@& TESTED HOUSEHOLD RECIPES ad&®

The primary rule in frying is “heat your fat first”. The temperature to which the
fat should be heated varies with the class of food that is being cooked.

(a) Sautéing is the most common division of frying. The pan is made hot and a
very small amount of fat is melted in it—just enough to prevent whatever is to be cooked
from sticking to the pan. This method of frying has been called “an unsuccessful
jmitation of broiling’ and is little favoured by domestic science experts.

(b) Deep Frying—The much more scientific and satisfactory method of frying
foods which lend themselves to this treatment, is to drop them into deep fat which has
been heated to the right degree of temperature. The best vessel to use is a deep pan
that is not too broad and it will be found a great convenience to have a frying basket (a
wire mesh basket with a handle over the top that will fit down into the bottom of the
pan). The basket is filled with the rissoles; fish-cakes, or whatever is to be fried and the
whole is lowered into the hot fat. When cooked, it is only necessary to lift out the basket
and drain. Much time, trouble and burning of food and fingers is thus saved.

The temperature to which various cooking fats and oils may be heated varies con-
siderably, some burning much more readily than others. The average temperature is
about 365°.

On the point of economy deep frying is the one method of frying that commends
itself. Careful tests have shown that the same quantity of food uses up so much more
fat if it is sautéd than if it is immersed in deep fat. It is best to use plenty of fat—quite
enough to cover whatever is in the frying basket or dropped into the pot, because in that
case the food will not need to be turned. When cooking is completed, the fat can be
cleared by dropping into it a few slices of raw potato which will collect the particles
in the fat and then straining it off very carefully for use again. There are very few things
that will leave their flavour in the fat.

RoAstinc.—The fine old method of roasting meats on the split before the open fire
gave wonderful results but was too prodigal of fuel to be approved in these days of
coal scarcity. In roasting meat, the object is the same as in broiling it—to harden the
surface albumen and so imprison the juices. This means exposure to great heat just
at first but as soon as the surfaces are seared, the oven should be cooled quite
considerably. Any large joints, in fact, or a large bird, will be the better for a covering
of greased paper, unless a covered roasting pan is being used, to prevent undue drying
the outside. ‘The larger the joint, the more moderate the oven” is a good general rule
to follow.

Long, slow cooking will give the desired result—a nice casing of hardened albumen
around the outside, with tender inner fibres and the albumen in the inside meat just
coagulated and no more.

It is a sign of good meat and good roasting to lose comparatively little by shrinkage.
It is more difficult to cook a small joint well than a large one, as there is greater danger
of the fibre becoming hard and separating into bundles that offer difficulties to mastica-
tion, are hard to digest and lack flavour and juciness.

BRAISING is a combination of roasting and stewing. It is a very good method to
employ where the flavour of roasted meat is desired, but the cut is not very tender.

A quantity of vegetables should be put in a pan large enough to take the meat. A
little stock—just enough to keep them from sticking to the pan, but not enough to cover
them—is added, and the meat placed on the vegetables, when it will absorb their flavour,
during a long period of slow cooking in the steam, which is confined by a close-fitting
cover. When quite tender, the meat is removed and put into a quick oven to brown.

The vegetables are served with it.

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