Besides the tables, a sufficiency of cupboards and a dresser, with
shelves according to requirements, should be provided. For the
sake of order, cupboards with sliding doors are preferable to those
with hanging doors ; they should be so fixed or placed as to admit
thorough cleanliness, light, and ventilation.
A good timepiece is also necessary in a well-furnished kitchen,
being an aid to punctuality and economy of time. It should be
placed in the most conspicuous place.
A well-constructed sink is another indispensable article in a
kitchen. Stone-ware or iron-work is very serviceable ; iron sinks,
however, soon corrode unless painted or enamelled. When wooden
sinks are used they should be lined with zinc or copper. Talc
sinks last for a long time if properly used. All sinks should be so
fixed as to allow free access to all sides for the purpose of cleaning.
Frequent flushing with hot water is recommended for sinks and
sink pipes ; a solution of soda or potash poured down the pipes once
THE KITCHEN
41
a day will remove the grease and other particles adhering to the
pipes.
There are many good rules for perfect management of a kitchen,
but the most essential are the following :
1. Maintain scrupulous cleanliness.
2. Methodical order and exactitude.
3. Wise economy and discipline.
4. Sobriety and honesty.
It is needless to say that upon the strict observance of these rules
much of the success of a culinary establishment depends. Some
cooks never seem to have finished their work ; they are always in a
muddle and have scarcely room enough to work, a state of affairs
which is merely the result of untidiness.
With proper management a cook hardly knows what a muddle is.
An untidy kitchen is a disgrace to the culinary profession. The
kitchen ought to be the very last place of an establishment where
dirt and untidyness prevail. If we aim at being successful in our
cooking, we must remember the importance of keeping everything
connected with a kitchen, and especially the utensils, perfectly clean.
It is simply wonderful how much labour and trouble can be saved by
method.
Order and Forethought in a Kitchen. — The great secret of
success in this direction is unquestionably cleanliness. Clean and
clear up as you go. Keep everything in its proper place. Never put
off to the last what can be done beforehand. Do everything at its
proper time. These are maxims which every cook should carefully
adhere to ; for by so doing they study their own as well as their
masters’ interest.
BADLY VENTILATED KITCHENS
The steam and heat from a badly ventilated kitchen disseminates
a disagreeable, unhealthy odour throughout the house.
The ventilation of the kitchen should, therefore, be so perfect as
to thoroughly remove all gases, smells and odours caused by the
various cooking processes.
When the kitchen is built on the top of the house this evil is to a
large extent overcome.
A ventilator placed just above the cooking stove lessens greatly
the discomfort from heat, for it carries off much of the superfluous
heat, and helps to remove the smoke, steam, and smell from cooking.
Where a so-called ventilating shaft is provided, ventilation is all
the more effective, for a much stronger draught is then obtained.
Page 21
Presented as published in 1901. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Besides the tables, a sufficiency of cupboards and a dresser, with shelves according to requirements, should be provided. For the sake of order, cupboards with sliding doors are preferable to those with hanging doors ; they should be so fixed or placed as to admit thorough cleanliness, light, and ventilation.
A good timepiece is also necessary in a well-furnished kitchen, being an aid to punctuality and economy of time. It should be placed in the most conspicuous place.
A well-constructed sink is another indispensable article in a kitchen. Stone-ware or iron-work is very serviceable ; iron sinks, however, soon corrode unless painted or enamelled. When wooden sinks are used they should be lined with zinc or copper. Talc sinks last for a long time if properly used. All sinks should be so fixed as to allow free access to all sides for the purpose of cleaning. Frequent flushing with hot water is recommended for sinks and sink pipes ; a solution of soda or potash poured down the pipes once
a day will remove the grease and other particles adhering to the pipes.
There are many good rules for perfect management of a kitchen, but the most essential are the following :
1. Maintain scrupulous cleanliness.
2. Methodical order and exactitude.
3. Wise economy and discipline.
4. Sobriety and honesty.
It is needless to say that upon the strict observance of these rules much of the success of a culinary establishment depends. Some cooks never seem to have finished their work ; they are always in a muddle and have scarcely room enough to work, a state of affairs which is merely the result of untidiness.
With proper management a cook hardly knows what a muddle is. An untidy kitchen is a disgrace to the culinary profession. The kitchen ought to be the very last place of an establishment where dirt and untidyness prevail. If we aim at being successful in our cooking, we must remember the importance of keeping everything connected with a kitchen, and especially the utensils, perfectly clean. It is simply wonderful how much labour and trouble can be saved by method.
Order and Forethought in a Kitchen. — The great secret of success in this direction is unquestionably cleanliness. Clean and clear up as you go. Keep everything in its proper place. Never put off to the last what can be done beforehand. Do everything at its proper time. These are maxims which every cook should carefully adhere to ; for by so doing they study their own as well as their masters’ interest.
BADLY VENTILATED KITCHENS
The steam and heat from a badly ventilated kitchen disseminates a disagreeable, unhealthy odour throughout the house.
The ventilation of the kitchen should, therefore, be so perfect as to thoroughly remove all gases, smells and odours caused by the various cooking processes.
When the kitchen is built on the top of the house this evil is to a large extent overcome.
A ventilator placed just above the cooking stove lessens greatly the discomfort from heat, for it carries off much of the superfluous heat, and helps to remove the smoke, steam, and smell from cooking.
Where a so-called ventilating shaft is provided, ventilation is all the more effective, for a much stronger draught is then obtained.