Mrs. De Graf's cook book

Front matter

MRS. De GRAF'S GO OK BOOK

MRS. BELLE DeGRAF

Class T X ^ 15

Chapter One Measurements

CULINARY TERMS AND METHODS

COOKING PROCESSES

EVERYDAY MISTAKES IN COOKING

HEAT REGULATION AND TEMPERATURES

MENU BUILDING

FOOD VALUE OF FAT

Measurements

I HE first essentials for uniform results in cookery are knowledge of the proper methods to use and accuracy of measurements. All cook books and tested recipes call for measuring cups and level measurements, and flour is sifted once before measuring. This will insure uniform results, providing the oven heat and the methods used are correct. Most failures in cooking can be traced to careless measuring, not following the recipe accurately, or lack of proper heat regulation.

Experience in teaching housewives the fundamentals of cookery have brought out the information that comparatively few women provide themselves with standard half pint measuring cups. All tested recipes call for a cup of this type. For flour mixtures the ordinary household cup is not satisfactory, as it seldom holds a half pint. The baking powder, salt, etc., will be out of proportion to the other ingredients if a standard measuring cup is not used. It may not mean failure, but it will mean indifferent results. Careless measuring of salt will render a dish most unpleasant, if not entirely useless. Too much baking powder will cause a cake to be dry and coarse in texture. My own experience as a teacher has shown me that the average housewife does not measure ingredients carefully, and to be accurate in measurements is one of the first steps to success. Divided recipes often fail because not carefully divided.

A standard measuring cup holds just one-half pint of liquid or half a pound of butter or sugar, or one-fourth pound of flour. A level cup of any material is all the cup will hold. Fats should be packed solid or weighed. The cups are marked to indicate halves, fourths, and thirds. Kitchen equipment should include at least two of these cups.

Measuring spoons come in sets containing tablespoons, half tablespoon, teaspoon, half and quarter teaspoons. The standard tablespoon or teaspoon may be used, but be sure measurements are level.

Culinary Terms and Methods

The term mixing is a general one, and may mean stirring, beating, kneading, or folding and cutting, according to the dish under preparation and the quality and texture of the materials to be used. Stirring is the most general method used. Liquids are stirred while cooking; thin batters, such as pancakes, are mixed by stirring with a spoon. Cereals, jams, sauces, etc., are all mixed by stirring.

Beating is the method used to lighten eggs, mix cakes, whip cream, etc. Beating may be done with a rotary egg beater, fork, egg whip or perforated wooden spoon. If using an egg whip, fork, or wooden spoon, the mixture is beaten to inclose a quantity of air. When using a rotary egg beater the ingredients are well mixed and light, but not nearly so much air is beaten into the mixture as when using the egg whip.

Folding and cutting are usually applied to the manner in which eggs are added to cake, muffin, or waffle batters, souffles or puffy omelets. Sponge cakes made without baking powder depend upon the air beaten into the egg whites for lightness and texture, the air beaten into the eggs expanding with the heat of the oven.

This rule also applies to souffles, prune whip, and puffy omelets. But unless extreme lightness is desired, eggs do not need to be beaten separately for muffin or waffle batters. By folding and cutting, eggs are added carefully to the mixture, the batter being turned over the beaten eggs until all have been folded in. If the eggs are stirred or beaten into the mixture, the result will not be as spongy and light. When the white of eggs and cream are beaten light and then added to a mixture, they must be carefully folded into the ingredients; otherwise it is useless to beat them light; stirring or beating them into the mixture will undo all the previous beating. This method seems to be one of the least understood. H. Kneading is applied to the manner in which stiff doughs are handled. This term usually refers to yeast mixtures. After the ingredients have been mixed, the dough is turned out on the molding board and kneaded. This is accomphshed by slightly flouring the board and hands, then one half the dough is folded over the other half, pressing down with the ball of the hand.

The dough is turned constantly, and in this manner a new portion of dough is brought uppermost to fold over each time. This process is continued until the dough is smooth and elastic. Baking powder or soda raised doughs should be kneaded very lightly, if at all; otherwise they will not be light.

