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Sect. 3.-General Principles of Boiling

85. As in roasting, so in the process now under discussion, the principal effect is the coagulation of the albumen, and the rendering tender of the fibrous membranes. This makes the whole much more digestible; and if it were not for the dissolving out into the water of the saline matters, as well as the soluble gelatine and albumen, there would be a superiority in boiling over roasting in every respect. But from their occurrence it follows that unless the liquor is used with the meat, there is a want of these essential ingredients; so that a person fed upon boiled meat alone, with bread and potatoes, and none of the broth, would speedily lose health and strength. The plan recommended by Liebig, for the purpose of keeping in the juices by rapidly coagulating the albumen on the surface, answers well in point of economy, the saving being fully two or three per cent.; but I do not believe that the meat so treated is quite so tender. His plan is to immerse the meat in boiling water, and boil for five minutes. After this, lower the temperature down to that which will not scald the hand, either by the simple addition of cold water, or by first abstracting sufficient boiling water to allow of its being poured in. After this, the boiling is carried on at a slow simmer until the meat is done. It is easy to understand how water boiled rapidly acts more energetically upon the meat than when boiled more slowly; for though it never rises above 212 degrees, yet it gives out a much greater quantity of heat in a given time, and consequently, raises the temperature of the meat much more quickly. Water is kept at a certain temperature in boiling, because whatever articles are raised above that temperature are converted into steam and escape; but meat in it is not capable of being converted into steam, and in water thus rapidly boiled it is capable of being raised above the boiling degree, or 212 degrees, and if not thus raised, it is much more quickly heated, because it receives the superfluous temperature of a greater mass of steam given off in the bubbles accompanying the "galloping" process. It has been observed, under the head of Roasting, at page 41, that, independently of the watery particles flying off by steam, the loss in that process is solely from the fat and gravy which drop into the dripping-pan, and which ought to be collected and saved; but in boiling there is nearly as much dissolved in the liquor in which the boiling takes place, as we shall presently see. According to Mr. Tilloch, whose experiments are corroborated by my own on the large as well as the small scale, the loss by boiling is as follows :- Beef in boiling loses ৬৬৪ ... 900 ... ... in 100 lb. 261 lb.

Legs of mutton ... ... ... ... ... " 21," Boiling salt beef (Donovan) 15 ... ... ... ... ... " ११ Legs of mutton (do.) ... ... ... ... 10 " " Hams " (do.) ... ... ... " 12½ " " Salt pork (do.) ... ... ... ... " 133," " Bacon (do.) ... ... ... ... ... " 61 " " Turkeys (do.) ... ... 16 १७ Chicken " (do.) ... ... ... ... ... " 13} " Donovan's estimate is here pretty correct, except in reference to the legs of mutton, which certainly lose more than 10 per cent.; and, I believe, fully what is stated on Tilloch's authority, namely, 21 per cent. 86. IN COMPARING BOILING, therefore, with roasting, there is an apparent gain, according to Tilloch's experiments, of about 10 per cent. in favour of boiling mutton, and, according to Donovan's, of 14 per cent in legs of mutton, and about 14 per cent. in poultry. But then it must be recollected, that 100 lbs. of roasted meat will produce about ten lbs. of good dripping, and also a pound or two of good gravy, neither of which can be obtained from the boiling process when the liquor is not used; consequently it is imperative that this should be saved, and employed in some way, if this kind of cookery is to be considered more economical than roasting, for otherwise the loss in dripping will counterbalance the saving in other respects. If the boilings are wasted, there is an absolute loss of at least 20 per cent, of good useful matter in the shape of the fat (which, by the way, is 6 a Fig 123 125 126 128 127 Fig 12.4