Читать книгу A Friend in the Kitchen; Or, What to Cook and How to Cook It - Anna L. Colcord - Страница 30
ОглавлениеCereals
“O stay me with rice and with porridge
O comfort me sweetly with grits!
Baked beans give me plenty of courage,
And cracked wheat enlivens my wits.”
No one should adopt an impoverished diet.
Bring me my breakfast—oatmeal and boiled eggs.—A. T. Stewart, the millionaire.
Carlyle, catching a glimpse of Macaulay’s face, once remarked, “Well, any one can see that you are an honest, good sort of a fellow, made out of oatmeal.”
Dr. Johnson, who entertained a great dislike for the Scots, and lost no opportunity of saying bitter things against them, once defined oats as “in Scotland food for Scotchmen; but in England, food for horses.” He was well answered by the indignant Scotchman, who replied, “Yes, and where can you find such men as in Scotland, or such horses as in England?”
Most grains require prolonged cooking, and slow cooking is preferable to fast. They are frequently served in the form of mush, and too often in an underdone state. Thorough cooking not only breaks up the food, but partially digests the starch contained in it.
Salt should be added to the water before stirring in the grain or meal.
All grains and meals should be put into actively boiling water to prevent them from having a raw taste, and allowed to boil fast until they “set,” or thicken, and cease sinking to the bottom; till then they should be stirred frequently, but gently, to prevent burning. After the grain has thickened, it should be stirred very little, or none at all.
Enough grain or meal should be used to make the mush quite thick and glutinous when done. Watery or sloppy mush is neither palatable nor strengthening to the digestive organs when used constantly. In fact, it should not be considered necessary to have mush every morning. A change occasionally to drier foods is better for the digestion.
Double Boiler
An excellent utensil for cooking grains is a milk or mush boiler, generally called a double boiler. This consists of one vessel set inside of another, the inner one containing the grain to be cooked, the other partly filled with boiling water. An ordinary saucepan, however, will do very well, if smooth, and by greasing the inside with a little butter before putting in the water, the tendency of the grain to adhere to the saucepan will be greatly obviated.
If a double boiler is used, allow the grain to boil in the inner vessel standing directly over the range until it “sets,” then cover and place in the outer vessel, the water in which must also be boiling in order that the cooking process be not checked; then leave to cook slowly until done. From three to four hours is not too long when the double boiler is used. Grain prepared in this way may be cooked on the previous day and simply warmed up again the next morning for breakfast. What is left over from any meal may be used in the next preparation.
If a hastily prepared mush is required, perhaps nothing better than the rolled oats can be employed, these requiring not more than half an hour’s cooking, as they are already partially cooked in their manufacture; but even these are improved by longer cooking in a double boiler.
It is very important, when making any kind of mush, that the water be boiling rapidly, and kept thus while stirring in the meal; for unless the grain or meal is thoroughly scalded when stirred in, not even prolonged cooking will take away the raw taste.
OATMEAL MUSH
Quart Measure
To a quart of boiling water add a pinch of salt, sprinkle in a cupful of oatmeal, and boil rapidly for about ten minutes, or until it sets, stirring frequently with a fork. Then place over the hot water in the lower boiler and cook from one to three hours. Just before serving, remove the cover and stir lightly with a fork to allow the steam to escape. This makes the mush more dry. Serve with baked apples, cream, fresh fruit, or with the juice from stewed fruit. Oatmeal is richer in nitrogen than any other grain, and therefore very nutritious. But to be wholesome it must be well cooked, and not served in a pasty, undone mass.
ROLLED OATS
This is much preferred by some, as it requires only a short time to cook. Make as above, only using two cupfuls of the meal to one quart of water. An ordinary saucepan does very well for this, but the double boiler is better.
ROLLED OATS AND SAGO MUSH
Wash and soak one-third cup of sago in a little cold water. Stir one and one-half cups of rolled oats into one quart of salted, boiling water. Cook for fifteen minutes, then stir in the sago, and cook as much longer. Serve with cream, stewed fruit, or fruit juice.
GRAHAM MUSH
Into three pints of rapidly boiling water, properly salted, stir dry, one heaping pint of sifted Graham flour. Cook slowly for one hour on the back of the range, stirring but little after the first few minutes. Serve with milk or cream, and a very little sugar if desired.
