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VOLUME ONE
ESSENTIALS OF COOKING
CEREALS
BREAD
HOT BREADS
PREFACE
The Complete Library of COOKING consists of five volumes that cover the
various phases of the subject of cooking as it is carried on in the
home. These books are arranged so that related subjects are grouped
together. Examination questions pertaining to the subject matter appear
at the end of each section. These questions will prove helpful in a
mastery of the subjects to which they relate. At the back of each
volume is a complete index, which will assist materially in making
quick reference to the subjects contained in it.
This volume, which is the first of the set, deals with the essentials of
cooking, cereals, bread, and hot breads. In Essentials of Cooking,
Parts 1 and 2, are thoroughly treated the selection, buying, and care of
food, as well as other matters that will lead to familiarity with terms
used in COOKING and to efficiency in the preparation of food. In
Cereals are discussed the production, composition, selection, and care
and the cooking and serving of cereals of all kinds. In Bread and Hot
Breads are described all the ingredients required for bread, rolls, and
hot breads of every kind, the processes and recipes to be followed in
making and baking them, the procedure in serving them, and the way in
which to care for such foods.
It is our hope that these volumes will help the you to acquire the
knowledge needed to prepare daily meals that will contain the proper
sustenance for each member of your family, teach you how to buy your
food judiciously and prepare and serve it economically and
appetizingly, and also instill in you such a love for COOKING that you
will become enthusiastic about mastering and dignifying this art.
CONTENTS
ESSENTIALS OF COOKING
The Problem of Food
Selection of Food
Food Substances
Food Value
Digestion and Absorption of Food
Preparation of Food
Methods of Cooking
Heat for Cooking
Utensils for Cooking
Preparing Foods for Cooking
Order of Work
Table for Cooking Foods
Care of Food
Menus and Recipes
Terms Used in COOKING
CEREALS
Production, Composition, and Selection
Cereals as a Food
Preparation of Cereals for the Table
Indian Corn, or Maize
Wheat
Rice
Oats
Barley
Rye, Buckwheat, and Millet
Prepared, or Ready-to-Eat, Cereals
Serving Cereals
Italian Pastes
Breakfast Menu
BREAD
Importance of Bread as Food
Ingredients for Bread Making
Utensils for Bread Making
Bread-Making Processes
Making the Dough
Care of the Rising Dough
Kneading the Dough
Shaping the Dough Into Loaves
Baking the Bread
Scoring Bread
Use of the Bread Mixer
Serving Bread
Bread Recipes
Recipes for Rolls, Buns, and Biscuits
Toast
Left-Over Bread
HOT BREADS
Hot Breads in the Diet
Principal Requirements for Hot Breads
Leavening Agents
Hot-Bread Utensils and Their Use
Preparing the Hot-Bread Mixture
Baking the Hot-Bread Mixture
Serving Hot Breads
Popover Recipes
Griddle-Cake Recipes
Waffle Recipes
Muffin Recipes
Corn-Cake Recipes
Biscuit Recipes
Miscellaneous Hot-Bread Recipes
Utilizing Left-Over Hot Breads
Luncheon Menu
INDEX
ESSENTIALS OF COOKING (PART 1)
The fact that people constantly desire something new and different in
the way of food offers the housewife a chance to develop her ingenuity
along this line. Then, too, each season brings with it special foods for
enjoyment and nourishment, and there is constant satisfaction in
providing the family with some surprise in the form of a dish to which
they are unaccustomed, or an old one prepared in a new or a better way.
But the pleasure need not be one-sided, for the adding of some new touch
to each meal will give as much delight to the one who prepares the food
as to those who partake of it. When COOKING is thought of in this way,
it is really a creative art and has for its object something more than
the making of a single dish or the planning of a single meal.
7. From what has been pointed out, it will readily be seen that a
correct knowledge of COOKING and all that it implies is of extreme
importance to those who must prepare food for others; indeed, it is for
just such persons--the housewife who must solve COOKING problems from
day to day, as well as girls and women who must prepare themselves to
perform the duties with which they will be confronted when they take up
the management of a household and its affairs--that these lessons in
COOKING are intended.
