Tongs

“ Three questioning voices.
"Oh, just ingenious little pieces of iron, so contrived that they will open and shut like an old-fashioned pair of tongs, only much more gracefully; they adjust themselves to the size of the tin, or plate, and close firmly, so that even a novice can lift the hottest pumpkin pie that ever bubbled, and set it with composure and complacency on the table at her leisure." ”

“ Tongs are sold to turn it over with, because they cannot be used to stick into the meat and make holes for the juice to run out, but a knife or spoon or a fork run into the fat answers just as well in the hands of a cook who knows the reason why a blunt instrument is recommended. ”

“ The weakest places in a pair of tongs are where the shoulders or offsets are formed for the jaws and handles. These places should be reënforced by fillets as large as the usefulness and appearance of the tongs will permit; they should never be made sharp and square, unless their construction demands it.
All tongs for general blacksmithing can be forged properly with the hand hammer and the use of such tools as the top fuller, the swages, and the round-edged set hammer. ”

“ Nothing in this world but the arrangement to heat her tongs. Every woman—"
"Miss von Schwarzenberg doesn't curl her hair with tongs," said the astonishing Grindley, a man you wouldn't have expected to know if a woman's hair were green and dressed in pot-hooks.
"How do you know she doesn't use tongs?" Napier could not forbear asking. Grindley, working with the lamp, made no reply.
"Do we understand you to say she does curl her hair with tongs?" Singleton inquired politely of Lady McIntyre. ”

“ Now, if he wanted to use his left hand to hold a punch or cutter, he could put a clasp over the handles of the tongs, and drop them into the hook at his waist; the iron, also, was not slipping out of the tongs and dropping on the ground, every three or four blows. He could now work alone to very good advantage, as he had no large iron to draw, and his wife was not compelled to take her hands out of the dough to help him. ”

“ The brasses are burnished, and shine cheerfully in the firelight, and on either side stand tall shovel and tongs, like sentries, mounted in brass. The tongs, like the two-handed sword of Bruce, cannot be wielded by puny people. We burn in it hickory wood, cut long. We like the smell of this aromatic forest timber, and its clear flame. The birch is also a sweet wood for the hearth, with a sort of spiritual flame and an even temper,—no snappishness. Some prefer the elm, which holds fire so well ”

“ The proper shape for blacksmiths’ tongs depends upon whether they are to be used upon work of a uniform size and shape, or upon general work. In the first case, the tongs may be formed to exactly suit the special work. ”

“ Such an emblem was it of domestic utility and unity that a peel and a strong pair of tongs were a universal and luck-bearing gift to a bride. A good iron peel and tongs cost about a dollar and a half. The name occurs constantly in old wills among kitchen properties. We read of “the oven, the mawkin, the bavin, the peel.” Sometimes, when the oven was heated, the peel was besprinkled with meal, and great heaps of rye and Indian dough were placed thereon, and by a dextrous and indescribable twist thrown upon cabbage leaves on the oven-bottom, and thus baked in a haycock shape. ”

“ The chisel tongs are shown at E, Fig. 8. One or more pairs of these are necessary in all forge shops. As the hot and cold cutters frequently get dull or broken, it will be necessary to draw them out and retemper them; and, as the heads of these cutters become battered considerably, they are difficult to hold without chisel tongs. The two projecting lugs at the ends of the jaws fit into the eye, and the circular bows back of them surround the battered head of the cutter, so that it can be held without any difficulty. ”

“ The tools for the lack of which he was the most crippled in his work were a pair of smiths' tongs, a hammer, and a punch. The kitchen tongs were wretched things to hold iron with. It required all his strength to hold a small piece of iron, and the jaws were so short that it was constantly slipping; whereas, the handles of a smiths' tongs, being crossed like scissor-blades, act as a lever, and the jaws are long, to hold the iron; while a smiths' hammer, being much heavier, and with a larger face, deals a more effective blow, and is, by its form, adapted to the work. ”

