Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1892-08-18
IN WOMAN'S BEHALF.
TEACH GIRLS TO COOK.

Mothers Are often NegIlens in Instruct
ing Their Daughters in This Accom-.
plishment.
Our girls are well instructed in gram
mar, history, music and art, but very
few are taught to cook.
Cook says one. why, / can make
nice bread, lovely fig cake and deli
cious cookies. What more can you
want
There is something more to learn than
just cake, pie and tart.
A girl should know how long to cook
vegetables, how to serve them: how to
boil, roast or broil meats; how to steam
rice, and cook the various cereals; how
TO use graham, rye and cornmeals; and
how to cook eggs in a dozen ways.
Many girls, even up to their wedding
day, have never taken full control Of
the kitchen and served the meals for one
week, or even a day.
Mother, you are not doing jus ice to
your girls, if you do not teach them to
cook. Surprising you are wealthy, the
time may come in any girls life, and
that very soon, when the knowledge of
how to properly prepare foods will be
of inestimable value. No one is sure of
always being able to hire French cook,
and even were it possible, it is comfort
ing to know that the mistress is able to
prepare even the finest dinner, if some
unforeseen accident should happen to
the household machinery.
l have heard many lady say as she
apOlOgized for some badly-cooked dish,
Il always have just such luck; when /
was girl, mother always said: OH
don't bother now; I'd rather do it my
self than stop to teach you;' and so
had to learn after | was married, and
now | hate to cook for nothing ever
seems right
Girls nowadays are not raised to the
idea that they must get married as soon
as possible; but, married or single,
every one will come to a time when she
will thank her stars" and her mother
that she is good cook. 1t seems al
most disgrace for a woman o be
poor cook. 1t is said that a woman
will throw out with a spoon faster than
man can throw in with a shovel; and
it is very forcible illustration. 1t is
wicked for a wife to waste the hard
earned wages of her husband by spoil
ing everything she cooks. She burns
bread crisp, scorches the meat, serves
vegetables half done, and coffee like
muddy water. Do you think a man
can love and admire her? She may be
( very talented and beautiful, but the
warmest love will grow cold under
wretched dinners and poor bread We
NJ ha old 41,,%
to a mans heart is through his stom-
ach," but let man be ever so cross and
tired and ugly, acknowledgement meal
will cheer him quicker than any thing
in the world.
If happiness is not an incentive to
good cookery, one should remember
that poor cooking always makes poor
health Mothers, never encourage your
girls to say they do not like to cook.
Teach them to like it. As soon as they
are old enough D help you, give them
at first one dish, and require their care
full treatment of the same Tell them
the why and how, and see that your
words are needed. Sometimes a girl
does not know how to cook very SIM
pie dish. One day in the first of my
housekeeping, husband said: Marion,
] wish you would make some hasty
pudding for supper; here is some new
meal, and l always liked it so much at
home" Certainly" said l, and then
sat down to think Hasty pudding?
had never made any, but of course
could. l put quart of water on to
boil, and just as John came in to supper
/ stirred it thick with cornmeal
dished it up proudly, thinking how nice
it looked He only took one taste
Marion, what is this?"
'Why, hasty pudding!'
II should say it was hasty; it hasn't
cooked bit. Mother always cooked
it three or four hours"
/ was disguised with myself, and
though l could make good bread and
lovely coeoanut cake, l concluded l had
better learn those simple everyday
dishes which makes up the staff of life.
In the long run girl might much
better be a good cook than fine mu-
stefan or a wonderful artist. Those
things may all come in time, but first
and foremost teach the girls that most
important art, necessary to the welfare
and happiness of all the world, how to
cook
God pity the young wife who has two
or three hard, weary years to struggle
through trying to learn alone what her
mother ought to have taught her long
before. No wonder sometimes that di-
vorce suits arise, when the husband
VOL lers why he ever married such a
little fool, and the wife wishes herself
back with mother, away from such dis
couragements and troubles. Marion
Washburn, in Housekeeping.