* * * * *
SELECTION OF FOOD
9. Each one of the phases of COOKING has its importance, but if success
is to be achieved in this art, careful attention must be given to the
selection of what is to be cooked, so as to determine its value and
suitability. To insure the best selection, therefore, the housewife
should decide whether the food material she purchases will fit the needs
of the persons who are to eat it; whether the amount of labor involved
in the preparation will be too great in proportion to the results
obtained; whether the loss in preparation, that is, the proportion of
refuse to edible matter, will be sufficient to affect the cost
materially; what the approximate loss in cooking will be; whether the
food will serve to the best advantage after it is cooked; and, finally,
whether or not all who are to eat it will like it. The market price also
is a factor that cannot be disregarded, for, as has been explained, it
is important to keep within the limits of the amount that may be spent
and at the same time provide the right kind of nourishment for each
member of the family.
10. In order to select food material that will meet the requirements
just set forth, three important matters must be considered; namely, the
substances of which it is composed; its measure of energy-producing
material, or what is called its food, or fuel, value; and its
digestion and absorption. Until these are understood, the actual
cost of any article of food cannot be properly determined, although its
price at all times may be known.
FOOD SUBSTANCES
12. Water.--Of the various constituents that are found in the human
body, water occurs in the largest quantity. As a food substance, it is
an extremely important feature of a person's diet. Its chief purpose is
to replenish the liquids of the body and to assist in the digestion of
food. Although nature provides considerable amounts of water in most
foods, large quantities must be taken in the diet as a beverage. In
fact, it is the need of the body for water that has led to the
development of numerous beverages. Besides being necessary in building
up the body and keeping it in a healthy condition, water has a special
function to perform in cooking, as is explained later. Although this
food substance is extremely essential to life, it is seldom considered
in the selection of food, because, as has just been mentioned, nearly
all foods contain water.
13. Mineral Matter.--Ranking next to water in the quantity contained in
the human body is mineral matter. This constituent, which is also called
ash or mineral salts, forms the main part of the body's framework,
or skeleton. In the building and maintaining of the body, mineral salts
serve three purposes--to give rigidity and permanence to the skeleton,
to form an essential element of active tissue, and to provide the
required alkalinity or acidity for the digestive juices and other
secretions.
FOOD VALUE
22. Nearly all foods are complex substances, and they differ from one
another in what is known as their value, which is measured by the work
the food does in the body either as a tissue builder or as a producer of
energy. However, in considering food value, the person who prepares food
must not lose sight of the fact that the individual appetite must be
appealed to by a sufficient variety of appetizing foods. There would be
neither economy nor advantage in serving food that does not please those
who are to eat it.
While all foods supply the body with energy, they differ very much in
the quantity they yield. If certain ones were chosen solely for that
purpose, it would be necessary for any ordinary person to consume a
larger quantity of them than could be eaten at any one time. For
instance, green vegetables furnish the body with a certain amount of
energy, but they cannot be eaten to the exclusion of other things,
because no person could eat in a day a sufficient amount of them to give
the body all the energy it would need for that day's work. On the other
hand, certain foods produce principally building material, and if they
were taken for the purpose of yielding only energy, they would be much
too expensive. Meats, for example, build up the body, but a person's
diet would cost too much if meat alone were depended on to provide the
body with all the energy it requires. Many foods, too, contain mineral
salts, which, as has been pointed out, are needed for building tissue
and keeping the body in a healthy condition.
