The recipes in this book are calculated for a household of four persons.
GENERAL REMARKS ON KITCHEN REQUISITES AND THEIR CARE
This small book may be called the A. B. C. of cookery and the writer is mainly anxious to give her experiences as a general guide and help both for cooking and the preparing of an appetizing meal.
Take for instance either a small flat in town or a cottage in the country with one maid. It is quite possible to have two dishes for breakfast with toast, tea or coffee, and to vary those dishes for every day in the week. Easy breakfast dishes will be found in the body of the book. All the statements in the book will justify themselves if the directions are carefully followed.
To begin with let us furnish our kitchen with those most necessary utensils which should always be kept either in a drawer in the dresser or in a dry cupboard. We shall need several enamelled basins of various sizes, a fish slice, vegetable slice, wire salad basket, one or two wooden spoons, two large iron ones, a good toasting fork; a small Dutch-oven to hang in front of the fire (either to cook bloaters, or chops, or even a steak if one prefers that form of cooking to frying); an apple corer, a potato ricer, one or two enamelled frying pans of various sizes and depth. It is best to keep the pan that is to be used for omelettes for that purpose alone, also the one that is to be used for making pancakes. Care should be taken in purchasing these articles as you will often find that some frying-pans will be deeper in the middle while others will be found to rise and be deepest round the edges. These are serious defects because the one that rises in the centre will be useless for either omelettes or pancakes; the one that sinks in the middle would be equally unsatisfactory as both will be found to catch.
A double saucepan will be needed either for boiling milk or making porridge. We must not forget a fish kettle and a steamer. The care of the tea-kettle is also important. Once the tea is made and the kettle not needed for a time, the water should be turned out and the kettle removed from the stove. If it is allowed to remain boiling or nearly empty on the stove it will quickly become coated on the inside and the water thick and cloudy. We will need an enamelled cullender, a large cheese grater, a nutmeg grater, some cake tins of different sizes, and pie-dishes. Our choice of saucepans should also be carefully considered; it should contain at least two large iron ones and the rest may be enamel. We need two or three baking tins, some china and block-tin moulds for jellies and a selection of fire-proof earthenware of various shapes and sizes; wire strainers, to put under fish or fried vegetables to drain them; an egg poacher, an egg-boiler which is so much more reliable than even the best memory or the most accurate clock. There is this golden rule that must always be observed: Never attempt to make an omelette unless your fire is hot enough to cook it with the top ring of the stove on. This rule of course applies also to the pancakes, fritters, or to any form of frying. For if you are frying a steak or cutlets, fish, potatoes or bacon, you will require to put the top of the stove on after the first few minutes. Otherwise your meat or fish will be liable to burn on the surface and remain raw inside.
All the utensils must be washed in hot soda water and thoroughly dried before putting them away. Having regard to the fact that soda is most injurious to one’s hands, and whether for the mistress or maid the care and appearance of one’s hands is of great importance, it is best to place the saucepans, pans, etc. (not earthenware) on the stove with a certain amount of water and a good piece of soda, and let them stand to soak on the side of the hot stove, together with such articles as ricer, poacher, strainer, etc. When ready to wash them up scour well with a long-handled pot brush, pour off the soda water, rinse in clean hot water, and dry with a cloth. They can then be placed on the rack above the stove to dry thoroughly. In this way the hands need not come in contact with the soda water at all.
We shall also need a nice smooth pastry board, a rolling pin, and a small board for chopping parsley or mint. The meat chopper and the mincer and the meat-saw will require to be kept perfectly clean and dry to avoid rust, and should always be carefully wiped with a dry cloth before being used. Should earthenware cooking-vessels or pie-dishes become burnt, as is sometimes unavoidable, a little rough cooking salt, or a little ashes rubbed on the burnt surface will be found effective.
ON THE TREATMENT OF VEGETABLES
With a Few Illustrative Recipes