1890 ‘Good Housekeeping’ pantry
A pantry article excerpted from June 10, 1890 ‘Good Housekeeping’ Vol II No. 4
| “There are a few departments of housekeeping in which women should take a special pride, and over which they should exercise strict personal supervision. That one of these is the linen closet goes without saying; for who likes to see mussed, unmended, badly-washed linen in a house? There is nothing that will stamp a house with such an ill-kept look, as poor bed and table linen. But it is not of the linen closet that I am thinking; it is the pantry, around which center the household revolves. No matter what domestic service a woman employs, she ought always to attend to the pantry herself; or if she is fortunate enough to have daughters, she should bring them up, not only to see that the storeroom is kept in a cleanly condition, that disarms criticism, but also to see that it is filled with delicacies of every kind, prepared as only the deft fingers of an intelligent lady can prepare such things. The first point to be considered is the immaculate whiteness of walls and shelves. Brown paper coverings on the shelves always detract somewhat from the general effect. The first item in almost every American pantry is pickles sweet, sour, hot, mild, mixed and plain pickles. After a long experience in making such things, I have found that the most toothsome pickles are made of small gherkins laid in salt over night, and taken out and wiped with a dry cloth, without washing, the next morning. Large stone crocks are the best receptacle for the gherkins. Place a layer of gherkins in the bottom of the crock, and sprinkle over them a handful of cloves, the same of celery seed, the same of whole black peppers, the same of mustard seed, some sprays of anise, some round red peppers, or else the long chilli peppers, and a few cloves of garlic. Then add another layer of pickles and another layer of seasoning until the jar is full. Over the whole pour cold, pure wine or cider vinegar in which a cupful of brown sugar has been dissolved, and the pickles will make the eater dream of fields elysian. The vinegar will have to be changed once or twice during the year, but that is a very simple matter, if large crocks are used. If the men folk in the family are fond of high-seasoned food, special attention should be paid to meat sauces of various kinds. Chili sauce is both cheap and toothsome, and enough should be made at a time so that it may be served at least once a day during the year. The best way to make this is to take one dozen large, ripe tomatoes and peel them, two large onions and three bell-peppers, and chop them all fine. Then add two cupfuls of pure wine vinegar, one cupful of light brown sugar, one tablespoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of cloves, and simmer the whole for at least four hours. If ale or porter is used, it is a good plan to save the bottles for meat sauces, as a family can use up a bottle before there is danger of its spoiling. Besides chili sauce, it is always well to have on hand a little soy, chutney, Indian pickle, spiced currants, and stuffed bell-peppers. For the women of the household, and for the friends who are in the habit of dropping in unexpectedly to tea, one must prepare plenty of preserved fruits, selecting a different variety each year, in order not to have a surfeit of any one thing. One season take small fruits, made into jams, jellies, and preserves with but little sugar. The following season take fruits with pits-like peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, and cherries. Still another season use orange marmalade, quince jelly, spiced figs, and Duchesse pears cut in half, and put up in glass. Enough mince-meat should be made in November to last all winter; put up in glass, air-tight, it will last for several years. In one corner of the pantry it is quite safe to keep on hand a dozen boxes of sardines, a good piece of smoked beef, a sweet, sound ham, a small firkin of thick, white salt pork, and a side of bacon. If living in a cider country, one ought to have a row of cider receptacles along one side of the pantry; but if living in the West, where apples are not tart enough nor winters cold enough to make cider, root-beer is an excellent substitute. Did you ever read “Bitter-Sweet,” by Dr. J. G. Holland ? The description of a cellar that he gives is vivid enough to inspire every housekeeper with a desire to have one as good, if not a little better. It is not a luxury that belongs only to the rich and the well-to-do; quite the contrary. In buying provisions in bulk, one saves enough to purchase many luxuries she would otherwise have to go without. Preserved fruit takes the place of meat to a great extent, and in this country, where fruit and sugar are both cheap, preserves of all kinds are easy to get. Heaven help the people who have to send out for “steak” if a guest comes in just at lunch time! Some staples ought always to be bought in bulk, viz., sugar, flour, potatoes, syrup, baking-powder, candles, soap, vinegar, olive oil, starch, canned goods, and apples in season. It is the housekeeper’s duty to see that everything is kept spotless in this pantry; that the shelves be free from dust; the glass jars ranged in neat rows; the pickle and butter crocks covered tight; mice, ants and other pests kept at bay; and, above all things, that everything is in its proper place. What can be worse than to step into an ill-ventilated pantry, and find more butter on the outside of the firkin than on the inside; the sugar barrel with a ring of dirty, ant-infested sugar around it; the pickles covered with mold; the fruitjars sticky and fermenting; the cider barrel leaking; and the flour barrel a sight to behold! What is there in such a spectacle to stimulate the appetite of a tired, nervous, city-bred man? or to tempt the palate of an overworked mother? Nine out of ten women who employ servants never go near the store-room at all; and those who do their own work are very apt to be too tired to do more than care for the actual living rooms. It is a great pity, because the waste involved by inattention to these details is something enormous. No woman ever looks so well as when she is preparing and caring for the substantials and the delicacies that are to be the fuel to the engines of the living human beings that are gathered beneath her roof. Manufacturers burn the best quality of coal in their fine machines-they know it to be cheaper in the end; so, fine human organisms need the best quality of food. Then shame be to those who consider it beneath them to include the supervision of the store-rooms in their round of daily duties.” – by Emelie Tracy Y. Swett. Original in GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, linked HERE |
