Watch the fire,
and push the coal down as the wood burns away, and
add enough more coal to keep it even with the top of the
fire bricks. When the blue flame becomes white, close the
oven damper ; and when the coal is burning freely, but not
red, shut the direct draught. It seems impossible for some
persons to understand that a coal fire is at its height as
soon as well kindled, and needs only air enough to keep it
burning. When it becomes bright red all through, it has
parted with most of its heat, and begins to die out. Tons
The Boston Cook Book.
7
of coal are wasted in many kitchens, and ranges are need-
lessl}^ burned out, by filling the fire-box till the coal touches
the covers, and leaving the draughts open till the coal is
red.
Nearly all stoves and portable ranges have the oven at
one side of and a little below the fire. In brick-set ranges
the ovens are sometimes over the fire. A stove has a door
on each side of the oven, with the fire-box in front. A
portable range has only one oven-door, and the fire-box at
the end. In ranges where the oven is over the fire, the
articles to be baked are placed on a grate near the middle,
as the bottom of the oven is usually very hot. In stoves
or portable ranges anj'thing which has to rise in the oven,
like bread, pastry, cake, etc., is placed on the bottom of
the oven, and, if the heat be too great, a small rack or
grate ma}- be placed under it. Large pieces of meat are
placed on a rack in a pan ; while small cuts of meat, birds,
etc., which are to be baked quickly, and any dishes which
are to be merely browned, like scalloped dishes, must be
placed on the grate near the top. Cultivate the habit of
opening and shutting the oven-door quickly but gently.
Learn the hottest and coolest places in the oven. Look at
things as the}^ are baking, and turn and watch till you are
sure they can be left alone. If anything bake unevenly or
too fast, put a screen between it and the heat, — a pan on
the grate above or underneath, or a frame of stiff paper
made larger than the pan, that it may not touch the dough.
When the regulating dampers are closed and the oven is
still too hot, lift a cover on the top partly off, although in
a stove in which the parts are perfectly adjusted this will
never be necessary. When the oven is not hot enough,
open the direct draught, and rake out the ashes from the
grate. Keep the grate cleaned out and the fire burning
freely, when a very hot oven is needed. At other times
keep the draughts shut and do not waste the coal.
To keep a brisk fire for several hours or all day, it is
better to add a sprinkHng of coal often, rather than to let
it burn nearly out, and then, by adding a larger quantity,
8
The Boston Cook Booh,
check the fire and retard the work. In using the top of
tlie stove remember the hottest place is over the fire and
toward the middle, not on the front of the stove. When
3^ou have once watched the flame in its passage over the
top, down the back, and under the oven, then across, out
and up on the opposite side and out into the chimney, you
will understand where the greatest heat must be.
Boiling.
Page 7
Presented as published in 1884. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Watch the fire, and push the coal down as the wood burns away, and add enough more coal to keep it even with the top of the fire bricks. When the blue flame becomes white, close the oven damper ; and when the coal is burning freely, but not red, shut the direct draught. It seems impossible for some persons to understand that a coal fire is at its height as soon as well kindled, and needs only air enough to keep it burning. When it becomes bright red all through, it has parted with most of its heat, and begins to die out. Tons
The Boston Cook Book.
of coal are wasted in many kitchens, and ranges are needlessly burned out, by filling the fire-box till the coal touches the covers, and leaving the draughts open till the coal is red.
Nearly all stoves and portable ranges have the oven at one side of and a little below the fire. In brick-set ranges the ovens are sometimes over the fire. A stove has a door on each side of the oven, with the fire-box in front. A portable range has only one oven-door, and the fire-box at the end. In ranges where the oven is over the fire, the articles to be baked are placed on a grate near the middle, as the bottom of the oven is usually very hot. In stoves or portable ranges anything which has to rise in the oven, like bread, pastry, cake, etc., is placed on the bottom of the oven, and, if the heat be too great, a small rack or grate may be placed under it. Large pieces of meat are placed on a rack in a pan ; while small cuts of meat, birds, etc., which are to be baked quickly, and any dishes which are to be merely browned, like scalloped dishes, must be placed on the grate near the top. Cultivate the habit of opening and shutting the oven-door quickly but gently. Learn the hottest and coolest places in the oven. Look at things as they are baking, and turn and watch till you are sure they can be left alone. If anything bake unevenly or too fast, put a screen between it and the heat, — a pan on the grate above or underneath, or a frame of stiff paper made larger than the pan, that it may not touch the dough. When the regulating dampers are closed and the oven is still too hot, lift a cover on the top partly off, although in a stove in which the parts are perfectly adjusted this will never be necessary. When the oven is not hot enough, open the direct draught, and rake out the ashes from the grate. Keep the grate cleaned out and the fire burning freely, when a very hot oven is needed. At other times keep the draughts shut and do not waste the coal.
To keep a brisk fire for several hours or all day, it is better to add a sprinkling of coal often, rather than to let it burn nearly out, and then, by adding a larger quantity,
The Boston Cook Booh,
check the fire and retard the work. In using the top of the stove remember the hottest place is over the fire and toward the middle, not on the front of the stove. When you have once watched the flame in its passage over the top, down the back, and under the oven, then across, out and up on the opposite side and out into the chimney, you will understand where the greatest heat must be.
Boiling.