{"product_id":"2940015465174","title":"THE FIRELESS COOKER","description":"An excerpt from the beginning:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHistory\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1867 there was exhibited at the Paris Exhibition a \"Norwegian Cook Box\" which was lined with felt and contained tin cooking utensils. The food in the tin utensils was to be placed boiling hot in the box and kept there for some time, the heat in the food being retained by the felt lining, thereby thoroughly cooking the food. A somewhat similar method of cooking seems to have been used by the peasants in Germany when they placed kettles of boiling soup in feather beds to cook over night. The consular report from Germany in 1905 by G. H. Murphy states that Mrs. Bach, wife of the director of the Industrial School at Frankfort, developed and used the Norwegian method of cooking.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Mrs. Bach stated that she has now (1905) been using the hay box for thirteen years, and that it has greatly reduced for her the cares and annoyances of housekeeping. At first she used the box merely for the purpose of keeping finished food warm, but it was not long before she discovered that the process of cooking continued in the box. She soon found that she could finish in the box all boiled and roasted meats, sauces, fish, soup, vegetables, fruits, puddings, etc. Of course the box cannot be used for beef steaks, cutlets, pancakes and the like, articles whose chief attraction lies in the crispness resulting from rapid cooking on a hot fire, but when food of this kind is being prepared it is a great comfort to the housewife to know that the rest of the meal is ready and hot in the box.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUSED FOR ARMY PURPOSES\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe attention of the United States War Department was drawn to the method of cooking given in this report and in 1905 experiments were made to test the practicability of its use in the commissary department of its various stations. The experiments which the department performed at one of its stations in the following year demonstrated that food could be cooked in a \"hay box\" with good results, with a saving of labor and fuel, and that it could be served hot at the end of a long march. An extract from a letter (Feb., 1906) states the advantages of the cooker in field operations. \"The breakfast for the detachment of bakers was prepared over the same open fire and during the same time that the articles for the Fireless Cooker were prepared. ... By the time breakfast was over the cooker was ready to be placed on wagon and ready to move with a command. No extra utensils had to be gathered, but everything (was) intact. Eleven sticks of cord wood, all small pieces, were used in the preparation of both the breakfast and articles for the cooker. At 5 P. M. the cooker was opened (packed at 7:18 A. M.) and everything was perfectly done. . . . The temperatures were higher in this test than others, owing to the fact that all of the utensils were full of material.\u003cbr\u003e\"I can unhesitatingly state that the Fireless Cooker has proven to be a success. . . . The use of the cooker will eliminate the necessity of securing large quantities of wood for cooking purposes. . . . The work of preparing dinner on the arrival in camp under present system, which is, to say the least, ,\u0026amp; very trying ordeal for the cooks, especially during inclement weather, will be eliminated. After a long day's march a hot meal isi furnished at once from the cooker to a tired and hungry 'organization, by simply opening the box and serving. Should it occur that the cooker is not required for use during the day for any meal and that prospects of making a dry camp at night .are evident, the boilers of the cooker could be utilized for holding water and it will be kept much cooler in the cooker than in any other way. . . . The utensils of enameled ware should be retained as they are easily cleaned, durable, and with ordinary care (will last for a long time as they are not exposed to intense heat in the cooker as they would be on a cooking orange.''\u003cbr\u003eAs a natural outgrowth of this experimental work by the government came the adaptation of this method of cooking to the household use. There seemed to be no literature or information on the subject, further than that given above, which states that the method seemed practicable for army use; and that many fireless cookers for household use were on the market. Therefore, in the year 1906-07 experiments were undertaken at the University of Wisconsin in order to test its practicability for household use.\u003cbr\u003eThe principles involved are: first, the conservation of heat; i. e., the retention in foods of heat developed by contact with fire without further application of heat; second, the cooking of foods with the temperature below the boiling point.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE REAL \"HAY BOX\"\u003cbr\u003eHay has been generally used as a material in which to pack the cooking utensils, therefore, the name \"hay box\" came into vogue and is still frequently used. Some preliminary experiments were made with a box filled with hay, since it was inferred that this was...","brand":"Leila's Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47146230546672,"sku":"2940015465174","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940015465174_p0.jpg?v=1763620778","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940015465174","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}