There is no doubt that the fashion of cooking in casseroles or earthenware dishes has come to stay in this country; and it is hardly a matter of surprise when the advantages of this form of cookery are really understood, whether it be actual casserole cookery, so called, or cookery in fireproof utensils.

Cooking “en casserole” is a term which signifies dishes cooked and served in the same earthenware pot or utensil, though, as every one knows, the original French word is the generic name for a stewpan or a saucepan.

The old idea of a casserole was some preparation of chopped fish, flesh, or vegetables enveloped in a crust of cooked rice, macaroni, or potato. Properly speaking, however, a casserole is a dish, the material for which in many instances is first prepared in the sautÉ or frying-pan and then transferred to the earthenware pan to finish cooking by a long, slow process which develops the true flavors of the food being cooked.

The sooner the casserole utensil becomes an indispensable part of our kitchen outfit the better, for it makes in every way for economy,—economy of materials, time, and labor,—as materials often too tough for ordinary cooking may by this means be served in a nutritious and tender condition. When casserole cookery is thoroughly understood, many combinations of food and many inexpensive viands will be put to use and very palatable results obtained.

Casseroles nowadays take on all shapes and sizes, from the dainty individual dishes up to a size sufficient for serving a large number of persons.

Of late years the prices of these utensils have been reduced so greatly that they are within the reach of the most modest housewife’s pocketbook, and then at the same time the actual pots and fireproof dishes have been improved enormously in quality.

Every kind of utensil can be had in this ware nowadays, and people are realizing how delicious food cooked in this way is.

They may be bought at all the reliable house-furnishing stores. Ornamental effects in brown, green, blue, red, white, or yellow stoneware add to the appearance of the breakfast, luncheon, or dinner table. No one attempts to deny that the eye has much to do with the palate, and that a dish served in an attractive form is likely to prove much more pleasing to the taste than a carelessly offered one. The holders in which the casseroles are placed when removed from the oven and taken to the table are made of silver, nickel, brass, copper, and wrought iron, and are examples of genuine artistic merit.

For those who do not wish the extra expense of the metal holder a platter or tray will answer the purpose, which is simply to keep the hot casserole from coming in contact with the table or table mats and scorching them. The adaptability of a stoneware cooking utensil deserves to be more fully known, when it will be more thoroughly appreciated.

For braising, pot roasting, as well as stewing, which are slow cooking processes, the casserole has proved its superiority over the metal pans again and again. It gives its best and almost exclusive service in the baking oven, for poultry done in pot roasting fashion or for stewing fruit, and other articles which require to be cooked slowly under close cover. There are few cooks who do not know that the application of a moderate, even heat for certain food materials produces far better results than if quick heat is applied. For such cases the use of earthenware cooking utensils is to be strongly recommended, because by their aid an application of heat, such as will insure gentle simmering, steaming, or baking, is assured.

The casserole may be regarded as a labor-saving device, taking the place of a half-dozen pots and pans in the kitchen.

SOME COMMENDABLE FEATURES OF CASSEROLE DISHES

(1) The initial cost of the utensils is very low, and if proper care is bestowed on them they may last as long as metal pans.

(2) All risk of metallic contamination is avoided. The ingredients may be put together in a casserole and allowed to stand for hours in it before cooking without spoiling in the very least degree. Its lining cannot scale, and in cooking the contents cannot become tainted or discolored.

(3) The ornamental appearance of casserole dishes simplifies the practice of serving the viands at table in the vessels in which they were cooked, so great a desideratum in cases where the prosperity of a dish depends upon its hot service. The troublesome process of re-dishing can in most cases be dispensed with. This is convenient as well as economical.

(4) Casseroles are readily cleaned on account of their perfectly hard and unbroken surfaces. It can easily be seen when casseroles are clean. They are sanitary, and food prepared in them is pure and sweet. They do not retain any taste whatever from previous cooking. Therefore the same utensils can be used for the most varying preparations.

