We should then expect
to see the table spread with a snowy cloth, less starched
than many housekeepers think necessary, finish and pli-
ancy being given by plenty of v^ax in the starch, vs^hich
will keep it clean the longer. It should fall belov^ the table
half a yard all round, and be pinned up at the corners to
keep it from the floor if necessary. For ceremonious
occasions a common white cloth is laid under the table-
cloth to protect a handsome table, keep the upper cloth
TABLE TALK.
29
from wearing, and because dishes make less noise when
set down on it.
For breakfast the coffee is set before the mistress, the
cups and spoons ranged in their saucers in front of it, in
two rows if there are many of them ; the meat and the
plates which should be warm, are set before the master ;
salt, butter and castor at the corne-r to the right of both,
head and foot, if the table is a large one, when two sets
of these things will be convenient. Otherwise put them
in the center with the dishes in regular order around them,
and relishes at the corners. To meet this order, it is a trifle
to have dishes^ in pairs of the same size, and use them al-
ways together for different things. Fruit, whether berries,
baked apples, or pears, is served first at breakfast, then
oatmeal or wheaten grits, now found on every good table
in .cities at least, then meats and vegetables, with toast,
hot cakes and coffee following. Hot rolls come wrapped
in a napkin to keep them warm, griddle-cakes between
two hot plates, and all meats covered. Baked potatoes
are scrubbed with a manilla brush, the ends cut off, rinsed
twice, and eaten without paring, as the best flavor goes
with the skin. This is the custom with the best society
in this country and abroad. Eggs are washed with a
cloth in cold water before boiling, and eaten in egg cups
from the shell, chipping the small end off, or broken
into larger glasses, or held in the napkin and eaten from
the shell, v^ith entire good form, in either method. Where
individual salt-cellars are used they should be emptied
after each meal, and the salt thrown away, that one
person may not use it after another, and they should be
2
30
THE HOME COOK BOOK.
very small, that there be less wasted. Butter should be
piled round a lump of ice in little pats. To be very-
nice, as many have learned to like it from living abroad,
it should be churned daily from perfectly sweet cream,
worked without being touched by the hands or with
water, and without a particle of salt. Thus it has the
delicate flavor of cream at its best. Honey is especially
a breakfast delicacy, and so is maple syrup, which should
be served in small saucers to be eaten with hot biscuit.
A basket of crisp cakes, toasted rusk and crackers, will
accompany coffee.
Page 12
Presented as published in 1896. 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
We should then expect to see the table spread with a snowy cloth, less starched than many housekeepers think necessary, finish and pliancy being given by plenty of wax in the starch, which will keep it clean the longer. It should fall below the table half a yard all round, and be pinned up at the corners to keep it from the floor if necessary. For ceremonious occasions a common white cloth is laid under the tablecloth to protect a handsome table, keep the upper cloth
TABLE TALK.
from wearing, and because dishes make less noise when set down on it.
For breakfast the coffee is set before the mistress, the cups and spoons ranged in their saucers in front of it, in two rows if there are many of them ; the meat and the plates which should be warm, are set before the master ; salt, butter and castor at the corner to the right of both, head and foot, if the table is a large one, when two sets of these things will be convenient. Otherwise put them in the center with the dishes in regular order around them, and relishes at the corners. To meet this order, it is a trifle to have dishes in pairs of the same size, and use them always together for different things. Fruit, whether berries, baked apples, or pears, is served first at breakfast, then oatmeal or wheaten grits, now found on every good table in .cities at least, then meats and vegetables, with toast, hot cakes and coffee following. Hot rolls come wrapped in a napkin to keep them warm, griddle-cakes between two hot plates, and all meats covered. Baked potatoes are scrubbed with a manilla brush, the ends cut off, rinsed twice, and eaten without paring, as the best flavor goes with the skin. This is the custom with the best society in this country and abroad. Eggs are washed with a cloth in cold water before boiling, and eaten in egg cups from the shell, chipping the small end off, or broken into larger glasses, or held in the napkin and eaten from the shell, v^ith entire good form, in either method. Where individual salt-cellars are used they should be emptied after each meal, and the salt thrown away, that one person may not use it after another, and they should be
very small, that there be less wasted. Butter should be piled round a lump of ice in little pats. To be verynice, as many have learned to like it from living abroad, it should be churned daily from perfectly sweet cream, worked without being touched by the hands or with water, and without a particle of salt. Thus it has the delicate flavor of cream at its best. Honey is especially a breakfast delicacy, and so is maple syrup, which should be served in small saucers to be eaten with hot biscuit. A basket of crisp cakes, toasted rusk and crackers, will accompany coffee.