It is hardly necessary, I hope, for me to point out the
intense importance of cleanliness in the kitchen, and in all
utensils connected therewith. If you cannot go to the
kitchen yourself, it is essential that you should hold weekly
inspections of all your cooking utensils, which should be
spread out on a mat in the verandah for that purpose.
Give out ivashing soda, for you cannot keep things clean
without it ; and be very particular about the cloths that
are used by the cook. There is a horrible taste which
sometimes clings to soups, sauces, etc., which a friend of
mine specifies as " dirty cloth taste." This is eloquent of
neglect, and dirty habits in the kitchen. Sieves will do
for many things, but there are some compositions which
must be strained through cloths, we cannot, therefore, be
too attentive with reference to that part of our kitchen
equipment.
For a few remarks concerning our kitchens in India,
please turn to the end of the book.
CX3:^^r^TE^ T^J-.
In the Sfore-room.
^
^
N visiting: the vast collections of tinned provisions,
sauces, &c., at some of the large establishments at
the Presidency, I have often wondered liow a lady,
commencing honse-kecping, is gnided in selecting the
things she requires for her store-room. A majority, no
doubt, of the fair chatelaines of Madras, do their shopping
at their boudoir writing tables, filling up lists at the dic-
tation of the butler at their elbow ; for few, I take it, — •
very few care to go to the fountain head for what they
want.
Now, a butler's ideas about stores are, on the whole, very
mixed : he worships " Europe articles" and delights in
filling the shelves of the store-room with rows of tins ; of
which some may perhaps be useful, but many need never
be bought at all at Madras, and so remain for months un-
touched, lumbering the shelves of the cupboard. It has
struck me, therefore, that having satisfied oui'selves con-
cerning the equipment of the kitchen, a few words regard-
ing the choosing of stores may be acceptable.
I have long come to the conclusion that the fewer acces-
sories you use in the way of hermetically sealed provisions
in the cooking of a dinner the better. In Madras we have
all the materials for soup-making at hand, we have ex-
cellent fish, very fail* flesh and fowl, good wild fowl and
IN THE STORE.ROOM.
game when in season, and vegetables from Bangalore and
the Neilgherries in addition to the standard produce of
the country. If, therefore, we concentrate our attention
sufficiently upon what we can get from market, our
demand on tinned food should be very small indeed.
Take now, for instance, a tin of the ordinary preserved
mushrooms, — those made you know of white leather, —
what is the use of them, what do they taste of ? Yet
people giving a dinner party frequently garnish one entree
at least with them, and the Madras butler would be
horrified if his mistress were to refuse him that pleasure.
The stewed " black Leicestershire" are the best preserved
mushrooms to be had, but even between them and the
fresh fujigus, there is a great gulf fixed.
Page 14
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
It is hardly necessary, I hope, for me to point out the intense importance of cleanliness in the kitchen, and in all utensils connected therewith. If you cannot go to the kitchen yourself, it is essential that you should hold weekly inspections of all your cooking utensils, which should be spread out on a mat in the verandah for that purpose. Give out ivashing soda, for you cannot keep things clean without it ; and be very particular about the cloths that are used by the cook. There is a horrible taste which sometimes clings to soups, sauces, etc., which a friend of mine specifies as " dirty cloth taste." This is eloquent of neglect, and dirty habits in the kitchen. Sieves will do for many things, but there are some compositions which must be strained through cloths, we cannot, therefore, be too attentive with reference to that part of our kitchen equipment.
For a few remarks concerning our kitchens in India, please turn to the end of the book.
CHAPTER IV.
In the Sfore-room.
^
^
In visiting the vast collections of tinned provisions, sauces, &c., at some of the large establishments at the Presidency, I have often wondered liow a lady, commencing house-keeping, is guided in selecting the things she requires for her store-room. A majority, no doubt, of the fair chatelaines of Madras, do their shopping at their boudoir writing tables, filling up lists at the dictation of the butler at their elbow ; for few, I take it, — • very few care to go to the fountain head for what they want.
Now, a butler's ideas about stores are, on the whole, very mixed : he worships " Europe articles" and delights in filling the shelves of the store-room with rows of tins ; of which some may perhaps be useful, but many need never be bought at all at Madras, and so remain for months untouched, lumbering the shelves of the cupboard. It has struck me, therefore, that having satisfied oui'selves concerning the equipment of the kitchen, a few words regarding the choosing of stores may be acceptable.
I have long come to the conclusion that the fewer accessories you use in the way of hermetically sealed provisions in the cooking of a dinner the better. In Madras we have all the materials for soup-making at hand, we have excellent fish, very fail* flesh and fowl, good wild fowl and
IN THE STORE-ROOM.
game when in season, and vegetables from Bangalore and the Neilgherries in addition to the standard produce of the country. If, therefore, we concentrate our attention sufficiently upon what we can get from market, our demand on tinned food should be very small indeed.
Take now, for instance, a tin of the ordinary preserved mushrooms, — those made you know of white leather, — what is the use of them, what do they taste of ? Yet people giving a dinner party frequently garnish one entree at least with them, and the Madras butler would be horrified if his mistress were to refuse him that pleasure. The stewed " black Leicestershire" are the best preserved mushrooms to be had, but even between them and the fresh fujigus, there is a great gulf fixed.