The Portland daily press., 1900-03-31
. stare on the same st the rats CT one
cent for four ounces"
ACROBATIC COOKING.
Miracles Done in the Galley Of
An Atlantic Liner.

and the Pots and Pans Are Dancing
JiEs with the Cooks.
Cooking on the high seas isn't so ex-
citing a profession as 1t was in the old
days, but even now 1t presents problemS
and situations that would drive a lands
man chef to despair. II is one thing TO sit
down In dignified calm in hotel kitchen
and compose a symphonic cntree, and it's
quite another thing to clutch a rope
swung across a kitchen that Is trying to
turn turtle and to master an entree that
is attempting TO dance a cancan on top
Of plunging range. 1t would be n hap
by thing for stewards and cooks IL every
disgruntled passenger on a transatlantic
steamer could, in rough weather, DO
forced to pay a visit to the galley and
watch the. efforts by which tho meals
with which he has been finding fault are
prepared. The chances are that two min
utes amid the fumes and heat Of the gal
ley would reduce him to u state of sea-
sickness which would rob him of all inter-
est in meals of any sort, but IL he could
wait long enough to receive a few mental
impressions he would climb the galley
stairs n humble and contrite traveller and
accept food fit to eat as a miracle wrought
in his behalf.
On the modern steamers galley arrange
ments have been improved to a degree
that would make an old time sea cook
open his eyes In amazement, but even
under such conditions the cooking is diff
cult work. In the first place. room is nee
essarily limited, and every inch of space
must be made to count, yet a large num-
Der of cooks and assistants are employed.
One of the large steamers will have 80
men at work in its galley, and 80 men
playing leapfrog about microscopic
kitchen and doing juggling feats with
pots and pans and knives and rolling
pins while the ship stands on its beam
ends is a sight to bring tears to the eyes
of lover of quiet life.
In these narrow quarters cooking Is
done on a scale larger than the ordinary
saloon passenger realizes. The crew
must be fed in port and out. So the
cooks have from 800 TO GOO men on their
hands every day of the year. Then dur
ing the voyage the steerage, second cabin
and first cabin must be provided for. The
steerage passengers do not have an elab-
crate bill of fare, but about 5000 small
loaves of bread are baked for the crew
and Storage every day, and that in itself
is no small task.
The very sight OF the bakers dough
trough is enough to discourage n faint
hearted cook, for flour is dumped into 1t
by the barrel. One hundred and fifty
barrels of flour melt away on voyage
like spring snowtlakes, and 20 tons Of
potatoes dance merrily up the galley
stairs to table hand in hand with 10000
pounds of beef, while 10000 eggs, more
T. II All, 4
gallons of fresh milk scorn the 1000 gall
Ions OF condensed milk stored beside it
and advise the 900 pounds of coffee TO
nave ontess chckey With i T dSe ghGafhtdf
6sbes hapnt the larder where their
slaughtered bodies hang in hundreds at a
t;-4e. As for the incidentals, no one but
the head steward knows the tale CT .hern.
Imagine all this food prepared in an
apartment house kitchen addicted, to
handsprings, and you have the steamer
galley situation.
Along the end OF the room run the
ranges. The ovens are divided into COM
partments which viii hold firmly pans Of
varying sizes. On top OF the stoves a
steel bar runs along the front and back,
and separate crossbars may be camped
to these at convenient intervals. Pots
and kettles are hemmed in in this way,
and to add to their firmness each is
clamped to a crossbar with what looks
like large iron clothespin. All cooking
utensils are made much deeper than
would be necessary in ordinary cooking
in order to avoid spiling OF the contents
in case of rough weather. The huge
copper stock pots in which wholesale
boiling is done are heated by steam, and
all broiling is done over an immense
charcoal fire. The bakers have a sepa-
rate cubby hole and ovens for themselves,
and beyond them is cold room where
CONNECTIONS and pastry are made.
Everything is swept and garnished in a
fashion TO satisfy the heart of a Dutch
housewife. The copper shines resplen-
dent-but the smells! Ye gods, the smells!
Let the seasick man who has held his
breath and plunged madly up the COM
panion way to escape the deadly Whit of
air coming from the galley imagine that
gust of odor intensified, concentrated,
mixed with steam and smoke and multi
piled, by four, and he may have some
idea of the atmosphere down in the gall
ley.
A steamer kitchen is no place for any
one with tendency toward seasickness,
and the first few voyages of young
cooks assistant are tortures. There isn't
any fine glow Of majesty about his mar
tyrdom, and he doesn't get an atom Of
sympathy. His galley mates guy him,
and his superiors bully him. He sounds
depth OF seasickness beside which the
state OF the grooming passenger on deck
in a steamer chair Is rose colored and
agreeable, Often one voyage is all that
he can stand, and he bolts ineonunently
when the ship reaches port, but if he has
the courage to suffer until he is thor
oughly seasoned he overcomos his qualms
and is ready to laugh at the next green
hand.
Few accidents occur In the steamer
galleys nowadays, when innumerable pat
ents and safeguards are employed. Once
in awhile stock pot blows up from too
much steam pressure, or a careless OF I'M
skilled cook is cut or burned or scalded,
but such cases are rare. Ropes nre
stretched across in front of the ranges,
and when the ship is plunging badly the
cooks hold these ropes while working