KITCHEN FURNISHINGS
There is no more attractive room than a well-fitted kitchen, shining with cleanliness; and the kitchen furnishings should have their fair share of the money spent in buying furniture for the house.
A spotless cleanliness is the standard for the kitchen, and all the equipment should be selected with the thought of making cleanliness easily possible. Next in order is forethought in securing the comfort and convenience of the worker.
Plan of the kitchen.—Here the motto should be “Save steps.” How many weary miles do women walk within their kitchen walls because the sink, the stove, the refrigerator and the closets for food and dishes are put in to fit the spaces allowed by the windows and doors, with no thought of the rapid and easy dispatch of work.
Figure 2 shows the plan of a kitchen, of the “buffet” type, suitable for a small home or apartment. As this plan is drawn it would be necessary to use either electric apparatus, or a small gas stove upon one of the tables. A large gas stove could stand in place of the table at (1), or against the wall at (2), pushing the table at (3) nearer the door. The cupboards at (4) and (5) should be raised, leaving table space at both the right and left of the sink. Notice that the ice box is in the entry, and also that there is a cupboard that could be used for food. The china cupboard is conveniently near in the dining-room.
Fig. 2.—Plan of a small kitchen.Courtesy of the House Beautiful.
Figure 3 shows a larger kitchen, with a serving room between it and the dining-room. The ice box is in the outerwall and is filled from the outside. The cupboard at (1) could hold the cooking utensils, as it stands conveniently between the sink and the range. A kitchen as large as this should have a small table on rollers for carrying food materials and utensils back and forth. If you have ever visited the kitchen in a dining-car you will realize that compactness is one of the advantages of the small kitchen over the large, although the latter may be better ventilated and cooler.
Fig. 3.—Plan of a larger kitchen.Courtesy of the House Beautiful.
Furnishing the kitchen.—The walls and floors, and even the ceiling, should be washable. A tiled wall is as easy to wash as a china dish, but the expense is prohibitive in many cases. Table oilcloth for wall and ceiling is very satisfactory; next to this in desirability is paint, and for the last choice a washable paper. This paper will bear scarcely more than a damp cloth for cleansing purposes, however. Avoid cracks and crevices in the woodwork, having all surfaces as plain as possible.
The best floor is one covered with an inlaid linoleum, which gives warmth and comfort to the foot, is easy to clean, and wears for many years (Fig. 4). It should be cemented down at the edges that no dust may collect. The first cost is rather high, but it pays in the end. A hardwood floor of maple or yellow pine is also satisfactory. Tiling is the cleanest of all floorings, but is very fatiguing to the worker.
Fig. 4.—A kitchen corner.Courtesy of the Department of Household Science and Art, Pratt Institute.
Enamel-paint makes a smooth finish for the woodwork. In the kitchen of the future, which will be fireproof, steel fittings will probably take the place of all wood.
Have harmonious colors in the kitchen. Decide upon a cheerful color scheme, and carry it out in all the fittings. One most attractive kitchen is furnished in soft brown and buff, with a touch of blue in the linoleum on the floor. Figure 4 shows the interior of a small kitchen, practical for a family of six or eight. The curtain at the window, which gives atouch of daintiness, is of a washable material. Figure 5 shows a much larger kitchen, with two sinks, and a work-table in the center. See how conveniently the refrigerator is placed for serving, and for returning food from the serving room to the refrigerator. The vegetable sink is near the stove, and the utensils, too, are near by. A rolling table is seen at the left.
No plan can be drawn that would be perfect in all situations. If you ever have the opportunity to plan your own kitchen, decide just what you want it to contain, and then plan the places for each article. Sometimes there are too many drawers and shelves, and these not of the right size or position.
The kitchen table.—The table should have a top with room for food materials and utensils to stand in neat order without crowding. Glass is the cleanest top, painted steel and hard maple coming next in order. Have some arrangement of shelves and drawers that small utensils and some food materials may be always at hand. Figure 6 shows a kitchen “cabinet” of painted steel with such conveniences. Notice the bin for flour, and the inverted jar for sugar, both with an opening at the bottom. Spices and flavorings and materials needed in small quantities are kept in jars on the shelves. The cupboard and drawers beneath will hold small utensils, towels, and whatever proves to be needed close by. Several makes of such cabinets are now on sale. A flat-topped table for a large kitchen, Fig. 5, could have drawers and cupboards below. If the outlay for a cabinet seems too great, the bins for sugar and flour may be purchased separately and fastened on the wall above the table, and one or two shelves screwed on the wall for the jars, with hooks fastened in underneath on which a few small utensils may be hung.
