Читать книгу The Fireless Cook Book - Margaret Johnes Mitchell - Страница 6

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The box may be an unpainted one such as can be obtained for a few cents from any store where one of suitable size and shape is used, or it may be a handsome hardwood chest, or even an old trunk. In selecting it, choose one made of sufficiently heavy boards to admit of having hinges and a hasp put on it. If it is to be used in a dining-room, or where attractive appearance is to be desired, it may be covered with chintz or denim, or a coat of paint, if not made of finished hard wood. An old ice-box, one that has a hinged lid at the top, has been utilized for this purpose with success. A barrel makes an excellent hay-box, especially for very large kettles, but the cover cannot easily be hinged and must, therefore, be weighted to hold it down tight. In size the box should be from two to five inches larger in every dimension than the kettle it contains. The kettle is, therefore, the first thing to be secured, and full directions for choosing it are given on page 13. The next point to consider is the packing material. When this has been chosen, the directions for packing the box, given on page 15, will tell how much space must be allowed for insulation and, consequently, of what size the box must be. If it is so large as to admit of more insulation than that absolutely required, there is no objection, only a possible gain. If it is intended to pack the box with more than one utensil this will also have a bearing upon its size. Allow nearly, or quite, double the insulation between the utensils that is provided on the other sides, otherwise there may be difficulty in removing one utensil while the other is still cooking.

Hinges and a hasp, or some device to hold the cover of the box shut, will be necessary, as the packing should be such that there is a little upward pressure on the cover.

A cushion is desirable to cover each kettle used, one which is thick enough to fill the hay-box after the kettle is in place. For making these cushions use muslin, denim, or any thing of the kind that is at hand, filling them, generally, with the same material as that used in packing the box. Shape them like a miniature mattress, joining two pieces which are the dimensions of the top of the box with a strip which is from two and one-half inches to four or five inches wide, the width depending upon the material with which the cushion is stuffed, some materials requiring thicker insulation than others.

Hay-Box With Two Compartments.

Partly packed compartment of hay-box, showing pail in place for packing. Cushion. “Space adjuster.” Small pail to fit in “space adjuster.”

Finished compartment of hay-box. Cushion. Large Pail. Pan and cover.

The packing material may be either hay, straw, paper, wool, mineral wool, excelsior, ground cork, Southern moss, sawdust, or any other non-conducting material that is adapted to filling the space between the kettle and the box. If hay is used, choose soft hay. Wool is, perhaps, the best heat retainer of those mentioned, and it is easy and pleasant to handle. Clean, soft wool may be purchased at woollen mills and elsewhere. It should cost about thirty-five cents a pound, but as it is very light it requires much less, by weight, than of some other cheaper materials. Mineral wool can be purchased at large hardware stores. It costs about five cents a pound, but about five times as many pounds are required as an equivalent for wool. Cheap cotton batting can be obtained at dry-goods stores; ground cork from large grocers. This is used by them as packing for grapes or other fancy fruits. Sawdust, obtainable at sawmills, and perhaps elsewhere, must be well dried before using. Excelsior is used by many kinds of merchants, and can be bought for about two cents a pound. Hay is plentiful in country places and can also be purchased at feed-stores in the cities. Southern moss, easily procurable in the Southern States, can be found at many upholsterers’ in the North as well. Newspapers and hair, such as is used by plasterers, are available in city and country.

The utensils. Perhaps the best shape for the cooking utensil, that is, one which will have the least possible radiating surface, is a pail about the depth of its own diameter. The sides should be straight and perpendicular to the bottom. The cover should fit securely into place. If a smaller utensil is to be used inside the large one, which is often a great convenience, it must not be so high that the cover of the larger pail will not go on. A “pudding pan” may be used for the inside utensil, resting on the rim of the pail; but care must be taken, with this arrangement, that a cover is secured that will fit the pan closely.

