Evening star., 1896-02-22


side the house for several months, because
lacking clothing which simple decency
required. Yet their dietary being in
quired into the woman boasted that
they bought the very best meat and
had 1t on their table three times a
day. When Americans do consider their
stomachs, 1t is chiefly with reference to
the price they put into it, and accordingly
as this is great, their pride is satisfied and
their conscience at rest, whether their
digestion is SO or not.
THE soups and stews which foreigners
understand so well how to obtain SatiSfac-
torify from cheap cuts Of meat Americans
rise superior to. Their attitude toward
soup is that the Englishwoman described
OF her husband: My man likes summat to
Eite on; he amt much for long drinks and
the stew is so much of stranger as nat
urally to be regarded with suspicion, for
the reason that domestic habits of Amer
leans and their slap-dash method OF cooking
Eave not made possible the long, slow cook
| ing to which meat must be subjected for
stews. The cosmopolitan character of our
American population also makes difficult
the establishment OF standard dishes 1
recall an Irish mother who when pressed to
take G an Indian pudding some to her chill
/ drenH replied: My be- says you can't
make Yankee of hf,-: hat way
The STANDARD Required
"Still we have succeeded in the New Eng
land kitchen in establishing standard
dishes-dishes that would still be stand
ard In Washirg gton
THE requirements that we have met are
these:
The cost of the material must not go
beyond certain limit
THE labor Of making it must not be too
great.
"It must be nutritious and hea!thful.
1T must be in form that be easily
served and kept hot without loss of flavor
1t must suit the popular taste enough to
be salable.
I'm securing the scientific requirements
of these dishes Mrs Richards and l work
ed weeks in the New England kitchen be-
fore the doors were opened to the public.
The science of cooking, at which the
Phiiistine is apt to scoff, means simply
this:
Exact weights and mea surements of in
gradients obtair ed; all chemical changes
involved in the preparation known and
considered: the chemical changes attend
ant upon the application of heat kuown and
the neat under perfect control as to be
accurately measured, and the result Of this
scientific method is food which, upon anal
ysis. has invaTiable nutritve properties
thus making possible, under known condi-
tons, anticipating its health value
Knowing the health value of food is the
cry certain means of economically calcu-
lating the money value: thus scientific re-
search in the kitchen becomes a source of
money to put in the bank.
The use of the kitchen as experiment
station was made possible for us by 4
special grant of the Elizabeth Thomson
furd. and / sincerely hope the limited work
we had means to accomplish may some
how, by somebody, be extended, for one
thing is certain:
THE final step in the establishment of
STANDARD dietares must wait for stand
ards in cooked food.
THE scientific value of the foods we fixed
upon as standards for ths New England
Kitchen is recognized by the medical pro-
fession, and by scientists in general, who
have knowledge of the subject
"Of course, the health value of our food
denended practically on its popularity. That
II is popular is pretty well attested by the
iact that when we undertook the establish
nent of the Rumford kitchen at the worlds
iair. the financial success of our public
kitct1en was then such that the sales We're
SlJ,U10 year.
How to Start.
I'm equipping kitchen in WASHINGTON
the simplest and surest means to an in
teliigent start would be to select a manager
or housekeeper. and send her to the New
England kitchen in Boston to gain ex-
perience. This is part of the good work
the kitchen there has done. 10 has trained
all the managers of public kitchens wher-
ever started in this country, ard is still
willing to do so. This manager should be
a woman possessing above ali other things
conscience and poise. She should also
have the intelligent humility that is willing
to learn llew ways and she should have
that housewifely instinct that is born
in some women, and which other women
seem unable by every effort to acquire.
Having these requirements teacher OF
cookery In the public schools is well adapt
ed to manage a public kitchen, and such
an office would mean an advance in wages
for her.
In authority over the manager there
needs to be a scientific superintendent.
such an Office as Mrs. Richards now fills
in the New England kitchen. l have had
no direct connection with the kitchen since
the first six months OF its existence, during
which period l gave all my time to getting
ii started. Mrs Richards conferS with me-
but she is actively engaged in its opera
tons in way necessary to the endurance
OF kitchen anywhere. There must be a
woman of both scientific and practical
knowledge who may Dc called upon in any
emergency, who will visit the kitchen regu-
larry, inspect everything thoroughly, and
by occasional analyses see that the stand
ard OF the food is maintained The word
Of this woman would need to be law ana
her, services woul0 probably be, as in the
instance of Mrs. Richards, without pay.
'Cne thing to be avoided is oyer-organ;-
cation. The fewer persons with authority
there are connected with kitchen, the
nost certain is its success. There does not
need to be any beard of lady visitors in
deed, everything in the nature of a charity
restitution is to be avoided, for to be a
permanent success, the kitchen must be
organized on business principles; il has
business institutions to compete with and
must depend upon business methods for its
eXiSten
Scientific Phiianthropy.
''In addition to the educational and health
value and the pecuniary profits possible to
be realized from public kitchen, it offers
certain means of extending scientific
philanthropy. I know the idea of scientific
philanthropy seems almost profane to
many minds, but to thoughtful person it
is plain that the greatest wisdom must
guide the hand that is to interfere with
the pitiless but often beneficial law that
ordans tho survival Of the flttest. To
feed the hungry and clothe the naked no
longer fills our duty to our fellow man; it is
now no less than to extend indefinitely the
knowledge and means of the healthy and
happy life. We have advanced beyond the
hungry peasants in the streets. We have
new philanthropy which aims to better a
man while bettering his condition, which
gives personal influence and sympathy with
its aims. and it is part Of this new philan-
thropy to recognize that the social ques-
ton is largely question of stomach. Yet
with money in hand, mission workers are
urable to command such food as ought to
be possible out Of the abundant raw ma
terial that this country affords, and to all
these a New England kitchen means re-
liable and solid help elsewhere unobtain-