Domestic arts

“ The cooking of food is a science as well as an art, and it depends for its success on known and established principles. In its full sense, cookery means not only the ability to follow a recipe, thereby producing a successfully cooked dish, but also the ability to select materials, a knowledge of the ways in which to prepare them, an understanding of their value for the persons for whom they are prepared, and ingenuity in serving foods attractively and in making the best use of food that may be left over from the previous meals, so that there will be practically no waste. ”

“ The fact that people constantly desire something new and different in the way of food offers the housewife a chance to develop her ingenuity along this line. Then, too, each season brings with it special foods for enjoyment and nourishment, and there is constant satisfaction in providing the family with some surprise in the form of a dish to which they are unaccustomed, or an old one prepared in a new or a better way. But the pleasure need not be one-sided, for the adding of some new touch to each meal will give as much delight to the one who prepares the food as to those who partake of it. ”

“ CHAIN STORES.--The principle of selling great quantities of food at a comparatively small profit on each item is put into practice in chain stores, which are operated by different companies throughout the United States. Such stores are a boon to the housewife who must practice economy, for they eliminate a middleman by acting both as wholesaler and as retailer. Because of this fact, foods that are purchased in large quantities from the producer or manufacturer can be offered to the consumer at a lower price than in a retail store not a part of a chain. ”

“ Domestic art is almost a contradiction in terms.
The development of art, like the development of industry, requires the specialisation, the life-long devotion, impossible to the arbitrary combinations of home life. ”

“ This volume, the fifth of the Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, deals with the varieties of fruits and the desserts that can be made from them, the canning and preserving of foods, the making of confections of every description, beverages and their place in the diet, and every phase of the planning of meals.
With fruits becoming less seasonal and more a daily food, an understanding of them is of great value to the housewife. In Fruit and Fruit Desserts, she first learns their place in the diet, their nature, composition, and food value. ”

“ PURPOSES OF SALADS.--Because of the wide variety of salads and the large number of ingredients from which a selection may be made in their preparation, salads can be used for various purposes. The housewife who gives much attention to the artistic side of the serving of food in her home will often use a salad to carry out a color scheme in her meal. This is, of course, the least valuable use that salads have, but it is a point that should not be overlooked. The chief purpose of salads in a meal is to provide something that the rest of the foods served in the meal lack. ”

“ The housewife who would practice economy in cookery can readily see, therefore, that with reference to the number of eggs required and the ways in which they are used, she must choose carefully the recipes and methods she employs. If the eggs are always considered a part of a meal, their use is seldom an extravagance, even at such high prices as they sometimes attain. On the other hand, if a dessert that requires the use of many eggs is added to a meal that is itself sufficient in food value, it is not unreasonable to regard such use of eggs as an extravagance. ”

“ The housewife who disregards these factors fails in the purchase of food, for she does not know so well what foods to buy nor how to buy them in a way to keep down the cost as the woman who is familiar with these matters. It is possible that the cost of a food may be out of all proportion to its value because of the profits that must necessarily be paid to each person through whose hands the food passes. In the first place, the overhead expenses of the food dealer must be paid by the housewife, who is regarded as the consumer. ”

“ To come to a knowledge of why foods spoil, it will be well to note that nature abounds in micro-organisms, or living things so minute as to be invisible to the naked eye. These micro-organisms are known to science as microbes and germs, and they are comprised of bacteria, yeasts, and molds, a knowledge of which is of the utmost importance to the physician and the farmer, as well as the housewife. ”

“ To meet these requirements of the human body, there is nothing to take the place of food, not merely any kind, however, but the right kind. Indeed, so important is the right kind of food in the scheme of life that the child deprived of it neither grows nor increases in weight, and the adult who is unable to secure enough of it for adequate nourishment is deficient in nerve force and working power. ”

“ Nearly all foods are complex substances, and they differ from one another in what is known as their value, which is measured by the work the food does in the body either as a tissue builder or as a producer of energy. However, in considering food value, the person who prepares food must not lose sight of the fact that the individual appetite must be appealed to by a sufficient variety of appetizing foods. There would be neither economy nor advantage in serving food that does not please those who are to eat it. ”

“ CARE OF FISH IN THE HOME.--If fish is purchased in good condition, and every effort should be made to see that it is, the responsibility of its care in the home until it is presented to the family as a cooked dish rests on the housewife. ”

“ Another matter that constantly confronts the housewife is what foods she shall select for each day's meals. To be successful, all meals should be planned with the idea of making them wholesome and appetizing, giving them variety, and using the left-overs. Every woman should understand that food is cooked for both hygienic and esthetic reasons; that is, it must be made safe and wholesome for health's sake and must satisfy the appetite, which to a considerable degree is mental and, of course, is influenced by the appearance of the food. ”

“ However, there is possibly nothing in the whole range of domestic life that so disturbs the welfare of the entire family as an inferior quality of this food, which, besides proving detrimental to the digestion, adds materially to the household expense. ”

“ In Salads and Sandwiches are presented so simply the secrets of appetizing salads that they can be grasped by even a novice, and sandwiches of numerous varieties, from those appropriate for afternoon teas to those suitable for the main dish in the meal, are so treated that they appear to rise above the ordinary place usually accorded them. One need never hesitate to prepare a menu for an afternoon or evening social affair or the salad course in a luncheon or dinner after a study of this part of the volume. ”