Fig. 5.—A well-equipped kitchen.Courtesy of the J. L. Mott Co.
A smallrolling tablemay be made inexpensively by putting castors on a light table costing not more than a dollar. Put table oilcloth over the top. This is a great convenience in many ways. The height of the table should be such that the worker is not fatigued by bending over. Thirty-two inches is a good table height for a woman of five feet four or five inches. Blocks hollowed to fit the table legs may be used with a table of ordinary height for a tall person.
Cupboards and shelves.—If you purchase a cupboard see that the shelves are movable, and of varying widths. There are a few large utensils that need a deep shelf, about fifteen inches. If the shelves are to be built in, provide several widths from six to ten inches. Much space is sometimes wasted between shelves. Vary the distances here.
Fig. 6.—A kitchen cabinet.Courtesy of the Columbia School Supply Co.
Smooth paint is the best surface for the shelf. Shelf covers of paper or oilcloth look clean when they are fresh, but are less sanitary than uncovered shelves. Drawers should not be too large, for these are heavy to pull and push whenfull. Cupboard shelves are on the whole more satisfactory than drawers, because this tiresome pulling out and pushing in are avoided. Towels can be piled on the shelves, and small utensils hung on right-angled screw hooks. Do not use curved hooks, except for hanging cups from the bottom of a shelf.
Fig. 7.—Section of a refrigerator wall.Courtesy of the White Enamel Refrigerator Co.
The refrigerator.—A good refrigerator is built with double walls, and has several layers of non-conducting material. Figure 7 shows the careful way in which the refrigerator wall is made. 1. Porcelain enamel lining lock joint. 2. Inside wood lining. 3. Three-ply red rope water-proof paper. 4. Wool felt deafening paper. 5. Flaxlinum insulation. 6. Dead air space. 7. Flaxlinum insulation. 8. Wool felt deafening paper. 9. Three-ply red rope water-proof paper. 10. Outside wood case. The ice chamber is arranged to be easily filled, and has a connecting pipe for carrying off the water. If this is connected with the sewerage system of the house, make sure that it is properly trapped (Fig. 8). See “Shelter and Clothing,” page 51, for description of the S trap. The closets for the food should have an enamel or tiled lining. This is non-absorptive, and may be kept perfectly clean. A large refrigerator is more economical of ice than asmall one, and in the end more than balances the few dollars extra that must be paid for the larger size. Select the coolest spot that you have for the refrigerator. Figure 9 shows the construction of a good refrigerator.
Fig. 8.—A refrigerator trap.Courtesy of the White Enamel Refrigerator Co.
Fig. 9.—A well-constructed refrigerator.Courtesy of the White Enamel Refrigerator Co.
Artificial ice is cleaner and therefore safer to use than the natural. Always wash off the block before putting it into the ice chamber. Wash out the ice chamber once a week, and pour a solution of washing soda down the waste pipe.The food chambers should be washed out once a week and dried, and no spilled food allowed to remain a moment. Do not leave the doors open. Have a strong ice pick for breaking ice.
Artificial ice is cleaner and therefore safer to use than the natural. Always wash off the block before putting it into the ice chamber. Wash out the ice chamber once a week, and pour a solution of washing soda down the waste pipe.
The food chambers should be washed out once a week and dried, and no spilled food allowed to remain a moment. Do not leave the doors open. Have a strong ice pick for breaking ice.
Awindow boxfastened outside the window by strong iron brackets provides a convenient place for cooling food, and keeping some semi-perishable foods. It is easily made from a watertight woodenbox, painted outside and in, the opening toward the window having a curtain of table oilcloth. A piece of wire netting set in one side of the box permits of a current of air.
Fig. 10.—A sink of simple construction.Courtesy of J. L. Mott Co.
The sink.—White enameled iron and porcelain are the most desirable materials for the sink. A simply constructed sink is shown in Fig. 10. Notice that the sink is supported from the wall, leaving a free space underneath. A larger sink is shown in Fig. 11, with the draining board in the sink. The trap below the sink should be a large S trap, and the trap and faucets should be nickel plate.
Fig. 11.—A larger sink.Courtesy of the J. L. Mott Co.
