VEGETABLES.
Cabbage, Turnip Tops, or Greens generally should be young and tender, sound, clean and fresh, properly trimmed and without decayed leaves.
Carrots should be of a good colour, quite firm, have a crisp appearance when broken across, and when boiled be soft and tender.
Parsnips should not be too large, the texture should not be woody, and they should cook well.
Turnips should be small, finely grained, juicy, smooth and sound, not soft, porous, or stringy.
Onions should be sound, dry, clean, and have been well harvested. They should be kept in a cool, dry, airy place; during severe frost they must be protected, piled together with a few sacks or mats over them, and when the weather softens they should be spread out again, or, if roped, hung up again. Damp will start them into growth, which will soon spoil them.
Potatoes enter largely into the prison dietary, and it is very necessary they should be of good quality. This is judged by the size of the tuber,—the contract specifying not less than eight to the pound,— the appearance of the skin, firmness of the texture, absence of fungus disease, and the characteristics when cooked, which should be mealy or floury, not close, waxy, or watery; nor should they turn black on cooling.
Potato disease, which is very prevalent in wet cold seasons, shows on the tuber as brown spots: it is really a fungus which penetrates the substance of the potato, causing it to rot and decay.
Potatoes, if frozen, rapidly decompose when thawed, but are not harmful to health if used before they putrefy, though they acquire a sweetish taste which is objectionable. They also deteriorate if allowed to sprout.
The varieties of potatoes are numerous, many having characteristic qualities of their own, and requiring a little different treatment in the cooking. The consignments of this vegetable should not, therefore, be mixed, even though the sorts are of good quality. They should also be of fairly uniform size for the day’s ration; for if some are small and the others large, cooking equally is difficult:
Preserved or dried vegetables are sometimes used; a sample should be cooked before definitely accepting a consignment.
For Rules for Cooking Vegetables see page 51.
PEAS.
Those used in the prison dietary are the variety known as "dried split peas.” They should be of good size and colour, the convex surface smooth; there should be freedom from worm-eaten, shrivelled, green, or very light yellow ones. Occasionally a good sample of pea may be a dull grey colour, from being sprinkled with pea flour; a few placed in cold water will reveal their true colour in a few minutes. It is essential that the peas should boil quite soft. Old peas require soaking for some hours, before cooking, in cold water; but if peas are young they will cook soft without this.
BEANS.
Those called “White Haricot Beans” are chiefly used. They should be of good size, but more important still, they should he uniform in size. The colour should be white, not yellow or black. The convex surface should be fairly smooth and not crinkled and shrivelled.
RICE.
The varieties of Rice are numerous. Patna is the variety generally used. The grain should be free from the husk, whole, clean, of good colour and size.
SUGAR.
Both moist and loaf Sugar are in use. The former is of the kind called “Demarara”; it should be light brown in colour, not gummy or wet, and should all dissolve without sediment.
TEA.
When there is doubt of any consignment of tea, the leaves may be damped and spread out and their characteristics inspected. The structure of the tea leaf is serrated or notched, but not quite up to the stalk. Dirt, sand, and other foreign matter should be looked for. The usual way, however, to test tea, is by making an infusion, which should be fragrant to smell, not harsh or bitter to taste, and not too dark in colour.
The chief adulteration of tea is now principally the admixture of old and exhausted tea leaves, which gives a bitter taste, and the addition of other leaves than those of the genuine tea plant, which requires expert knowledge for detection.
WHEAT.
So little wheat is now ground in prisons, that it will not require to be dealt with at any great length, but mention must be made of it in order to give some idea of the quality and composition of flour and whole-meal, which, in the shape of bread, forms a large element in the prison dietary.
Wheat being very rich in solids, and containing comparatively little water, presents much nutrition in a small bulk. Its chief defect as a food is that it contains only a small amount of fat.