PREPARATION OF FOOD
25. The term COOKING, as has been explained, means the preparation of
both hot and cold dishes for use as food, as well as the selection of
the materials or substances that are to be cooked. The importance of
cooking foods by subjecting them to the action of heat has been
recognized for ages; and while it is true that there are many foods that
appeal to the appetite in their raw state and still others that can be
eaten either raw or cooked, there are several reasons why it is
desirable to cook food, as will be seen from the following:
2. Cooking renders foods more digestible. For instance, the hard grains,
such as wheat, and the dried vegetables, such as beans, cannot be
readily digested unless they are softened by cooking. But while cooking
makes such foods more digestible, it renders others more difficult of
digestion, as in the case of eggs, the degree of digestibility depending
somewhat on the cooking method used and the skill of the cook. An egg in
an almost liquid form, or when only slightly cooked, as a soft-boiled
egg, is more easily digested than when it becomes hardened by cooking.
Then, too, a properly prepared hard-cooked egg is more digestible than
an improperly cooked one, although the degree of hardness may be
the same.
3. Cooking gives foods greater variety. The same food may be cooked by
various methods and be given very different tastes and appearances; on
the other hand, it may be combined with a large number of other foods,
so as to increase the variety of the dishes in which it is used. The
large number of recipes found in cook books show the attempts that have
been made to obtain variety in cooked dishes by the combining of
different foods.
METHODS OF COOKING
COOKING PROCESSES
26. Food is cooked by the application of heat, which may be either moist
or dry. While it is true that the art of cooking includes the
preparation of material that is served or eaten raw, cooking itself is
impossible without heat; indeed, the part of cooking that requires the
most skill and experience is that in which heat is involved. Explicit
directions for carrying on the various cooking processes depend on the
kind of stove, the cooking utensils, and even the atmospheric
conditions. In truth, the results of some processes depend so much on
the state of the atmosphere that they are not successful on a day on
which it is damp and heavy; also, as is well known, the stove acts
perfectly on some days, whereas on other days it seems to have a
stubborn will of its own. Besides the difficulties mentioned, the heat
itself sometimes presents obstacles in the cooking of foods, to regulate
it in such a way as to keep it uniform being often a hard matter. Thus,
a dish may be spoiled by subjecting it to heat that is too intense, by
cooking it too long, or by not cooking it rapidly enough. All these
points must be learned, and the best way to master them is to put into
constant practice the principles that are involved in COOKING.
28. Cooking with dry heat includes broiling, pan broiling, roasting, and
baking; but, whichever of these processes is used, the principle is
practically the same. In these processes the food is cooked by being
exposed to the source of heat or by being placed in a closed oven and
subjected to heated air. When dry heat is applied, the food to be cooked
is heated to a much greater temperature than when moist heat is used.
33. The methods of cooking with moist heat, that is, through the medium
of water, are boiling, simmering, steaming, dry steaming, and braizing.
In every one of these processes, the effect of moist heat on food is
entirely different from that of dry heat. However, the method to be
selected depends to a great extent on the amount of water that the food
contains. To some foods much water must be added in the cooking process;
to others, only a little or none at all. If food is not placed directly
in large or small quantities of water, it is cooked by contact with
steam or in a utensil that is heated by being placed in another
containing boiling water, as, for example, a double boiler.
43. Of the three mediums of conveying heat to food, namely, hot air, hot
water, and hot fat, that of hot fat renders food the least digestible.
Much of this difficulty, however, can be overcome if an effort is made
to secure as little absorption of the fat as possible. If the
ingredients of the food are properly mixed before applying the fat and
if the fat is at the right temperature, good results can be obtained by
the various methods of cooking with hot fat, which are frying, sauteing,
and fricasseeing.
45. SAUTEING.--Browning food first on one side and then on the other in
a small quantity of fat is termed sauteing. In this cooking process, the
fat is placed in a shallow pan, and when it is sufficiently hot, the
food is put into it. Foods that are to be sauted are usually sliced thin
or cut into small pieces, and they are turned frequently during the
process of cooking. All foods prepared in this way are difficult to
digest, because they become more or less hard and soaked with fat. Chops
and thin cuts of meat, which are intended to be pan-broiled, are really
sauted if they are allowed to cook in the fat that fries out of them.
