Chapter 2

In furnishing the kitchen, the housekeeper will find a high stool very useful, as it will enable her to wash dishes, prepare vegetables, and do other work while seated.

All the furniture should be kept so clean and free from dust that the kitchen will have a neat and attractive appearance. A vase of flowers or a potted plant, and a washable table-cover to be used after the dishes have been put away, will help to make this room a pleasant place for the family. Special attention should be given to the ventilation.

The kitchen should be thoroughly cleaned after each meal. If it has become dusty or disarranged, it should be put in order before the next meal is to be prepared. While the cooking is under way, everything should be kept in an orderly condition. As soon as the meal is completed, the left-over food should be covered and put away; the scraps and waste material should be gathered and disposed of; and the dishes, pots, and pans should be scraped, and washed in hot, soapy water, then rinsed in clear, hot water, dried, and put away. The table should be scrubbed, the stove cleaned, the floor swept and scrubbed whenever necessary, and everything put neatly in its place.

_Care of the coal or wood range._--All spots should be removed from the range by wiping it with old paper. If it is in bad condition, it should be washed with soap and water. If it is oiled occasionally, blacking will not be necessary; but if blacking is used, it should be applied with a cloth and rubbed to a polish with a brush, just as the fire is being started. The ashes and soot flues back of the oven and underneath it should be cleaned out once a week.

_Directions for building a fire._--To build and care for a fire in the coal or wood range, close all the dampers, clean the grate, and remove the ashes from the pan. Put on the covers and brush the dust off the stove. Open the creative damper and the oven damper, leaving the check damper closed. Lay some paper, slightly crumpled into rolls, across the base of the grate. Place small pieces of kindling wood across one another, with the large pieces on top. Lay pieces of hardwood or a shovelful of coal on top of the kindling, building so as to admit of the free circulation of air. If the stove is to be polished, rub it with blacking. Light the paper from below. When the fire begins to burn briskly, add coal or wood: then add more when that kindles. When the fire is well started and blue flame is no longer seen (about ten minutes), close the oven damper. Close the creative damper when the fire is sufficiently hot. Brush the stove and the floor beneath it as soon as the fire is started. Polish the stove. If the fire becomes too hot, open the check damper. Fill the tea-kettle with fresh water and set it on the front of the range.

_Care of the sink, wash-basin, and garbage pail._--A neglected sink or garbage pail may be a fruitful source of disease, in addition to attracting water-bugs and other pests. Scraps should never be left in the sink. After washing the dishes it should be thoroughly cleaned, a brush and scouring material being used. The nickel part may be washed with hot soap-suds, wiped dry, and polished. Water should never be left in the wash-basin. Both the soap-dish and the wash-basin should be scoured daily. The garbage pail should be emptied and washed every day, and carefully scalded once or twice a week.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

It will be well to have this lesson succeed or follow a cooking lesson, for then the pupils will have a keener interest in the problems of the kitchen. (See Twenty Lessons in Cooking, Lesson I.)

METHOD OF WORK

Cleanliness and order are the two points to be considered in this lesson. The doing well of each simple household task and the thoughtful arrangement and planning of all parts of the house should be emphasized as being of great importance to the housekeeper's success.

Begin the lesson with a discussion of the purpose of the kitchen; then discuss its arrangement from the standpoint of convenience for the work that must be done there. Emphasize the importance of having the furniture so arranged that the work may be done quickly and easily, and that the kitchen may be given a comfortable and attractive appearance. Let the pupils arrange the furniture in the school-room. Discuss and demonstrate the care of the stove by the use of the school stove. Assign each pupil a time when she is to look after the stove on succeeding days and grade her on her work. Let each pupil bring a report from home as to what she is doing to help in the care of the home kitchen. Make a specific assignment for home work.

Questions Used to Develop the Lesson

What is the purpose of the kitchen?

What are the principal articles of furniture in the kitchen?

How should we arrange these things?

Can we make any general rules as to arrangements?

Why is it difficult to keep the kitchen clean?

At what times is the kitchen most apt to become disarranged?

Why is it important to keep the kitchen in good order?

In what order should the kitchen be at the time we begin the preparation of the meal?

How should the floor be cleaned? The utensils?

What should we do with any left-over food?

How should we take care of the stove after the meal?

LESSON II: CARE OF CUPBOARDS AND UTENSILS

SUBJECT-MATTER

It is of the utmost importance that cupboards and other places where food is stored should be kept free from dirt and scraps of food. Ants, cockroaches, mice, and other pests infest dirty places where food is kept, and render a house unfit for human habitation. It requires constant care and watchfulness on the part of the housewife to keep the cupboards clean. She must look over the shelves daily, wiping them off whenever they need it, and giving them a thorough cleaning at least once a week.

