New-York tribune. [volume], August 14, 1921, Page 11, Image 57

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
An Electric Fireless Cooker
ith 1 wo Notable New Features
A Self-Starter With an Automatic
Stopper at the Right Getting
Out Place
J'este Conducted by Ralph K.
Potter. Engineer, and Florence
M. Lee, Domestic Scientist
SUPPOSE you had told your
grandmother, or even your
mother, when she went to
housekeeping that she could cook a
whole meal?soup, a roast, potatoes,
lima beans and squash?in a box no
bigger than her bonnet box, by
merely turning a button and going
away and forgetting it for two
hours and a half. And then if she
choos-3 to give the last hour of the
time to the matter she could add
coffee and a dessert to the menu by
placing pot and pan in turn on top
of said box and turning another
button.
And, further, that she need light
no match, turn on no gas to smut,
bother with no coal or wood, and
that the box would give out no heat
into the room and no dirt. During
the last hour the button wculd be
turned so that no heat at all was :
being used except that already
stored up in said magic box.
Any one trying to sell this idea in
Salem 200 years ago would have
been burned at the stake as a witch.
Later or.e might have escaped with
a term in the madhouse. But now
it only means that if you have $75
and invest it in a new model tireless i
electric cc he r this sort of witch
craft will become a part of the daily
routine.
A '"Baby Grand* Cooker
These tacts are not dressed up?
they are based on work actually
done in the Institute kitchen and
backed up by careful observations
made by the Institute engineer.
.This electric fireiess cooker, with
the latest improvements, takes up
only a little more than a square
foot of floor space (16 by 14 inches,
to b-? exact). It stands 35 inches
high, presenting the conventionally !
perfect height for a working top en ?
the outs.de hot plate (!) inches:
square), in itself a brand r.ew
wrinkle for an electric cooker. !
When the convenient side wings are
spread for receiving the foods and
utensils when in work 1-1 inches by
11 additional space is needed on
each side.
You can easily put your arms:
around this neat little stove, and
it is ciean and tidy enough to per?
mit of such familiarity. It has the
?asiest running of castors and would
push under any shelf, into any
;loset, and be as unobtrusive as the
proverbial violet when it wasn't
wanted. And it plugs into any
lamp socket and gets and stores
(Tested and endorsed in The Tribun?
Institute)
Everything the human
body needs for work or
play is in whole wheat
Shredded
Wheat
is the whole wheat, noth?
ing added, u o t h i n g
thrown away. It is only
made more digestible by
steam-cocking, shredding
and thorough baking.
A Perfect Ration
IT HOROUGHLY pickled
?and then steeped in
?J? fragrance of sw?et
hardwood smoke Adolf
Gob?;:';) "Quality First"
Sraoked Ham i? a delicacy
to be enjoyed often. Bay
it at your food store tor
baking, broibeg or fryix*?.
' Rfcody -lo-Eo* - M?oLt
Maleo
Maaly
?Pleasure
frm??CuriitXrl
sufficient heat to cook a three-course
dinner. '
? The outstanding new features of
this fireless cooker are the inside
| top-open element, providing top heat
j and broiling or browning effect, and
I the outside heating plate on top, on
, which food that should go into the
; cooker in boiling water can be pre
; pared. This makes the stove a com
? plete "self-starter," and a special
boon to those who are cooking as
? a side issue and have no regular
; stove to supplement the fireless. In?
deed, we have always considered
the fireless cooker altogether as a
supplementary device, but this one
can go alone. Of course, the funda?
mental convenience of the electric
fireless cooker is the fact that there
is no lifting of hot soapstones, the
elements are heated within the
cooker, and then there is the auto?
matic device by which the heat is
turned off after a given time. These
advantages are shared with other
electric fireless cooking machines,
comparable to that made when we
passed from carrying coals in a hod
to getting our fire by striking a
match, as far as cleanliness and
convenience are concerned.
