Food Prep - Boiling

Each week I'll have a different food preparation and it's back ground. Something different! This week is Boiling Food.

BOILING food is the process of cooking it in a boiling liquid, usually water. Boiling water has a temperature of 212°, and no matter how long it boils or how hard it boils, it never becomes hotter; for at that point it is transformed by the heat into steam, and in time boils away. Boiling is marked by rapid bubbling and the breaking of the bubbles into steam.

The chief food elements affected by boiling are the starch and the albumen. Cold water has no effect upon starch. It will mingle with it, but if allowed to stand, the starch will soon settle to the bottom of the vessel. If boiling water be poured upon finely ground starch those granules which the water first touches will swell and burst, allowing the contents of each granule to mix with the boiling water. But these granules which the water does not reach will be unchanged, and the mass will be lumpy. If, how-ever, the starch be rubbed up with cold water to a consistency sufficient to permit the mass to run, and it be then poured into boiling water, the granules will all burst, and as the contents mix with the water, a smooth, uniform mixture results. This applies only to those starchy foods Used in the form of a fine powder. Solid, compact, starchy foods should be put at once into boiling water.

Starch in a Fat, or uncooked, state is not wholesome. When a starchy food is cooked the grains of starch swell and burst. For this reason cooked potato which contains much starch is mealy and flaky. New potatoes do not become so on boiling, as they contain but very little starch. In potatoes which have been allowed to sprout, the starch is changed into gum and this renders them unfit for food.

Albumen is purest in the white of an egg, in which it occurs in it liquid form. It is also found in meats, especially in the juices and fibers of lean meat; this is called blood albumen.

If an egg is put into boiling water the white or transparent portion soon becomes opaque; it next becomes tough; and, finally, hard or brittle. The yolk, too, contains some albumen, which becomes mealy and dry in boiling.

When a piece of lean meat is placed in boiling water it will seem to shrivel and diminish in size. All of its juices will be retained, and the water will remain clear and uncolored.' But if it be placed in cold water the latter will be discolored by the juices which have been soaked out. The water, as it becomes hotter, will assume a brown color. The cold water has extracted the juices from the meat, while the boiling water hardened the albumen and closed the pores of the meat, thus preventing the escape of the juices. If the meat is to be boiled it must be put at once into boiling water, so as to cause it to retain the juices. But if soup or broth is to be made by the extraction of the juices the meat should be placed in cold water, , and the water should never pass the simmering point.

Water containing salt or sugar is denser than ordinary water, consequently it is more difficult to bring it to a " boil." Soft water extracts the juices of the meat more readily than does hard water. Hard water is best for boiling meat or vegetables. If only soft water is at hand it should be salted in order to preserve vegetables whole while cooking.

When a piece of meat is boiled it is essential to retain its nutritious juices and not to allow them to escape into the water. To accomplish this, the meat is placed in boiling, salted water and allowed to boil as hard as possible for from five to ten minutes. This is enough to harden the albumen and to close the pores. The vessel,, tightly covered in order to retain the steam, is placed where the water will gently simmer.

The scum which forms on the top of the water is albumen from the outside of the meat; it should be removed by skimming, as otherwise it will settle upon the meat and spoil its appetizing appearance.

Great care is necessary in turning the meat in boiling so as not to allow the escape of its juices. A fork should never be used for this purpose. When soup, broth, and teas are to be made it is essential to extract all of the juice and strength of the meat. To do this, place the meat, cut in small pieces, in cold water, and allow it to soak as long as possible. Do not let it boil, but only simmer until all of the nutriment is extracted.

When stews and fricassees are made, it is intended that both the meat and liquid shall be eaten. It is, therefore, necessary that the nourishment be retained in both the solid and the liquid. To accomplish this a combination of both of the above principles is called for. Place the meat in cold water. Let it boil quickly, and after skimming place it where it can simmer. By placing in cold water some of the nutriment is-extracted, and the rapid boiling stops the extraction before it has gone too far, while the simmering cooks the solid thoroughly.

As vegetables, contain a little albumen and much juice, it is best to place them in hot water and bring them to a boil quickly. This will harden the albumen, keep in the juices, and cause them to be absorbed by the bursting starch granules.