Because of these midsummer difficulties, it is just as well to bear in mind the derivation of the much-talked-of "ptomaine" poisoning. Gruesome as it is, it is better to study it as a preventive measure than to realize it as a painful, if not fatal, experience. So here it is : The term is derived from the Greek word, ptotna, a corpse, as the poisonous compounds known as "pto- maines" are found in dead bodies. Because of this, buy only small meats (veal is at its best in the spring), that can be cooked immediately, fish that, like Caesar's wife, is "above suspicion," smoked and salted meats, and eggs which, boiled hard, make a substantial salad with mayonnaise dressing and as omelet afford an agreeable vehicle for meat (minced ham), vegetables (com, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc.), and fruit, as in apricot omelet. If you are near the water buy fish freely, for many varieties are then at their best, some of which are not available at all in the winter except in a most inferior form due to long distance transportation and cold-storage risks. There- TO TRUE FOOD VALUES fore, bake bluefish and mackerel, and utilize the'| remnants by muulding them with gelatin. To Preserve Lemons: — Put them into . crock and cover with water. They will keep inl winter two or three months. Preservation of Flour : — Flour should notf be kept in a storeroom or pantry where there is! cooked food, as it readily absorbs odors. Igno- 1 ranee of this fact accounts for poor bread oftener | than does an inferior quality of flour. Keep it in a cool, dry, airy room, where it isl not exposed to a freezing temperature, or to one I above seventy degrees. Always sift before using. I It should not be kept in a place where there are 1 onions, fish, vegetables, decaying, or other \ odorous substances, or in a damp room or cellar. ' Molasses will run out of a measuring-cup quickly if the cup is first dipped in cornstarch. Deep-fat Frying: — In various experiments carried on to ascertain whether deep-fat frying or sauteing (frying in a small amount of fat) is preferable, the former method has proved to be more economical and the products more digest- ible, because at least a fourth less fat is absorbed by the foods. To be fried in deep fat, foods mustj contain enough egg to coagulate them instantlyj AND THEIR LOW COSTS 71 (as fritters), or else be coated with a thin layer of egg or dissolved gelatin (as croquettes). The surface is then instantly sealed, and the fat will not be absorbed to any great extent. "The kitchen should be a frank and friendly part of the house." — Thoreau. Fine-grained sugar makes better cake than coarse-grained. Bread flour may be used in place of pastry fiour for cake-making, provided two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch are substituted for two tablespoonfuls of flour in each cup. It takes one and one-third cups of powdered sugar to equal a cup of granulated sugar, and one and one-half cups of brown sugar to equal one of granulated sugar. One half of a cup of cottonseed oil, less one tablespoonful, is equal to one half-cup of butter. In many common recipes sour milk may be substituted for sweet milk, using, instead of the baking-powder called for in the recipe, one-half the quantity of bicarbonate of soda. One pint of thick, sour milk will require a level teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda to neutralize it. One-fourth of a cup of butter plus three table- spoonfuls of lard equals one half-cup of butter. Water in which potatoes have been boiled may 7^ TRUE FOOD VALUES be used as a suitable substitute for sweet milk in making cake. If a cake is sticky, it is because it has not been sufficiently baked or because too much sugar was used. AND THEIR LOW COSTS 75 There are none so independent as those who make their own yeast.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Because of these midsummer difficulties, it is just as well to bear in mind the derivation of the much-talked-of "ptomaine" poisoning. Gruesome as it is, it is better to study it as a preventive measure than to realize it as a painful, if not fatal, experience. So here it is : The term is derived from the Greek word, ptoma, a corpse, as the poisonous compounds known as "ptomaines" are found in dead bodies. Because of this, buy only small meats (veal is at its best in the spring), that can be cooked immediately, fish that, like Caesar's wife, is "above suspicion," smoked and salted meats, and eggs which, boiled hard, make a substantial salad with mayonnaise dressing and as omelet afford an agreeable vehicle for meat (minced ham), vegetables (com, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc.), and fruit, as in apricot omelet. If you are near the water buy fish freely, for many varieties are then at their best, some of which are not available at all in the winter except in a most inferior form due to long distance transportation and cold-storage risks. There- fore, bake bluefish and mackerel, and utilize the remnants by moulding them with gelatin. To Preserve Lemons: — Put them into a crock and cover with water. They will keep in winter two or three months. Preservation of Flour : — Flour should not be kept in a storeroom or pantry where there is cooked food, as it readily absorbs odors. Ignorance of this fact accounts for poor bread oftener | than does an inferior quality of flour. Keep it in a cool, dry, airy room, where it is not exposed to a freezing temperature, or to one I above seventy degrees. Always sift before using. It should not be kept in a place where there are onions, fish, vegetables, decaying, or other \ odorous substances, or in a damp room or cellar. Molasses will run out of a measuring-cup quickly if the cup is first dipped in cornstarch. Deep-fat Frying: — In various experiments carried on to ascertain whether deep-fat frying or sauteing (frying in a small amount of fat) is preferable, the former method has proved to be more economical and the products more digestible, because at least a fourth less fat is absorbed by the foods. To be fried in deep fat, foods must contain enough egg to coagulate them instantly (as fritters), or else be coated with a thin layer of egg or dissolved gelatin (as croquettes). The surface is then instantly sealed, and the fat will not be absorbed to any great extent. "The kitchen should be a frank and friendly part of the house." — Thoreau. Fine-grained sugar makes better cake than coarse-grained. Bread flour may be used in place of pastry fiour for cake-making, provided two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch are substituted for two tablespoonfuls of flour in each cup. It takes one and one-third cups of powdered sugar to equal a cup of granulated sugar, and one and one-half cups of brown sugar to equal one of granulated sugar. One half of a cup of cottonseed oil, less one tablespoonful, is equal to one half-cup of butter. In many common recipes sour milk may be substituted for sweet milk, using, instead of the baking-powder called for in the recipe, one-half the quantity of bicarbonate of soda. One pint of thick, sour milk will require a level teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda to neutralize it. One-fourth of a cup of butter plus three tablespoonfuls of lard equals one half-cup of butter. Water in which potatoes have been boiled may be used as a suitable substitute for sweet milk in making cake. If a cake is sticky, it is because it has not been sufficiently baked or because too much sugar was used. There are none so independent as those who make their own yeast.

True food values and their low costs