Kettle

“ Simple contrivances of metal followed, the suspension hooks and chains leading to improved cranes with rack and loop handles.
No doubt many have noticed the apparent indiscriminate use of the term "kettle"; the tea kettle as we understand it to-day is a modern invention. The old kettle was a boiling pot with a bail handle, its modern survivor being the three-legged kettle of the gipsies, and the boiling pot or fish kettle of the modern household. ”

“ A kettle, ladies, is always a useful article, but this is no ordinary kettle. We have it on unimpeachable authority that this kettle was the kettle in residence at the establishment of our late colleague Miss Constantia Lawson, the Senior Classic of her year! The kettle of a Senior Classic, Freshers! The kettle which has ministered to her refreshment, which has been, in the language of the poem, the fount of her inspiration! What price shall I say, ladies, for the kettle of a Senior Classic? Sixpence! Did somebody say sixpence! For the kettle of a Senior Classic! Eightpence! ”

“ A new kettle may be quite as useful, but age has given the old one a certain quality that hanging and pounding cannot reproduce. A pewter platter that has been used for generations is dulled and softened to a glow that a new platter cannot rival. ”

“ My expectation is that it is too thick for you to grasp the kettle with, and the kettle will slip out of your hand and scald you frightfully. I shall be sorry for you but you would have it, so upon your own head be it.”
Butler to Miss Savage, 28th Oct. 1884: “The kettle-holder is beautiful; it is like a filleted sole, and I am very fond of filleted sole. It is not at all too thick, and fits my kettle to perfection.” ”

“ The kettle is destined to make the infusion of the grain, and boil it so as to convert it into wort. By that operation I make the liquor richer, which I intend for fermentation, and bring it to divers degrees of strength.
I put into the kettle 100 gallons of water, and 4 bushels of corn, broken, as I said before, at the mill. I light a small fire, which I increase gradually, until the water begins to boil; during that time, the grain is stirred with a paddle. ”

“ Bending over the kettle the maker takes hold of both ends of the rod and gathering the other end of the cloth between his teeth, pushes the rod down along the farther side of the kettle, letting it follow the bottom towards himself until the whole mass of curd is gathered in the cloth, when it is lifted out of the kettle and placed in the hoop on the press table. ”

“ In summer time an earthen kettle hangs down from the roof, and as the father comes home from his work he will stop a moment and tip a little water out of the kettle over his hands. He rubs them together and wipes himself on the tail of his shirt. ”

“ Types of Open Kettles The open kettle method produces a very satisfactory product when the proper precautions are taken, and if the cooking and subsequent processes are carried out intelligently, the finished product compares very favorably with that which is condensed in vacuum. The types of kettles in most common use are the copper jacketed kettle, the glass-lined tank with closed copper coil, and the cypress tank with closed copper coil. ”

“ The only way to make sure of the matter is either to import a French kettle, or to fit into an ordinary kettle a false bottom, such as any tinman may make, that shall leave a space of an inch or two between the meat and the fire. ”

“ That is the only way to get a kettle to boil up the river. If it sees that you are waiting for it and are anxious, it will never even sing. You have to go away and begin your meal, as if you were not going to have any tea at all. You must not even look round at it. Then you will soon hear it sputtering away, mad to be made into tea. ”

“ In the morning put the catsup up into the kettle again, and boil slowly all day, or till as thick as rich cream, so that no clear liquid will rise to the top. Stir often from the bottom; as it thickens it will stick to the bottom if not carefully stirred, and scorch very easily. That will spoil the whole. It is well to turn a plate down on the bottom of the kettle, it will not burn so readily. People differ so in their ideas of seasoning—some like food very fiery and highly seasoned, while others like very little—that it is not possible to give the exact amount of spices. ”

“ But, as the most economical mode is to cook one kettle while the other is in process of feeding out, and vice versa, scarcely more than one at a time will be required in use. Over each kettle is a sliding door, with a short spout to slide the food into them when wanted. ”