46. FRICASSEEING.--A combination of sauteing and stewing results in the
cooking process known as fricasseeing. This process is used in preparing
such foods as chicken, veal, or game, but it is more frequently employed
for cooking fowl, which, in COOKING, is the term used to distinguish the
old of domestic fowls from chickens or pullets. In fricasseeing, the
meat to be cooked is cut into pieces and sauted either before or after
stewing; then it is served with a white or a brown sauce. Ordinarily,
the meat should be browned first, unless it is very tough, in order to
retain the juices and improve the flavor. However, very old fowl or
tough meat should be stewed first and then browned.
GENERAL DISCUSSION
48. Probably the first fuel to be used in the production of heat for
cooking was wood, but later such fuels as peat, coal, charcoal, coke,
and kerosene came into use. Of these fuels, coal, gas, and kerosene are
used to the greatest extent in the United States. Wood, of course, is
used considerably for kindling fires, and it serves as fuel in
localities where it is abundant or less difficult to procure than other
fuels. However, it is fast becoming too scarce and too expensive to
burn. If it must be burned for cooking purposes, those who use it should
remember that dry, hard wood gives off heat at a more even rate than
soft wood, which is usually selected for kindling. Electricity is coming
into favor for supplying heat for cooking, but only when it can be sold
as cheaply as gas will its use in the home become general.
49. The selection of a stove to be used for cooking depends on the fuel
that is to be used, and the fuel, in turn, depends on the locality in
which a person lives. However, as the fuel that is the most convenient
and easily obtained is usually the cheapest, it is the one to be
selected, for the cost of the cooked dish may be greatly increased by
the use of fuel that is too expensive. In cooking, every fuel should be
made to do its maximum amount of work, because waste of fuel also adds
materially to the cost of cooking and, besides, it often causes great
inconvenience. For example, cooking on a red-hot stove with a fire that,
instead of being held in the oven and the lids, overheats the kitchen
and burns out the stove not only wastes fuel and material, but also
taxes the temper of the person who is doing the work. From what has just
been said, it will readily be seen that a knowledge of fuels and
apparatus for producing heat will assist materially in the economical
production of food, provided, of course, it is applied to the best
advantage.
50. VARIETIES OF COAL.--Possibly the most common fuel used for cooking
is coal. This fuel comes in two varieties, namely, anthracite, or
hard coal, and bituminous, or soft coal. Their relative cost
depends on the locality, the kind of stove, and an intelligent use of
both stove and fuel. Hard coal costs much more in some places than soft
coal, but it burns more slowly and evenly and gives off very little
smoke. Soft coal heats more rapidly than hard coal, but it produces
considerable smoke and makes a fire that does not last so long. Unless a
stove is especially constructed for soft coal, it should not be used for
this purpose, because the burning of soft coal will wear it out in a
short time. The best plan is to use each variety of coal in a stove
especially constructed for it, but if a housewife finds that she must at
times do otherwise, she should realize that a different method of
management and care of the stove is demanded.
51. SIZES OF COAL.--As the effect of coal on the stove must be taken
into consideration in the buying of fuel, so the different sizes of hard
coal must be known before the right kind can be selected. The sizes
known as stove and egg coal, which range from about 1-3/8 to 2-3/4
inches in diameter, are intended for a furnace and should not be used in
the kitchen stove for cooking purposes. Some persons who know how to
use the size of coal known as pea, which is about 1/2 to 3/4 inch in
diameter, like that kind, whereas others prefer the size called
chestnut, which is about 3/4 inch to 1-3/8 inches in diameter. In
reality, a mixture of these two, if properly used, makes the best and
most easily regulated kitchen coal fire.
52. QUALITY OF COAL.--In addition to knowing the names, prices, and uses
of the different kinds of coal, the housewife should be able to
distinguish poor coal from good coal. In fact, proper care should be
exercised in all purchasing, for the person who understands the quality
of the thing to be purchased will be more likely to get full value for
the money paid than the one who does not. About coal, it should be
understood that good hard coal has a glossy black color and a bright
surface, whereas poor coal contains slaty pieces. The quality of coal
can also be determined from the ash that remains after it is burned.
