One apple corer.
One flour scoop.
One sugar scoop.
One lemon squeezer.
Chopping tray and knife.
Small wooden bowl to use in chopping.
Moulding board of good _hard_ wood.
Board for cutting-bread on.
One for cutting cold meats on.
Thick board, or block, on which to break bones, open lobsters, etc.
A rolling pin.
Wooden buckets for sugar, Graham, Indian and rye meal.
Wooden boxes for rice, tapioca, crackers, barley, soda, cream of tartar, etc.
Covers for flour barrels.
Wire flour sieve--not too large.
A pail for cleaning purposes.
One vegetable masher.
Stone pot for bread, holding ten quarts.
One for butter, holding six quarts.
One for pork, holding three quarts.
One dust pan and brush.
One scrubbing brush.
One broom.
One blacking brush.
Four yellow earthen bowls, holding from six quarts down.
Four white, smooth-bottomed bowls, holding one quart each.
One bean pot.
One earthen pudding dish.
All the tin ware should be made from xx tin. It will then keep its shape, and wear three times as long as if made of thin stuff. Scouring with sand soon ruins tin, the coarse sand scratching it and causing it to rust. Sapolio, a soap which comes for cleaning tins, wood-work and paint, will be found of great value in the kitchen.
Granite ware, as now made, is perfectly safe to-use. It will not become discolored by any kind of cooking, and is so perfectly smooth that articles of food will not stick and bum in it as quickly as in the porcelain-lined pans. Nearly every utensil used in the kitchen is now made in granite ware. The mixing spoons are, however, not desirable, as the coating of granite peels off when the spoon is bent.
Have no more heavy cast-iron articles than are really needed, for they are not easily handled, and are, therefore, less likely to be kept as clean, inside and out, as the lighter and smoother ware.
[Illustration: Scotch Kettle]
The Scotch Kettle is quite cheap, and will be found of great value for every kind of frying, as it is so deep that enough fat can put into it to immerse the article to be cooked.
[Illustration: French Frying-Pan.]
The French polished frying-pans are particularly nice, because they can be used for any kind of frying and for cooking sauces and omelets. The small size, No. 1, is just right for an omelet made with two eggs.
[Illustration: Tin Kitchen.]
When possible, a tin kitchen should be used, as meat cooked before a bright fire has a flavor much nicer than when baked in an oven.
[Illustration: Bird Roaster.]
The bird roaster will be found valuable.
[Illustration: Ice Cream Freezer.]
An ice cream freezer is a great luxury in a family, and will soon do away with that unhealthy dish--pie. No matter how small the family, nothing less than a gallon freezer should be bought, because you can make a small quantity of the cream in this size, and when you have friends in, there is no occasion to send to the confectioner's for what can be prepared as well at home. With the freezer should be purchased a mallet and canvas bag for pounding the ice fine, as much time and ice can be saved.
[Illustration: Bain-Marie.]
[Illustration: Bain-Marie Pan.]
A bain-marie is a great convenience for keeping the various dishes hot when serving large dinners. It is simply a large tin pan, which is partially filled with boiling water and placed where this will keep at a high temperature, but will not boil. The sauce-pans containing the cooked food are placed in the water until the time for serving.
[Illustration: Carving Knife and Fork.]
The large knives for the kitchen, as well as those belonging in the dining-room, should be kept very sharp. If used about the fire they are soon spoiled.