Putting the Cooker
Through Its Paces
All directions are based on time,
not temperatures, since the setting
of the time clock fixes the auto?
matic turning off of the current.
The clock was found to be a good
time keeper, but a little experi?
mentation is necessary to make the
best use of the three heats, to
place the food in the well in the
proper position and to get the best
results. The full heat turns on
both the upper and lower elements:
the medium heat turns off the uppei
open element, on which you depend
for the browning effect largely,
and the low heat turns both ele?
ments partly off.
You cannot use the outside hoi
plate when the oven is connected
as it has only one lamp socket tc
draw on, but this is not much of ?
handicap, as it can be used before
the oven is on or to finish up souj
or coffee while the box is cooking
en its retained heat, as it practi
cally always is toward the end oi
the cooking period.
The lower closed element i:
-wronger (by about cue-third) thai
the upper open element, althougl
; slower in heating up. One can, bj
preheating, get a browning or sear
ing effect at the bottom of th?
cooker as well as the top. Slice
of bread were tried top and botton
and were equally well browned
; starting cold, in either place, ii
five minutes.
A quart of water in?a covere?
pan the size of the element wa
boiled on the top plate in twent;
minutes, starting cold; when on
of the triplicate utensils was used
covering only a third of the plate
it took thirty minutes. Moral
never waste 50 per cent of time an?
heat by using utensils that do no
cover the element and so utilize al
the heat available.
Cereal cooking is always one o
the best things a fireless does, es
pecially long time cooking for di
gestibility when children and in
valids are to be served or any on
who has trouble with starch diges
tion. The only exception is rice
As rapidly boiling water is essen
tial to a dry product showin
separate kernels, preferably cooke
in an open vessel, it is difficult nc
to get a pasty'product in the fire
less, though if high heat were heb
or the top unit used, of course goo
results would be obtained. Bi
with a cream wheat cereal cooke
by the convenient overnight methc
excellent results were obtained b
he following procedure:
How to Cook Cereal
Three-quarters of a cup of cere
and a half teaspoonful of salt we:
stirred into the quart of boilir
water. The utensil was cover?
and placed in the well and the ove
was closed. The clock was set f*
a twenty-minute run at full hes
The oven was, however, not open*
until the next morning. Tl
cereal was, of course, cold, but w<
cooked and could be reheated in
few minutes on the top plat
For seme tastes this cereal was
little too soft, so probably half
cup less water would be preferr
by many. The procedure cou
;oon be perfectly adjusted to i
11 vidual taste and to the cere
used. For oatmeal the treatme
would give perfect results.
Baking a Cake
And supposing it is a cake whi
the Stero is to bake for Sund;
night's ?upper. A blueberry ca
was b.'iked in the Institute kitche
The directions state that the tir
fchould be ?et at 40, th? curre
Wirncd full and the cake put in
th? top rack after five minut*
or when the dial ,ind?eatesr35. T
cake remains in the oven for fr<
twenty-five to k?x?.*a, minute?.
A large layer of blueberry ca
'
I was put into the oven according to
these directions.- After remaining
for forty-five minutes (which means
ten minutes on retained heat) it was
a golden brown on top, but not
browned on the bottom and aides.
To improve this cake and have it
' evenly browned it should have re
| maincd ten minutes longer (fifty
five minutes) and should have been
I on a lower rack. This would necessi
I t?te using a smaller pan.
Another portion of the same cake
; mixture was baked in a gas oven at
j 390 degrees F. for the same length
I of time, and although a little largei
half inch, then buried in the beans
with the rind exposed. Enough
water (% cup) to cover thorn was
then added, anel the beans were
placed in the Stero oven. The cur?
rent was turned on full and the
time set for two hours, after which
? the oven was opened and the cover
I removed. To replace the heat lest
from the oven by opening it, the
current was turned on again for
ten minutes. The beans remaned
in the oven fifty minutes after that.
