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COOKERY (Lat. coquus, a cook)
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See also:COOKERY (See also:Lat. coquus, a See also:cook) , the See also:art of preparing and dressing See also:food of all sorts for human See also:consumption, of converting the raw materials, by the application of See also:heat or otherwise, into a digestible and pleasing See also:condition, and generally ministering to the See also:satisfaction of the appetite and the delight of the See also:palate . We may take it that some See also:form of See also:cookery has existed from the earliest times, and its progress has been from the See also:simple to the elaborate, dominated partly by the foods accessible to See also:man, partly by the See also:stage of See also:civilization he has attained, and partly by the appliances at his command for the purpose either of treating the food, or of consuming it when served . The See also:developed art of cookery is necessarily a See also:late addition—if it may be considered to be included at all—to the See also:list of " See also:fine arts." Originally it is a purely See also:industrial and useful art . Man, says a See also:French writer, was See also:born a roaster, and " pouretre cuisinier, it a besoin de le devenir." The ancients were See also:great eaters, but strangers to the subtler refinements of the palate . The gods were supposed to love the See also:smell of fried See also:meat., while their See also:nectar and See also:ambrosia represented an ideal, which, though preserved as a phrase, would hardly satisfy a See also:modern epicure . The ancients were poorly provided with pots and pans, except of a simple See also:order, or with the See also:appurtenances of a See also:kitchen, and they were sadly to seek in the requisites''of a modern table . So See also:long as men See also:ate with their hands no dainty confection was suitable; the viands were set forth in a straightforward See also:style See also:fit for their requirements . " See also:Plain cooking," which, after all, can never become obsolete, was the only sort . Oddities, no doubt, were the luxuries; and we can see to-See also:day in the ethnological accounts of contemporary savages and backward civilizations, a See also:fair See also:representation of the cookeries of the ancients . The luxuries of the See also:Chinese are, in their way, a survival of long ages of a cookery which to western civilization is See also:grotesque . Even if it is an historic impertinence, it is impossible for the countries of western civilization to regard the fine See also:flower of their own See also:evolution as other than the highest See also:pitch of progress . Autres temps, autres mceurs . To the Chinaman French cooking may possibly be as grotesque as to an Englishman the Chinaman's hundredyear-old buried See also:egg, See also:black and tasteless . The See also:history of See also:comparative cookery is See also:bound up with the See also:physical possibilities of each See also:country and its products; and if we See also:attempt to See also:mark out stages in the evolution of cookery as a fine art, it is necessarily as understood by the so-called civilized peoples of the See also:West in their See also:culmination at the See also:present day . It is obvious that opportunity has dominated its history, for the art of cookery is to some extent the product of an increased refinement of See also:taste, consequent on culture and increase of See also:wealth . To this extent it is a decadent art, ministering to the luxury of man, and to his progressive inclination to be pampered and have his appetite tickled . It is thus only remotely connected with the See also:mere necessities of See also:nutrition (q.v.), or the See also:science of See also:dietetics (q.v.) . Mere See also:hunger, though the best See also:sauce, will not produce cookery, which is the art of sauces . For centuries itselaboration consisted mainly of a progressive variety of foods, the richest and rarest being sought out; and their nature depended on what was most difficult to obtain . The Greeks learnt by contact with See also:Asia to increase the sumptuous See also:character of their banquets, but we know little enough of their ideas of gastronomy . See also:Athens was the centre of luxury . According to our See also:chief authority See also:Athenaeus, See also:Archestratus of See also:Gela, the friend of the son of See also:Pericles, the See also:guide of See also:Epicurus, and author of the Heduphagetica, was a great traveller, and took pains to get See also:information as to how the delicacies of the table were prepared in different parts . His lost See also:work was versified by See also:Ennius . Other connoisseurs seem to have been See also:Numenius of See also:Heraclea, Hegemon of See also:Thasos, Philogenes of Leucas, Simonaclides of See also:Chios, and Tyndarides of See also:Sicyon . The See also:Romans, emerging from their pristine simplicity, borrowed from the Greeks their achievements in"gastronomic See also:pleasure . We read of this or that See also:Roman See also:gourmet, such as See also:Lucullus, his extravagances and his luxury . The name of the connoisseur See also:Apicius, after whom a work of the See also:time of See also:Heliogabalus is called, comes down to us in association with a See also:manual of cookery . And from See also:Macrobius and See also:Petronius we can gather very interesting glimpses of the Roman See also:idea of a menu . In the later See also:empire, tradition still centred See also:round the Roman cookery favoured by the See also:geographical position of See also:Italy; while the customs and natural products of the remoter parts of See also:Europe gradually begin to assert themselves as the See also:middle ages progress . It is, however, not till the See also:Renaissance, and then too with Italy as the starting-point, that the history of modern cookery really begins . Meanwhile cookery may be studied rather in the See also:architecture of kitchens, and the development of their appurtenances and personnel, than in any increase in the subtleties of the art; the ideal was inevitably See also:gross; the end was feeding—inextricably associated in all ages with cooking, but as distinct from its fine Fleur as gluttony from gastronomy . See also:Montaigne's references to the revival of cookery in See also:France by See also:Catherine de' See also:Medici indicate that the new See also:attention paid to the art was really novel . She brought See also:Italian cooks to See also:Paris and introduced there a cultured simplicity which was unknown in France before . It is to the Italians apparently that later developments are originally due . It is clearly established, for instance (says See also:Abraham See also:Hayward in his Art of Dining), that the Italians introduced ices into France . Fricandeaus were invented by the chef of See also:Leo X .
