FoodNetArchive

Cookery for every household

1914

Page 8

Presented as published in 1914. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
If the dresser is a large one it will be found moro useful to have part of the top enclosed as cup- boards ; this will be found more useful than shelving, as things are kept covered and out of the dust. A hinged flap fitted at one end of the dresser and held up with a swinging bracket in order to make it level with the permanent top, will often be found useful. It will provide an extra bit of space while cooking is going on or during the service of meals when the dresser is apt to become uncomfortably crowded. Cupboard accommodation is always most valu- able in a kitchen, but unfortunately in many of our modern houses, and especially in flats, the supply is very inadequate. In this case it is some- times possible to have a cupboard fitted up on the wall in which a small store of provisions and bottles can be kept. A recess or corner might be utilised for this purpose, and a joiner will often be able to fit up a set of shelves with a simple door at a very small cost. When time and labour are both precious, as much as possible should be kept under cover in order to save continual dusting. If the kitchen is small, the most must be made of it by using the walls. Sometimes it will be found a con- venience to have a shelf carried round all the available wall space on which to rest some of the larger cookery utensils, store jars, &e. This shelf must not be placed too high, it ought to be within easy reach without having to climb on a chair. High shelves in a kitchen are practically useless, and they only harbour dust. A strip of wood fixed below the shelf and fitted with a number of hooks will also be found useful for hanging up some of the smaller utensils, such as gravy strainer, grater, measures, &c. Nails should never be driven into the wall itself, as they are sure to come out and bring some of the plaster along witli them. If there is a separate scullery this would naturally contain the sink. This should be fitted against an outside wall, and near a window if possible, and it 9 THE KITCHEN, MARKETING, AND CARE OF FOOD should be a convenient height for working at. A stoneware or tiled sink is best, as it is the easiest to clean and keep in good order. The back of the sink, if it is not placed in a window, should be made of some material 'which will not spoil with the splashing of the water. If not already fitted with tiles, a sheet of zinc might be fitted up, or a sheet of “ Emdeca,” which is a kind of tin, enam- elled in imitation of tiles, and very clean and prac- tical. A plate rack in which plates can be drained