When next inspected, three
hours after the beans had been
placed inside, they were not brown
'i left on for fifty minutos longer.
, Then it was automatically cut off
j and the roast left for two hours
I additional, making three hours in
! all.
As a result the roast was thor
i oughly done, well browned and de
-? <?
covered with one cup of cold water
and half a teaspoonful of salt, and
in the "third container were one small
and one large potato, dry, all with
their jackets on. The current was
turned on full and the time set for
forty minutes. At the end of that
On the table is the whole dinner?roast and three vegetables that
the Stero cooked in two hours and a half at a cost of 9 cents. The soup
was warmed up a/so, and the juice from the roast is being made into
gravy on the top plate?that is the crowning glory of this new fireless.
in size, was thoroughly done and
well browned.
Real Boston Baked Beans
One pound (three cups) of navy
beans were washed ar 1 left to soak
overnight in water which well cov?
ered them. In the morning this
water w?a?> discarded and they were
covered with fresh water and put
on the hot ida'. 3 of the Stero to
boil. The current va;; turned full.
After thirty-five minutes, when
boiling, the current was reduced to
low and the beans kept simmering.
In forty-five minutes longer they
were roady for the oven. A shorter
time at medium heat would hava
served, but the beans might not
have been so tender.
The water was drained off. Two
thirds of a pound of salt pork was
scalded and scraped, one slice
placed under the beans. A mix?
ture of % tablespoon of salt, 1V?.
tablespoons of molasses, three
tablespoons of sugar and 1 cup o?
boiling wat ? was poured ovei
them. The remaining pork was cut
through the rind at intervals of e
-?.
and were returned to the oven, ?
given twenty minutes with cur- !
rent on full and forty minutes with. ;
the current off. They were then
well browned on top, but would,
in our opinion, have been improved
if two or three additional hours of
cooking at low heat had been given.
The rack was also too far from the
bottom heat unit?the beans should
be two or three inches lower.
The Institute experts agreed
that the beans were edible after the
two to three hours' cooking, but
that for the last word in quality
they should be subjected to addi?
tional cooking. The total time
then would be about five hours,
which is what a high-bred Boston
bean has a right to expect. Note
that only two hours would be re?
quired at a high heat.
A Rib Roast of Pork
A rib roast of pork, weight 2a4,
pounds, was dredged with flour, salt
and pepper and put into the large
fireless container. No water was
added. The oven current was turn?
ed on full for ten minutes before
the uncovered roast was put in, anc
licious in texture. It weighed 2
pounds 7*"?> ounces after cooking*
the loss being 4.5 ounces. The
amount of gravy was three-quarters
of a cup, and it was unusually good
and brown, for no water had been
added.
Results With Vegetables
One cup of shelled lima beans
(one pound unshelled) was put on to
cook with one-half cup of cold water
and one-quarter of a teaspoon of
salt. In another container were
one large and three small potatoes
time the oven was opened, and the
lima beans were well done and of ex?
cellent flavor.
The small potatoes were perfectly
done, but the large ones were not
thoroughly cooked. Neither were
the baked potatoes done. These and
the large boiled potatoes were re?
turned to the oven, and ten min?
utes' full current was given to re?
place the heat lost by opening. Ten
minutes without current was allowed
before opening again.
At the second opening of the oven
all of the potatoes were well done.
In regard to foods:
discussed on this page
chemical laboratory by
What the Institute Seal Means
It means that each food
has been tested in the
a leading officiai food
chemist; that it has been given a practical tryout
in the Institute kitchen by a trained domestic
scientist; that these facts have been compared
with legal standards and dietary needs by a food
expert?and the results are yours to guide you in
your buying.
In regard to household machinery : The seal
means that an engineer has taken the device apart
and studied its construction, operation, design
and costs and that a trained woman has then
used it as you would in your home. And the re?
sults of all this expert work are printed on these
pages that you may choose jour equipment with
vour eyes wide open.
