The Book of Household Management - Mrs. Isabella Beeton
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The Corinthian brass of antiquity was a mixture of silver, gold,
and copper. A fine kind of brass, supposed to be made by the
cementation of copper plates with calamine, is, in Germany,
hammered out into leaves, and is called Dutch metal in this
country. It is employed in the same way as gold leaf. Brass is
much used for watchworks, as well as for wire.
68. The braziers, ladles, stewpans, saucepans, gridirons, and colanders
of antiquity might generally pass for those of the English manufacture
of the present day, in so far as shape is concerned. In proof of this we
have placed together the following similar articles of ancient and
modern pattern, in order that the reader may, at a single view, see
wherein any difference that is between them, consists.
[Illustration: _Fig_. 9. Modern.]
[Illustration: _Fig_. 10. Ancient.]
[Illustration: _Fig_. 11. Modern.]
[Illustration: _Fig_. 12. Ancient.]
[Illustration: _Fig_. 13. Modern.]
[Illustration: _Fig_. 14. Ancient.]
[Illustration: _Fig_. 15. Modern.]
[Illustration: _Fig_. 16. Modern.]
[Illustration: _Fig_. 17. Ancient.]
[Illustration: _Fig_. 18. Ancient.]
_Figs_. 9 and 10 are flat sauce or _saute_ pans, the ancient one
being fluted in the handle, and having at the end a ram's head.
Figs. 11 and 12 are colanders, the handle of the ancient one
being adorned, in the original, with carved representations of a
cornucopia, a satyr, a goat, pigs, and other animals. Any
display of taste in the adornment of such utensils, might seem
to be useless; but when we remember how much more natural it is
for us all to be careful of the beautiful and costly, than of
the plain and cheap, it may even become a question in the
economy of a kitchen, whether it would not, in the long run, be
cheaper to have articles which displayed some tasteful ingenuity
in their manufacture, than such as are so perfectly plain as to
have no attractions whatever beyond their mere suitableness to
the purposes for which they are made. Figs. 13 and 14 are
saucepans, the ancient one being of bronze, originally copied
from the cabinet of M. l'Abbe Charlet, and engraved in the
Antiquities of Montfaucon. Figs. 15 and 17 are gridirons, and 16
and 18 dripping-pans. In all these utensils the resemblance
between such as were in use 2,000 years ago, and those in use at
the present day, is strikingly manifest.
69. SOME OF THE ANCIENT UTENSILS represented in the above cuts, are
copied from those found amid the ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii. These
Roman cities were, in the first century, buried beneath the lava of an
eruption of Vesuvius, and continued to be lost to the world till the
beginning of the last century, when a peasant, in digging for a well,
gradually discovered a small temple with some statues. Little notice,
however, was taken of this circumstance till 1736, when the king of
Naples, desiring to erect a palace at Portici, caused extensive
excavations to be made, when the city of Herculaneum was slowly unfolded
to view. Pompeii was discovered about 1750, and being easier cleared
from the lava in which it had so long been entombed, disclosed itself as
it existed immediately before the catastrophe which overwhelmed it,
nearly two thousand years ago. It presented, to the modern world, the
perfect picture of the form and structure of an ancient Roman city. The
interior of its habitations, shops, baths, theatres, and temples, were
all disclosed, with many of the implements used by the workmen in their
various trades, and the materials on which they were employed, when the
doomed city was covered with the lavian stream.
70. AMONGST THE MOST ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS of the kitchen are scales or
weighing-machines for family use. These are found to have existed among
the ancients, and must, at a very early age, have been both publicly and
privately employed for the regulation of quantities. The modern English
weights were adjusted by the 27th chapter of Magna Charta, or the great
charter forced, by the barons, from King John at Runnymede, in Surrey.
Therein it is declared that the weights, all over England, shall be the
same, although for different commodities there were two different kinds,
Troy and Avoirdupois. The origin of both is taken from a grain of wheat
gathered in the middle of an ear. The standard of measures was
originally kept at Winchester, and by a law of King Edgar was ordained
to be observed throughout the kingdom.
[Illustration: _Fig_. 19.]
[Illustration: _Fig_. 20.]
Fig. 19 is an ancient pair of common scales, with two basins and
a movable weight, which is made in the form of a head, covered
with the pileus, because Mercury had the weights and measures
under his superintendence. It is engraved on a stone in the
gallery of Florence. Fig. 20 represents a modern
weighing-machine, of great convenience, and generally in use in
those establishments where a great deal of cooking is carried
on.
