PREPARE AND SERVE A BREAKFAST. Calculate the cost per person. Suggested menu : Fruit, fresh or stewed. Cereal, cooked or ready-to-eat. Eggs, boiled or poached. Serve with toast or bread. Milk. SETTING THE TABLE Scientists have established the fact that our state of mind when eating is an important matter, a sense of com- FOOD STUDY fort and pleasure going far toward making a meal easily digested. It is imperative, then, to try to make the table as attractive as possible. Everything on the table must be scrupulously clean, so clean that there is no question From " Table Service." by Lucy O. Allen. DIAGRAM OF BREAKFAST TABLE about it. For this reason the use of a colored table-cloth, which was common at one time, is no longer tolerated. It is often difficult, especially with children, to keep all parts of a table-cloth unspotted. In that case it is well to consider the use of doilies which may be replaced as each SETTING THE TABLE 69 70 FOOD STUDY is soiled without greatly increasing the labor of washing. They are often preferred even in houses where cost and work are not a consideration, especially for the less formal meals. Often, only one fairly large doily is used at each place, but in more formal service or with a very highly polished table smaller doilies for the glass, cup and saucer, and bread-and-butter plate are also used. In many homes the table-cloth is not removed be- tween meals. This is usually unfortunate, because it is seldom possible to make the cloth appear as fresh as when all the wrinkles are shaken out. Often, not all the crumbs are removed. If the housekeeper is so busy that leaving the table set is a necessary practice, at least some clean outer covering should be spread over it to keep away the dust. A "silence cloth" is not only a comfort in lessening the noise, but it helps protect the table from hot dishes. It also greatly improves the appearance of the table- cloth and keeps it from wearing out so fast against the edge of the table. At each place the fork or forks are placed for conven- ience with the tines up and on the left of the plate ; for the same reason the knife or knives on the right with the sharp edge toward the plate. Knives and forks should be placed at such a distance that they give neither a crowded nor a sprawled-out appearance and are set about an inch from the edge of the table. Spoons, bowl up, are usually placed at the right of the knives ; occasionally, however, they are put at the top of the knives to save room. When much silver is to be used, the various kinds are sometimes ar- ranged according to size ; but it is better form, because less confusing, to arrange them in the order of use, placing those to be used first on the outside. Since the soup spoon is large and unmistakable, it is sometimes placed out of SETTING THE TABLE 71 order between the knives and smaller spoons. The napkin should lie at the left of the forks unless for lack of room, then it may be placed between the knives and forks. The glass, right side up, at the end of the knife, and a butter plate or bread-and-butter plate, just back and a little to the left of the fork, usually completes the individual service except for the plate itself. This may or may not be in place when the meal begins.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

PREPARE AND SERVE A BREAKFAST. Calculate the cost per person. Suggested menu : Fruit, fresh or stewed. Cereal, cooked or ready-to-eat. Eggs, boiled or poached. Serve with toast or bread. Milk. Scientists have established the fact that our state of mind when eating is an important matter, a sense of com- fort and pleasure going far toward making a meal easily digested. It is imperative, then, to try to make the table as attractive as possible. Everything on the table must be scrupulously clean, so clean that there is no question From " Table Service." by Lucy O. Allen. DIAGRAM OF BREAKFAST TABLE about it. For this reason the use of a colored table-cloth, which was common at one time, is no longer tolerated. It is often difficult, especially with children, to keep all parts of a table-cloth unspotted. In that case it is well to consider the use of doilies which may be replaced as each is soiled without greatly increasing the labor of washing. They are often preferred even in houses where cost and work are not a consideration, especially for the less formal meals. Often, only one fairly large doily is used at each place, but in more formal service or with a very highly polished table smaller doilies for the glass, cup and saucer, and bread-and-butter plate are also used. In many homes the table-cloth is not removed between meals. This is usually unfortunate, because it is seldom possible to make the cloth appear as fresh as when all the wrinkles are shaken out. Often, not all the crumbs are removed. If the housekeeper is so busy that leaving the table set is a necessary practice, at least some clean outer covering should be spread over it to keep away the dust. A "silence cloth" is not only a comfort in lessening the noise, but it helps protect the table from hot dishes. It also greatly improves the appearance of the tablecloth and keeps it from wearing out so fast against the edge of the table. At each place the fork or forks are placed for convenience with the tines up and on the left of the plate ; for the same reason the knife or knives on the right with the sharp edge toward the plate. Knives and forks should be placed at such a distance that they give neither a crowded nor a sprawled-out appearance and are set about an inch from the edge of the table. Spoons, bowl up, are usually placed at the right of the knives ; occasionally, however, they are put at the top of the knives to save room. When much silver is to be used, the various kinds are sometimes arranged according to size ; but it is better form, because less confusing, to arrange them in the order of use, placing those to be used first on the outside. Since the soup spoon is large and unmistakable, it is sometimes placed out of order between the knives and smaller spoons. The napkin should lie at the left of the forks unless for lack of room, then it may be placed between the knives and forks. The glass, right side up, at the end of the knife, and a butter plate or bread-and-butter plate, just back and a little to the left of the fork, usually completes the individual service except for the plate itself. This may or may not be in place when the meal begins.

Food study