Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Household Science in Rural Schools Part 36

4. Set over the fire and cover with boiling water.

5. Cook until the pieces are soft at the centre when pierced with a fork.

6. Serve in a hot vegetable dish.

After being thoroughly explained, these directions are placed in a note-book, for the guidance of the pupil in her home practice. In some cases, the directions are placed on properly punched cards, so that at the end of the year every pupil will have a collection of useful recipes and plans, each one of which she understands and has worked out. In many lessons of this type demonstrations may be given by the teacher and, if the food cannot be cooked on the school stove, it may be taken home to be cooked by one of the pupils.

Lessons given according to this method, by which the theory is given in school and the practice acquired at home, need not be restricted to cookery. Any of the lessons prescribed in the curriculum for Form III, Junior, may be treated in the same way. Lessons on the daily care of a bed-room, weekly sweeping, care and cleaning of metals, was.h.i.+ng dishes, was.h.i.+ng clothes, ironing a blouse and, in fact, on all subjects pertaining to the general care and management of the home, may be given in this way.

Each lesson should conclude with a carefully prepared black-board summary, which should be neatly copied into the note-books, to be periodically examined by the teacher. The black-board work of many teachers leaves much to be desired, and time spent in improving this will be well repaid. Examples of summaries of the kind referred to are to be found in the Ontario Teachers' Manual on _Household Management_.

These instructions may be type-written or hectographed by the teacher and given to the pupils, thus saving the time spent in note-taking.

SECOND METHOD

The second of the plans referred to is a modification of what is known as the "Crete" plan of Household Science, so called from the name of the place in Nebraska, U.S.A., where it was first put into operation. By this plan, definite instruction is given in the home kitchens of certain women in the district, under the supervision of the educational authorities. It was adopted, at first, in connection with the high schools of the small towns in that State but, with certain modifications, it is suitable to our rural school conditions.

In every community there are women who are known to be skilful in certain lines of cookery, and the plan makes use of such women for giving the required instruction. They become actually a part of the staff of the school, giving instruction in Household Science, and using the resources of their households as an integral part of the school equipment.

In order to put this plan into operation, a meeting of women interested in the school should be called and if, after the plan has been laid before them and fully discussed, enough women are willing to open their homes and act as instructors, then it is safe to proceed. The subjects should be divided, and a scheme somewhat as follows may be arranged:

Mrs. A. bread and biscuits Mrs. B. pies and cakes Mrs. C. canning and preserving Mrs. D. gems and corn bread Mrs. E. desserts and salads Mrs. F. cookies and doughnuts Mrs. G. vegetables.

Six has been found a convenient number for a cla.s.s, though ten is better, if the homes can accommodate that number. Half-past three is a good time for the cla.s.ses to meet, as they then may be concluded by five o'clock, thus leaving the housewife free to prepare her evening meal.

The day of the week should be chosen to suit the convenience of the instructor. The cla.s.ses may meet once a week.

Arriving at the home of the instructor at half-past three, the pupils are seated in the most convenient room, and the lesson is given. During this talk the pupils are given not only the recipe, but details as to materials, the preparation thereof, the degree of heat required, the common causes of failure and, in fact, everything that in the mind of a practical cook would be helpful to the cla.s.s. Notes are taken, and afterwards properly written out and examined by the teacher of the school.

The instructors prepare the food for cooking, and sometimes, as in the case of rolls and so on, they cook the food in the presence of the pupils. When white bread is to be baked, the pupils are asked to call, a few minutes after school, at the home of the instructor, to watch the first step--setting the sponge--and again the next morning before school to see the next step--mixing the bread--and again, about half-past eleven or twelve, to see the bread ready for the oven and, finally, on the way back to school, to see the result--a fine loaf of well-cooked bread. The pupils try the recipe carefully in their own homes, not varying its terms until they are able to make the dish successfully.

When they can do this, they are free to experiment with modifications, and there should be no objection to receiving help from any source; in fact, it is a good thing for the daughter to get her mother to criticize her and offer suggestions in the many little details familiar to every housekeeper, but which cannot always be given by an instructor in one lesson.

By this method the pupils learn in their own homes and handle real cooking utensils on a real stove heated by the usual fire of that home.

