Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Now, however, these home lessons are necessarily limited to Saturday and Sunday. What a wonderful effect, however, it would have on the future generation were each child — i.e., each girl — properly instructed by some competent teacher in the elements of domestic economy ! Unfortunately, at present it will be found that girls who have shown ability at school, and who are often made pupil teachers — girls who can write a hand nearly like a lady, and play a little on the piano, and who are fond of reading serial tales in their leisure, too often rather despise household work ; and often it will be found in a family where there is more than one girl that one sister will cook and scrub, while the other — who prides herself somewhat on her " gentility," as those sort of people call it — looks out for a business that is light and fanciful, such as millinery. Suppose, however, the girls get married in their own station of life, which would make the best wife of these two sisters % We trust the School Board will in time realise the fact that it is at any rate as important for a girl to know how to make an Irish stew as to be capable of playing an Irish jig. It is only first-class cooks who realise the first principles of cookery, viz., cleanliness and economy, and it is on these points that the poor chiefly break down ; indeed, we have already called attention to the want of cleanliness on the part of cooks, that takes place not so much from indolence as ignorance. How often do we have an omelet perfectly white, or rather yellowish-white, like we have them abroad % Do you know the reason of failure ? if not, go downstairs and learn. Take the frying-pan in your left hand, and a clean cloth in your right ; hold the frying-pan over the fire for a few seconds till it is hot, and then wipe it with your cloth, and look at the cloth. Among the poor, however, the fat is allowed to get cold in the frying-pan, and the frying-pan is hung up, or rather put by, with the fat in it ready for next time ; and, indeed, the same thing is often done in houses where the mistress does not exercise proper and necessary supervision over her servants. Unfortunately our English kitchen utensils are, as a rule, so shaped that perfect cleanliness, such as is met with in France, is barely possible. The English enamelled steewpan is, however, quite equal to the tinned copper utensils of France for ordinary purposes, and in these vessels perfect cleanliness is, comparatively speaking, easy. But we shall refer to the shape of vessels at more length when we come to consider kitchen utensils, but would here say one word to housekeepers on jugs. Is it reasonable on your part to continue buying milk-jugs shaped bulb-like, with narrow necks, into which the hand cannot be inserted, and yet to express surprise that your milk is sometimes sour? I am perfectly aware that jug-brushes exist, but it is almost impossible to get servants to use them. With regard to economy, we have already explained we do not mean living