FoodNet

Foods and home making

1928

Page 89

Presented as published in 1928. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Figure 53. A Rack for Draining Dishes Through the center of this drainer the wires are bent so that plates and saucers may be placed upright. The tray at the right end is for draining flat silverware. A Dishwashing Contest 167 high enough so one may stand erect while working at it. Is the sink at your home high enough ? If not, plan some way to avoid stooping while working at it. Put a pan or a wooden rack underneath the dish pan. Do you make unnecessary motions while washing dishes? If your sink has only one drain board, and that drain board is on the right side, you make unnecessary motions. As stated on page 143, when washing dishes you hold a dish in your left hand and wash it with a cloth held in your right hand. Since the dish is in your left hand, it could be placed to drain with the shortest and easiest motion on the left side of the dish pan. If there is only one drain board and it is on the right side of a sink, the left hand will need to make a longer motion in placing the dish to drain. In case your sink nas but one drain board and that board is on the right side, if possible place a shelf or small table on the left. Make dishwashing as easy as possible. It is interesting to arrange utensils so that you can wash dishes well in a short time. Sometimes the amount of time that can be saved is surprising. How should a sink be cleaned ? Very often coarse scouring powder is used to clean a sink. Let us see if it is wise to use this substance : A coarse scouring powder will remove the dirt. But if the sink is of enamel or porcelain and has a smooth surface, the coarse scouring powder will, with repeated use, roughen the sur- face. Then the sink with its roughened surface will be more difficult to clean. A smooth surface is usually easier to keep clean than a rough surface. Dirt settles in crevices and grooves. In cleaning a sink with a smooth surface, use some material that will clean the sink, but not roughen the surface. This can be done with common soap and water if the soap is applied in the right way. Keep the sink as dry as possible when applying the 1 68 Modern Housewifery soap. Wring out the cloth used in cleaning and then with the hand push any water standing in the sink down the drain pipe. Apply soap to the cloth and wash the sink. Do not let the water run from the faucet while applying the soap. After using the soap, rinse the sink by opening the hot-water faucet. In case a sink has much dirt and grease on it, it can be cleaned more easily with kerosene than with soap. It is convenient to keep on hand for cleaning purposes a small bottle of kerosene. Apply kerosene to a cloth by holding the cloth to the mouth of the bottle and tilting the bottle. Then rub the part of the cloth containing kerosene over the sink.