The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1877-04-07

fort and the conveniences of living, but
in the average methods Of preparing
food we have made little improvement
over the plain old-fashionetl ways of our
grandfathers We refer, of course, to
domestic cooking. We apprehend that
no one will dispute the fact that in no
department Of the domestic economy is
greater skill and judgment required than
in the proper selection and preparation
of food. That to family in ordinarily
comfortable circumstances, one of the
greatest earthly blessings is weil-or-
dercd kitchen, presided over by a com
of such dishes as CRAFTY the palate
upon equally favorable sanitary and
pccunarv conditions. Yet there IS an
other proposition equally plain, that
very large proportion Of those whose
means amply warrant the employment,
rarely ever sit down to the luxury of
well-cooked meals. True, people every
dav eat their intermnable round of
roasts. fries, and stews. crafty their
hunger and thank their Maker most
devoutlv for their daily bread; but the
cook who prepares the meal OF TODAY
pursues the same methods and pro-
duces the same results that her great
grandmother did before her, little dream
ing that the great world outside Of the
four walls of the kitchen, within which
she has grown Old, has made any ad-
vance in the art of cooking or indeed
achieved any progress in this import
ant branch Of domestic economy. In
/ deed YOUR modern cook is at once the
/ viest pretender and the veriest auto
crat. She brings into the kitchen I'M
limited profession of culinary ability
/ based upon the most limited experience
! or amazing ignorance OF her business.
She rejects the very suggestion Of a
new dish as a reflection upon her skill,
and which she readily resents to the
discontinue of the house-keeper. For
the sake of peace, purchased at the
threat of notice to quit, the authority
! of the kitchen is maintained, and the
/ methods sanctioned by antiquity suffer
no innovations. Indeed the housewife
too cheerfullv submits to the imposi-
tons of ignorance and accepting what
seems to be the inevitable, is only too
glad to secure meals tolerablv prepared
without troubling her brains by spccu-
lating upon what might be done under
F.. other and more favorable circumstances.
1t is no wonder then that little pro,
gress has been attained in cooking a.
an art as long as housc-keepers remain
under the domestic tyranny OF Oman
or Bridget, while the fact remains that
in the average American home, nothing
is so rare as a wcll-cooked and well,
served family meal As has been truly
said. Dinah. fresh from the South. has
her head full Of ideas acquired in front
of big open fireplace, and mainly de
pendent on hot breads and plenty OF
lard With Bridget boiling and stew
ing are the chief ends Of cookery, and
Sarah regards Boston baked beans OF
Pennsylvania pies as the true luxuries
Of the family board But whatever be
their distinctive notions Of cooking
whether lard, stale bread, or pie pre-
dominate, vet nothing short of surgi
cal operation can force the idea into
any of their heads that they have any
thing to learn in the line of their bus
ness. The recent establishment in the
city of New York of classes in plain
cooking has suggested these remarks
We hope something reformatory may
result, and that similar attempts may
be made in every direction to enamel
pate the hundreds and thousands o
house-keepers in the middle classes o
society, to which the most of us belong
from the culinary infections of ignor
ance and conceit Some one has sale
that Americans have but Just discov
cred that they are blessed with stom
achs. In the present stage of domes
tie cookery, where griddles and %reas,
figure so conspicuous y what God in
tended as blessing, too often proves {
curse The wag who boosted that hi.
cook was accomplished because sh,
lived in Greece, told more truth thar
be intended in describing class II
the classes now organized in New lori
and other Eastern cities, whole lecture:
are devoted respectively to plain bread
soups, and eggs, in the different meth
DDS of their preparation for the table
Imagine the feelings of Bridget. WheG
told that there are scores Of sensible
ways to prepare for the table as simpI,
Il thing as an egg that she never drcame,
of. Aud yet all of us pay the penal
ties of her ignorance. both in stomach
and purse Let US have the lessons il