TWENTY LESSONS IN COOKING
SUGGESTIONS TO THE TEACHER
The teacher should learn how the pupils live in their own homes, what food produce is grown for home use, what foods they use, and how they prepare and serve their foods. The instruction given in the lessons should be based on this knowledge, and the possibilities for the improvement of accepted methods of cooking should be considered. Those foods should be used in the recipes which the pupils can afford to use at home. They should be encouraged to grow in their gardens a variety of garden produce, and to keep chickens, pigs, and cows.
Elementary principles of nutrition and sanitation should be taught. Simple meals, with plain but well-cooked dishes, should be planned. Variations should be suggested, and the value of a mixed diet emphasized. Care should be taken not to waste time on points that are unrelated to the homes of the pupils, except as such points may be necessary to raise their ideals.
All the work should be done carefully. The sanitary handling of food and care in the storage of foods should be insisted upon. Careful attention should be given to the dish-washing, care of the dish-towels, etc., emphasizing the points in sanitation involved. The pupils should be drilled faithfully in all points connected with the handling of anything that comes in contact with the food.
Proper methods of sweeping and cleaning should be employed, and thoroughness must be practised in every detail of the work. Constant drill in these processes should be given.
The order in which the lessons are to be given will be regulated, in part, by the season of the year in which they occur, the locality, the foods obtainable, and any special local needs. However, care must be taken that the lessons are given in proper sequence, so that the pupils may see the relation of one to another and may appreciate the value of each. It may be necessary to combine two lessons or to give only part of a lesson. In some of the lessons more recipes are suggested than can be prepared in a brief period. In every case the choice of a recipe will have to be made by the teacher. Wherever it is possible, simple experiments should be performed to show the composition of, and the effect of heat on, food.
No attempt has been made to give a complete set of recipes; but those included here are chosen as illustrating the subjects to be discussed in the lessons. The teacher who desires to make use of a greater number of recipes will do well to supply herself with one of the text-books listed. Level measurements should be used in the preparation of all the recipes, and all the directions should be carefully followed.
The first few lessons are more fully outlined than the others, furnishing suggestions for methods of procedure that may be adapted to later lessons. The teacher should have a detailed plan for every lesson, outlining her method of work, the leading questions for the discussion, and the home assignments which she desires to make.