Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

300 CAMPING AND WOODCRAFT;meats go in cold water at the start and are graduallybrought to a boil; thereafter they should beallowed barely to simmer.Fish go in boiling salted water. Boiling meatmust be kept covered.In heating milk beware that you do not burn it.,Bring it gradually to the simmering point, but donot let it actually boil.At high altitudes it is impossible to cook satisfactorilyby boiling, because water boils at a lowerand lower temperature the higher we climb. Thedecrease is at the rate of about one degree for every550 feet up TO one mile, and one degree for 560 feetabove that, when the temperature is 70°. Withthe air at 32° F., and the barometer at 30 inches,water boils at 212° at sea-level, 202.5° at 5,000feet, 193.3° at 10,000 feet, and 184.5° at 15,000feet. These figures vary somewhat according tothe purity of the water, the material of the vessel,etc.To parboil is to boil only until tender, beforecooking some other way.Stewing.— This process is slow, and should bereserved for tough meats. Use lean meat only.First brown it with some hot fat in a frying-panor put a couple of ounces of chopped pork in a kettleand get it thoroughly hot; cut your meat into smallpieces; drop them into the fat and "jiggle" thekettle until the surface of the meat is coagulated bythe hot fat, being careful, the while, not to burn it.Add a thickening of a couple of ounces of flour andmix it thoroughly with the fat; then a pintof water or soup-stock. Heat the contents of thekettle to boiling and season with salt, pepper, andchopped onion. Curry powder, if you like it, isproper in a stew. Now cover the kettle closely andhang it where it will only simmer for four or fivehours. Stews may be thickened with rice, potatoes,or oatmeal, as well as with flour. Add condimentsto suit the taste. A ragout is nothing buta highly seasoned stew. The greater the variety