When baking cakes the oven should first be
thoroughly heated and then the gas turned down
more or less according to the special kind of cake,
and whether it requires a moderate or hot oven.
Place the cake or cakes on the grid shelf and below
the browning shelf, and gradually reduce the heat
until the cakes are ready. If the cake is large it
may be better to keep out the solid shelf altogether
and even to cover it over with a double piece of
kitchen paper to prevent its taking too much colour.
With large cakes, too, it is a good plan to leave
them in the oven for about half an hour after the
gas has been turned off, and to let them dry slowly
in the gradually reducing heat. The same rules
will apply to the baking of pastry.
If a little care is taken, and attention given to
details, a gas oven is really very easy to manage,
and after a little practice one becomes quite expert
at regulating the heat to a nicety.
How to Clean a Gas Stove. — It is very important
that a gas stove should be kept clean. The un-
pleasant and objectionable fumes which sometimes
arise from it are very often due to the greasy and
dirty condition of the stove itself.
W eekly Cleaning. — Put down a hearth cloth and
have in readiness a pail of hot water and soda,
one or two strong cloths or swabs, and black-lead
brushes, &c., for cleaning purposes. Remove the
bars from the top of the stove and wash these in
the pail of hot water, using a brush if necessary.
Wash the top of the stove, being very careful to
make the burners clean ; sometimes it may be
necessary to clean out the little holes with a piece
of wire or a fine skewer if they have become clogged.
Wash also the tray under the burners, the oven
shelves, the sides of the oven, which are some-
times fitted with movable linings, and the tin which
stands at the foot. If there are enamelled linings,
as in some of the stoves, a little salt or Brooke’s soap
may be used for cleaning purposes, and also for the
oven tin to remove any brown marks or other dis-
coloration.
Then black-lead the bars, the top and body of
the stove, and put back the different parts in their
proper places. Polish the brass taps with metal
polish, rub up the steel with fine emery paper, and
the stove is finished.
Daily Cleaning. — If the stove is thoroughly
cleaned once a week it will not require much black-
leading the other days, a good brush over with the
harder polishing brush should be sufficient. The
tray underneath the burners should be washed
and also the oven tin if the oven has been used.
Whenever grease or any kind of food is spilt
on a gas stove during cooking, it should be washed
off at once with a cloth wrung out of hot water
and soda, because if allowed to remain it will cause
the stove to smell the next time it is used.
COOKING ON OIL STOVES
A small oil stove may sometimes be a conveni-
ence when neither gas nor electricity is within
reach. In summer, when a big kitchen fire is not
required, a stove of this description will often
perform all the cooking operations necessary.
Being independent of any fittings, it can be moved
about at will, and placed wherever it is most
convenient. Sometimes, too, in country quarters
where the kitchen range is inadequate for the cook-
ing required, an oil stove will be found of valuable
assistance, and it can even be used in an out-house
if the kitchen is small and inconvenient.
Page 32
Presented as published in 1914. 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
When baking cakes the oven should first be thoroughly heated and then the gas turned down more or less according to the special kind of cake, and whether it requires a moderate or hot oven. Place the cake or cakes on the grid shelf and below the browning shelf, and gradually reduce the heat until the cakes are ready. If the cake is large it may be better to keep out the solid shelf altogether and even to cover it over with a double piece of kitchen paper to prevent its taking too much colour. With large cakes, too, it is a good plan to leave
them in the oven for about half an hour after the gas has been turned off, and to let them dry slowly in the gradually reducing heat. The same rules will apply to the baking of pastry.
If a little care is taken, and attention given to details, a gas oven is really very easy to manage, and after a little practice one becomes quite expert at regulating the heat to a nicety.
How to Clean a Gas Stove. — It is very important that a gas stove should be kept clean. The unpleasant and objectionable fumes which sometimes arise from it are very often due to the greasy and dirty condition of the stove itself.
Weekly Cleaning. — Put down a hearth cloth and have in readiness a pail of hot water and soda, one or two strong cloths or swabs, and black-lead brushes, &c., for cleaning purposes. Remove the bars from the top of the stove and wash these in the pail of hot water, using a brush if necessary. Wash the top of the stove, being very careful to make the burners clean ; sometimes it may be necessary to clean out the little holes with a piece of wire or a fine skewer if they have become clogged. Wash also the tray under the burners, the oven shelves, the sides of the oven, which are sometimes fitted with movable linings, and the tin which stands at the foot. If there are enamelled linings, as in some of the stoves, a little salt or Brooke’s soap may be used for cleaning purposes, and also for the oven tin to remove any brown marks or other discoloration.
Then black-lead the bars, the top and body of the stove, and put back the different parts in their proper places. Polish the brass taps with metal polish, rub up the steel with fine emery paper, and the stove is finished.
Daily Cleaning. — If the stove is thoroughly cleaned once a week it will not require much blackleading the other days, a good brush over with the harder polishing brush should be sufficient. The tray underneath the burners should be washed and also the oven tin if the oven has been used.
Whenever grease or any kind of food is spilt on a gas stove during cooking, it should be washed off at once with a cloth wrung out of hot water and soda, because if allowed to remain it will cause the stove to smell the next time it is used.
COOKING ON OIL STOVES
A small oil stove may sometimes be a convenience when neither gas nor electricity is within reach. In summer, when a big kitchen fire is not required, a stove of this description will often perform all the cooking operations necessary. Being independent of any fittings, it can be moved about at will, and placed wherever it is most convenient. Sometimes, too, in country quarters where the kitchen range is inadequate for the cooking required, an oil stove will be found of valuable assistance, and it can even be used in an out-house if the kitchen is small and inconvenient.