An Ideal Kitchen: Miss Parloa's Kitchen Companion / A Guide for All Who Would Be Good Housekeepers

by Maria Parloa

This room should be on the north side of the house, and should have two small windows, on two sides of the room, if possible. A broad beam should extend across one end of the room, at least one foot from the wall. Strong meat-hooks should be fastened in this beam, on which to hang ham, bacon, smoked tongue, smoked salmon, and fresh meat or poultry that is to be kept a day or more. At the other end of the room there should be broad, strong shelves on which to put the tubs or jars in which pork, lard, pickles, etc., are kept. All the things which should be kept very cold, such as fruits, vegetables, preserves, etc., may be stored in this room.

If one have a good light cellar, the cold storeroom may be arranged there. The entrance should be near the kitchen stairs. In most modern cellars the furnace gives so much heat that a separate place is required for storage purposes. If one be about to build a house, it will be well to take this matter under consideration. Have a separate cellar under the kitchen, and keep it for vegetables and a storeroom. In the larger cellar have the furnace, fuel-bins, and a workshop, if one be needed. If the cellar extend the entire length of the house, a cold room may be made by building a brick partition at the end of the cellar farthest from the furnace. The room, whether on the ground floor or downstairs, should be so arranged that it can be made light when necessary. The windows should have inside blinds.

In most households the cellar will be found to be the most desirable place for a cold room, because the temperature will be more even than in a place above ground. Dry atmosphere, light, and ventilation are the special points to keep in mind. Even in an old house, where the light is insufficient, large windows may be put in, and the trouble thus easily remedied. Perfect cleanliness and frequent airing are necessary for the preservation of food in this room.

Of course, it is desirable to have the room divided into two parts,—a thin partition will suffice,—that the milk and butter in one compartment shall not absorb the flavor of meats, fish, fruits, or vegetables kept in the other. If there be no refrigerator in the pantry, have one in this room. Ice will not melt so quickly here as in other parts of the house.

A writer who has given considerable thought to the subject of ventilation says that “a great mistake is sometimes made in ventilating cellars and milk-houses. The object of ventilation is to keep the cellars cool and dry, but this object often fails of being accomplished by a common mistake, and instead the cellar is made both warm and damp. A cool place should never be ventilated unless the air admitted is cooler than the air within, or is at least as cool as that, or only a very little warmer. The warmer the air the more moisture it holds in suspension. Necessarily, the cooler the air the more this moisture is condensed and precipitated. When a cool cellar is aired on a warm day, the entering air being in motion appears cool; but as it fills the cellar the cooler air with which it becomes mixed chills it, the moisture is condensed, and dew is deposited on the cold walls, and may often be seen running down them in streams. Then the cellar is damp, and soon becomes mouldy. To avoid this, the windows should only be opened at night, and late,—the last thing before retiring. There is no need to fear that the night air is unhealthful; it is as pure as the air of midday, and is really drier. The cool air enters the apartment during the night and circulates through it. The windows should be closed before sunrise in the morning, and kept closed and shaded through the day. If the air of the cellar be damp, it may be thoroughly dried by placing in it a peck of fresh lime in an open box. A peck of lime will absorb about seven pounds, or more than three quarts, of water; and in this way a cellar or milkroom may soon be dried, even in the hottest weather.”

THE CHINA CLOSET.

Between the kitchen and dining-room there should be a closet where the dining-room dishes (except rare glass and china) can be kept, and where the glassware, silver, and delicate china—if not all the china—can be washed. A window is needed in this room. Have the floor made of hard wood, unless it is to be covered. If covered, use lignum. A woollen carpet never should be laid in a china closet. The walls may be sheathed, or plastered and painted. Everything considered, sheathing with well-finished hard wood is the best plan.

On one side of the room have closets about three feet high, beginning at the floor. Above the closets have broad shelves. These should have deep grooves, so that meat dishes may be placed on edge and inclined against the wall. On the opposite side of the room have a similar tier of shelves, with drawers, instead of closets, under the lowest. If the room be planned like that in the design given, there will be space between the two tiers of shelves already mentioned for still another tier, although it will be better to save this space for the steps needed for reaching the high shelves. These steps should be broad, as a precaution against accidents to anybody and damage to dishes.