Where the walls are papered it is a good plan to have
a wicker-pattern oil-cloth dado round the kitchen, reaching
to the tops of the chairs, for servants have a way of tilting
back their seats and leaning against the walls, making
greasy marks and holes in them. It is a good plan to
have a three-inch piece of wood laid along the floor against
the wainscot, for this prevents the chairs and tables from
1
2 THE HOUSEWIFE^S HEFEltES
marking the walls. Linoleum should be laid all over the
kitchen floor, instead of oil-cloth ; it is very much warmer.
Where money is no object, tesselated pavement could be used
as an impervious floor ; it is preferable to wood, for vermin
and insect pests cannot make their dwelling there. Large
red tiles for the flooring are likewise good, with linoleum
placed over, leaving half-a-yard margin all round. The
dresser should be of unpainted wood, and therefore capable
of being constantly scrubbed. Where a kitchen-maid is kept,
an open dresser always looks best, but where there is only a
cook I advocate that the lower part, or pot-board, should
not be open, but have sliding doors to keep out dust and
dirt from the stew-pans, omelet-pans, etc. Saucepans should
be kept in the scullery, inverted on one of the iron stands
made for the purpose, which hold saucepans from the largest
to the smallest size, the covers laid on the top. Besides the
dresser there should be one or two side tables (according to
the size of the kitchen), and chairs according to the number
of servants. A very convenient thing to have is a plain
cupboard along the wall (where there is room for it), about
five feet from the ground, with sliding doors to protect the
various moulds and patty pans ; by the side of the range
should be a salt box, and a small shelf on which the pepper,
sugar, and flour castors should be placed; there should
also be hooks attached to the shelf to hang spoons and
skimmers on, for the use of the cook engaged over the
range, which saves much time and trouble, especially in a
large kitchen, where the table may be some distance from
the fire. One of the tables should have a back or shelf,
covered with a thin sheet of tin (if tiles cannot be afforded),
and on it all saucepans and basins in use should be placed,
thus keeping the centre table always clear. In most
kitchens there is, or should be, a cupboard, in which the
cook keeps her stores, such as sauces, rice, sugar, etc. In
the kitchen table, which occupies the centre of the kitcihen,
there is always a drawer in which all fancy knives and
vegetable cutters, larding needles, corkscrews, etc., should
be kept. I read in the JVew York Times a paragraph on
Kitchen Tables " which I think is worth quoting ; it says :
" Mt a sheet of tin on the table and perforate the edges
for tacking ; the tin should cover the thickness of the board
top, that it may be tacked on the underside of the table.
THE KITCHEN
3
Page 2
Presented as published in 1898. 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
Where the walls are papered it is a good plan to have a wicker-pattern oil-cloth dado round the kitchen, reaching to the tops of the chairs, for servants have a way of tilting back their seats and leaning against the walls, making greasy marks and holes in them. It is a good plan to have a three-inch piece of wood laid along the floor against the wainscot, for this prevents the chairs and tables from
2 THE HOUSEWIFE'S REFEREE
marking the walls. Linoleum should be laid all over the kitchen floor, instead of oil-cloth ; it is very much warmer. Where money is no object, tesselated pavement could be used as an impervious floor ; it is preferable to wood, for vermin and insect pests cannot make their dwelling there. Large red tiles for the flooring are likewise good, with linoleum placed over, leaving half-a-yard margin all round. The dresser should be of unpainted wood, and therefore capable of being constantly scrubbed. Where a kitchen-maid is kept, an open dresser always looks best, but where there is only a cook I advocate that the lower part, or pot-board, should not be open, but have sliding doors to keep out dust and dirt from the stew-pans, omelet-pans, etc. Saucepans should be kept in the scullery, inverted on one of the iron stands made for the purpose, which hold saucepans from the largest to the smallest size, the covers laid on the top. Besides the dresser there should be one or two side tables (according to the size of the kitchen), and chairs according to the number of servants. A very convenient thing to have is a plain cupboard along the wall (where there is room for it), about five feet from the ground, with sliding doors to protect the various moulds and patty pans ; by the side of the range should be a salt box, and a small shelf on which the pepper, sugar, and flour castors should be placed; there should also be hooks attached to the shelf to hang spoons and skimmers on, for the use of the cook engaged over the range, which saves much time and trouble, especially in a large kitchen, where the table may be some distance from the fire. One of the tables should have a back or shelf, covered with a thin sheet of tin (if tiles cannot be afforded), and on it all saucepans and basins in use should be placed, thus keeping the centre table always clear. In most kitchens there is, or should be, a cupboard, in which the cook keeps her stores, such as sauces, rice, sugar, etc. In the kitchen table, which occupies the centre of the kitchen, there is always a drawer in which all fancy knives and vegetable cutters, larding needles, corkscrews, etc., should be kept. I read in the JVew York Times a paragraph on Kitchen Tables " which I think is worth quoting ; it says : " Mt a sheet of tin on the table and perforate the edges for tacking ; the tin should cover the thickness of the board top, that it may be tacked on the underside of the table.