THE principles contained in Paper-bag Cookery are not new. Woodsmen and
hunters have known for ages that if they wanted fish or game done to a
turn, a jacket of clay outside the meat which was protected from soil by
leaves or corn husks, gave, on removing the clay case, the very
quintessence of delicate, savory cookery.
Now within the last two years, a series of experiments has resulted in
the perfecting of a system of Paper-bag Cookery that revolutionizes the
old time kitchen drudgery with its unending round of greasy pots and
pans to be taken into account.
The advantages of this method of cooking are manifold. They may be
epitomized thus:
I. It makes food more savory and nutritious.
II. It is sanitary. No dust can reach the article being cooked and, the
cooking accomplished, the bag can be thrown into the stove or kitchen
scrap basket with no temptation for a lazy maid to tuck away a greasy
pan in the dish closet for the delectation of "germs" or roaches.
III. It is economical. Not only does it save the time and strength of
the housewife with no aftermath of dirty cooking dishes to be washed,
but it prevents the shrinkage of meats as caused by ordinary cookery.
Nothing is lost, because there is no evaporation; careful experiments
prove that the weight of the cooked food tallies almost exactly with the
weight of the raw. There is also a great saving of fuel, some claiming
as high as 40 per cent., owing to the less time required in Paper-bag
Cookery. While this may be a generous estimate it is certain that
Paper-bag Cookery takes on the average, one-third less time than other
cooking.
IV. With ordinary care there is no danger of food burning, and no
deterioration in flavor if left in the bag some little time before
serving.
V. It is odorless; a great thing, this, for the flat-dweller who has to
cook in restricted quarters, taking care always that cooking odors do
not permeate the house.
VI. Its price is not prohibitive. Indeed, it is most reasonable.
Paper-bag Cookery calls for no big outlay of money, no patent stove
oven, no complex apparatus or appliances. All that is necessary is an
oven of any sort--coal, gas, electric, wood or oil--a broiler, a paper
bag specially and sanitarily prepared,--grease proof and waterproof,--a
wood cookery dish if the food contains liquid or a number of separate
ingredients, and something to cook therein. Another convenience are the
wire clips for fastening the mouth and corners of the bag, which can be
purchased wherever the bags are sold.
THE KIND OF PAPER BAG TO USE.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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