Cranberries. Good ones must be crisp and tender; by pressing
one between thumb and forefinger you can hear the hearty snap.
Those out of cold storage are apt to be leathery, shrivelled, soggy,
or all three. As with all berries, they should be bought as fresh
from the bush as possible. For making jelly and most preserves,
fruit shouldn't have been picked earlier than the day before it's
used. The fresher the better; and the most pectin, when it is a
bit under-ripe. Pectin is the jelly-making constituent and it can't
be duplicated by manufactured pectins, no matter what the siren
ads say.
Figs. Come in all colors of the rainbow and all sizes, each as good
as the other in its way, but every one of them must be mellowly
ripe to be worth a damn. They sour and ferment quickly, so watch
your step! Many are being shipped from the blooming deserts of
Arizona and New Mexico and we buy them in Paddy's market in
prime condition for a cent apiece. With cream, they make as ex-
ceptional dessert as peaches and cream, at about a nickel per eater.
Grapefruit. Seedless ones are a better buy than those full of
big slippery buck teeth that sometimes take up half the space in-
side. But the best way to recognize your money's worth is by weight
in relation to size, the heavier, the more juice for your money.
Russet grapefruit looks rusty and on that account is sold cheaper
in some places, but the flavor is just the same, or even better — as
with brown and white eggs, white eggs always sell at a premium in
176 MOST-FOR-YOUR-MONEY COOK BOOK
New York while in the middle West brown ones may cost a little
more. But both have the same nutritive value, which Consumers
Union says is also true of Grade A and Grade B milk.
Our pick of grapefruit is the pink-fleshed seedless one from Texas.
It*s delicately yet fully flavored, pretty to look at and shouldn't
cost more than the pallid white kind.
Grapes. There are so many kinds of grapes, both domestic and
imported, that only general rules can be given. They must be plump,
heavy, fresh looking, fully colored and stuck firmly to the stem.
If you gently shake a bunch and the grapes rattle off* like hail it's
no good — and the seller will curse you, besides. But what are you
going to do ? It's always wise to sample one, for some of fine quality
when kept packed in sawdust too long taste like old corks.
One of the best seasonal buys is the small seedless California kind
that's been burbanked. It's easy to eat and sweet as Tokay wine.
Lemons. Thin skin and golden color for plenty of juice. Some of
the small thick-skinned ones are a bad buy; they don't give as much
juice as a lime and are little better value than the old wooden nut-
meg. Lemons are cheap in California, which produces the bulk of
our supply, but in the East they're two or three for a dime even at
the height of their season. At the same time, however, they're
peddled on the pushcarts, just as good, even better quality, at five
or six for a dime, but here you have to watch out for tiny ones, no
bigger than pullet eggs, and both of them look fair-sized if there isn't
a regular lemon or cackleberry handy to compare them with. To keep
lemons fresh drop them in a jar of water and take them out as needed.
That keeps them juicy and prevents the skin from mummyfying.
Page 98
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
Cranberries. Good ones must be crisp and tender; by pressing one between thumb and forefinger you can hear the hearty snap. Those out of cold storage are apt to be leathery, shrivelled, soggy, or all three. As with all berries, they should be bought as fresh from the bush as possible. For making jelly and most preserves, fruit shouldn't have been picked earlier than the day before it's used. The fresher the better; and the most pectin, when it is a bit under-ripe. Pectin is the jelly-making constituent and it can't be duplicated by manufactured pectins, no matter what the siren ads say.
Figs. Come in all colors of the rainbow and all sizes, each as good as the other in its way, but every one of them must be mellowly ripe to be worth a damn. They sour and ferment quickly, so watch your step! Many are being shipped from the blooming deserts of Arizona and New Mexico and we buy them in Paddy's market in prime condition for a cent apiece. With cream, they make as exceptional dessert as peaches and cream, at about a nickel per eater.
Grapefruit. Seedless ones are a better buy than those full of big slippery buck teeth that sometimes take up half the space inside. But the best way to recognize your money's worth is by weight in relation to size, the heavier, the more juice for your money. Russet grapefruit looks rusty and on that account is sold cheaper in some places, but the flavor is just the same, or even better — as with brown and white eggs, white eggs always sell at a premium in
New York while in the middle West brown ones may cost a little more. But both have the same nutritive value, which Consumers Union says is also true of Grade A and Grade B milk.
Our pick of grapefruit is the pink-fleshed seedless one from Texas. It's delicately yet fully flavored, pretty to look at and shouldn't cost more than the pallid white kind.
Grapes. There are so many kinds of grapes, both domestic and imported, that only general rules can be given. They must be plump, heavy, fresh looking, fully colored and stuck firmly to the stem. If you gently shake a bunch and the grapes rattle off like hail it's no good — and the seller will curse you, besides. But what are you going to do ? It's always wise to sample one, for some of fine quality when kept packed in sawdust too long taste like old corks.
One of the best seasonal buys is the small seedless California kind that's been burbanked. It's easy to eat and sweet as Tokay wine.
Lemons. Thin skin and golden color for plenty of juice. Some of the small thick-skinned ones are a bad buy; they don't give as much juice as a lime and are little better value than the old wooden nutmeg. Lemons are cheap in California, which produces the bulk of our supply, but in the East they're two or three for a dime even at the height of their season. At the same time, however, they're peddled on the pushcarts, just as good, even better quality, at five or six for a dime, but here you have to watch out for tiny ones, no bigger than pullet eggs, and both of them look fair-sized if there isn't a regular lemon or cackleberry handy to compare them with. To keep lemons fresh drop them in a jar of water and take them out as needed. That keeps them juicy and prevents the skin from mummyfying.