Many of the latest school kitchens are marvels of con- venience, having enamelled sinks with hot and cold water, portable ovens and ample storage room at every group of two tables. But equally good work can be done with less elabo- rate equipment, and principles can be learned without any, if the practice work be done at home. CHAPTER XX PREPARATORY WORK The first step in cooking is important, for success or failure depends largely upon how we begin. Getting ready often takes more thought and time, than the actual process of cooking. The first preparatory step is Selection. Choice de- pends upon cost, quality, and food value ; also upon the season, occupation, age, and physical condition. Questions of cost would lead us to buy round or rump steak of good quality, which has no waste, and may be bought in small portions, rather than sirloin which has inedible bone, a surplus of fat, lean meat of two extremes in quality, and which is sold only by the slice, compelling one to have the steak cut very thin, if limited as to its weight. Questions of quality would influence us to pay the staple price for fresh, sound fruits and vegetables instead of buying on bargain days those which are under or over ripe or of slack weight. But by learning how to judge of quality, and watching the market, real bargains may sometimes be found. When we have learned about food values we shall turn away from the tempting steaks and roasts and choose less expensive, but equally nutritious cuts, and utilize every part of them, by stewing or braizing ; or buy oatmeal and wheat cereals instead of rice, or use rice when potatoes are high or of poor quality ; use suet or dripping in place of butter for shortening and sauteing; or fresh and dried fruits, in- stead of buying high-priced inferior fruit and spending time, fuel, and labor in canning it. Hand Work. Much of the success in the preparatory work of cooking depends upon the hands ; the ability to use 77 78 SCHOOL KITCHEN TEXTBOOK them easily, to handle culinary tools skillfully, to make every motion effective, and to keep the sense of touch keen, for the last is a sure guide in many processes. After selecting the food and planning the meal the next step is Separation. This is the beginning of hand work. Hand-made is a term signifying of fine quality ; work that has been done with more skill and painstaking than that done with machinery. Handsewed shoes, hand embroidery, hand carved furniture, are valued highly. Hands must be clean ; utensils must be clean, and food must be clean. The first hand work with many food materials is to make them clean, and to separate the edible part from that which is inedible. We remove earthy matter from vegetables grown under ground, by washing, scrubbing, or by picking leaves apart and rubbing and rinsing in several waters, or by remov- ing the skin or outer covering, of the edible portion. All these preparatory processes have certain names, indicating the special method of each ; and as they occur in all recipes and cook-books, beginners in cooking should learn the meaning of each term and just how to do each kind of hand work. Frequently the pupils will need to be shown how to hold their tools, for mechanical skill is not always intuitive.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Many of the latest school kitchens are marvels of convenience, having enamelled sinks with hot and cold water, portable ovens and ample storage room at every group of two tables. But equally good work can be done with less elaborate equipment, and principles can be learned without any, if the practice work be done at home. CHAPTER XX The first step in cooking is important, for success or failure depends largely upon how we begin. Getting ready often takes more thought and time, than the actual process of cooking. The first preparatory step is Selection. Choice depends upon cost, quality, and food value ; also upon the season, occupation, age, and physical condition. Questions of cost would lead us to buy round or rump steak of good quality, which has no waste, and may be bought in small portions, rather than sirloin which has inedible bone, a surplus of fat, lean meat of two extremes in quality, and which is sold only by the slice, compelling one to have the steak cut very thin, if limited as to its weight. Questions of quality would influence us to pay the staple price for fresh, sound fruits and vegetables instead of buying on bargain days those which are under or over ripe or of slack weight. But by learning how to judge of quality, and watching the market, real bargains may sometimes be found. When we have learned about food values we shall turn away from the tempting steaks and roasts and choose less expensive, but equally nutritious cuts, and utilize every part of them, by stewing or braizing ; or buy oatmeal and wheat cereals instead of rice, or use rice when potatoes are high or of poor quality ; use suet or dripping in place of butter for shortening and sauteing; or fresh and dried fruits, instead of buying high-priced inferior fruit and spending time, fuel, and labor in canning it. Hand Work. Much of the success in the preparatory work of cooking depends upon the hands ; the ability to use them easily, to handle culinary tools skillfully, to make every motion effective, and to keep the sense of touch keen, for the last is a sure guide in many processes. After selecting the food and planning the meal the next step is Separation. This is the beginning of hand work. Hand-made is a term signifying of fine quality ; work that has been done with more skill and painstaking than that done with machinery. Handsewed shoes, hand embroidery, hand carved furniture, are valued highly. Hands must be clean ; utensils must be clean, and food must be clean. The first hand work with many food materials is to make them clean, and to separate the edible part from that which is inedible. We remove earthy matter from vegetables grown under ground, by washing, scrubbing, or by picking leaves apart and rubbing and rinsing in several waters, or by removing the skin or outer covering, of the edible portion. All these preparatory processes have certain names, indicating the special method of each ; and as they occur in all recipes and cook-books, beginners in cooking should learn the meaning of each term and just how to do each kind of hand work. Frequently the pupils will need to be shown how to hold their tools, for mechanical skill is not always intuitive.

The school kitchen textbook