To select the material best adapted for cooker utensils one must consider its wearing quality, its heat-absorbing power, to some extent, and also the action upon it of the water, acids, salts, etc., which are found in the foods. For instance, iron utensils, as well as most tinware that has been used for any length of time, will rust with the long subjection to heat and moisture; acids will make a disagreeable taste with iron or old tin utensils; while acids in such long contact, with even new tin might also form poisonous tin salts in sufficient quantity to be decidedly injurious. Earthenware would seem ideal except that it is likely to break when over the flame. It is desirable that the covers be of the same material as the utensil, or of some other rust-proof material. It will pay to get the best, when buying these kettles, for they will last well, with reasonable care, and a poor utensil will soon be of no use whatever. Well-enameled iron, except for its weight, is good; also the best quality of agate ware, ordinary aluminum, or, perhaps best of all, for very large utensils at least, cast aluminum. Aluminum is expensive, but its light weight, excellently fitting parts, and lasting qualities commend it above other materials, and it will be found to pay in the end.

The size of the pails will depend to some extent upon the number of people to be served, although there is a minimum size, below which there is not a sufficient bulk of food to cook well. Under the heading “Practical Suggestions on the Use of the Fireless Cooker,” this matter of quantity is more fully discussed. For a family of five or six persons a six-quart pail with a pan to fit inside of it has been found satisfactory. It will be convenient to have also a larger pail for large pieces of meat, such as hams.

Method of packing the box. This will vary somewhat with the different insulating materials used. These may be classified as:

Those into which the cooking utensil may be set without any intervening covering, among which are hay, excelsior, and paper.

Those requiring a covering material to keep them in place and to protect them from contact with the utensil, among which are wool, mineral wool, cork, sawdust, and cotton.

Figure No. 1.

Pasteboard cylinder to fit the pail.

Boxes to be filled with the first class of insulating materials are packed in the following manner:

Line the box and cover, smoothly, with one thickness of heavy paper, or several thicknesses of newspaper. This will prevent cold air from finding its way through the cracks, and dust and pieces from sifting out. Asbestos sheeting also makes a good lining. Pack in the bottom of the box a firm layer of insulating material not less than three or four inches in depth. This must raise the cooking pail to within from three to five inches of the top of the box. Set the utensil in the middle of the space allowed for it on this layer, and pack around it, very tightly, until level with the top of the kettle. When this is removed it will be found to have left a hole just large enough for it to slip into again. A little manipulation will make the rim of this pocket less ragged than at first. The cushion for boxes packed with excelsior or hay should be at least four inches thick. In packing with paper, lay first an even layer three or more inches thick of folded papers, filling the space around the kettle with soft, crumpled papers. In place of the top cushion, make a bundle of papers folded to just the right size. This can only be done when perfectly flat pail covers are used, unless a supplementary soft cushion be first laid over the pail.

The box is now ready for cooking, but if, after considerable use, the material shrinks so that the whole space is not firmly filled, a little more may be added. There should always be at least a slight pressure when the cover is closed. The paper lining described on page 20, while not necessary to this class of boxes, is an improvement.

Figure No. 2.

Showing how to cut the cloth pieces for lining a home-made cooker.

Figure No. 3.

Showing the cloth lining just about to be placed in the box.

Boxes to be filled with the second class of material are packed in the following manner:

Line the box with a smooth covering of paper or asbestos, tacked into place. Pack a layer of insulating material, three inches or more in thickness, in the bottom, laying a piece of heavy paper on this. Sew two or three thicknesses of pliable cardboard into the form of a cylinder that will fit around the utensil loosely. (Fig. No. 1.) It must be of the same height as the kettle. Set this cooker-pail, surrounded by the cylinder, on the layer in the box. Holding the kettle in place with one hand, pack tightly around it, to the level of the top of the pail. (See page 12.) The efficiency of the box depends largely upon this packing. Cut a round hole, the size of the cooker nest, in a piece of heavy pasteboard, to fit the top of the box. Lay this over the packing, so that it will cover it completely. The box is now ready for its cloth lining. To make this, cut three pieces of cloth; one to be one-inch or more larger than the top of the box, with a round hole cut in its centre, one inch smaller than the diameter of the cooker-pail (Fig. No. 2:1); another to be a round piece one-inch larger than the diameter of the pail (Fig. No. 2:2); and the third to be a strip one-inch wider than the height of the pail, and long enough to go around it with an inch to spare (Fig. No. 2:3). Sew the ends of this strip together to make a cylinder. Into one end of this cylinder sew the round piece. The other end is to be sewed into the large piece, taking in each case a half-inch seam. When this is put into the box it will line the nest for the kettle, and cover the pasteboard which rests on top. (Fig. No. 3.) Remove the pail and tack this cloth lining in place, turning in the edges where it is tacked to the box. A paper lining may be substituted for cloth in the following manner:

Figure No. 4.

