The Kitchen — What Shall I Prepare to Eat?

What shall I prepare to eat? A question long repeated on the tongues of housewives, with something of vexation and perplexity in its tones, as though, faced with this task — choosing the necessary foods and preparing them — they labored under a heavy burden demanding much effort and patience; and they often feel that the management of the household would weigh far less upon them, and would leave them abundant time, if the business of deciding the dishes and selecting their appetizing varieties were entrusted to someone else.

But this burden, as many of us in the company of housewives call it, is not easily shifted from our shoulders — by handing it over to the cook, for example. He can indeed draw up menus for every meal, but they are seldom adequate to the purposes intended and the benefits sought: the foodstuffs listed on the daily menu may not be found in the market, or the family may not like them or take to them, or the menu may contain ill-matched dishes that must be discarded. So we see that the problem remains far from solved; and the truth is that the person charged with providing the family's food carries a responsibility that is hard to neglect, and whose importance is hard to pass over.

It seems to me, Madam, that you are asking yourself: what, pray, are the new foodstuffs to be had, from which I might make dishes appetizing in taste, delicious in flavor, and attractive to the eye?... and especially for those who suffer from a poor appetite. Your little girl may show distaste for several kinds of food, or your growing son may have lost his appetite after an indisposition that befell him. I answer you that it is comparatively easy to draw up lists of dishes for the various meals in such a way that these lists are attractive and tempting — if no account is taken of the prices of the foodstuffs desired, or of the amount of work required to prepare them and bring them to the table. And here I should like to draw your attention to a danger of the greatest consequence, which arises from extravagance in expense and cost through excessive refinement in the preparing of dishes — a thing not to be reckoned merely a matter of art, for it tempts one to eat to excess, to the point of surfeit, and that is one of the ways of wasting food without profit or benefit.

For most families, the prices of foodstuffs are an important factor in the question of diet, since somewhere between a quarter of the family's income and, at times, half of it must be set aside for buying these materials. And the smaller the income, the larger the share of it allotted to the expenses of food. But fortunately there is no essential relation between the nutritional value of foods and their prices. In fact, some of the necessary foodstuffs are cheaper than all the rest. Price alone, then, Madam, is not to be relied upon entirely in deciding what you should prepare for the family. Rather you are in pressing need of acquainting yourself with some of the factors that affect the prices of foodstuffs, so that you may choose wisely and select with deliberation, lest the finances of the house be exposed to the hazards of chaos and disorder.

Do not be surprised, or angry, Madam, if you set out to buy some fish on one of winter's stormy days and then draw back because the price has risen so steeply, or find yourself compelled to buy it while complaining of the dearness; this is owing to the smallness of the quantity in the market on account of the bad weather. Conversely, the price will be low when the weather is favorable, so that it lies within the means of most families to buy this delicious food — which contains, besides, vitamins and proteins, all of them building nutrients.

Nor should it escape you, Madam, that certain vegetables — string beans, squash, peas, and okra — cost us exorbitant prices in midwinter because of their scarcity. And you know full well that you cannot in any way do without these vegetables, at once wholesome and delicious. Have you, then, found a reasonable solution for combating this food crisis? Have you tried to resort to a sure means that will secure you a sufficient quantity of these necessary foodstuffs before the crisis ends and spring arrives, brimming over with its flood of good things?

Do not be flustered, and do not say that your family, and above all your children, will be deprived of a generous share of these vegetables — rich in iron and vitamins — during the winter; for you can spare them all that, if you put up your store of these vegetables in glass vessels (bottles or jars) filled with salted water — taking care that the proportion of salt is the same as we use in preserving olives. And to make sure that no foul air seeps in to these vegetables, it is advisable — indeed necessary — to pour a layer of olive oil over the surface of the water before you seal the vessel tightly. This method of putting up conserves is easy, economical, and sure in its results.

As for meat, its prices often rise because of seasons of drought and the want of sufficient pasture for the flocks. And in the face of this we find ourselves confronting another of the crises of food, no less grave and weighty than the crisis of vegetables. But the wise housewife, with the wisdom and skill she commands in the field of economy and household management, can smooth away the difficulties, surmount the obstacles, and defy circumstance, heedless of whatever barriers and hindrances it may set in her path. It is well known that lean meat is rich in protein, the nutritive element that builds all the tissues of the body. What, then, is the mistress of the house to do when it becomes hard for her to obtain it every day because of the prevailing high prices? In such circumstances she can replace it, once or twice a week, with other foods containing like quantities of protein, such as fish and eggs. And I need not enumerate for you the various delicious and nourishing dishes that are made from these materials — you know better than anyone what delicious dishes and appetizing foods win the hearts of your family. Handle them as you please, then, and exercise all the ingenuity you like in preparing them.

And who is more fitting than you, Madam, to bear the burdens of this task — on whose success depends the greater part of the happiness of the family's members, their contentment, and their delight in the work of your hands: delicious, wholesome fare, rich and appetizing nourishment. There is no happiness without health, and no health without food. Will you not, then, from this day on, give them all that they long for and that their souls desire?...