c. 1933: A Cooking Secret 200 Years Old.
“Dutch Oven Cooking” with a Westinghouse Electric Flavor Zone Stove
The old books tell us how the tables were spread at dinner time in a long low-ceilinged room, and how the candle light was richly reflected in pewter and copper and silver…. Beside the great stone fireplace was set the Dutch Oven, built into the stone and having a door of iron. Before the cooking was to be done, this square oven was heated from underneath by a wood fire. When it was hot, the glowing coals were scraped out, the food put in, the door swung shut and latched….In this sealed oven, the food was rather quickly brought to a browning temperature, and then, because no more heat was applied, the temperature gradually receded during the cooking period. In the case of meats, this resulted in a caramelizing, or searing of the outside. The “flavourous” juices were sealed in, driven toward the center, and then the interior of the meat was cooked by the slow penetration of heat from the oven. The savory steam that rose from the meat during the cooking was held in the oven and produced the same result as constant basting, preventing the meat from becoming hard and dry. This same thing was true of vegetables, of puddings and pastries…. the secret lay in three factors of this cooking method: first, the completely sealed oven; second, the high temperature required for browning; third, the gradually receding heat….
Free eBook.
24-page booklet. Publisher: Westinghouse.
