Throughout the winter months higher prices are demanded for several kinds of food, but the prudent and w4se will " forestall the market'^ in this respect, and lay in their stock while they are at the cheapest. 8 ECONOMY AS THE SOUL OF COOKERY. There are ways and means of storing most vegetables and fraits, even in households where keeping room is limited ; the main principle to be observed in storing perishable articles_, is to exclude the air from them. Another point to bear in mind, is to have the right quantity only, so far as can be judged, when providing for any particular dish. It is the *^ bits left over '^ which run away with the money. In the South it is sometimes lauo-hable to see how, when there happens to be a small portion left over, what skill is displayed in so turning it to account that it reappears under a fresh disguise, and forms a sensible addition to the next repast ; but, as a rule, it takes the patience and skill of a genuine Frenchwoman to accom- plish this feat. One great reason of the economy of French methods of cooking is to be found in the utensils employed by them, and not a little is due to the difPerent stoves. Of the latter there is a great variety. The " bourgeoise Parisienne ^^ has her char- coal stove, w4th its white tiles and the miniature baker's oven built in the wall; her roaster is quite a separate affair, resembling what is known ECONOMY AS THE SOUL OF COOKERY. 9 in England as a ^^Dutcli oven/' bufc for all her only fuel is '' wood coal ''—'' cliarbon de bois/' By the way, these charcoal stoves are so easy to set up, and so useful for many purposes, that it is a marvel they are so little known in England. Built of brick, either in a recess or close to a kitchen wall; for neatness, the front and sides are covered with tiles, and the edges bound with iron. An opening a few inches square, with a grating above it, holds the char- coal, which lights rapidly and gives no smoke. When not in use, the grating can be covered with a loose tile, and the flat top will serve as an extra table. During the course of a dinner it will render astonishing service for sauces, side dishes, etc. ^ In most French kitchens one of these fur- naces is to be found, generally fitted with two or three gratings, and the " bourgeoise " will prefer to use it for her soup pot, rather than trust the latter to the more variable heat of her '^ cuisiniere.^' The true French cuisiniere, or range, is very different, and in many respects much superior to, as well as far simpler than, its English com- peer. \o ECONOMY AS THE SOUL OF COOKERY. With its brightly polished table-like top and light ornamentation^ it is an ornament to any roora^ and the consumption of fuel is so little — the heat being made to reach each part before it passes up the chimney — that it is wonderful such a clever inventive race as the English have yet so much to learn in the art of stove building. To see their ranges^ so heavily clamped and barred, one might think the food cooking there- in was expected to take to itself wings and fly away. Doubtless the labour attendant upon using these ranges is one reason why cooking is found to be such heavy work in middle- class households.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Throughout the winter months higher prices are demanded for several kinds of food, but the prudent and wise will "forestall the market" in this respect, and lay in their stock while they are at the cheapest. There are ways and means of storing most vegetables and fruits, even in households where keeping room is limited; the main principle to be observed in storing perishable articles is to exclude the air from them. Another point to bear in mind, is to have the right quantity only, so far as can be judged, when providing for any particular dish. It is the "bits left over" which run away with the money. In the South it is sometimes laughable to see how, when there happens to be a small portion left over, what skill is displayed in so turning it to account that it reappears under a fresh disguise, and forms a sensible addition to the next repast; but, as a rule, it takes the patience and skill of a genuine Frenchwoman to accomplish this feat. One great reason of the economy of French methods of cooking is to be found in the utensils employed by them, and not a little is due to the different stoves. Of the latter there is a great variety. The "bourgeoise Parisienne" has her charcoal stove, with its white tiles and the miniature baker's oven built in the wall; her roaster is quite a separate affair, resembling what is known in England as a "Dutch oven," but for all her only fuel is "wood coal"—"charbon de bois." By the way, these charcoal stoves are so easy to set up, and so useful for many purposes, that it is a marvel they are so little known in England. Built of brick, either in a recess or close to a kitchen wall; for neatness, the front and sides are covered with tiles, and the edges bound with iron. An opening a few inches square, with a grating above it, holds the charcoal, which lights rapidly and gives no smoke. When not in use, the grating can be covered with a loose tile, and the flat top will serve as an extra table. During the course of a dinner it will render astonishing service for sauces, side dishes, etc. In most French kitchens one of these furnaces is to be found, generally fitted with two or three gratings, and the "bourgeoise" will prefer to use it for her soup pot, rather than trust the latter to the more variable heat of her "cuisiniere." The true French cuisiniere, or range, is very different, and in many respects much superior to, as well as far simpler than, its English counterpart. With its brightly polished table-like top and light ornamentation, it is an ornament to any room, and the consumption of fuel is so little—the heat being made to reach each part before it passes up the chimney—that it is wonderful such a clever inventive race as the English have yet so much to learn in the art of stove building. To see their ranges^ so heavily clamped and barred, one might think the food cooking therein was expected to take to itself wings and fly away. Doubtless the labour attendant upon using these ranges is one reason why cooking is found to be such heavy work in middle- class households.

The profession of cookery, from a French point of view