A Course of Lectures on the Principles of Domestic Economy and Cookery

the effect of slow cooking. One difficulty that we labor under here is that we have to use a very intense heat, otherwise the flame of this vapor stove goes out. In order to braise successfully you want a very gentle and continuous heat,--such as you would get on the back part of a cooking stove,--just heat enough to keep the meat simmering. We will do as well as we can by keeping the sauce pan at one side of the fire, and then I will describe the braising process, so that you can do it perfectly at home. If we have any cabbage we will braise the meat with it. That makes a dish that is used very much in the north of Europe, in Poland and Sweden. I think I will give you the recipe, whether we have our cabbage or not. Use a large pot or sauce pan, large enough to allow you to lay the piece of meat on the bottom; or, you can use a thick, deep, iron pan. I remember, several days ago, seeing in the hardware stores pans about ten inches high, pans made of Russia iron, oval. You can use that for quite a large piece of meat if you have not a sauce pan. You want a pan deep enough to allow the water to come just over the beef. Put water in the pan, enough to cover the beef, and let it get boiling hot. I will give you two methods of braising. When the water is boiling hot, put the beef in it; watch it carefully until it just begins to boil again. The moment it boils, push back the pot or pan in which it is far enough away from the hot part of the stove to keep the water only simmering, only bubbling, not boiling. Put in whatever seasoning you like. If you use spice, cloves for instance, or mace, use it whole. If you use simply salt and pepper, of course use them in the powder. Keep the cover very tightly over the pot or sauce