By using a portable oven over the top burners (either one or two of them according to the size), much of the baking may be done there with quite a saving of gas and heat. When not using a burner turn the gas out; matches are cheaper than gas. To Clean the Gas Range. The burners have holes in the supply pipe to admit air and these should always be free from dirt, dust, and grease. In many modern stoves the burners may be taken apart when cleaning is needed. Dis- solve two tablespoons of washing soda in two gallons of water and boil the burners in this solution for ten minutes ; use it also for washing the drip sheet, which should be cleaned every day, as well as the racks in the broiling oven. Any- thing that may have cooked over in the baking oven should be scraped off. Never blacken the burners, for it is not necessary to blacken any part ; wash the stove with kerosene, or with a cloth slightly greased and this will remove the rust. CHAPTER XI STOVES AND RANGES A fire for cooking purposes is best made in an iron box, or, as it is usually called, a stove, or range. By so doing we confine the heated air within a certain space, and can obtain more or less heat, as may be required. By means of a pipe we connect the stove with a chimney having an open- ing into the outer air. The ashes drop through a grate in the bottom of the fire-box into the hod or pan beneath. We control the amount of heat obtained from the fire by dampers in the stove and pipe. These increase or diminish the supply of fresh air, regulate the circulation of hot air through the flues of the stove, and afford an outlet for the imperfectly burned carbon and products of combustion. Through ignorant or careless management of a fire, much fuel is wasted, health is impaired, and often human lives are sacrificed. Charcoal and anthracite coal should not be burned in close rooms, especially in open stoves, with the pipe dampers closed, or where there is a poor draught in the chimney. Poisonous gases are formed, which if inhaled, cause death by suffocation. It is, therefore, a matter of vital importance that we so regulate our fires and ventilate our rooms that the air may not be impregnated with these deadly gases. THE MAKING AND CARE OF A FIRE Remove the covers, and brush the ashes from inside the top of the stove into the fire-box. Leave a thin layer of ash on top of the oven to help keep the heat within. Replace the covers, close the dampers, and turn over the grate. Shake the 45 46 SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXTBOOK lower grate, letting the ashes sift through into the ash-pan. When the dust ceases to rise, brush out the oven, remove the cinders from the lower grate, and reserve them to burn again. When taken out in this way, the ashes in the pan will not require sifting. If there be no lower grate, remove the ashes and cinders together, and sift them. Pick over the cinders carefully, and throw out any stones, slaty pieces, or bits of clinker. These should never be burned, as they injure the lining of the fire-box ; but any pieces of half -burned coal should be saved. Always take out the ashes before lighting the fire, for if they are left in the pan, sparks and lighted coals will drop into them. It is then highly impru- dent to remove them, unless they are to be placed in a fire- proof ash receiver.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

By using a portable oven over the top burners (either one or two of them according to the size), much of the baking may be done there with quite a saving of gas and heat. When not using a burner turn the gas out; matches are cheaper than gas. To Clean the Gas Range. The burners have holes in the supply pipe to admit air and these should always be free from dirt, dust, and grease. In many modern stoves the burners may be taken apart when cleaning is needed. Dissolve two tablespoons of washing soda in two gallons of water and boil the burners in this solution for ten minutes ; use it also for washing the drip sheet, which should be cleaned every day, as well as the racks in the broiling oven. Anything that may have cooked over in the baking oven should be scraped off. Never blacken the burners, for it is not necessary to blacken any part ; wash the stove with kerosene, or with a cloth slightly greased and this will remove the rust. CHAPTER XI STOVES AND RANGES A fire for cooking purposes is best made in an iron box, or, as it is usually called, a stove, or range. By so doing we confine the heated air within a certain space, and can obtain more or less heat, as may be required. By means of a pipe we connect the stove with a chimney having an opening into the outer air. The ashes drop through a grate in the bottom of the fire-box into the hod or pan beneath. We control the amount of heat obtained from the fire by dampers in the stove and pipe. These increase or diminish the supply of fresh air, regulate the circulation of hot air through the flues of the stove, and afford an outlet for the imperfectly burned carbon and products of combustion. Through ignorant or careless management of a fire, much fuel is wasted, health is impaired, and often human lives are sacrificed. Charcoal and anthracite coal should not be burned in close rooms, especially in open stoves, with the pipe dampers closed, or where there is a poor draught in the chimney. Poisonous gases are formed, which if inhaled, cause death by suffocation. It is, therefore, a matter of vital importance that we so regulate our fires and ventilate our rooms that the air may not be impregnated with these deadly gases. THE MAKING AND CARE OF A FIRE Remove the covers, and brush the ashes from inside the top of the stove into the fire-box. Leave a thin layer of ash on top of the oven to help keep the heat within. Replace the covers, close the dampers, and turn over the grate. Shake the lower grate, letting the ashes sift through into the ash-pan. When the dust ceases to rise, brush out the oven, remove the cinders from the lower grate, and reserve them to burn again. When taken out in this way, the ashes in the pan will not require sifting. If there be no lower grate, remove the ashes and cinders together, and sift them. Pick over the cinders carefully, and throw out any stones, slaty pieces, or bits of clinker. These should never be burned, as they injure the lining of the fire-box ; but any pieces of half -burned coal should be saved. Always take out the ashes before lighting the fire, for if they are left in the pan, sparks and lighted coals will drop into them. It is then highly imprudent to remove them, unless they are to be placed in a fireproof ash receiver.

The school kitchen textbook