Rolling is quite different from all other processes, and is used in making pies, biscuits, cookies, doughnuts, rolls, tarts, etc. Pastry should be rolled and handled quickly, and should always be rolled in one direction, and the rolling done as lightly as possible.

Eggs and crumbs are used for croquettes, fish and other foods cooked in deep fat. The food to be fried is first dipped in fine bread or cracker crumbs, then in eggs, and in the crumbs a second time. The egg should be slightly beaten and one tablespoon of cold water added; or the egg white slightly beaten may be used instead of the whole egg.

Molding is used for charlotte russe, blanc mange, and gelatine mixtures. It also applies to certain types of frozen desserts. The mixture is poured into a wet mold or form, chilled, and then turned into the serving dish. The mold should stand perfectly level during the chilling, and when ready to remove, run a sharp knife or spatula around the edge of the form, turn over on a flat serving dish, shake the mold or tap lightly on the bottom, when the food should unmold. The form should always be thoroughly wet and cold when the mixture is poured into it. Dipping the mold in warm water for a second is another method of unmolding gelatine mixtures, or dipping in cold water to unmold frozen puddings. Warm water will soften the geletine mixture just enough to unmold it easily, and the cold water is so much warmer than the frozen mixture, it will have the same effect.

Cooking Processes

Boiling

Every housewife should possess a thorough knowledge of the various methods of applying heat to food. There is, for instance, a vast difference between boiling and simmering, and yet much good food has been completely ruined in the cooking because this difference was not understood.

Boiling is the most generally used method of cooking; it is also one of the simplest and most economical. It means cooking the food in water at 212° Fahrenheit. Foods when properly boiled are both wholesome and digestible.

There is also an impression that food will cook faster if the water boils violently. This is not the case, however, for as soon as water bubbles, it has reached the boiling point and it does not become any hotter because it boils violently. There is a waste of fuel in unnecessarily fast boiling, particularly when gas, electricity, or oil is used. When the boiling point has once been reached, it can easily be maintained with a reduced heat.

Simmering

Simmering food is keeping the liquid under the boiling point — a long, slow cooking process. This method is used for meat soup stocks and for making tender the cheaper, tough cuts of meat and old fowls. Boiling meat or fowl only toughens it; keeping at the simmering point will gradually make the meat tender and palatable.

If soup stock is boiled, the stock will lack flavor, for boiling seals the surface, and if continued, keeps the juices in the meat; simmering will draw out the juices necessary in a good soup stock.

The term "boiled meat" is really incorrect. While the meat is plunged into boiling water to seal the surface and keep the juices from escaping, it is cooked at the simmering point.

The housekeeper who learns the value of simmering will always be able to serve well cooked meats at comparatively small cost, for the less tender cuts of meat are just as high in food value as the more expensive parts.

Steaming

By this method food is cooked in the vapor arising from boiling water, and it is the most gradual of all methods. The water under the food must be kept constantly boiling and the steamer containing the food should be closely covered so as to retain all the steam. This gradual heat renders many foods more digestible than when boiled. None of the nutriment is lost, as when food is immersed in water. Steamed foods retain all their food value and flavor.

Stewing

Stewing is cooking food in a small amount of liquid at the simmering point, closely covered, until it becomes tender. Stewed meat or chicken is a sort of combination meat and soup, for the gravy is always served as part of the dish. Food is cut in small pieces for stewing, and the cooking takes less time than for one large piece of meat or a whole fowl. Stewing is an economical method of cooking, because the cheaper tough cuts of meat may be used. All the nutriment is retained, and the slow cooking renders the food entirely digestible.

