Choice and Care of Utensils 133* 



Is the utensil durable ? A purchase of permanent equipment should add 

 enough to the value of the working plant so that it need not be charged 

 as an expense against the year of its purchase, but may be treated as an 

 investment covering as many years as its usefulness continues. 



Is the utensil convenient to handle? Convenience of handling depends 

 on more than mere lack of weight. A heavy utensil, well balanced, with 

 handle or bail set in just the right place and way, may be easier to use 

 than a lighter one in which these points were not considered and which 

 must be kept balanced by hand and wrist in order not to tip. 



Shall we choose a utensil with a bail or one with a handle ? The choice 

 depends on the use to which the utensil is to be put, on its size, and on 

 our available stove and storage space. For a utensil of moderate size, 

 easily lifted with one hand, occupying little space in itself, and intended 

 for use on top of the stove only, a fairly long handle is best: it does not 

 get in the way of the cover or of the contents to be poured out ; moreover, 

 it may be so constructed as not to grow uncomfortably hot to the hand, 

 either by being made hollow, or by being covered with wood as in the case 

 of chafing dishes, coffee percolators, and the like. The wooden handle 

 is better adapted, however, for use on oil, gas, or alcohol stoves than on 

 coal or wood stoves, since with the former the area of heat does not reach 

 the wood sufficiently to crack it. Birch is the most durable wood for the 

 purpose, but the attractiveness of ebony or teakwood handles generally 

 leads to the choice of some wood that can be given the ebony finish. 



It is convenient, at times, to have a utensil that may be transferred at will 

 from the top of the stove to the oven. For this purpose utensils are made 

 with a very short handle or with two handles of the sugar-bowl type. 



The half -circle metal bail, reaching, basket fashion, from one side of the 

 utensil to the other, is best reserved for utensils so large in themselves as 

 to require much stove and storage space and needing two hands to lift 

 them. In this type of bail the wooden protector, hanging against the side 

 of the kettle and very close to the fire, soon becomes cracked, breaks off, 

 and makes necessary the use of holders; moreover, the bail is likely to 

 get in the way when the cover of the utensil is being adjusted or when 

 the contents are being poured out. 



The choice of handles that do not grow uncomfortably hot is to be con- 

 sidered even in the matter of measuring cups. Tests with tin, aluminum, 

 and glass measuring cups prove the glass to be as much more comfortable 

 to handle as it is easier to clean than the other materials. Aluminum 

 conducts heat too readily to make practical any utensil having a handle 

 of the same material. Manufacturers take this into consideration in the 

 making of saucepans, but have hitherto overlooked it in the making of 

 measuring cups. 



