372 On the Construction of Kitchen 



This is a curious circumstance, and the knowledge 

 of the fact may be turned to a good account. If, for 

 instance, it were required to make the strongest extract 

 of the pure juices of any kind of meat, unmixed with 

 water, this may be done by heating the meat nearly 

 boiling-hot, either in boiling water or in steam, and 

 then putting it, placed in a shallow dish, into a steam- 

 dish, or into any closed vessel filled with hot steam, 

 and leaving it in this situation two or three hours, or 

 for a longer time. Whatever liquid is found collected 

 in the dish at the end of the process must necessarily 

 be the purest juices of the meat. In this manner the 

 richest gravies may no doubt be prepared. 



that are cooked in it to the temperature of boiling water. Suppose, for in- 

 stance, that a piece of beef weighing six pounds is to be cooked in the steam- 

 dish, and that this meat, when it is put into the dish, is at the temperature of 

 55 of Fahrenheit's thermometer, which is the mean annual temperature of the 

 atmosphere at London. Now as this piece of meat is to be made boiling-hot, 

 its temperature must be raised 157 degrees, namely, from 55 to 212. But we 

 have seen that any given quantity, by weight, of beef, requires less heat to heat 

 it any given number of degrees, than an equal weight of water, in the proportion 

 of 74 to 100 (see the introduction to this Essay, page 183) ; consequently these 

 6 Ibs. of beef will be heated 1 57 degrees, or from 55 to the boiling point, with a 

 quantity of heat which would be required to heat 4 Ibs. 7 oz. of water 157 degrees. 



Now if we suppose, with Mr. Watt, that the steam which produces, in its 

 condensation, I Ib. of water gives off as much heat as would raise the temper- 

 ature of s Ibs. of water 180 degrees, namely, from the point of freezing to that 

 of boiling water, the same quantity of heat must be sufficient to raise the tem- 

 perature of 6 Ibs. 5 oz. of water 157 degrees, or from 55 to 212. 



And if 6 Ibs. 5 oz. of water require i Ib. of condensed steam to heat it 157 

 degrees, 4 Ibs. 7 oz. of water, or 6 Ibs. of beef, will require only nj oz. of con- 

 densed steam to raise its temperature the same number of degrees, for it is 6 Ibs. 

 5 oz. is to i Ib. as 4 Ibs. 7 oz. to nj oz. 



Consequently, if 6 Ibs. of beef at the temperature of 55 were placed in a 

 steam apparatus, in a shallow dish capable of containing 1 1 J oz., or a little less 

 than three quarters of a pint, this dish would contain all the water that could 

 possibly result from the condensation of steam on the surface of the meat, in 

 heating it boiling-hot. 



This computation may be of some use in determining the dimensions of the 

 vessels proper to be used for holding the victuals that are cooked in the steam- 

 dishes above described. 