Braising

Braising Is a combination of stewing and roasting, and is used for meats — usually the less tender roasts. The meat is cooked with less liquid than for boiling, and is cooked in one solid piece. Braising may be accomplished on top of the fire, using a heavy kettle, closely covered, or in the oven in a covered pan. The meat is first browned in drippings, or other fat; then a small quantity of liquid is added, which is slowly reduced to a rich gravy. Occasional basting is required if the meat is to be juicy and fine in flavor. The toughest cut of meat will become tender by this method. When meat is braised in an iron kettle over the fire, it is frequently called a pot roast.

Roasting

Roasting really means cooking over hot coals, or In hot ashes. Oven roasting is the more modern method of cooking meats, although the open fire and hot coals are still preferred by many cooks.

The oven should be hot when the meat is put into it, and kept hot for about fifteen minutes. By that time the surface of the meat should be seared to prevent the escape of the juices. The heat should then be reduced and the cooking continued. Frequent basting is essential, as it prevents the meat becoming dry.

Broiling or Grilling

Broiling is one of the quickest methods of cooking foods. It is really a form of roasting, but is used for meat with greater surface but seldom more than two inches in thickness — often less. Red-hot coals or the well-heated broiler of a gas or electric range are required. The object is to sear over both sides as quickly as possible without burning, in order to retain the rich juices. After searing, the heat should be reduced and the cooking continued as long as desired, turning once or twice if beef, chops, or chicken are being broiled.

Planking

Planking meat or fish is practically a form of broiling. The food is first seared on both sides in the broiler, then finished on the heated plank in a hot oven. The wood imparts a pleasing flavor, and the plank itself offers an opportunity for attractive garnishes.

Baking

Baking is accomplished in the oven with various degrees of heat. The difference between baking and broiling food is that one is cooked in a dry heat, and the other is cooked in moist heat.

Frying

There are three methods of frying foods: immersing in deep, hot fat; sauteing, or cooking in a small amount of fat in a frying pan; or pan broiling, which is done in a very hot pan without fat, but turning frequently to avoid burning.

Everyday Mistakes in Cooking

When strong flavored vegetables, such as cabbage, cauHflower, or onions, lose their color, are rather strong in flavor and throw ofi^ an unpleasant odor while cooking, the vegetable has not been put to cook in boiling water and the kettle in which it was cooked has been covered. Never start vegetables cooking in water under the boiling point. For the strong flavored vegetables use a quantity of water, but for the green, more delicate flavored ones use little water; add salt before the vegetables and cook in an uncovered kettle and they will retain their full flavor and bright green color. When a quantity of water is used to cook such vegetables as peas, spinach, string beans, etc., much of the valuable properties of the food are lost and thrown away. Many vegetables are overcooked until the best flavor is entirely destroyed. Cabbage is an example; it is usually cooked until limp and heavy, and while it may taste palatable, is most indigestible. Cabbage cooks very quickly and is done when tender.

Mayonnaise dressing separates if the oil is added too quickly or if all the ingredients are not of the same temperature.

A teaspoonful of vinegar or lemon juice added to the egg yolks before any of the oil is used will aid in keeping the dressing smooth. If the dressing should curdle add it very slowly to another egg yolk.

French dressing should be thick. This is easily accomplished by putting all the ingredients in a small covered fruit jar and shaking until the mixture thickens.

Fried foods, as croquettes, fritters, doughnuts, etc., become soaked with fat if the oil or lard they are fried in was not sufficiently heated. The temperature of the fat should be tested before any food is fried, and this should be repeated each time food is added, as the fat usually cools somewhat with each addition of cold food. Heat fat until a faint trace of smoke can be seen over the surface, then test. It should never be heated until the kitchen is filled with an unpleasant haze of smoke. If properly done, deep fat frying will be more satisfactory and food will absorb less fat than when cooked in a frying pan.

Sauces and gravies have a layer of fat on top when more fat is used than flour. The flour and fat should be in equal quantities; allow from 1 to 2 tablespoonfuls of each to a cupful of liquid, according to the thickness desired for the sauce.

Omelets are tough when cooked too rapidly. Dumplings are heavy if the liquid is not kept constantly boiling and if the cover of the kettle does not fit closel}/^ or has been removed before the dumplings are cooked. They should be dropped into rapidly boiling liquid, covered closely and cooked 12 minutes before cover is removed.