Showing the manner of cutting the paper covering for a fireless cooker.

Take a sheet of very heavy paper, at least one inch larger in every dimension than the top of the box. Draw a circle in the centre of it the size of the pail. In the centre of this circle cut a small hole large enough to insert the blade of a pair of scissors. From this hole, cut to the circle, so as to strike it at intervals of about one and one-half inches. (Fig. No. 4.) Fit the paper over the top of the packing in the box so that this circle will come just over the nest for the pail. Put the cooker-pail into the nest and it will crease the points down at exactly the right place. Figure No. 5 shows the cooker completed. A paper lining is in some respects to be preferred to cloth. It is easy and quick to make and can be readily replaced if it becomes soiled.

With either class of cooker more than one nest may be made. It is well, in that case, to have a wooden partition put into the box before packing it, although this is not strictly necessary. Each portion of the box can then be packed independently and for utensils of different sizes if desired.

Figure No. 5.

Showing the paper lining of a fireless cooker in place.

If possible, when packing a box with mineral wool, do the work out of doors, wearing a pair of gloves, as particles from it fly into the air and are extremely irritating to the throat and skin. Twenty-five pounds of mineral wool will pack a nine-quart pail in a box fifteen by fifteen inches and eleven inches high. Five pounds of wool will pack the same box for using a nine-quart pail. If a smaller pail is used, more wool or mineral wool will be required.

Sawdust is one of the easiest materials to handle. It packs easily and does not require a cloth covering, heavy paper answering the purpose perfectly. Proceed with the packing as for wool or mineral wool and such other materials, omitting the pasteboard top. In place of this and the cloth covering use a paper lining.

“Space adjuster” before it is covered; and small pad to fill the space below the pail.

The “space adjuster” is a padded cylinder which slips into a cooker pocket and makes a receiver for a smaller cooker-pail than that for which the cooker was packed. It can be made by putting together two pasteboard cylinders of equal length, one of which will fit rather loosely outside of the small pail, and the other of which will slip easily into the cooker pocket and line it from top to bottom. When the small cylinder is stood inside of the larger one the space between the two should be firmly packed, preferably with a soft material such as cotton or wool. To keep the filling in place while packing it the cylinder may be wound with twine, as shown in the accompanying illustration. It may then be covered with a fitted muslin cover. Sew two tabs on this cover, with which to lift the space adjuster out. When slipped into the cooker pocket, and the small pail placed in the new pocket thus formed, there will be found to be a space below the pail, which may be filled by a round cushion made for the purpose.

Section view of “space adjuster” showing the pail and cushion in place.

Ready-made hay-boxes and fireless cookers are to be found on the market, some of which have advantages over the home-made article along with some disadvantages. First of the disadvantages is, perhaps, the cost, the expense being considerably greater than for the home-made box. Also the choice in the matter of shapes and material for the utensils cannot be as great as in home-made boxes, and some of the cookers are unpractical in minor details. On the other hand, the commercial cookers are ready for use, some of them being excellently adapted to their purpose, and to many people this would offset the cost. Those that are made of metal, on the plan of refrigerators, perhaps not boxes at all, would appeal to certain housekeepers as likely to be more cleanly than upholstered boxes. But, as food is always in tightly-covered vessels, and as experience has shown that ordinary care will prevent anything from being spilled, a hay-box having been kept sweet and clean without refilling for over a year, the danger of uncleanliness is not so great as would at first appear. Doubtless where servants are entrusted with the use of the cooker there would usually be a greater necessity for guarding against untidiness.

In selecting a ready-made cooker certain points should be considered. See that the parts fit closely together, are simple and strong in construction; that there are no seams or pockets in the kettles which would be difficult, if not impossible, to get clean; that the kettles are a suitable size, namely, not too large, if they are to cook food for a small family, and not too small to ensure sufficient heat for proper cooking; and that there is no air space over the cover that will not be filled when the cooker is closed. In the case of the metal cookers a round cover with a single hinge is a point of weakness, for the cover is not sufficiently supported to endure the strain of constant use. Many of the cookers also use tin very considerably, which is objectionable. Doubtless there will be constant improvements in these inventions, as there is a growing demand for them and an increasing intelligence as to their use.