372 THE ALADDIN OVEN. 



vented by Edward Atkinson. It consists of a sheet-iron oven, with 

 snugly fitting door. This is placed within an outer casting made of 

 non-heat-conducting material. There is a space between the inner 

 oven and the outer box, and between the two heat is held and applied 

 to the work of cooking. Since little heat is lost, not a great amount is 

 required, and a common kerosene lamp supplies all the heat that is 

 needed. The lamp is placed beneath the oven under a hole in the 

 outer box. This hole is four inches across, but is usually reduced to 

 two and a half inches by a lid fitting over it. It will probably be a 

 matter of surprise to those who hear it for the first time, that bread 

 can be baked in such an apparatus, but the writer's experience is that 

 of others who have tried ; namely, not only that it is repeatedly done, 

 but that the bread thus cooked is superior to bread baked in an ordi- 

 nary oven. The cooking in the "Aladdin Oven" is slow cooking. 

 Many of the scientific cooks repeatedly tell us that we must not employ 

 too high a heat in cooking. And this slow cooking at a lower tempera- 

 ture gives better result in nearly every kind of cooking. Mattieu 

 Williams, in his Chemistry of Cookery, tells us that "to boil meat is 

 to spoil it." And the description of the " Heat Saver," given on page 

 367 illustrates the gain in saving of fuel, and in the better condition of 

 the food after it is cooked. Mrs. Ellen H. Richards, one of the best 

 authorities on this subject, in speaking of the requirements of an ideal 

 cooking apparatus, says : 



" 1. The degree of heat should be under perfect control ; increased, 

 diminished, or withdrawn at will, and without' loss of time. Solid 

 fuel demands constant and equable running, and gives the best results 

 when used in large masses. The small fire-box of a cook-stove, and the 

 urging of the fire for a short time three times a day, are fatal objections 

 to the use of anthracite. 



"2. A tightly closed vessel heated by steam, or hot water, or hot 

 air, offers many advantages over the top of a red-hot stove or the 

 inside of a nearly red-hot cast-iron oven for cooking, except for the 

 broiling and the roasting of meat, and for some other methods of 

 cookery which require the quick application of heat. 



" 3. For all purposes of slow cooking, the oven should have a non- 

 conducting covering which retains the heat where it is wanted, and 

 also allows of tight closing, and of security from the constant watching 

 required by the fitful heat of a stove. This use of a close oven with a 

 non-evaporative atmosphere seems to be the secret of the retention 



