Question. Do you put the fish right into the water, or have you a fish kettle?
Miss Corson. If you are using a fish kettle you will have a little wire frame. You can lay the fish on that, or you can tie it up in a cloth, if you wish to.
Question. Then how can you tell when it is done?
Miss Corson. If you tie it in a cloth you must leave a little space so that you can test it.
Question. How much pepper did you say to put in the sauce?
Miss Corson. About a quarter of a salt spoon; that is, a good pinch of pepper. One of the ladies asked me about using a thick sauce pan—porcelain-lined sauce pan; you will find the advantage of thick sauce pans of all kinds is that they are less likely to burn than thin ones. The thinner the metal the sauce pan is made of, the more likely it is to burn. There are so many different kinds of utensils that every lady can take her own choice. Black sauce pans, lined with tin or with porcelain; tin sauce pans, thin ones, and thick ones made of block tin. You notice that I use copper sauce pans. Coppers are the most durable; they are lined with tin, and they have to be relined about once a year; the cost of relining is very little—comparatively little; I think it costs me about three cents a foot to have them relined, and the copper never wears out. If you buy a copper sauce pan you have got something that lasts you all your life, and you can leave it as an heirloom; if you don’t want to do that, you can sell it for old copper for nearly as much as you paid for it. In using copper, you must never let them become bare on the inside. If the tin wears off and the copper is exposed to any acid in the food cooked, it is apt to form a poisonous combination. But with proper care and cleanliness, copper sauce pans are perfectly safe.
Question. Do you prefer them to the galvanized iron?
Miss Corson. Yes, I do, on the score of cleanliness, economy and ease in cooking.