Fire-places and Kitchen Utensils. 443 



in the centre of it ; and an inverted earthen pot, or any 

 other vessel of a form and size proper for that use, 

 being put over it, the steam from the boiler passing 

 up through the hole in the centre of the cover will 

 find its way under the shallow dish, and passing up- 

 wards by the sides of this dish will enter the inverted 

 earthen pot, and, expelling the air, will take its place, 

 and the victuals in the dish will be surrounded on 

 every side by hot steam. 



Instead of an earthen pot, an inverted glass bell may 

 be used for covering the victuals in the shallow dish, 

 which will not only render the experiment more strik- 

 ing and more amusing, but will also in some respects 

 be more convenient ; for, as the process that is going 

 on may be seen distinctly through the glass, a judgment 

 may, in many cases, be formed, from the appearance of 

 the victuals when they are sufficiently done, without 

 removing, this vessel by which the steam is confined. 



I would not, however, recommend glass vessels for 

 common use, as they would be too expensive for poor 

 families and too liable to be broken. For them, a pot 

 of the commonest earthen-ware, or a small wooden tub, 

 would be much more proper. But, for those who can 

 afford the expense and who find amusement in experi- 

 ments of this kind, the glass bell will be preferable to 

 an opaque vessel. 



The manner in which this simple apparatus for cook- 

 ing with steam is to be arranged will be so easily un- 

 derstood from what has been said, that a figure can 

 hardly be necessary to form a clear and satisfactory 

 idea of it. I shall therefore now proceed to a descrip- 

 tion of another method of cooking with steam with 

 these small portable kitchen boilers. 



