Cookery for every household

Choose, therefore, a bag that is sold specially for this kind of cookery, such as the Soyer “ Kookera ” bag, which is the result of repeated experiments and trials to get the right kind of paper. It is made from materials which guarantee its purity, and is proved to be both tasteless and odourless. Method of Using. — Select a bag proportionate in size to the food to be cooked in it. It is extravagant to take one unnecessarily large, as they cost more money than those of a smaller size ; at the same time it must be large enough to allow of the opening being well secured. Grease the bag inside with good dripping, lard, or clarified butter (except when water is used) to prevent the food sticking to the paper. Less grease may be used for a fat joint of meat than for food that is wanting in this ingredient. Place the food when it is prepared in the greased bag, turn down the corners at the open end, then fold over the open edges two or three times, and secure them with small paper clips, or with a special clip sold for the purpose. It is essential that the bag be hermetically sealed as far as possible, in order that the food may cook in its own steam and none of the flavour be lost. For this reason pins should not be used to fasten the edges together, as they make holes. If by any chance a bag should become injured and begin to leak, it should be simply slipped inside a second bag without taking the trouble to remove the food. Kind of Oven. — Any kind of oven may be used, provided the necessary heat is secured. A gas or electric one is perhaps best, as the heat can be so easily regulated. The oven must be clean, and should be made thoroughly hot before the food is put into it. If the temperature is gauged by a thermometer, 200° Fahr. is a very good heat to begin with, but this should be reduced to 180° or 170° when the cooking has fairly started. Experience, however, will very soon teach the necessary heat, and this will vary somewhat with the kind of cooking required. In most cases the bags should become well browned, but if there is any smell of burning the heat must be reduced. Grid Shelves. — Another very important point to bear in mind is that the bag with its contents must never be placed on a solid shelf in the oven. A grid shelf or a special grill must be used, as it is absolutely necessary for the hot air to circulate round the food. If the bag were laid on a solid shelf, it would burn underneath and most likely burst, and the cooking would be a failure. If a gas oven is being used, care must be taken not to place the bag too near the gas jets. To Know when Food is Ready. — As a general rule it may be taken that food cooked in a paper bag requires a rather shorter time than when cooked by other methods. There are also means of judging whether it is ready or not, i.e. by touching the bag with the finger, and feeling if the food is tender ; by testing it with a trussing needle or fine skewer, or by making a small hole in the bag, which in some cases will do no harm. It is also well to remember that there is not much danger of overcooking, and that food may often be left in the oven a little longer than the stated time without any harm resulting.