Large chunks or great quantities of ash indicate a poor quality of coal,
and fine, powdery ash a good quality. Of course, even if the coal is of
the right kind, poor results are often brought about by the bad
management of a fire, whether in a furnace or a stove. Large
manufacturing companies, whose business depends considerably on the
proper kind of fuel, buy coal by the heat units--that is, according to
the quantity of heat it will give off--and at some future time this plan
may have to be followed in the private home, unless some other fuel is
provided in the meantime.
Mixed with poor coal are certain unburnable materials that melt and
stick together as it burns and form what are known as clinkers.
Clinkers are very troublesome because they often adhere to the stove
grate or the lining of the firebox. They generally form during the
burning of an extremely hot fire, but the usual temperature of a kitchen
fire does not produce clinkers unless the coal is of a very poor
quality. Mixing oyster shells with coal of this kind often helps to
prevent their formation.
54. VALUE OF GAS AS FUEL.--As a fuel for cooking purposes, gas, both
artificial and natural, is very effective, and in localities where
the piping of gas into homes is possible it is used extensively. Of the
two kinds, artificial gas produces the least heat; also, it is the most
expensive, usually costing two or three times as much as natural gas.
Both are very cheap, however, considering their convenience as a kitchen
fuel. Heat from gas is obtained by merely turning it on and igniting it,
as with a lighted match. Its consumption can be stopped at once by
closing off the supply, or it can be regulated as desired and in this
way made to give the exact amount of heat required for the method of
COOKING adopted. Neither smoke nor soot is produced in burning gas if
the burners of the gas stove are adjusted to admit the right amount of
air, and no ashes nor refuse remain to be disposed of after gas has been
burned. Because gas is so easily handled, good results can be obtained
by those who have had very little experience in using it, and with study
and practice results become uniform and gas proves to be an
economical fuel.
57. To compute the quantity of gas used, the dials are read from left to
right and the three readings are added. Then, in order to determine the
quantity burned since the previous reading, the amount registered at
that time, which is always stated on the gas bill, must be subtracted
from the new reading.
58. PREPAYMENT METERS.--In many places, gas concerns install what are
called prepayment meters; that is, meters in which the money is
deposited before the gas is burned. Such meters register the
consumption of the gas in the same way as the meters just mentioned, but
they contain a receptacle for money. A coin, generally a quarter, is
dropped into a slot leading to this receptacle, and the amount of gas
sold for this sum is then permitted to pass through as it is needed.
When this amount of gas has been burned, another coin must be inserted
in the meter before more gas will be liberated.
KEROSENE
ELECTRICITY
60. The use of electricity for supplying heat for cooking is very
popular in some homes, especially those which are properly wired,
because of its convenience and cleanliness and the fact that the heat it
produces can be applied direct. The first electrical cooking apparatus
was introduced at the time of the World's Fair in Chicago, in 1892, and
since that time rapid advancement has been made in the production of
suitable apparatus for cooking electrically. Electricity would
undoubtedly be in more general use today if it were possible to store it
in the same way as artificial gas, but as yet no such method has been
devised and its cost is therefore greater. Electricity is generated in
large power plants, and as it is consumed in the home for lighting and
cooking it passes through a meter, which indicates the quantity used in
much the same manner as a gas meter. It will be well, therefore, to
understand the way in which an electric meter is read, so that the bills
for electricity can be checked.
To read the meter, begin at the right-hand dial and continue to the left
until all the dials are read and set the numbers down just as they are
read; that is, from right to left. In case the indicator does not point
directly to a number, but is somewhere between two numbers, read the
number that it is leaving. For example, in Fig. 2, the indicator in the
right-hand dial points to figure 4; therefore, this number should be put
down first. In the second dial, the hand lies between and 1, and as it
is leaving 0, this number should be read and placed to the left of the
first one read, which gives 04. The hand on the third dial points
exactly to 6; so 6 should be read for this dial and placed directly
before the numbers read for the first and second dials, thus, 604. On
the fourth and last dial, the indicator is between 4 and 5; therefore 4,
which is the number it is leaving should be read and used as the first
figure in the entire reading, which is 4,604.