An iron sink should be rubbed and polished until it becomes very smooth. Do not attempt to paint it. If it is left perfectly dry, it will not rust.
Hot water supply.—A good supply is essential to rapid and thorough work. The apartment dweller who finds it piped to the sink is most fortunate. The separate house must have a boiler connected with the coal range, or a watertank fastened to the range. If gas is used, have some kind of gas water heater that will give a sufficient flow for dish-washing and cleaning purposes. A boiler may be heated with a kerosene stove. The boiler should be fastened above the floor with space below for a one-burner blue-flame kerosene stove. Have a faucet in the boiler. Wherever a boiler is used it is economy to have it covered with some non-conducting material, just as steam pipes are packed.
Utensils.—The expert cook is known by the small number of utensils that she uses. If you watch the expert at work, you will see too, that each utensil is exactly fitted to its use.
The skilled cook is like the carpenter or painter, and her set of tools is individual. The list given on page28is a sample one, to be changed to suit the individual preference, and increased as the need arises; it could be smaller, ifnecessary. When you first furnish a kitchen, avoid an elaborate display of tools, beginning with the few essentials only.
No one material is suitable for the construction of all utensils. Those subjected to intense heat must be of material able to resist it. The material for a given utensil must be selected with the purpose of the utensil in mind. The material should be durable, easy to clean, and of such a nature that it does not affect chemically the food material cooked in it.
Aluminium.—A white metal, fairly durable, very light in weight. Discolors easily, and is not easy to clean. Expensive. Used for all kinds of utensils.Copper.—Endures heat, durable, fairly light to handle. Hard to keep clean. Expensive. Used for kettles. Not desirable for family use.Earthenware.—Will not endure the highest temperatures without crackling. Easily breakable. Easy to clean, unless crackled. Inexpensive. Useful for slow oven processes, for pitchers and mixing bowls.Enamel.—A vitrified material upon iron or steel. The English enamel ware upon iron is durable, excellent for preserving, heavy. The German and American enamels are lighter. Avoid the attractive blue, and blue and white except for pitchers, cups, bowls, and plates. They crackle and chip off more easily with heat then the gray enamels. One German make, of a dark mottled gray, is less brittle in the finish than most American makes. All the enamels are easy to keep clean. Used for kettles, saucepans, roasting, and baking. Less durable than steel and iron.Iron.—Endures intense heat. Durable. Heavy to handle. Becomes smooth with long use, and then is not difficult to clean. Affects the color of acid fruits. Not expensive. Used for frying kettles and pans and kettles for boiling.Russia ironis a sheet iron of good quality for roasting and bread pans. Expensive.Steel.—Endures intense heat. Durable. Medium weight. Fairly easy to clean. Affects acid fruits. Medium cost. Same uses as iron, also for roasting and baking pans, and smaller kettles.Tin.—Tin, a “useful metal,” is plated on thin sheet iron for utensils. So-calledblocktin is the best quality. Will not endure intense heat. The tin wears and scratches off with use. Not easy to clean. Discolors easily, and colors acid fruit. Poor tin ware is not worth buying. Good quality is not cheap. May be used for measures, and for small saucepans, but is less desirable than other wares.Wooden ware.—Used for molding boards, meat boards, and spoons.
Aluminium.—A white metal, fairly durable, very light in weight. Discolors easily, and is not easy to clean. Expensive. Used for all kinds of utensils.
Copper.—Endures heat, durable, fairly light to handle. Hard to keep clean. Expensive. Used for kettles. Not desirable for family use.
Earthenware.—Will not endure the highest temperatures without crackling. Easily breakable. Easy to clean, unless crackled. Inexpensive. Useful for slow oven processes, for pitchers and mixing bowls.
Enamel.—A vitrified material upon iron or steel. The English enamel ware upon iron is durable, excellent for preserving, heavy. The German and American enamels are lighter. Avoid the attractive blue, and blue and white except for pitchers, cups, bowls, and plates. They crackle and chip off more easily with heat then the gray enamels. One German make, of a dark mottled gray, is less brittle in the finish than most American makes. All the enamels are easy to keep clean. Used for kettles, saucepans, roasting, and baking. Less durable than steel and iron.
Iron.—Endures intense heat. Durable. Heavy to handle. Becomes smooth with long use, and then is not difficult to clean. Affects the color of acid fruits. Not expensive. Used for frying kettles and pans and kettles for boiling.
