The herald., 1896-02-23
THE SCIENCE OF COOKING


Now, I am out with q burning brand Of
truth to destroy the man who has said
there is nothing in domestic science
but cranks.
The domestic science school of
Drexel institute is q representative
one, but so far as have been able to
learn popular education in domestic
science takes cognizance only of the
need of reducing the cost Of living, and
this not comprehensively, inasmuch as
teaching how to construct q dietary
that shall furnish a meal limiting the
cost of material to, say, 25 cents, pro-
vides only for the assembling of the
raw material. The cost of actually
producing the meal, which has it's
largest expression in the labor put into
it, gets no consideration, and my OBJ
eervstion is that domestic science, as
she is taught, tends to increase rather
than diminish the volume of woman's
work.
Means of protection against bacteria,
perso nal assurance gained in the mat.
ter Of food adulterations, the nice
steps, exact measurements, strict
methods of scientific cookery-all this
which domestic science prescribes,
means for the housewife so many more
responsibilities resting upon her mind
and so many more demands upon her
energy and time. In homes where the
income would admit this would have
the effect of increasing the number of
servants and thus adding to the ex-
pense Of the household. In homes
where one pair of hands must do ev.
erything practical application of do
mestic science as academically admin
istered is simply impossible.
Now, it occurs to me, that until do
nestle science graduates are trained to
do housework women have little to
hope for in the kitchen. Unless scien-
tif1c treatment Of domestic problems
is to render housework attractive to an
ambitious woman, the doing of this
work must remain in the nature Of
favor conferred by one admittedly an
inferior, who, acting as prop on
which the entire household rests, so
holds her superiors at her mercy.
Thus education in domestic science
that does not directly bear on the vol
ume of woman's work, not only shoots
it's benefits over the heads of middle
and lower class homes, but misses its
opportunity in overcoming that hydra
headed monster that reigns in other
homes, the servant problem.
that have set themselves up to make
domestic science graduates do not
really know yet what belongs to the
subject they claim to teach.
In the study of nutritive values and
suits are necessarily 80 largely empir-
sense and most comprehensive expert
ence to make this work profitable, and
am not sure it does not border on the
dangerous, attempted to be taught in
schools at it's present stage devel-
opment, the danger being it will make
girls cranks, and crankiness, as every.
body knows, is the worst sort Of him
drance to woman's capability in any
line.
can fancy the actual experience Of
q domestic science pedagogue, primed
with two years. practice in the con-
struction of dietaries, trying to make
man eat his due allowance of calorics,
when all he wants is pie, or striving to
fill him up with the requisite percent
ages of proteids, fats and carbonhy-
drates, when the one thing his stomach
Graves is cold beef and ham sand
wich.
A scientific lunch room is operated
in conjunction with the domestic sci
ence school at Drexel, and here the
senior class is pursuing an inquiry into
the nutritive value of foods that, so
far as my naked eye can discern, has
no value whatever, save as an exercise
in the arithmetic it involves.
Each article Of food served on the
bill of fare for a day is reduced to
calorics, caloric being the unit of
energy used in estimating food values.
The elements and energy contained
in pound of various articles of food
in general use involves an amount of
figuring that may be generally esti-
timated from the fact that 1 talked
with couple of very bright girls who
had been figuring for an hour on the
number of cslorics contained in a cot
tage pudding, and were not yet ready
for publication. Having obtained the
total number of calorics contained in
the whole pudding, it was the purpose
to divide it into certain number of
portions, then, record being kept Of
the quantity eaten by any one patron
of the lunch room, the sum of fhe
calorics of this and OF any other ar
ticles of food taken was to be reckoned,
and thus determine whether the boy
or girl had had a square meal or not.
Cooking as taught and done at
Drexel-I'd rather have cooked the
meal 1 ate in the lunch room there
than to have written Shakespeare. Just
such keen appreciation of the highest
aim of woman have l, and just such
relish for thu way they achieve this
aim at Drexel institute.
Cookery here is taught in scient6 c
kitchens that might be duplicated in a
home, eliminating the provisions made
for school work. The special charac-
teristics of these kitchens are plenty
OF room, light and air, and every con-
veniencs at hand. They must exert
reform influence on everyone going in
to them, they are in such marked con-
trast with the average kitchen.
There ara two of these kitch ems
assigned, respectively to the first aud
second courses in cookery. In the
first of these that l entered at one end
stood Miss Springs desk and book
case containing kitchen literature.
Aloug half the length of the side ex-
tended great glass case containing a
food exhibit. Beyond this WAS sink
with dish pans and towels hung over it.
aiming ranpa atood at the furthar