Preserve meals from monotony

It’s ages since I looked at dear Ruth Drew’s interesting book  ‘The Happy Housewife’. She was a writer and broadcaster who sadly died in 1962 at the age of just fifty-nine. Her book is a delightful mix of advice about ‘running a household’, useful tips for all sorts of things including caravaning, and recipes. It was definitely of its time and as social history it’s fascinating, and her jolly and enthusiastic personality shines through.

One of the chapters is on household equipment, with a subjection on ‘Preservation and Care of Household Equipment (Not to mention Yourself)’ She mentions fabric during washing, flowers, outdoor things, and other items and then ‘In the Kitchen Generally’

• Preserve perishable food by keeping in a cool place, protected from flies. Meat is best hung up, or place on a grid loosely covered with greaseproof paper and topped by a ventilated meat cover
• To preserve a lettuce, wash in cold salted water. Dry by shaking in a clean cloth. Place in a saucepan, or similar container, with a lid. Stand in a cool place.
• To preserve butter and margarine, store in the dark if possible. Light affects vitamin content and may hasten rancidity.
• To keep bread fresh, store in a scrupulously clean, well-ventilated bin. Or wrap in a clean, dry cloth and stand it on a shelf in a well-ventilated cupboard.
• To preserve the freshness of cheese, wrap in greased paper and hang it in a piece of muslin in a cool, airy place, Thoroughly dried cheese may be grated and stored in an air-tight jar for cooking purposes.
• Preserve the food value of vegetables (especially green ones) by storing for as short a time as possible before cooking. If storage is unavoidable, choose a cool, airy place. Avoid preliminary soaking in water.
• Preserve meals from monotony by making them colourful, sparing a moment to garnish before serving, experimenting with flavours and shunning a set sequence of menus.

This advice was given at a time before most people had fridges, before plastic and cling-film, and before supermarkets. I think many of us have gone back to using glass jars and containers, greaseproof paper and tinfoil (which Ruth doesn’t mention) I love her last instruction ‘to preserve meals from monotony’! Great advice!