THE STOREROOM.
A storeroom well arranged and properly managed is a source of economy, security, and comfort to a housekeeper. It should be kept locked except when stores are being put in or taken out. Light should be furnished by a small window. For a household of moderate size a room 7 × 5 feet will suffice. In the ground-plan given on page 10 no provision is made for such a room on the first floor, but there would be space for one if the china closet were made smaller and there were no closets in the back hall.
Broad shelves should run all round the room, and there should be a movable set of broad, firm steps—say two or three steps—for use in reaching the upper shelves. The floor and shelves should be planed smooth, that there may be no grooves nor defective places where any substance which may be spilled will lodge, giving a disagreeable odor to the room. The shelves must be made strong, so that no danger shall arise from putting a great weight of stores on them. A tier of three shelves will be enough. Have a space of about twenty inches between the shelves. Do not have any of the woodwork painted. The walls may be plastered or sheathed. If plastered, they may be whitened each spring, if necessary. This will freshen and sweeten the room. The shelves and floor may be cleaned once a month, and the other woodwork washed twice a year. Care must be taken not to use much water. The room should be kept dry, as well as clean, cool, and dark.
Use the lower shelves for such supplies as are frequently drawn upon, and the upper ones for those stores which are used the least. On the upper shelves there may also be kept such kitchen utensils as may be required to replace those which become worthless,—such as bowls and cups, saucepans, etc., which a wise housekeeper will always keep in reserve.
If flour be kept in a barrel in the storeroom, there should be a strong rack, a few inches from the floor (as recommended for the pantry), on which to place the barrel; the idea being to get a free circulation of air under the barrel and prevent dampness. Such groceries as molasses, granulated sugar, vinegar, wine, cider, washing-soda, etc., may be kept on the floor. A strip of wood into which are screwed half a dozen or more hooks, may be fastened on one side of the room, and on it can be hung the brushes, brooms, etc., required to replace those which become worn out.
Following is a list of supplies which should be kept in the storeroom. In sections of the country where such articles as shrimp and lobster can always be found fresh it will not be necessary to use canned goods. Again, in those places where fish and oysters are never found fresh, it is well, on account of the saving in cost, to buy them by the quantity, as one would buy canned peas, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc. In some parts of the country the people depend almost wholly upon condensed milk rather than upon the fresh fluid. If canned milk must be used, a considerable saving can be made by buying a large quantity at one time. Then, too, if one be so placed that it would not be possible to obtain an extra quantity of milk in an emergency, it will be well to keep a few cans of condensed milk on hand.
Time and money will be saved by purchasing by the dozen such canned goods as peas, tomatoes, mushrooms, peaches, apricots, as well as gelatine, etc. Soap and Sapolio, candles and starch, all should be bought by the box. It is well to have peas of two qualities,—the small French peas for use as a vegetable, and the larger and cheaper kind for making soups and purées. Truffles, caviare, sardines, anchovies in various forms, and a few other things, are luxuries in which many housekeepers never indulge; and in any case a small can or bottle is all that one will require in a storeroom, provided one lives in or near a large city where such articles can be obtained.
In the list of supplies which follows these remarks are mentioned many things not actually essential, but which are very useful in giving variety to the fare. It may surprise some readers that dried or smoked fish, ham, bacon, salt pork, brown soap, and some other articles are not included in the list. The reason is, that they have moisture or a strong odor, two things to be avoided in a storeroom where delicate groceries are kept. A cold room where there is a free circulation of air is a better place for them.
Experience has proved that tin boxes are the best receptacles for all kinds of food that would attract mice or weevils. Tin boxes are, to be sure, much more expensive than wooden buckets; but as they are lasting and perfectly secure, it is, in the end, economical to buy them. Each box should be labelled; and if they be made to order, it will be well to have the labels painted on them at the time. Such boxes as cracker-manufacturers use will answer for this purpose, and a housekeeper may obtain them through her grocer if no more convenient way presents itself. When made to order, tin boxes are expensive.
First Shelf.—Graham, corn meal, both white and yellow, oatmeal, rye meal, hominy, buckwheat, rice, soda, cream-of-tartar, tapioca, powdered and block sugar, dried peas, beans, barley, picked raisins, currants that have been cleaned, eggs, cheese, gelatine, tea, coffee, chocolate, starch, bluing, candles; all the articles, except the last three and the gelatine, to be kept in tin boxes.
Second Shelf.—Olive oil, vanilla, lemon, orange, and almond extracts, Santa Cruz rum, eau-de-vie de Dantzic, maraschino, brandy, white wine, tarragon vinegar, olives, capers, liquid rennet; table salt, macaroni, spaghetti, vermicelli, crackers, lime-water, stove-polish, Sapolio, Castile soap, toilet soap, chloride of lime.
Preserved ginger, pickles, anchovy paste, chutney sauce, extract of meat in small jars, arrowroot, cornstarch, potted ham, tongue, and chicken, French paste for coloring soups and sauces, devilled ham, anchovies in oil and in salt, Russian caviare, sardines, orange marmalade, jellies, canned and preserved fruits, almonds, citron, candied lemon and orange peel, tomato, walnut, and mushroom ketchup, essence of anchovy, curry-powder, white and red pepper, essence of shrimp, Worcestershire or Leicestershire sauce, and these whole spices,-nutmegs, cloves, cinnamon, mace, allspice, pepper-corns, and ginger; these ground spices,—mace, cinnamon, clove, allspice, ginger; these whole herbs,—sage, savory, thyme, parsley, sweet-marjoram, summer savory, tarragon; these ground herbs,—sage, summer savory, thyme, parsley, sweet-marjoram.
Third Shelf.—These canned vegetables,—button onions, cauliflower, peas, string beans, shelled beans, mixed vegetables, tomatoes, and corn; also, canned cèpes, mushrooms, truffles, salmon, lobster, shrimp, chicken and tongue, and dessert biscuit, prunes, twine, chamois skin, whiting, household ammonia, clothes-pins.
Floor.—Molasses, cider, vinegar, granulated sugar, wine, coarse salt for freezing, washing-soda for the plumbing.