“ When the tongs are open the lever a can be moved within the slot and adjusted so that the tongs will fit the pipe. The fulcrum piece c, being pivoted, allows the full length of its serrated edge to come into contact with the corresponding portion of the lever a, so that the parts always have a firm bearing and are subjected to an equal wear. ”

“ Then grasping the tongs with the right hand a little below the middle, and keeping them nearly in a vertical line, let the bar be rubbed with the lower end of the tongs, from the marked end of the bar to its upper end about ten times of each side of it. By this means the bar will receive as much magnetism as will enable it to lift a small key at the marked end; and this end of the bar being suspended by its middle, or made to rest on a joint, will turn to the north, and is called its north pole, the unmarked end being the south pole. ”

“ One cannot hold a piece of iron properly with tongs that do not fit the piece. They may be heated and fitted to the stock when occasion demands. One important reason why tongs should fit the piece being hammered, is that when turning and striking the piece there is danger of the piece being knocked out of the tongs in a whirling motion and the flying piece of hot iron is liable to strike someone ”

“ For stirring and clearing the hearth, we use a shovel with a long wooden handle and a pair of long iron rods which are held like chopsticks to pick up pieces of charcoal or cinders. The tongs which are used for braziers are much shorter and made of iron, copper, or brass; they are also used like chopsticks and are indeed called in Japanese “fire-chopsticks.” A hollow bamboo tube with a knot at one end which has a little hole in the centre takes the place of bellows. ”

“ Hence we have here a lever or pair of levers of the third order. The effort arm of a pair of tongs is always shorter than the weight arm and the pressure on the sugar lump is always less than that exerted on the tongs by the hand. ”

“ The end of the work would act as a pivot, and the part on the anvil would move about. It is better, therefore, for general work to curve the jaws, putting the work sufficiently within the jaws to meet them at the back of the jaw, when the end will also grip the work. By putting the work more or less within the tongs, according to its thickness, contact at the end of the work and at the point of the tongs may be secured in one pair of tongs over a wider range of thickness of work than would otherwise be the case. ”

“ The position of the two implements is shown in the illustration Fig. 20. The extremity of one arm of the tongs is rested against the inside of the shovel, and the other extremity is placed in the angle formed by the junction of the shovel with the handle. By delicate poising the two may be induced to remain in equilibrium in the position illustrated. A formation which permits of the tongs being engaged with the shovel after the manner shown is an important factor.
[96]
21.—A TOWER OF GLASS.
An effective combination is shown in Fig. ”

“ I claim, 1st, A tool for opening sheet metal cans, composed of a hand lever, B, carrying a tooth, c, and connected to tongs, A, or other equivalent means, capable of clamping said tooth-carrying lever to the can, as set forth.
2d, Placing the tooth, c, in an oblique direction, when the same is used in combination with the hand lever, B, and clamping device A, substantially as and for the purpose described. ”

“ The workmen are provided with two metal rods and a pair of small tongs, and they ply these primitive instruments with wonderful dexterity. They work very hard, at least fifteen hours a day, for five days a week. ”

“ 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. ”

“ A piece of one-half inch square stock, nine inches long, is heated its entire length, one end caught in a vise and with a monkey wrench or heavy pair of tongs on the other, it is twisted to the right. If the heat is an even one and not too hot, the spacing of the twist will be uniform. ”

“ In order to close the end of the tube, where a blow-pipe is not to be procured, the end is to be placed in a common fire, until it is completely softened, and a pair of small tongs being at the same time made red hot, the tube is to be withdrawn from the fire, and then heated and pinched by the tongs, and at the same time bent up at an acute angle, so as to be brought parallel to the body of the tube. ”