ANNE LEWIS PIERCE,
Director Tribune Institute.
Root Beer in Three Forms, Tested by the Chemist, Tasted by Experts, and
Approved as a Clean, Wholesome, Well Flavored and
Refreshing Beverage
JF GINGER ALE is too thin for
you and sarsaparilla too thick,
and real beer is not?try ro it. beer.
It is spicy with a dozen diff?rent
herbs, literally; there is enough of
sarsaparilla to make itself known,
with wintergreen, hops, ginger,
sassafras et al, about 9 per cent of
total solids in the beverage, as pre?
pared, of which over R per cent is
sugars.
No preservatives and no coloring
matter are used, the rich golden
brown being due entirely to the
burnt sugar and the roots and herbs
used. Moreover no artificial ex?
tracts or ready to use or imitation
flavors ar- employed. All of these
herbs and roots are on hand au
naturel and are extracted freshly
for making the household extract,
the fountain syrup or the bottle
finished product, as the case may be.
You would think that vanilla extract
could be used?but no, the longest,
darkest and most luscious of vanilla
beans were waiting to add their bit
to the flavor of the brew. We saw
them wait!
The Secret of Quality
There ?3 a freshness and clean?
ness of flavor that comes only from
using the best of materials in the
quickest, cleanest way?and that,
?together with skillful experienced
blending, is th<* secret of Hire's
root beer. And ulso the reason,
perhaps, that it is drunk around the
world, in Siam and South America- -
n good ways for a simple Quaker
product to travel! And alBO,
though there is only 8.6 of sugar
in each glass, enough is made to
warrant a whole sugar plantation in
I
! Cuba to ship sugar direct to the
? factory in the United States.
The chemist, reported a Volstead
:an limit of 0:2 per cent of alcohol
in the homemade brew, when direc?
tions were followed. This was the
favorite of the three products in the
Institute, being well charged, with
a sharp clean taste, a little less
sweet than the bottled product in
the tasters' opinion, though the
analysis does not bear this out, the
j bottled beer having only 6.88 per
cent of sugar and 7.01 of salads.
There is probably a difference in
the blending.
The syrup that goes to the soda
fountains is very heavy with 56 per
cent of total solids, of which 51 per
cent is sugar. With carbonated
water it makes a r? freshing drink.
The beer wai; made repeated.y in
Though there Is only 7 per cent of sugar in your Mire's as drunk,
enough of it js made to warrant running a sugar plantation in Cuba
to provide sweetening for this output alone. fnd thc\ drink it all
around the world?the Pennsylvania Quaker and the Siamese, the
South American and the A'etv Yorker.
the Institute, and the directions
given with the bottle of e:?:tract are
satisfactory, except that in our opin
ion it is a great mistake to drink the
beverage at the end of forty-eight
! urs. After five days of standing
at a temperature of about 80 de?
crees (ideal for the yeast fermenta?
tion) the drink was snappy and at
its ! est in every way. Chill by put?
ting on ice rather than by putting
ice in it, as this latter may
weaken it.
Five Gallon-? for 33 Cents
After the five days, however, do
: ot let the beverage stand in a warm
place while awaiting use, as if the
n ntation is completed it may
ly sour. Also, be sure that
: ?ontainers are scalded, as you
c ild for canning, before filling
them.
0 it of a 25-cent package, by
adding four pounds of sugar (28
cents) and half a yeast cake you get
five gallons of a delicious, whole
>i me beverage, total cost 55 cents,
or about 10 cents a gallon. Can
not.have gone up much?this bev
erage!
The only variation that we know
of with root beer is that used with
sarsaparilla. But it is delicious. It
is not a freak offering born of neces
?ity! To the glass of chilled root
hi '. r add :; e juice of a quarter of a
len .'. three tablespoons of cream
and frappe with a large piece of ice
so as not to thin it. It is a near ap
proach to the costly frosted sarsa?
parilla sold at the fountains, and
the cost, so served, from fresh,
wholesome materials, is well within
five cents. A. L. P.
