The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-08-29
Cooking ia Common.

Cooking ia Common.
PREPARING DINNERS IL BAKE-CvESS FOR COM
| MCNITIES-SCSDAY IN A BAKERS SHOP.
There is class OF people in this city be-
tween whom and the professors OF the culI-
nary art there exists anything but warm
affection. That class is composed of persons
who, not content with adhcring solely to
the occupation indicated by the representa-
ton OF a twist OF bread painted on a
tin sign that swings in front OF. their
shop-door, go far toward monopolizing
all the mcat-roaSting, puddlng-ba baking,
and other cookery necessary for the
tables OF their respective customers and
neighbors. There are comparatively few
bakers in the city who are not also what
may be called wholesale cooks, and who 40
not assist in heavily discounting the ordi-
nary professional 1t is only during the
down-Stove season. however, that these re-
marks hold strictly true. In warm weather
it pays poor people better to get their din
ncrs cooked in a bakers oven than in their
own stoves or ranges, and they seize upon
the advantage. People Of less limited means
do as the poorer classes do, partly to econ
omiZc, but mainly to avoid adding artificial
| to the already intolerable natural heat.
Such bakers are probably more numerous
in kensington and Richmond than N any
other quarter OF the city. In those places
there are about 200 bakers, upon whom
fully 1900 families depend for considera-
bic portion of their cooking. The writer
visited bakery on Fourth street below Gil
rard avenue at II O'Clock yesterday morn
ing. and found TWENTY-FIVE pans of beef,
mutton, lamb, and other meats, roasting in
| the oven.
"We charge five cents pan for the roast
ing" said the baker. "All these pans are
OF nearly the same size (about one and half
feet long and one foot wide); but while this
one contains only three pounds. there are
seven pounds in that one. But one occu"
pying as much space in the oven as the
other, we charge the same price for both.
Yesterday we baked three dozen pies for
two cents apiece; two dozen loaves OF
bread, each weighing one and quarter
pounds, for four cents pan, there being
four loaves in a pan one dozen rice and
other puddingS, each about ten inches IN
diameter and live or six inches deep,
for three cents apiece; and two dozen
sponge-cakes, each about as large aS one OF
the puddings, at the rate OF two for five
cents. All this food was prepared for to-
day. We have about fifty customers who
get such work done regularly. They are
principally people OF moderate means. The
richer and poorer persons for whom we
cook are about equal in number. We do
about half as much cooking on each Of the
other days OF the week rs we did for to-
day. 1t is not altogether because they can
avoid heat and 90 to late church SER
vice with unburdened minds that they
thus employ the bakers, but also because our
charge is less than what the work would
cost il done in their own houses. This
oven was hot this morning after last nights
baking, and it required only half a bushel
OF coal to cook these twenty-five pans OF
meat. II they were separately cooked in as
many stoves or ranges each would require
| the consumption of about one-third IA much
coal as we have used in cooking them all.
The half-bushel costs about fifteen cents,
and we get S1.25 for the work, netting
enough to pay for our time and trouble.
In winter comparatively little of this kind
OF work is done, because the people must
have fire then to keep themselves warm, and
they would be improvidenJ not to Use it for
cooking. ~.
GAS a rule, the larger the lump OF meat
the poorer the family that sends it, partly
because the poor generally have largerfami-
lies and better appetites than the rich, and
partly because the rich are frequently more
close-1stcd about sueh-matters than the
poor. The meat sent here by the poor
is OF as good quality, too, as that coming
from the more favored Of fortune. We make
no mistakes. such as giving AS pan to B, or
uice verSa, because when A brings his pan
in we thrust into its contents piece of tin
bearing number, and give him card with
the same number. He goes away, comes back
when his dish is cooked, presents his card,
and gets his article. The bakers in West
Philadelphia do very little OF this work,
owing to the great number OF wealthy peo-
pie residing there, who have furnaces in the
rear Of their houses" LII. Is
| About noon women and yong girls began
coming in for their pans, and threw the
baker into business too absorbing to permit
OF more talk. except to his customers, be-
fore they were all served.-Philadetphia
| Times. .l..r -.