And Coryate in his Crudities, See also:writing in the time of See also:
The very phrase " See also:cordon bleu" (strictly applied only to a woman cook) arose from an enthusiastic recognition of See also:female merit by the See also:
Among the great gastronomic names of See also:Napoleon's day was that of his See also:chancellor See also:Cambaceres, of whose dinners many stories are told
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Robert (the eponym of the sauce Robert), Rechaud and Merillion were at this See also:period esteemed the See also:Raphael, See also:Michelangelo and See also:Rubens of cookery; while A
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Beauvilliers (author of Art des cuisines) and Careme (author of the Maitre d'hetel See also:francais, and chef at different times to the See also:Tsar See also: At the present time, whatever the See also:local varieties of cooking, and the difference of See also:national See also:custom, French cooking is admittedly the ideal of the culinary art, directly we leave the plain • See Lady S . O . See also:Morgan's France, 1829-183o, ii . 414, for an See also:account of a dinner by Careme.roast and boiled . And the spread of See also:cosmopolitan hotels and restaurants over England, See also:America and the See also:European See also:continent, has largely accustomed the whole civilized See also:world to the Parisian type . The improvements in the appliances and appurtenances of the kitchen have made the whole world See also:kin in the arts of dining, but the French chef remains the typical See also:master of his See also:craft . See also:Schools of cookery have been added to the educational See also:machine . The literature of the subject has passed beyond enumeration . It is unnecessary here to pursue so vast a See also:practical subject into detail; but the following notes on broiling, roasting, See also:baking, boiling, stewing and frying may be useful . Broiling.—The earliest method of cooking was probably burying seeds and flesh in hot ashes, a See also:kind of broiling on all the surfaces at the same time, which when properly done is the most delicate kind of cooking . Broiling is now done over a clear See also:fire extending at least 2 in. beyond the edges of the gridiron, which should slightly incline towards the cook . It is usual to rub the bars with a piece of See also:suet for meat, and See also:chalk for fish, to prevent the thing broiled from being marked with the bars of the gridiron . 
In this kind of cookery the See also:object is to coagulate as quickly as possible all the albumen on the See also:surface, and See also:seal up the pores of the meat so as to keep in all the juices and flavour . It is, therefore, necessary thoroughly to warm the gridiron before putting on the meat, or the heat of the fire is conducted away while the juices and flavour of the meat run into the fire . Broiling is a simple kind of cookery, and one well suited to invalids and persons of delicate appetites . There is no other way in which small quantities of meat can be so well and so quickly cooked . Broiling cannot be well done in front of an open fire, because one See also:side of the meat is exposed to a current of See also:cold See also:air . A pair of See also:tongs should be used instead of a fork for turning all broiled meat and fish . Roasting.—Two conditions are necessary for good roasting—a clear See also:bright fire and frequent basting . Next to boiling or stewing it is the most economical method of cooking . The meat at first should be placed See also:close to a brisk fire for five minutes to coagulate the albumen . It should then be See also:drawn back a See also:short distance and roasted slowly . If a meat See also:screen be used, it should be placed before the fire to be moderately heated before the meat is put to roast . The centre of gravity of the fire should be a little above the centre of gravity of the See also:joint . No kitchen can be See also:complete without an open range, for it is almost impossible to have a properly roasted joint in closed kitcheners . The heat radiated from a good open fire quickly coagulates the albumen on the surface, and thus to a large extent prevents that which is fluid in the interior from solidifying . The connective See also:tissue which unites the See also:fibres is gradually converted into See also:gelatin, and rendered easily soluble . The See also:fibrin and albumen appear to undergo a higher oxidation and are more readily dissolved . The See also:fat cells are gradually broken, and the liquid fat unites to a small extent with the chloride of See also:sodium and the tribasic phosphate of sodium contained in the serum of the See also:blood . It is easily seen that roasting by coagulating the See also:external albumen keeps together the most valuable parts of the meat, till they have gradually and slowly undergone the desired See also:change . This surface coagulation is not sufficient to prevent the See also:free See also:access of the See also:oxygen of the surrounding air . The empyreumatic See also:oils generated on the surface are neither wholesome nor agreeable, and these are perhaps better removed by roasting than any other method except broiling . The chief object is to retain as much as possible all the sapid juicy properties of the meat, so that at the first cut the See also:gravy flows out of a See also:rich reddish See also:colour, and this can only be accomplished by a See also:quick coagulation of the surface albumen . The time for roasting varies slightly with the kind of meat and the See also:size of the joint . As a See also:rule See also:beef and mutton require a See also:quarter of an See also:hour to the See also:pound; veal and pork about 17 minutes to the pound . To tell whether the joint is done, See also:press the fleshy See also:part with a spoon; if the meat yield easily it is done . Baking meat is in many respects objectionable, and should never be done if any other method is available . The See also:gradual disuse of open grates for roasting has led to a practice of first baking and then See also:browning before the fire . This method completely reverses the true order of cooking by beginning with the lowest temperature and See also:finishing with the highest . Baked meat has never the delicate flavour of roast meat, nor is it so digestible . The vapours given off by the charring of