Image by Emily Malloy for Theology of Home IV
By Patricia Patnode
Domestic etiquette expert Isabella Beeton published her, "Book of Household Management,” in 1861. In it she wrote, “A nicely-arranged table, with clean cloth and napkins, and well-polished glass and plate, forms one of the principal requisites to a good dinner; the eye should find all in accordance, and the effect be such as to tempt the appetite.”
She pointed out a timeless truth, that a well set table can make you feel like you have a well ordered life — even if it’s just for one meal.
Similarly, Ladies' Home Journal, which ran from 1883 to 2016, featured advice columns on home organization and beautification. In the late 1800s, it published a variety of suggestions for pantry perfection, where homemakers were encouraged to transfer bulk goods like flour, sugar, and spices into labeled canisters or jars.
Such home styling publications have since been replaced by “restock my fridge” and “let’s clean my house!” TikToks, Instagram mommy vloggers, guerilla home tours by creator Caleb Simpson, and Architectural Digest videos showing well ordered, idyllic homes.
Clearly, the fascination of how to keep the space you live in orderly and beautiful is still an itch Americans are trying to scratch.
There has been a longstanding tradition in household management, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, of decanting packaged food into pitchers, jars, or tins for both display and utility purposes.
Back when milk was delivered by a milkman, the glass bottles it came in weren’t as convenient for pouring as a pitcher with a spout. Flour and sugar purchased in cloth or paper sacks were better protected from bugs when stored in sealed containers. Some of these display storage items are still features of our kitchens today—think of the butter dish, cake stand, and the, albeit less common, breadbox.
Today, you’re unlikely to see a ceramic or glass water pitcher unless you’re at a restaurant. A plastic Brita pitcher is probably the closest thing that you’ll find in most homes. Although, in the summer, lemonade or big-batch cocktails might be served in a pitcher for special occasions and on sunny days.
The packaged and canned food boom of the 1900s shocked kitchen cabinets everywhere. Suddenly it became normal to purchase bread every week instead of baking it at home. Milk, and eggs were purchased packaged at the grocery store rather than through a delivery service or from neighbors with chickens. Canned goods were bought rather than made. This great substitution allowed for great labor savings for women in the kitchen and also fundamentally changed our relationship to food.
Packaged foods, name-brand pop (or soda, as some say) signaled upper middle class wealth, and Mad Men-esque marketers did a great job of making packaging something we desire to see.
Today, coffee creamer, or at least my coffee creamer, more often than not remains in the carton and rarely makes it into my little creamer pitcher. My water comes from the sink and on a lazy cooking night, my instant noodles are slurped from a cardboard bowl, and I know I’m not the only one.
We have lost quite a bit of intentional and artistic expression at the dinner table, and decanters and serving pitchers are an accessible way to reclaim some elegance at mealtime.
There isn’t anything sinful or truly bad about eating the Trader Joe’s microwave meal from the plastic tray it comes in, or drinking straight from the gallon of milk. Still, it’s remarkable how much more calm and happy I feel when I take the extra step to separate my food from the packaging that it comes from and serve it in a disk-- even if that meal is just instant noodles.
In the morning, when you're having coffee or tea with your breakfast, consider pouring a small amount into a creamer pitcher and setting it at the table before serving yourself. Serve yogurt in a dish rather than in the cup it comes in. Replace a diner-style sugar container with a dainty sugar bowl. Lighting candles at dinner is also a simple way to add warmth and a sense of specialness to otherwise routine meals.
The famous fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli wrote in her autobiography "Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Dining well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale."
There is something about taking an extra step with presentation that makes your cup of coffee feel more important, consequently you feel more worthy of enjoying the moments before your day really begins.
Patricia Patnode works in Washington D.C. and is a regular contributor for The Cedar Rapids Gazette and The Conservator, among other publications. She received a B.A. from Loras College in her home state of Iowa and teaches religious education and ice skating classes in her spare time.