If it is a good thing--and no one doubts it--to learn Household Science in a school where everything that invention and skill can provide for the pupils is readily at hand, is it not worth while to enter the field of actual life and, with cruder implements, win a fair degree of success?

At the end of five or six months, after the pupils have had an opportunity to become skilful in making some of the dishes which have been taught, it may be well to have an exhibition of their work. Each pupil may, on Sat.u.r.day afternoon, bring one or more of the dishes she has learned to prepare to the school-house, where they may be arranged on tables for the inspection of the judges. The dishes exhibited should be certified to as being the work of the pupil with no help or suggestion from anybody. Of course, work of this kind cannot be undertaken by the "suit case" teacher. The teacher who packs her bag on Friday at noon, carries it to school with her, and rushes to catch a train or car at four o'clock, not returning to the district until Monday morning, has no time for this kind of service.

Occasionally the entire cla.s.s may meet with their instructors in the school-room. An oil-stove and the necessary equipment may be obtained, and a demonstration may be given by one of the instructors. By this means much valuable instruction will be given that is not included in the regular course. At this time also many things may be discussed that pertain to the growth of the movement and the general well-being of the pupils.

The plan is flexible and may be modified easily to suit different localities. It calls for no outlay on the part of the school trustees; nor are the instructors necessarily put to any expense, as the articles prepared in giving the lessons may be used in their own homes.

By the adoption of one of the plans outlined, or such modifications of them as the peculiar requirements of the district may demand, every rural school may do something, not only toward giving a real knowledge of some phases of Household Science, but also toward developing the community spirit and arousing an interest in the school, which will benefit all concerned.

THE FIRELESS COOKER

At the present time there is urgent need for thrift and economy in all that pertains to the management of the household--particularly in food and fuel. In the average home much fuel could be saved by the proper use of what is known as the fireless cooker. The scientific principle applied has long been known and is, briefly, as follows: If a hot body is protected by a suitable covering, the heat in it will be retained for a long time, instead of being lost by radiation or conduction. This is why a cosy is placed over a tea-pot.

In using a fireless cooker, the food is first heated on the stove until the cooking has begun, and then it is placed in the fireless cooker--a tight receptacle in which the food is completely surrounded by some insulating substance to prevent the rapid escape of the heat, which in this way is retained in the food in sufficient quant.i.ty to complete the cooking. Sometimes, when a higher cooking temperature is desired, an additional source of heat, in the form of a hot soapstone or brick or an iron plate such as a stove lid, is put into the cooker with the food.

The same principle is also employed in cookery in other ways. For example, in camp life beans are often baked by burying the pots overnight in hot stones and ashes, the whole being covered with earth; and in the "clam bakes" on the Atlantic Coast, the damp seaweed spread over the embers on the clams prevents the escape of the heat during cooking. The peasants in some parts of Europe are said to begin the cooking of their dinners and then to put them into hay boxes or between feather beds, so that the cooking may be completed while the family is absent in the fields.

The chief advantages in the use of the fireless cooker are these:

1. It saves fuel, especially where gas, oil, or electric stoves are used. Where coal or wood is the fuel, the fire in the range is often kept up most of the day, and the saving of fuel is not so great. In summer, or when the kitchen fire is not needed for heating purposes, the dinner can be started in the stove early in the morning, and then placed in the fireless cooker, the fire in the range being allowed to go out.

During the hot weather, the use of a kerosene or other liquid-fuel stove and a fireless cooker is a great convenience, since it not only accomplishes a saving in fuel, but helps to keep the kitchen cooler. The saving in fuel resulting from the use of a fireless cooker is greatest in the preparation of foods such as stews, which require long and slow cooking.

2. It saves time. Foods cooked in this way do not require watching, and may be left, without danger from fires or of over-cooking, while other duties are being performed or the family is away from home.

3. It conserves the flavour of the food and makes it easier to utilize the cheaper cuts of meat which, although not having so fine a texture or flavour, are fully as nutritious, pound for pound, as the more expensive cuts. Long cooking at a relatively low temperature, such as is given to foods in the fireless cooker, improves the flavour and texture of these tougher cuts of meat. Most people do not cook cereals long enough. By this method, the cereal may be prepared at night, cooked on the stove for about fifteen minutes, and then put in the fireless cooker. In the morning it will be cooked and ready to be served.

