Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 February 1917 — TRY THIS COOKER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

TRY THIS COOKER

DIRECTIONS FOR PREPARATION OF KITCHEN UTENSIL. . •■■ ' I With a Small Expenditure of Money and Time This Most Useful Appliance Is at the Command of Any Housewife, A fireless pooker capable of giving satisfactory service can be made in the home at slight expense, if directions prepared by the office of home economics of the department of agri-' Culture are followed. The outstrip nf the -eooker may lie_ a tightly built wooden box, an old trunk, a small barrel, a large butter or lard firkin or tin, or a large galvauizedIron bucket with elose-flftlng cover. In general, a well-built, convenientlysized box is perhaps most satisfactory, though the cookers entirely encased in metal have the advantage of being fire 1 proof. If a box is to be used, its size will depend on the size of the cooking ket- - tie to be used in it and on whether there are to be one or two compartments. It must be large enough to allow for at least four inches of packing material all around the “nest” in which the cooking kettle is to be placed. For the sake of cleanliness and convenience the nest should be lined with metal and should be a trifle larger than the cooking utensil. If an extra source of heat, such as a hot brick or plate, Is to be used, a metallic lining for the nest is imperative. For this purpose a galvumized-iron or other metal buckets may be used or, better still, a tinsmith can make a lining of galvanized iron or zinc which can be provided with a rim to cover the pack*ing material. In case no hot stone or plate is to be used in the cooker, the linipg can be made of strong cardboard. For the packing and-insulating material a variety of substances may be used. Asbestos and mineral wool are good and have the additional advantage that they do not burn. Ground cork (such a*s is used in packing Malaga grapes), hay, excelsior, Spanish moss, wool, and crumpled- paper may also be used satisfactorily. Of

Longitudinal section through fireless cooker, showing details of the construction; A, Outside container (wooden box, old trunk, etc.). B, Packing or insulating material (crumpled paper, cinders, etc.). C, Metal lining in nest. D, Cooking kettle. E, Soapstone plate, or other source of heat. F, Pad of excelsior for covering top. G, Hinged cover of outside coritalner.

the inexpensive materials that can be obtained easily, crumpled paper is probably the most satisfactory, since it is clean and odorless and, improperly packed, will hold the heat better than some of the others. To pack the container with paper, crush single sheets of newspaper between the’ hands. Pack a layer at least four inches deep over the bottom of the outside container, tramping it in or pounding it in with a heavy stick of wood. Stand the container for the cooking vessel, or the lining for the nest, in the center of this layer and pack more crushed papers about it as solidly as possible. If other packing, such as excelsior, hay, or cork dust, is used, it should be packed In a similar way. Where an extra source of heat is to be used, it Is much safer to pack the tireless cooker with some noninflarmnable material, such as asbestos or mineral wool. A cheap and easily . obtained substitute is , the small cinders sifted from coal ashes, preferably those from soft coal, which may be obtained at the boiler house .of any mill. The cinders from hard coal burned in the kitchen range will do, however. Kxperi/nents With this material, made by home-economies specialists of the department showed that It is very nearly as satisfactory as . crumpled paper as a packing material. If a fireproof packing material is not used a heavy pud of asbestos paper should be put at the bottom of the metal nest and a sheet or two of asbestos paper should be placed between the lining of the nest-imd' the packing material. -Whatever packing material is used, it should come to the top’ of the container for the kettle, and the box should lack about four Inches of being full. A cushion or pad must be provided to fill completely the space between the top of the packing and the cover of the box after the hot kettles are put in place. This should be made of some heavy goods, such as denim, and stuffed with cotton, crumpled paper, or excelsior. Hay may be used, but will be found more or less odorous.