Tlie Vicar of Walcefield, Cliapter IV ; Adam Bede, Mrs. Poyser's
Kitchen ; Private Life of tlie Romans, Preston and Dodge ; Outlines,
M. C. Ames, p. 200 ; Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 2, p. 312 ; Cosmo-
politan Magazine, May, 1899.
The School Kitchen
Boston School Kitchen, American Kitchen Magazine, Vol. 5, p. 211 ;
Model School Kitchen, Vol. 6, p. 260.
Equipment. — The kitchen must be so planned and
equipped that it will be easy to keep it (1) clean, (2) well
ventilated and fairly cool.
1. (a) It should not be too large.
(&) The floor should be tiled; or of hard wood, oiled,
with all cracks filled with plaster ; or if the floor is an old
one and of the kind impossible to keep clean Avithout hours
of labor, then cover it with linoleum. The use of a carpet
cannot be defended.
No cracks should be allowed to exist either in the floor
itself or, worst of all, at the junction of the mopboard and
floor.
29
30 HANDBOOK OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE
(c) All woodwork should be oiled and should be without
ledges to catch the dust and dirt.
(d) The walls must either be painted or else covered
with a washable paper.
(e) The sink should be of soapstone or else of iron,
porcelain lined. If a wooden sink must be used, line it
with zinc. Whatever the material, it must never be en-
closed. The pipes must be in full view and painted white.
For traps see the section on cleaning.
The sink should be broad at one end and there should be
a draining shelf, inclining slightly toward the sink.
(/) Tables neatly covered with white enamel cloth save
much labor ; but their use necessitates several smooth,
hard wood boards, or asbestos mats, on which to place the
hot dishes used in cooking.
2. The kitchen windows should be large, easily opened
above and below, and entirely screened. There ought to
be other means of carrying off the odor of cooking. The
modern kitchens make use of the laboratory expedient and
cook under a hood ventilated into the flue of the chimney.
Furniture. — The range is the most important piece of
furniture and should be the best possible. It is discussed
in full later.
The cooking utensils are made of iron, of steel, of enam-
elled ware, of aluminium, of tin, of wood, of glass, of stone-
ware, of earthenware, and common crockery.
The advantage of iron and steel for cooking dishes is
that they are not injured by a high temperature, and that
they grow smoother with use ; but they cannot be used
in cooking foods containing an acid, — fruits, for example.
They are heavy, too, and need extra care to keep them free
from rust.
Enamelled ware, if of the best quality, is very satisfactory.
The basis is iron on which is fused the enamel at a high
THE KITCHEN 31
temperature. But do not be persuaded into buying "sec-
onds."
Cheap tinware is poor sheet-iron plated with a thin layer
of tin. This soon wears off and the iron beneath rusts.
Block tin, however, which is made of sheet tin, may be
depended upon to wear well. It is expensive in its first
cost, but economical in the long run.
The advantage of tinware lies in its lightness, and its
disadvantage is that it melts at a comparatively low tem-
perature. For this reason it should never be used for
frying, nor put on the fire without having the bottom
covered with some liquid.
Page 17
Presented as published in 1900. 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
Tlie Vicar of Walcefield, Cliapter IV ; Adam Bede, Mrs. Poyser's Kitchen ; Private Life of tlie Romans, Preston and Dodge ; Outlines, M. C. Ames, p. 200 ; Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 2, p. 312 ; Cosmopolitan Magazine, May, 1899.
The School Kitchen
Boston School Kitchen, American Kitchen Magazine, Vol. 5, p. 211 ; Model School Kitchen, Vol. 6, p. 260.
Equipment. — The kitchen must be so planned and equipped that it will be easy to keep it (1) clean, (2) well ventilated and fairly cool.
1. (a) It should not be too large.
(&) The floor should be tiled; or of hard wood, oiled, with all cracks filled with plaster ; or if the floor is an old one and of the kind impossible to keep clean without hours of labor, then cover it with linoleum. The use of a carpet cannot be defended.
No cracks should be allowed to exist either in the floor itself or, worst of all, at the junction of the mopboard and floor.
(c) All woodwork should be oiled and should be without ledges to catch the dust and dirt.
(d) The walls must either be painted or else covered with a washable paper.
(e) The sink should be of soapstone or else of iron, porcelain lined. If a wooden sink must be used, line it with zinc. Whatever the material, it must never be enclosed. The pipes must be in full view and painted white. For traps see the section on cleaning.
The sink should be broad at one end and there should be a draining shelf, inclining slightly toward the sink.
(/) Tables neatly covered with white enamel cloth save much labor ; but their use necessitates several smooth, hard wood boards, or asbestos mats, on which to place the hot dishes used in cooking.
2. The kitchen windows should be large, easily opened above and below, and entirely screened. There ought to be other means of carrying off the odor of cooking. The modern kitchens make use of the laboratory expedient and cook under a hood ventilated into the flue of the chimney.
Furniture. — The range is the most important piece of furniture and should be the best possible. It is discussed in full later.
The cooking utensils are made of iron, of steel, of enamelled ware, of aluminium, of tin, of wood, of glass, of stoneware, of earthenware, and common crockery.
The advantage of iron and steel for cooking dishes is that they are not injured by a high temperature, and that they grow smoother with use ; but they cannot be used in cooking foods containing an acid, — fruits, for example. They are heavy, too, and need extra care to keep them free from rust.
Enamelled ware, if of the best quality, is very satisfactory. The basis is iron on which is fused the enamel at a high
temperature. But do not be persuaded into buying "seconds."
Cheap tinware is poor sheet-iron plated with a thin layer of tin. This soon wears off and the iron beneath rusts.
Block tin, however, which is made of sheet tin, may be depended upon to wear well. It is expensive in its first cost, but economical in the long run.
The advantage of tinware lies in its lightness, and its disadvantage is that it melts at a comparatively low temperature. For this reason it should never be used for frying, nor put on the fire without having the bottom covered with some liquid.