Sufficient Crisco should be put into the pan to fill it
about two-thirds full. From two to three pounds for a pan
eight inches in diameter will not be too much. Into this pan
or kettle a wire “frying-basket”’ should fit quite loosely, the
basket measuring quite an inch less across the top than the
pan.
Let Crisco get hot gradually in the pan. Do not put
into an already hot container. No fat should be treated in
this manner.
Do Not Wait for Crisco to omoke
Heat Crisco until a crumb of bread becomes a golden
brown in
60 seconds for raw dough mixtures, as crullers, fritters,
etc.
40 seconds for cooked mixtures, as croquettes, codfish
balls, etc.
20 seconds for French fried potatoes.
Seconds may be counted thus: one hundred and one,
one hundred and two, etc.
The fat may be tested also by dropping into it a little
piece of the article to be cooked. When it rises to the top,
bubbles vigorously and browns quickly, the fat is hot enough,
When prepared, the foods must be placed in the basket,
not too many at a time or too close together, and then lowered
Bs)
Methods of Cooking
gently into the fat. They generally will sink to the bottom
for a minute or two, and only float when they have begun to
brown. When a bright golden brown, take up the basket and
let the fried things drain in it, over the hot fat, for a few
seconds. Then take them out gently one by one, and lay
them on a sheet of brown or kitchen paper.
The draining over the pan is one of the principal things to
attend to; if this be neglected, the fat will cling about the
fried things, making them both look and taste greasy, whereas
if properly drained in the basket to begin with, they will
afterwards scarcely mark the paper. When, as 1s sometimes
the case, no frying basket is used, each thing fried should be
drained between a spoon and the edge of the pan.
To Clarify
It is economy to use three pounds in the kettle, clarify-
ing the fat when it is put away. ‘To clarify Crisco, take that
which has been used for deep frying and when it has cooled,
but not solidified, strain through a double thickness of cheese
cloth, replace kettle on stove, drop several slices of potato
into the Crisco and reheat. When the potatoes are golden
brown, take out and pour the Crisco back into the tin. With
this little care, fish, oysters, onions, chops, fritters, dough-
nuts, etc., may be fried over and over again in the same Crisco.
The dry or saute method of frying is less satisfactory,
in that it is difficult even after much practice to produce a
uniformly colored surface. A small quantity of fat only is
needed, and where the fat, 1. e., the heat, ends, a crack is
formed in the outer coat, through which flavor escapes and
fat enters; the appearance also is rendered unsightly. Flat
fish canbe fried fairly well by this method, or, indeed, almost
any thin substance, as thin edges are not affected in this way.
For pancakes and other articles of similar nature it is the best
method. It rarely is possible to use the fat from the dry
method a second time, except for dishes of the same kind, as
the fat always is more or less flavored by the food cooked in it.
The most digestible fat for frying and the best for results
undoubtedly is Crisco.
Steaming
Steaming is a process very similar to boiling, for it 1s
cooking in the heated vapor of water. This practice as a
36
Ly
Methods of Cooking
Page 17
Presented as published in 1913. 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
Sufficient Crisco should be put into the pan to fill it about two-thirds full. From two to three pounds for a pan eight inches in diameter will not be too much. Into this pan or kettle a wire “frying-basket”’ should fit quite loosely, the basket measuring quite an inch less across the top than the pan.
Let Crisco get hot gradually in the pan. Do not put into an already hot container. No fat should be treated in this manner.
Do Not Wait for Crisco to omoke
Heat Crisco until a crumb of bread becomes a golden brown in
60 seconds for raw dough mixtures, as crullers, fritters, etc.
40 seconds for cooked mixtures, as croquettes, codfish balls, etc.
20 seconds for French fried potatoes.
Seconds may be counted thus: one hundred and one, one hundred and two, etc.
The fat may be tested also by dropping into it a little piece of the article to be cooked. When it rises to the top, bubbles vigorously and browns quickly, the fat is hot enough,
When prepared, the foods must be placed in the basket, not too many at a time or too close together, and then lowered
Bs)
Methods of Cooking
gently into the fat. They generally will sink to the bottom for a minute or two, and only float when they have begun to brown. When a bright golden brown, take up the basket and let the fried things drain in it, over the hot fat, for a few seconds. Then take them out gently one by one, and lay them on a sheet of brown or kitchen paper.
The draining over the pan is one of the principal things to attend to; if this be neglected, the fat will cling about the fried things, making them both look and taste greasy, whereas if properly drained in the basket to begin with, they will afterwards scarcely mark the paper. When, as 1s sometimes the case, no frying basket is used, each thing fried should be drained between a spoon and the edge of the pan.
To Clarify
It is economy to use three pounds in the kettle, clarifying the fat when it is put away. ‘To clarify Crisco, take that which has been used for deep frying and when it has cooled, but not solidified, strain through a double thickness of cheese cloth, replace kettle on stove, drop several slices of potato into the Crisco and reheat. When the potatoes are golden brown, take out and pour the Crisco back into the tin. With this little care, fish, oysters, onions, chops, fritters, doughnuts, etc., may be fried over and over again in the same Crisco.
The dry or saute method of frying is less satisfactory, in that it is difficult even after much practice to produce a uniformly colored surface. A small quantity of fat only is needed, and where the fat, 1. e., the heat, ends, a crack is formed in the outer coat, through which flavor escapes and fat enters; the appearance also is rendered unsightly. Flat fish canbe fried fairly well by this method, or, indeed, almost any thin substance, as thin edges are not affected in this way. For pancakes and other articles of similar nature it is the best method. It rarely is possible to use the fat from the dry method a second time, except for dishes of the same kind, as the fat always is more or less flavored by the food cooked in it. The most digestible fat for frying and the best for results undoubtedly is Crisco.
Steaming
Steaming is a process very similar to boiling, for it 1s cooking in the heated vapor of water. This practice as a
Methods of Cooking