The Modern Home
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Cookers
THOSE who remember the correspondence in these columns earlier in the year Will agree that the -cheapest method of generating heat is _undoubtedly to refer to the relative merits of gas and electricity. UnfortunatelY, this heat is not of a kind that can be employed for Looking purposes. I venture to say-that a 'meal costing 3d. to cook on gas at 9d. a therm would cost approitimately 2.14:1., with electricity at id. a unit. It is by.:_no means possible for, . every household to buy its electricity so cheaply 'as this, but there should be little difficulty in working out the relative costs at different rates.
Perhaps the greatest asset of electricity is its cleanliness ; the greatest drawback its slow-starting habit. It requires twenty or thirty minutes pre-heating to bring the average electric oven up to the correct temperature for roasting, though this can be discounted if one may rely on every cook switching off twenty or thirty minutes before cooking is finished, the fact that it is well insulated and almost- air-tight, (whereas a gas oven must have flues) enabling it to retain its heat for this time. There appears to be little truth in the claim that a joint loses less weight when cooked in an electric oven than is - the case with gas, provided that the latter be properly used. On the other hand, basting is generally unnecessary with electricity, since the drying action is considerably less. Both forms have gained considerably in convenience since the introduction of ." time and temperature . control." Either faction can produce scientists at will to prove or disprove that the fumes of combustion in a gas oven affect -the food harmfully. My own preference is towards electricity for roasting and grilling ; gas for boiling and stewing. The deciding factor will usually be economy. The cost of a modern gas or electric cooker may be said to start in the neighbourhood of £10 ; and for little more than this a model big enough- for a fair-sized household can be bought. Among gas-cookers, the " Smooth-top " deserves mention. It has, as its name implies, a top similar to that of an ordinary kitchen range, on which, when heated, a considerable amount of cooking can be done with small gas consumption. A pilot device, by which any of the top burners can be lighted without matches, is a further aid to economy—not so much for the matches it saves, but rather because it preserves one's cook from the temptation of leaving a jet burning to save herself the trouble of lighting it again a few minutes later. If all- electric cooking be 'adopted, something can be done to speed up the boiling of liquids, which otherWise may be delayed several minutes while the elements becoine adequately hot, by the use of an electric kettle or immersion-heater. There is an extremely good little electric oven, the " Tricity," specially adapted for building into a wall. The value of this in a small kitchen, possibly as an auxiliary to a gas-cooker, is obvious. A portable electric chafing-dish is by no means to be despised —bacon of welsh-rabbit never tastes better than when grilled in one of these on the table ; and for making toast, in the kitchen or not, it will be found cheaper than a gas-grill.
Choice is often swayed towards cookers burning solid fuels : coal, coke or anthracite, by the wish to combine a means of heating water for radiators or household supply with that of cooking. Many of these will be found capable of performing the double function efficiently—up to a capacity of about twenty radiators. Their first cost is, on the whole less than that of gas or electric cookers. One should not be put off anthracite by the fact that it is more expensive than coal or coke. Actually, one pound of anthracite 'contains an average of .15,G00 units of heat (B.T.U.) as against coke's .10,000. Therefore coke at 2s. 10d. a cwt. gives no better value than anthracite at 4s. 3d. (these are the prices in London at the time of writing) ; rather, they are..exactly equal. Add to this that anthracite bulks very much smaller and leaves a miniinum of ash and two very good reasons for choosing- the latter are plain. In country districts, when an independent hpt water supply is fitted, the merits of oil cookers- are Worth investigation. The modern oil-cooker is absolutely -safe and, with the smallest amount of care, quite odourless. Of the two main types,- the wickless (of which the " Florence " is an excellent example) are extraordinarily economical of fuel. They are rather more expensive and they possess the slight disadvantage of needing a few minutes to get going after the match has been applied ; but there is no pumping or pre-helting with methylated spirits, as in older types, and the flame is easily adjustable. The type with wicks, such as the "Valor Perfection " and the " Venus," are much cheaper; they light almost instantly, but use rather more paraffin. Even so, their consumption is very low. Spending my summers in a caravan, I have usually been able to do all the cooking for three people (rather simple meals, of course) and heat all water required for washing-up and toilet purposes- on one gallon a week (1s.).
It is difficult to retain enthusiasm for any other. type of cooker after testing the " Aga." This is really indecently efficient. It can best be described as a scientific instrument for 'cooking. To put its most startling .virtue first : though large enough to cook for sixteen people, it cannot burn much more than one ton of fuzl a year—say £1 a quarter with anthracite at its present price. When I first read this (I have since tested its accuracy) I concluded that the cooker must be something in the nature of a glorified hay-box, relying on very slow cooking for its economy. I find that • it cooks more quickly than gas if required—bringing a pint of cold water to the boil in just half the time taken -by the big ring of a gas-cooker. I said at the beginning of this article that it had almost every merit of electricity. This would imply the poi session of a clean, unbroken top surface and no direct flame- contact with the bottoms of the pans. Both these advantage.: it has. Picture a rectangular cooker, 39 ins. wide, 28 ins. deep, 34 ins. high, porcelain-enamelled, with plated fittings. On the top are two, circular hot-plates. The whole thing is so efficiently insulated as to be almost cold to the touch,- and there are hinged insulating covers to shut down over the hot- plates and so conserve heat when they are not in use. 'Even the flue-pipe is only warm. All this explains, to some extent, its extraordinary thermal efficiency—which is 84 per cent., as against the 15 per cent. of the usual kitchen range. In the front are two ovens," a door for ash-removal, 'and a tap. The method of cooking is unique. -The hot-plate on the left brings pans to the boil extremely quickly (and can be used for toasting and grilling)"; that On the right allows them to simmer without fear of boiling over. Observe the convenience of this. The top oven is at the correct temperature to receive a roast—and provides an automatic decrease after the first few minutes, which is the ideal procedure ; the larger oven beneath is cooler, and is intended to receive all foods usually cooked on a hot-plate, after they have been brought to the boil on the top (porridge can be left in it all night, large joints finished off if space is wanted in the top oven). There is a tank con- taining ten gallons of hot water for cooking purposes—but the " Aga " is no.t suitable for heating a house supply. All these temperatures remain constant within narrow limits, day and night, the only attention required being a refill once a day and " riddling " twice. At first sight the cooking space may appear inadequate,for the numbers quoted ; but this is not so. Moreover, such is the convenience- and cleanliness, that even the crustiest and' most conservative cook will be won over within a week. -The invention is Swedish and has been tested out in that_country tor ten years. The English models are in an advanced stage of production, and will be ready for supply before the New Year. The " Aga " is not cheap in the first instance ; but its ridiculous fuel consumption means that in 3 fair-size houSehold the money actifaIlY •stived iri fuel bills will almost pay the hire-purchase instalthenti.- Replacements are negligible. It is hz far_the.best.cooker I-have found:
- ", G. M. Dotitrum:v.
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