GRAHAM MUSH WITH DATES
Cook as above. Take a cupful of dates, cut in two, removing the stones, and stir into the mush just before taking from the fire. Serve with milk or cream. Steamed raisins or stewed figs may be used instead of dates. Serve hot, or pour out into cups or molds, first wet with cold water, and serve cold with cream.
BOILED RICE
Wash one cup of rice, and put to cook in four cups of boiling water, slightly salted. Cook quite rapidly for the first fifteen minutes, stirring a little occasionally to prevent sticking to the pan. Then cover closely, and cook slowly on the back of the range without stirring. When nearly done, add a cup of sweet milk, cook until tender, and serve with milk, cream, or stewed fruit. If the rice has been soaked overnight, put to cook in an equal quantity of boiling water, or equal parts of milk and water, and cook for about half an hour.
CREAM OF WHEAT
To four parts of boiling water previously salted, add one part cream of wheat, sprinkling it in with the hand, and cook slowly for about an hour. Serve hot with cream or stewed figs.
CORN-MEAL MUSH, NO. 1
Into three pints of boiling water, salted, sprinkle one pint of corn-meal. Cook slowly for an hour, stirring occasionally. Serve with plenty of milk or cream. Very good and nutritious, especially for winter.
CORN-MEAL MUSH, NO. 2
Put to boil one quart of water, adding one teaspoonful of salt. Mix smooth one tablespoonful of flour and two cupfuls each of milk and corn-meal. Stir this gradually into the rapidly boiling water; boil about half an hour, stirring frequently. Serve as soon as done, with rich milk.
CORN-MEAL SQUARES
Take cold, left-over corn-meal mush, cut into rather thick slices, and then into inch squares. Put the squares into a tureen, and pour over them some hot milk or cream. Cover the dish, let stand a few minutes, and serve.
BARLEY MUSH
To each cupful of pearl barley, previously washed, add five cups of boiling water, a teaspoonful of salt, and cook in a double boiler for three or four hours. Serve with cream, lemon sauce, or stewed fruit.
BOILED WHEAT
To one part of good, plump wheat add five parts of cold water, a little salt, and cook slowly from four to six hours, or until the grains burst open and are tender. If soaked overnight, less time for boiling will be required. Add a little more water while cooking if necessary, but avoid much stirring. Serve hot or cold with milk, cream, fruit, or fruit juice. A very simple and wholesome dish.
GLUTEN MUSH
Into three pints of rapidly boiling, salted water stir one pint of gluten; cook in a double boiler for several hours.
HOMINY
Soak, then put to cook in enough boiling water to cover. Cook gently for several hours, being careful not to stir after the grains begin to soften. Add a little more water if needed. Season with salt when done. A quantity may be cooked at a time, and warmed up with a little cream or butter as needed.
CRACKED WHEAT
Cook the same as hominy and oatmeal, using three parts of boiling water to one of cracked wheat. When done, turn into cups or molds first wet with cold water. Nice served cold with cream. Seedless raisins may be cooked with it.
GRANULATED WHEAT
Use the same proportion and cook the same as cracked wheat. Serve warm or cold with good sweet cream.
CORN-MEAL CUTLETS
Cut cold corn-meal mush into slices three inches long and one inch wide; roll each piece in beaten egg, slightly salted, then in grated bread crumbs; place on an oiled tin in the oven till nicely browned. Other mushes may be treated likewise.
BROWNED RICE
Place a small quantity on shallow tins, and brown in the oven till a golden yellow, stirring frequently so that it may brown evenly; then steam for about an hour in a steamer over boiling water or in a steam cooker, allowing two parts of hot water to one part of rice. When done, it should be quite dry and mealy. It may be eaten dry, or served with brown or lentil sauce, or rich milk or cream.
BAKED MUSH
Cook any of the foregoing mushes as directed, and as soon as done, turn into a pan, crock, or a round tin can, first wet with cold water, or oiled, to prevent sticking. If brushed over the top with oil, a crust will not form. When cold, cut into slices from one half to three fourths of an inch thick, place on oiled tins, and bake till a nice brown. A quart of cooked mush will make about a dozen slices.
