The school kitchen textbook

Prepared foods. Many foods which in former years were prepared in the home, are now made ready for our use in factories. They greatly reduce the work of the housekeeper, but should not be depended upon for the entire food supply. It is now possible to buy almost anywhere condensed milk, evaporated cream, a great variety of cooked breakfastcereals, wafers, crackers, biscuit and other cooked flour mixtures, cheese, canned meats, soups, fish, vegetables, fruits, jellies, preserves, puddings, confections, and sauces and other appetizers. Many of them need no heating ; some need only to be aerated, and others no preparation, except to be served attractively. Nearly all may be kept a long time if not opened. Bakeries supply us with bread, pies, cake, baked beans, cooked meats, and other perishable foods. Delicatessen shops make us familiar with foreign culinary methods, and the best of home cooking may be bought at tea rooms, or directly from the maker. Everywhere, more and more women are earning money in their homes by their skill in making jellies, cake, or other specialities. But from considerations of economy, indi\ddual tastes, and quality, the greater part of our food must still be prepared in the home. The school girls of to-day will be the house and homekeepers of to-morrow, and in these lessons they may learn how to select, prepare, combine and serve the daily food, in the most economical, wholesome, and attractive ways. Fresh fruits are valuable as foods on account of their acids, mineral matter, and appetizing flavor. They may well form a part of every meal, served raw or cooked in some simple way, and take the place of pickles with meat and rich pastry and puddings for dessert. FOOD 85 Recipe, No. 1. How to Serve Fresh Fruits Oranges, Grapefruit, and Melons. Serve very cold ; wipe ; divide halfway down from the stem end ; remove seeds, and eat from the skin with a spoon, with or without sugar. Berries and Small Fruits. Pick over ; rinse ; hull ; drain, and serve with sugar. Cherries and Currarits may be served with their stems and Grapes may be served in clusters. Plums, Pears, Apples, and Bananas. Wipe and serve whole, or if preferred, remove the skin just before serving. Peaches. Wipe and serve whole ; or pare, slice, and sweeten if preferred. Pineapples. Cut in half-inch slices ; pare ; pick out the eyes ; discard the hard center ; add sugar, lemon juice, and a little water, and serve very cold. Bananas may be sliced and combined with mashed and sweetened Currants and Raspberries. LESSON II FOOD STUFFS Before taking up any form of cooking, let us see what our home supplies furnish, or what we may find at the grocer's, which needs no cooking and will be suitable for a school or picnic luncheon. First we should know what foods to choose. One girl may say, *' I'll choose cake and chocolates " ; and another says, " I like pickles and pie." But our choice should not be governed entirely by our preferences. We are to learn in these lessons what and how to choose, and therefore first we should know something about the kinds of food we need and how they build up the body. The substances which are found in the foods commonly used are called Food Stuffs. They are classified for the purpose of study into five groups : Water, Proteins, Fats, Carbohydrates, and Mineral Matter.