alt="Bain-Marie."/> A bain-marie is a great convenience for keeping the various dishes hot when serving large dinners. It is simply a large tin pan, which is partially filled with boiling water and placed where this will keep at a high temperature, but will not boil. The sauce-pans containing the cooked food are placed in the water until the time for serving.
The large knives for the kitchen, as well as those belonging in the dining-room, should be kept very sharp. If used about the fire they are soon spoiled.
The French cook's knife is particularly good for carving, cutting bread, etc. It. is rather expensive, but it pays to get one, if only proper care can be taken of it. The butcher's knife should be used for all heavy work. One should never try to break a bone with a knife. That this is often attempted in both kitchen and dining room, the nicked edges of the knives give proof, and show the greater hardness of the bones.
Where much boning is done a small boning knife, costing about seventy-five cents, will be necessary; It should be used only for this purpose.
The French vegetable scoop, costs about seventy-five cents, will cut potatoes and other vegetables in balls for frying or boiling. The largest size is the best.
The garnishing knife flutes vegetables, adding much to their appearance when they are used as a garnish.
The long French roll pan, made from Russian iron, is nice for baking long loaves or rolls where a great deal of crust is liked There are muffin pans of tin, Russian iron and granite ware. Those of iron should be chosen last, on account of their weight. It is a good thing to have pans of a number of different shapes, as a variety for the eye is a matter of importance. The muffin rings of former years have done their duty, and should be allowed to rest, the convenient cups, which comes in sheets, more than filling their place.
The frying basket should have fine meshes, as delicate articles, like croquettes, need more support than a coarsely-woven basket gives.
Where roasting is done in the oven there must be a rack to keep the meat from coming in contact with the water in the bottom of the pan.
One medium-sized larding needle will answer for all kinds of meat that are to be larded.
A potato slicer will be found useful for slicing potatoes, for frying, or cabbage, for slaw. It cuts vegetables in very thin pieces.
The steamers which fit into the cast-iron pot or the tea-kettle are quite convenient. Both kinds will not, of course, be required.
The quart measure for milk is the best for common measuring. Being divided into half pints, the one vessel answers for all quantities. A kitchen should be furnished with two measures, one for dry material and the other for liquids.
In the preparation of desserts the whip churn is essential. It is a tin cylinder, perforated on the bottom and sides, in which a dasher of tin, also perforated, can be easily moved tip and down. When this churn is placed in a bowl of cream and the dasher is worked, air is forced through the cream, causing it to froth.
The double boiler is invaluable in the kitchen. It is a good plan to have two of them where a great deal of cooking is done. The lower part of the boiler is half filled with boiling water, and the inside kettle is placed in this. By this means food is cooked without danger of burning, and more rapidly than if the kettle were placed directly on the stove, exposed to the cold air, because the boiling water in the outside kettle reaches not only the bottom, but also the sides of that in which the food is.
When broiling is done before the fire it is necessary to have a back for the double broiler, for the tin reflects the heat, and the food is cooked much sooner.
The colander is used for draining vegetables, straining soups, etc., and with the squash and gravy strainers, it is all that is required in the way of strainers.
alt="Bain-Marie."/> A bain-marie is a great convenience for keeping the various dishes hot when serving large dinners. It is simply a large tin pan, which is partially filled with boiling water and placed where this will keep at a high temperature, but will not boil. The sauce-pans containing the cooked food are placed in the water until the time for serving.
