FIRELESS COOKER
A jolly useful thing for saving coal, saving time, and saving money is a Fireless Cooker.
The Fireless Cooker is a very valuable help to you in your enjoyment of camp, because once you have started the food cooking you shove it in the Fireless Cooker, you press the lid, and the Fireless Cooker does the rest!
And you can leave the dinner to cook itself while you go out and play camp games.
And so, too, in your own home, once you have started the food cooking you can put out the fire, and thus save fuel or gas, and let the Fireless Cooker finish the job for you.
Construction of Box
Obtain a large wooden box, such as a soap box. Line with double newspaper. Fill the box to within two or three inches of the top with very tightly packed hay, scoop out of the centre of the hay a cavity large enough to hold the cooking utensil. Make a cushion of house flannel to fit the top of the box exactly and stuff it tightly with hay.
Rules for Use of Fireless Cooker
Use saucepans with tightly fitting lids and short handles. Those made of aluminum or earthenware are preferable. Jam jars or large tins tightly covered may be used.
Bring the food to boiling point on the gas cooker or kitchen range and while boiling place it at once in the box. Some foods require a certain amount of cooking previous to being placed in the Fireless Cooker. (See table below.)
Wrap the cooking utensil in newspaper, and place in the prepared nest in the Fireless Cooker.
Over this place the hay cushion and close the lid firmly. There must be no space between the cushion and the lid.
Note.—To obtain satisfactory results, pack the stew-pan as quickly and firmly as possible; this is to prevent loss of heat.
Average Time for Various Foods
Meat.—Cook for about half the usual time on the gas or kitchen range, and about four to six hours in the Fireless Cooker.
Dried Beans.—Soak overnight. Boil for 30 minutes. Allow three to four hours in the cooker.
Fresh Fruit.—Bring to boiling point and place in the cooker at once. Allow one or two hours, according to the firmness of the fruit.
Dried Fruit.—Soak overnight, bring to boiling point and put in the cooker for three to five hours.
Oatmeal.—Boil for five minutes and leave in the cooker all night.
Quaker Oats.—Bring to boiling point and leave in the cooker two hours.
Other foods, such as vegetables, bacon, etc., can be cooked by this method.
Small Economics
In the preparation and cooking of food there should be very little for the garbage can, and only cabbage or egg water for the drain.
| Rinds and bones of bacon. | ||
| Outside stalks of celery. | —Flavor soup or stock. | |
| The young green parts of vegetables. | ||
| Pieces of gristle, skin and bone. | ||
| Pea pods. |
Thick stems of cabbage or cauliflower leaves may be served with the vegetables or separately, if given sufficient time to cook.
Water from boiled cauliflower makes a good soup.
Apple skins—stones from jam—the surplus water from bottled fruit—boiled with a little sugar and water make a very good fruit syrup to serve with milk or suet puddings.
The sugar from candied peel will sweeten and flavor a rice pudding.
Water from boiled rice makes a thin stock for soups, or can be used to stiffen articles of clothing in place of starch.
The grease-proof paper from margarine, etc., will cover steamed puddings.
Salt removes stains from enamel.
Tissue paper cut into rounds and dipped in warm milk will make air-tight covers for jam-pots, or can be used for polishing glass or metal.
Newspapers can be used for lining the fireless cooker, wiping greasy saucepans or knives before washing, making fire lighters, rubbing over the stoves—the dirty pieces can be soaked in water, made into balls and put on the fire to keep it at a steady heat.
Dried orange skins, nutshells, used matches, matchboxes, empty reels, fruit stones, are useful for fire lighting.
Vegetable parings not fit for food should be dried and used as fuel unless animals are kept.
Gas Stove
The stove and utensils should be kept clean.
Shallow flat-bottomed vessels should be used.
A compartment steamer cooks three or four different foods on one burner.
A pudding in a basin can be raised out of water by a meat stand placed at the bottom of an ordinary saucepan—and vegetables cooked in a perforated steam pan above.
Where possible arrange a meal to be cooked all on the top of the stove, or all in the oven.
Avoid heating the oven to cook a single dish.
Utilise all space when the oven is heated—food may be partly or wholly cooked for following day.
In a gas oven three or four small tins are better than one large tin which fills the shelf. By the former method free circulation of heat is not prevented, and cooking is more efficient. If a large tin is used, have holes drilled in it to allow passage of heat.
Fill the kettle before lighting the gas, and turn out the gas before emptying the kettle.
Don’t fill the kettle if only a pint of water is wanted.
Tips for Cleaning.—Directly your cooking pot is empty pour cold water into it and put it on the fire to prevent the leavings getting hard, it will then be quite easy to clean later on.
Personally I like washing up, though some people don’t, but the main thing is to keep the greasy things to the last. Wash the cleaner things first in hot water with a clean dishcloth, then add hotter water and deal with the greasy things.
Dry the utensils with a dry towel, then dry further in warm air, and finally polish with a soft cloth.