“ But in neat and careful serving it is essential to have a soup-ladle, a gravy or sauce ladle, a pair of tongs or shells for block sugar, a slender-tined silver fork for pickles, a plentiful supply of large and medium-sized spoons, a carving-rest, a crumb-scraper, and at least one broad silver knife and fork, which if occasion requires may do duty at several courses.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST.
In offering a second portion of anything do not remind one that he has already been helped. ”

“ A man, who should be strong in the wrist, stands on the furnace, which has the openings at the top, like a French cooking-stove, and taking [109] off the brick covers from the square aperture, whence rushes out a tongue of green flame, lifts out the pot with a pair of tongs, and after the dross is removed by the skimmer or grunter, hands it to the pourer, who fills each mould in succession. ”

“ The pile of scrap is heated so nearly to melting as to stick together enough so that it can be picked up in a long pair of tongs with peculiarly-shaped jaws, and, as these tongs are suspended by a chain from an overhead traveller running on an iron track, the bloom is easily transferred to the anvil of the steam hammer, where, after one or two blows, a small porter-bar with a crank end, such as shown in Fig. ”

“ Also beware of the man who takes sweet soda with his brandy, and a man who wants claret from the ice box.
Use your napkin with a finger behind it, drawing it around or across the mouth. Don't use it like a mop and your mouth as if it were the deck of a fishing sloop. [Pg 94]
When two or more forks are at your plate, use the smaller one for fish, or whatever the first course may be. The steel knife is for meat. When you have finished, place the knife and fork on your plate crossing each other. Any good servant will know that you have finished. ”

“ To carve an ox-tongue, stick your fork into the root, and cut a thin slice off, placing the heel of the knife upon it, which draw along to the point, thus taking the slice off in one cut, leaving it upon the dish, and serving the inner slices cut in the same manner, but very thin and delicate, you will thus have carved the best part of it easily without disfiguring the whole, still having a decent piece remaining for cold, but if you had commenced in the middle you would at once spoil the appearance, and the remainder would eat dry when cold. ”

“ I believe most strongly, as a matter of economy, in removing the bone, and any tough membrane or gristle that will not be eaten, before cooking the steak. If there be a large portion of the flank, cook that in some other way. With a small, sharp knife cut close to the rib on each side, round the backbone, and remove the tough white membrane on the edge of the tenderloin. Leave the fat on the upper edge, and the kidney fat also, or a part of it, if it be very thick. There need be no waste or escape of juices if the cutting be done quickly, neatly, and just before cooking. ”

“ You notice, ladies, that I take off the skin of the fish before taking it up. That is very easy; it slips off easily, and without it the fish is much nicer to serve at the table. In serving sauce with fish you pour some around it, not over it; or you serve the fish on a napkin, and the sauce in a dish, as you prefer. If you serve the fish in a folded napkin garnish it with a few sprigs of parsley, if you can get them, or with a lemon sliced, if you do not live—as some unfortunate people do—“fifty miles from a lemon.” Lemons are very nice always with any kind of fish. ”

“ Russian Stuffed Tongue Take fresh beef-tongue; make an incision with a sharp knife and fill with chopped onions, bread-crumbs, a lump of butter, sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Sew up and let boil until nearly done. Remove the skin. Then stick cloves all over the tongue, and let cook until tender. Add 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar and 1 tablespoonful of butter. Serve, garnished with sliced beets, olives and sprigs of parsley.
Hungarian Dumplings Mix 2 eggs with 1 tablespoonful of water, a pinch of salt and enough sifted flour to make a stiff dough. ”

“ Boiled Tongue A boiled corned tongue is cooked the same as Boiled Corned Beef. If very salt, it should be soaked in cold water several hours, or over night, before cooking. Take from water when slightly cooled and remove skin.
Braised Tongue A fresh tongue is necessary for braising. Put tongue in kettle, cover with boiling water, and cook slowly two hours. Take tongue from water and remove skin and roots. Place in deep pan and surround with one-third cup each carrot, onion, and celery, cut in dice, and one sprig parsley; then pour over four cups sauce. ”