Organise your kitchen for maximum efficiency

Press, 19 November 1981, Page 14

Organise your kitchen for maximum efficiency

Habitat

George Chimirri

We have received some correspondence from readers in response to our kitchen articles. The queries are about the proper placement of kitchen appliances, and dealing with existing larders in old houses. I am taking this opportunity to respond before continuing with our bathroom series. A great deal of thought should be given to the storage of kitchen appliances and gadgets. The simple way to do this is to have a series of shevles and cupboards, designed to accommodate your various gadgets. . Examples of this are an inch-wire basket, attached to the inside of your cupboard doors, a wire basket bottle holder which slides 1 out of your cupboard unit, or, alternatively, electric mixers fixed to a pull-out shelf, with the wire shelf underneath for all the removable extras. The whole thing swings down into the cupboard. Pegboards are ideal for hanging all yoiir saucepans and pots and pans, if you happen to be a rather versatile cook., ' However, if you do not

want to build any of these items in, a simple, storage pantry or cupboard with all the space for appliances to be plugged in, ready to go. is probably the simplest way to tackle this problem. In that situation, all you do is walk into your pantry, turn on the liquidiser, or mixer, or can.opener, whatever.'use it, clean it, and put it back. Your appliances are permanently plugged in and set up, auditing your every wish. As far as storage of pots and pans are concerned to eliminate bending, shuffling around in cupboards, peering underneath the sink units, I think one of the best solutions is a wrought iron rail, extended from the ceiling, with a whole series of meat hooks hanging within reach. One can imrnediately see what one has at any given moment. The arrangement facilitates drying, especially if you are using cast iron ware, because after you have washed the particular saucepan or frypan, you can hang it up and the heat of the kitchen will dry it, without any of those tell tale rust marks appearing. This can also house strings of garlic and onions and look quite decorative in a homely way.

Many people have dressers in their kitchens with a whole array of crockery and cups and saucers, which i find very hard to understand. If the items are in constant use it is fine, but if they sit there only for show when you do go to use them they have accumulated a film of grime and grease just from cooking odours circulating in the kitchen. 1 So, when Aunt Maude pops in for a cup of tea one has to go to the best china and immediately wash it before serving tea’and toast. I advocate that dressers should be in either the dining room or in a little servery area where they are as far away from the cooking as possible.

In the kitchen one requires light over the work areas. The most streamlined lights as discussed earlier are the recessed spotlights. With today's innovations in cookers and ovens with lights built in them, you probably find that the only light you require will be over work benches, sink areas, and perhaps over preparation and vegetable areas. If you have a larder where you place perishable, food you must always remember to have good ventilation on hand. The simplest form is to have a vent at the top and bottom of the larder and cupboard to circulate the air. It is important that the air comes from the cool side of the house, therefore the vent is usually situated in the floor. Vents can be insectproofed by the fitting of flyproofed gauze. Shelves can be made of either marble or slate, to facilitate the cold atmosphere. Pantries and larders can be lit by a simple microswitch, which lights up when you open the door. This enables you, with handa laden with food, to simply push the door open and not have to grope for a light switch while you decide where to put the food. Of course, if the larder door is left open all night the

light is on and that is a good 1 warning to let you know that the larder door is open.

The larder seems to be a thing of the past, but I personally think that it does

a better job than some-re-frigerators and freezers these days. So before you

•pull down that old larder in that old house you have, you »* should think twice. *