moisture cannot be directly communicated from ice to food.
The only efificient refrigerator is one that thus separates the
ice from the food, and has an outlet for the water caused by
the melting of the ice. It is a mistake to use this water for
drinking or cooking purposes, for it generally contains im-
purities from the ice. A glass- or porcelain-lined receptacle
placed next to the ice-compartment, and filled with water,
will cool pleasantly. The vessel should be washed out and
filled with fresh water every day, and should be entirely
closed from the air ; for water impregnated with odors or
vapors from food, or with those which pervade living-rooms,
is unfit to drink. As water standing in open pitchers for
any length of time loses all its natural gases, and absorbs
the deleterious properties in the atmosphere, so, equally,
that which is exposed to the odors of food in the refrigerator
becomes injurious.
In cool weather, meat, fish, game, and poultry may be
kept in a wire safe for a reasonable length of time. The
same general- care should be given to the safe which the
refrigerator requires. Its frame should be of hard wood ;
the racks or shelves, of metal, marbleized or galvanized iron ;
and the wire-cloth painted as often as it shows any trace
of rust, because a rough, rusted metallic surface will attract
and retain deleterious odors, and particles of decomposed
food.
THE CELLAR.
In cities, cellars are generally quite underground, and too
often contaminated by sewer- and drain-pipes. It is impos-
sible to take too much care to guard against this danger.
To a great extent, dampness can be obviated in cellars, by
flooring them with concrete, and ventilating them thor-
oughly : for this purpose there should be movable windows,
in good working-order, with direct communication with the
outer air.
lO PRACTICAL AMERICAN COOKERY.
Cellars cannot always be lighted without artificial means,
but they can be kept clean and dry. A little copperas dis-
'" solved in the water used for making lime- wash, or some
good disinfectant, can always be used to purify the air ; and
care can be taken that no dirt of any kind accumulates.
As this subject is treated exhaustively in the author's work
on "Diet for Invalids," no more need be said here. If
fruit or vegetables are kept in cellars, they should be exam-
ined frequently, and all spoiled portions removed. The
darkness necessary to the preservation of some vegetables
can be secured by covering them with old clean blankets or
carpet, or, better still, with several thicknesses of newspaper,
which can be thrown away when they bear any trace of
mildew : the blanket or carpet should be dried frequently,
and washed when it becomes at all mildewed. The tem-
perature of cellars where vegetables are kept should be regu-
lated so that they can neither freeze, nor spoil from excessive
heat : a safe temperature is about 50° Fah.
Page 15
Presented as published in 1885. 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
moisture cannot be directly communicated from ice to food. The only efficient refrigerator is one that thus separates the ice from the food, and has an outlet for the water caused by the melting of the ice. It is a mistake to use this water for drinking or cooking purposes, for it generally contains impurities from the ice. A glass- or porcelain-lined receptacle placed next to the ice-compartment, and filled with water, will cool pleasantly. The vessel should be washed out and filled with fresh water every day, and should be entirely closed from the air ; for water impregnated with odors or vapors from food, or with those which pervade living-rooms, is unfit to drink. As water standing in open pitchers for any length of time loses all its natural gases, and absorbs the deleterious properties in the atmosphere, so, equally, that which is exposed to the odors of food in the refrigerator becomes injurious.
In cool weather, meat, fish, game, and poultry may be kept in a wire safe for a reasonable length of time. The same general- care should be given to the safe which the refrigerator requires. Its frame should be of hard wood ; the racks or shelves, of metal, marbleized or galvanized iron ; and the wire-cloth painted as often as it shows any trace of rust, because a rough, rusted metallic surface will attract and retain deleterious odors, and particles of decomposed food.
THE CELLAR.
In cities, cellars are generally quite underground, and too often contaminated by sewer- and drain-pipes. It is impossible to take too much care to guard against this danger. To a great extent, dampness can be obviated in cellars, by flooring them with concrete, and ventilating them thoroughly : for this purpose there should be movable windows, in good working-order, with direct communication with the outer air.
Cellars cannot always be lighted without artificial means, but they can be kept clean and dry. A little copperas dis- '" solved in the water used for making lime- wash, or some good disinfectant, can always be used to purify the air ; and care can be taken that no dirt of any kind accumulates. As this subject is treated exhaustively in the author's work on "Diet for Invalids," no more need be said here. If fruit or vegetables are kept in cellars, they should be examined frequently, and all spoiled portions removed. The darkness necessary to the preservation of some vegetables can be secured by covering them with old clean blankets or carpet, or, better still, with several thicknesses of newspaper, which can be thrown away when they bear any trace of mildew : the blanket or carpet should be dried frequently, and washed when it becomes at all mildewed. The temperature of cellars where vegetables are kept should be regulated so that they can neither freeze, nor spoil from excessive heat : a safe temperature is about 50° Fah.