| The methods of cooking with
moist heat, that is, through the medium of water, are boiling, simmering,
steaming, dry steaming, and braizing. In every one of these processes,
the effect of moist heat on food is entirely different from that of dry
heat. However, the method to be selected depends to a great extent on the
amount of water that the food contains. To some foods much water must be
added in the cooking process; to others, only a little or none at all.
If food is not placed directly in large or small quantities of water, it
is cooked by contact with steam or in a utensil that is heated by being
placed in another containing boiling water, as, for example, a double boiler.
As water is such an important
factor in cooking with moist heat, something concerning its nature and
use should be understood. Therefore, before considering the moist-heat
cooking processes in detail, the function of water in the body and in cooking
and also the kinds of water are discussed.
BOILING
As applied to cooking, boiling
means cooking foods in boiling water. Water boils when its temperature
is raised by heat to what is commonly termed its boiling point.
This varies with the atmospheric pressure, but at sea level, under ordinary
conditions, it is always 212 degrees Fahrenheit. When the atmospheric pressure
on the surface of the water is lessened, boiling takes place at a lower
temperature than that mentioned, and in extremely high altitudes the boiling
point is so lowered that to cook certain foods by means of boiling water
is difficult. As the water heats in the process of boiling, tiny bubbles
appear on the bottom of the vessel in which it is contained and rise to
the surface. Then, gradually, the bubbles increase in size until large
ones form, rise rapidly, and break, thus producing constant agitation of
the water.
Boiling has various effects
on foods. It toughens the albumin in eggs, toughens the fiber and dissolves
the connective tissues in meat, softens the cellulose in cereals, vegetables,
and fruits, and dissolves other substances in many foods. A good point
to bear in mind in preparing foods by boiling is that slowly boiling water
has the same temperature as rapidly boiling water and is therefore able
to do exactly the same work. Keeping the gas burning full heat or running
the fire hard to keep the water boiling rapidly is therefore unnecessary;
besides, it wastes fuel without doing the work any faster and sometimes
not so well. However, there are several factors that influence the rapidity
with which water may be brought to the boiling point; namely, the kind
of utensil used, the amount of surface exposed, and the quantity of heat
applied. A cover placed on a saucepan or a kettle in which food is to be
boiled retains the heat, and thus causes the temperature to rise more quickly;
besides, a cover so used prevents a loss of water by condensing the steam
as it rises against the cover. As water boils, some of it constantly passes
off in the form of steam, and for this reason sirups or sauces become thicker
the longer they are cooked. The evaporation takes place all over the surface
of the water; consequently, the greater the surface exposed, the more quickly
is the quantity of water decreased during boiling. Another point to observe
in the boiling process is that foods boiled rapidly in water have a tendency
to lose their shape and are reduced to small pieces if allowed to boil
long enough.
Besides serving to cook foods,
boiling also renders water safe, as it destroys any germs that may be present.
This explains why water must sometimes be boiled to make it safe for drinking.
Boiled water, as is known, loses its good taste. However, as this change
is brought about by the loss of air during boiling, the flavor can be restored
and air again introduced if the water is shaken in a partly filled jar
or bottle, or beaten vigorously for a short time with an egg beater.
SIMMERING,
OR STEWING
The cooking process known
as simmering, or stewing, is a modification of boiling. By this method,
food is cooked in water at a temperature below the boiling point, or anywhere
from 185 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Water at the simmering point always
moves gently--never rapidly as it does in boiling. Less heat and consequently
less fuel are required to cook foods in this way, unless, of course, the
time consumed in cooking the food at a low temperature is much greater
than that consumed in cooking it more rapidly.
Aside from permitting economy
in the use of fuel, simmering, or stewing, cooks deliciously certain foods
that could not be selected for the more rapid methods. For example, tough
cuts of meat and old fowl can be made tender and tasty by long cooking
at a low temperature, for this method tends to soften the fiber and to
develop an excellent flavor. Tough vegetables, too, can be cooked tender
by the simmering process without using so much fuel as would be used if
they were boiled, for whatever method is used they require long cooking.
Beets, turnips, and other winter vegetables should be stewed rather than
boiled, as it is somewhat difficult to cook them tender, especially in
the late winter and early spring. If dry beans and peas are brought to
the simmering point and then allowed to cook, they can be prepared for
the table in practically the same length of time and without so much fuel
as if they boiled continuously.
STEAMING
As its name implies, steaming
is the cooking of food by the application of steam. In this cooking process,
the food is put into a steamer, which is a cooking utensil that
consists of a vessel with a perforated bottom placed over one containing
water. As the water boils, steam rises and cooks the food in the upper,
or perforated, vessel. Steamers are sometimes arranged with a number of
perforated vessels, one on top of the other. Such a steamer permits of
the cooking of several foods at the same time without the need of additional
fuel, because a different food may be placed in each vessel.
Steaming is preferable to
boiling in some cases, because by it there is no loss of mineral salts
nor food substances; besides, the flavor is not so likely to be lost as
when food is boiled. Vegetables prepared in this way prove very palatable,
and very often variety is added to the diet by steaming bread, cake, and
pudding mixtures and then, provided a crisp outside is desired, placing
them in a hot oven to dry out the moist surface.
DRY
STEAMING
Cooking foods in a vessel
that is suspended in another one containing boiling water constitutes the
cooking method known as dry steaming. The double boiler is a cooking utensil
devised especially for carrying on this process. The food placed in the
suspended, or inner, vessel does not reach the boiling point, but is cooked
by the transfer of heat from the water in the outside, or lower, vessel.
A decided advantage of this method is that no watching is required except
to see that the water in the lower vessel does not boil away completely,
for as long as there is water between the food and the fire, the food will
neither boil nor burn.
Because of the nature of
certain foods, cooking them by this process is especially desirable. The
flavor and consistency of cereals and foods containing starch are greatly
improved by long cooking in this way. Likewise, custards and mixtures containing
eggs can be conveniently cooked in a double boiler, because they do not
require a high temperature; in fact, their texture is spoiled if they are
cooked at the boiling point. To heat milk directly over the flame without
scorching it is a difficult matter, and, on the other hand, boiled milk
is hard to digest. Because of these facts, food containing milk should
not be boiled, but should be cooked at a lower temperature in a double
boiler.
BRAIZING
Cooking meat in an oven
in a closed pan with a small quantity of water constitutes braizing. This
cooking process might be called a combination of stewing and baking, but
when it is properly carried out, the meat is placed on a rack so as to
be raised above the water, in which may be placed sliced vegetables. In
this process the meat actually cooks in the flavored steam that surrounds
it in the hot pan. The so-called double roasting pans are in fact braizing
pans when they are properly used. A pot roast is the result of a modification
of the braizing method. |
