Foods and home making

UNIT 2: MODERN HOUSEWIFERY CHAPTER XIII KITCHEN EFFICIENCY AND CHARM Can you answer these questions ? If not, look for the answer! as you study this chapter. 1. How high should a work table be? Give a reason for your an- swer. 2. What is inlaid linoleum ? 3. How deep should a cupboard shelf be? Why? 4. If a kitchen has windows facing south, what colors would be suitable for the walls? Why? 5. Why are present-day kitchens usually smaller than those built years ago ? 6. What is meant by the food-preparation center of a kitchen? 7. Why should a kitchen be an attractive room? 8. Should all kitchen cupboards have doors? 9. What is the objection to a wooden table top ? 10. What is a good finish for kitchen cupboard shelves? How many miles of useless walking may be done in the home kitchen? Do you know that in some kitchens, thousands of useless steps are taken in one year? A college class in home economics tried an experiment regarding this matter. Two members of the class worked in two kitchens, placed side by side. The young women prepared ten meals and baked bread, cake, and pie twice. The two kitchens were alike in size but not in arrangement. In one the cupboards, stove, sink, and work table were placed close together. The articles of kitchen furniture were not only grouped together but they were arranged in proper order so that work could be done quickly and easily. I42 Modern Housewifery In the other kitchen, the important articles of furniture were placed with no regard for speed and ease in working. The equipment was also less efficient in design than in the other kitchen. In order that the experiment would be done as accurately and fairly as possible, the two students exchanged kitchens on dif- ferent days. In this way, if one student watched her steps more carefully than the other, all of the more careful work would not be done in one kitchen. The steps each girl took in each kitchen were numbered by means of a device fastened on the ankle. When the experiment was finished, it was found that 5848 more steps had been taken in the poorly arranged kitchen than in the well-arranged one. From these figures, it was estimated that in a year almost 500,000 more steps would be taken in the poorly arranged and equipped kitchen than in the other one. In 500,000 steps there are about 224 miles. Can any girl or woman afford to waste this much energy when there are so many necessary and worth- while things to be done in a home? Let us study something about kitchen arrangement. What equipment is needed to prepare food ? Let us suppose that we are going to make some muffins. We need eggs, milk, and butter or other fat — we should find these in the refrigerator. We need flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar — we should find these all together in one cupboard. We need a bowl, measuring spoons and cups, a knife, and a large spoon for measuring and mixing ; we need a pan for baking — we should find these all together in one cup- board. We need a table on which to work and a stove in which to bake the muffins. If the refrigerator, cupboard, work table, and stove were arranged close together and grouped in this order , we would take very few steps in making muffins. Kitchen Efficiency and Charm 143