There are several kinds of wheat, each of which has certain characteristics. The wheat grown in this country is usually known as White or Red, Hard or Soft, &c. The prison contract specifies for the supply of English, Colonial or Foreign Wheat, to be delivered separately, so that in grinding, a mixture of the different kinds may be used; this is found to be more satisfactory in the grinding, and to give a better and more uniform product. These wheats are not to weigh less than 62 lbs. to the bushel, the heavier the better. They are to be dry, clean, and sweet. Some estimate can be formed as to the dryness by thrusting the hand into the sack, when, if the wheat is dry, the hand will easily be passed in, but with some difficulty if damp. There should be no smell of damp or mustiness, and no evidence of insects, fungi, mouse, or other dirt. It should be free from other grains, like barley and oats or cockle seeds (small, short, thick, blackish grains), and smut,—a fungus which fills the wheat grain with a black, dusty powder. The grains should be well filled out, the envelopes should not be split open. Sprouted wheat is of a dark colour and bitter to the taste, and careful search will show where the sprout is broken off, or even a few grains with the sprouts on them. The shape, colour, and general appearance of the different kinds of wheat, whether English or Foreign, &c., will, after a little experience, be fairly easily learned. Foreign wheat is usually smaller, harder, darker in colour, and drier, than English wheat.
The mean composition of numerous analyses of wheats is given as follows (König):—
Water
13.54
per cent.
Nitrogenous Matter
12.42
,,
Fat
1.70
,,
Sugar
1.44
,,
Gum and Dextrine
2.38
,,
Starch
64.07
,,
Fibre and Ash
4.45
,,
If wheat grains are soaked for a short time in water it will be easy to see that externally there are sundry yellowish coats or envelopes,—four are usually described,—and internally a central white portion, or, roughly, bran and flour. The proportions of the two are usually given as about 80 per cent, of flour, 16 per cent. of bran, with 4 per cent. of loss in the process of separation. The ground product of wheat is divided into different qualities according to its fineness, thus:—Fine or best flour; Seconds or household flour; then following sharps or middlings, pollards, and finally the coarse bran.
The outer coats of wheat grains contain more nutritive material (nitrogenous matter and fat) than the inner portions, for instance, the proportion of gluten in whole grain is 12 per cent, in bran 14 to 18 per cent., whilst in flour it is only 10 per cent.; hence arises the practice of using wholemeal, or all the constituents of the grain, in preference to fine white flour; but the bran or outer envelope itself is exceedingly hard and difficult to digest, accordingly a middle course is adopted in the prison dietary; 12 per cent. of the coarse bran and pollard is extracted, giving what is sometimes called a " decorticated” wholemeal.
It will be convenient to mention the character of white flour first. It should be almost a perfectly white, fine powder, with only the very slightest tinge of yellow; there should be no lumps, or, if there are, they should break down easily between the finger and thumb; the odour should be sweet, there should be no smell of mustiness, and it should be free from acidi
ty to the taste, though the best flour is faintly acid to test paper. It should exhibit no trace of bran when pressed smooth with a polished surface; and it should have a certain amount of cohesion, sufficient to retain for some time the impression when a handful is squeezed. Microscopically there should be an absence of foreign starches, negativing adulteration with the flour of other cereals, as barley, oats, maize, &c. Fine white flour should all pass through a sieve with a mesh of 3,600 holes to the square inch.
Prison whole-meal, that is the products of the whole grain with 12 per cent. of the coarse bran eliminated, should present many of the characteristics of white flour, but of course is of a darker colour: more especially will this be noticeable if it be ground from a red wheat or foreign wheat. When it is flattened with a polished surface there should be found the white flour in good proportion, and the sharps and pollards should not be present to too large an extent or too coarse. The whole should pass through a sieve with a 16" mesh to the inch, and if the flour be well ground, 13 ounces out of a pound of the whole-meal should pass through the 60" mesh sieve. Occasionally, however, whole-meal will be sent in, and when this test is applied, it is found that only some 9 ounces of the pound will pass the 60" mesh sieve; if the 7 ounces residue, however, be examined, it will be seen that a considerable amount of white flour remains in it, in granules of globular shape,—this is known as semolina; it is the portion just inside the cortical portion of the wheat grain of hard wheats, and is very rich in gluten (vegetable albumen), and it is much sought after for pastry-making, and does not render the whole-meal inadmissible.
