50 
House & Garden 
EQUIPPING THE BRIDE’S KITCHEN 
The Utensils and Devices Which Will Help Her Avoid the Pitfall 
of the Impossible Pie and the Traditional Leaden Biscuit 
ETHEL R. PEYSER 
W E moderns are so up to date that al¬ 
though we expect our women to marry 
they know less of the kitchen needs 
and the infant’s psychology than of the con¬ 
stituencies of the planets’ atmospheres. So 
to correct some of the deficiencies we are go¬ 
ing to list in this article the prices of neces¬ 
sities of the bride’s kitchen at the present, 
which you must rememben* is two months 
ahead of the time that this story is printed. 
Today prices veer so rapidly that we can 
only hope that they will not veer upward be¬ 
fore your kindly eye peruses these pages. 
Whether you use electricity, oil, gas, or 
wood should be part of the determining fac¬ 
tors in buying utensils. For this reason we 
will, as far as possible, designate the special 
uses of these utensils whenever possible or 
necessary. 
May it be said at the start that aluminum 
and enamel (best quality) can be used on 
any stove. Aluminum is more expensive but 
doesn’t blacken up on the stove and lives 
longer than enamels. We will not take up 
copper, as it is too heavy and costly for the 
ordinary kitchen and takes too much labor to 
keep in the brightened condition in which it 
should be kept. 
We favor glass whenever it can be substi¬ 
tuted for kitchen utensils as the most ideal 
oven utensil. If the purse can stand it and 
its initial expense it will save fuel, time and 
energy in the end and therefore money. 
The Lists 
Our omissions in this 
listing in any case are 
due to personal experi¬ 
ence and choice and also 
to a feeling that there are 
many things that can be 
omitted when the kitchen 
is started and be put in 
later when exigencies ap¬ 
pear and the income is 
greater. 
We have purposely not 
added up the list to get 
an aggregate expenditure, 
as it would mean little 
when cheaper or more ex¬ 
pensive materials can be 
substituted. Therefore we 
have given but the indi¬ 
vidual costs which can be 
combined in the ways the 
housekeeper desires. Thus 
the list is meant to be a 
nomenclature rather than 
a hard and fast formula, 
a vade mecum rather than 
a crystallized rule of 
thumb. 
You may consider some things unnecessary 
in these lists. Again, the list is a personal 
compilation, as lists are as yet not machine- 
made, and the maker has considered what are 
the essentials to culinary habits. 
Nor have we mentioned stoves as a con¬ 
sideration of the bride’s first tool chest, because 
the architect or the landlord in many cases 
has decided this for her. If the buyer needs 
to purchase a stove her choice is usually 
bounded by the kind of fuel which is cheap¬ 
est in the place her spouse has necessarily to 
live. 
So, although utensils are dependent on the 
stoves and stoves on utensils, we have omitted 
the stove, whose costs can easily be ferreted 
out by reading past files of House & Gar¬ 
den, or consulting stove manufacturers or the 
Shopping Department of this publication. 
Cabinets and Conveniences 
Were we fitting out a kitchen we would 
either buy a kitchen cabinet or have one built 
in the home of the steel unit type. We have 
not included it in the list for fear of being too 
commanding, and it can be dispensed with 
if the shelving and hanging room is sufficient; 
though we venture to say not quite so de¬ 
lightful will be the kitchen atmosphere with¬ 
out one. The kitchen cabinet in steel costs 
from about $92 upward; in wood, $89 up. 
Devices on which to hang the pots and pans 
and house the knives in frictionless positions 
are, too, omitted, because these things vary in 
price with carpentering and the amount neces¬ 
sary to spend in room and money. It is the 
only way to house utensils ... in the open 
air where they are visible and where the arm 
can reach and where the back is not unrelent¬ 
ingly and unnecessarily bent in the perform¬ 
ance of the manifold duties of kitchen usage. 
The ice-cream freezer is not included as 
this is not an essential, unless the purchaser 
thinks it to be one. It is to be had in a two- 
quart measure from about $4.90 upward, and 
the gallon is available at $7.50. 
In some instances we have put an article 
under two heads; trays, for example. This is 
done to show that the two articles in aluminum 
or tin are equally useful and if the cheaper 
grade is desirable it is a safe “buy.” 
The grapefruit knife may be a glaring omis¬ 
sion—we hope it is. Yet as it is not strictly nec¬ 
essary we have omitted it. If this little joy is 
bought, the stainless steel is the best material 
in which to look for it. It costs about 75 
cents. And as soon as the purse is large 
enough and the manufacturers have come to 
the point, stainless steel is the best in which to 
buy nearly every bit of cutlery, as it requires 
little attention and neither rusts nor stains. 
Here follow the lists: 
Tea kettle, 3 
Quart measure. 
Double boiler, 2 
Funnel . 
Ladle . 
Pie plate, shallow 
UTENSILS IN ALUMINUM 
qts.. . 
qts. 
dish. 
Pie plate, deep 
Sauce pans, 1 qt. ~| These 
Sauce pans, 2 qts. f-bave 
Sauce pans, 6 qts.J covers 
Kettle covers, extra 
1 qt. 
2 qts. 
6 qts. 
Pitcher 
Baking 
Measuring cup 
Dripping pan 
Frying pan. . 
Griddle . 
Roaster .... 
Angel caker. 
Bread pans. . 
Cake pans... 
2 Muffiners, 6 cups. 
Steamer—fits kettle 
Trays . 
Jelly cake pan 
Jelly mold ... 
Waffle mold.. 
Strainer . 
Dish drainer . 
$ 2 . 
55, 
.$6.15 
. 2.00 
. 4.05 
. .90 
. 2.25 
.53 
. .62 
. 1.40 
. 2.00 
. 3.75 
, .25 
, .44 
.62 
, 7.85 
, 1.30 
.60 
2.95 
. 3.60 
5.55 
7.20 
1.85 
1.15 
1.60 
1.65 
3.15 
3.20 
1.20 
2.90 
6.65 
1,20 
4.00 
UTENSILS IN ENAMEL 
2nd 
Double boiler. . . . 
. .$2.20 
Grade 
$2.20 
Colander . 
.. 1.30 
1.05 
Funnel . 
. . .50 
.40 
Ladle . 
.. .45 
.35 
Pie plates. 
.. .55 
.40 
Measure . 
. . 1.00 
.80 
Uncovered sauce 
.55 
.50 
pans . 
.60 
1.35 
1.00 
Basting spoons. .. 
.. .30 
.28 
Tea kettle. 
. . 3.00 
2.55 
Mixing bowls. ... 
.. .95 
Tea pot. 
1.20 
.. 1.75 
1.60 
Dipper . 
. . 85 
Oval dish pan. . . . 
. . 2.40 
1.85 
Soap dish. 
. . .55 
.45 
Sink drainer. 
. . .75 
It is better for the kitchen equipment to be simple and of the best, than more complete 
and inferior in quality. Cleanliness and ease of operation should always be sought, and 
unpractical utensils and devices studiously avoided 
UTENSILS IN GLASS 
Three kitchen glasses.$.10 
(Continued on page 70) 
