In washing dish-towels, brushes, the sink, etc., dis-
solved soda will be found most useful, cleaning and
sweetening all that it touches. It should be kept in a
large olive-bottle or preserving-jar, and should be labelled
" Washing-soda." To prepare it, put one pint of the
dry soda in a saucepan, kept for this purpose, and add
to it three quarts of boiling water. Let this mixture
stand upon the stove, stirring it frequently, until the
soda is dissolved. When cold, put into bottles.
It may be said, in passing, that this preparation, when
hot, is an excellent agent for cleaning and sweetening
the plumbing in the house. Pour a pint of the hot liquid
into each bowl, basin, and sink about once a fortnight.
As the liquid unites with grease, it keeps the kitchen
CARE OF UTENSILS AND FURNITURE. 61
sink-pipes free of greasy deposits. It is well to buy
this soda by the quarter-barrel. It is extremely cheap
when bought by the quantity. The housekeeper should
attend to the dissolving of the soda herself, and be care-
ful that none of the solid article is taken from the
storeroom by anybody else, because it might be used
improperly in laundry work or for other purposes.
Every kitchen should be supplied with soft soap.
This can be made once a month with very little trouble.
It is almost impossible to keep unpainted tables and
floors perfectly clean without it.
Steel knives and forks should be cleaned with Bristol
brick after each meal.
Some kitchens have what is considered as a conven-
ience in the form of a scullery, where the dishes are
washed, the vegetables prepared, etc. They are not
desirable in any house, large or small.
The garbage pail or barrel should be washed once a
week. Monday, when there is plenty of hot suds, is
a good time for this. Scrub the pail with the suds,
using an old broom for the purpose. Now rinse with
clean hot water, to which has been added half a cupful
of dissolved soda. Drain, and dry in the sun. Wash
the cover also.
The care of the refrigerator is very important. Every
shelf should be taken out twice a week, and every part of
the refrigerator, except where the ice is kept, should be
washed and carefully wiped dry. The ice compartment
need be washed only once in two weeks. The greatest
Dare must be exercised in examining and washing the
refrigerator, else a bit of meat or fish, or some other
substance, may lodge in a corner or in the pipe, and
taint the entire contents. The waste-pipe of the re-
frigerator should not be connected with the sewer-pipe,
tf one wish to have the water carried off by the sewer,
have it drip from the pipe in the refrigerator into a
tunnel that is fitted to a pipe connected with the general
62 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
waste-pipe of the house. Then there will be a current
of air between the refrigerator pipe and the tunnel. A
plumber will show you where to have a trap placed.
Page 24
Presented as published in 1887. 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
In washing dish-towels, brushes, the sink, etc., dissolved soda will be found most useful, cleaning and sweetening all that it touches. It should be kept in a large olive-bottle or preserving-jar, and should be labelled " Washing-soda." To prepare it, put one pint of the dry soda in a saucepan, kept for this purpose, and add to it three quarts of boiling water. Let this mixture stand upon the stove, stirring it frequently, until the soda is dissolved. When cold, put into bottles.
It may be said, in passing, that this preparation, when hot, is an excellent agent for cleaning and sweetening the plumbing in the house. Pour a pint of the hot liquid into each bowl, basin, and sink about once a fortnight. As the liquid unites with grease, it keeps the kitchen
sink-pipes free of greasy deposits. It is well to buy this soda by the quarter-barrel. It is extremely cheap when bought by the quantity. The housekeeper should attend to the dissolving of the soda herself, and be careful that none of the solid article is taken from the storeroom by anybody else, because it might be used improperly in laundry work or for other purposes.
Every kitchen should be supplied with soft soap. This can be made once a month with very little trouble. It is almost impossible to keep unpainted tables and floors perfectly clean without it.
Steel knives and forks should be cleaned with Bristol brick after each meal.
Some kitchens have what is considered as a convenience in the form of a scullery, where the dishes are washed, the vegetables prepared, etc. They are not desirable in any house, large or small.
The garbage pail or barrel should be washed once a week. Monday, when there is plenty of hot suds, is a good time for this. Scrub the pail with the suds, using an old broom for the purpose. Now rinse with clean hot water, to which has been added half a cupful of dissolved soda. Drain, and dry in the sun. Wash the cover also.
The care of the refrigerator is very important. Every shelf should be taken out twice a week, and every part of the refrigerator, except where the ice is kept, should be washed and carefully wiped dry. The ice compartment need be washed only once in two weeks. The greatest care must be exercised in examining and washing the refrigerator, else a bit of meat or fish, or some other substance, may lodge in a corner or in the pipe, and taint the entire contents. The waste-pipe of the refrigerator should not be connected with the sewer-pipe, if one wish to have the water carried off by the sewer, have it drip from the pipe in the refrigerator into a tunnel that is fitted to a pipe connected with the general
waste-pipe of the house. Then there will be a current of air between the refrigerator pipe and the tunnel. A plumber will show you where to have a trap placed.