“ Place the kettle containing batch in another kettle containing water, set on fire and allow water to boil until you can take a small portion of the batch and flatten out in a pan of cold water between the fingers and thumb and it will snap when you hit it with your finger, but still will bend and form a stiff ball. ”

“ My first boiling I push pretty smartly, till I get the virtue of the sap; but when it begins to grow of a molasses nater, like this in the kettle, one mustn’t drive the fires too hard, or you’ll burn the sugar; and burny sugar is bad to the taste, let it be never so sweet. So you ladle out from one kettle into the other till it gets so, when you put the stirring-stick into it, that it will draw into a thread-- when it takes a kerful hand to manage it. ”

“ Above the outside kettle we slung a bucket full of water also, with a small pipe in it, and the top of the kettle we covered over with cloths, which, by the means of the bucket, were kept constantly wet. The kettle on the fire was filled, the fire blazed up, and, as the water boiled, we watched with anxiety the result of the process. Some drops at length fell from the lower kettle, and a jug was ready to catch them. Peter eagerly poured the water into a mug, and, putting it to his lips, with a triumphant smile passed it round to us all. ”

“ Wash the frying kettle out and clean it thoroughly, and then you can put the fat back in it, and it will be ready for the next time, if you use a porcelain-lined kettle; if you use a metal kettle for frying, tin or anything of that sort, do not put the fat in it till you are ready to use it again, because it might rust it a little. ”

“ This conveys the seed in a trough to a set of elevators, which supply it continuously to the kettle. This kettle, which is 3 ft. 6 in. internal diameter and 20 in. deep, is made of cast iron and of specially strong construction. There is only one steam joint in it, and to reduce the liability of leakage this joint is faced in a lathe. The inside furnishings of the kettle are a damping apparatus with perforated boss, upright shaft, stirrer, and delivery plate, and patent slide. The kettle body is fitted with a wood frame and covered with felt, which is inclosed within iron sheeting. ”

“ ELSIE (crossing to fireplace and making for kettle) . Then I'll take this.
MRS. METHERELL (rising and getting kettle first) . That's for his tea. (Glancing at clock, kettle in hand.) I'll make it too. He always comes in hungry from a match. (She replaces kettle, takes tea-pot from table, empties the used tea-leaves behind the fire, fills generously from canister on mantel and makes tea, replacing kettle and leaving tea-pot on the hob.)
ELSIE. Oh, what have you got for him? He'll need nourishing.
MRS. METHERELL. There's a bit of steak-pie in the cupboard left over from dinner. ”

“ Water, in boiling, loses the air or gases which give it a fresh taste and sparkling appearance. It should be used as soon as boiled, or it becomes flat and tasteless. A brown substance is deposited on the inside of the kettle, and this, if allowed to accumulate, imparts an unpleasant taste to the water; yet there are many housekeepers, exquisitely neat in many ways, who seldom wash the inside of a tea-kettle. It is an excellent plan to keep a small kettle to be used only in boiling water for tea or coffee. ”

“ Of course it is, mamma, because at a red heat iron begins to unite with oxygen, or to rust. Another thing that injures kettles is the fur that collects in them. All water in common use contains more or less of earthy and other salts. In boiling, these things separate from the water, and gradually form a fur or crust inside the kettle or boiler. ”

“ In the great kettles the boiling of the sap goes on slowly, and the liquid, as it thickens, is dipped from one to another, until in the end kettle it is reduced to syrup, and is taken out to cool and settle, until enough is made to "sugar off." ”

“ Then he told her what had been shouted at him from the hill, and that very moment a troll-witch, whom they had not noticed before, darted down from the stove and made off in a great hurry. And when they looked closer, they found that she had left behind a great kettle full of the best malt, which she had gathered during the brewing. And that was the reason the poor woman had not been able to give her brew the right flavor. The kettle was large, made of ornamented metal, and was long preserved in Hanger. ”