Attention to the above points, and the character and quality of the bread made from it, will give a very fair estimate of the quality of any particular consignment. Microscopical and chemical examination must be left to the expert.
OATMEAL.
Oatmeal is a highly nutritious food, and, like wheat-meal, enters largely into the prison dietary. It is the richest of all the cereal meals in fat and nitrogenous matters, but contains less starch; and owing to the absence of certain adhesive properties in the gluten, which is possessed by the gluten of wheat, it cannot be made into bread, but is used to make porridge and gruel.
The coarse Scotch oatmeal in use in prisons is the oat deprived of the husk, but retaining the envelopes of the oat grain, which correspond to the bran of the wheat grain.
It should be sweet, dry, and clean. The chief adulteration is with barley-meal, or the husk of the oat itself, or that of barley and wheat, which can be usually detected by careful inspection, but can only be definitely proved by microscopical examination.
The following table shows roughly the relative difference between Fine wheaten flour, Wholemeal flour, and Oatmeal:—
CHAPTER IV.
GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR THE VARIOUS METHODS OF COOKING.
The various methods of cooking in H. M. Prisons comprise boiling, steaming, baking, roasting, stewing, broiling, and frying. The last three are mostly employed in connection with Hospital or Sick-room Cookery.
BOILING.
Boiling has two distinct objects which differ considerably from each other. The first is to retain as much nourishment as possible in the article so cooked; and the other is to extract as much as possible of the nourishing juices of the solid ingredients used, so as to amalgamate them into the liquid (water) in which the article is boiled. The latter is more largely practised in connection with Prison Cookery than the former. Water boils at 212 deg. Fah.; this degree is generally known as boiling heat, whilst simmering (slow cooking) is done at a temperature from 185 to 210 deg. Fah.
When a piece of meat is to be cooked to be served whole, it must be placed in boiling water and allowed to boil fast for at least ten minutes, in order to harden the albumen, so as to prevent the juices from escaping; the heat is then reduced, and the article to be boiled must be cooked at simmering heat, until tender; 15 to 20 minutes to the pound is the usual average time allowed for meat to be boiled. The scum which, rises to the surface during the first stage must in every case be carefully removed, but fat must not be taken away when the skimming operation is performed. In the case of soups, when the meat, cereals and vegetables are cut up small, slow cooking is generally recommended, in order to extract all the goodness of the ingredients and to make them very tender. Most vegetables are cooked at actual boiling heat.
Salt, pickled, cured, or smoked meat, should, when possible, be allowed to soak for some time in cold water, and then placed in the cooking vessel with either cold or warm water, according to the nature and character of the meat, and then be brought quickly to the boil. The salt or brine is considerably extracted when cured, salt or smoked meat is thus treated.
STEAMING.
Cooking by steam is more gradual (slower) than by boiling, and is therefore for many reasons to be recommended. Steaming is cooking by means of moist heat; it is effected by the steam passing through pipes from the boiler into the coppers or cauldrons, (into a hermetically closed vessel or chamber).
Meat, potatoes, fish, soups, &c., are usually cooked by steam. In all cases the water or other liquid, such as stock, liquor, &c., is to be brought to the boil, and after a period of from fifteen minutes to thirty minutes the steam should be somewhat reduced, so as to allow the contents of the steamer to cook more or less slowly till the articles, solid or liquid, to be steamed are quite done and fit for serving. Exception to this rule is made in case of vegetables—potatoes and greens, —when full steam is required during the whole process of cooking.
BAKING AND ROASTING.