Open Heating Plates Both Sides of;
the Lid Make This Fireless j
Perfectly Independent ;
i
j The total time consumed had been |
fifty minutes with the current on
and ten minutes with it off. The
baked potatoes were really baked,
, but the skins were not crisp. Better
results would be obtained by laying
; the potatoes on the rack.
Preparing an Entire Dinner
Would you believe that soup, a
; roast and three vegetables could be
cooked at the same time in the
Stero oven? It sounds almost like
a fairy oven, but we checked the
claim in the Institute kitchen in the
following way:
A roast of beef was chosen weigh
? ing three pounds three and one-half
ounces; three-quarters of a pound of
; shelled peas, with three-quarters of
a cup of water and one-quarter of a
j teaspoonful of salt; one pound of
; pared, cut-up squash, and one can
j turtle soup were placed in separate
j containers.
The time was set for 1 hour and
30 minutes. After thirty minutes
the dinner was put in. The current
remained full for one hour, and the
food stayed in after that on retained
heat. At the end of that time (two
and one-half hours) everything was
well done and delicious in texture
and flavor.
The roast beef was evenly cooked
all the way through, but not brown
and crisp on top. So if your family
is one that prefers their beef brown
outside and rare in the center, sear
before placing it in the oven. The
texture of the beef was exceedingly
fine, and the entire piece was juicy
and tender. There were l*.t cups of
gravy, all drippings, in the meat
container, and a loss of only 2.5
ounces in the cooking.
The loss of weight in cooking the
peas was practically nil, and the
same was true of the squash.
Sturdily Made to Bear the Heat of the Day,
But NotjheJ-east Bit Cumbersome
pRAISE is due the construction:
of the Stero, and so that you
can know that it will endure we are '
describing somewhat in detail the ;
"makings."
The cooking "well," or oven, is of j
tinned copper surrounded by a pro- j
tecting cylinder of sheet steel. Out?
side of this is the mineral wool
which keeps the heat in the oven,
and all of this?the copper, steel and
mineral wool?is incased in a sheet
steel box, which in turn is supported
and strengthened by an iron frame.
This iron frame extends down at
each corner and becomes the legs.
The oven is lOYi, inches wide and
13*j4 inches deep. The upper edge
of the copper lining which was men?
tioned before is rolled into a "seal?
ing ring" at the place where it joins
the oven top; this prevents the es?
cape of any steam.
The heat is furnished from two
different places?one beneath the
lining at the bottom of the oven and
the other on the inside of the top of
j the oven cover.
Both of the heating units are of
the open groove type. The sum of
their heating capacities is well with?
in the limits of a reasonable load on
an ordinary lamp socket. The heat
unit at the bottom of the oven is of
heavier construction than the upper
cne, and acts as a heat reservoir, so
that the cooking temperature can be
more evenly maintained.
Hot Plate on Top
The top of this cooker serves not
merely as a lid; there is a hot plate
fastened to the top cover, and it is
very substantial in appearance and
construction. This is 9 ?4 inches
across and slightly rounded at the
corners. There is a six-inch round
porcelain plate set in this top and ia
of the open groove type.
The switches for the oven and the
hot plate are located at the front of
the hot plate. They are of the turn
button type and plainly marked for
"full, medium, low and off," so that
you are not in doubt as to how mud
heat is being used.
It is just back of the hot plat?
that the plugs for connection witl
the lamp socket are located. Ther
are two sets of these plugs, one fo
the oven and one for the hot plate
from which the connection is mad'
by a cord to the lamp socket. Thi
separate connection insures the saf
ading of a socket, as only one con
nection can be made to a socket at
t'.me.
