Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume 01

4. ENAMEL.--Good enamel cooking utensils are desirable for some purposes and are only moderately expensive. Utensils made of enamel are not so durable as those made of metal, because excessive heat or a sharp blow will cause the enamel to chip. Enamel utensils come in various colors, and all can be kept clean easily, but the gray enamel is considered to be the best for wear.

5. IRON AND STEEL.--Utensils made of iron and steel are usually inexpensive, but some, especially those of iron, are heavy. These metals are used principally for such utensils as frying pans, or skillets, griddles, waffle irons, and kettles for deep-fat frying. Sheet iron makes excellent shallow pans for baking cookies and other cakes, very satisfactory bread pans, and the best kind of pans for omelet and other frying.

6. EARTHENWARE.--A certain number of fairly durable earthenware utensils are necessary in a kitchen equipment. Mixing bowls are usually made of earthenware, as are also casseroles, which are covered dishes used for the baking of foods that require long cooking, and other baking utensils. Meat, fowl, and some vegetables, such as dried beans, are delicious when prepared in a casserole, as very little flavor or food is lost in such a dish.

7. TIN.--The cheapest metal from which cooking utensils are made is tin, but it is not generally used for utensils in which food is to be cooked, because it melts at too low a temperature. Tin is used, however, for such small articles as measures, cutters, apple corers, sieves, strainers, and other things of this kind, and it is especially desirable for them.

8. COPPER.--Before iron was known copper was the principal material for cooking utensils. The chief point in favor of copper is its durability, but utensils made of it are not practical for use in the ordinary kitchen because they are expensive, heavy, and very difficult to keep clean.

9. GLASS.--Utensils made of heavy glassware are much used for cooking. Glass utensils are especially desirable for custards and other dishes that the cook likes to watch while cooking or that are to be served in the baking dish. Glass cooking utensils possess the advantage of retaining the heat well.

10. WOOD.--Certain utensils made of wood are required in a cooking outfit, a molding board of hardwood and a smaller wooden cutting board being particularly necessary in every kitchen. Bowls in which to chop foods, rolling pins, and mixing spoons are usually made of hardwood, and when such wood is used for them they are entirely satisfactory.

LABOR-SAVING DEVICES

11. A LABOR-SAVING DEVICE is any apparatus that will permit a certain piece of work to be accomplished with less exertion than would be necessary to do the same thing without it. A sink and a dustpan are labor-saving devices just as truly as are a bread mixer and a vacuum cleaner, but because a sink and a dustpan are necessities as well, they are not usually thought of as true labor-saving devices. The newer appliances for saving labor are often considered to be quite unnecessary, and indeed some of them are. It is only when such apparatus will, with less labor involved and less time consumed in the process, secure results as good as or better than will another device, and when the cleaning and care of it do not consume so much time and labor as is saved by using it, that it may be considered a true labor-saving device. Each housewife must decide for herself whether the expense of a so-called labor-saving device is greater than the value of the time and strength she would use without such a device.

12. COMMON LABOR-SAVING DEVICES. Every housewife does not have occasion to use all the devices that have been invented to save labor, but a number of these are in such common use, produce such good results, and save so much time and effort that they should be found in every kitchen. Among them is the rotary egg beater shown in Fig. 1 (a). This is so made that one revolution of the wheel to which the crank is attached does about five times as much work as can be done with a fork or with an egg whip, which is shown in (b). Another inexpensive device that is a real help is the potato ricer. This device, one style of which is shown in Fig. 2, is really a press through which any fruit or vegetable can be put to make a purée. It is used considerably for mashing potatoes, as it makes them perfectly smooth and saves considerable time and labor. Still another useful device is the meat chopper, or grinder, which is shown in Fig. 3. Such a device clamped to the edge of a table takes the place of a chopping bowl and knife, and in addition to being more sanitary it permits the work to be done in a shorter time and with less effort. Besides the devices mentioned, there are many small labor-saving devices, such as the apple corer, the berry huller, the mayonnaise mixer, etc., the merits of which every busy housewife will do well to consider.