to put them together, and every one who can cook a
dinner should also know how to clean and keep in good
order the stove and all culinary utensils. Order and
neatness must reign in the kitchen as well as in the
drawing-room, and it will help greatly to bring about
this desirable state of affairs if all utensils are cleaned
and put away immediately they are finished with, for it is
much easier to wash them then than if left dirty for some
time. As soon as the contents of a saucepan have been
dished, fill it with cold water, add a lump of soda, and
stand it on the stove till hot ; it can then be washed up
in a few minutes. Plates and dishes should at once be
put into a bowl of hot or cold water ; treat spoons and
forks in the same way. Knives, wipe at once, and clean
as soon as possible. A damp cloth rubbed with Monkey
soap will do wonders in removing stains and dust ; these,
if left for a time, are hard to get off, and the kitchen,
which ought to be bright and cheerful, soon has a greasy,
dirty look.
Some of us can call to mind delightful old kitchens in
country houses, which were a pleasure and a joy to both
mistress and maids, where bright copper stewpans re-
flected the blazing fire on all sides, and metal covers
shone like muTors ; while as for " eating off the floor,"
one might certainly do it if so inclined, without the " peck
of dirt " at once.
How cosy and delightful everything seems in a kitchen
like this, and Avhat visions can we not see of home-made
bread and cakes, well-cooked joints, succulent vegetables,
delicious puddings, dainty dishes of all kinds concocted
with skilful fingers ! And why should not these visions
turn into substantial realities ? They will do so if women
will consider it a pleasure, instead of a degradation, to
"look well to the ways of her household," and establish
THE KITCHEN. 255
a system of order and neatness from cellar to gaiTet.
When this happy time comes she will be " emancipated "
from many cares and have more leisure to cultivate her
intellect than she has now. Surely "a study which helps
" to make cheerful homes and healthy, well-conducted,
" prosperous citizens is worth at least a trial."
( 256 )
CHAPTER XIV.
THE ICE CHEST.
"An ice chest!" someone exclaims. "I should like to
know how I am to get that." Well, very easily indeed, if
there is a will to have one, for then the way is plain. A
refrigerator years ago was perhaps only obtainable by the
wealthy, and regarded rightly by others as a not-to-be-
thought-of luxury; but, thanks to the rapid development
of scientific knowledge, both ice and refrigerators are now
within the means of nearly all. The Americans in this
led the way, and those in the Central States would no
more dream of being without ice during the hot season,
than they would of failure to take daily supplies of bread
and milk. In almost every home through bright and sunny
Australia we find a piano and a sewing machine, and yet
either of these costs far more than an ice chest, and per-
haps as much to keep in repair as the ice to fill it. Look-
ing at it from many points of view, it ought to be con-
sidered an indispensable article of furniture, and it has
this great advantage over many " household gods," that
the fii*st expense is the last ; for it never gets out of order,
and lasts a lifetime ; and this cannot be said of many
other
Page 169
Presented as published in 1893. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
to put them together, and every one who can cook a dinner should also know how to clean and keep in good order the stove and all culinary utensils. Order and neatness must reign in the kitchen as well as in the drawing-room, and it will help greatly to bring about this desirable state of affairs if all utensils are cleaned and put away immediately they are finished with, for it is much easier to wash them then than if left dirty for some time. As soon as the contents of a saucepan have been dished, fill it with cold water, add a lump of soda, and stand it on the stove till hot ; it can then be washed up in a few minutes. Plates and dishes should at once be put into a bowl of hot or cold water ; treat spoons and forks in the same way. Knives, wipe at once, and clean as soon as possible. A damp cloth rubbed with Monkey soap will do wonders in removing stains and dust ; these, if left for a time, are hard to get off, and the kitchen, which ought to be bright and cheerful, soon has a greasy, dirty look.
Some of us can call to mind delightful old kitchens in country houses, which were a pleasure and a joy to both mistress and maids, where bright copper stewpans reflected the blazing fire on all sides, and metal covers shone like mirrors ; while as for " eating off the floor," one might certainly do it if so inclined, without the " peck of dirt " at once.
How cosy and delightful everything seems in a kitchen like this, and Avhat visions can we not see of home-made bread and cakes, well-cooked joints, succulent vegetables, delicious puddings, dainty dishes of all kinds concocted with skilful fingers ! And why should not these visions turn into substantial realities ? They will do so if women will consider it a pleasure, instead of a degradation, to "look well to the ways of her household," and establish
THE KITCHEN. 255
a system of order and neatness from cellar to garret. When this happy time comes she will be " emancipated " from many cares and have more leisure to cultivate her intellect than she has now. Surely "a study which helps " to make cheerful homes and healthy, well-conducted, " prosperous citizens is worth at least a trial."
( 256 )
CHAPTER XIV.
THE ICE CHEST.
"An ice chest!" someone exclaims. "I should like to know how I am to get that." Well, very easily indeed, if there is a will to have one, for then the way is plain. A refrigerator years ago was perhaps only obtainable by the wealthy, and regarded rightly by others as a not-to-bethought-of luxury; but, thanks to the rapid development of scientific knowledge, both ice and refrigerators are now within the means of nearly all. The Americans in this led the way, and those in the Central States would no more dream of being without ice during the hot season, than they would of failure to take daily supplies of bread and milk. In almost every home through bright and sunny Australia we find a piano and a sewing machine, and yet either of these costs far more than an ice chest, and perhaps as much to keep in repair as the ice to fill it. Looking at it from many points of view, it ought to be considered an indispensable article of furniture, and it has this great advantage over many " household gods," that the first expense is the last ; for it never gets out of order, and lasts a lifetime ; and this cannot be said of many other