“ If the kettle be allowed to boil a long while, so that a large quantity of steam is formed, it will collect on the walls and window-panes, where, becoming thoroughly chilled, it turns again to water, the same as it was when first poured into the kettle. So it is with the clouds out-of-doors; when the sun comes out bright and hot, it dries them up, as we say; that is, it heats them so much that they become invisible. ”

“ It is thus seen that a well-filled kettle is more likely to cook successfully than one partially filled. When it is impossible to cook in a smaller pail, and thus avoid vacant space in the kettle, the difficulty may, to some extent, be offset by using a pan for the food with sloping sides and broad rim, such as a “pudding pan,” which may be set into the cooker-pail and, by resting upon its rim, will be suspended in it. This arrangement admits of filling the lower part of the pail with boiling water or with boiling food, in case a second kind of food is to be cooked for the same length of time. ”

“ The dish or kettle being placed on the ground, and nearly filled with water, the meat, fish, or other viand, is cut or torn into small pieces, and after being put into the kettle, some heated stones, by the help of wooden tongs, are immediately thrown in also, which is no sooner done than the water in the dish is in a state of ebullition. ”

“ 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. ”

“ A porcelain kettle is the best for preserves. Have a ladle with a long handle, and pierced with holes. The sugar should be the best loaf sugar. All soft fruit should be done gently, and not allowed to remain longer than half an hour after it begins to cook, till it is laid on dishes. ”

“ If the blanching kettle is filled with fruit, the water becomes chilled and takes so long to come again to the boiling point that the fruit becomes soft before it is heated through, while the juices of the vegetables are drawn out in the water. ”

“ The most common practice is to place the kettle or frying pan on top of the fuel, shifting the wood about until the utensils set level. It is about the most unsatisfactory method, outside of holding them by hand, and many a meal has been upset into the fire simply because the cook would not take the trouble to provide a suitable place to prepare the meal. The simplest way of suspending a kettle over the fire is by hanging it from the end of a stick which has been thrust into the ground at an angle of about 20 degrees. ”

“ While the open kettle is not as safe a method of canning as the cold pack from the standpoint of perfect processing, it is desirable for small watery fruits, especially strawberries, since evaporation of some of the water takes place. It is also generally used for fruits preserved with much sugar, such as preserves, jams, conserves, etc. ”

“ Sometimes a large iron kettle, with a moveable and accurately fitting lid secured in its place like that of a ‘Papin’s digester,’ and having a large and long tubulature in its centre, is employed instead of a retort, over which it has the advantage of exposing a larger opening for the removal of the residuum of the process. ”

“ CURRANT JELLY.
One peck of currants, put into a kettle, mashed; let boil up ten minutes; strain a few at a time through a cloth till all the juice is out; 1 pint of juice to 1 pound of sugar; put in preserving kettle, notice the hour it comes to a boil; let it boil 20 minutes, skimming all the time; put into glasses and place out in the hot sun, uncovered, for three days, then cover over with pieces of paper wet with brandy. Set away in a dry place. ”

“ Put in a porcelain kettle, cover with boiling water, and cook from one to three hours, according to age and variety, testing frequently, as they should be removed from the kettle just as soon as done. When very young and tender, only water sufficient to keep them from burning will be needed. When done, add a half cup of thin cream, and salt to taste. If the quantity of juice is considerable, thicken with a little flour. ”

“ If a pail or kettle be used, it is directly made clean, fit for other uses, and put in its place. When it is wanted, it is ready. But a slut uses an article and leaves it any where, dirty, unfit for use another time: by and by it is wanted, and cannot be found—"Moll, where did you leave the kettle?" "I han't had the kettle, Nab had it last"—"Nab, did you have the kettle?" "Yes, but it is dirty." So the kettle is found, but it is a half hour's work to fit it for the purpose required; in the mean time, the necessary business must lie by. ”