71. ACCOMPANYING THE SCALES, or weighing-machines, there should be
spice-boxes, and sugar and biscuit-canisters of either white or japanned
tin. The covers of these should fit tightly, in order to exclude the
air, and if necessary, be lettered in front, to distinguish them. The
white metal of which they are usually composed, loses its colour when
exposed to the air, but undergoes no further change. It enters largely
into the composition of culinary utensils, many of them being entirely
composed of tinned sheet-iron; the inside of copper and iron vessels
also, being usually what is called _tinned_. This art consists of
covering any metal with a thin coating of tin; and it requires the metal
to be covered, to be perfectly clean and free from rust, and also that
the tin, itself, be purely metallic, and entirely cleared from all ashes
or refuse. Copper boilers, saucepans, and other kitchen utensils, are
tinned after they are manufactured, by being first made hot and the tin
rubbed on with resin. In this process, nothing ought to be used but pure
grain-tin. Lead, however, is sometimes mixed with that metal, not only
to make it lie more easily, but to adulterate it--a pernicious practice,
which in every article connected with the cooking and preparation of
food, cannot be too severely reprobated.--The following list, supplied
by Messrs. Richard & John Slack, 336, Strand, will show the articles
required for the kitchen of a family in the middle class of life,
although it does not contain all the things that may be deemed necessary
for some families, and may contain more than are required for others. As
Messrs. Slack themselves, however, publish a useful illustrated
catalogue, which may be had at their establishment _gratis_, and which
it will be found advantageous to consult by those about to furnish, it
supersedes the necessity of our enlarging that which we give:--
s. d.
1 Tea-kettle 6 6
1 Toasting-fork 1 0
1 Bread-grater 1 0
1 Pair of Brass Candlesticks 3 6
1 Teapot and Tray 6 6
1 Bottle-jack 9 6
6 Spoons 1 6
2 Candlesticks 2 6
1 Candle-box 1 4
6 Knives and Forks 5 3
2 Sets of Skewers 1 0
1 Meat-chopper 1 9
1 Cinder-sifter 1 3
1 Coffee-pot 2 3
1 Colander 1 6
3 Block-tin Saucepans 5 9
5 Iron Saucepans 12 0
1 Ditto and Steamer 6 6
1 Large Boiling-pot 10 0
4 Iron Stewpans 8 9
1 Dripping-pan and Stand 6 6
1 Dustpan 1 0
1 Fish and Egg-slice 1 9
2 Fish-kettles 10 0
1 Flour-box 1 0
3 Flat-irons 3 6
2 Frying-pans 4 0
1 Gridiron 2 0
1 Mustard-pot 1 0
1 Salt-cellar 0 8
1 Pepper-box 0 6
1 Pair of Bellows 2 0
3 Jelly-moulds 8 0
1 Plate-basket 5 6
1 Cheese-toaster 1 10
1 Coal-shovel 2 6
1 Wood Meat-screen 30 0
The Set L8 11 1
72. AS NOT ONLY HEALTH BUT LIFE may be said to depend on the cleanliness
of culinary utensils, great attention must be paid to their condition
generally, but more especially to that of the saucepans, stewpans, and
boilers. Inside they should be kept perfectly clean, and where an open
fire is used, the outside as clean as possible. With a Leamington range,
saucepans, stewpans, &c., can be kept entirely free from smoke and soot
on the outside, which is an immense saving of labour to the cook or
scullery-maid. Care should be taken that the lids fit tight and close,
so that soups or gravies may not be suffered to waste by evaporation.
They should be made to keep the steam in and the smoke out, and should
always be bright on the upper rim, where they do not immediately come in
contact with the fire. Soup-pots and kettles should be washed
immediately After being used, and dried before the fire, and they should
be kept in a dry place, in order that they may escape the deteriorating
influence of rust, and, thereby, be destroyed. Copper utensils should
never be used in the kitchen unless tinned, and the utmost care should
be taken, not to let the tin be rubbed off. If by chance this should
occur, have it replaced before the vessel is again brought into use.