True sponge cakes (those made without baking powder) are coarse in texture and dry if eggs are not carefully beaten with a whip egg beater to inclose all the air possible, then baked in a very moderate oven.

Baking powder biscuits, muffins and all quick breakfast breads require a hot oven or they will not be light.

Popover and cream puff's fall when they have not been baked long enough.

Cakes that rise in the center and crack have been baked in too hot an oven or contain too much flour.

Cakes that are soggy in the center have not been thoroughly baked. The center is the last part to bake, and before removing from the oven touch the center lightly; if the finger makes an imprint the cake is not baked sufficiently; if it springs back the cake is done.

To prevent milk from separating when making a cream of tomato soup, heat milk and add the thickening. Combine milk and tomatoes just before serving.

Boiled or baked custards that have curdled have been cooked too fast or too long. A boiled custard that has curdled may be redeemed by pouring the mixture immediately into a cold bowl and beating until smooth with a rotary egg beater. It will never be quite so creamy, however. Baked custard and all forms of custard puddings should be set in a pan of hot water to bake. This will usually prevent too rapid cooking. The water is kept below the boiling point.

Fruit cake is light in color if baked too rapidly; it is also apt to be bitter.

Cereals should be cooked in boiling water. They should cook directly over the fire for 5 minutes; then cook over hot water (in a double boiler) for the time required. Cereal cannot be completely cooked directly over the flame, as it soon thickens and then will burn. The starch requires cooking to be digestible, and cooking over hot water is the only method whereby it is possible to cook cereal sufficiently.

These are only a few suggestions, and yet the success of cookery depends much upon such details, unimportant as they seem.

Oven Regulation

The importance of oven regulation cannot be overestimated. Good food can easily be completely ruined in baking. A tender, juicy roast can be changed into a tough, dry piece of meat. Perfectly made pastry may become tough and soggy in the baking. Breakfast breads will be light or heavy, depending upon the oven heat. All this has been realized by many stove manufacturers, and devices have been installed which will guide the housewife in the operation of the oven. Tables of temperatures refer to a thermometer placed inside the oven, as near the center as possible. These figures cannot always be followed exactly, with the attachments placed in oven doors, etc. But a very little study will soon enable the operator to know just what the indicator should register for the different heats. For example, biscuits require a hot oven, 450 degrees Fahrenheit. This would mean the degrees of heat registered by a thermometer placed in the oven. A thermometer placed on the oven door would be affected by the colder air of the room, so it would probably be necessary to allow the indicator to reach 500 degrees Fahrenheit. This can readily be determined after a few trials. For these attachments the table of temperatures will only serve as a guide. For those who have no oven regulator, and who experience difficulty in managing the oven, I would suggest purchasing an oven thermometer. It will soon pay for itself in the saving of food, will give the inexperienced housewife more confidence, and enable her to attempt dishes she formerly felt were impossible.

A gas oven should not be lighted until just before it is to be used, depending upon how hot an oven is desired. With two burners lighted, 8 to 10 minutes should make the oven very hot, and 5 to 6 minutes is sufficient for a medium heat. Of course, this will vary somewhat, depending on the type of range and the quality and pressure of the gas.

All food materials are poor conductors of heat, and it takes time for the heat to penetrate. The length of time and temperature will depend upon the size and thickness of the food. A cake baked in a brick-shaped pan — producing a cake like a loaf of bread, high and narrow — will take twice as long to bake as the same cake baked in a shallow pan. The brick-shaped loaf also requires much more skill to bake than does the cake baked in a shallow pan. In baking flour mixtures, the larger the mass the lower the temperature must be in order to have the heat penetrate to the center before a crust has been formed. If a cake is placed in too hot an oven, it forms a crust before it has risen sufficiently. This aff'ects the texture of the cake and produces a cake high in the center and thin on the edges. It can readily be seen that it is necessary to overbake the cake at the edges in order to bake the center. This will mean a waste, because the edges will be either burned or so crisp and hard it must be removed.

