FIRELESS COOKERY Until one has become initiated into the secret of fireless cookery, it is hard to understand how food can be prepared by such a method. When one has mastered the science of cook ing without fire, the whole process becomes very simple. It is requi site that, first of all, the dish which is being cooked should be brought to the boiling point and allowed to stand on the fire long enough for the heat to penetrate to the very heart of the food. It is then lifted, with the cover set on so tightly that no heat can es cape, into the cooker, which is closed securely until several hours after wards, when the food is brought to the table. During these hours the cooking is going on at a temperature of about 170°, the point required for slow cooking. For certain dishes, such as soups, stews, and the boiling of a tough piece of meat or fowl, there is no better way to render them palatable and nourishing.
Of all the cookers that have been put on the market, the wisest choice is the United States Fireless Cooker. The utensil is a heavy fiber pail con taining two saucepans with tight lids, which can be set on top of each other. The cover is put on securely, then the cooker is left to do its work until it is time for the food to be ready. When a large piece of meat, such as a ham, corn beef, or a heavy fowl is to be cooked, it is brought to the boil in a large, deep pail which takes the place of the two smaller ones. In this cooker there are no cushions to retain odors or dampness; it can be kept perfectly clean by washing and airing each time it is used, and it is practically indestructible.
Some of the advantages of fireless cookery are these: During hot weather there is emancipation from an overheated kitchen. Food can be brought to the boil over a gas stove, the flame turned out, then the prep aration of the meal can go on without any further attention. This means a saving of at least eighty per cent in fuel.
The perfect preparation of cheap cuts of meat, which could not be done over a hot stove.
There is no odor whatever while the food is being prepared. This al lows the cooking of cabbage, onions, cauliflower, ham, corn beef, sauer kraut, and various other foods, which are apt to fill a house with most un pleasant smells.
It is almost impossible to overcook any food which has been properly prepared and then placed in the cooker; even if the time allotted for a certain dish has passed, it will be benefited instead of spoiled.
The washing of heavy, greasy, scorched pots and pans is no longer a necessity. There can be no burn ing of anything in the cooker.
The housewife who masters the se crets of fireless cookery can plan her meals exactly to the minute.
Breakfast can be prepared the night before, and found in the morn ing deliciously cooked and hot. This is especially true of such coarse grained cereals as oatmeal, cornmeal, and cracked wheat, which demand hours of steaming over a hot stove to become fit for human food. Also there is a saving in the amount of cereal used, as it swells to its largest capacity.
The fireless cooker is a boon for the man or woman who requires d. hot meal during the night; by close cal culation a dish can be put in and be ready at any moment required.
The cooker is as useful for keep ing frozen food chilled as for pre serving heat in a hot dish. Instead of taking the labor to repack ice cream, put a can containing the fro zen mixture into the cooker, pour around it some of the crushed ice and salt, fill up the space with cold brine, set on the cover, and the cream will remain in perfect condition for several hours.
Even when one has a small family which cannot use the quantity con tained in one of the saucepans which fit into the cooker, equally good re sults may be obtained by preparing the dish in a granite pan, bringing it to the proper amount of heat, pour ing water about it and allowing the water to boil. Set the cover on, put the utensil in the cooker, fit in the lid, and give the dish the time re quired.