the surface cannot freely See also:escape, and the meat is cooked in an See also:atmosphere charged with empyreumatic oil . A See also:brick or earthenware See also:oven is preferable to See also:iron, because the porous nature of the bricks absorbs a good See also:deal of the vapour . When potatoes are baked with meat, they should always be first parboiled, because they take a longer time to See also:bake, arid the moisture rising from the potatoes retards the See also:process of baking, and makes the meat sodden . A baked meat See also:pie, though not always very digestible, is far less objectionable than plain baked meat . In the See also:case of a meat pie the surfaces of the meat are protected by a See also:bad conductor of heat from that charring of the surface which generates empyreumatic vapours, and the fat and gravy, gradually rising in temperature, assist the cooking, and such cooking more nearly resembles stewing than baking . The process may go on for a long time after the removal of the meat from the oven, if surrounded with See also:flannel, or some 76 bad conductor of heat . The Cornish pasty is the best example of this kind of cooking . Meat, fish, See also:game, parboiled vegetables, apples or anything that See also:fancy suggests, are surrounded with a thick See also:flour and See also:water crust and slowly baked . When removed from the oven, and packed in layers of flannel, the pasty will keep hot for See also:hours . When baked dishes contain eggs, it should be remembered that the albumen becomes harder and more insoluble, according to the time occupied in cooking . About the same time is required for baking as roasting . Boiling is one of the easiest methods of cooking, but a successful result depends on a number of conditions which, though they appear trifling, are nevertheless necessary . The fire must be watched so as properly to regulate the heat . The saucepan should be scrupulously clean and have a closely-fitting lid, and be large enough to hold sufficient water to well See also:cover and surround the meat, and all scum should be removed as it comes to the surface; the addition of small quantities of cold water will assist the rising of the scum . For all cooking purposes clean See also:rain water is to be preferred . Among cooks a great difference of opinion exists as to whether meat should be put into cold water and gradually brought to the boiling point, or should be put into boiling water . This, like many other unsettled questions in cookery, is best decided by careful scientific experiment and observation . If a piece of meat be put into water at a temperature of 6o°, and gradually raised to 212°, the meat is undergoing a gradual loss of its soluble and nutritious properties, which are dissolved in the water . From the surface to the interior the albumen is partially dissolved out of the meat, the fibres become hard and stringy, and the thinner the piece of meat the greater the loss of all those sapid constituents which make boiled meat savoury, juicy and palatable . To put meat into cold water is clearly the best method for making soups and broth; it is the French method of preparing the pot an See also:feu; but the meat at the end of the operation has lost much of that juicy sapid See also:property which makes boiled meat so acceptable .
The practice of soaking fresh meat in cold water before cooking is for the same reasons highly objectionable; if necessary, wipe it with a clean See also:cloth
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But in the case of salted, smoked and dried meats soaking for several hours is indispensable, and the water should be occasionally changed
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The other method of boiling meat has the authority of Baron See also:Liebig, who recommends putting the meat into water when in a See also:state of ebullition, and after five minutes the saucepan is to be drawn aside, and the contents kept at a temperature of 162° (5o° below boiling)
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The effect of boiling water is to coagulate the albumen on the surface of the meat, which prevents,but not entirely,the juices from passingintothe water, and meat thus boiled has more flavour and has lost much less in See also:weight
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To obtain well-flavoured boiled meat the idea of soups or broth must be a secondary See also:consideration
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It is, however, impossible to cook a piece of meat in water without extracting some of its juices and nutriment, and the liquor should in both cases be made into a soup
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Stewing.—When meat is slowly cooked in a close See also:vessel it is said to be stewed; this method is generally adopted in the preparation of made dishes
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Different kinds of meat may be used, or only one kind according to taste
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The better the meat the better the stew; but by carefully stewing the coarsest and roughest parts will become soft, See also:tender and digestible, which would not be possible by any other kind of cooking
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See also:Odd pieces of meat and trimmings and bones can often be See also:purchased cheaply, and may be turned into good food by stewing
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Bones, although containing little meat, contain from 39 to 49 % of gelatin
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The large bones should be broken into small pieces, and allowed to simmer till every piece is See also: Gelatin is largely used both in the form of jellies and soups . Lean meat, free from blood, is best for stewing, and, when cut into convenient pieces, it should be slightly browned in a little See also:butter or dripping . See also:Constant attention is necessary during this process, to prevent burning . The meat should be covered with soft water or, better, a little stock, and set aside to simmer for four or five hours, according to the nature of the material . When vegetables are used, these should also be slightly browned and added at intervals, so as not materially to See also:lower the temperature . Stews may be thickened by the addition of See also:pearl See also:barley, |