Meat which has a tough, hard fiber will be made tenderest by slow, continuous cooking, as stewing.  Such pieces as contain a large amount of gelatine—­a peculiar substance found in the joints and gristly parts of meat, and which hardens in a dry heat—­are better stewed than roasted.

BOILING.—­The same principles apply to the boiling of all kinds of meats.  The purpose to be attained by this method is to keep the nutritive juices so far as possible intact within the meat; consequently, the piece to be cooked should be left whole, so that only a small amount of surface will be exposed to the action of the water.  Since cold water extracts albumen, of which the juices of the meat are largely composed, while hot water coagulates it, meat to be boiled should be plunged into boiling water sufficient to cover it and kept there for five or ten minutes, by which time the albumen over the entire surface will have become hardened, thus forming a coat through which the juices cannot escape.  Afterward the kettle, closely covered, may be set aside where the water will retain a temperature of about 180 deg.  A small portion of albumen from the outer surface will escape into the water in the form of scum, and should be removed.

Meat cooked in this way will require a longer time than when the water is kept boiling furiously, but it is superior in every respect and more digestible.  Something depends upon the shape of the piece cooked, thin pieces requiring less time than a thick, cubical cut; but approximately, first allowing fifteen or twenty minutes for the heat to penetrate the center of the meat, at which time the real process of cooking begins, it will require from twelve to fifteen minutes for every pound cooked.

STEWING.—­While the object in boiling is to preserve the juices within the meat as much as possible, in stewing, the process is largely reversed; the juices are to be partly extracted.  Some of the juices exist between the fibers, and some are found within the fibers.  The greater the surface exposed, the more easily these juices will be extracted; hence meat for stewing should be cut into small pieces and cooked in a small quantity of water.  Since cold water extracts the albuminous juices, while boiling water hardens them into a leathery consistency, water used for stewing should be neither cold nor boiling, but of a temperature which will barely coagulate the albumen and retain it in the meat in as tender a condition as possible; i.e., about 134 deg. to 160 deg.  To supply this temperature for the prolonged process of cooking necessary in stewing, a double boiler of some form is quite necessary.  Put the pieces of meat to be stewed in the inner dish, add hot water enough to cover, fill the outer boiler with hot water, and let this outer water simmer very gently until the meat is perfectly tender.  The length of time required will be greater than when meat is stewed directly in simmering water, but the result will be much more satisfactory.  The juices should be served with the meat.