Food and freedom

204 FOOD AND FREEDOM Equipment for jelly-making includes: A small stove or heating device, clean towels and paper, sharp paring-knives, pail for scraps, white-enameled or aluminum kettle, measuring- cups, scales, wooden spoons, bag or cheese-cloth for straining jelly, clock for timing, thermometer or syrup-gauge, jelly-glasses or paraffin-paper cups, paraffin, covers, labels. To insure success in jelly-making: Use fresh, sound fruit, not over-ripe, rich in pectin and slightly acid. Measure correctly; proportion sugar to juice properly. Work quickly. Do not over-cook syrup. Pour jelly, when ready, immediately into steril- ized glasses. Seal as soon as cold and set; keep in a clean, dry, Hght place. JAMS, FRUIT BUTTERS, MARMALADES: These should be specially considered during the present food shortage. They are more economical than jelly as all of the fruit is used, fruit otherwise good but not desirable for jelly can be used, and less sugar is required. While the process is similar to that of jelly -making, it is less exacting, and there is little opportunity for waste or error. TKE yirs^J YORK - T T PRESERVING AND STORING FOOD 205 The fruit is cooked with just enough water to soften it — soft fruits and berries require no water — ^the whole rubbed through a colander or press, meas- ured, sugar added — in any proportion from one- third to one cupful of sugar to each cupful of fruit pulp — 'and the whole cooked until rather clear and thick, and then poured into jars or glasses, and sealed when cold. Interesting and economical products can be made by combining two or more fruits. Certain vegetable marmalades are also practical, and can be made at small cost.i DRYING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: Principles: Drying or "dehydrating" is the process of ex- tracting the water — present in large propor- tions— from fruits and vegetables. When treated in this way, they can be kept almost indefinitely. Before cooking, the water must be restored by soaking, or the food "reconstituted," as it were. Drying very greatly reduces weight and bulk; the cost of packing and shipping — if necessary — is consequently small, and little storage room is required. Moreover, the method is inexpen- sive, and requires comparatively little skill, al- though care and judgment must be used. Quantities of food which may be too small to can conveniently — a small surplus from the * Leaflet NR-27, United States Department of Agricult- ure, contains excellent recipes for vegetable marmalades. 14 2o6 FOOD AND FREEDOM garden or market-stand, or left-over bits from the kitchen — may be saved in this way. For purposes of transportation or for the city home, which may have Httle or no provision for stor- ing fresh or even canned food, the advantages are particularly apparent. Method: Three methods are practical. Sometimes a combination of two, or even three, is used. Food to be dried may be placed on open rack trays in the sun, or exposed to artificial heat, or dried by air-blast; in the home this may be created by a natural draught of air, or by artificial means such as an electric fan.