Neither soup nor gravy should, at any time, be suffered to remain in
them longer than is absolutely necessary, as any fat or acid that is in
them, may affect the metal, so as to impregnate with poison what is
intended to be eaten. Stone and earthenware vessels should be provided
for soups and gravies not intended for immediate use, and, also, plenty
of common dishes for the larder, that the table-set may not be used for
such purposes. It is the nature of vegetables soon to turn sour, when
they are apt to corrode glazed red-ware, and even metals, and
frequently, thereby, to become impregnated with poisonous particles. The
vinegar also in pickles, by its acidity, does the same. Consideration,
therefore, should be given to these facts, and great care also taken
that all _sieves, jelly-bags,_ and tapes for collared articles, be well
scalded and kept dry, or they will impart an unpleasant flavour when
next used. To all these directions the cook should pay great attention,
nor should they, by any means, be neglected by the _mistress of the
household_, who ought to remember that cleanliness in the kitchen gives
health and happiness to home, whilst economy will immeasurably assist in
preserving them.
73. WITHOUT FUEL, A KITCHEN might be pronounced to be of little use;
therefore, to discover and invent materials for supplying us with the
means of domestic heat and comfort, has exercised the ingenuity of man.
Those now known have been divided into five classes; the first
comprehending the fluid inflammable bodies; the second, peat or turf;
the third, charcoal of wood; the fourth, pit-coal charred; and the
fifth, wood or pit-coal in a crude state, with the capacity of yielding
a copious and bright flame. The first may be said seldom to be employed
for the purposes of cookery; but _peat_, especially amongst rural
populations, has, in all ages, been regarded as an excellent fuel. It is
one of the most important productions of an alluvial soil, and belongs
to the vegetable rather than the mineral kingdom. It may be described as
composed of wet, spongy black earth, held together by decayed
vegetables. Formerly it covered extensive tracts in England, but has
greatly disappeared before the genius of agricultural improvement.
_Charcoal_ is a kind of artificial coal, used principally where a strong
and clear fire is desired. It is a black, brittle, insoluble, inodorous,
tasteless substance, and, when newly-made, possesses the remarkable
property of absorbing certain quantities of the different gases. Its
dust, when used as a polishing powder, gives great brilliancy to metals.
It consists of wood half-burned, and is manufactured by cutting pieces
of timber into nearly the same size, then disposing them in heaps, and
covering them with earth, so as to prevent communication with the air,
except when necessary to make them burn. When they have been
sufficiently charred, the fire is extinguished by stopping the vents
through which the air is admitted. Of _coal_ there are various species;
as, pit, culm, slate, cannel, Kilkenny, sulphurous, bovey, jet, &c.
These have all their specific differences, and are employed for various
purposes; but are all, more or less, used as fuel.
The use of coal for burning purposes was not known to the
Romans. In Britain it was discovered about fifty years before
the birth of Christ, in Lancashire, not tar from where
Manchester now stands; but for ages after its discovery, so long
as forests abounded, wood continued to be the fuel used for
firing. The first public notice of coal is in the reign of Henry
III., who, in 1272, granted a charter to the town of Newcastle,
permitting the inhabitants to dig for coal. It took some
centuries more, however, to bring it into common use, as this
did not take place till about the first quarter of the
seventeenth century, in the time of Charles I. A few years after
the Restoration, we find that about 200,000 chaldrons were
consumed in London. Although several countries possess mines of
coal, the quality of their mineral is, in general, greatly
inferior to that of Great Britain, where it is found mostly in
undulating districts abounding with valleys, and interspersed
with plains of considerable extent. It lies usually between the
_strata_ of other substances, and rarely in an horizontal
position, but with a _dip_ or inclination to one side. Our cut,
Fig. 21, represents a section of coal as it is found in the
stratum.
[Illustration: _Fig_. 21.]
74. TO BE ACQUAINTED WITH THE PERIODS when things are in season, is one
of the most essential pieces of knowledge which enter into the "Art of
Cookery." We have, therefore, compiled the following list, which will
serve to show for every month in the year the
TIMES WHEN THINGS ARE IN SEASON.
JANUARY.
FISH.--Barbel, brill, carp, cod, crabs, crayfish, dace, eels, flounders,
haddocks, herrings, lampreys, lobsters, mussels, oysters, perch, pike,
plaice, prawns, shrimps, skate, smelts, soles, sprats, sturgeon, tench,
thornback, turbot, whitings.
MEAT.--Beef, house lamb, mutton, pork, veal, venison.
