The Modern Kitchen

Southland Times, Issue 23674, 24 November 1938, Page 14

The Modern Kitchen

Simple And Expedient

IJ’HE kitchen has become one of the chief focal points of designers and manufacturers in the United States in their efforts to have a part in the hopedfor building boom. New kinds of qquipment to make the housewife’s duties simpler, more improved cabinets, and extra gadgets for the old familiar stove and refrigerator, all contribute to the workability and embellishment of this work shop of the home. In fact, not since colour came into the drab off-room of the house, has there been so much attention given to improving the kitchen. As some women want this room to look as complete and as tailored as the suit they wear, they have the problem of matching up the stove with the sink, and with the refrigerator. Ensemble buying, therefore, is gaining in popularity here as in other parts of the house. Manufacturers, more than ever before, are co-operating to see that the stove which one company puts out, will harmonise with the refrigerator which a firm in another section of the country is designing. Equipment Sold in Sections. Some companies are adding more equipment to their lines, so they can sell the “kitchen as a whole.’’ This provides for cases where the family chooses the kitchen sink first; then, perhaps, the refrigerator. One by one they add cabinets, all of the same make and the same colour, designed to fit together to form on attractive unit. “Mother of pearl” is one of the new finishes, one firm having produced such a refrigerator and stove in enamel. Other ensembles achieve uniformity with the use of coloured trim on the white or cream surfaces. They have red lines around the cabinet doors, red on tl e stove knobs, around the contour of the refrigerator, and repeated in movable equipment like pots and pans. Manufacturers have gone to great lengths to study the needs of the woman in the kitchen and to produce articles which will add to her comfort and convenience. One of the newest is the stove-height cabinet, to be placed near the sove as a supplementary work table. The double-basin sink is replacing dish pans, dish-washing machines having helped to wean people away from the

Caramel Apples.

Apples, chopped nuts, 1 cup sugar. Peel, core and quarter apples. Steam till soft without breaking. Put the sugar into a saucepan and stir over a slow gas till melted and a pale brown. Coat apples with the syrup and roll in the chopped nuts. Serve in a glass dish with cream. Prune Chutney. 21b. prunes, 11b. green apples, Jib. green tomatoes, 2 or 3 large onions, jib. raisins, Joz. ground ginger, lib. brown sugar, Jib. salt, 1 teaspoon mustard seed, 1 teaspoon cayenne, 3 pints vinegar, 1 teaspoon powdered cloves. Soak prunes

[ old way. Sink makers contrived the l semi-dishwashing machinery by making a sink with two compartments, each with a strainer stopper. One is for washing while the deeper one is fitted out with wire rack where dishes are stacked for rinsing by means of a handy hose for spraying the hot water. In this type of sink, just below the porcelain basins in the cabinet is a long drawer which opens out like a “bin” and contains compartments for the various types of soap powders. No More Brown Ice Boxes. By no means does everyone have an electric refrigerator, but white equipment has set the style for other ice boxes. Therefore the old brown wooden ice box is gone and people who buy ice can have as beautiful a white, .shiny container as anyone. The new ice boxes shelves for both high and low dishes, have many improvements including a place for the tall milk bottle, enclosed meat compartment directly below the ice. The washing machine has come up from the basement and is as welcome as any of the shiny equipment in the modem kitchen. It now has a floating agitator, a “safety” wringer, and is insulated with fabric covered foil. New kerosene stoves are so different from the old black, dingy affair, they would hardly pass even as cousins. A table type has a Creamy enameled surface and all the bumdrs enclosed, which makes it as smart looking as any modem electric or'gas range. One model has six burners and compartments and drawers for utensils. Kitchen Planning. The average woman, inexperienced in planning, becomes confused when she attempts alone to bring an old-style kitchen up to date, arranging work centres in the modem manner. To give her practical assistance, kitchen planning staffs of gas companies in the larger experts are included in the service cities, according to the American Gas Association.

A good kitchen becomes a better one when the homemaker who is to work in it assists in refitting it] With floor dimensions of the room as a basis, the walls, windows and doors are set up in

overnight. Wash and drain; cut open and remove the stones. Cut apple and onion small; slice tomato. Place all ingredients in the preserving pan and cook for two to three hours, stirring occasionally. Try a little on a saucer, and if there are no watery particles, it is ready. Bottle while hot, and keep for a few weeks before using. Honey Muffins. One pound self-raising flour, pinch salt, 2 large tablespoons goon dripping, lard, or butter, 1 gill milk, 1 cup honey, 1 well-beaten egg. Add salt to flour, rub in dripping or butter, then add milk (warmed) in

miniature to form a model of the room in question, and to determine any possible alterations.

Then, with blocks of wood, designed and scaled to represent modern pieces of equipment, she is guided in the most convenient arrangement of a group of essentials, correctly-sized for her needs—sink, range and refrigerator, wall and floor cabinets as well as working surfaces. Unite these groupings efficiently, i Many staff specialists offer still more in kitchen planning, advising in the matter of furnishings and decoration. This includes wall coverings, paints, floor coverings in varied materials, patterns and colour schemes, window treatments, and the rest. Costs are then estimated according to the materials possible within the allotted budget. Once a pleasing colour scheme has been decided, the homemaker may be sufficiently talented to proceed alone from that point. Because modern gas equipment for cooking and refrigeration usually is selected in white enamel, kitchen settings are enlivened by bright colouring—rich reds, blues of definite character, deep yellows, warm browns, with balanced touches of one or more contrasting colours for accent.

A housewife living in a small city where a kitchen planning expert is not available may utilise the building block idea to good advantage by folding stiff paper into squares and cubes to represent equipment. These may be placed upon a kitchen floor plan drawn ,to scale upon a piece of paper..