Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 99, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 March 1910 — Home Course In Domestic Science [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Home Course In Domestic Science

X.—The Modern Kitchen

By EDITH G CHARLTON.

In Charge of Domestic Economy, lowa i State College.

Copyright. 1910. by American Pre.. Association. CONSIDERING the importance of the kitchen to the rest of the home, It seems strange that it should very often be the least attractive room from every point of view In the house. We find it tucked off in some dark corner with little or no ventilation, its wall and floor covering dark and dingy and its equipment so meager it would be impossible to find any pleasure in working with them.

The kitchen is the workroom of the home. Its arrangement, pleasant or otherwise, very often, gives the keynote of conditions in the home. My idea of a real kitchen is this: It should be as bright and cheery as any room in the bouse. I would much prefer a gloomy parlor than a dark, unpleasant kitchen. If possible I should have a north and east exposure. This would insure sunlight in the morning and a cool breeze on hot summer afternoons. Then I should be careful to have a good view from the kitchen window, something beautiful to look out upon, like a stately tree, a bit of green lawn or a trim vegetable garden. The outlook from kitchens jn towns and cities is too often brick walls of adjoining buildings, untidy back yards or high board fences. From kitchens in the country we often look out upon an unsightly woodpile or barnyard filled with a clutter of old farm implements. With such daily views it is no wonder If the women, who must spend three-fourths of their time in the kitchen, have very little love for housework.

There should be at least two windows and, If possible, an outside door opposite one window in order to have good ventilation at all times. The kitchen should not be unnecessarily large, but its size will depend on the number of persons in the family and the amount of work that is to be done

In it. Too much opace between the different pieces of furniture necessitates too many unnecessary steps. A suitable moderate sized kitchen is about 12 by 14 feet. The kitchen should be convenient to the dining room, either opening directly into it or, still better, having the pantry between the rooms, in the latter case there should be a cupboard with sliding doors opening Into both kitchen and pantry for convenience in setting the table and removing dishes to the kitchen. The cut gives a plan of a convenient kitchen, showing position of windows and doors, also the larger pieces of furniture. In this plan note the position of the refrigerator, which can be reached from the outside so that ice may be put into it without coming into the kitchen. There is also a window In the cool room to which a window cupboard can be attached. This room with its cupboard will take the place of the refrigerator in winter and may be used as a baking room in hot weather.

The eink, with draining board, is located on the side next the pantry. Sliding doors are arranged at the back so that dishes washed in the sink may be placed on the pantry shelves without going into the pantry itself. Another convenient feature in the arrangement of this kitchen Is the position of windows between range and work table, giving good light and ventilation. If possible avoid having a door leading upstairs opening in the kitchen, because in such cases it is almost impossible to keep the odor* of cooking from penetrating to the upstairs rooms. I; Wall and Floor Covering.

The kitchen to be sanitary in every particular should be finished tn some way that will permit of frequent washing- The best wall covering is the simplest and most easily cared for material that can be purchased. There is nothing better for this purpose than sanltas, a material similar to oilcloth. The first cost is a little more than paint or tinting, but when carefully applied It is more lasting. Sanltas is put on with paste in horizontal strips around the room. The edge of each piece must be pasted down securely, and care should be taken to avoid wrinkles. If a tablespoonful of molasses is added to each quart of paste it will stick more firmly. The painted wall is suitable for kitchen and pantry provided a flat finish is given and a color used In preference to white. A glossy surface, par-

Hcularly 'a white one. is hard on the syes and becomes very monotonous. Wall paper is not a desirable covering for a kitchen wall because It absorbs moisture and odors and cannot be cleaned satisfactorily. For the floor the best covering is inlaid linoleum. This to my mind is better than the polished floor, which is always slippery and is bard on the feet Then there Is the painted floor, which has both advantages and disadvantages, chief among the latter being not very durable qualities. The kitchen floor should not be covered with carpet, because that Is insanitary, neither should it be devoid of any covering and so require scrubbing. This is one of the items of work which should be eliminated from the houseschedule. -The white sanded floors,, tables, etc., are attractive to the eye and a joy to a certain type of housekeeper, but they represent too much energy and labor to be included in modern methods. Floors should be covered with some material easily cleaned, and tables, sinks, shelves, etc., should be painted or covered with zinc, tile or oilcloth. The zinc table and the tile sink are a lasting pleasure and lessen work to such an extent that they soon more than pay for the initial cost

Kitchen Furniture. This should be simple, durable and adequate for the needs of the housekeeper. The kind and number of pieces will largely depend on the character of the home. But in every kitchen there should be a good range, at least one work table and a convenient sink supplied with running water and modern plumbing. These three articles should be near neighbors because they are so frequently used at the same time.

Whatever the fuel—coal, wood, gas or gasoline—it should be burned in a good range, one that is perfect in all its parts and equipped with a good baking oven. No part of the housefurnishing is more Important than the kitchen stove and no piece of farm machinery, however necessary, should be bought by sacrificing the new stove. Since the preparation of food for the table Is an absolute necessity in every home, the stove, whatever its style, should be as good as any part of the equipment of the entire establishment 'The work table should be high enough that the worker need not stand in an uncomfortable position while Ironing or baking. Kitchen tables are made thirty inches high, which is not enough for a woman five feet six inches in height and to bend over it, as she always must results in an unnecessary weariness or backache. Either the low table should be set upon supports or a higher one should be ordered. The high stool is a simple piece of furniture which should be in every kitchen. It can be slipped under the work table when not in use and is a convenient seat while preparing vegetables, Ironing and doing the numberless other tasks which can be performed sitting just as well as standing. A clock Is necessary in the kitchen, also a pair of strong scissors, a pincushion with pins and some coarse nee dies and thread, both white and black. These are constantly needed, and it makes unnecessary steps to be obliged to go to the living room for them. It is hardly possible to have too many drawers, shelves and cupboards, and yet these ought not to be used to encourage disorderliness. There is sometimes a temptation to hide away things in cupboards or drawers that would better be destroyed at once than have them add to the task of straightening up later on.

The modern kitchen may have other useful pieces of furniture in addition to the above, if there Is money enough to provide them. Among these may be mentioned a water or electric motor or even a small one horsepower gasoline engine, any one of which will run the washing machine mangle, churn, cream separator and can be attached to th? sewing machine. This little contrivance is not so expensive that it need be excluded from even moderate homes, considering the amount of Work it will accomplish and the strength It will save. When a woman Is obliged to do all her housework It ought certainly to be counted as one of the necessities. The kitchen cabinet with separate compartments for all kinds of groceries and supplies is sometimes preferred to the pantry. It is entirely a matter of personal preference which should be chosen, for both are most convenient Reasonable care must, however, be taken not to leave groceries lying about loosely In the cabinet, for these will attract Insects as well as mice. But the housekeeper endowed with even the most ordinary degree of order may easily avoid such a misfortune.

The electric or gasoline iron is a handy little appliance for making kitchen work lighter and is inexpensive when usefulness and labor saving qualities are balanced with dollars and cents. In the country, of course, the gasoline iron is generally the only one possible, but these have now been brought to a degree of perfection that makes them satisfactory. Ths Use of the Kitchen. One last important point to remember In furnishing a kitchen is that its real purpose Is a workroom, not a living or dining room. A workroom should have its tools conveniently arranged within easy reach of the workman. All utensils and evidences of kitchen work should not be kept tn other parts of the house or stowed away in obscure places in order that the room may be presentable when strangers comd. The modern kitchen is not intended to fill the place of a reception room, and only In exceptional cases should it be used is a dining room.