Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-05-04
| spluttered. These were the steam tables and
IN them all the cooking that requires no brown
| ing or crust is done.

spluttered. These were the steam tables. and
In them all the cooking that requires no brown
ing or crust is done.
COOKING By STEAM.
The question of fuel is now a very open one
In this kitchen every thing that can be done by
steam is done, and as steam is required for the
other purposes of the building. the fuel is prac-
tlcally saved, not to speak of the lack of wear
and tear In merely turning the wrist to let the
steam off and on. At small but fashionable
downtown restaurant all the cooking is done
by gas. And while talking with Mr.. Post he
recalled an engagement to go that afternoon to
see some cooking done By electricity. Press a
button and the pot boils.
FOR BRoILISs AND BAKING.
Bat steam will not broil, bake. or roast: this
handicaps it greatly for private use. In this
kitchen there were separate charcoal fires for
broiliny. A large brick oven in the center of
the room for the pastry with gas-lighted peep
holes for the pastry cook. and a tremendous
upright CRATE with three tiers of spits before
which fowls were now spinning and shedding
Juices ElOrlOusly. The spit and the upright
CRATE make the one luxury that private kitch-
ems. however unpTetentlOuS should try to
afford One need not be so fastidious az the
old Norman epicures who required their fowls
to be roasted before apple-tree logs, but the
kiss of the flames is certainly Transforming and
Idealizes even the pig, as we have been delight
fully told.
Every piece of furniture in the kitchen has a
special definite purpose to fulfill. The brawny
butchers occupy one corner with their battle
axes. The pastry COOKS practice the fine arts
on their own area. the men cunning with
knives keep within their own barriers Every
thing is calculated to save space and time.
Above each range are horizontal bars from
which hang the long handled copper pans
which the nimbl9 cooks manipulate with the
rapldltv and ease of the lumber in the circus
fFRaar al Al
wrath OF the hungry man and the boot toe of
the cook, the kitchen at the top of the house is
a saving grace. He never. by any chance. can
encounter the cook. and leaning against the
dumb waiter while his viands descend. gets a
few seconds to brace himself up to meet the
laundering brow of his client in the brilliant
restaurant beyond. The disadvantage on the
other hand. is that any inaccuracy in filling the
order cannot be ascertained for some time. but
this way lnsures accuracy.
THE TOP FLOOR.
Something was said last week of the move
ment to rescue the top floor. This goes hand
in hand with private elevators There is also
another movement toward elevating the
kitchen Dramatically. One of the most novel
of the private is that of Dr. Morton on 55th
street west All the household offices are on
the top floor. The servants bedrooms are i'll
front. Midway is the laundry with tiled floor
and wainscoting; connecting with 1t is the
servants sitting-rOom, and opening into it the
kitchen.
THIS IS NOBLE ROOM,
with windows that catch the first RAYS of the
morning sun and the last rays of his benign
majesty, and command the distant prospect
right and left. One may well envy the cook
her private dominion. Mrs. Morton with more
practical mind. tells me that the saving of gas
bills Is of consideration. There is, also, a con-
siderable saving of time. rs the ashman. the
ragman, the peddlers of all wares. soon discover
that there Is neither pleasure nor profit in the
area The humanitarian aspect of this elevated
Kitchen is worth notice when one considers the
army OF servants that spend their lives in base
ments inaccessible TO air and light.
Mrs. Morton says that by organizing her
household carefully. less, not more. servants are
required. great lift is used at stated inter
walls by the man who manages the furnace;
everything else is brought up on dumb walters,
and servants stairway is screened off by a
pretty arrangement of spindles. The clothes
are dried on top of the house and in cold
room above the kitchen meats are hung and
perishabie articles kept
SMALL KITCHENS.
1t is not a misapplcation Of an adjective to
call some of the kitchens in the handsomer
apartment houses beautiful. These are small
but calculated to nicely. In fact, except
when there Is a staff of servants it is a mistake
to have large kitchen. 1t wastes the time and
takes the strength of the cook to cover more
space than is required AS these kitchens are
placed In the least advantageous parts of the
house, every care is taken to give them all the
hight and air possible. The floors are tiled
Inc walls are lined with enamel tiles usually
white, but sometimes made gayer with colored
tiles, blue or pink The sinks are porcelain
lined and the faucets silver-plated. The cup
boards and dressers are in hight natural woods
and the glass unspotted. The cook feels as if
she Is in jewel-bOx or is a precious article en-
shrined IN cabinet, and the probabilities are
that she strives to keep her situation.
Macy GAY HUMPHREYS