BOIL′ING

In cookery , the operation of dre ing food in water at the point of ebullition, or one very closely approaching it. The practice of cooking animal food by boiling, although exceedingly simple, and often most convenient, is neither judicious nor economical when the broth or liquid in which it has been dre ed is to be rejected as waste; as in this way the most nutritious portion of the flesh of animals, consisting of soluble saline and other matter required for the formation of bone, and the nutrition of the muscular ti ues, ., is to a great extent lost. This particularly applies to small pieces so dre ed, and to those presenting a large surface to the action of the water in proportion to their weight. Large pieces of meat suffer le in proportion than smaller ones, for the same reason; but even with them the outside should be rejected, as it is both insipid and innutritious compared with the interior portion. To reduce the solvent and deteriorating action of the water to the lowest po ible point, the articles to be boiled should not be put into the water until it is in a state of full ebullition, which should be maintained for 5 or 6 minutes afterwards, by which time the surface and the parts lying immediately beneath it will have become, to a certain degree, hardened, and will then act as a protective shield to the inner portion of the ma . The boiling being continued for 5 or 6 minutes cold water is added, until the temperature becomes about 150° F., and the cooking of the joint is carried on at this heat until the meat is done: meat loses nearly a fourth of its weight in boiling, salt meat, which is intended to be eaten cold, should be allowed to cool in the water in which it has been boiled. The practice of dre ing meat by putting it into cold water, which is then gradually raised to the boiling-point, cannot be too much censured. A 1 ⁄ 4 of an hour per lb. for dre ing young meat, poultry, and small pieces, and 20 minutes per lb. for old, tough, and larger ones are the usual times allowed by cooks for the purpose. See Bouilli , Food , .