PRINCIPLE OF STOVES
62. Before stoves for cooking came into use in the home, food was cooked
in open fireplaces. Even when wood was the only fuel known, a stove for
burning it, called the Franklin stove, was invented by Benjamin
Franklin, but not until coal came into use as fuel were iron stoves
made. For a long time stoves were used mainly for heating purposes, as
many housewives preferred to cook at the open fireplace. However, this
method of cooking has practically disappeared and a stove of some kind
is in use for cooking in every home.
63. For each fuel in common use there are many specially constructed
stoves, each having some advantageous feature; yet all stoves
constructed for the same fuel are practically the same in principle. In
order that fuel will burn and produce heat, it must have air, because
fuel, whether it is wood, coal, or gas, is composed largely of carbon
and air largely of oxygen, and it is the rapid union of these two
chemical elements that produces heat. Therefore, in order that each
stove may work properly, some way in which to furnish air for the fire
in the firebox must be provided. For this reason, every stove for
cooking contains passageways for air and is connected with a chimney,
which contains a flue, or passage, that leads to the outer air. When the
air in a stove becomes heated, it rises, and as it ascends cold air
rushes through the passageways of the stove to take its place. It is the
flue, however, that permits of the necessary draft and carries off
unburned gases. At times it is necessary to regulate the amount of air
that enters, and in order that this may be done each stove is provided
with dampers. These devices are located in the air passages and they
are so designed as to close off the air or allow the desired amount to
enter. By means of these dampers it is possible also to force the heat
around the stove oven, against the top of the stove, or up the chimney
flue. A knowledge of the ways in which to manipulate these dampers is
absolutely necessary if correct results are to be obtained from a stove.
The flue, however, should receive due consideration. If a stove is to
give its best service, the flue, in addition to being well constructed,
should be free from obstructions and kept in good condition. Indeed, the
stove is often blamed for doing unsatisfactory work when the fault is
really with the flue.
70. Some gas stoves are provided with a pilot, which is a tiny flame
of gas that is controlled by a button on the gas pipe to which the
stop-cocks are attached. The pilot is kept lighted, and when it is
desired to light a burner, pressing the button causes the flame to shoot
near enough to each burner to ignite the gas. However, whether the
burners are lighted in this way or by applying a lighted match, they
should never be lighted until heat is required; likewise, in order to
save gas, they should be turned off as soon as the cooking is completed.
To produce the best results, the flame given off by gas should be blue.
A flame that is yellow and a burner that makes a noise when lighted,
indicate that the gas flame has caught in the pipe, and to remedy this
the gas must be turned out and relighted. When the gas flame coming from
a new burner is yellow, it may be taken for granted that not enough air
is being admitted to make the proper mixture. To permit of the proper
mixture, each gas pipe extending from the stop-cock and terminating in
the burner is provided with what is called a mixer. This device, as
shown in Fig. 6, consists of several slots that may be opened or closed
by turning part a, thus making it a simple matter to admit the right
amount of air to produce the desired blue flame. If burners that have
been in use for some time give off a yellow flame, it is probable that
the trouble is caused by a deposit of soot or burned material. Such
burners should be removed, boiled in a solution of washing soda or lye
until the holes in the top are thoroughly cleaned, and then replaced and
adjusted. As long as the flame remains yellow, the gas is not giving off
as much heat as it should produce and is liable to smoke cooking
utensils black. Therefore, to get the best results the burners should be
thoroughly cleaned every now and then in the manner mentioned. Likewise,
the pan beneath the burners, which may be removed, should be cleaned
very frequently, and the entire stove should be wiped each time it is
used, for the better such a stove is taken care of, the better will it
continue to do its work.
