|
10/20/04
putting the past before us
Marguerite Perfett
Today an ex-boxer pitches the benefits of a self-named
grill. Domestic divas promote their expertise via television. Supermarket
magazines at check-outs show us how to decorate a five-room house into a
palace. Male chefs are everywhere.
Back in the days when blanc mange was the delicacy of
choice for a sickroom, calf’s foot jelly was in most kitchens and the effects of
bacteria and calories were beginning to be studied, “hints for the housewife,”
started to appear:
At the butcher’s shop:
“In order to get good value, which is always fair weight,
do not talk or have your attention somewhere else when your meat is being
weighed. The woman who can talk intelligently to the butcher is less apt to
be imposed upon than the woman who asks for one kind of meat and then does not
know if the butcher blithely gives her another. If you do not watch the
butcher carefully, have scales of your own and promptly send back that meat
which is underweight.”
American
Cookery, March 1919
Proper diet for children:
“It is a child’s right to be ‘hearty.’ Good food in
proper quantity given at this time is essential for the sure and steady growth
of the body. The child’s future health, usefulness and happiness depend much
upon the nourishment he receives. Likes or dislikes for food should not be
discussed in the presence of children. Such discussions may establish
distaste for a food of decided nutritive value. Regularity in feeding
children is most important. There should be no lunches between meals. The
appetite is the most common measure of daily food requirement. If one relies
upon his appetite as an index of the quantity of food he should consume, and
if his health and weight remain normal, the appetite may serve as a guide for
daily food requirement.”
School and
Home Cooking, 1924
Chewing quietly:
“Quiet mastication without hurry and without noise is an
obligation we owe ourselves and our companions. It is well to refrain from
talking during mastication. One cannot eat quietly unless the lips are kept
closed while chewing.”
School and
Home Cooking, 1924
Solving the servant problem:
“The well-equipped, up-to-date kitchen comes nearer to
solving the servant problem than any other factor. The efficient housewife
knows that, just as no carpenter will work in a shop where the saws are rusty
and have lost their edges, so the maid should not be expected to take charge
of a kitchen in which the equipment is out of date or hopelessly deficient….In
addition to personal gifts (to the maid) at Christmas and other holiday
occasions, the mistress should make a point to present her with some
labor-saving devices such as a cooking thermometer or a long-handled dustpan.”
American
Cooking, June-July, 1917
Test questions:
“State…two reasons why gas, kerosene and gasoline are
more popular fuels in summertime than coal. Why should a wick burner never be
allowed to burn after all the kerosene in the container is exhausted? Explain
why the tank of a gasoline stove should never be filled while the stove is
lighted or hot. Why are electric stoves not provided with burners?”
School and
Home Cooking, 1924
Importance of fish:
“The meat of a fish is next in importance to birds and
mammals. Fish meat, with but few exceptions, is less stimulating and
nourishing than meat of other animals but usually easier of digestion.
Salmon, mackerel and eels….are not to be eaten by those of weak digestion.
Fish is not recommended for brain-workers on account of the large amount of
phosphorus which it contains.”
Fannie
Farmer’s Boston Cooking School Cookbook, 1896.
It’s all kind of fun to remember as we over use our
microwaves, choose prepared over fresh, follow diet crazes, cook indoors and out
in jeans and shorts—and proudly function without a maid. That is, as long as
the electricity is working and we’re not out of batteries.
Back to Article Index
© University of
Kansas Medical Center, Center on Aging, October, 2004.
|