POULTRY.--Capons, fowls, tame pigeons, pullets, rabbits, turkeys.
GAME.--Grouse, hares, partridges, pheasants, snipe, wild-fowl, woodcock.
VEGETABLES.--Beetroot, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, celery, chervil,
cresses, cucumbers (forced), endive, lettuces, parsnips, potatoes,
savoys, spinach, turnips,--various herbs.
FRUIT.--Apples, grapes, medlars, nuts, oranges, pears, walnuts,
crystallized preserves (foreign), dried fruits, such as almonds and
raisins; French and Spanish plums; prunes, figs, dates.
FEBRUARY.
FISH.--Barbel, brill, carp, cod may be bought, but is not so good as in
January, crabs, crayfish, dace, eels, flounders, haddocks, herrings,
lampreys, lobsters, mussels, oysters, perch, pike, plaice, prawns,
shrimps, skate, smelts, soles, sprats, sturgeon, tench, thornback,
turbot, whiting.
MEAT.--Beef, house lamb, mutton, pork, veal.
POULTRY.--Capons, chickens, ducklings, tame and wild pigeons, pullets
with eggs, turkeys, wild-fowl, though now not in full season.
GAME.--Grouse, hares, partridges, pheasants, snipes, woodcock.
VEGETABLES.--Beetroot, broccoli (purple and white), Brussels sprouts,
cabbages, carrots, celery, chervil, cresses, cucumbers (forced), endive,
kidney-beans, lettuces, parsnips, potatoes, savoys, spinach,
turnips,--various herbs.
FRUIT.--Apples (golden and Dutch pippins), grapes, medlars, nuts,
oranges, pears (Bon Chretien), walnuts, dried fruits (foreign), such as
almonds and raisins; French and Spanish plums; prunes, figs, dates,
crystallized preserves.
MARCH.
FISH.--Barbel, brill, carp, crabs, crayfish, dace, eels, flounders,
haddocks, herrings, lampreys, lobsters, mussels, oysters, perch, pike,
plaice, prawns, shrimps, skate, smelts, soles, sprats, sturgeon, tench,
thornback, turbot, whiting.
MEAT.--Beef, house lamb, mutton, pork, veal.
POULTRY.--Capons, chickens, ducklings, tame and wild pigeons, pullets
with eggs, turkeys, wild-fowl, though now not in full season.
GAME.--Grouse, hares, partridges, pheasants, snipes, woodcock.
VEGETABLES.--Beetroot, broccoli (purple and white), Brussels sprouts,
cabbages, carrots, celery, chervil, cresses, cucumbers (forced), endive,
kidney-beans, lettuces, parsnips, potatoes, savoys, sea-kale, spinach,
turnips,--various herbs.
FRUIT.--Apples (golden and Dutch pippins), grapes, medlars, nuts,
oranges, pears (Bon Chretien), walnuts, dried fruits (foreign), such as
almonds and raisins; French and Spanish plums; prunes, figs, dates,
crystallized preserves.
APRIL.
FISH.--Brill, carp, cockles, crabs, dory, flounders, ling, lobsters, red
and gray mullet, mussels, oysters, perch, prawns, salmon (but rather
scarce and expensive), shad, shrimps, skate, smelts, soles, tench,
turbot, whitings.
MEAT.--Beef, lamb, mutton, veal.
POULTRY.--Chickens, ducklings, fowls, leverets, pigeons, pullets,
rabbits.
GAME.--Hares.
VEGETABLES.--Broccoli, celery, lettuces, young onions, parsnips,
radishes, small salad, sea-kale, spinach, sprouts,--various herbs.
FRUIT.--Apples, nuts, pears, forced cherries, &e. for tarts, rhubarb,
dried fruits, crystallized preserves.
MAY.
FISH.--Carp, chub, crabs, crayfish, dory, herrings, lobsters, mackerel,
red and gray mullet, prawns, salmon, shad, smelts, soles, trout, turbot.
MEAT.--Beef, lamb, mutton, veal.
POULTRY.--Chickens, ducklings, fowls, green geese, leverets, pullets,
rabbits.
VEGETABLES.--Asparagus, beans, early cabbages, carrots, cauliflowers,
creases, cucumbers, lettuces, pease, early potatoes, salads,
sea-kale,--various herbs.
