The oven requires attention in several ways. Before putting
anything to cook in the oven it is well to see that no pet
animal has taken refuge in its comfortable warmth. I have
known a treasured monkey and a valuable cat to be accidentally
suffocated in this way. The oven should be thoroughly brushed
at least once every day, in order to get rid of all dust, after which
it should be well wiped round with a cloth wrung out of hot
water. In testing the heat of an oven opinions differ as to the
best method, and ovens really differ so much that a hard and
fast rule cannot be laid down. Some cooks, who know by
experience the quality of their own oven, form a perfectly
accurate estimate of its heat by their eye and by their hand.
Few use the oven thermometer. An old-fashioned custom was
to sprinkle a little dry flour on the shelf of the oven ; if the
flour turned brown at once the oven was hot enough for bread.
Gouffe’s method of testing the heat of an oven with paper is
perhaps the best. Have ready several pieces of clean white
kitchen paper, and test the oven every ten minutes. If the
oven is too hot the paper will blaze up or blacken at once. If
the paper turns a chocolate-brown the heat of the oven will be
suitable for patties, mince pies, etc. If the paper turns cigar-
brown the oven will be ready for tarts, vol-au-vents, etc.
When the paper takes a dark yellow shade, like deal, the oven
is fit for game pies, or large meat pies, pound cake and bread.
Finally, when the paper only just turns colour and is quite a
pale yellow the heat of the oven is suitable for sponge cakes,
or anything which requires light baking 'without much
colouring.
The kitchen table should be strong, fixed in its place, and
s not too wide. A strip of white oilcloth may be kept for putting
£ dishes on, but it must not be fastened to the table, nor must it
KITCHEN, LARDER, AND SCULLERY
be used for any other purpose. It is a convenience if the table
has a rail round it close under the top, on which cloths can be
hung. There should be at least one other table in the kitchen,
strong and firm, on four legs, but not fixed. A Windsor chair
with a cushion will be a comfort to the cook.
The kitchen dresser should have drawers and shelves, and
hooks fixed in convenient places. Besides the dresser there
should be at least one cupboard.
A marble mortar is a necessity, fitted into a solid wooden
stand. It is a great saving of labour if the handle of the
pestle is made very long, and passed inside an iron i-ing fixed
into the wall at a good height above the mortar. The ring
must be large enough to allow of the pestle reaching every
part of the inside of the mortar. For the small mortars used
for sauces, fancy butters, etc., this is not, of course, necessary.
The kitchen screen should be lined with tin, furnished with
a hot closet at the top and one or two iron gratings as shelves
below. It is an economy to have the screen painted and
grained, as if this is done the screen is easily kept clean.
A good clock with a clear face is an absolnte necessity
in every kitchen. The clock should be regularly wound and
kept in thorough order. Great attention must be paid to the
kitchen boiler, especially in frosty weather. If the supply of
water in it runs shoi’t the kitchen fire must be at once put out,
or the boiler may burst with fatal results to life or limb.
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
The oven requires attention in several ways. Before putting anything to cook in the oven it is well to see that no pet animal has taken refuge in its comfortable warmth. I have known a treasured monkey and a valuable cat to be accidentally suffocated in this way. The oven should be thoroughly brushed at least once every day, in order to get rid of all dust, after which it should be well wiped round with a cloth wrung out of hot water. In testing the heat of an oven opinions differ as to the best method, and ovens really differ so much that a hard and fast rule cannot be laid down. Some cooks, who know by experience the quality of their own oven, form a perfectly accurate estimate of its heat by their eye and by their hand. Few use the oven thermometer. An old-fashioned custom was to sprinkle a little dry flour on the shelf of the oven ; if the flour turned brown at once the oven was hot enough for bread. Gouffe’s method of testing the heat of an oven with paper is perhaps the best. Have ready several pieces of clean white kitchen paper, and test the oven every ten minutes. If the oven is too hot the paper will blaze up or blacken at once. If the paper turns a chocolate-brown the heat of the oven will be suitable for patties, mince pies, etc. If the paper turns cigarbrown the oven will be ready for tarts, vol-au-vents, etc. When the paper takes a dark yellow shade, like deal, the oven is fit for game pies, or large meat pies, pound cake and bread. Finally, when the paper only just turns colour and is quite a pale yellow the heat of the oven is suitable for sponge cakes, or anything which requires light baking 'without much colouring.
The kitchen table should be strong, fixed in its place, and is not too wide. A strip of white oilcloth may be kept for putting £ dishes on, but it must not be fastened to the table, nor must it
be used for any other purpose. It is a convenience if the table has a rail round it close under the top, on which cloths can be hung. There should be at least one other table in the kitchen, strong and firm, on four legs, but not fixed. A Windsor chair with a cushion will be a comfort to the cook.
The kitchen dresser should have drawers and shelves, and hooks fixed in convenient places. Besides the dresser there should be at least one cupboard.
A marble mortar is a necessity, fitted into a solid wooden stand. It is a great saving of labour if the handle of the pestle is made very long, and passed inside an iron i-ing fixed into the wall at a good height above the mortar. The ring must be large enough to allow of the pestle reaching every part of the inside of the mortar. For the small mortars used for sauces, fancy butters, etc., this is not, of course, necessary.
The kitchen screen should be lined with tin, furnished with a hot closet at the top and one or two iron gratings as shelves below. It is an economy to have the screen painted and grained, as if this is done the screen is easily kept clean.
A good clock with a clear face is an absolnte necessity in every kitchen. The clock should be regularly wound and kept in thorough order. Great attention must be paid to the kitchen boiler, especially in frosty weather. If the supply of water in it runs shoi’t the kitchen fire must be at once put out, or the boiler may burst with fatal results to life or limb.