Assuming such an arrangement feasible, the sacrifice of
some small back room on the ground flour of the house, or
the walling off of a portion of the back verandah would
still be necessary to provide the " working room," — the
room, that is to say, in which all food should be 'prepared
prior to being conveyed to the kitchen. This I may call
one of the chief points of the system I advocate, for, I
maintain, that for numerous undeniable reasons, the
making of pastry, the dressing of meat and vegetables,
and the mixing of sauces, puddings, &c., should be per-
formed in a cool place, away from the smoke and heat of
fires, where wand and dust can be excluded by closing the
door, and yet ample light be obtained from a good glass
window, and, above all things, where the chef can be easily
supervised.
To illustrate the necessity of this recommendation, let
us imagine that a cook, accommodated as he is at present,
is engaged in preparing a souffle, or some equally delicate
entremets. Of a sudden a blast of wind drives a cloud of
dust into the cook-room through the door (which is of
504 OUR KITCHENS IN INDIA.
necessity open to admit light), and blows myriads of fine
particles of cliareoal ashes from the open fire-places over
everything. By-and-by the dish is served at dinner.
Monsieur le mari cheerfully receives liLs portion, but pre-
sently encounters grit, and orders his plate to be taken
away, murmuring something about the impolicy of petty
economy in connection with flour. Madame la chatelaine^
conscious of procuring the best of everything, replies —
more in sorrow than in anger, yet withal warmly — and
denies the unkind impeachment, though constrained to
send her plate away also. And thus a cloud comes over
w^hat ought to be a very happy tete-.i-tctey while indiges-
tion, the natural result of irritation at meals, most pro-
bably follows.
Now the worst of it is that unless people happen to
discover the real causes of accidents such as these
themselves, they may wait until doomsday for enlighten-
ment. The mental equilibrium of the native cook is in
no wise disturbed by a dust storm, for he is perfectly
accustomed to tliem ; and the butler Avill assuredly invent
a plausible excuse for the contretemps : — " little bit yegg-
shell," or " sugar mistake." It therefore comes to this,
that we must insist upon a nicer appreciation of the
cleanliness and care that the preparation of food demands,
and to accomplish that end satisfactorily a room of the
kind I have described appears to me to be essentially
necessary.
I am perfectly aware that, in some instances, every
species of obstruction will at first be thrust in the way of
those who try to follow my advice, and, in others, that
the change will be obeyed with reluctance. But deter-
mination and tact combined will, I think, overcome opposi-
tion after a time, and the very malcontents themselves
w411 end by praising the now regime.
OUR KITCHENS IN INDIA. 505
Page 278
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
Assuming such an arrangement feasible, the sacrifice of some small back room on the ground flour of the house, or the walling off of a portion of the back verandah would still be necessary to provide the " working room," — the room, that is to say, in which all food should be 'prepared prior to being conveyed to the kitchen. This I may call one of the chief points of the system I advocate, for, I maintain, that for numerous undeniable reasons, the making of pastry, the dressing of meat and vegetables, and the mixing of sauces, puddings, &c., should be performed in a cool place, away from the smoke and heat of fires, where wand and dust can be excluded by closing the door, and yet ample light be obtained from a good glass window, and, above all things, where the chef can be easily supervised.
To illustrate the necessity of this recommendation, let us imagine that a cook, accommodated as he is at present, is engaged in preparing a souffle, or some equally delicate entremets. Of a sudden a blast of wind drives a cloud of dust into the cook-room through the door (which is of
necessity open to admit light), and blows myriads of fine particles of charcoal ashes from the open fire-places over everything. By-and-by the dish is served at dinner. Monsieur le mari cheerfully receives his portion, but presently encounters grit, and orders his plate to be taken away, murmuring something about the impolicy of petty economy in connection with flour. Madame la châtelaine^ conscious of procuring the best of everything, replies — more in sorrow than in anger, yet withal warmly — and denies the unkind impeachment, though constrained to send her plate away also. And thus a cloud comes over w^hat ought to be a very happy tête-à-tête while indigestion, the natural result of irritation at meals, most probably follows.
Now the worst of it is that unless people happen to discover the real causes of accidents such as these themselves, they may wait until doomsday for enlightenment. The mental equilibrium of the native cook is in no wise disturbed by a dust storm, for he is perfectly accustomed to tliem ; and the butler will assuredly invent a plausible excuse for the contretemps : — " little bit yeggshell," or " sugar mistake." It therefore comes to this, that we must insist upon a nicer appreciation of the cleanliness and care that the preparation of food demands, and to accomplish that end satisfactorily a room of the kind I have described appears to me to be essentially necessary.
I am perfectly aware that, in some instances, every species of obstruction will at first be thrust in the way of those who try to follow my advice, and, in others, that the change will be obeyed with reluctance. But determination and tact combined will, I think, overcome opposition after a time, and the very malcontents themselves will end by praising the now regime.