“ ECONOMIC VALUE OF SOUP.--Besides having an important place in the meal of which it forms a part, soup is very often an economy, for it affords the housewife a splendid opportunity to utilize many left-overs. With the French people, who excel in the art of soup making chiefly because of their clever adaptation of seasoning to foods, their pot-au-feu is a national institution and every kitchen has its stock pot. ”

“ Some one has said that soup is to a meal what a portico is to a palace or an overture to an opera, while another person, who evidently does not appreciate this food, has said that soup is the preface to a dinner and that any work really worth while is sufficient in itself and needs no preface. ”

“ But to begin thinking about an hour before meal time what to have for a meal is neither wise nor economical, for then it is too late to determine what ought to be served from a diet standpoint and there can be prepared only those foods which the time will allow. As can well be understood, this is both a disastrous plan for correct diet and a very extravagant way in which to feed a family. Quickly broiled steaks and chops, commercially canned vegetables and fruits, and prepared desserts should be the occasional treat rather than the daily food. ”

“ Fruits, because they are wholesome, appetizing, and attractive, occupy a valuable place in the diet. In fact, it is these qualities rather than their food value that accounts for the popularity of fruits among all people. In addition to causing fruits to appeal to the esthetic sense, their attractiveness serves another important purpose. It is said that Nature made them attractive in color, odor, and flavor in order that birds might be allured to attack them for food and, by spreading the seeds, assist in their propagation. ”

“ That eggs as an article of food are growing in importance is indicated by the fact that their production has come to be a large and widely distributed industry. Owing to the private consumption and sale of eggs, an accurate statement of the number of eggs produced is difficult to give. Still, in a report, the United States Bureau of Agriculture estimated the value of the yearly egg production at something more than three million dollars, with an allowance of about 210 eggs, or 17-1/2 dozen, per capita each year, or 4 eggs a week for each person. ”

“ THE PLANNING OF MEALS
NECESSITY FOR CAREFUL MEAL PLANNING
1. As every housewife realizes, the feeding of the members of her family places upon her serious and important responsibilities. While she deserves and receives credit for their good health, the blame for much of their ill health falls upon her, too. The reason for this is that illness is due in a greater measure to wrong food than to any other single factor; and even if improper diet is not directly responsible for ill health, it certainly lowers the bodily resistance and thus makes a person susceptible to disease. ”

“ In the practice of cookery it is also important that the meals be planned and the cooking done for the sake of building the human body and caring for it. As soon as any woman realizes that both the present and the future welfare of the persons for whom she is providing foods depend on so many things that are included in cookery, her interest in this branch of domestic science will increase ”

“ When the housewife knows how to cook ordinary foods well, she has an excellent foundation from which to obtain variety in the diet--by which in these lessons is meant the daily food and drink of any individual, and not something prescribed by a physician for a person who is ill--for then it is simply a matter of putting a little careful thought into the work she is doing in order to get ideas of new ways in which to prepare these same foods and of utilizing foodstuffs she has on hand. ”

“ We have tried free schools, free trade, free press, and no one is happy. I pray we may for a century fairly and fully try household art: that is the art which shall make the home the most attractive place on this footstool of heaven. ”

“ A whole cloud of artisan-artists arose,—no longer the representatives of privileged ancient families, but commoners who drew pictures of the life around them to suit the genuine taste of the public of their own time and class. ”

“ FATS.--The food substances just discussed--water, mineral matter, and protein--yield the materials required for building and repairing the tissues of the body, but, as has been explained, the body also requires foods that produce energy, or working power. By far the greater part of the total solids of food taken into the body serve this purpose, and of these fats form a large percentage. Although fats make up such a large proportion of the daily food supply, they enter into the body composition to a less extent than do the food substances that have been explained. ”

“ What wonderful—one might say stupefying—advances has human industry made in the arts of weaving and building, of agriculture and navigation! With what endless variety are designs in pottery, painting, and sculpture produced, and with what skill executed! What wonderful spectacles are exhibited in the theatres, which those who have not seen them cannot credit! ”

“ Food is cooked by the application of heat, which may be either moist or dry. While it is true that the art of cooking includes the preparation of material that is served or eaten raw, cooking itself is impossible without heat; indeed, the part of cooking that requires the most skill and experience is that in which heat is involved. Explicit directions for carrying on the various cooking processes depend on the kind of stove, the cooking utensils, and even the atmospheric conditions. ”

“ It is our hope that these volumes will help the housewife to acquire the knowledge needed to prepare daily meals that will contain the proper sustenance for each member of her family, teach her how to buy her food judiciously and prepare and serve it economically and appetizingly, and also instil in her such a liking for cookery that she will become enthusiastic about mastering and dignifying this womanly art. ”

“ One of the usual requirements is to compel each person who wishes to sell milk in the city to buy a license, so that the city authorities may keep in touch with those handling milk and so that conditions may be investigated at any time. In view of the care required of dealers in handling milk, the housewife owes it to herself and the members of her family to keep the milk in the home in the best possible manner. ”

“ The making of jelly, preserves, and pickles may seem like an extravagance in the expenditure of money for materials, as well as of time and energy on the part of the housewife. Whether this is the case or not is a matter that must be decided by the housewife herself. If these foods are not of enough value to her in the preparation of meals and the feeding of her family to make it worth her while to use her time and materials in storing them for winter use, then it is not wise for her to prepare them. ”

“ As practically every woman knows, a MENU, or bill of fare, consists of a certain number of dishes given in the order in which they are to be served; likewise, she knows that the dishes called for in a menu must be prepared according to a RECIPE, or receipt, which is the list of ingredients of a mixture giving the exact proportions to be used, together with proper directions for compounding. ”