The housekeeper should know how to care for the various utensils used and understand the simplest and best methods of keeping them clean. Utensils should never be put in the cupboards until perfectly clean and dry. Particular attention should be paid to the care of milk vessels. Pans, pails, pitchers, or bottles in which milk has been kept, should be rinsed in cold water, washed in strong, clean soap-suds, rinsed in clean, boiling water, and dried in the sun. If utensils have become discoloured or badly coated, they should be specially scoured. If something has been burned in a kettle, the kettle should be cleaned by filling with cold water, adding washing-soda, and boiling briskly for half an hour; after that a slight scraping ought to remove the burned portion. If the kettle is not yet clean, the process should be repeated. If a kettle has been used directly over a wood fire and becomes blackened with soot, it should be rubbed off with a newspaper and then with an old cloth. Kettles should be dried well before being put away. With proper care they seldom become rusty. If an iron kettle has rusted, it should be rubbed with kerosene and ashes, then washed in strong, hot, soda-water, rinsed in clear hot water, and dried on the stove. If a kettle is very rusty, it should be covered thoroughly with some sort of grease, sprinkled with lime, and left overnight. In the morning it should be washed out with hot soda-water and rinsed in clear, hot water. A new kettle is generally rusty, and should be greased thoroughly inside and out and allowed to stand for two days; then washed in hot soda-water.

Bath-brick should be used for scouring iron utensils and steel knives and forks. If iron pots and frying-pans are scrubbed with a piece of bath-brick each time they are used and then washed in hot soap-suds, they can be kept in good condition. Tinware and steel knives and forks may be cleaned by scouring with ashes, but only fine ashes should be used on tinware. The brown stains on granite utensils should be scoured off; and this ware should be carefully handled, in order to avoid chipping. Coffee-pots and tea-pots should be cleaned daily, the grounds removed, and the interior of the pots washed out thoroughly. The tea-kettle should be washed and dried overnight and left uncovered to air.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

If school lunches are served or cooking lessons are given at the school, it will be well to use this lesson to get the cupboards in readiness. If it is impossible to do this at school, arrange to have such a lesson in one of the homes outside of school hours. Be sure that the housekeeper is in sympathy with the work and is willing to co-operate.

METHOD OF WORK

Assign each pupil a task in the cleaning, the scouring of the dishes, and the arrangement of the cupboard. Set a definite amount to be done and carry out the plans, leaving a clean and neatly arranged cupboard at the end of the lesson.

LESSON III: CARE OF FOODS

SUBJECT-MATTER

Several important points must be borne in mind if foods are to be kept in a good condition. Most foods change easily. Vegetables and fruits lose water, wilt, and become unfit to eat. Flour and corn-meal become mouldy. Potatoes decay and sprout. Some foods, such as milk, turn sour. Eggs become tainted, and fat grows rancid. With proper care in handling, storing, and keeping, this spoiling can be prevented.

The spoiling of foods is due to the presence of micro-organisms; and if foods are fresh and sound and kept cool and clean in every way, they will not spoil readily, because such conditions are unfavourable to the development of the micro-organisms. On the other hand, if foods are roughly handled and bruised, decomposition will take place readily, for micro-organisms develop in the bruised portions. Care must, therefore, be taken to select foods wisely, handle them carefully, wash them if they are not already clean, put them in clean receptacles, and keep them in a clean, cool place. All pots, pans, and dishes in which foods are kept or cooked should be thoroughly cleansed and rinsed well, so that no fragments stick to them which may decay and cause possible infection to the next food that is put in. Every part of the kitchen and store-rooms should be kept clean, dry, and well aired. Light is the best germicide and purifier known.

Covered receptacles should be secured for all foods. Those that are mouse-proof and insect-proof are essential to a well-kept pantry. All bottles and cans should be neatly labelled and so arranged that each one can be conveniently reached. The outside of the bottle or case should always be wiped off after it has been opened and food has been removed from it. The shelves on which the cases are kept should be wiped off every day. If supplies of fruit or vegetables are kept on hand, they should be looked over frequently, and whatever shows even the slightest suggestion of spoiling should be removed. Bread should be kept in a covered tin box, and the box should be washed out once or twice a week and frequently scalded and aired.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

If cooking lessons are to be given, it will be well to take this lesson on the care of foods in connection with the first cooking lesson, and to make it a means of arranging for the materials that are to be kept on hand and of determining how everything is to be handled.

METHOD OF WORK

Devote a large part of the lesson to a discussion of the necessity for care in the handling, storing, and keeping of foods. If facilities permit, devote a few minutes to the putting away of foods that are to be used in the next cooking lesson or in the school lunch, discussing the reasons for such care.

