Friday, February 1, 2013

WOOD-BURNING STOVE COOKING & BAKING

Glad to be back to tell about cooking and baking on the wood-burning stove.  First, please use it now.  Nothing is worse than the power is off, you, your family are hungry and you have to figure out how to work the stove.  Get some experience so when the time comes, you are ready and know what to do.

Once the stove has the fire going, you must realize that the stove is hotter in some places and cooler in others.  You will eventually find where the hot spots and cooler spots are by using the stove.

When starting, I would use the stove top first.  You have lots of room on the stove top as the entire stove top is hot.  The hottest is over the firebox.  Next warmer would be the center.  The coolest would be on the opposite side of the firebox. Using a perculator coffee pot, you could make coffee over the firebox and stays warm across the stove top.  The top should be easiest to use.

Almost any baking recipe you use on a gas or electric stove - you can use on a wood-burning stove.    You don't have to change the recipe as far as ingredients-it's baking that you have to watch.  You can't just set the oven at 350 degrees and go leave.  You must keep enough wood in the stove so it will burn quickly and offer more heat.  When I have something baking in the oven, I turn it 180 degrees halfway through the baking. I have the thermometer in the oven so I know how hot or cold it is.  To know if the stove needs more wood or open the oven door-very shortly-if it is too hot.

After using the oven for a while, you will get use to it and know what to do.  Sometimes moving something from one side to the other helps.  Also remember, that your wood - stove does not shut off like an electric or gas.  As long as the wood is warm, it is working. 

Baking or cooking in cast iron does not change the recipe.  I have no special receipes for cast iron pots and pans or wood-burning stove.  As I said, you have to watch them when baking.  Cast iron keeps food warmer, longer than other things like stainless steel. 

When cleaning the stove and oven-make sure it is completely cold.  Using warm water and wiping it with a soft towel right after you cleaned it. For baked on items, a non-abrasive cleaner would work.

For my first baking, I would start on something easy that you have baked before.  It will help you get the feeling of the stove and would be easier if it is something you have made several times before in your gas or electric stove. 

Another advantage of the stove is that it will keep the room warm.  If you are cooking or baking, it will keep the kitchen real warm.  I am not suggesting using the stove strickly for heat, but it sure will keep you warm while in use, which may be very important if your heat is off. So not only does it bake, and cook-it can keep your warm. 

Right now I am teaching my daughter-in-law-David, Jean's husband's Mother how to use the wood-burning stove that is in her kitchen. She is doing very well.

When I was a child, we use to have metal irons.  You would heat them on the top of the stove while it was baking.  Then you would wrap a towel around the handle and iron the clothes with them.  We had two or three irons so two were heating while you were using one.  When the one you were using got cold, you would put it back on the top of the stove and use another of the heated ones.  I believe that some of the Amish still iron their clothes that way today.

If you have any questions, please ask, I will try to answer them.

Follow God,
Olive



32 comments:

Tom said...

Good morning,
Olive I have enjoyed your description for wood stove use. While visiting many Amish friends I have seen the irons on the stove waiting to be heated so that Sunday clothes could be ironed. Several small Amish homes that I have been in have the kitchen stove as the only source of heat.
Tom
backroadstraveller.com/

Vickie said...

How very interesting! Have a blessed day.

Chasity said...

I appreciate your post today, I agree that we should learn how to use the wood cook stove before a power outage.

New York State Of Mind said...

Good Morning Vickie,
Thank you for your comment. Hope you have a blessed day, too,
Marilyn

New York State Of Mind said...

Good Morning Chasity,
Thanking for your comment backing Olive. She wanted to make sure people did that.

Marilyn

Anonymous said...

Hello Olive -Thank you for such informative posts-you have a nice way of explaining things-last weeks especially brought back lovely memories for us
If it is possible I would appreciate hearing more about your childhood memories -which I am sure would be of interest to all-

Fionalina

New York State Of Mind said...

Hello Fionalina,
I am glad you asked that Fionalina. Olive and I were talking about that and she said no one would want to hear about her childhood days and her courting. Well you proved her wrong. LOL So I will see if Jean and I can get her talk about it.
Marilyn

Melissa said...

Very interesting post! I agree with Fionalina that I would enjoy reading Olive's memories.

New York State Of Mind said...

Thank you Melissa for your interest. Jean and I will get after Olive and see if we can get her to tell New York State of Mind. Jean knows a lot of things, but feels Olive should tell-not her.
Marilyn

dynnamae said...

