Intelligence about Cooking from the 1800's

There is no such thing as luck in cooking.  Laws govern the chemical changes which take place and can always be relied on.  Water boils at 212 and cannot be made any hotter by violently boiling in an open vessel.  Frying can be properly done only when the fat is smoking hot.  Broiling can be properly done only over, or under, hot and bright coals. For baking, the oven must be of the right temperature.  The same thing cooked in the same way will always be the same, and failure comes simply from neglect of the rules.  It is as easy to have good cooking as bad; the former requires only the elements of care and intelligence.  

This quote comes from a book called 'The Century Cookbook' published in 1896 by a woman named Mary Ronald.  This book is one of the earliest known American cookbooks, as most menus and 'recipes' were simply passed on from mother to daughter during childhood.  It's an interesting slice of history to read about how they ate, set tables, and cooked meals so long ago.

Just a bit of history.  And Ms. Ronald really has the right idea with her statement above.