Maria Parloa

“ If the ventilation be poor, the strength of those who work in the room will needlessly become exhausted, and they are likely to get irritated easily. Moreover, odors of cooking will escape to other parts of the house instead of passing to the open air. The room should be high, and have large windows that can be raised or dropped easily. If the kitchen be located in a one-story extension, almost perfect ventilation may be secured by means of a ventilator in the roof or by a skylight ”

“ The object of ventilation is to keep the cellars cool and dry, but this object often fails of being accomplished by a common mistake, and instead the cellar is made both warm and damp. A cool place should never be ventilated unless the air admitted is cooler than the air within, or is at least as cool as that, or only a very little warmer. The warmer the air the more moisture it holds in suspension. Necessarily, the cooler the air the more this moisture is condensed and precipitated. When a cool cellar is aired on a warm day, the entering air being in motion appears cool ”

“ A little extra thought alone is needed to effect many improvements on the average kitchen when a house is in process of construction, but this extra thought usually is missing. Of course, in order to have a model kitchen, one must be willing to pay a good price for it; yet the price will not be so high that one will ever regret the expenditure; indeed, most persons will promptly admit that the money has been used as profitably as that used for any other part of the house. The object of this chapter is to show how a model kitchen may be arranged ”

“ Have a separate cellar under the kitchen, and keep it for vegetables and a storeroom. In the larger cellar have the furnace, fuel-bins, and a workshop, if one be needed. If the cellar extend the entire length of the house, a cold room may be made by building a brick partition at the end of the cellar farthest from the furnace. The room, whether on the ground floor or downstairs, should be so arranged that it can be made light when necessary. The windows should have inside blinds. ”

“ On each side of the sink have a swinging table, on which to place dishes. The tables will at times be convenient when making salads and other similar dishes. Above the table nearest the kitchen have a slide in the wall, that dishes may be passed to and from the kitchen. This small space will not admit odors or the hot air as the door would if kept open. In case there be two or more servants in the household, the door from the closet to the kitchen need not be opened at all while a meal is served, all dishes being passed through the slide. ”

“ When not in use this table may be moved to some other part of the room. There should be one more table in the kitchen, between two windows if the space will permit,—a settle table, which serves as a seat when not in use for ironing or some other purpose. Above the table have two shelves,—one for a clock, and the other for cook-books, the grocer’s and marketman’s order-books, etc. It is a good idea to have the corners of all the tables rounded, so that nobody shall be hurt by striking against them. ”

“ A woollen carpet never should be laid in a china closet. The walls may be sheathed, or plastered and painted. Everything considered, sheathing with well-finished hard wood is the best plan.
On one side of the room have closets about three feet high, beginning at the floor. Above the closets have broad shelves. These should have deep grooves, so that meat dishes may be placed on edge and inclined against the wall. On the opposite side of the room have a similar tier of shelves, with drawers, instead of closets, under the lowest. ”

“ Now, if a kitchen and pantry be built or reconstructed on this plan, the cooking can be done with comfort, and the washing of dishes will not seem so burdensome as it does in the ordinary kitchen. Even if one find it impracticable to follow all or many of the suggestions made, pains ought to be taken—whatever the plan of the kitchen be—to concentrate the work, obtain good light, good ventilation, and ample table-room ”

“ Time and money will be saved by purchasing by the dozen such canned goods as peas, tomatoes, mushrooms, peaches, apricots, as well as gelatine, etc. Soap and Sapolio, candles and starch, all should be bought by the box. It is well to have peas of two qualities,—the small French peas for use as a vegetable, and the larger and cheaper kind for making soups and purées. Truffles, caviare, sardines, anchovies in various forms, and a few other things, are luxuries in which many housekeepers never indulge ”

“ A soapstone sink or a porcelain-lined pan would be desirable but for the greater liability of breaking dishes. It is a good idea to have a small cedar tub—they are made with brass hoops, and look very neat—for the washing of the most delicate china and glassware, which is likely to get marred or broken if crowded into a pan with other heavier articles. ”

“ Now, a portable range can be so placed as to permit of one’s walking almost around it; it can be used as advantageously as a set range, with about half the same quantity of coal; there is a prompt response to the opening or closing of a draught; one’s feet do not get heated by standing near it; there are no dark corners; the need of moving utensils is to a large extent avoided, and it can be so managed that there shall be a hot oven at any time of the day. ”

“ Experience has proved that tin boxes are the best receptacles for all kinds of food that would attract mice or weevils. Tin boxes are, to be sure, much more expensive than wooden buckets; but as they are lasting and perfectly secure, it is, in the end, economical to buy them. ”

“ One caution in regard to the sink: have the strainer screwed down firm. Anything that will not pass through the strainer should not go into the pipes. The hinged or loose strainer gives but little protection, as the temptation to lift it and let sediment pass through is very great. With an immovable strainer and the use, once a fortnight, of the hot solution of soda described in the chapter on “Care of Utensils,” there will be no trouble with pipes, unless it be caused by wear or freezing. ”

“ In some parts of the country the people depend almost wholly upon condensed milk rather than upon the fresh fluid. If canned milk must be used, a considerable saving can be made by buying a large quantity at one time. ”

“ The reason is, that they have moisture or a strong odor, two things to be avoided in a storeroom where delicate groceries are kept. A cold room where there is a free circulation of air is a better place for them. ”

“ Then the cellar is damp, and soon becomes mouldy. To avoid this, the windows should only be opened at night, and late,—the last thing before retiring. There is no need to fear that the night air is unhealthful; it is as pure [19] as the air of midday, and is really drier. The cool air enters the apartment during the night and circulates through it. ”

“ But set ranges are rather slow to respond to draughts and checks; they consume a great deal of coal; the hearth becomes hot, and uncomfortable to stand on; and there is but one side of the range to approach, which necessitates the frequent lifting and moving of heavy utensils. ”

“ Hard pine, if carefully selected, makes a good floor; but the best wood is maple or birch, in strips not more than three inches wide. If soft wood be used, splinters will in time get torn up. Oil-cloth often is used for covering the floor. ”