Part 99 (1/2)

1025. Cooking Instruments.

1026. The Gridiron.

The gridiron, though the simplest of cooking instruments, is by no means to be despised. In common with all cooking utensils the Gridiron should be kept scrupulously clean; and when it is used, the bars should be allowed to get warm before the meat is placed upon it, otherwise the parts crossed by the bars will be insufficiently dressed. The fire should be sharp, clear, and free from smoke. The heat soon forms a film upon the surface of the meat, by which the juices are retained. Chops and steaks should not be too thick nor too thin. From a half to three-quarters of an inch is the proper thickness. Avoid thrusting the fork into the meat, by which you release the juice. There is a description of gridiron in which the bars are grooved to catch the juice of the meat, but a much better invention is the upright gridiron, which is attached to the front of the grate, and has a pan at the bottom to catch the gravy. Kidneys, rashers, &c., dressed in this manner will he found delicious.

1027. The Frying-pan

The frying-pan is a noisy and a greasy servant, requiring much watchfulness. Like the Gridiron, the Frying-pan requires a clear but not a large fire, and the pan should be allowed to get thoroughly hot, and be well covered with fat, before meat is put into it. The excellence of frying very much depends upon the sweetness of the oil, b.u.t.ter, lard, or fat that may be employed. The Frying-pan is very useful in the warming of cold vegetables and other kinds of food, and in this respect may be considered a real friend of economy. All know the relish afforded by a pancake, to say nothing of eggs and bacon, and various kinds of fish, to which both the Saucepan and the Gridiron are quite unsuited, because they require that which is the essence of frying, _boiling and browning in fat_.

1028. The Spit.

The spit is a very ancient and very useful implement of c.o.c.kery.

Perhaps the process of roasting stands only second in the rank of excellence in cookery. The process is perfectly sound in its chemical effects upon the food, while the joint is kept so immediately under the eye of the cook, that it must be the fault of that functionary if it does not go to the table in the highest state of perfection. The process of roasting should be commenced very slowly, the meat being kept a good distance from the fire, and gradually brought forward, until it is thoroughly soaked within and browned without. The Spit has this advantage over the Oven, and especially over the common oven, that the meat retains its own flavour, not having to encounter the evaporation from fifty different dishes, and that the steam from its own substance pa.s.ses entirely away, leaving the essence of the meat in its primest condition.

[VIRTUE IS THE FAIREST OF ALL.]

1029. The Meat Hook.

The meat hook has in the present day superseded the use of the Spit in middle cla.s.s families. It is thrust into the meat, and the joint thereby suspended before the fire. For roasting in this manner the lintel of the mantel-piece is furnished with a bra.s.s or iron arm, turning on pivots in a plate fastened to the lintel, and notched along its upper edge. From this arm, which is turned back against the lintel when not in use, the meat is hung and turned by means of a bottle-jack or a skein of worsted, knotted in three or four places, which answers the purpose equally well, and may be replaced by a new one when required, at a merely nominal cost. Meat roasted in this manner should be turned occasionally, the hook being inserted first at one end and then at the other.

1030. The Dutch Oven.

The Dutch oven is of great utility for small dishes of various kinds, which the Spit would spoil by the magnitude of its operations, or the Oven destroy by the severity of its heat. It combines, in fact, the advantages of roasting and baking, and may be adopted for compound dishes, and for warming cold sc.r.a.ps: it is easily heated, and causes no material expenditure of fuel.

1031. The Saucepan.

When we come to speak of the Saucepan, we have to consider the claims of a very large, ancient, and useful family. There are large saucepans, dignified with the name of Boilers, and small saucepans, which come under the denomination of Stewpans. There are few kinds of meat or fish which the Saucepan will not receive, and dispose of in a satisfactory manner; and few vegetables for which it is not adapted.

When rightly used, it is a very economical servant, allowing nothing to be lost; that which escapes from the meat while in its charge forms broth, or may be made the basis of soups. Fat rises upon the surface of the water, and may be skimmed off; while in various stews it combines, in an eminent degree, what we may term the _fragrance_ of cookery, and the _piquancy_ of taste. The French are perfect masters of the use of the Stewpan. And we shall find that, as all cookery is but an aid to digestion, the operations of the Stewpan resemble the action of the stomach very closely. The stomach is a close sac, in which solids and fluids are mixed together, macerated in the gastric juice, and dissolved by the aid of heat and motion, occasioned by the continual contractions and relaxations of the coats of the stomach during the action of digestion. This is more closely resembled by the process of stewing than by any other of our culinary methods.

1032. Various Processes of Cooking.

1033. Utility of the Kitchen.

”In the hands of an expert cook,” says Majendie, ”alimentary substances are made almost entirely to change their nature, their form, consistence, odour, savour, colour, chemical composition, &c.; everything is so modified, that it is often impossible for the most exquisite sense of taste to recognise the substance which makes up the basis of certain dishes. The greatest utility of the kitchen consists in making the food agreeable to the senses, and rendering it easy of digestion.”

1034. Theory of Cooking.

To some extent the claims of either process of cooking depend upon the taste of the individual. Some persons may esteem the peculiar flavour of fried meats, while others will prefer broils or stews. It is important, however, to understand the _theory_ of each method of cooking, so that whichever may be adopted, may be done well. Bad cooking, though by a good method, is far inferior to good cooking by a bad method.