The Fireless Cook Book / A Manual of the Construction and Use of Appliances for Cooking by Retained Heat, with 250 Recipes

by Margaret Johnes Mitchell

Cracker Gruel

• 1 tablespoon plain cracker crumbs
• 1 cup milk
• ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt

Scald the milk in a small double cooker-pail, with boiling water in the under pail. Add the cracker, and put it into a cooker for one hour or more. Add the salt just before serving. It is often convenient to keep such gruels hot for use in the night, being improved rather than harmed by the long cooking. Care must then be taken that they are hot, not merely warm. Milk is considered scalding hot when a thick skin forms on the top and bubbles appear next the pan, or when it registers 180 degrees Fahrenheit.