In lighting a kitchen fire, or indeed, any fire, the back
of the grate should be swept daily, and once a fortnight
a long-handled sweep's brush should be passed up the
chimney. Any kind of paper will do, except brown, to
light fires with ; but all paper should be rolled into balls
the size of an orange, then the wood should be put in and
a few lumps of coal, and all the cinders which have been
sifted from the day before. A good cook studies her range
and learns everything respecting its draughts and dampers,
and tries to economise the fuel as much as possible. Coal-
dust is most necessary, as a little can always be used
with the lumps of coal. The best plan for using it is
partly to fill some large-sized vessel with it and gradually
mix water until it is moistened enough to press into balls,
but not enough to prevent its adhering together. Then
place these in the cellar till required.
THE LARDER
" Peace hideth herself under the lid of the well-managed pot."
The larder should be the picture of cleanliness, and large
enough to hold all the meat and provisions, cooked and
uncooked, in the house ; it should Ibe well ventilated and
airy, but perfectly dry, with a window covered with wire to
keep out flies and smuts.
THE LARDER
9
To have a perfect larder it should be tiled with glazed
tiles or slates, so that it can be sluiced down constantly ;
but, of course, tiled larders are not often to be found.
There should be plenty of strong iron hooks in the
ceiling, and separate wire safes for vegetables and
fruits. The hooks should be placed at sufficient distances
apart to prevent the hanging meat or poultry from touch-
ing, and everything on the shelves should stand on dishes
with wire covers over them to keep the contents free from
the depredations of mice and flies, the latter of which are
such scourges that often the meat and other condiments get
tainted and fly-blown from them. The Crimean plan to
catch the flies is about the best I know of. Half fill a
tumbler with strong soapsuds, cover the top with a piece
of paper well smeared with treacle or honey, and in the
centre make a small hole just large enough for the flies to
crawl in ; the gas from the soapsuds draws them down and
the glass soon becomes thick with them.
The larder floor is best made of bricks, and should be
washed twice a week at least and dusted with sanitas powder ;
it is also well to have one of the sanitas perforated boxes
hung up, as it keeps the atmosphere pure and free from
the smells which emanate from raw meat. Besides, if the
atmosphere of the larder in which meat is kept is impure,
it is well known that severe gastric poisoning is the result.
Meat, poultry, game, and various kinds of fish become
poisonous by their own decomposition when kept too long,
and as an article in the Hospital says : "It does not seem
to be generally understood that meat and other articles
that are usually stored in pantries and larders give off
exhalations, which settle down upon walls, floors, ceilings,
and any tables or vessels that may be present, and also,
at the same time, charge the larder with concentrated
poison ! "
Page 7
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
In lighting a kitchen fire, or indeed, any fire, the back of the grate should be swept daily, and once a fortnight a long-handled sweep's brush should be passed up the chimney. Any kind of paper will do, except brown, to light fires with ; but all paper should be rolled into balls the size of an orange, then the wood should be put in and a few lumps of coal, and all the cinders which have been sifted from the day before. A good cook studies her range and learns everything respecting its draughts and dampers, and tries to economise the fuel as much as possible. Coaldust is most necessary, as a little can always be used with the lumps of coal. The best plan for using it is partly to fill some large-sized vessel with it and gradually mix water until it is moistened enough to press into balls, but not enough to prevent its adhering together. Then place these in the cellar till required.
THE LARDER
" Peace hideth herself under the lid of the well-managed pot."
The larder should be the picture of cleanliness, and large enough to hold all the meat and provisions, cooked and uncooked, in the house ; it should be well ventilated and airy, but perfectly dry, with a window covered with wire to keep out flies and smuts.
THE LARDER
To have a perfect larder it should be tiled with glazed tiles or slates, so that it can be sluiced down constantly ; but, of course, tiled larders are not often to be found.
There should be plenty of strong iron hooks in the ceiling, and separate wire safes for vegetables and fruits. The hooks should be placed at sufficient distances apart to prevent the hanging meat or poultry from touching, and everything on the shelves should stand on dishes with wire covers over them to keep the contents free from the depredations of mice and flies, the latter of which are such scourges that often the meat and other condiments get tainted and fly-blown from them. The Crimean plan to catch the flies is about the best I know of. Half fill a tumbler with strong soapsuds, cover the top with a piece of paper well smeared with treacle or honey, and in the centre make a small hole just large enough for the flies to crawl in ; the gas from the soapsuds draws them down and the glass soon becomes thick with them.
The larder floor is best made of bricks, and should be washed twice a week at least and dusted with sanitas powder ; it is also well to have one of the sanitas perforated boxes hung up, as it keeps the atmosphere pure and free from the smells which emanate from raw meat. Besides, if the atmosphere of the larder in which meat is kept is impure, it is well known that severe gastric poisoning is the result. Meat, poultry, game, and various kinds of fish become poisonous by their own decomposition when kept too long, and as an article in the Hospital says : "It does not seem to be generally understood that meat and other articles that are usually stored in pantries and larders give off exhalations, which settle down upon walls, floors, ceilings, and any tables or vessels that may be present, and also, at the same time, charge the larder with concentrated poison ! "