School and Home Cooking | Page 6

place 6 of them and I level
tablespoonful of sugar in each core. Pour the water around the apples.
Bake in a hot oven until tender. Test the apples for sufficient baking
with a fork, skewer, or knitting needle (see Figure 1). During baking,
occasionally "baste" the apples, i.e. take spoonfuls of the water from
around the apples and pour it on the top of them. The time for baking
apples varies with the kind of apple and the temperature of the oven.
From 20 to 40 minutes at 400 degrees F. is usually required.
DISH-WASHING AND EFFICIENCY.--There is almost invariably a
waste of effort in both the washing and the drying of dishes. This may

be due to:
(_a_) Poorly arranged dish-washing equipments.
(_b_) Inadequate utensils for dish-washing.
(_c_) Lack of forethought in preparing the dishes for washing and too
many motions in washing and drying them.
Since dish-washing is one of the constant duties of housekeeping,
efficiency methods, i.e. methods which accomplish satisfactory results
with the fewest motions and in the least time, should be applied to it.
The washing of dishes, invariably considered commonplace, may
become an interesting problem if it is made a matter of motion study.
[Illustration: FIGURE 1.--SKEWER AND KNITTING NEEDLE FOR
TESTING FOODS. Note that the knitting needle has one end thrust
into a cork, which serves as a handle.]
For thorough and rapid dish-washing, the following equipment is
desirable:
A sink placed at a height that admits of an erect position while washing
dishes, [Footnote 1: In case it is necessary for one to wash dishes at a
sink which is placed too low, the dish-pan may be raised by placing it
on an inverted pan or on a sink-rack, which may be purchased for this
purpose.] and equipped with two draining boards, one on each side of
the sink, or with one draining board on the left side; dish and draining
pans; dish-drainer (see Figures 4 and 5); dish-rack (see Figures 6 and 7);
dishmop (see Figure 3); wire dish-cloth or pot-scraper (see Figure 3);
dishcloths (not rags); dish-towels; rack for drying cloths and towels;
soapholder (see Figure 3) or can of powdered soap; can of scouring
soap and a large cork for scouring; tissue paper or newspapers cut in
convenient size for use; scrubbing-brush; bottle-brush (see Figure 3);
rack made of slats for drying brushes (see Figure 2).
PREPARING DISHES FOR WASHING.--If possible, as soon as
_serving dishes, i.e._ dishes used at the dining table, are soiled, scrape

away bits of food from them. The scraping may be done with: (_a_) a
piece of soft paper, (_b_) plate-scraper (see Figure 3), (_c_) a knife or
spoon. The latter is doubtless the most commonly used for dish
scraping, but it is less efficient and may scratch china. If it is
impossible to wash dishes soon after soiling, let them soak in water
until they can be washed.
[Illustration: FIGURE 2.--A SINK ARRANGED FOR EFFICIENCY
IN DISH-WASHING.
Note the draining board on each side of the sink, the dish-cupboard in
the upper left corner, and the rack for drying brushes below the sink.]
Cooking utensils need special care before washing, especially if they
have held greasy foods. "Oil and water do not mix!" The grease from
dish-water often collects in the drain-pipe and prevents or retards the
drainage of waste water. This often means expensive plumber's bills
and great inconvenience. Bear in mind the following cautions Before
putting a utensil which has held fat into the dish-water, always wipe it
carefully with a piece of paper. After wiping most of the grease from a
pan or kettle, the remaining fat can be entirely removed by filling the
utensil with hot water and then adding washing-soda. Boil the solution
a few minutes. Fat and washing-soda react and form soap; hence the
effectiveness of this method (See Experiment 34) (This method should
not be applied to aluminum utensils; washing-soda or any alkaline
substance makes a dark stain on aluminum)
[Illustration: FIGURE 3--UTENSILS FOR DISH WASHING
A, soap-holder, B, C bottle-brushes, D, dish-mop, E F, wire dish-cloths
G plate scraper]
Utensils used in cooking can generally be washed with greater
efficiency if they are soaked before washing. Fill each dish or pan with
water, using cold water for all utensils which have held milk, cream,
eggs, flour, or starch, and hot water for all dishes having contained
sugar or sirup.

ARRANGING DISHES.--Arrange dishes and all the requisite
dish-washing utensils in convenient order for washing, placing all of
one kind of dishes together. Also place the dishes to be washed at the
right of the dish-pan. Wash them and place the washed dishes at the left
of the pan. A dish-washer invariably holds a dish that is being washed
in her left hand and the dish-cloth or mop in