weight in comparison to its size. The heavier, the more mature,
hence fullest of juice and flavor. Grapefruit offers an easy begin-
ning; heft one in each hand and soon you'll come across a specimen
as big as your head yet light as a balloon (please don't transpose
this), while in the other hand youVe got one just half the size but
heavy as a cannon ball. The heavy one is naturally the best buy,
for the lighter one just has to be thick skinned and puffy — no juice !
In picking out any fruit remember it's already been handled
enough by picker and packer, so don't pinch it to test its ripeness.
Let the dealer do that, and he will, if his stuff is worth a darn.
Always put it up to the seller to prove that his fruit is worth buy-
ing. If he won't do that, buy from one who will. Pinching, of course,
bruises any fruit and starts decay, so you can't blame a dealer for
getting sore when an amateur ruins half a dozen avocados or
peaches by amateur poking which makes soft spots that quickly
lead to waste.
With berries, melons and smaller fruits, if the seller has something
worth buying he's glad to give you a sample taste. If not, beware.
In buying berries always ask the seller to turn them out in his
cupped hands or pour them into another box to show you that the
bottom ones are fair-sized, sound and dry, not mildewed, unpal-
atable runts. Naturally, you'll have to allow a little for those
packed far down out of sight, since cheating has become an ac-
cepted practice in our competitive society. Even the consumer
has been taught to expect fruits and vegetables to get smaller
and gnarlier as he digs down beneath the top "show" layers.
Whether you're from Missouri or not, **show me" is the buyer's
slogan; so look at the bottom always to make sure it isn't a
false one built up like the bottom of a post-prohibition beer stein,
or that the fruits beneath are not entirely worthless, and when
buying by weight make sure there's no concealed brick or horse-
shoe. Probably today spare-tires are used to make up the weight,
but when a father of ours used to buy butter wholesale his testing
plugger often struck fire on a "thrown" plough-horse shoe. And
for God's sake don't be 100% American and embarrassed about
looking for flaws; you can be sure the dealer has done it thoroughly
in the first place and has refused to pay full price for fakes. So take a
lyi MOST-FOR-YOUR-MONEY COOK BOOK
tip from him and if the stuff is of lower value than he asks, don*t
pay the asking price like a meek little lamb that loves to be shorn.
Just tell him plainly what it's worth to you. Never be afraid to
bargain. We are, in fact, the only people in the world who take it
on the chin by paying fixed prices for bad or good without a peep.
We're dumb as mud-puppies about protecting ourselves in the
most vital concerns of life. Advertising, movies and such models of
exploitation have made us think that maybe it's more elegant to
just sit down at the phone and ask the butcher "Otto, how's your
liver today ? Okay, send me two pounds." We're ashamed to be seen
out with a market basket and pretty soon we'll take to letting our
little fingernails grow long like Chinese Rockefellers, to prove that
we don't live by using our own hands.
Page 95
Presented as published in 1938. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
weight in comparison to its size. The heavier, the more mature, hence fullest of juice and flavor. Grapefruit offers an easy beginning; heft one in each hand and soon you'll come across a specimen as big as your head yet light as a balloon (please don't transpose this), while in the other hand you've got one just half the size but heavy as a cannon ball. The heavy one is naturally the best buy, for the lighter one just has to be thick skinned and puffy — no juice !
In picking out any fruit remember it's already been handled enough by picker and packer, so don't pinch it to test its ripeness. Let the dealer do that, and he will, if his stuff is worth a darn. Always put it up to the seller to prove that his fruit is worth buying. If he won't do that, buy from one who will. Pinching, of course, bruises any fruit and starts decay, so you can't blame a dealer for getting sore when an amateur ruins half a dozen avocados or peaches by amateur poking which makes soft spots that quickly lead to waste.
With berries, melons and smaller fruits, if the seller has something worth buying he's glad to give you a sample taste. If not, beware.
In buying berries always ask the seller to turn them out in his cupped hands or pour them into another box to show you that the bottom ones are fair-sized, sound and dry, not mildewed, unpalatable runts. Naturally, you'll have to allow a little for those packed far down out of sight, since cheating has become an accepted practice in our competitive society. Even the consumer has been taught to expect fruits and vegetables to get smaller and gnarlier as he digs down beneath the top "show" layers. Whether you're from Missouri or not, "show me" is the buyer's slogan; so look at the bottom always to make sure it isn't a false one built up like the bottom of a post-prohibition beer stein, or that the fruits beneath are not entirely worthless, and when buying by weight make sure there's no concealed brick or horseshoe. Probably today spare-tires are used to make up the weight, but when a father of ours used to buy butter wholesale his testing plugger often struck fire on a "thrown" plough-horse shoe. And for God's sake don't be 100% American and embarrassed about looking for flaws; you can be sure the dealer has done it thoroughly in the first place and has refused to pay full price for fakes. So take a
tip from him and if the stuff is of lower value than he asks, don't pay the asking price like a meek little lamb that loves to be shorn. Just tell him plainly what it's worth to you. Never be afraid to bargain. We are, in fact, the only people in the world who take it on the chin by paying fixed prices for bad or good without a peep. We're dumb as mud-puppies about protecting ourselves in the most vital concerns of life. Advertising, movies and such models of exploitation have made us think that maybe it's more elegant to just sit down at the phone and ask the butcher "Otto, how's your liver today ? Okay, send me two pounds." We're ashamed to be seen out with a market basket and pretty soon we'll take to letting our little fingernails grow long like Chinese Rockefellers, to prove that we don't live by using our own hands.