Domestic science (1914 text-book)

Carrots may be kept in root cellars or in cold storage. If they are kept in a cellar, it is best to cover them with sand and Fig. 91 Turnips Rutabagas not to pack very many together. When buying carrots, see that they are firm to the touch and crisp. Test their crispness by breaking them. Turnips, rutabagas : Turnips and rutabagas are different varieties of the same plant. Turnips are white-fleshed and rutabagas are yellowfleshed. The medium-sized turnips are the best to use for the table. They are used in stews mixed with other vegetables, or mashed or sliced as a side dish. Coffee: Some prefer an unblended coffee of a certain variety; others prefer a blend made by mixing a number of varieties to give just the effect desired. One might, for instance, take Burhon for the acid, add straight Santos for body, and Bogota for body and aroma, and get a very desirable blend. The proportions Digitized by Google of each might be determined by testing cups made with the coffees in different proportions. Coffee is often adulterated with chicory, the prepared root of the chicory plant, and with various parched cereals. Such adulterants may be detected by putting a teaspoonful of the ground coffee into a cup of cold water. If it is pure coffee, it will all float. Any particles sinking are adulterants. These adulterants are usually harmless. In England and France it is thought that coffee is greatly improved by the addition of chicory, from 10 to 30 per cent being added. Coffee is served in many ways. French Breakfast Coffee, Caf6 au lait means strong coffee served with boiling hot milk, usually half coffee and half milk. Black Coffee, Caf^ noir is usually served as an after dinner coffee. It is very strong and many prefer to drink it "clear." Caft demi-tasse means a small cup of coffee served usually after the rest of the dinner. Adding plain or whipped cream to Caf6 noir makes Caf^ h la Crtme. Vienna Coffee is served with whipped cream and is made by passing the steam through the coffee frequently so that the aroma, may be retained. Creole Coffee is made by percolating the coffee very slowly. At intervals of five minutes boiling water is poured over the freshly ground coffee in the filter. A very strong liquor is thus obtained. It may be kept in an air-tight bottle and used to make coffee as required. A teaspoonful to a cup of hot water may be sufficient. Turkish Coffee is not allowed to boil but is made by adding cold water to powdered coffee. When served it is warmed but not strained. Dutch Coffee is prepared by percolating cold water through pulverized coffee. The process takes about four hours and produces a coffee of great strength. Coffee is usually bought from the store in cans or sealed Digitized by Google packages. A coffee house has made a blend or mixture that appeals to the taste of the blenders and then it is advertised and the public is induced to buy. This usually gives a uniform product and saves considerable trouble to the purchaser. If one had the time and convenient apparatus to roast and grind the coffee the same quality could be obtained at about half the cost. The names of the different classes of coffee are derived from the names of the places from which they are supposed to be shipped — Mocha coffee, coming from Mocha in Arabia; Java coffee, coming from the island of that name in the East Indies; and Rio coffee, coming from Brazil. Formerly there was much deception in naming coffees. Any small coffee bean was called Mocha, regardless of its origin. This may be readily seen to be the case inasmuch as five times as much Mocha coffee was sold in the United States as was shipped from Mocha. The pure food laws have stopped this abuse and now require accurate labeling of coffees sold, whether separate or in blends.