DIFFERENT METHODS OF COOKING lit 



and softens the tough walls of the cells in vegetables, and 

 in the case of meats makes them less tough and renders 

 them more palatable, and thus helps in their digestion. 

 More than this, especially in meats, cooking destroys 

 organisms which might grow if taken into the body. 

 Thus cooking makes foods safe which otherwise might be 

 harmful. 



Different methods of cooking. - In general there are 

 four principal ways of cooking foods, boiling, broiling, fry- 

 ing, and baking. In boiling we place the food in water and 

 heat to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. White of egg coagulates 

 or hardens above 140 F. An excellent method of cooking 

 eggs is therefore either to poach them in water just below 

 boiling or to place the eggs in a dish of boiling water, cover, 

 take off the stove and leave for seven minutes. They 

 will be found to be cooked and the white will be quite 

 digestible. Milk should not be boiled, for this injures 

 the protein. In making soups, where we wish to draw 

 the nutriment into the water, the material should be put 

 into cold water, brought to the boiling point, and then 

 boiled slowly. If we wish to keep the nutriment in the 

 material, it should be put at once into boiling water. 

 In roasting and broiling use a high temperature at first. 

 A hot fire should be used in cooking a steak so as to 

 keep the nutriment within the browned surface. A 

 seared covering prevents the escape of juices. Frying 

 is not a desirable method of cooking because fat is likely 

 to soak into the foods, thus rendering them less digest- 

 ible. In baking, the food should be placed in a hot oven 

 first and then the heat reduced so that the inside of 

 the substances can be cooked. Cooking starch at baking 

 temperature changes it to dextrin, which is more easily 



