started, and if it gets too low, more easily replenished and put in working order; and the ovens can be more quickly heated or cooled. But, although you can have a water-back and boiler with most modern stoves or, as they are now called, portable ranges, the supply of hot water will not be large. And you cannot roast before the fire as with a range.
So near-perfection have the makers of ranges and stoves come that it would be difficult to speak of possible improvements, especially in stoves. This can be said not of a few, but of a great many manufacturers, each having his special merit. And where the products are so generally good, it is hard to mention one make in preference to another. When purchasing, it is well to remember, that one of simple construction is the most easily managed and does not soon get out of order. No single piece of furniture contributes so much to the comfort of a family as the range or stove, which should, therefore, be the best of its kind.
Gas and Oil Stoves.
During the hot weather a gas or oil stove is a great comfort. The "Sun Dial," manufactured by the Goodwin Gas Stove Co., Philadelphia, is a "perfect gem," roasting, baking, broiling, etc., as well as a coal stove or range. Indeed, meats roasted or broiled by it are jucier than when cooked over or before coals. The peculiar advantage of oil and gas stoves is that they can be coveniently used for a short time, say for the preparation of a meal, at a trifling expense. The cost of running a gas stove throughout the day is, however, much greater than that of a coal stove, while an oil stove can be run cheaper than either. There are a great many manufacturers of oil stoves, and as a natural consequence, where there is so much competition, the stoves are nearly all good. One would not think of doing the cooking for a large family with one or, indeed, two of them; but the amount of work that can be accomplished with a single stove is remarkable. They are a great comfort in hot weather, many small families doing their entire cooking with them.
Refrigerators.
The trouble with most refrigerators is that the food kept in them is apt to have a peculiar taste. This is owing in a great measure to the wood used in the construction of the interior and for the shelves. On the inside of the Eddy chest-shaped refrigerator there is not a particle of wood, and the food kept in it is always sweet. It is simply a chest, where the ice is placed on the bottom and slate shelves put on top. With this style of refrigerator the waste of ice is much greater than in those built with a separate compartment for ice, but the food is more healthful.
Utensils.
The following is a list of utensils with which a kitchen should be furnished. But the housekeeper will find that there is continually something new to be bought. If there be much fancy cooking, there must be an ice cream freezer, jelly and charlotte russe moulds and many little pans and cutters. The right way is, of course, to get the essential articles first, and then, from time to time, to add those used in fancy cooking:
Two cast-iron pots, size depending upon range or stove (they come with the stove).One griddle.One porcelain-lined preserving kettle.One fish kettle.Three porcelain-lined stew-pans, holding from one to six quarts.One No. 4 deep Scotch frying kettle.One waffle ironThree French polished frying-pans, Nos. 1, 3 and 6.Four stamped tin or granite ware stewpans, holding from one pint to four quarts.One double boiler, holding three quarts.One Dover egg-beater.One common wire beater.One meat rack.One dish pan.Two bread pans, holding six and eight quarts respectively.Two milk pans.Two Russian-iron baking pans--two sizes.Four tin shallow baking-pans.Four deep pans for loaves.Two quart measures.One deep, round pan of granite-ware, with cover, for braising.One deep Russian-iron French roll pan.Two stamped tin muffin pans.One tea-pot.One coffee-pot.One coffee biggin.One chocolate pot.One colander.One squash strainer.One strainer that will fit on to one of the cast-iron pots.One frying-basket.One melon mould.Two brown bread tins.One round pudding mould.Two vegetable cutters.One tea canister.One coffee canister.One cake box.One spice box.One dredger for flour.One for powdered sugar.One smaller dredger for salt.One, still smaller, for pepper.One boning knife.One French cook's knife.One large fork.Two case-knives and forks.Two vegetable knives.Four large mixing spoons.Two table-spoons.Six teaspoons.One larding needle.One trussing needle.One set of steel skewers.One wire dish cloth.One whip churn.One biscuit cutter.One hand basin.One jagging iron.Three double broilers--one each for toast, fish and meat.One long-handled dipper.One large grater.One apple corer.One flour scoop.One sugar scoop.One lemon squeezer.Chopping tray and knife.Small wooden bowl to use in chopping.Moulding board of good hard wood.Board for cutting-bread on.One for cutting cold meats on.Thick board, or block, on which to break bones, open lobsters, etc.A rolling pin.Wooden buckets for sugar, Graham, Indian and rye meal.Wooden boxes for rice, tapioca, crackers, barley, soda, cream of tartar, etc.Covers for flour barrels.Wire flour sieve--not too large.A pail for cleaning purposes.One vegetable masher.Stone pot for bread, holding ten quarts.One for butter, holding six quarts.One for pork, holding three quarts.One dust pan and brush.One scrubbing brush.One broom.One blacking brush.Four yellow earthen bowls, holding from six quarts down.Four white, smooth-bottomed bowls, holding one quart each.One bean pot.One earthen pudding dish.
All the tin ware should be made from xx tin. It will then keep its shape, and wear three times as long as if made of thin stuff. Scouring with sand soon ruins tin, the coarse sand scratching it and causing it to rust. Sapolio, a soap which comes for cleaning tins, wood-work and paint, will be found of great value in the kitchen.
Granite ware, as now made, is perfectly safe to-use. It will not become discolored by any kind of cooking, and is so perfectly smooth that articles of food will not stick and bum in it as quickly as in the porcelain-lined pans. Nearly every utensil used in the kitchen is now made in granite ware. The mixing spoons are, however, not desirable, as the coating of granite peels off when the spoon is bent. Have no more heavy cast-iron articles than are really needed, for they are not easily handled, and are, therefore, less likely to be kept as clean, inside and out, as the lighter and smoother ware.
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The Scotch Kettle is quite cheap, and will be found of great value for every kind of frying, as it is so deep that enough fat can put into it to immerse the article to be cooked. |
| The French polished frying-pans are particularly nice, because they can be used for any kind of frying and for cooking sauces and omelets. The small size, No. 1, is just right for an omelet made with two eggs. |
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When possible, a tin kitchen should be used, as meat cooked before a bright fire has a flavor much nicer than when baked in an oven. |
| The bird roaster will be found valuable. |
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An ice cream freezer is a great luxury in a family, and will soon do away with that unhealthy dish--pie. No matter how small the family, nothing less than a gallon freezer should be bought, because you can make a small quantity of the cream in this size, and when you have friends in, there is no occasion to send to the confectioner's for what can be prepared as well at home. With the freezer should be purchased a mallet and canvas bag for pounding the ice fine, as much time and ice can be saved |
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