31. ROASTING.--Originally, the term to roast meant to cook before a fire, because, before the time of stoves, practically all food was cooked in the fireplace. Food that was to be roasted was placed before the fire in a device that reflected heat, this device being open on the side toward the fire and closed on that toward the room. The roast was suspended in this device, slowly turned, and thus cooked by radiant heat--that is, heat given off in the form of direct rays--the principle being the same as that of broiling, but the application different. Nowadays, the term roasting is almost universally applied to the action of both hot air and radiant heat. However, much of what is called roasting is in reality baking. Foods cooked in the oven of an ordinary coal or gas range are really baked, although they are said to be roasted, and a covered roasting pan is a misnomer. Food must be exposed to the air in the process of cooking if it is to be roasted in the true sense.
It may be well to note that successful roasting or broiling depends more on the shape of the article to be roasted or broiled than on its weight. For this reason, thick, compact cuts of meat are usually selected for roasting and thin cuts for broiling. Good results also depend very much on the pan selected for the roasting process. One of the great aims in cooking should be to save or conserve all the food possible; that is, if by one process less waste in cooking results, it should be chosen rather than one that will result in loss at the end of the cooking process.
32. BAKING.--By baking is meant cooking in a heated oven at temperatures ranging from 300 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. As the term baking is frequently used in a wrong sense, the actual conditions of the process should be thoroughly understood. In both broiling and the original method of roasting, the heat is applied directly; that is, the food is exposed directly to the source of heat. Actual baking differs from these processes in that it is done in a closed oven or by means of heated air. Starchy foods, such as bread, cakes, and pastry, are nearly always baked, and gradually other foods, such as meats, fish, and vegetables are being subjected to this method of cooking. In fact, persons who are skilled in cooking use the oven more and more for things that they formerly thought had to be cooked in other ways. But the name that is applied to the process depends somewhat on custom, for while meat that is cooked in the oven is really baked, it is usually termed roasted meat. It seems strange, but it is nevertheless true, that ham cooked in the oven has always been termed baked, while turkey cooked in exactly the same way is said to be roasted.
COOKING WITH MOIST HEAT
33. The methods of cooking with moist heat, that is, through the medium of water, are boiling, simmering, steaming, dry steaming, and braizing. In every one of these processes, the effect of moist heat on food is entirely different from that of dry heat. However, the method to be selected depends to a great extent on the amount of water that the food contains. To some foods much water must be added in the cooking process; to others, only a little or none at all. If food is not placed directly in large or small quantities of water, it is cooked by contact with steam or in a utensil that is heated by being placed in another containing boiling water, as, for example, a double boiler.
As water is such an important factor in cooking with moist heat, something concerning its nature and use should be understood. Therefore, before considering the moist-heat cooking processes in detail, the function of water in the body and in cooking and also the kinds of water are discussed.
34. FUNCTION OF WATER IN THE BODY.--Water supplies no energy to the body, but it plays a very important part in nutrition. In fact, its particular function in the body is to act as a solvent and a carrier of nutritive material and waste. In doing this work, it keeps the liquids of the body properly diluted, increases the flow of the digestive juices, and helps to carry off waste material. However, its ability to perform these necessary functions in the right way depends on its quality and its safety.