Girl's home manual of cookery, home management, home nursing and laundry

(4.) Wash with hot water and soap; begin with the cleanest articles. (5.) Rinse in hot water, drain and dry. Put tins on cool part of stove to finish drying to prevent rust. (6.) Put articles away in proper places. (7.) Clean knives and polish bright utensils. (8.) Wash, rinse and dry wash-up pan, drainer, dish-mop and towel. (9.) Scrub, rinse and dry pastry board, rolling pin and table. (10.) Wash, rinse and replace rinse pan, scrub brush and scrub cloth. Note. Use as few utensils as possible and avoid an accumulation of soiled utensils. BEVERAGES WATER, if pure, is a transparent, tasteless, odourless liquid, made up of two gases, two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen (HzO). Source: rain snow, hail, rivers, lakes, ponds, springs and wells. Nature: Water has the property of dissolving many substances with which it comes in contact. These may be harmless or harmful. Unless it is certain that water is from a pure source it should always be boiled before being used as a food. Boiling kills harmful bacteria. Effect of Heat on Water. Water expands when heated and eventually turns to steam. Water simmers at 180° Fahrenheit, that is when bubbles appear at the edges of the vessel in which it is heated. Water boils at sea level at 212° F.,, that is when big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. Amount of Water Needed per day. Two-thirds of the body weight is water. About five pints daily are needed to keep up the supply. Of this about two pints are taken in solid food and three as liquid, either pure or in milk, soups or beverages. Frequently too little water is taken. A tumblerful first thing in the morning and last thing at night helps to prevent constipation. TEA AND COFFEE Tea and coffee are beverages, and not food, strictly speaking, unless milk and sugar are added. TEA is the young leaf of a shrub called Thea. Black tea is the leaf fermented and cured. This tea comes from India and Ceylon. Green tea is prepared from unfermented leaves and comes from Japan. China tea makes a paler infusion, has a delicate flavour, and is less astringent, therefore better to use. Caution: Buy good tea, as it goes farther than cheaper kinds. Keep tea closely covered or it loses flavour. Adulteration: Tea is sometimes adulterated by the addition of old used leaves dried. COFFEE is made from the seeds of the coffee tree. The seeds are washed and dried before being exported. They then need to be roasted and ground shortly before being used. Roasting develops the flavour. Coffee is grown in Brazil, Central America, Java and Arabia, Caution: Buy freshly roasted coffee berries in small quantities and grind at home just before using. If ground coffee has to be bought, sufficient to last a week only should be purchased. Keep coffee in a closely covered tin. Adulterations: Coffee is often adulterated by the addition of chicory, which is the root of the endive plant. It is cheap. Some people prefer a little chicory in coffee. Ground cereals, peas, and beans are also sometimes added to ground coffee. Test for chicory: Chicory sinks in cold water and discolors it. Coffee floats in cold water. COCOA AND CHOCOLATE are prepared from the cocoa bean seed. The seeds are dried and roasted to develop flavour; then the shells are removed and the cocoa nibs ground by hot rollers. This melts the fat known as cocoa butter, much of which is removed. The cocoa is left as a solid cake, which is ground. Chocolate has less of the fat removed and usually sugar and a little cornstarch, or arrowroot, are added to it. Cocoa and chocolate are rich in fat and contain some proteins, carbohydrates and mineral matter. Cocoa is a food as well as a beverage, and when made with milk is very nutritious. BEVERAGES 15 General Composition.