Russia ironis a sheet iron of good quality for roasting and bread pans. Expensive.
Steel.—Endures intense heat. Durable. Medium weight. Fairly easy to clean. Affects acid fruits. Medium cost. Same uses as iron, also for roasting and baking pans, and smaller kettles.
Tin.—Tin, a “useful metal,” is plated on thin sheet iron for utensils. So-calledblocktin is the best quality. Will not endure intense heat. The tin wears and scratches off with use. Not easy to clean. Discolors easily, and colors acid fruit. Poor tin ware is not worth buying. Good quality is not cheap. May be used for measures, and for small saucepans, but is less desirable than other wares.
Wooden ware.—Used for molding boards, meat boards, and spoons.
The patterns of utensils.—Select those made without seams, or flutings, where food particles collect. Bowls, saucepans, and kettles should have alipon the side, for the pouring out of liquids. A pitcher should be of such shape that it can be easily washed, and it should have a lip that will pour well. A pot for boiling coffee should have a lip and not a spout. Select utensils with non-conducting handles.
Study carefully the selection of knives, and do not try to economize in their purchase. Knives must be sharp, and poor quality steel will never take a good edge. A worn table knife of Sheffield steel, when ground down, makes the best of kitchen knives. Buy a good sharpener and use it frequently.
Labor-saving devices.—A good machine saves the wear and tear of human muscle, and also much time. If you have studied the principles of the lever and other mechanical devices, you will understand why this is.[3]
Learn to pay for, use, and clean good machines.
A “Dover”egg beateris built on the principle of the “wheel and axle.” The large wheel has five times as manycogs as the small, one revolution of the large wheel giving five of the small, and one turn of the handle five revolutions of the blades. It saves your wrist, and saves time to use the “Dover” in place of a fork. It is more trouble to wash the Dover beater than the fork. Yet a cook may object to a bread mixer and meat chopper, because they are harder to clean than the bowl and spoon and knife.
Agood bread mixersaves strength and is sanitary. Fig. 12.
Fig. 12.—An inexpensive bread mixer, cover on and off.Courtesy of Landers, Frary and Clark.
Ameat chopperor grinder also saves strength and time, and is cleaner than the wooden chopping bowl.
LIST OF UTENSILS[4]
For preparing and mixing.
Other conveniences.
For stewing, steaming, and boiling.
(Sizes dependent on number in family.)
For broiling, pan broiling, the sauté, and frying.
(Broiler and toaster supplied with gas range.)
For roasting, braising, and baking.
(Roasting pan provided with gas range.)
For holding food materials.
For washing dishes.
Care of the kitchen.—The daily cleaning must include the care of the sink and traps, the cleaning of the stove, brushing the floor, and washing off of tables. More thorough cleaning includes the scrubbing of the floor, washing of walls, woodwork, and windows, cleaning of closets and drawers.
The stoves should be rubbed often with paper, and washed thoroughly when necessary. Great pains must be taken to keep the ovens clean, by frequent washing out. Gas burners must be taken off and boiled in a solution of sal soda once in a while. The top and bottom of coal ovens should be cleaned out once a month. Kerosene stoves need constant cleaning. Stove blacking makes the stove more attractive.
Dish-washing.—It is not difficult to wash dishes well, although many people make it a very disagreeable process. The necessary apparatus is given in the utensil list. The cleansing materials include a plentiful supply of hot water, a good soap, ammonia or borax to soften the water, a gritty soap or powder. Have a pan for washing and another for rinsing, and a tray for draining if there is no drainer attached to the sink.
Order of work.—Prepare the dishes by scraping and neatly piling articles of a kind together. Rub greasy dishes with soft paper, and put water and ammonia or washing powder into utensils that need soaking. Have clean towels at hand. Make ready a pan of hot soap suds, by using a soap shaker, or soap solution, but do not put the cake of soap in the pan. Have rinsing water ready.Wash the cleanest dishes first, usually the glasses, next the cups and saucers, and the silver next. Have the soiled dishes near the pan, and put in only one or two articles at a time, washing with mop or dish cloth. To pile in a number means the nicking of china, and scratching of silver. Dip each dish in the rinsing water and then put in the drainer. If there is not room for two pans, the dishes may be piled on the drainer not too many at a time, and the rinsing water poured over. Be careful not to use too hot water for delicate china and glass. Change the soapy water when it becomes in the least greasy.Wipe the dishes while they are still warm, and use dry towels.Wash the utensils thoroughly, especially on the bottom. Heavy utensils can be dried without wiping, on or near the stove. Do not put any utensils away until they are perfectly dry.Steel knives should be scoured and thoroughly rinsed and dried. Wash out the towels and dishpan, and leave the sink and drainboard perfectly clean. It does take time and work for this whole process, but spotless cleanliness is our aim.[5]Home dish-washers are being devised, and should save some of the labor. None as yet has proved very satisfactory.
