The room should not be too large, 15x15 feet being a
very good size. If larger, more tim.e will be required to
keep it properly cleaned, and many more steps will be
needed to accomplish the necessary work. The matter
of ventilation should be given an important place in the
planning of the kitchen, since the comfort of the entire
household depends upon it. The odors from the cook-
ing should not go through the house, and high and wide
windows in the kitchen furnish the only means of pre-
venting this. Good ventilation and plenty of light are
indispensable, for there should be no dark corners to
25
26 THE FA TTERN COOK-BOOK.
tempt untidiness. The floor should be made of hard
pine, maple or birch, and laid in three-inch strips, and
a carpet should cover all the floor, except around the
stove, where an oil-cloth will be found much neater.
Many persons object to a carpet in the kitchen, but it is
restful to tired feet and can be taken up and washed
when soiled.
About the room should be a wainscot of oiled pine
wood, and none of the wood-work should be painted.
The walls of the room are by many considered quite
improperly finished unless paint is applied, but unless
you are sure the painter understands just the kind of
paint to use, paper them instead. Well painted walls are
a continual satisfaction, for they can be easily cleaned ;
but when poorly painted they are great burdens to the
good housekeeper, inasmuch as no amount of cleaning
cleans them. If paper is used, choose neither a light
nor a dark tone, and have plenty of it left over to
repair any disasters that may come to the walls.
The usual objection to paper, that the steam from the
cooking ruins it, will not hold good if the windows are
lowered from the top a couple of inches throughout the
day. Whitewash the ceiling, and have it re-whitened
every spring at the usual cleaning time.
Have a large sink, choosing one of iron rather than of
slate, as dishes are more likely to be chipped and broken
if a stone sink is used. The strainer in the sink should
be fastened down permanently, as anything that will not
run through the holes ought not to go into the drain pipe
at all. A great temptation to raise the lid and let sedi-
ment pass through is thus removed. Do not enclose the
space under the sink, for such a closet will afford a
THE KITCHEN. 2/
secure and inaccessible abiding-place for water bugs
should they gain a foothold in the kitchen. Besides, if
this be left open, the manner in which it is kept will
furnish a reliable criterion of the neatness of the kitchen-
maid.
Page 8
Presented as published in 1890. 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 room should not be too large, 15x15 feet being a very good size. If larger, more tim.e will be required to keep it properly cleaned, and many more steps will be needed to accomplish the necessary work. The matter of ventilation should be given an important place in the planning of the kitchen, since the comfort of the entire household depends upon it. The odors from the cooking should not go through the house, and high and wide windows in the kitchen furnish the only means of preventing this. Good ventilation and plenty of light are indispensable, for there should be no dark corners to
tempt untidiness. The floor should be made of hard pine, maple or birch, and laid in three-inch strips, and a carpet should cover all the floor, except around the stove, where an oil-cloth will be found much neater. Many persons object to a carpet in the kitchen, but it is restful to tired feet and can be taken up and washed when soiled.
About the room should be a wainscot of oiled pine wood, and none of the wood-work should be painted. The walls of the room are by many considered quite improperly finished unless paint is applied, but unless you are sure the painter understands just the kind of paint to use, paper them instead. Well painted walls are a continual satisfaction, for they can be easily cleaned ; but when poorly painted they are great burdens to the good housekeeper, inasmuch as no amount of cleaning cleans them. If paper is used, choose neither a light nor a dark tone, and have plenty of it left over to repair any disasters that may come to the walls. The usual objection to paper, that the steam from the cooking ruins it, will not hold good if the windows are lowered from the top a couple of inches throughout the day. Whitewash the ceiling, and have it re-whitened every spring at the usual cleaning time.
Have a large sink, choosing one of iron rather than of slate, as dishes are more likely to be chipped and broken if a stone sink is used. The strainer in the sink should be fastened down permanently, as anything that will not run through the holes ought not to go into the drain pipe at all. A great temptation to raise the lid and let sediment pass through is thus removed. Do not enclose the space under the sink, for such a closet will afford a
[illustration: THE KITCHEN.]
secure and inaccessible abiding-place for water bugs should they gain a foothold in the kitchen. Besides, if this be left open, the manner in which it is kept will furnish a reliable criterion of the neatness of the kitchenmaid.