NOTE.--Electricity is a means of producing heat, but cannot be called a fuel.
THE KITCHEN STOVE
LESSON II
In developing the construction of a practical coal or wood range, it is a good idea to use the black-board and make a rough drawing to illustrate the details, as they are given by the pupils. These details should be evolved from the knowledge gained in the preceding lessons, and the drawing should not be an illustration of any particular stove.
After the best practical stove, according to the pupils' ideas, has been thought out and represented on the black-board, they should examine and criticise the school range and the stoves at home. They are then ready to be given the responsibility of managing any ordinary range.
The following are the necessary details to be considered regarding a kitchen stove:
Material.--(1) Iron, (2) steel
Shape.--Rectangular.
Compartments.--(1) Fire-box, (2) ash-box, (3) oven, (4) passage for hot air, (5) other compartments if desired, such as water tank, warming closet, etc.
Dampers.--(1) Front damper--below the fuel, to control the entrance of oxygen to the fuel. (2) Oven damper--above the fuel at the entrance to the pipe, to control the heat for the oven, and also to control the draught. (3) Check damper--at the front of the stove above the fuel, to admit a cross current of air to check the draught.
Management of the stove.--(1) Lighting the fire, (2) heating the oven, (3) arranging for over night, (4) cleaning and care.
NOTE.--Openings below the level of the fire increase the draught, and those above the level check it.
[Illustration: A kitchen coal or wood range, showing, (_a_) oven damper open]
[Illustration: A kitchen coal or wood range, showing, (_b_) oven damper closed]
THE FIRELESS COOKER
Throughout the training given in Household Management, the teacher should emphasize the value of labour-saving devices and aids in the home. How to economize time and energy should be a prominent feature of every practical lesson. If time permit, a lesson may be taken to consider specially such aids as are readily procurable, together with their average cost. In this lesson the fireless cooker is considered.
[Illustration: A fireless cooker]
The principles of the fireless cooker are based on a knowledge of the laws governing the conduction and radiation of heat. For this reason, an elementary science lesson relating to these laws should precede this lesson. Such a science lesson is part of the regular grade work of Form IV, so if a specialist teaches the Household Management of that grade, she and the regular teacher should arrange to co-ordinate their lessons.
PRINCIPLES OF THE FIRELESS COOKER
1. It furnishes no heat, but conserves the heat which is in the food when it is put into the cooker.
2. It conserves the heat in the food, by surrounding it with substances which are poor conductors of heat.
3. Extra heat may be given the food, after it is put in the cooker, by placing heated stone plates above and below the dish that contains the food. The stone used for this purpose must be a good absorbent of heat.
REASONS FOR THE USE OF THE FIRELESS COOKER
1. It saves fuel and is therefore economical.
2. It saves time, because it requires no watching.
3. It conserves the flavour of the food.
4. It obviates all danger of burning the food.
5. It does not heat the room.
WAYS OF USING THE FIRELESS COOKER
1. Food cooked in liquid:
In all cookers where stone plates are not used, only such foods as are cooked in liquids can be prepared. Examples of foods cooked in this way are, meat soup, beef-tea, meat stews, vegetables, fruit, porridge, cereal, puddings, etc.
The prepared food is put into one of the food receptacles belonging to the cooker and is placed over a fire, until it has boiled for a few minutes. The cover is then tightly adjusted, and the dish quickly locked in the cooker, to conserve the heat that the food and liquid have absorbed.
2. Food cooked in dry heat by the use of stone plates:
In this method the food is cold when it is placed in the cooker, and all the heat is supplied by stone plates placed above and below the utensil containing the food. These plates are heated for about twenty minutes over a fire, before they are used in the cooker.
Examples of food cooked in this way are, roasts of meat; baked fruit, such as apples; baked vegetables, such as potatoes or beans; cakes, such as plain cake or fruit cake; quick bread, such as corn-bread and biscuits.
3. Food cooked in liquid, aided by the heat of one stone plate:
In cases where the original heat absorbed by the food is not sufficient to complete the cooking as desired, a heated stone plate may be placed in the cooker below the utensil containing the hot food. The stone may be necessary for one of the following reasons--
(1) Because the amount of food put into the cooker is too small to contain much heat. It is always better to have the food nearly fill the dish.
(2) Because the time required is so long that the heat of the food and liquid becomes exhausted before the cooking is completed.
(3) Because it is desirable to finish the cooking in less time.
A HOME-MADE FIRELESS COOKER
Use a large wooden box or a small trunk with a close-fitting cover. Make it as air-tight as possible by pasting thick paper all over the inside.
Pack it level with clean sawdust or excelsior (the latter preferably), until just enough height is left to set in a covered granite pail, which is to be used for holding the food. Place the pail in the centre, so that its top edge is just about half an inch below the top of the box.
Then pack in more excelsior very tightly around the pail, until level with it. This will shape the "nest" for the pail.
[Illustration: A home-made fireless cooker]
Make a thick cushion, or mat, of excelsior to fit in the space between the level of the excelsior and the inside of the cover. Cover the cushion with cheesecloth or denim to keep it intact.
NOTE.--Only food cooked in a liquid can be prepared in a home-made cooker.