he economy in using the fireless cooker is not confined solely to a
saving in gas and labor. There is also an actual and great economy in
food, for there is almost no waste in this method of cooking. Take for
example a 5-pound piece of beef from the round. Put this in the kettle
of the fireless cooker with a pint of water for each pound of meat.
Heat it on the gas range slowly, taking about twenty minutes to bring it
to the boiling point. Then, according to directions, place it in the
fireless cooker and finish the cooking. When it is done and tender, it
will be found that there is only a minute loss in weight; to be exact, 2
ounces for 5 pounds. You bought 5 pounds of meat and have to serve on
your table 4 pounds and 14 ounces. You could not make any such showing
if you had cooked the meat on a gas or coal range.

Four pounds and 14 ounces, however, is not all that you have to serve.
You originally added to your meat 5 pints of water. A little of this
evaporated or cooked away in the twenty minutes primary cooking on the
stove. All the rest is retained, for there is absolutely no evaporation
in a fireless cooker. This water has added to it the nutritive value and
flavor acquired from the meat. So besides your 4 pounds and 14 ounces of
meat you have over 4 pints of rich soup stock which has cost you
absolutely nothing, as it is a by-product of the system of fireless
cooking.

"But," objects some one, "the meat cooked in such wise will have lost
all its juice and flavor." On the contrary, there is a distinct gain in
the matter of flavor in fireless cookery. We absolutely know this to be
so, for we have had various cuts of meat, especially the cheaper cuts,
cooked in a fireless cooker and the dishes so prepared have been
submitted to competent judges; the opinion was unanimous that there was
a real difference between the flavor of meats so cooked and that of
corresponding cuts cooked after the usual methods, and that the delicacy
and richness of flavor lay with those meats cooked by the fireless
method.

When one understands the principles of cookery this richness of flavor
of meats cooked by the fireless method is not surprising. Every one
knows the proverbial deliciousness of French cookery. The special
peculiarity of the French cuisine is the long, slow simmering of meats
in closely covered earthen pots called casseroles. The principle is
essentially that of the fireless cooker, but the casserole not being
insulated