FRUIT.--Apples, green apricots, cherries, currants for tarts,
gooseberries, melons, pears, rhubarb, strawberries.
JUNE.
FISH.--Carp, crayfish, herrings, lobsters, mackerel, mullet, pike,
prawns, salmon, soles, tench, trout, turbot.
MEAT.--Beef, lamb, mutton, veal, buck venison.
POULTRY.--Chickens, ducklings, fowls, green geese, leverets, plovers,
pullets, rabbits, turkey poults, wheatears.
VEGETABLES.--Artichokes, asparagus, beans, cabbages, carrots, cucumbers,
lettuces, onions, parsnips, pease, potatoes, radishes, small salads,
sea-kale, spinach,--various herbs.
FRUIT.--Apricots, cherries, currants, gooseberries, melons, nectarines,
peaches, pears, pineapples, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries.
JULY.
FISH.--Carp, crayfish, dory, flounders, haddocks, herrings, lobsters,
mackerel, mullet, pike, plaice, prawns, salmon, shrimps, soles,
sturgeon, tench, thornback.
MEAT.--Beef, lamb, mutton, veal, buck venison.
POULTRY.--Chickens, ducklings, fowls, green geese, leverets, plovers,
pullets, rabbits, turkey poults, wheatears, wild ducks (called
flappers).
VEGETABLES.--Artichokes, asparagus, beans, cabbages, carrots,
cauliflowers, celery, cresses, endive, lettuces, mushrooms, onions,
pease, radishes, small salading, sea-kale, sprouts, turnips, vegetable
marrow,--various herbs.
FRUIT.--Apricots, cherries, currants, figs, gooseberries, melons,
nectarines, pears, pineapples, plums, raspberries, strawberries, walnuts
in high season, and pickled.
AUGUST.
FISH.--Brill, carp, chub, crayfish, crabs, dory, eels, flounders, grigs,
herrings, lobsters, mullet, pike, prawns, salmon, shrimps, skate, soles,
sturgeon, thornback, trout, turbot.
MEAT.--Beef, lamb, mutton, veal, buck venison.
POULTRY.--Chickens, ducklings, fowls, green geese, pigeons, plovers,
pullets, rabbits, turkey poults, wheatears, wild ducks.
GAME.--Leverets, grouse, blackcock.
VEGETABLES.--Artichokes, asparagus, beans, carrots, cabbages,
cauliflowers, celery, cresses, endive, lettuces, mushrooms, onions,
pease, potatoes, radishes, sea-bale, small salading, sprouts, turnips,
various kitchen herbs, vegetable marrows.
FRUIT.--Currants, figs, filberts, gooseberries, grapes, melons,
mulberries, nectarines, peaches, pears, pineapples, plums, raspberries,
walnuts.
SEPTEMBER.
FISH.--Brill, carp, cod, eels, flounders, lobsters, mullet, oysters,
plaice, prawns, skate, soles, turbot, whiting, whitebait.
MEAT.--Beef, lamb, mutton, pork, veal.
POULTRY.--Chickens, ducks, fowls, geese, larks, pigeons, pullets,
rabbits, teal, turkeys.
GAME.--Blackcock, buck venison, grouse, hares, partridges, pheasants.
VEGETABLES.--Artichokes, asparagus, beans, cabbage sprouts, carrots,
celery, lettuces, mushrooms, onions, pease, potatoes, salading,
sea-kale, sprouts, tomatoes, turnips, vegetable marrows,--various herbs.
FRUIT.--Bullaces, damsons, figs, filberts, grapes, melons,
morella-cherries, mulberries, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums,
quinces, walnuts.
OCTOBER.
FISH.--Barbel, brill, cod, crabs, eels, flounders, gudgeons, haddocks,
lobsters, mullet, oysters, plaice, prawns, skate, soles, tench, turbot,
whiting.
MEAT.--Beef, mutton, pork, veal, venison.
POULTRY.--Chickens, fowls, geese, larks, pigeons, pullets, rabbits,
teal, turkeys, widgeons, wild ducks.
GAME.--Blackcock, grouse, hares, partridges, pheasants, snipes,
woodcocks, doe venison.
VEGETABLES.--Artichokes, beets, cabbages, cauliflowers, carrots, celery,
lettuces, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, sprouts, tomatoes, turnips,
vegetable marrows,--various herbs.
