Overview:
This 1916 manual, “Ontario Teachers’ Manuals: Household Management,” was designed to guide Ontario educators in teaching household skills to their students. The manual covers a range of practical topics relevant to the home, emphasizing cleanliness, efficiency, and healthy living. It begins with an introduction outlining the importance of household management as a crucial aspect of education, demonstrating its connection to various school subjects. It then provides detailed outlines for teaching specific skills, including cleaning techniques, cooking methods, food preservation, laundry practices, home care, and even basic home nursing.
The manual is structured by grade level, starting with introductory lessons for junior students and progressively increasing in complexity for senior students. It emphasizes the importance of practical experience and encourages teachers to integrate lessons with real-world situations. The manual also includes valuable resources, a bibliography of recommended books, and a list of relevant magazines, all intended to support teachers in their efforts to educate students in household management.
Key Findings:
- The manual prioritizes teaching students practical skills and knowledge necessary for managing a home.
- It emphasizes the importance of cleanliness and sanitation in maintaining a healthy home environment.
- It highlights the importance of economical practices in managing household tasks and supplies.
- It promotes the use of labor-saving devices and methods to increase efficiency.
- It provides a detailed explanation of various cooking methods, including moist heat, dry heat, and their effects on different foods.
- It explains the importance of proper nutrition and balanced meals for healthy living.
- It includes valuable insights into the preservation of food, including methods like canning, jam-making, and pickling.
- It provides guidance on the proper care and cleaning of various materials commonly found in a home, including metals like iron, steel, tin, and silver.
- It outlines important considerations for home nursing, including the sickroom setup, care of the patient, and preparation of basic poultices and fomentations.
Learning:
- Cleaning: The reader will learn fundamental principles of cleaning, recognizing foreign substances, and understanding various cleaning methods like scraping, rubbing, and dissolving. They will also become familiar with different household cleansing agents and their uses.
- Cookery: The reader will gain knowledge of different cooking methods, understanding the principles of heat transfer and their effects on food. They will learn the importance of correct measurements, how to follow recipes, and how to use various kitchen utensils and appliances.
- Food Preservation: The reader will learn the causes of food decay, the role of bacteria, and how to preserve food through methods like canning, jam-making, and pickling. They will understand the importance of hygiene and sanitation in food preservation.
- Laundry: The reader will become familiar with laundry materials and their uses, including water, alkalies, soap, and starch. They will learn the steps involved in washing white linen and cotton clothes, as well as the proper handling and washing of woolens.
- Household Sanitation: The reader will learn about the dangers of disease-causing bacteria and how to prevent their spread in a household. They will gain knowledge of essential sanitation practices, including proper waste disposal and disinfection methods.
- Home Nursing: The reader will learn basic home nursing techniques, understanding the importance of a clean and well-ventilated sickroom. They will learn how to care for a patient’s bed, administer proper diet, and prepare simple poultices and fomentations.
- Food: The reader will gain knowledge about the nutritional value of various foods, understanding their roles in building, repairing, and regulating the body. They will learn the importance of a balanced diet and how to plan meals based on individual needs.
Historical Context:
This manual was written in 1916, a time of significant change in the world. The First World War was underway, impacting global economies and social structures. In this context, the manual emphasizes the importance of efficient and economical practices in managing a household, likely reflecting wartime resource constraints. The manual also emphasizes the importance of sanitation and hygiene, likely reflecting increasing concerns about public health during this time.
Facts:
- Boiling Water: Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius), and an increase in heat will only increase the volume of steam, not the water’s temperature.
- Simmering Temperature: A simmering liquid is heated to about 180-200 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Importance of Steam in Cooking: Steam is a valuable cooking agent, as it can transfer heat to food without causing excessive drying or toughening.
- Protein Coagulation: Heat affects protein differently. While simmering keeps protein tender, boiling can harden it and make it less digestible.
- Cellulose: The cell walls of plant foods are made of cellulose, which is difficult to digest, but serves a mechanical purpose in the digestive tract.
- Starch: Raw starch is indigestible, and must be cooked to make it soluble and digestible.
- Sugar in Plants: Plants store sugar as starch in their storehouse parts, but in non-storehouse parts, sugar is found in its stead.
- Yeast: Yeast is a one-celled plant that produces carbon dioxide gas, used to lighten bread mixtures.
- Gluten: Gluten is a protein found in wheat flour, responsible for the structure and elasticity of bread dough.
- Types of Flour: Bread flour contains a higher amount of gluten than pastry flour, making it ideal for bread baking.