LESSON IV: DISPOSAL OF WASTE

SUBJECT-MATTER

If the daily disposal of waste is attended to, there will be no undesirable accumulation of garbage. Scraps of food that cannot be utilized for the table should be fed to the pigs or the chickens and should not be allowed to stand and gather flies. A covered pail or pan should be used for holding the garbage, until final disposal is made of it. Those portions that are badly spoiled and will be of no value in feeding the stock should be burned at once. Waste vegetable substances, if suitable, should be fed to the stock, and if not, should be buried in a thin layer on the ground at some distance from the house, so that they may enrich the soil.

Old papers that are badly soiled should be burned, but all others should be kept for use in cleaning the stove, starting the fires, etc. Empty cans should be well washed and buried, so that they will not prove a breeding-place for flies. It is well to pierce them through the bottom immediately after opening them, so that they will not hold water. Dish-water should be emptied at some distance from the house, unless there is a drain nearby. All receptacles that hold water should be carefully emptied, and all depressions in the soil should be filled, in order to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. All waste water should be used on the garden.

_Protection of the water supply._--Only the water from deep wells should be used for drinking purposes, because all surface water and water in shallow wells becomes dangerous through seepage from compost, pig-pens, privies, and other places where decayed organic matter may accumulate. In order that the water may be kept clean, the well must be supplied with a tight-fitting top which need not be opened and a metal pump to bring up the water. A well platform that allows the water spilled on it to run back into the well is unsafe, for any filth carried on the platform in any way will be washed directly into it. Rats, mice, and other animals get into the well if the top is not tight, and these, in addition to being unpleasant, are liable to introduce disease germs.

_Simple disinfectants._--Sunshine and fresh air are nature's disinfectants and should be freely admitted to every part of the house. Windows should be left open whenever possible. The windows in the sleeping rooms should always be opened at night. The interior of the house should be kept perfectly dry. Decay does not easily take place in dry places. A damp cellar should be drained, and the grounds around the house should not be allowed to drain into the cellar. Coarse coal ashes should be used to fill in around the house, on the walks, etc., to help in securing thorough drainage. Wood ashes may be used as a simple disinfectant to cover decayed organic matter. Whitewash is a good disinfectant and should be frequently used both inside and outside the house and on all out-buildings. Kerosene and creosote also make good disinfectants.

_Care of out-of-door closets._--The privy should be so arranged that it may be cleaned often and all excreta disposed of in a safe way. The building should be so well constructed that there will be no cracks for the admission of flies. In a poorly constructed building, old paper can be pasted over the cracks, to make the structure fly-proof. Dry earth, street dust, or lime should be frequently sprinkled over the excreta, and the seat should be closed, to prevent the entrance of flies or mosquitoes. The seat should be washed frequently, and both the seat and the floor scrubbed at least once a week.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

It will be well to teach this lesson at a time when improvements are necessary in the care of the school-house. The discussions in regard to out-of-door closets will, of course, be taken when the girls are alone with the teacher.

METHOD OF WORK

Discuss the disposal of waste, the care of garbage, etc., in the home and the school. Talk over the care of waste from the school lunch and discuss methods of keeping the school in a sanitary condition. Follow this by a general cleaning of the school-house.

LESSON V: MAKING SOAP

SUBJECT-MATTER

_Home-Made Hard Soap_

6 lb. fat 1 can lye 1 pt. cold water 1 tbsp. borax

Melt the fat slowly. Mix the lye and water in a bowl or kettle (do not use a tin pan), stirring with a stick until the potash dissolves. Add the borax and allow the mixture to cool. Cool the fat and, when it is lukewarm, add the lye, pouring it in a thin stream and stirring constantly. Stir with a smooth stick until about as thick as honey, and continue stirring for ten minutes. Pour the mixture into a box and allow it to harden. Cut into pieces the desired size and leave in a cool, dry place for ten days, to ripen before using.

When making the soap, be careful not to spill potash or lye on the hands, as it makes a bad burn. If the hands are burned, rub them with grease at once. Do not wet them.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

Some time before this lesson is given ask the pupils to bring scraps of fat from home. See that these are in good condition, and weigh them, to determine the portion of the recipe that can be made. Ask one of the pupils to bring sufficient borax for the recipe.

METHOD OF WORK

Let the pupils look the fat over and put it on to melt, watching it carefully. While it is heating and cooling, discuss the process of soap-making, the cost of materials, the care necessary in the making of soap, and the importance of its use. Get ready the other materials, and a box for moulding the soap, and let the pupils work together. After the soap has hardened and been cut, have it put away on a shelf to dry.

LESSON VI: SETTING AND CLEARING THE TABLE

SUBJECT-MATTER

The following points must be remembered when a meal is to be served: The dining-room must be clean, well aired, sufficiently lighted, and in good order.

