This is a formidable subject, especially in England, where the general reform in culinary matters has not as yet extended very far towards improving the tools used by the ordinary cook. On the contrary, the latter seems to take a positive delight in her old- fashioned black saucepans, and very often cannot be induced to give any others a trial. On an emergency of course all kinds of things may be attempted, and fairly well carried out even with poor utensils. For instance, very tolerable coffee may be made in an ordinary jug if one knows how to do it, but in the natural course of things it is absolutely necessary in order to do justice to good material, and to properly carry out really good recipes, that the best possible utensils be provided. The question that arises, therefore, is this : By what kind of saucepans, etc., can the hideous black pots now in use be replaced ? Either by copper, seamless steel, block tin, or aluminium, or better still by some of each— at any rate, not by one sort to the exclusion of all the others. The labour of cleaning these utensils can be reduced to a minimum by rubbing them over every time they are used, and rinsing them out with proper care. 18 COOKERY. For some purposes tinned ironware is quite per- missible, and of course less expensive than copper ; the block-tin stewpans are also very useful, and are more conducive to rapid cooking than aluminium. The latter material is wonderfully light and un- corrosive, but it is still expensive in England, is not such a good conductor of heat as steel or copper, and requires some experience to ensure success. As a rule, the tendency among ordinary cooks and kitchenmaids is to neglect the proper scouring of kitchen utensils — indeed, there is no department of the household in which imperfect cleaning is so common, and at the same time so detrimental to health. Nothing but boiling water and soda need be used, with a little sand (or the chain scourer used abroad), Monkey soap, or Sapolio — in short, any good cleansing compound. If the pans be properly rinsed out and rubbed every time they are used, the weekly cleaning will not be a very formidable operation. In choosing kitchen utensils it is a good plan to purchase a few in addition to the strictly necessary number ; also it is better to have them too large than too small ; above all, let them be of the best quality. The following list gives some idea of the utensils required by a small family with average tastes. Of course it must be modified according to individual wishes. One stock pot, half-a-dozen graduated stew- pans with lids, a couple of mute pans (one of these should be oval or oblong with lid and strainer, to be used especially for braising, for boiling hams, and for KITCHEN UTENSILS. 1!)

AI-modernized reading of the original text

This is a formidable subject, especially in England, where the general reform in culinary matters has not as yet extended very far towards improving the tools used by the ordinary cook. On the contrary, the latter seems to take a positive delight in her oldfashioned black saucepans, and very often cannot be induced to give any others a trial. On an emergency of course all kinds of things may be attempted, and fairly well carried out even with poor utensils. For instance, very tolerable coffee may be made in an ordinary jug if one knows how to do it, but in the natural course of things it is absolutely necessary in order to do justice to good material, and to properly carry out really good recipes, that the best possible utensils be provided. The question that arises, therefore, is this: By what kind of saucepans, etc., can the hideous black pots now in use be replaced? Either by copper, seamless steel, block tin, or aluminium, or better still by some of each — at any rate, not by one sort to the exclusion of all the others. The labour of cleaning these utensils can be reduced to a minimum by rubbing them over every time they are used, and rinsing them out with proper care. For some purposes tinned ironware is quite permissible, and of course less expensive than copper ; the block-tin stewpans are also very useful, and are more conducive to rapid cooking than aluminium. The latter material is wonderfully light and uncorrosive, but it is still expensive in England, is not such a good conductor of heat as steel or copper, and requires some experience to ensure success. As a rule, the tendency among ordinary cooks and kitchenmaids is to neglect the proper scouring of kitchen utensils — indeed, there is no department of the household in which imperfect cleaning is so common, and at the same time so detrimental to health. Nothing but boiling water and soda need be used, with a little sand (or the chain scourer used abroad), Monkey soap, or Sapolio — in short, any good cleansing compound. If the pans be properly rinsed out and rubbed every time they are used, the weekly cleaning will not be a very formidable operation. In choosing kitchen utensils it is a good plan to purchase a few in addition to the strictly necessary number ; also it is better to have them too large than too small ; above all, let them be of the best quality. The following list gives some idea of the utensils required by a small family with average tastes. Of course it must be modified according to individual wishes. One stock pot, half-a-dozen graduated stewpans with lids, a couple of saucepans (one of these should be oval or oblong with lid and strainer, to be used especially for braising, for boiling hams, and for KITCHEN UTENSILS. 1!)

Cookery