4. Serve hot dishes very hot and cold dishes chilled. (This means that dishes for hot foods should be warmed, and those for cold ones chilled in the refrigerator or other cool place.) Remember that rules for table service, both laying covers and serving the food, usually have a sound reason behind them. If a rule has no reason for being, then it is not a good rule! The best rule for good table service is to do the job in the way which will cause the least inconvenience to those being served. For example, the reason there is a rule for placing glasses and knives to the right is that most people use the right hand for cutting and for drinking. Silver is placed one inch from the edge so that it shall not be easily knocked off the table. FAMILY CO-OPERATION There is real satisfaction to the homemaker to know that within the family food budget the family members have been provided with palatable meals that supply the needs for good nutrition. Simple meal plans and meth¬ ods of preparation and service make it pos¬ sible for other family members to contribute in the planning and marketing as well as in the preparation, service, and clearing up. Even though the contribution of some may be small, participation helps other family members to appreciate the amount of work required in providing three meals a day, and the importance of the job. The social aspects of food service are also important. Mealtime offers opportunity for building family unity, understanding, and common interests. Each member can con¬ tribute to the relaxation and enjoyment of the group by promptness at mealtime, fol¬ lowing good food and table habits, and re¬ porting interesting experiences. Special meals, planned together, help celebrate birth¬ days. Thanksgiving and Christmas bring larger family groups to join in traditional meals. Refreshments make a contribution to wider social gatherings. Growth in family solidarity comes from working together as a family group on these simple enterprises con¬ nected with food service. It is hoped that these pages have shown the importance of the foods in the daily meals. Food preparation has a scientific foundation which gives it interest and re¬ moves some of the frustrating experiences that result from not knowing "the reasons why" for simple processes. Perhaps you will be stimulated to develop artistic skill in simple cookery that will make food good to look at and to eat as well as good for you and your family. Co-operating as a family mem¬ ber gives useful experience and helps pre¬ pare one later for leadership responsibility in feeding a family the foods essential to health. Equally important, such experience will help you to develop work plans that allow participation by other family members and the satisfaction that comes from working together in a common family enterprise. SELECTED REFERENCES Leaflets from Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics. Agricultural Research Administra¬ tion, United States Department of Agriculture: AIS, Food for Two , 1945; AIS-49, Food for Families with Young Children , 1946; AIS-71, Food for Families with School Chil¬ dren , 1948; AIS-69, Money-Saving Main Dishes , 1948; MS-662, Helping Families Plan Food Budgets , 1948; Family fare , 1950. Halliday, Evelyn G., and Noble, Isabel T. Hows and XV hys of Cooking, 3d ed., Chap. XI. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1946.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

4. Serve hot dishes very hot and cold dishes chilled. (This means that dishes for hot foods should be warmed, and those for cold ones chilled in the refrigerator or other cool place.) Remember that rules for table service, both laying covers and serving the food, usually have a sound reason behind them. If a rule has no reason for being, then it is not a good rule! The best rule for good table service is to do the job in the way which will cause the least inconvenience to those being served. For example, the reason there is a rule for placing glasses and knives to the right is that most people use the right hand for cutting and for drinking. Silver is placed one inch from the edge so that it shall not be easily knocked off the table. FAMILY CO-OPERATION There is real satisfaction to the homemaker to know that within the family food budget the family members have been provided with palatable meals that supply the needs for good nutrition. Simple meal plans and meth¬ ods of preparation and service make it pos¬ sible for other family members to contribute in the planning and marketing as well as in the preparation, service, and clearing up. Even though the contribution of some may be small, participation helps other family members to appreciate the amount of work required in providing three meals a day, and the importance of the job. The social aspects of food service are also important. Mealtime offers opportunity for building family unity, understanding, and common interests. Each member can con¬ tribute to the relaxation and enjoyment of the group by promptness at mealtime, fol¬ lowing good food and table habits, and re¬ porting interesting experiences. Special meals, planned together, help celebrate birth¬ days. Thanksgiving and Christmas bring larger family groups to join in traditional meals. Refreshments make a contribution to wider social gatherings. Growth in family solidarity comes from working together as a family group on these simple enterprises con¬ nected with food service. It is hoped that these pages have shown the importance of the foods in the daily meals. Food preparation has a scientific foundation which gives it interest and re¬ moves some of the frustrating experiences that result from not knowing "the reasons why" for simple processes. Perhaps you will be stimulated to develop artistic skill in simple cookery that will make food good to look at and to eat as well as good for you and your family. Co-operating as a family mem¬ ber gives useful experience and helps pre¬ pare one later for leadership responsibility in feeding a family the foods essential to health. Equally important, such experience will help you to develop work plans that allow participation by other family members and the satisfaction that comes from working together in a common family enterprise. Leaflets from Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics. Agricultural Research Administra¬ tion, United States Department of Agriculture: AIS, Food for Two , 1945; AIS-49, Food for Families with Young Children , 1946; AIS-71, Food for Families with School Chil¬ dren , 1948; AIS-69, Money-Saving Main Dishes , 1948; MS-662, Helping Families Plan Food Budgets , 1948; Family fare , 1950. Halliday, Evelyn G., and Noble, Isabel T. Hows and XV hys of Cooking, 3d ed., Chap. XI. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1946.

Foods, their selection and preparation