71. FIRELESS-COOKING GAS STOVES.--A style of gas stove that meets with
favor in many homes is the so-called fireless-cooking gas stove. Such a
stove has the combined advantages of a fireless cooker, which is
explained later, and a gas stove, for it permits of quick cooking with
direct heat, as well as slow cooking with heat that is retained in an
insulated chamber, that is, one that is sufficiently covered to prevent
heat from escaping. In construction, this type of stove is similar to
any other gas stove, except that its oven is insulated and it is
provided with one or more compartments for fireless cooking. Each of
these compartments is so arranged that it may be moved up and down on
an upright rod, near the base of which, resting on a solid plate, is a
gas burner , over which the insulated hood of the compartment fits.
When it is desired to cook food in one of these compartments, the hood
is raised, and the gas burner is lighted. The food in the cooker is
allowed to cook over the lighted burner until sufficient heat has been
retained or the process has been carried sufficiently far to permit the
cooking to continue without fire. Then the insulated hood is lowered
until the compartment is in the proper position It is not necessary to
turn off the gas, as this is done automatically when the hood is
lowered.
74. ELECTRIC STOVES. Electric stoves for cooking have been perfected to
such an extent that they are a great convenience, and in places where
the cost of electricity does not greatly exceed that of gas they are
used considerably. In appearance, electric stoves are very similar to
gas stoves. The oven a is located at one side and contains a
broiler pan . On top of this stove are openings for cooking, into
which fit lids that have the appearance of ordinary stove lids, but
are in reality electrical heating units, called hotplates. Heat for
cooking is supplied by a current of electricity that passes through the
hotplates, as well as through similar devices in the oven, the stove
being connected to the supply of electricity at the connection-box. The
heat of the different hotplates and the oven is controlled by several
switches e at the front of the stove. Each of these switches provides
three degrees of heat--high, medium, and low--and just the amount of
heat required for cooking can be supplied by turning the switch to the
right point. Below the switches are several fuse plugs that contain the
fuses, which are devices used in electrical apparatus to avoid injury
to it in case the current of electricity becomes too great.
EXAMINATION QUESTIONS
(1) Give in its full sense the meaning of the term COOKING.
(2) How may the housewife control the cost of her foods?
(3) (a) Explain the difference between waste and refuse. (b) To what is
leakage in the household due?
(4) What three important matters enter into the problem of purchasing
food?
(5) (a) Name the five substances that are found in food, (b) Of what
value is a knowledge of these food substances?
(6) (a) What is the function of protein in the body? (b) Mention the
principal sources of protein, (c) Explain the effect of heat on foods
that contain protein.
(7) (a) With what do carbohydrates supply the body? (b) Mention the two
forms of carbohydrates and also some of the foods in which each may
be found.
(11) Describe one method of cooking with: (a) dry heat; (b) moist heat;
(c) hot fat.
(12) (a) At what temperature does water boil? (b) How is hard water
affected by boiling? (c) Explain the uses of water in cooking.
(13) (a) What generally controls the kind of stove to be used for
cooking? (b) Explain how it is possible to keep down the cost of cooking
in using fuel.
(14) Mention the best way in which to become familiar with the operation
of a stove.
(15) (a) Of what value is gas as a fuel? (b) What kind of gas flame is
best for cooking?
(16) Suppose that a gas meter registers 72,500 cubic feet on March 1,
and that on April 1 the hand of the left dial is between 7 and 8, that
of the middle dial is between 5 and 6, and that of the right dial is at
5. At 90 cents a 1,000 cubic feet, what is the cost of the gas consumed?
PREPARATION OF FOOD--(Continued)
IMPORTANCE OF UTENSILS
7. TIN.--The cheapest metal from which cooking utensils are made is tin,
but it is not generally used for utensils in which food is to be cooked,
because it melts at too low a temperature. Tin is used, however, for
such small articles as measures, cutters, apple corers, sieves,
strainers, and other things of this kind, and it is especially
desirable for them.
8. COPPER.--Before iron was known copper was the principal material for
cooking utensils. The chief point in favor of copper is its durability,
but utensils made of it are not practical for use in the ordinary
kitchen because they are expensive, heavy, and very difficult to
keep clean.
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