Order of work.—Prepare the dishes by scraping and neatly piling articles of a kind together. Rub greasy dishes with soft paper, and put water and ammonia or washing powder into utensils that need soaking. Have clean towels at hand. Make ready a pan of hot soap suds, by using a soap shaker, or soap solution, but do not put the cake of soap in the pan. Have rinsing water ready.
Wash the cleanest dishes first, usually the glasses, next the cups and saucers, and the silver next. Have the soiled dishes near the pan, and put in only one or two articles at a time, washing with mop or dish cloth. To pile in a number means the nicking of china, and scratching of silver. Dip each dish in the rinsing water and then put in the drainer. If there is not room for two pans, the dishes may be piled on the drainer not too many at a time, and the rinsing water poured over. Be careful not to use too hot water for delicate china and glass. Change the soapy water when it becomes in the least greasy.
Wipe the dishes while they are still warm, and use dry towels.
Wash the utensils thoroughly, especially on the bottom. Heavy utensils can be dried without wiping, on or near the stove. Do not put any utensils away until they are perfectly dry.
Steel knives should be scoured and thoroughly rinsed and dried. Wash out the towels and dishpan, and leave the sink and drainboard perfectly clean. It does take time and work for this whole process, but spotless cleanliness is our aim.[5]
Home dish-washers are being devised, and should save some of the labor. None as yet has proved very satisfactory.
1. What is essential to the planning of a convenient kitchen?
2. How may cleanliness be secured through the furnishings?
3. What are the requisites in a good work table?
4. Explain the construction of a refrigerator. Of a good sink.
5. Compare the materials used in utensils.
6. What is the advantage of a machine compared with hand power?
7. Make an estimate of the cost of utensils for the home kitchen from a price list obtained from some standard furnishing shop.
8. Examine the utensils in the school kitchen and at home. Consider the material and shape with reference to durability and convenience.
9. What are the important points in cleaning the kitchen?
10. What are the important points in good dish-washing?
11. What is a good order of work in dish-washing?
FUEL AND STOVES
The fuels most widely used in this country are coal, gas, and kerosene. Wood is still used for cooking by those who own wood lots, or who live in a district where wood is abundant, but in a sense it is the fuel of the past. Electricity is generated from coal except in the few communities where the electric current is derived through machinery from the energy of falling water but electricity is not in common household use, and is still the method of the future for the average family. Other substances are burned for fuel occasionally or in restricted localities. Corn cobs are used sometimes in the corn belt. Peat is an old-world fuel. It is a vegetable substance taken in blocks from marshes, in reality the first stage of coal formation. It is a slow-burning fuel which is cheap in its own locality.
Economy of fuel is a world problem, for it is evident that the coal supply will be exhausted in course of time, and this is true also of coal oil or petroleum. Scientists are experimenting to discover practical methods, not dependent upon the burning of coal, for generating electricity. Water power is the only practicable method so far, and to make it permanently available we must conserve the forests still remaining to us, and thus safeguard the sources of our rivers.
Another effort toward economy is seen in the use for fuel of waste products treated in some way to make them readily combustible. The briquet is used in Europe where the fuel supply is limited. It is made of sawdust or waste coal, withsome petroleum, tar, resin, or other substance, heated together and molded. Good briquets yield a large amount of heat in proportion to bulk and weight. The problem here, as with all waste, is to find a manufacturing process that will make the product cheap enough to be practical for common use.
It is a natural impulse to use lavishly whatever is at hand in abundance, and it is only a highly civilized community that takes thought for the economy of the future. Considered only from a selfish point of view, however, with coal and petroleum at the high prices that are likely to prevail, the saving of fuel is one of our most important economies.
