 |
|
Boiling
Boiling is perhaps the simplest process of cooking vegetables and is an excellent way of cooking meat. The food is put into boiling water (water boils at 2120 F.) and kept there until cooked. Vegetables, especially potatoes, and green vegetables, need actively boiling water, else they are apt to become water-soaked. Meat, on the other hand, should have little real boiling. Meat is largely protein, or albumin, a class of food distinguished from starches, fats, and mineral substances. This protein is coagulated, i.e., hardened or made firm, by heat. Real boiling over-coagulates the protein and makes it indigestible, but simmering at a lower temperature softens the fibers. In cooking meat, therefore, it should be boiled rapidly at first for about five minutes to coagulate the albumin on the surface and to make a water-proof casing to hold the juices in the meat. The rest of the process should be at a moderate heat. Salted meats, such as ham or corned beef, should be soaked first to remove the excess salt. Soup making is quite different, however. The process must extract as much juice as possible from the meat. The meat is therefore cut into small pieces, covered with cold water, and brought gradually to a slowly boiling temperature. |
|