAPER BAG COOKING.

7 Chef of Brooks* Club, Loudon.

I do not claim for the paper bag system pf cookeigr that it can cook everything. It is evident that tea must still be made in the teapot Generally speaking, we may waive our claim to having mastered the difficulty with respect to soups, although I have made beef tea with excellent results. The following is a list of articles that may in the meantime be avoided: Soup (except beef tea), omelette scrambled eggs, jam (except in small quantities), Scotch kale, beans, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, artichoke, macaroi or kindred Italian pastes. The success of the system depends entirely upon how it is carried out. Some people have imagined that all that I urge people to a general use of the bag in place of the ordinary saucepan, without any attention to the conditions that are essential to good cooking. Good cooking requires time, care, attention to detail, taste and a temperature suited to tibte' particular dish being cooked. While the paper bag system is labor and time saving, as well as affording more nutratfvc and appetizing effects than the. present,, it does not abrogate any of the rules that apply to efficient work at the kitchen table. A stew must be made up of the ingredients that constitute a stew and proportioned to the nunfber for whpm it is required. The same conditions apply to this system. Let me, therefore, go over as minutel>-as I can:

' / The Bag. Specially prepared bags should be used. Without them the method cannot be practiced with assurance of success. The bag should be made of materials that guarantee its purity. It should be odorless and its purity a guarantee that nothing'injurious can possibly be imparted from ii to the food cooked in the bag. •. • ' ■ , Before using the bags: 1. Select one that “'fits” the food intended to be cooked. 7 2. Grease slightly the inside of the bag, except in the case of vegetables br when watar is added. For beginners it is advisable. Butter, lard or drippings may be used. 7 . ’ 3. When the food has been prepared for the bag place the-same on the table and lift the uppermost edge of the bag while you insert the contents. 4. Fold the inouth of the bag two or three times and fasten with a clip; strong wire paper clips obtainable at any stationer’s answers the purpose. It is desirable to fold the corners of the bag so as to secure as near as possible a hermatlcal closing. It may occasionally happen that a bag may leak, in which event it is not necessary that the food should be emptied and transferred to another bag. Simply put the bag within another. The Oven. Practically any oven will do. Paper bag cookery is as wfell suited to a gas stove as it Ik to a coal oven, an electricity cooker or oil stove, always provided the necessary heat is se::ixt x the size Of the article. >7' .77 SO* oven should be kept clean of course. Although under the new cook- ® unnecessary to ever have the sides of the interior covered with grease and fat, dust is always about ,o be ab “ ,u,eiy n ~ _ ontact with the outer World nf mipmhoa tha Avar* ffill/llllsl Ixa nrz-kll I « ■ telltS Into ft gAg OVen the gRa Rhnnld ULV t*. oven uie gas snouid t”"!* “f, ’ he “ !“* * "“I ****** **bo vwtt luio vuguL vo do reQUceci in eignt fitjautes after to Id 0 degrees. To find out the rorrert rteoTAA n th mometer -r —4— ta***^' ° thp flnlAr nniiiullwi I placed la th* wTen wTlf at whether it i. too hot or not. r In the case of coal heated iUtml

wtith solid shelves a wire broiler should be used. This should be placed on the “shelf with the bag containing the food. It is necessary to emphasize the fact that, except in the case of pies, no dish should be used. people have failed to obtain the right results, and when inquiries have been made it has been found that the food had been placed In a dish and the dish |n the bag and the bag on the broiler. ■>■. / Y^“jF : Another important detail is the distance that the bag should be from the gas jet in the case of a gas stove. Generally it should be about an inch above the flame. Order of Articles In the Oven. As a general rule the order should be as follows: Roasts and entrees on the lower shelf, fish in the middle and pastry, etc., on the top, where the heat is most intense. ; f

Cooked.

If the time table is adhered to the bag may be taken out of the oven in confidence that the food is well cooked. But if from any cause the heat declines it is a very easy matter to find out whether the food is properly cooked. Except in the case of vegetables a little hole can be made in the bag by which the food can be seen and judged as to whether it is cooked or not This will not militate against the cooking of the food in the slightest In many articles.. however, a slight touch of the bag will indicate to an ordlnar cook whether the bag is ready to be served. A prick with a needle is another method that may be adopted. But a peculiarly favorable feature of paper bag cookery is that if the food is left five or ten minutes in the bag in the oven longer than the specified time on my. table, the food will not be spoiled. There is little chance of over-cooking. Dangers to he Avoided. Cooking generally has its dangers, like other occupations. It is the beauty of this system that the dangers are reduced to a minimum. One does not require every now and then to open the oven door “to see how the roast is getting oh,” The oven is doing its work because the whole force of the heat is playing upon the bag and insuring every part of the food being properly penetrated. Nevertheless, care should be exercised when opening the oven. A draft from an open door or window may cause a gas flame to iguite a bag. When such an accident occurs, the bag should be Immediately taken out and placed inside another bag and left a few minutes longer to rectify any loss that the food may have sustained in meantime. Care again should be exercised in taking the bag out of the oven.A plate should be placed gently under the bag about-a couple of Inches and thb bag drawn completely over the plate with the fingers. The bag should be ripped open from the top and the fragmenes thrown at once away.

HANGING GROVE.

2. ' •.« George W. Bond was in Francesville Wednesday. • r Mrs, John Jordan visited her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Stewart, Wednesday. *" X Brook Snedeker and family are entertaining relatives from Coshocton, Ohio, this week. Miss Lottie Robinson came out from Rensselaer Saturday evening for 1; < vislt~bver Sunday with Dora Phillips. Mr. and? Mrs. J. M. Johnson and Mr. and Mrs. George Johnson ate birthddy dinner at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Johnson's parents, near Monon, Sunday. ■Elmer Ross remains in a very critical condition, having developed pneumonia along with the typhoid. The litUe lad is fighting bravely for ihs life and may have strength enough to pull through. Mrs. Brook Stewart Was seized with a severe attack of heart trouble early Monday morning and has been unable to leave her room since. Mrs. Stewart is subject to a weak heart and has had several attacks before but usually of shorter duration. ? >4 ?* A letter from Ed Peregrine and family, of Mitchell, S. Dak., says that they will have at least 3,000 bushels of corn in spite of the bad season. They are now gathering corn estimated at 35 to 40 bushels per acre. Their friends herd will be pleased to hear this good news,

There were several barrels of dressed poultry shipped from McCoysburg Wednesday morning for the Thanksgiving market Orville Hitchings shipped a barrel of dressed geese Friday and Monday received a check in payment for a barrel of rabbits. The error will no doubt be straightened satisfactorily, but it was quite a joke on Mr. Hitchings.

“Uncle” John Tillett, of Gillam, was 86 years old Wednesday, Nov. 22, and was able to spend the day with his daughter, Mrs. Stephen Freeman, al Pleasant Grove, it also being her births day. Mr. Tillett has been In quite feeble health for some time. He makes his home principally with his daughter, Mrs. Albert Parker, although when feeling well enough he spends a little time with each of his children. About thirty friends and relatives gathered at the home of Simon Cook Saturday evening, Nov. 18, to help him celebrate his 50th birthday. His good wife and child gave him a gold watch and bls neighbors gave him a gold chain. Oysters, caks and pie were served and the evening spent with a social good time. Those present were: John Jordan, R. Drake and families, "n c rc’ Randle, Orlan'do Mannan and families and Miss Louis Strantz.