Modern Heating Appliances

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 250, 12 January 1928, Page 6

Modern Heating Appliances

The Convenience and Efficiency of Gas

The climate of New -Zealand makes it imperative that there shall be available in the home some means of providing heat at short notice, under such a system as will not only keep the temperature of the room cool, but in addition provide adequate ventilation to replace the chimney. The problem of such heating is a complicated one, rendered particularly difficult by warm summer weather, but the provision of satisfactory heating is: well worth any trouble spent. Of the many types of fire in common use, gas possesses definite advantages, as it is easy to handle, capable of quickly rendering available the heat produced on combustion, and has been developed to the point of satisfying medical requirements, both in regard to ventilation ‘and the character of the energy supplied. The modern gas cooker is specially insulated to prevent loss of heat, which in addition to making the oven more efficient ensures a cool kitchen. Such a cooker is also hygienic in every way, cooking the food more perfectly and more easily than ever, features largely due to the ease with which the heat is controlled. For example, the hot plate has been completely redesigned, and instead of the gas flame being vertical and two or three inches away from the plate, it is now horizontal and close to the utensil, so that considerably less gas is required. A feature about modern gas ovens that will appeal to busy housewives, is the automatic control of oven temperatures by thermostat control. This enables suitable temperatures required for the cooking of different types of food to be attained and maintained from day to day irrespective of changes in the gas supply. By its means the user can produce from day to day the particular result she desires. Further, many ovens are furnished with high-temperature and lowtemperature zones, and it is possible to arrange complete dinners so that all the food is inserted in the oven at one time, cooked by the aid of the automatic control without any attention, and then withdrawn together. The modern gas cooker is designed on artistic lines and with its white enamel casings and nickel-plated mountings is not only an ornament to the kitchen, but very easy to keep clean. Recent developments in the manufacture of ranges have so improved the construction that a 25 per cent, reduction has been made in the amount of gas required to reach the same heat as formerly. This of course is equal to a 25 per cent, reduction in cost of operation. A distinct boon this weather, when no one wants too much bother, are the gas water heaters which supply hot water in large or small quantities at any time. There is no waiting for hot water when a number of baths are required, and they are alwaj's ready in emergencies. Another valuable installation is the automatic gas waterheater which supplies hot water to every tap, bath, basin, shower, or wash-tub, by simply turning on the tapi' Any quantity of water and any degree of heat is obtained instantly, and by turning off the tap again both the gas and the water are automatically shut off, thus avoiding waste. Gas cookers and other appliances are so efficient and useful that it is no wonder they are growing in popularity. A report issued by the American Gas Association states that one company installed 1,042 white enamelled cooking ranges in 1918, while in 1925 they installed 29,793. The figure for the first nine months of 1926 is 26,363, and the company expects the total for the year to be nearly 40,000. In 1926 the total manufactured gas consumed in the United States was 459,326 million cubic feet—an increase of more than 38,000,000,000 over the year 1925. During the past five years the sales of manufactured gas have increased by 40 per cent.

CARE OF MILK IN SUMMER NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS One of the most vital matters for the housewife to remember during the summer months is the care of milk. In a warm climate milk is both the most easily contaminated of foods and the vehicle of many bacteria and the greatest care is required in handling and keeping it. Milk, always a subject of anxious scrutiny in the nursery, becomes increasingly so in summer, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is impossible to take too much trouble to ensure its safety. This is two-sided, dependent first upon the milk being delivered in perfect condition, and then on the care bestowed upon it, in order that no contamination may occur while it is in the house. There are various methods of doing this, boiling, sterilising and pasteurisation being the most familiar. Each has its own procedure, necessitating more or less trouble. A word here for the simple boiling which is often looked at askance. Its ease has much to recommend it for the busy mother, and, provided the milk is brought just to the boil and that fruit juice, etc., is given to make up the vital element modified, if not lost, in the process, it does all right. Not so well as sterilisation perhaps, but still giving real safety with very little trouble.

But there are one or two points only, alas, too often overlooked in

all such precautionary measures. The most common is the imperative necessity of rapid cooling. To leave milk standing about to get cool in the ordinary way, sometimes even in the hot kitchen, is simply courting disaster, for the process by no means leaves it absolutely sterile, and this temperature is providing absolutely the best forcing ground for the dormant micro-organisms and their spores left in it. The ideal, of course, is to have ice, in which the vessel containing the milk can be immediately packed, so that it cools as quickly as possible. Sometimes in the country there is a spring or well into which the vessel containing the milk (which must always be closely covered) can be lowered. Otherwise, it must be stood in the coolest available spot, in a draught and in cold water, which must be frequently changed. If it can be under a running tap, so much the better. This recalls another important point, and that is that the milk must be poured into a wide-mouthed vessel which has been previously boiled, and laid in water till the moment of use. To sterilise milk and then put it into a jug merely washed out and left uncovered is to bring it again into contact with the microbes with which all surroundings are laden, to say nothing of the deadly fly. During the recent warm evenings, Dixieland Cabaret has been patronised by quite a number of people enjoying the cool and refreshing atmosphere at Point Chevalier.