Choice and Care of Utensils J34 1 



commonly known as iron or steel, we have also those in which iron or steel 

 form the foundation : tin, galvanized iron, enamel, and nickel-plated ware. 

 The advantage of iron lies in its strength, durability, and power to hold 

 high heat without melting. Cast iron is hard and brittle but withstands 

 great pressure. It holds heat longer than does wrought iron. It is shaped 

 by being cast in sand molds, and is used for griddles, frying kettles, and 

 the wheels of egg beaters, cream whips, and other machinery. When 

 defects occur in a kettle, or the wheels of the new egg beater refuse to act 

 even after oiling, this may be because the mold was jarred, after the liquid 

 iron was poured into it, allowing particles of sand to obstruct the flow of 

 the metal. Thus a part of the pattern remains unfinished, just as when 

 our batter does not reach every part of the waffle iron and the result is 

 an imperfectly shaped product. 



Wrought iron is being largely replaced by steel in the making of kitchen 

 utensils since the lowered price of steel has made it available. Steel 

 responds to many different forms of treatment and may be made either 

 hard and brittle by being cooled suddenly, or soft and tough by being 

 cooled gradually. By definite processes of heating and cooling it receives 

 the quality known as " temper." 



A good iron or steel utensil, well cared for, grows better and better 

 the longer it is used. The two essentials are that it be kept dry and that 

 it be kept smooth. The chief foe of iron is rust, caused by the action of 

 moist air. Rust in itself has no harmful effect on food, but by roughening 

 the utensil it makes that unsanitary. Moreover, unlike the films formed 

 by the action of the air on zinc, tin, and aluminum, rust is not compact 

 enough to act as a protective covering; once started, it proceeds rapidly 

 to eat into the utensil that it has attacked. 



Some cooks assert that an iron utensil should never be washed, but 

 only thoroughly rubbed after use, in order that its surface may be protected 

 by a constant coating of fat. However, if the air cannot attack the iron, 

 it does attack the fat, causing decomposition which will taint the food 

 cooked in such a utensil. The best way, therefore, to cleanse an iron 

 utensil, is to boil in it a solution of washing soda, rinse it with boiling water, 

 and see that it is thoroughly dry before being put away. As suggested 

 in speaking of the protection of utensils when not in use, iron that is put 

 away for a time should be protected with paraffin. 



The question is often asked, " Should an omelet pan be used for any 

 other purpose?" A pan cleansed after the manner suggested should be 

 clean enough for any, and therefore for every, food, including an omelet. 

 The cook who answered in self-defense, when accused of slowness in serving 

 the breakfast griddle cakes, " But this griddle don't rightly bake but one 

 cake," was merely betraying her methods of keeping that griddle unclean, 