The common fuels.—Coalis of two kinds, anthracite and bituminous, or hard and soft. Hard coal of good quality has 90 per cent or more of carbon, and burns with little flame. Soft coal contains as much as 18 per cent of flame-making substances, and gives off a heavy smoke. Hard coal is therefore cleaner, but it is more costly than soft coal, because the supply is smaller. The most important anthracite mines are found in the eastern United States, and hard coal is used more in this section than elsewhere. Good hard coal may be recognized by its glossy black color and bright surfaces. It is sold under different names taken often from the locality where it is mined. There are two kinds, one leaving a reddish ash, and the other a white. The red ash coal burns more freely than the white ash and the ash is heavier and therefore cleaner. The price is higher per ton or bag.
Coal is sorted in different sizes, a medium size being best for the ordinary range. Poor coal has slaty pieces in it, that will not burn but break up and mingle with the ashes. You can learn to detect it by the slaty color.Clinkersare formed by unburnable minerals, mixed with the coal, thatmelt and stick together, and even adhere to the lining or the grate. They are not often troublesome in the cooking range.
Coal is measured by the ton of two thousand pounds avoirdupois. A common hod of coal holds about thirty pounds. Coal should be bought in large quantity, and stored away in summer, if possible. The retail dealer in the city often charges an exorbitant sum for coal by the bag, so that the buyer of small quantities pays a much higher price for a ton bought in this way. The wholesale price of coal has increased on an average about 13 per cent since 1900.
Cokeis the solid substance remaining after gas has been made from certain kinds of coal, and is sometimes sold by gas companies, as a by-product. It is light, and therefore easy to handle and does not smoke, but it burns out quickly, and the fire of coke requires frequent replenishing. It is sold by the bag, or in large quantities by the ton, also sometimes by the chaldron, an old English measure for coal, containing from thirty-two to thirty-six bushels.
Gaswas used for illuminating long before it came into common use for heating and cooking. Commercial gas manufactured for both lighting and cooking is really a mixture of various gases. One method produces it from bituminous coal heated in retorts. Another method gives “water gas,” by passing steam through heated coal. The value of gas will depend upon the components of the mixture, and the manufacturer has an opportunity to make an inferior gas unless the law stipulates what the quality shall be.
The small town or country dweller may use a gas machine on the premises, the gas to be stored or generated in some tank in the ground, and piped into the house. Acetylene, a compound of carbon and hydrogen, is used in this way. Acetylene has a low flashing point, and there is question as toits safety. One firm sends a mixed gas of good quality in metal bottles to the consumer, the bottles being placed in a metal closet above ground outside the house. The firm claims that an explosion has never occurred.
Gas is measured by the cubic foot, and its price estimated per 1000 cubic feet. The amount is recorded on a meter as the gas passes into the house. See Fig. 13. It is an easy matter to learn to read a meter, and every one should do so who uses gas. Always compare the gas bill with the amount recorded by the meter. If the gas bill becomes larger than usual, and you feel sure that the consumption has been normal, report the matter to the company. A meter may be out of order, and need repair.
Fig. 13.—Reading the gas meter.Courtesy of New York Consolidated Gas Co.
To read the meter.—Figure 13 shows the three dials found on the face of a gas meter. The arrows show the direction. The dial at the right indicates 100 cubic feet between the numbers, the middle dial 1000 and the left-hand dial 10,000. The dials in this figure record 53,250 cubic feet. The price of gas varies from eighty cents to a dollar and a half per thousand cubic feet. “Eighty-cent gas” is the hope of many a consumer. At a dollar and a half it is not a cheap fuel.
Gas does away with the handling of coal and ashes in the kitchen and is thus a clean and labor-saving fuel. It gives an intense heat the moment the flame is lighted and this heat is easily regulated in a well-made stove. The flame should burn with a clear blue or greenish color. With a properly constructed stove only a small percentage of the heat is lost. In all these points it has the advantage over coal. The comparative cost is studied in the problems on page53.
Natural gasis used in those regions where it occurs, piped to the house from a central source. It is found in limited areas only, and in some places has already been exhausted.
Coal oil, orpetroleum, sometimes found oozing from crevices in rocks, or even floating on water, is a natural inflammable oil stored in the earth. It was known in ancient Persia, Greece, and Rome, but did not become of great commercial importance until the middle of the nineteenth century. It is now obtained by boring wells, and is found in great quantities in certain regions of the country. The crude oil yields many products valuable in the arts, medicine, and manufacture.Keroseneis the substance useful as a fuel and for giving light. When of good quality it is nearly colorless, and the flashing point should be 149° F., or 65° C. Thisflashing pointis the temperature at which the vapor from the kerosene explodes or flashes. If the vapor flashes at a point lower than this, it means that the oil has not been sufficiently refined; that is, in the process of manufacture the substances that flash at a low temperature have not been removed, and therefore the oil is less safe.
