Food study

Among the fruits considered the most digestible are grapes, oranges, lemons, cooked apples, figs, peaches, strawberries, and raspberries. Some people, however, cannot eat strawberries. Only a little less digestible are raw apples, prunes, pears, apricots, bananas, and fresh currants. Bananas contain a good deal of starch if they are unripe, and so in this condition are not very digestible unless cooked. When they are kept until the skins are dark, the starch is largely changed into sugar and the fruit is more digestible. The " strings", sometimes left on the banana when it is peeled, are indigestible. As a whole, fruits are digestible, although some people have idiosyncrasies which make a particular fruit disagree with them. Over-ripe or green fruit is, of course, harmful. Since much of our fruit is eaten raw, fruit should be kept as clean as possible while it is marketed. All fruits should be washed before being eaten, even fruits like bananas and oranges, the skins of which we do not eat, because we are apt to handle first the skin and then the fruit. Such fruits as apples and oranges may be washed and rubbed with a cloth to clean them. Fruits that have sticky surfaces, especially if these have dried, are harder to clean and need to be washed in two or three waters. It is better to select packages of dates or figs which are protected from the dust, even if they cost slightly more, than to buy those that are exposed to dirt and flies. Fruit, then, should not be considered merely as a luxury ; and some fruit should be included in every diet. If it is necessary to count the pennies, choose the cheaper varieties, which, fortunately, are as good for us as the more expensive. U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Farmers' Bulletin No. 293. "Use of Fruit as Food." Year Book U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Separate 610. "Raisins, Figs, and Other Dried Fruits and Their Use." 1. What is the value of fruit as food ? 2. Are these values retained in coeked and preserved fruits? 3. Why is it better to use a silver knife in preparing fruit? CANNING FRUIT 7 4. Make a list of dried fruits in common use and their cost per pound. 5. Make a list of the common fresh fruits, giving then* seasons and usual cost when in season. CANNING FRUIT CANNED PEACHES A. Class Experiment. ONE CAUSE OF FRUIT SPOILING. Take a piece of bread, moisten it with water, and leave it exposed upon a plate during the lesson. Then cover with a saucer ; leave for two days. If possible, examine under a miscroscope. B. To CAN A JAR OF PEACHES.