The cooking-dishes, saucepans, &c., come next in order ;
and here the wire dish-cloth will be found useful, as it
does not scratch, yet answers every purpose of a knife.
Every pot, kettle, and saucepan must be put into the pan
of hot water. If very greasy, it is well to allow them to
stand partly full of water in which a few drops of ammo-
nia have been put. The outside must he washed as care-
fully as the inside. Till this is done, there will always be
complaint of the unpleasantness of handling cooking-
utensils. Properly done, they are as clean as the china
or glass.
40 THE BAY'S WOBK.
Plated knives save much work. If steel ones are used,
they must be polished after every meal. In washing them,
see that the handles are never allowed to touch the water.
Ivory discolors and cracks if wet. Bristol-brick finely
powdered is the best polisher, and, mixed with a little
water, can be applied with a large cork. A regular knife-
board, or a small board on which you can nail three strips
of wood in box form, wiU give you the best mode of keep-
ing brick and cork in place. After rubbing, wash clean,
and wipe dr3^
The dish-towels are the next consideration. A set
should be used but a week, and must be washed and
rinsed each da}" if you would not have the flavor of dried-
in dish-water left on j'our dishes. Dry them, if possible,
in the open air : if not, have a rack, and stand them near
the fire. On washing-daj^s, let those that have been used
a week have a thorough boiling. The close, sour smell
that all housekeepers have noticed about dish-towels comes
from want of boiling and drying in fresh air, and is unpar-
donable and unnecessary.
Keep hot water constantly in your kettles or water-pots,
by always remembering to fill with cold when you take
out hot. Put away every article carefully in its place.
If tables are stained, and require any scrubbing, remem-
ber that to wash or scrub wood you must follow the grain,
as rubbing across it rubs the dirt in instead of taking it
off.
The same rule applies to floors. A clean, coarse cloth,
hot suds, and a good scrubbing-brush, will simplif}^ the
operation. Wash off the table ; then dip the brush in the
suds, and scour with the grain of the wood. Finall}^ wash
off all soap}^ water, and wipe dry. To save strength, the
^ THE BAY'S WORK. 41
table on which dishes are washed ma}^ be covered with
kitchen oilcloth, which will merely require washing and
wiping ; with an occasional scrubbing for the table below.
The table must be cleaned as soon as the dishes are
washed, because if dishes stand upon tables the fragments
of food have time to harden, and the washing is made
doubly hard.
Page 19
Presented as published in 1881. 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 cooking-dishes, saucepans, &c., come next in order ; and here the wire dish-cloth will be found useful, as it does not scratch, yet answers every purpose of a knife. Every pot, kettle, and saucepan must be put into the pan of hot water. If very greasy, it is well to allow them to stand partly full of water in which a few drops of ammonia have been put. The outside must he washed as carefully as the inside. Till this is done, there will always be complaint of the unpleasantness of handling cookingutensils. Properly done, they are as clean as the china or glass.
40 THE BAY'S WOBK.
Plated knives save much work. If steel ones are used, they must be polished after every meal. In washingwashes, see that the handles are never allowed to touch the water. Ivory discolors and cracks if wet. Bristol-brick finely powdered is the best polisher, and, mixed with a little water, can be applied with a large cork. A regular knifeboard, or a small board on which you can nail three strips of wood in box form, will give you the best mode of keeping brick and cork in place. After rubbing, wash clean, and wipe dry.
The dish-towels are the next consideration. A set should be used but a week, and must be washed and rinsed each da}" if you would not have the flavor of driedin dish-water left on your dishes. Dry them, if possible, in the open air : if not, have a rack, and stand them near the fire. On washing-daj^s, let those that have been used a week have a thorough boiling. The close, sour smell that all housekeepers have noticed about dish-towels comes from want of boiling and drying in fresh air, and is unpardonable and unnecessary.
Keep hot water constantly in your kettles or water-pots, by always remembering to fill with cold when you take out hot. Put away every article carefully in its place.
If tables are stained, and require any scrubbing, remember that to wash or scrub wood you must follow the grain, as rubbing across it rubs the dirt in instead of taking it off.
The same rule applies to floors. A clean, coarse cloth, hot suds, and a good scrubbing-brush, will simplify the operation. Wash off the table ; then dip the brush in the suds, and scour with the grain of the wood. Finall}^ wash off all soap}^ water, and wipe dry. To save strength, the
^ THE BAY'S WORK. 41
table on which dishes are washed may be covered with kitchen oilcloth, which will merely require washing and wiping; with an occasional scrubbing for the table below.
The table must be cleaned as soon as the dishes are washed, because if dishes stand upon tables the fragments of food have time to harden, and the washing is made doubly hard.