The fireless cooker may be used to advantage in preparing the following: soups; pot roasts; beef stew; Irish stew; lamb stew; corned beef and cabbage; boiled ham; baked beans; chicken frica.s.see; vegetables, such as turnips, carrots, parsnips, beets; dried vegetables, such as peas and beans; and dried fruits, such as peaches, apples, apricots, and prunes; cereals; and puddings.

The fireless cookers described in the following pages are not experiments. They have all been tested and found to be most practical.

DIRECTIONS FOR FIRELESS COOKER--NO. I

While there are many good fireless cookers on the market which cost from five to twenty-two dollars, according to size and make, it is possible to construct a home-made cooker which will give very satisfactory results and will be considerably cheaper than one which is purchased in the shops.

Materials required: A box or some other outside container; some good insulating or packing material; an inside container for the kettle, or a lining for the nest in which the kettle is placed; a kettle for holding the food; and a cus.h.i.+on, or pad, of insulating material, to cover the top of the kettle.

THE OUTSIDE CONTAINER

For the outside container a tightly built wooden box, such as that shown in Figure 39, is satisfactory. The walls should be thick and of some non-conducting material. An old trunk, a small barrel, or a large b.u.t.ter or lard firkin or tin will serve the purpose. Another possibility is a galvanized iron bucket with a closely fitting cover (this has the advantage of being fire-proof). A shoe box 15 by 15 by 28 inches is convenient in size, since it may be divided into two compartments. It should have a hinged cover and, at the front, a hook and staple, or some other device to hold down the cover tightly; an ordinary clamp window fastener answers this purpose very well. The size of the container, which depends upon the size of the kettle used, should be large enough to allow for at least four inches of packing material all round the nest in which the kettle is placed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig._ 39.--Completed fireless cooker]

THE INSULATING MATERIAL

For packing or insulating material a variety of substances may be used.

Asbestos and mineral wool are the best, and have the additional advantage that they cannot burn. Ground cork (used in packing Malaga grapes), hay, excelsior, Spanish moss, wool, and crumpled paper may also be used satisfactorily. Of these materials crumpled paper is probably the best, as it is clean and odourless and, if properly packed, will hold the heat better than the others. It is wise to line the box with one thickness of heavy paper or with several thicknesses of newspaper, to make it as air-tight as possible. Asbestos sheeting may be used instead. To pack the container with paper, crush single sheets of newspaper between the hands and pack a layer at least four inches deep over the bottom of the outside container, pounding it in with a heavy stick of wood.

Place the inside container for the cooking kettle or the lining for the inside of the nest in the centre of this layer, and pack more crushed paper about it as solidly as possible. The method of packing with paper is shown in Figure 40. If other material is used it should be packed in a similar way.

Where an extra source of heat is to be used, it is much safer to use some non-inflammable material such as asbestos or mineral wool. A cheap subst.i.tute and one which is easily obtained are the small cinders sifted from coal ashes, preferably those from soft coal. However, the cinders from hard coal burned in the kitchen range will do. If a fire-proof packing material is not used, a heavy pad of asbestos should be placed at the bottom of the metal lining, and a sheet or two of this paper should be placed between the lining of the nest and the packing material. Whatever is used should come to the top of the inside container, and the box should be filled to within about four inches of the top.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig._ 40.--Fireless cooker, showing method of packing with paper]

THE INSIDE CONTAINER

The inside container for the cooking kettle or the lining for the nest in which it is to be placed should be cylindrical in shape, should be deep enough to hold the cooking kettle and stone, if one is used, and should fit as snugly as possible to the cooking kettle, but at the same time should allow the latter to be moved in and out freely. For this purpose a galvanized iron or other metal bucket may be used, or, better still, a tinsmith may make a lining of galvanized iron or zinc which can be provided with a rim to cover the packing material, as shown in Figure 41. In case no hot stone or plate is to be used, the lining may be made of strong cardboard.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig._ 41.--Metal lining with rim]

THE KETTLE