St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-06-29
The GIRLS like IT.
Work of the Cooking Class at
the w. C. T. u. Industrial
School.
How Miss Amy Barnes Teaches
School Girls to Prepare
Meals.
Practical Lessons in Work
Pertaining to a Well Regu-
lated Kitchen.
Puni1S From the Jackson
Pupils From the Jackson
School Manufacture Pud-
ding and Cake.

Thanks to the work of the industrial
branch of the W. c. L. u, some, at
least, of tine girls in the public schools
of Minneapolis will have chance to
become practical housewives, and the
young men who marry them need not
be afraid of the pies, buildings or bis
cults they make. In the old Gale NAH
sion at 400 First avenue south is located
the w. c. L. U. training school. and
there class of twelve girls from the
Jackson school are being initiated into
all the arts and mysteries of the
kitchen. The class room, which is on
the first floor, is fitted up with all the
appliances of a modern kitchen. There
are three tables at which the girls work.
Each table contains three small gas
stoves for boiling, Simmering, etc.; tin
cups so graduated as to divide the cups
into quarters and thirds, sauce pans Of
different siZ S. bowls, etc. A large
stove for baking, sink. a chest of
d. aw rs for holding the stores and a
] eff gerator completes the outfit.
A each lesson one of the girls is as
sig led to look after the stove and it is
! =. duty to see that the fire is built, the
oven at proper temperature for use
when needed, and the water in the tea
kettle boiling. Another girl looks after
the stores and deals out flour. butter,
sugar, eggs, spices, etc., as needed. and
sees that everything is carefully re-
turned to its proper place. A third has
general charge of the dishes, pans, ETC.,
and it is her duty to keep the kitchen
clean during the class hours. These
three are called the houSekeepers, and
as it is considered by the girls to be an
honor to be assigned to housework, the
three assigned to that duty take con-
siderable pride in their work. Besides
attending to these duties, the house
keepers are called upon quite frequently
to answer questions pertaining to the
lesson before the class, and the several
correct faults or supposed faults OF the
by Miss Amy Barnes and is under her
direction. Miss Barnes will leave for
her home this week, and she will be
succeeded by Miss Julia F. Hubbard, of
Boston, who will carry on the work.
On Thursday last the work of the
class commenced at $50 a. m. and last
ed until ~ O'Clock. Instructions as to
how to build fire and the regulation
of the hampers and draught had been
given at former lesson, but somehow
the girl who had been assigned to take
charge of the stove could not make the
fire burn as it should.
''What is the matter with Annie's
fire?' inquired Miss Barnes of the class.
A little thing not over nine or ten
years old answered: "The air cannot
get at it. The sticks should cross so the
air could get in.;'
''Is it necessary that fire should
have air to burn?" inquired the teacher.
Yes" answered another, and then
followed an explanation by the teacher,
and Annie soon had a rouSing wood fire
in the big stove. The first recipe of the
morning was for snow pudding. 1.-The
first thing called for in our pudding"
said Miss Barnes, lis half box of gel
atine. A box of this costs from Is to Is
cents. Now, you must soak the gelatine
in half a cup of water for two hours.
So if you are going to have snow pud-
ding for dinner you must think when
you get up in the morning to put the
gelatine to soak. That is one thing a
good cook must do. She must think
and keep looking ahead. Now we want
half cup of lemon juice. So three of
you prepare it. How much will each
of you prepare? One-siXth of a cup.
That is right. If you take
the lemons and roll them be-
fore you cut them in half
you will get the juice out easier. AS
we only have one lemon squeeZer two of
you will have to use your fingers"
Then Miss Barnes showed the class
how to squeeze the lemons with the
fingers and withsthe lemon squeezer.
"NoW we want cup and half of
boiling WATER" she said, and three girls
were told 10 prepare it. The gas stoves
were lighted and the proper amount of
water was poured into the boilers, The
children showed they were well up in
fractions, for no mistakes were made,
although Miss Barnes would tell just
how much of an ingredient was
required and then tell two or three of
the girls to prepare it. AS the girls
were at separate tables, it necessitated
the division of the whole amount re-
CURED into two or three equal divi-
sions. After showing the pupils how
to separate the white from the
yolk of an egg, and then how
to beat it. Miss Barnes had the
other ingredients added to the pudding,
and then explained the best method Of
cooling it. Then each of the class was
instructed how to beat it, and when it
was finally done the entire class was re-
viewed upon the way in which the diff
ferent ingredients were prepared.
The next taken up was ''Spider
cake" The pupils didn't know very
much about what spider cake was,
and one little one who answered to the
name of Maud was sure that a spider
was an insect which caught flies and
was liable to bite people, but the teach
er explained that the cake received its
name from the pan it was baked in.
which in the East was called spider.
The ingredients in this lesson called
for some mental calculation, as the
recipe called for % cup of cornmeal. Il
cup of flour, tablespoonful of sugar,
u teaSpoonful of salt, % teaspoonful of
soda, an egg, q cupful of sour milk, 1
cupful of sweet milk and l tablespoon
full of butter. AS in the former lesson,
the articles necessary for manufacture
ing the cake were divided, and only one
mistake was made. One of the younger
pupils who had been told, with the
others, to get half teaSpOonful of soda,
made the mistake of taking the whole
quantity, but it was discovered before 1t
got into the cake. After the ingredients
had been prepared, sifters were handed
to the class. and they were instructed
to sift the dry ingredients into a bowl.
The egg had been beaten and added,
and then half of the sweet milk was
poured in. After it had been we'll
beaten the sour milk was added. The
pans, or spiders, had been set on top
of the stove, and were hot when the
butter was put into them. Then
the batter was poured in and the
balance of the sweet milk was poured
on top. Then the question was about
the oven. Was it hot enough? One of
the girls opened it and held her hand
inside while she counted twelve. That
was the rule laid down for theta guild
ance. If they could keep it i'll longer
without discomfort it was not hot
enough to bake in. But it was all
right, and after baking for twenty min
utes it was turned out very palatable
dish. After the practical lesson closed
note books were brought out and the re-
cipes of the day written down. The
girls apparently enjoyed the lesson, and
after if was over there was none of the
hurry and rush there generally is OIL
the part of children when school is dis
missed.