|
Classic
Cook Books
< last page | next page >
page 355
pattern or even of different ware. Chinese and Japanese sets are also
fashionable. In every case, ware should be the best of its kind, and for
economy's sake should be plain, so that broken pieces may be readily and cheaply
replaced. Light knives and forks, heavy tea-spoons, and thin glasses for water
are most elegant. The chairs should have no arms to interfere with ladies'
dresses, and to prevent noise the legs should be tipped with rubber.
CLEARING THE TABLE.
Gather up the fragments that nothing be lost or wasted. When each meal is over,
if you do not have a crumb cloth under the table, which, when the chairs are
removed, can be lifted carefully at the edges and the crumbs shaken into the
center, it is best to take a broom and sweep the crumbs lightly under the table
until the dishes and victuals are removed, then brush on a dust pan. To clear
the table, bring in a dish-pan, gather up all the silver, cups and saucers,
butter and sauce plates, and glassware, carry to the kitchen, place them in the
sink and return with the pan. Scrape the plates as clean as possible and put in,
add platters and vegetable dishes, saving all the remnants of food that are to
be kept, on smaller dishes, to be taken to the cellar or refrigerator. To wash
the dishes, have clear hot water in the pan, and first wash the silver without
soap or cloth, using only the hands; if any are greasy, wipe with a soft paper
before putting in the water, rinse in clear hot water and wipe off immediately
on a perfectly dry, soft, clean towel; in this way the silver is kept bright,
and does not get scratched. Add some soap in the water, make a suds, wash the
glassware, rinse and wipe dry. Next take cups and saucers and so on, leaving
those most greasy till the last. Always keep a clean dish-cloth. One lady
writes, "I have smelt a whole houseful of typhoid fever in one sour, dirty
dish-rag." Many prefer the use of three dish-cloths, one for the nicest
articles, one for the greasy dishes, and one for the pots and kettles, keeping
each cloth perfectly sweet and clean, and, after using it, washing, rinsing, and
hanging to dry on a small rack kept for this purpose. The towel for wiping
dishes may also dry here. A dish mop or swab for washing small deep articles is
convenient.
Let no one suppose that because she lives in a small house, and dines on homely
fare, that the general principles here laid down do not apply to her. A small
house is more easily kept clean than a palace; taste may be quite as well
displayed in the arrangement of dishes on a pine table as in grouping the silver
and china of the rich. Skill in cooking is as readily shown in a baked potato or
a johnny-cake as in a canvass-back duck. The charm of good housekeeping lies in
a nice attention to little things, not in a superabundance. A dirty kitchen and
bad cooking have driven many a husband and son, and many a daughter too, from a
home that should have been a refuge from temptation. "Bad dinners go hand in
hand with total depravity; while a properly fed man is already half saved."
< last page | next page >
Classic
Cook Books
|