Thin loaves of bread or cake and small pieces of meat need much less time for cooking, because the heat penetrates quickly. Mixtures containing much sugar or molasses burn easily. Foods containing a large proportion of eggs require a low temperature, or they will become tough. An oven filled with food from which a quantity of steam is being given off requires more heat than when only one small dish of food is being baked.

When roasting meat, the careful housewife will plan to utilize the heat for other foods, too — potatoes, pudding, or even vegetables. If the meat is to be broiled, then advantage should be taken of the hot oven, having biscuits, cornbread, or a shortcake. A little study will work out all these problems and lessen both the fuel bills and labor.

Most housewives use too hot an oven, particularly when gas is used. One must bear in mind that if the gas is left burning high, the oven heat will increase very rapidly. After the oven has reached the heat desired — hot, medium, or slow — turn the gas down until just a small flame is visible. The oven will then maintain an even heat. Of course, it will be necessary to vary this rule somewhat, depending upon the size and quantity of the food and how long it is to be baked. Very few foods require a hot oven for any length of time. A tender roast of meat needs a hot oven to cause it to brown at once, so as to form a crust which will keep the juices from escaping. As soon as this crust is formed (10 to 15 minutes), the heat should be reduced and only a medium oven is necessary for the remainder of the cooking. Biscuits require a hot oven for the entire time of baking — about 18 minutes for the medium-sized ones. All other breakfast breads need a fairly hot oven. Cakes need only a medium oven, and the richer the cake batter, the slower the mixture should bake.

Wood and coal ranges are regulated in about the same manner, the oven being heated to the right temperature beforehand and adding more fuel in small quantities only as required to keep an even heat.

To test the oven without a thermometer, take a piece of white paper. Place in the oven after it has been heated 10 minutes, reducing the heat, if using gas. If the paper burns black in 5 minutes, the oven is very hot; if it burns a deep brown, it is hot. For the medium oven the paper should be a golden brown in 5 minutes. For a slow oven it should barely turn the most delicate brown in 5 minutes.

All of these tests need a little study, and each person will have to work out their own problem, but these guides are an aid in regulating the oven.

Oven Temperatures

Reduce

Enter at and keep

Roast meats 450 360

White bread (yeast) 425 350

Cookies 350 350

Entire wheat bread 360 340

Pastry 425 425

Breakfast breads 425 400

Ginger breads 350 300

Sponge cake 320 300

These temperatures are for gas stoves, and should be lowered about 50 deg. F. for a wood and coal range.

Menu Building

Planning meals day after day is one of the most difficult tasks for the housewife, and this particular branch of the housekeeping system needs as much skill and judgment as the preparation and cooking of foods. With an almost unlimited variety of foods to choose from, the housewife should know how to select those foods which will prove nutritious and give the greatest return of energy to the body for the money she has to spend. Wise economy demands that foods should be so combined that there will be no waste of either material or energy.

In order to plan foods wisely, the housewife should understand how the various foods differ in nutritive values. The foods selected depend largely upon climate and season. In localities where the summer months are warm, foods which would be very acceptable in winter would prove anything but appetizing served on a hot day.

A generous amount of fat and starch may be served when the weather is cold, but these must be avoided during the summer, green salads, jellied soups, and light cold desserts or fruits taking their places.

Dishes containing the food principles in the same proportion should not be served together. A well-balanced meal contains neither too much protein, starch, sugar, or fat.

To meet this requirement, the housewife must have some knowledge of food values. The substances found in foods have been divided into five classes, called food principles. These are water, fat, mineral matter, starch and sugar (called carbohydrates), and protein. Scarcely any food is made up of any one of these food principles, almost all containing several in combination. Most of the fat is obtained in butter, olive oil, other oils, and fat of meats, etc. The use of fat to the body is to give energy and heat. If more fat is taken than is required for immediate use, it is stored in the body ready to use when sufficient fat has not been consumed.