Kerosene is sold by the gallon or barrel. The price for a good quality is about seventy cents for a five-gallon can. By the barrel a saving is made of several cents a gallon. It is useful as a fuel to those housekeepers who cannot have gas, and who find it a convenient substitute for coal in thesummer. With the new blue-flame stoves it gives an intense heat, easily regulated. There is no heavy labor involved in its use, but even the best stove requires constant care and watchfulness. It is not so clean and easy to use as gas. The kerosene supply should be kept in a cool place, and stoves and lamps should never be filled by candle or lamplight.
Gasoleneis used as a fuel for cooking in some places, but in others the fire insurance companies have such strict rules in regard to it that its use is practically prohibited. It is more volatile than kerosene, and its flashing point is very low. Kerosene is much safer for household use.
Alcoholis used with the chafing dish. Denatured alcohol is so cheap in Germany that it is used in large and especially adapted stoves for cooking purposes. There are denatured alcohol stoves on the market here, but they are little used.
Charcoal, wood partially burnt out, is little used for domestic purposes now.
The relative value of the common fuels is stated in quantities as follows, but this is of course dependent on the quality of the coal and the gas. One thousand feet of gas about equals from fifty to sixty pounds of coal, or four and one half gallons of kerosene; and one half ton of coal approximates a cord of wood.
Those who may be interested will find a fuller discussion of fuels and fuel values in Snell’s “Elementary Household Chemistry.”
Electricityis not a fuel, but is classed here as a source of heat. It may be supplied for cooking purposes by any company that furnishes electric light, and should be available in the country wherever an electric trolley runs. The energy supplied is measured and paid for by the kilowatt; that is, one thousand watts. The terms used for electrical measurements cannot be really understood until one has studiedelectricity. It may be said, however, that theampere[6]is the unit of current strength, thevoltis the unit of electrical pressure or electromotive force, thewattis the unit of electrical power and the basis of payment for current supplied for heating or lighting.
Voltage, amperage, and watt or kilowatt are the terms in common use. If you read the circulars that advertise electric cooking apparatus, you will find the request to state the voltage of your electric current in ordering a piece of apparatus. Or again, the number of watts used per hour is given, with the catalogue number and the size of an electric stove.
The cost of electricity per kilowatt (usually from ten to fifteen cents) varies in different localities.
The great advantage of electricity is that little heat is lost in radiation, and that the degree of heat is well under control. There are also no products of combustion present, and this is the only source of heat for cooking of which this is true. Both gas and kerosene vitiate the air to some extent.
Cooking apparatus.—The wastefulness of cooking operations, past and present, is due largely to the defects of the apparatus used. The open fireplace for wood, and the open grate for coal, are two arrangements that permit most of the heat to pass up the chimney, and into the room. See Frontispiece and Fig. 14. In Fig. 14 there is illustrated at the right a brick oven with a flue opening into the chimney. This was one of the earliest inventions for saving fuel and heat. This oven was lined with brick or stone, and the fire of wood was built in it, and allowed to remain until it hadburned out. The coals and ashes were removed, and when the brick had cooled somewhat cakes and pies were put in to bake. This oven retained its heat for twenty-four hours, and beans put in Saturday afternoon were taken out hot for the Sunday morning breakfast. The method was clumsy, but a good heat saver.
Fig. 14.—A colonial fireplace.Courtesy of the Historical Society, Ipswich, Mass.
Figure 15 is an American stove, early nineteenth century, wood the fuel; and from this form, modified for using coal, has developed the modern American coal range (Fig. 18). Even the latest types are very wasteful of heat. Stoves like that shown in Fig. 19 have been devised for use with gas. Even with these only a small percentage of the heat generated is available for cooking.
Fig. 15.—An early American stove, 1823.Courtesy of the Bryson Library.
The ideal system is that which gives the largest possible percentage of its heat for cooking, and puts the degree ofheat under quick control with the greatest saving of fuel, and of labor in operating. This does not mean that the stove which gives the most intense heat is the best, although some stoves seem to be constructed with that as the aim.
Let us consider some of the methods of saving heat, and study different kinds of apparatus with this knowledge in mind.