(5) The cooking in casserole dishes is slow but thorough, and all the nutritious elements in the viands are preserved in their integrity. The cover must fit snugly to each utensil, to prevent too rapid escaping of the aromas and flavors. Sometimes a strip of cloth, spread with a soft paste of flour and water or mashed potatoes, is pressed over the joining of the casserole and the cover, and the heat of the oven finishes the sealing of the dish. When the dish is ready to serve, the strip of cloth and paste is removed.

(6) The use of a casserole is economical. The actual cooking is effected slowly and evenly, consequently less fuel is used in cooking. Once the materials have been started on their culinary way they require little attention. A casserole dish may be placed in the oven or on the stove; it may be used for steamed food or as a chafing dish.

(7) The cleanliness and wholesomeness of a casserole make it especially valuable in preparing food for the invalid and the convalescent.

(8) In the cooking of fruits and vegetables, especially for canning, the casserole is invaluable. The earthenware is not attacked by fruit acids, therefore cannot give rise to any noxious product.

(9) Any dish which requires slow, gentle cooking can be prepared in a casserole, and hash, curry, and other rÉchauffÉs are far superior in flavor when recooked in earthenware than in metal. The stew, or whatever it is, may be left to get cold in the casserole. The color would be spoiled if this were done with an ordinary saucepan.

(10) The flavor of the food cooked is brought out best when it is prepared in an earthenware dish.

(11) The fact that a casserole is a non-conductor of heat makes it more economical to use than other ware.

(12) The amount of water, liquid, or stock in which the article is to be cooked should be relatively small, and, in general, seasoned. For stews, ragouts, etc., it is better to cook the meat in a nicely seasoned sauce, that it may absorb the flavor in cooking. The time, in general, should be multiplied by two; that is, if the recipe calls for thirty minutes; cook in the casserole in the oven for about sixty minutes. The heat of the oven should be about 212 degrees Fahrenheit or less, that the liquid in the casserole may simmer, not boil.

When vegetables are to be cooked—and nearly all vegetables are wonderfully better when cooked by this method—a small amount of water, in many cases seasoned stock, should be used.

(13) Left-overs, salads, and small entrÉes of all kinds may be served in a most attractive manner in ramequins or individual casseroles.

(14) The crowning advantage of casserole cooking, especially in a family where for one cause or another meals are apt to be irregular, is that the dish can be kept waiting for a considerable time without deterioration. Food can be left in a casserole with perfect safety as long as desired.

HOW TO CARE FOR CASSEROLE DISHES

The cook who has been accustomed to the use of iron, granite, copper, aluminum, or other metal cooking utensils will necessarily have something to learn when adopting earthenware. It must be realized that it is a method of slow cookery, and cannot be hurried. Before being used for the first time the vessels should be soaked in cold water for some hours, as this will go far toward saving them from cracking on their first exposure to heat. There need be little risk of this if the heat be applied gradually, and this principle should always be observed; although as the utensils become seasoned by constant use the risk of accident is materially lessened. In many places garlic is considered indispensable, the new dishes being rubbed with a clove of it, “to prevent their cracking.” Never place the vessels on the stove or within the oven without either water or fat in them. Never put a casserole roughly on a metal surface, especially if it is full or partly full.

Sudden alternations of temperature should be avoided, that is to say, the casserole should not be taken off the range or out of the oven and placed in cold water or on the wet sink, and vice versÂ. A fierce heat is never needed or desirable.

If the cooking is done on an ordinary coal range the fire holes should be kept closed and the heat received through the top lids; if a gas range be employed, the gas jets should be kept low, and not allowed to flare round the utensil. When cooking is being done on the top of the range with wood, coal, gas, or oil as the fuel, an asbestos mat placed underneath will modify the heat. The asbestos mat may also be used in the oven. If the heat must be intense for other food in progress of cooking at the same time as an earthenware dish is in the oven, the heat may be controlled by placing the casserole in a pan of hot water which can be lowered in temperature by occasional supplies of cold water added to the hot water.

The adoption of these simple precautions will make easy the use of earthenware utensils. Marmites, ramequins, cocottes, au gratin dishes, and soufflÉ cases all come under the head of casseroles.