Mineral matter is found in most of the vegetables, and in all fruits; also in meat and milk. In fact, nearly all foods contain some mineral salts. As a rule this requirement is taken care of in the diet of the average adult, but food for growing children should contain a quantity of mineral matter.

Sugar and starch comes under one heading, as starch is changed into sugar in the process of digestion. These foods supply heat and energy to the body, and the amount necessary for an individual will depend largely upon the kind of work he does. For heavy, muscular labor and for active, growing children, more starch and sugar are required than for the clerk, student, or elderly person.

Protein is the most important food principle, and the foremost protein foods are meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, and most varieties of nuts. There are a few vegetables rich in protein as well as starch. These are peas, beans, and lentils. When planning a meal with a limited serving of meat, as when using left-overs, any one of these vegetables will supply the necessary protein. Beans, cooked with some fat, may entirely take the place of meat.

If the menu is rich in starch, select a vegetable containing a high percentage of water. Do not serve two dishes at one meal where a cream sauce has been used — for example, a creamed soup and a creamed vegetable, or creamed fish or meat and creamed vegetable or soup. Never serve strong flavored vegetables together, such as onions, cauliflower, cabbage, turnips, or parsnips. Do not have rice, macaroni, or potatoes served at one meal.

A green salad should be served with a heavy dinner. A hearty salad of fish or meat, combined with mayonnaise dressing, supplies the main course at luncheon or supper, but is much too heavy for a dinner where meat and vegetables are served. With a main dish of macaroni and cheese, prepared with a cream sauce (a dish ricli in protein and starch), such vegetables as spinach, a green salad, or tomatoes, cooked or raw, will prove appetizing, while any of the beans, dried or green, would make the meal too heavy.

The following offer some suggestions in menu building:

I

Roast Beef, Franconia Potatoes

Yorkshire Pudding

Creamed Carrots

Lettuce and Tomato Salad

French Dressing

Prune Whip, Custard Sauce

II Cream of Tomato Soup

Fried Tenderloin of Sole

Tartar Sauce

Duchess Potatoes, String Beans

Cucumber Salad

Thousand Island Dressing

Chocolate Blanc Mange

III Vegetable Soup

Breaded Veal Cutlets

Tomato Sauce

Potatoes O'Brien, Sugared Beets

Strawberries and Cream

Drop Cookies

IV Fruit Cocktail

Lamb Chops

Macaroni and Cheese

Combination Salad

French Dressing

Caramel Custard

Food Value of Fat

Fat is one of the most important foods, as it is the greatest source of reserve energy. It is also required to lubricate the body and when taken in reasonable quantities is easily digested by persons in normal health. Starch is digested mainly in the mouth; protein (lean meat, eggs, cheese, fish) in the stomach; fats are changed but little until they reach the small intestine, then they are divided into tiny portions and are carried to the blood. Fats rank in digestibility as follows: first butter and cream, then olive oil; other vegetable oils such as cottonseed, corn and peanut oil; oleomargarine, beef fat and last the various pork fats. Margarines are used as butter substitutes and rank with butter in fuel value in proportion to fat content. But butter contains the valuable fat soluble vitamines so necessary to growth, especially of children. Margarines do not possess this quality, so are not as desirable to use in children's diet, although the adult may use margarine in place of butter, as the diet for the normal grown person will include these vitamines in other foods.

Nature has taught us to take fats in combination with other foods, as it is more palatable in that form. We spread butter on bread, or steak, and add it to boiled vegetables, potatoes, etc., or cut with an acid we pour oils over lettuce. Anything which aids in the division of the oil, helps in its digestion and assimilation. From this it would seem that pastry might not be indigestible. But as already stated starch is digested mainly in the mouth, and if the starch or flour in pastry be mixed with layers of fat, how can the saliva permeate through these layers and digest the starch? Well made, light flaky pastrv can be eaten in moderation without causing indigestion, but pastry should not be served too frequently.