(9) Any dish which requires slow, gentle cooking can be prepared in a casserole, and hash, curry, and other réchauffés are far superior in flavor when recooked in earthenware than in metal. The stew, or whatever it is, may be left to get cold in the casserole. The color would be spoiled if this were done with an ordinary saucepan.
(10) The flavor of the food cooked is brought out best when it is prepared in an earthenware dish.
(11) The fact that a casserole is a non-conductor of heat makes it more economical to use than other ware.
(12) The amount of water, liquid, or stock in which the article is to be cooked should be relatively small, and, in general, seasoned. For stews, ragouts, etc., it is better to cook the meat in a nicely seasoned sauce, that it may absorb the flavor in cooking. The time, in general, should be multiplied by two; that is, if the recipe calls for thirty minutes; cook in the casserole in the oven for about sixty minutes. The heat of the oven should be about 212 degrees Fahrenheit or less, that the liquid in the casserole may simmer, not boil.
When vegetables are to be cooked—and nearly all vegetables are wonderfully better when cooked by this method—a small amount of water, in many cases seasoned stock, should be used.
(13) Left-overs, salads, and small entrées of all kinds may be served in a most attractive manner in ramequins or individual casseroles.
(14) The crowning advantage of casserole cooking, especially in a family where for one cause or another meals are apt to be irregular, is that the dish can be kept waiting for a considerable time without deterioration. Food can be left in a casserole with perfect safety as long as desired.
HOW TO CARE FOR CASSEROLE DISHES
The cook who has been accustomed to the use of iron, granite, copper, aluminum, or other metal cooking utensils will necessarily have something to learn when adopting earthenware. It must be realized that it is a method of slow cookery, and cannot be hurried. Before being used for the first time the vessels should be soaked in cold water for some hours, as this will go far toward saving them from cracking on their first exposure to heat. There need be little risk of this if the heat be applied gradually, and this principle should always be observed; although as the utensils become seasoned by constant use the risk of accident is materially lessened. In many places garlic is considered indispensable, the new dishes being rubbed with a clove of it, “to prevent their cracking.” Never place the vessels on the stove or within the oven without either water or fat in them. Never put a casserole roughly on a metal surface, especially if it is full or partly full.
Sudden alternations of temperature should be avoided, that is to say, the casserole should not be taken off the range or out of the oven and placed in cold water or on the wet sink, and vice versâ. A fierce heat is never needed or desirable.