The success of every method of cooking depends largely upon the good management of the fire or heat. Both baking and roasting cannot be successfully performed without a good heat. Iron and brick ovens are used for the purpose of baking. The management of bakers’ ovens and the baking of bread is dealt with under a separate heading, and is therefore not explained here.
Iron ovens, as well as brick or bakers’ ovens, heated by coal or gas, are adapted for roasting, i.e., baking meat, &c. In roasting or baking joints of meat in an oven, the great secret is that of preserving as much as possible the nourishing qualities of the meat, by preventing the essential juices from escaping. The usual time allowed for roasting or baking meat is 15 minutes per lb. and 15 minutes over; but the thickness of a joint, its shape, and the season of the year, have to be considered; and the cook must therefore use his judgment and bear in mind, also, that the meat from freshly killed animals takes longer to cook than meat that has been hung for a time; again, the meat of young and fat animals takes a little less time than that of old and lean animals.
The oven must be thoroughly hot before the meat is put in. The latter must, when possible, be placed on a trivet in the roasting pan; this will cause the joint to get much better cooked, and facilitate the basting, which operation is most essential.
“Basting” is to pour liquified fat or dripping over the meat during the process of roasting or baking. For this purpose some dripping should be placed on top of the meat, if the latter be not fat enough. The fat or dripping becomes liquified (dissolved) when exposed to heat, and will thus enable one to baste.
After the meat has been in a very hot oven from 15 to 20 minutes (the needful time required to brown the surface of the meat), the heat should be somewhat reduced, and a moderate heat maintained until the meat is done. If the oven is too hot the meat becomes scorched, and every care must be taken to guard against this. Some cooks dredge the meat with flour when it is half cooked: this is done to make the gravy better, but it is not essential. The average heat required for roasting is about 190 deg. Fah. for the first stage, and 160 deg. after. Perfection in roasting can only be attained by carefully studying the important points enumerated. It is difficult to give hard and fast rules as to the actual time needed for roasting or baking joints, as this depends on many circumstances which, as explained, continually change; for this reason Cooks must pay the strictest attention to the various details connected with this mode of cooking
.
GRAVY FOE ROAST OR BAKED MEAT.
An ample supply of gravy should be served out with each ration of roast or baked meat. It is made as follows:— Pour away all the fat in the dripping pan (strain and preserve it for further use), add the required quantity of bone liquor, stock, or water, season with salt and pepper, stir over the fire until it boils, and simmer for five minutes, then strain and use as required.
STEWING.
By this method coarse and tough meat can be cooked tender, and be made nourishing. Stewing is considered the most economical mode of cooking, because more nourishment can be gained by this process than by any other, and is therefore the most profitable way of cooking. All articles to be stewed are to be cooked very gently, the heat should never exceed 189 deg. Fah. When cooked or preserved meats are to be stewed they should only be allowed to simmer just hot enough to get the meat hot through. Fresh meat should be first fried in a sufficient quantity of fat or dripping, and then allowed to simmer gently till tender in a small quantity of liquid—either stock, bone liquor, or water. Seasoning must in this case be added in moderate quantity at the commencement. In using fat for frying in the first stage only a sufficiency to prevent the meat from burning must be taken.
BROILING OR GRILLING.
A gridiron is required to broil or grill, between which the meat or fish to be broiled is placed. The gridiron must be kept very clean and well greased each time it is used. Broiling or grilling is to cook in front of or over a fire, which must be brisk and clear and proportioned to the article to be cooked. Mutton chops, cutlets, steaks, whiting, slices of cod, fresh haddocks and soles are the usual articles of food cooked in this manner. A steady fire is required for fish, which must always be well done. Frequent turning is most necessary. From 10 to 15 minutes are required to broil a moderate sized chop or steak. The best way to test this is to press the meat with the handle of a knife, and when firm to the touch it is done. Underdone meat should only be so cooked when ordered by the Doctor. After the first 5 or 10 minutes all meat or fish to be broiled should be moved a distance from the fire, and be cooked more gently till done enough.
The Prison Cookbook Page 22