Kitchen Essential

When you have spent both time and money choosing tableware that is suited to your lifestyle, it is important that you know how to keep these things looking as good as new. This is full of useful tips for cleaning, storing and removing stains from all your tableware.

TABLE SURFACES AND CHAIRS

Wood

With the exception of whitewood, all wooden furniture has been given a final surface treatment by the manufacturer. That is why it is important to know what the material is when you buy and, if possible, obtain advice on how to care for it. If the original finish is to keep its looks, it needs a certain amount of regular attention. Continue Reading »

Work surfaces

A good cook will insist on an efficient kitchen that saves unnecessary work. Careful planning must go into the kitchen layout. The most satisfactory plan often links, in a triangular path, the three basic elements — cooker, sink, and food storage — to the preparation centres. They should be located in a compact sequence and not too far apart in order to save unnecessary movements. But personal preferences and styles and methods of working are also important, and you may want to have cookware and utensils within easy reach, as well as such ingredients as oils and condiments. If you spend much time cooking and baking, you may decide to have mini work centres conveniently located around the kitchen for such activities as chopping vegetables, mixing ingredients, baking, and other space-demanding tasks, such as bottling and making preserves, beer, and wines. Continue Reading »

The kitchen should, ideally, be a warm and friendly place, somewhere full of activity, busy, and comfortable so that family or friends will naturally gravitate there to chat or eat or even to read or work. For some, the traditional farmhouse kitchen with its central table is the ideal; while others prefer a clear and uncluttered space in which to prepare and cook food and a separate area for eating and relaxing. With young children, you will need a corner out of harm’s way but where you can keep an eye on them; you will also want a clear view of any outdoor play area.

Since food is handled in the kitchen, it, more than any other space, must be toxin and pollution free. Hygiene is obviously important, but there is no point using products that leave surfaces with a “sparkling clean” shine disguising a residual slick of harmful chemicals. Many safe, natural alternatives are available. Continue Reading »