- Fat in Pastry: Fat is essential in pastry to tenderize the gluten and make it flaky. Lard produces more tender pastry than butter.
- Meat Toughness: The toughness of meat depends on the thickness of the connective tissue surrounding the muscle fibers.
- Moist Heat for Tough Meat: Tough meat should be cooked using moist heat methods like stewing or boiling to soften the connective tissue.
- Digestibility of Meat: Mutton and lamb are easier to digest than beef due to their shorter fibers.
- Fish Fat: Fish is divided into two categories: White-fish, whose fat is mostly in the liver, and oily fish, where fat is distributed throughout the flesh.
- Gelatin: Gelatin is a protein-sparer obtained from animal bones, cartilage, and skin.
- Bacteria: Bacteria are microscopic plants found everywhere, with some being harmful and causing disease.
- Disease-Producing Bacteria: Harmful bacteria can enter the body through the respiratory organs, the digestive tract, or broken skin.
- Sanitation Practices: Essential sanitation practices include maintaining a clean home, proper waste disposal, and using disinfection methods to kill harmful bacteria.
- Home Nursing: Home nursing involves maintaining a clean and well-ventilated sickroom, providing proper care for the patient, and administering appropriate diets.
Statistics:
- Boiling Water: Water reaches its boiling point at 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Simmering Temperature: Simmering takes place at around 180-200 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Baking Time: A roast should be baked 15 minutes per pound.
- Broiling Time: Beef one inch thick cooks rare in eight minutes over coals and ten minutes when pan-broiling.
- Boiling Time: Tender meat takes 20 minutes per pound, while tough meat takes 3-5 hours.
- Stewing Time: Tough meat should be simmered for 3-4 hours.
- Infant Feeding: A healthy infant should be fed every 3 hours during the day and every 4 hours during the night.
- Dietary Standard for Adults: A well-balanced diet for an adult should include: 5 pints of water, 1 ounce of mineral matter, 3-4.5 ounces of protein, 2 ounces of fat, and 14-18 ounces of sugar and starch.
- Carbolic Acid Solution: A disinfecting solution is made by adding one part of carbolic acid to twenty parts of water (6 teaspoons to a pint).
Terms:
- Bacteria: Microscopic single-celled organisms that can be found everywhere.
- Cellulose: A complex carbohydrate that makes up the cell walls of plants.
- Connective Tissue: A type of tissue that holds organs and structures together in animals.
- Gluten: A protein found in wheat flour, responsible for the elasticity of dough.
- Pectin: A substance found in fruit that helps it to form a gel.
- Protein-Sparer: A food that helps to preserve muscle tissue.
- Saponify: To convert fat into soap by reacting it with an alkali.
- Emulsify: To disperse one liquid into another, such as oil in water.
- Sterilize: To kill all bacteria in a substance.
- Disinfect: To destroy disease-causing organisms.
- Counterirritant: A substance that causes irritation to one area of the body to reduce pain or inflammation in another.
Examples:
- Types of Flour: The manual provides examples of different types of flour, such as graham flour, whole wheat flour, and white flour, describing their source and composition.
- Baking-powder: The manual explains that baking-powder is a mixture of soda and cream of tartar, used to lighten cake and biscuit mixtures.
- Types of Cake: The manual categorizes cakes into two groups: cakes without butter (like sponge and angel food cakes) and cakes with butter (like pound cakes and chocolate cakes).
- Types of Bread: The manual provides examples of different breads, such as plain white bread, Parker House rolls, and currant bread.
- Types of Pastry: The manual discusses different pastry types, including plain pastry, flaky pastry, and puff pastry, detailing their ingredient ratios and methods of mixing.
- Meat Cuts: The manual illustrates different cuts of beef, veal, lamb, and pork, describing their properties and appropriate cooking methods for each cut.
- Types of Fish: The manual categorizes fish into groups: white-fish, oily fish, shell-fish, and crustaceous fish.
- Preservation Methods: The manual provides examples of different methods of food preservation, such as drying, cold storage, and canning.
- Types of Frozen Dishes: The manual explains the different types of frozen dishes, including water ice, frappé, sherbet, and ice cream.
Conclusion:
This 1916 manual is a valuable resource for understanding the principles of household management and its importance in promoting a healthy and efficient home environment. The detailed outlines, practical tips, and historical context provide an insightful look into the evolution of household practices and the ongoing importance of these skills. The manual serves as a reminder that good household management practices, including cleanliness, efficient use of resources, and proper nutrition, are essential for a happy and fulfilling home life.