We recall the fact, first, that some substances are good conductors of heat, and others poor.[7]If you hold a metal poker in your hand, and place the other end in red hot coals, you will realize that metal is a rapid conductor of heat. If the poker has a wooden handle, the heat of the coals does not readily reach your hand, for the wood is a poor conductor. Moreover, this good conductor is a poor holder of heat, the heat radiating rapidly from it into the surrounding air, but the poor conductor, once thoroughly heated, cools off slowly.
You can think of many illustrations from your daily life. Why do you prefer a woolen blanket on a cool night, rather than a linen sheet, merely? Why do you use a cloth holder in ironing? What is the principle of a hot water bottle? Air is a poor conductor. Can you think of an illustration of this? What is the principle of a thermos bottle?
You can think of many illustrations from your daily life. Why do you prefer a woolen blanket on a cool night, rather than a linen sheet, merely? Why do you use a cloth holder in ironing? What is the principle of a hot water bottle? Air is a poor conductor. Can you think of an illustration of this? What is the principle of a thermos bottle?
It is not difficult to see how these facts apply in our cooking apparatus. From an oven with metal sides heat is lost by radiation. In a double oven, with an air space between the inner and outer part, some heat is saved. If the outer cover is of some non-conducting material, even less radiation takes place. This is the principle of the oven devised by Mr. Edward Atkinson. Here the inner oven is of sheet iron, and the outer covering of a non-conducting material, some composition with wood pulp or paper as the basis. If in this way heat can be trapped, as it were, in an oven, it will follow that less heat will have to be supplied, and we can use a smaller amount of fuel. This is the case in the Atkinson oven (Fig. 16), where the source of heat is either a kerosene lamp, or a small Bunsen burner of the rose type, which uses only a small amount of gas.
Fig. 16.—The Atkinson cooker.
Another illustration of the conserving of heat by the prevention of radiation is in thefireless cooker. This is a method used in Sweden in simple form, and adapted and improved to suit modern needs. Heat is supplied in the first place by gas or kerosene, and the water in the vessel containing the food is raised to the boiling point, and held there in some cases for a few minutes. The vessel is then placed in the “cooker,” which is a box with thick walls of some non-conducting material, and the heat already present is sufficient to finish the cooking process, since the radiation is very slow. In some cookers a heated stone is introduced to raise the temperature slightly. Both of these devices are excellent for the long, slow cooking that seems to mellow the food material and develop the flavors that do not result from rapid cooking.
At the same time, we need rapid processes, such as broiling and toasting, which give characteristic flavors. To meet this double need, a new type of gas stove has been made. See Fig. 17.
Fig. 17.—Construction of the duplex gas range.Courtesy of Domestic Equipment Co.
This is a gas stove, where the oven has thick walls of a non-conducting material. The oven is heated, for a short time only, the gas flame being cut off when the oven has reached the desired temperature. At the left is an attachment where rapid cooking may be accomplished when desired, and there is a device at (1) with the same principle as the fireless cooker, or the tea “cosey.” This cover is dropped over the kettle when the boiling point is reached, the flame is turned out, and the heat in the water finishes the process. There is no good reason why stoves embodyingthis same principle should not be used with kerosene, and with the electric current. Improved stoves of this type will be constructed, and certainly will tend toward great economy of fuel.
One method of saving fuel is by the use of asteam cooker, which consists of a series of compartments, one above another, containing several kinds of food, all to be cooked over the same burner, either gas or kerosene, or on one section of the top of the coal range when space is being used for the wash boiler or irons.
It requires intelligence to use such devices, and those who lack it cling obstinately to hot fires and violent cooking.
The coal range.—Progress is slow, and the coal range will not be abolished at present. Figure 18 is an example of a good range as easy to manage as possible. The coal box at (1) has a lining that prevents the iron from burning out. The air enters at (2) and passes out at (3), when the fire is first made. When it is necessary to heat the oven, a damper is closed at (4), and the heated air then passes around the oven in the direction of the arrows. The coal is put in at (5) and the ashes shaken down at (6). Larger ranges, resting upon the floor, have a “dump” for the ashes directly into the ash box in the cellar, and some makes have a device for operating this with the foot. The coal stove involves thelabor of bringing in coal and taking out ashes, and space must be given to the coal bin and ash pit. A range of this size would serve for a family of five or six. It requires from 2 to 3 hods per day. A hood should be placed above a large range, whether coal or gas.