The table must be perfectly clean and covered with a clean white cover (table-cloth, doilies, paper napkins, or oil-cloth).

A vase of flowers or leaves or a small potted plant, in the centre of the table, will help to make it attractive.

The table should be prepared with everything necessary for serving the meal, but only those foods should be placed on it that will not be spoiled by standing. If there is danger of the food attracting flies, cover it carefully.

Plates for everyone who is to partake of the meal should be arranged at equal distances from one another, and half an inch from the edge of the table.

The knife should be placed at the right of the plate with the cutting edge toward the plate, and one inch from the edge of the table.

The fork should be placed at the left of the plate with the tines turned up, and one inch from the edge of the table.

The spoon should be placed, bowl upward, at the right of the plate, to the right of the knife. It should be placed one inch from the edge of the table. Spoons and forks for serving should be placed at the right and left of the dish to be served, or in another convenient position. No one should have to use the personal fork or spoon for serving.

The napkins should be folded simply and placed at the left of the fork.

The tumbler should be placed at the upper end of the knife.

The cups and saucers should be placed at the right of the plate with the handle of the cup toward the right.

The bread-and-butter plate, if used, should be placed at the upper left hand of the fork.

The salt-cellars and pepper-shakers should be placed near the centre of the table or at the sides, where they can be conveniently reached. Individual salt-cellars, if used, should be placed immediately in front of the individual plate.

The chairs should be placed at the table after it is set. Care should be taken not to put them so close to it that it will be necessary to move them after they are occupied.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

If possible, arrange to give this lesson before Lesson VIII in the series of "Twenty Lessons in Cooking" is given; then the emphasis in that lesson may be put upon the food to be served, proper combinations, etc., while this lesson gives the drill in the arrangement and handling of the dishes.

It is desirable to give the pupils a thorough drill in table setting and table service, since much of the pleasure derived from eating depends upon the attention paid to these processes.

Be careful to see that everything necessary is on hand to set the table simply but daintily. For class practice a small table may be set for four. This will necessitate a table-cover, four or more dinner plates, four bread-and-butter plates, four tumblers, four cups and saucers, four knives, four forks, four teaspoons, four napkins, a salt-cellar, a pepper-shaker, a platter, one serving spoon, and one serving fork. If these things are not already in the school, probably they can be brought from home by the pupils. If linen cloths are not used and cannot be afforded on the tables in the homes, the pupils should be taught to use a white oil-cloth.

Have a diagram made on the black-board by one of the pupils of the arrangement of an individual place at the table.

METHOD OF WORK

The process of table setting should be demonstrated with the materials at hand, and the work should be adapted to home conditions.

If there is no available table in the school-room, the desk tops may be used for individual places.

Reasons for the arrangement of the table should be given--the convenience of placing the knives and the spoons to the right, the forks to the left, the cup and saucer and the tumbler to the right, the use of the napkin, etc.

LESSON VII: WAITING ON TABLE

SUBJECT MATTER

The one who is to wait on table must be careful to see that everything is in readiness before the meal is announced, so that she can do her work easily, without subjecting those at the table to unnecessary delay. She should have water, bread, and butter (if used), hot dishes ready for the hot foods, and dessert dishes conveniently at hand. She must see that her hands are perfectly clean and her hair and dress in order. A clean, neat apron will always improve her appearance. The room should be clean and neatly arranged.

If the meal is to be a family one and all are to sit at the table together, plates will be passed from one to another as they are served: but it will still be well to have one person appointed to wait on the table. She should be ready to supply more bread, water, etc., when it is necessary, and to change the plates for the dessert course. She should rise from the table quickly and quietly, in order not to disturb others, and should take her place again as soon as the necessary service has been rendered.

The following rules should be observed: Hold the tumblers near the bottom, being careful not to touch the upper edge. Fill only three-quarters full.

Put the butter on the table just before the meal is announced, and serve in neat, compact pieces.

Cut the bread in even slices, pile them neatly on a serving plate, and place it on the table, covering it with a clean napkin or towel, if there are flies about or there is danger of dust. If preferred, the bread may be cut at the table as required. Place the dessert dishes at one end of the table or, better still, on a side table, until it is time to use them. When carrying the dishes to and from the table, be careful not to let the fingers come in contact with the food. Learn to place the hand under the dish. In particular service a napkin is used between the hand and the dish, or a tray, if the dish is a small one. The tray should be covered with a napkin or doily.

When a dish is being passed, hold it at the left of the person to be served and at a convenient height and distance. Be sure that each dish is supplied with a spoon or a fork for serving, and turn the handle of the spoon or the fork toward the one to be served.

If a plate is to be placed in front of a person, set it down from the right. Never reach in front of others at the table.