LESSON I: ARRANGEMENT AND CARE OF THE KITCHEN
SUBJECT-MATTER
In arranging the kitchen, the three things of most importance are the stove, the sink, and the kitchen table. If there is no sink in the kitchen, there will be some other place arranged for washing the dishes, probably the kitchen table, and this must be taken into consideration when the furniture is placed. As most of the work is done at the stove and the table, both these must be placed where they will have a good light, and they should be close to each other, so that but few steps are necessary for the worker.
In furnishing the kitchen, the housekeeper will find a high stool very useful, as it will enable her to wash dishes, prepare vegetables, and do other work while seated.
All the furniture should be kept so clean and free from dust that the kitchen will have a neat and attractive appearance. A vase of flowers or a potted plant, and a washable table-cover to be used after the dishes have been put away, will help to make this room a pleasant place for the family. Special attention should be given to the ventilation.
The kitchen should be thoroughly cleaned after each meal. If it has become dusty or disarranged, it should be put in order before the next meal is to be prepared. While the cooking is under way, everything should be kept in an orderly condition. As soon as the meal is completed, the left-over food should be covered and put away; the scraps and waste material should be gathered and disposed of; and the dishes, pots, and pans should be scraped, and washed in hot, soapy water, then rinsed in clear, hot water, dried, and put away. The table should be scrubbed, the stove cleaned, the floor swept and scrubbed whenever necessary, and everything put neatly in its place.
Care of the coal or wood range.—All spots should be removed from the range by wiping it with old paper. If it is in bad condition, it should be washed with soap and water. If it is oiled occasionally, blacking will not be necessary; but if blacking is used, it should be applied with a cloth and rubbed to a polish with a brush, just as the fire is being started. The ashes and soot flues back of the oven and underneath it should be cleaned out once a week.
Directions for building a fire.—To build and care for a fire in the coal or wood range, close all the dampers, clean the grate, and remove the ashes from the pan. Put on the covers and brush the dust off the stove. Open the creative damper and the oven damper, leaving the check damper closed. Lay some paper, slightly crumpled into rolls, across the base of the grate. Place small pieces of kindling wood across one another, with the large pieces on top. Lay pieces of hardwood or a shovelful of coal on top of the kindling, building so as to admit of the free circulation of air. If the stove is to be polished, rub it with blacking. Light the paper from below. When the fire begins to burn briskly, add coal or wood: then add more when that kindles. When the fire is well started and blue flame is no longer seen (about ten minutes), close the oven damper. Close the creative damper when the fire is sufficiently hot. Brush the stove and the floor beneath it as soon as the fire is started. Polish the stove. If the fire becomes too hot, open the check damper. Fill the tea-kettle with fresh water and set it on the front of the range.
Care of the sink, wash-basin, and garbage pail.—A neglected sink or garbage pail may be a fruitful source of disease, in addition to attracting water-bugs and other pests. Scraps should never be left in the sink. After washing the dishes it should be thoroughly cleaned, a brush and scouring material being used. The nickel part may be washed with hot soap-suds, wiped dry, and polished. Water should never be left in the wash-basin. Both the soap-dish and the wash-basin should be scoured daily. The garbage pail should be emptied and washed every day, and carefully scalded once or twice a week.
PRELIMINARY PLAN
It will be well to have this lesson succeed or follow a cooking lesson, for then the pupils will have a keener interest in the problems of the kitchen. (See Twenty Lessons in Cooking, Lesson I.)
METHOD OF WORK
Cleanliness and order are the two points to be considered in this lesson. The doing well of each simple household task and the thoughtful arrangement and planning of all parts of the house should be emphasized as being of great importance to the housekeeper's success.
Begin the lesson with a discussion of the purpose of the kitchen; then discuss its arrangement from the standpoint of convenience for the work that must be done there. Emphasize the importance of having the furniture so arranged that the work may be done quickly and easily, and that the kitchen may be given a comfortable and attractive appearance. Let the pupils arrange the furniture in the school-room. Discuss and demonstrate the care of the stove by the use of the school stove. Assign each pupil a time when she is to look after the stove on succeeding days and grade her on her work. Let each pupil bring a report from home as to what she is doing to help in the care of the home kitchen. Make a specific assignment for home work.
Questions Used to Develop the Lesson
What is the purpose of the kitchen?
What are the principal articles of furniture in the kitchen?
How should we arrange these things?
Can we make any general rules as to arrangements?
Why is it difficult to keep the kitchen clean?
At what times kitchen most apt to become disarranged?
Why is it important to keep the kitchen in good order?
In what order should the kitchen be at the time we begin the preparation of the meal?
How should the floor be cleaned? The utensils?
What should we do with any left-over food?
How should we take care of the stove after the meal?
LESSON II: CARE OF CUPBOARDS AND UTENSILS
SUBJECT-MATTER
It is of the utmost importance that cupboards and other places where food is stored should be kept free from dirt and scraps of food. Ants, cockroaches, mice, and other pests infest dirty places where food is kept, and render a house unfit for human habitation. It requires constant care and watchfulness on the part of the housewife to keep the cupboards clean. She must look over the shelves daily, wiping them off whenever they need it, and giving them a thorough cleaning at least once a week.
The housekeeper should know how to care for the various utensils used and understand the simplest and best methods of keeping them clean. Utensils should never be put in the cupboards until perfectly clean and dry. Particular attention should be paid to the care of milk vessels. Pans, pails, pitchers, or bottles in which milk has been kept, should be rinsed in cold water, washed in strong, clean soap-suds, rinsed in clean, boiling water, and dried in the sun. If utensils have become discoloured or badly coated, they should be specially scoured. If something has been burned in a kettle, the kettle should be cleaned by filling with cold water, adding washing-soda, and boiling briskly for half an hour; after that a slight scraping ought to remove the burned portion. If the kettle is not yet clean, the process should be repeated. If a kettle has been used directly over a wood fire and becomes blackened with soot, it should be rubbed off with a newspaper and then with an old cloth. Kettles should be dried well before being put away. With proper care they seldom become rusty. If an iron kettle has rusted, it should be rubbed with kerosene and ashes, then washed in strong, hot, soda-water, rinsed in clear hot water, and dried on the stove. If a kettle is very rusty, it should be covered thoroughly with some sort of grease, sprinkled with lime, and left overnight. In the morning it should be washed out with hot soda-water and rinsed in clear, hot water.