Hello Olive. I greatly enjoyed your post about the cooking and baking with wood stove. My MIL did that for many years. I won't be doing that but your post brings back memories of her and I appreciate that too. It would be a great pleasure to read about your childhood and anything else you might like to share with us. Blessing to you.

New York State Of Mind said...

Hi dynnamae,
I will pass your comments on to Olive. Jean and I are trying to talk her into telling.
Blessing to you and yours,
Marilyn

April said...

Olive I love your posts! Keep on posting. We have several sad irons and I have been known to use them when the power has been out. (They also make great door stops and paper weights as well!)

New York State Of Mind said...

Hi April,
Olive is coming back on February 15th. Thank you for telling us about the irons.

Marilyn

Lowell & Faye said...

I remember my mother ironing with the irons heated on the wood burning cook stove, not because we were Amish, but because that was what we had.

I would certainly enjoy reading about Olive's childhood. I'm sure it would be very interesting.

New York State Of Mind said...

Good Evening Lowell,
Thank you for telling us. I think that Olive will be coming back and telling us about your childhood. I think it would be interesting, also.

Marilyn

Wilma said...

Dear Olive,

This post brought back so many memories for me. I grew up in southern West Virginia and still live here. My mom cooked and baked on a wood stove until I was almost a teenager. We are not Amish, but this was our way of life at that time. Some of my family also had irons that were heated on the stove, although my mom always had an electric iron. I didn't live in a house with a bathroom until I was a senior in high school. My parents worked very hard to provide for six children. My dad died just recently. He and my mom had been married almost 72 years! I have been married 51 years and was so blessed that my parents were able to attend our 50th wedding anniversary. God has blessed all of my family greatly. Sorry this is so long.

Wilma

New York State Of Mind said...

Hello Wilma,
I will pass on to Olive what you wrote, I know she will appreciate it. It isn't very often that parents live to see their children's 50th wedding anniversary. So happy for you. So sorry that your dad passed. So glad that God plessed you and your family.

Marilyn

New York State Of Mind said...

Jean called and asked me to call Olive, which I did. Olive has agreed to do a post on her childhood, We will get together and work out the date and post. Just wanted you to know Olive has agreed and it is coming.

Marilyn

sheila said...

Hi Olive, I remember our old cookstove too, and remember my Mom using the old flatirons and heating them on the stove. Thanks for writing about this, and I'm looking forward to hearing more about your childhood memories.

Sheila

New York State Of Mind said...

Hi Shelia,
I will tell Olive what you said. Thank you for sharing it with us. I am looking forward to her childhood memories, too.

Marilyn

Countryside Reflections said...

Thank you for this great post Olive. I'm looking forward to reading about your childhood. ~Doreen

New York State Of Mind said...

Good Morning Doreen,
I will pass your compliments on to Olive. Looking forward to hearing about her childhood, too.

Marilyn

Anonymous said...

Thank you Marilyn and Jean
So glad Olive has agreed

Fionalina

New York State Of Mind said...

Good Morning Fionalina,
Jean had to do some fast talking with her grandmother, LOL, but she got her to do it.

Marilyn

kymber said...

Marilyn - please tell Olive that i am loving her posts and would like her to continue posting on just about anything! i would love to hear more about her memories from older times and if she has advice on any topic i am sure it would be of great interest to the readers here. it is clear that she is no nonsense and i really like that in her posts. please tell her that i count myself lucky to be able to come here and read her posts - being a modern english person means that i have no aunts or grandmothers to learn from.

thank you Marilyn for publishing these posts. please tell Olive how much we all enjoy her posts.

a friend to all of you,
kymber

New York State Of Mind said...

Hello Kymber,
I will tell Olive what you said. You are most welcome. I enjoy putting these on.

A friend to you, too,
Marilyn

Serge said...

It's always great to work with these kinds of stoves which work a dual-purpose as you have mentioned in your blog - it cooks while it heats the room as well making it perfect especially for those days which might seem too cold.

New York State Of Mind said...

Good Morning Serge,
Thank you for your comments. They are really appreciated.

Marilyn

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

Amazing your this blog I see this and really feel that we should use wood burning cooking then It's save our money and get pleasure...wood furnaces Buy a Greenwood wood boiler that saves 70% on your home heating bills. We offer the world-class wood gasification heating appliances on an affordable budget.

Unknown said...

This is amazing. Absolutely stunning and warm at the same time! Always looking for these kinds of great contents and information over internet. Really very appreciating. Keep it up. Stove Showrooms