FoodNetArchive

The household gas cookery book

1900

Page 4

Presented as published in 1900. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Bring it quickly to boiling point. Boil very fast for two or three minutes, then reduce the gas so that the water is kept at simmering point — a temperature of about 180 degrees; boiling point is 212 degrees Fahrenheit. By this means the goodness of the joint cannot escape, and the fibres of the meat are kept tender. Reckon the time to be allowed from its first coming to the boil. Fifteen minutes to a pound of meat, except for those who prefer their food very thoroughly cooked, and then give twenty minutes for fresh meat, and rather more for salt. Fresh killed meat will require much longer than that which has been kept, and frozen meat must be thawed before cooking. Remove the meat from the saucepan as soon as it is done, or it will become sodden. Lamb, pork and veal are uneatable if not sufficiently boiled. I 10 THE HOUSEHOLD The stewpans used must be perfectly clean and dry on the outside, especially underneath, where the pan comes in contact with the flame. Keep the flame well under the stewpan or kettle. Any flame allowed to flicker beyond and up the sides not only wastes the gas, but causes an unpleasant smell. Stewpans or kettles should never be used indis¬ criminately over coal fires and gas burners. Separate utensils should be kept for the gas stove, as a deposit of soot on the bottom not only causes a smell, but also acts as a non-conductor between the heat of the flame and the water inside, and so wastes gas. FRYING. — Be particular in frying never to use oil, butter, lard, or dripping which is not quite clean, fresh, and free from salt. Salt prevents its browning. Dripping if not clean can be clarified, and can be used where economy is to be studied. To know when the fat is at the necessary temperature is the secret of successful frying. To fry fish, parsley, potatoes, or anything that is watery, the fat must be quite hot before placing your articles to be cooked into it; otherwise they will not become brown. The temperature for frying should be 350 degrees, but for whitebait it must be 400 degrees to fry success¬ fully. When the fat has reached a temperature of 350 degrees it will be quite still, and a faint blue fume will rise from the top. Fry at once or remove from the gas. Drain the fat from what you have fried by placing it upon sheets of white paper. Turn the gas jets full on to start with, and when the fat is fully hot, lower the jets considerably. GAS COOKERY BOOK. 1 l GRILLING. — The grills of different stoves vary somewhat in construction, but the method of grilling is very similar. Always light the gas and let the griller get red hot, and the gridiron underneath in the pan must be hot too. Grease the bars and place the steak on the gridiron. Be careful not to allow the flames to touch the meat. Give the steak a fierce heat for one minute to seal up the outside and form a casing to keep in the red juices, then lower the flame a little and let it cook gently for about five minutes ; then turn the steak, but in doing so be careful not to prick it; raise the gas to give the raw side of the meat a fierce heat for one minute, and then lower the flames to one half for the remaining five minutes. Chops will take about six minutes (the same method as above being observed), and cutlets five minutes.