The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-02-29
Tic PossibiIities Of Coolsery.

An impecunious householder recently
entered bitter complaint in n Boston
paper Of the dearness Of meat, asking
how il was that when beef in gross was
no higher than it was fifteen years ago, n
bcef.steak ia twice rs dear. A meat man
replied that customers were now so ias-
tidious that they all demanded sirloin,
and the butcher had left on his hands so
much Of the creature TINT lie was obliged
to sell what he did sell at a very high
price, in order to avoid loss on the rest.
While we doubt very much il this justi-
fes the extremely high prices OF meat ut
retail, to which We are still subjected,
there Is measure OF truth in it, anil it
raises at once M imputation on the skill
OF our cookery. 1t is simple matter
to take a thick, juicy pulp OF sirloin
and reproduce it in toothsome form on
the table. But to make nice dinner out
Of piece Of corncd beef, or out Of a pot
ting piece, to manage mutton broth or n
bit OF lamb, are matters OF genuine econo.
my and art. 1t requires in the house.
mistress kitchen "gumption," some little
knowledge OF the qualities and value OF
different kinds OF food, and perhaps more
than one talk with the family doctor.
Not that we should care to make all food
medicine. or to accept as truth all the
transient moonshinc which the medical
profession revels in, but, il the doctor is
a good one, he ought at least to he Of
more economical and sanitary value to
the family than the cookbook.
Sometime the methods OF cooking are
likely to be much modified by invention.
Capt. Warren, OF the British navy, has
been perfecting cooking apparatus OF
which marvellous stories are told. Care
full experiments before test committees of
officers on Her Majcsty's ships prove
that it saves 80 per cent in fuel and % per
cent by actual weight in food, meats for
instance, and secures great Improvement
in quality, besides saving labor. For
some reason, however, Capt Warren has
not got his system adopted, and 1t remains
an experiment still. But without
looking for things OF this kind, it
is certain that Americans have much
to learn in the economical produc-
ton, marketing and cooking OF food. To
mention one great waste: We are not
soup-eating people. Every table ought
to provide its own soup without addi-
tional expense, as every farmhouse
keeps its own poultry. A person who
has had good soup Of heterogeneous ami
mai and vegetable matter has got half
his dinner. The peoples kitchen" in
Berlin where soldiers, porterS, and the
street population generally arc accom-
modated, furnish plate Of rich soup for
about five cents, making quite hearty
meal. And singularly the good women
who conduct them make the important
concession to American Temperance prin:.
ciples Of permitting nothing but water to
be drunk on the premises.
Cooking schools are needed for mis-
tresses especially, who must teach their
servants, II they expect always 10 "bOss
the house, They are being established
in England and in some Of our great cities.
Even the womcn's Education Association
Of Boston in its last annual report seems
to take more comfort In its cooking
school than in its Harvard examinations.
Cooking, like all housekeeping work,
savors 0ldrudgery, but the drudgcry OF
the house is not so very different from
the drudgery Of dry.goods behind the
counter) and Of the ordinary occupations
Of men.
Saving in these respects begins back to
the buying, and, we fear, will never reach
its highest possibility till "going to mar.
ket" becomes tho morning duty Of some
responsible member OF tho family, and u |
culture of meat.Shop and "cutsh and Of
intelligent buying In general succeeds to |
the present system Of leaving the whole |
trade to the seller, making him wait for |
his money, and, finally, being charged |
round per cent to make up the deficit Of |
those who don't pay at all. In fact, a domes.
tic policy Of rctrenChmCnt ncccssitates
pretty wide overhauling Of family habits. |
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