Thermometers. — We wonder that no one has ever invented a good thermometer to be used when cooking, and in the kitchen. We know of none now. Mrs. M. H. Abel says she fastened a thermo- meter to a cork, having the bulb project below, and protecting it with a piece of wood; thus arranged, the cork would float on the water, and the temperature of any article boiling or stewing could be determined. She also used it to test the oven by hanging it on a wire frame. The present "method of guessing at the temperature when cooking is very unsatisfactory, and must give way before long to a more exact and scientific plan. HINTS — In cooking meat, it will be an assistance to remem- ber that freshly killed meat requires more time to cook than that 124 MEATS which has been kej)t; also that meat needs cooking rather longer in cold weather than in hot. To Make Tough Meat Tender — Soak it in vinegar and water; if the piece is very large, soak it about 12 hours; for 10 lbs. of beef, use about 3 quarts of water✪ To Make Tough Meat Tender and | pint of vinegar, and soak it for 6 or 7 hours. If the vinegar is not very strong, a very tough piece can be soaked 3 or 4 days in summer, and twice as long in wnnter to advan- tage, and spices may be added if liked. Or the meat can be brushed over with vinegar and let stand with that on ^ to one day. The tough fibre is cut and softened by the acid. Sour milk is used for the same purpose, by foreign cooks, the lactic acid of the milk acting the same as the acetic acid of the vinegar. The meat should be im- mersed in the sour milk, which should be changed every day, and thoroughly washed off before cooking the meat. Meat is also "hung" to make it tender. Stewing also makes many tough mea<vs tender; see the preceeding article on " Stewing." Washing Meat. — Meat purchased from a good butcher should not need washing before being cooked; all that Mali be necessary will be to dampen a cloth with cold water and wipe it off; or scrape it with a dull knife to remove splinters of bone, sand, etc. Washing meat will dissolve out the surface albumen and juices, and detract just that much from its value. If necessary to wash it, do not let it stay in water, but use cold water, throw it on quickly, and then wipe the meat dry. The Action of Salt on Meat.— This should be understood. Salt causes the fibers of meat to contract, and the juice to flow out of its pores, often forcing out in this way as much as \ of the juice of the meat, which is the reason of the fact, familiar to every house- wife, that dry salt in contact with fresh meat gradually becomes fluid brine. Now as the juice thus extracted contains albumen, and other valuable principles, it will be seen that meat which has been preserved with salt can never have the nutritive value of fresh meat, because the juices when once drawn out can never be restored. Do 7iot put salt on meat that is being cooked until it is nearly done; if added earlier it toughens the fibre.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Thermometers. — We wonder that no one has ever invented a good thermometer to be used when cooking, and in the kitchen. We know of none now. Mrs. M. H. Abel says she fastened a thermometer to a cork, having the bulb project below, and protecting it with a piece of wood; thus arranged, the cork would float on the water, and the temperature of any article boiling or stewing could be determined. She also used it to test the oven by hanging it on a wire frame. The present method of guessing at the temperature when cooking is very unsatisfactory, and must give way before long to a more exact and scientific plan. HINTS — In cooking meat, it will be an assistance to remember that freshly killed meat requires more time to cook than that which has been kept; also that meat needs cooking rather longer in cold weather than in hot. To Make Tough Meat Tender — Soak it in vinegar and water; if the piece is very large, soak it about 12 hours; for 10 lbs. of beef, use about 3 quarts of water and | pint of vinegar, and soak it for 6 or 7 hours. If the vinegar is not very strong, a very tough piece can be soaked 3 or 4 days in summer, and twice as long in wnnter to advantage, and spices may be added if liked. Or the meat can be brushed over with vinegar and let stand with that on ^ to one day. The tough fibre is cut and softened by the acid. Sour milk is used for the same purpose, by foreign cooks, the lactic acid of the milk acting the same as the acetic acid of the vinegar. The meat should be immersed in the sour milk, which should be changed every day, and thoroughly washed off before cooking the meat. Meat is also "hung" to make it tender. Stewing also makes many tough meats tender; see the preceding article on "Stewing." Washing Meat. — Meat purchased from a good butcher should not need washing before being cooked; all that Mali be necessary will be to dampen a cloth with cold water and wipe it off; or scrape it with a dull knife to remove splinters of bone, sand, etc. Washing meat will dissolve out the surface albumen and juices, and detract just that much from its value. If necessary to wash it, do not let it stay in water, but use cold water, throw it on quickly, and then wipe the meat dry. The Action of Salt on Meat.— This should be understood. Salt causes the fibers of meat to contract, and the juice to flow out of its pores, often forcing out in this way as much as \ of the juice of the meat, which is the reason of the fact, familiar to every housewife, that dry salt in contact with fresh meat gradually becomes fluid brine. Now as the juice thus extracted contains albumen, and other valuable principles, it will be seen that meat which has been preserved with salt can never have the nutritive value of fresh meat, because the juices when once drawn out can never be restored. Do 7iot put salt on meat that is being cooked until it is nearly done; if added earlier it toughens the fibre.

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To Make Tough Meat Tender

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