FRUIT.--Apples, black and white bullaces, damsons, figs, filberts,
grapes, pears, quinces, walnuts.
NOVEMBER.
FISH.--Brill, carp, cod, crabs, eels, gudgeons, haddocks, oysters, pike,
soles, tench, turbot, whiting.
MEAT.--Beef, mutton, veal, doe venison.
POULTRY.--Chickens, fowls, geese, larks, pigeons, pullets, rabbits,
teal, turkeys, widgeons, wild duck.
GAME.--Hares, partridges, pheasants, snipes, woodcocks.
VEGETABLES.--Beetroot, cabbages, carrots, celery, lettuces, late
cucumbers, onions, potatoes, salading, spinach, sprouts,--various herbs.
FRUIT.--Apples, bullaces, chestnuts, filberts, grapes, pears, walnuts.
DECEMBER.
FISH.--Barbel, brill, carp, cod, crabs, eels, dace, gudgeons, haddocks,
herrings, lobsters, oysters, porch, pike, shrimps, skate, sprats, soles,
tench, thornback, turbot, whiting.
MEAT.--Beef, house lamb, mutton, pork, venison.
POULTRY.--Capons, chickens, fowls, geese, pigeons, pullets, rabbits,
teal, turkeys, widgeons, wild ducks.
GAME.--Hares, partridges, pheasants, snipes, woodcocks.
VEGETABLES.--Broccoli, cabbages, carrots, celery, leeks, onions,
potatoes, parsnips, Scotch kale, turnips, winter spinach.
FRUIT.--Apples, chestnuts, filberts, grapes, medlars, oranges, pears,
walnuts, dried fruits, such as almonds and raisins, figs, dates,
&c.,--crystallized preserves.
75. WHEN FUEL AND FOOD ARE PROCURED, the next consideration is, how the
latter may be best preserved, with a view to its being suitably dressed.
More waste is often occasioned by the want of judgment, or of necessary
care in this particular, than by any other cause. In the absence of
proper places for keeping provisions, a hanging safe, suspended in an
airy situation, is the best substitute. A well-ventilated larder, dry
and shady, is better for meat and poultry, which require to be kept for
some time; and the utmost skill in the culinary art will not compensate
for the want of proper attention to this particular. Though it is
advisable that annual food should be hung up in the open air till its
fibres have lost some degree of their toughness, yet, if it is kept till
it loses its natural sweetness, its flavour has become deteriorated,
and, as a wholesome comestible, it has lost many of its qualities
conducive to health. As soon, therefore, as the slightest trace of
putrescence is detected, it has reached its highest degree of
tenderness, and should be dressed immediately. During the sultry summer
months, it is difficult to procure meat that is not either tough or
tainted. It should, therefore, be well examined when it comes in, and if
flies have touched it, the part must be cut off, and the remainder well
washed. In very cold weather, meat and vegetables touched by the frost,
should be brought into the kitchen early in the morning, and soaked in
cold water. In loins of meat, the long pipe that runs by the bone should
be taken out, as it is apt to taint; as also the kernels of beef. Rumps
and edgebones of beef, when bruised, should not be purchased. All these
things ought to enter into the consideration of every household manager,
and great care should be taken that nothing is thrown away, or suffered
to be wasted in the kitchen, which might, by proper management, be
turned to a good account. The shank-bones of mutton, so little esteemed
in general, give richness to soups or gravies, if well soaked and
brushed before they are added to the boiling. They are also particularly
nourishing for sick persons. Roast-beef bones, or shank-bones of ham,
make excellent stock for pea-soup.--When the whites of eggs are used for
jelly, confectionary, or other purposes, a pudding or a custard should
be made, that the yolks may be used. All things likely to be wanted
should be in readiness: sugars of different sorts; currants washed,
picked, and perfectly dry; spices pounded, and kept in very small
bottles closely corked, or in canisters, as we have already directed
(72). Not more of these should be purchased at a time than are likely to
be used in the course of a month. Much waste is always prevented by
keeping every article in the place best suited to it. Vegetables keep
best on a stone floor, if the air be excluded; meat, in a cold dry
place; as also salt, sugar, sweet-meats, candles, dried meats, and hams.
Rice, and all sorts of seed for puddings, should be closely covered to
preserve them from insects; but even this will not prevent them from
being affected by these destroyers, if they are long and carelessly
kept.
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