Controlled by a Clock
To control the oven a clock switc
is provided, which keeps the heatin
units turned on a maximum of tw
hours 2nd turns them off as the han
on the dial face swings back to zer*
by means of this clock, he*
can be allotted to the oven accordin
to the requirements of the cookin
operation. The dial is set for te:
minute intervals, and as the hand
turned to the time desired it wine
the clock, so that its action is pra
tically automatic after the setting.
No hot soapstone is require 1 wi
the Stero to maintain even hea
Here the heat flows into the cook?
at a certain rate for a certa
length of time, and the same resui
are obtained without the handlir
of the soapstone.
Cost of Operation
To cook an average meal on
gas range requires 15,000 he
units, w^hile very much more th?
this is uscm] with the same resul
en a coal ran?re. due to the fa
that the kettles utilize but a sm:
portion of the heat that is radi?t
from the stove. The temperatu
of the kitchen depends on t
amount of heat used in the prer
ation of the meal, or, as the sto
becomes more efficient, the kitch
usually becomes more uninhabitab
Just about Ae-fifth of the he
units required ?y? the gas stove
used by this electric cooker, and
more efficient cooking and a cooler
kitchen result.
However, right here is where tho
element of cost must make its ap?
pearance and be considered. While
using gas, you can get about 3,500
heat units for one cent, while in
the electrical form you can get only
350 of them for the same money.
(These figures are based on the
10-cent an hour electric rate, and
$1.50 per thousand cubic feet for
gas.)
Time for cooking the same din?
ner by gas that was prepared in
the Stero was calculated by taking
into consideration such economies
as the U?e of half-burner flames on
the gas stove, after foods are
brought to the boiling point, and
ether details that any careful cook
would practice.
So with the most careful figur?
ing the dinner cooked in the electric
oven will cost over twice as much,
despite the economical way in which
the Stero uses heat. The stove has,
however, brought the wonderfully
convenient, and easily controlled
electrical cookery within the means
of us all, for the Stero is relatively |
3nexpensive and the cost of cooking
iow, compared with many electric
cookers.
Here are the actual figures on
the cost of using the Stero: The
oven, with both heat units on, costs
'i*i cents an hour; at medium heat,
3% cents an hour; at low, 12-3
cents an hour.
The hot plate at i I costs
6.4 cents an hour; at medium, 3.4
cents, and at low, 1.7 cents an hour.
For the use of women who may
acquire a Stero we are including
a table of time and temperatures,
as developed by the Institute tests.
It was observed that it required
the following time in minutes to
bring the oven to the temperatures
indicated; 300 i
seven minutes; 400 12.5
minutes; 500 degree?, 21 minutes.
These figures were sec ired with
both heat units or. full.
After the current was turned off
?t required nine mir :? 61 the
oven from 600 degrees to 500;
twenty minutes were, required to
coo! it from 500 to 400 degrees, aVid
twenty-seven mil ded it from
- , 300 degrees.
The length of time that the :ooker
will keep food hot after the heat is
turned off varies with the amount
and kind of food placed in it. How?
ever, for general guidance it may be
noted that the empty cooker dropped
from 500 degrees to 200 (a mini?
mum cooking temperature) in two
hours and to 130 degrees ( a warm?
ing temperature) ;n three hours.
The Institute engineer assures
you that the clock on the Stero was
to give reasonably correct
time, and that the ?witch operates
without flaw. These are encourag?
ing facts to have in mind, but be
rsure the clock is ticking before you
leave the cooker to its own devices.
The Stero Electric Cooker. Mad?
by Sterolectric Company, Mun.
cie, Ind.
(Tested and endorsed in The Trituna
histitutej
The GRAND PRIZE
ELECTRIC
Vacuum Cleaner
S~0?r?r7EASY^NTHTY PAYMENTS
Write, call or phou?
Eureka Vacuum Cleaner Co.
31 W. 43d St^, New York
Phone Vanderbilt 749?
346 Livingston St., Brooklyn
Phone Sterling 4656