FoodNetArchive

The housewife's referee

1898

Page 15

Presented as published in 1898. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
It is very cheap, which is also a great recommendation. Dickson's Reversible Toaster and Griller is also a very advantageous article, as it will hold food of any thickness, for the holder can be placed at any distance from the fire for slow or quick cooking ; and when fixed before the fire the surface can be changed without removing the toaster. The dripping is caught in the pan, as it moves backwards and forwards with the holder, and is always under it. It is made in separate parts and can be readily cleaned. The Desideratum Strainer is a little article which cooks will find very useful for draining vegetables, especially cabbages, spinach, French beans, etc., which so often are sent to table imperfectly drained. This strainer cannot be too highly commended to housekeepers, who will certainly admire the compact and ornamental shape into which it presses cabbage or spinach for the table. Most iron- mongers sell it. The Safety Oyster Holdfast is an appliance which quite predudes the possibility of accident to the person using it. USEFUL ADJUNCTS TO THE KITCHEN 21 The oyster is placed in the bowl of the hoklfast, and the lid closed so as partly to cover it. Being gripped between the teeth arranged in the lid and the bowl, it can be safely opened with any ordinary oyster knife. There is a guard on the lid which saves the hand from a cut should the knife slip, and there is also a hole in the middle of the bowl which allows the escape of the liquor. Taylor's " Perfect " Egg Poacher is an admirable little arrangement. It holds four eggs and has a telescopic movable centre. It is quite worth buying, is mry inexpen- sive, and can be obtained at any ironmonger's. The Automatic Egg Cooker is also worthy of attention ; neither fire nor spirit is required. It is merely a double vessel ; boiling water is poured into the upper vessel, and as soon as it is run through into the lower the eggs are cooked; it is made in tin, Britannia metal, and electro-plate. A Slicing Machine is a most useful addition to a kitchen, one great advantage being that an ordinary table knife can be used as a cutter. Any thickness of slice may be cut with it by a regulating, adjusting screw. Cucumbers, beetroots, onions, apples, may be speedily cut with it. I have also in use a potato-chip machine, which is a great boon, as so few cooks can cut potato chips well. Hancock's Patent Potato Washer and Peeler is a capital invention for large families, where large quantities of potatoes have to be washed and peeled daily. The machines are fitted with a revolving brush, underneath which is a trap door. The revolving brush peels the potatoes, and they fall through into a tub below. The machines are fitted with an arrangement by which a stream of water runs through during the operation, and they are made in sizes; the smallest will wash and peel from one to four pounds at one operation in two minutes. The Yankee Idea is a capital stove as an extra to have in a kitchen ; it is constructed on scientific principles, giving concentrated heat with steam pressure, making an im- portant factor in household economy. A dinner of fish or soup, meat, two vegetables, and a pudding can be cooked 22 THE housewife's KEFEREE