Foods That Will Win The War And How To Cook Them (1918) Part 19

When we come to waste caused by careless preparation we may be reminded of the miracle of the loaves and fishes--how all the guests were fed and then twelve baskets were gathered up. Often after preparation that which is gathered up to be thrown away is as large in quant.i.ty and as high in food value as the portions used.

Vegetables are wasted in preparation by too thick paring, the discarding of coa.r.s.e leaves such as are found on lettuce, cabbage and cauliflower, discarding wilted parts which can be saved by soaking, throwing away tips and roots of celery and the roots and ends of spinach and dandelions. All these waste products can be cooked tender, rubbed through a sieve and used with stock for vegetable soup, or with skimmed milk for cream soup. Such products are being conserved by the enemy, even to the onion skin, which is ground into bread-making material.

Throwing away the water in which vegetables have been cooked wastes their characteristic and valuable element--the mineral salts. Cooking them so much that they become watery; under-cooking so that they are hard and indigestible; cooking more than is required for a meal; failing to use left-over portions promptly as an entree or for cream soups or scalloped dishes--all these things mean an appalling waste of valuable food material. Good food material is also lost when the water in which rice or macaroni or other starchy food has been boiled is poured down the kitchen sink. Such water should be used for soup making.

Fruits are wasted by throwing away the cores and skins, which can be used for making sauces, jams and jellies, the latter being sweetened with corn syrup instead of sugar.

Rhubarb is wasted by removing the pink skin from young rhubarb, which should be retained to add flavor and color-attractiveness to the dish.

Raw food in quant.i.ty is frequently left in the mixing bowl, while by the use of a good flexible knife or spatula every particle can be saved. A large palette knife is as good in the kitchen as in the studio.

The next step in food preparation is cooking, and tons of valuable material are wasted through ignorance of the principles of cooking.

Bad cooking, which means under-cooking, over-cooking or flavorless cooking, renders food inedible, and inedible food contributes to world shortage. Fats are wasted in cooking by being burned and by not being carefully utilized as dripping and shortening. The water in which salt meat, fresh meat, or poultry has been boiled should be allowed to cool and the fat removed before soup is made of it. Such fat can be used, first of all, in cooking, and then any inedible portions can be used in soap making.

Tough odds and ends of meat not sightly enough to appear on the table are often wasted. They can be transformed by long cooking into savory stews, ragouts, croquettes and hashes, whereas, if carelessly and insufficiently cooked, they are unpalatable and indigestible. Sc.r.a.ps of left-over cooked meat should be ground in the food-chopper and made into appetizing meat b.a.l.l.s, hashes or sandwich paste. If you happen to have a soft cooked egg left over, boil it hard at once. It can be used for garnishes, sauces, salads or sandwich paste.

Use all bits of bread, that cannot be used as toast, in puddings, croquettes, scalloped dishes or to thicken soup.

Don't throw away cold m.u.f.fins and fancy breads. Split and toast them for next day's breakfast.

Foods that survive the earlier forms of waste are often lost at table by the serving of portions of like size to all members of the family.

The individual food requirements differ according to age, s.e.x, vocation and state of health. Each should be considered before the food is served, then there will be no waste on the plates when the meal is over. The following table, showing the daily requirement of calories for men and women in various lines of work, ill.u.s.trates this point:

WOMEN CALORIES Sedentary work ... 2,400 Active work ... 2,700 Hard manual labor ... 3,200

MEN CALORIES Sedentary work ... 2,700 Active work ... 3,450 Hard manual labor ... 4,150

Although the serving of food should be carefully planned so as to prevent waste, care should be taken that growing children have ample food. It is a mistake to suppose that a growing child can be nourished on less than a sedentary adult. A boy of fourteen who wants to eat more than his father probably needs all that he asks for. We must not save on the children; but it will be well to give them plain food for the most part, which will not tempt them to overeat, and tactfully combat pernickety, overfastidious likes and dislikes.

The United States Food Administration is preaching the gospel of the clean plate, and this can be accomplished by serving smaller portions, insisting that all food accepted be eaten; by keeping down bread waste, cutting the bread at the table a slice at a time as needed; by cooking only sufficient to supply moderately the number to be fed, and no more. It is a false idea of good providing that platters must leave the table with a generous left-over. Waste of cooked food is a serious item in household economy, and no matter how skillfully leftovers are utilized, it is always less expensive and more appetizing to provide fresh-cooked foods at each meal.

One would think that with the various uses to which all kinds of foodstuffs may be put that there would be little left for the yawning garbage pail. But the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture is responsible for the statement that $750,000,000 worth of food has been wasted annually in the American kitchen. Undoubtedly a large part of this wastefulness was due to ignorance on the part of the housewife, and the rest of it to the lack of co-operation on the part of the employees who have handled the food but not paid the bills.

According to a well-known domestic scientist, the only things which should find their way to the garbage pail are:

Egg sh.e.l.ls--after being used to clear coffee.

Potato skins--after having been cooked on the potato.

Banana skins--if there are no tan shoes to be cleaned.

Bones--after having been boiled in soup kettle.

Coffee grounds--if there is no garden where they can be used for fertilizer, or if they are not desired as filling for pincus.h.i.+ons.

Tea leaves--after every tea-serving, if they are not needed for brightening carpets or rugs when swept.

Asparagus ends--after being cooked and drained for soup.

Spinach, etc.--decayed leaves and dirty ends of roots.

If more than this is now thrown away, you are wasting the family income and not fulfilling your part in the great world struggle. Your government says that it is your business to know what food your family needs to be efficient; that you must learn how to make the most of the foods you buy; that it is your duty to learn the nature and uses of various foods and to get the greatest possible nourishment out of every pound of food that comes to your home.

The art of utilizing left-overs is an important factor in this prevention of waste. The thrifty have always known it. The careless have always ignored it. But now as a measure of home economy as well as a patriotic service, the left-over must be handled intelligently.

The following recipes show how to make appetizing dishes from products that heretofore in many homes have found their way to the extravagant pail.

In these recipes, sauces are prominent because they are of great value in making foods of neutral flavor, especially the starchy winter vegetables, and rice, macaroni and hominy, as attractive as they are nutritious; salads are included, since these serve to combine odds and ends of meats and vegetables; gelatine dishes are provided because gelatine serves as a binder for all kinds of leftovers and is an extremely practical way of making the most rigid saving acceptable; desserts made of crumbs of bread and cake, or left-over cereals, are among the major economies if they are worked out in such a way that they do not involve the extravagant use of other foodstuffs. All the recipes in this economy cook-book have been thoughtfully adapted to the conditions of the time, and will show the practical housekeeper how to supply wholesome, flavorsome food for the least cost.

SAUCES MAKE LEFTOVERS ATTRACTIVE

WHITE SAUCE

1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup fat 1 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon cayenne 1-1/2 cups milk

Melt fat. Add dry ingredients and a little of the milk. Bring to boiling point. Continue adding milk a little at a time until all is added. Serve with vegetables, fish, eggs, meats.

WHITE SAUCE WITH CHEESE

1/2 cup cheese (cream or American) added to 1-1/2 cups white sauce

Excellent to serve with macaroni, hominy or vegetables.

WHITE SAUCE WITH SHRIMPS

1/2 cup shrimps 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup white sauce

Serve on toast, or with starchy vegetables.

WHITE SAUCE WITH HORSERADISH AND PIMENTO

1/4 cup horseradish 1 tablespoon chopped pimento 1 cup white sauce

SERVE WITH BOILED BEEF, HOT OR COLD, OR WITH COLD ROAST BEEF.

WHITE SAUCE WITH EGG