*One fish kettle, for fish, vegetables or a ham. 14 One small thick omelet frying pan. One tripod. Two wire meat covers. One wire meat safe, folding. *One mincing machine. One grater for cheese. One grater for nut. One small fine wire sieve. *One potato masher. One meat chopper and meat saw. One French tin coffee pot. One coffee mill. One small coffee strainer. One bread board. *One swizzle. *One ljlb. cake tin. *One toasting fork. *One set cutters. *One pestle. One spare wooden spoon. One spare one-lb. bread tin. *One large baking tin. One spare two-pint pie dish. One spare four-pint pudding basin. Spare knife, fork and spoon. Four scrubbing brushes. The utensils marked with an asterisk are not indispens- able. If a mincing machine is taken, it must be of a very simple make, easily taken to pieces, and its cleanliness should be often inspected. A bottle can do instead of a pastry roller and a pestle could be made locally of any hard wood. The swizzle can also be made locally. The pudding basins and pie dishes should be of enamel, not of earthenware. A set of cutters takes little room and is useful for neatly stamping out scones or rounds of bread for savouries, &c. Three yards of “ household flannel ” should be bought to wrap round the basin in which the bread is set to rise. See chapter on bread making. 15 OF COOKS AND BOYS. One can say that there are three classes of cooks : the coast man with wages from at least £2 10s. Od. to £3 a month ; the native cook at £1 10s. Od. to £2 ; and the simple savage at £1 or less. (All three will ask for the weekly 2/- chop money). If by saving in other ways, you can afford to get a Coast Man, he is certainly the best, especially if he comes from Accra. He is a born cook, he understands recipes, can be taught almost anything and seems to have an instinctive knowledge of how things ought to look and taste. He has a fair idea of order and cleanliness, and under favourable circumstances, can be put in charge of the other boys. Knowing better the value of your possessions, he may be more inclined to steal but with a little luck you will find him a useful reliable man, able to look after your stores and much less wasteful than the ordinary native cook. He will want his passage money from Accra to Forcados (about £2) and will also demand a “ cook-mate,” whom you can allow him. As soon as the cooking falls below the usual standard, the cook-mate should be dismissed, as it is a sure sign that the cook is leaving him to do all the work. The native cook will meet you at Forcados. With equal eagerness he will press his “ book ” into your band or tell you guilelessly “ Me plenty book, big fire catch him, book no live ” ; it matters little if you believe him or not for at this moment only luck can help you in your choice. He may turn out quite good, and though never the equal of the Accra cook, will be anxious to learn and is often more useful on trek, to which the Accra man sometimes objects strongly. 16 The simple savage can be picked up anywhere. He will be full of zeal, inconveniently so sometimes. As he has no pre-conoeived and usually mistaken ideas, it is easier to train him, and it is possible to get a great deal out of him if you are willing to give a little time and patience.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

*One fish kettle, for fish, vegetables or a ham. One small thick omelet frying pan. One tripod. Two wire meat covers. One wire meat safe, folding. *One mincing machine. One grater for cheese. One grater for nut. One small fine wire sieve. *One potato masher. One meat chopper and meat saw. One French tin coffee pot. One coffee mill. One small coffee strainer. One bread board. *One swizzle. *One 1-lb. cake tin.. *One toasting fork. *One set cutters. *One pestle. One spare wooden spoon. One spare one-lb. bread tin. *One large baking tin. One spare two-pint pie dish. One spare four-pint pudding basin. Spare knife, fork and spoon. Four scrubbing brushes. The utensils marked with an asterisk are not indispensable. If a mincing machine is taken, it must be of a very simple make, easily taken to pieces, and its cleanliness should be often inspected. A bottle can do instead of a pastry roller and a pestle could be made locally of any hard wood. The swizzle can also be made locally. The pudding basins and pie dishes should be of enamel, not of earthenware. A set of cutters takes little room and is useful for neatly stamping out scones or rounds of bread for savouries, &c. Three yards of “ household flannel ” should be bought to wrap round the basin in which the bread is set to rise. See chapter on bread making. OF COOKS AND BOYS. One can say that there are three classes of cooks : the coast man with wages from at least £2 10s. Od. to £3 a month ; the native cook at £1 10s. Od. to £2 ; and the simple savage at £1 or less. (All three will ask for the weekly 2/- chop money). If by saving in other ways, you can afford to get a Coast Man, he is certainly the best, especially if he comes from Accra. He is a born cook, he understands recipes, can be taught almost anything and seems to have an instinctive knowledge of how things ought to look and taste. He has a fair idea of order and cleanliness, and under favourable circumstances, can be put in charge of the other boys. Knowing better the value of your possessions, he may be more inclined to steal but with a little luck you will find him a useful reliable man, able to look after your stores and much less wasteful than the ordinary native cook. He will want his passage money from Accra to Forcados (about £2) and will also demand a “ cook-mate,” whom you can allow him. As soon as the cooking falls below the usual standard, the cook-mate should be dismissed, as it is a sure sign that the cook is leaving him to do all the work. The native cook will meet you at Forcados. With equal eagerness he will press his “ book ” into your band or tell you guilelessly “ Me plenty book, big fire catch him, book no live ” ; it matters little if you believe him or not for at this moment only luck can help you in your choice. He may turn out quite good, and though never the equal of the Accra cook, will be anxious to learn and is often more useful on trek, to which the Accra man sometimes objects strongly. The simple savage can be picked up anywhere. He will be full of zeal, inconveniently so sometimes. As he has no pre-conoeived and usually mistaken ideas, it is easier to train him, and it is possible to get a great deal out of him if you are willing to give a little time and patience.

Practical West African cookery