Another method is to make a little wick of '
twisted cotton or thread, pull it through the ar-
ticle to be tested, and light it, blowing out the
A
AND THEIR LOW COSTS 207
flame immediately. If margarine is present, there
will be an unmistakable tallowy whiff like that
from a blovvn-ont candle.
If butter is melted in a tube it froths readily,
while margarine will scarcely froth at all unless
it contains butter, and then only in proportion to
the butter present. When butter is melted there
is a residue of salt and water, but the bulk forms
a clear, perfectly transparent mass of pure butter,
while margarine is not transparent and has a
milky appearance.
Another swindle is chicory sold for coffee, and
as the latter costs from ten to fifteen cents per
pound and fetches from twenty to thirty cents
when sold as coffee, it is a swindle that is likely
to continue so long as human nature is what it is.
With a little practice it is possible to detect
chicory at once by its smell, which is raw and bit-
ter and quite distinct from the rich aroma. of
coffee. Most grocers rely entirely upon this test.
The housewife might remember, however, that it
is always darker in color than coffee, and when
kept for any time it is liable to cake, which pure
coffee never does.
The only certain way of avoiding chicory is to
buy the coffee whole and grind it as required ; the
flavor is much better immediately after grinding.
2oS TRUE FOOD VALUES
and as chicory cannot be made into lumps one is
sure of not getting any. Sham whole chicory has,
however, been found occasionally mixed with the
genuine article, and consists of pellets of day or
colored farina.
Probably the best test for pure coffee is to place
a teaspoon of the ground coffee gently on the
surface of a glass of water. If it is pure it will
float for a long time and scarcely color the water,
but if it contains coloring matter of chicory it will
quickly absorb water and sink, imparting a
brownish tint to the water.
If a teaspoon of the suspected article is stirred'
rapidly into a glass of cold water, pure cofltt-j
will rise to the top and scarcely color the watei^f
but chicory will sing to the bottom and stain
water a dark brown tint.
Even chicory has been freely adulterated, sam-
ples from Germany and Holland having some-
times been proved to contain red earths, V<
tian red, and ground mustard husks, wheat,
or beans.
Another favorite fraud is the addition of alum
to bread and baking-powders, which gives a pleas-
ing whiteness to the bread, but has a less satis-
factory effect on the stomach of the
eats it. It causes constipation and
^
the victim who^^
1
AND THEIR LOW COSTS
209
and, if there Is enough of it. it may be dissolved
by the gastric juices and enter the blood, which it
will coagulate, with perhaps very serious results,
A rough-and-ready test for aJum in bread is to
plunge the heated blade of a table-knife into the
loaf when it arrives warm from the baker's. If it
contains alum the peculiar sour smell of this un-
desirable substance may be detected on the blade.
Another way is as follows : Crumble a slice of
the suspected bread into a glass of cold water,
add a slip of leaf gelatin, cover, and leave all
night. In the morning take a small quantity of
solution of log-wood to which enough carbonate
of ammonia has been added to render it alkaline,
and stain the swollen gelatin with it. If the bread
is pure the gelatin will be of a dark red color, but
if alum is present it will be of varying shades of
blue, according to the amount of alum present.
Page 55
Presented as published in 1916. 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
Another method is to make a little wick of ' twisted cotton or thread, pull it through the article to be tested, and light it, blowing out the
A
flame immediately. If margarine is present, there will be an unmistakable tallowy whiff like that from a blown-out candle.
If butter is melted in a tube it froths readily, while margarine will scarcely froth at all unless it contains butter, and then only in proportion to the butter present. When butter is melted there is a residue of salt and water, but the bulk forms a clear, perfectly transparent mass of pure butter, while margarine is not transparent and has a milky appearance.
Another swindle is chicory sold for coffee, and as the latter costs from ten to fifteen cents per pound and fetches from twenty to thirty cents when sold as coffee, it is a swindle that is likely to continue so long as human nature is what it is.
With a little practice it is possible to detect chicory at once by its smell, which is raw and bitter and quite distinct from the rich aroma. of coffee. Most grocers rely entirely upon this test. The housewife might remember, however, that it is always darker in color than coffee, and when kept for any time it is liable to cake, which pure coffee never does.
The only certain way of avoiding chicory is to buy the coffee whole and grind it as required ; the flavor is much better immediately after grinding.
and as chicory cannot be made into lumps one is sure of not getting any. Sham whole chicory has, however, been found occasionally mixed with the genuine article, and consists of pellets of day or colored farina.
Probably the best test for pure coffee is to place a teaspoon of the ground coffee gently on the surface of a glass of water. If it is pure it will float for a long time and scarcely color the water, but if it contains coloring matter of chicory it will quickly absorb water and sink, imparting a brownish tint to the water.
If a teaspoon of the suspected article is stirred' rapidly into a glass of cold water, pure coffee will rise to the top and scarcely color the water; but chicory will sing to the bottom and stain water a dark brown tint.
Even chicory has been freely adulterated, samples from Germany and Holland having sometimes been proved to contain red earths, Venetian red, and ground mustard husks, wheat, or beans.
Another favorite fraud is the addition of alum to bread and baking-powders, which gives a pleasing whiteness to the bread, but has a less satisfactory effect on the stomach of the eats it. It causes constipation and
^
the victim who^^
and, if there Is enough of it. it may be dissolved by the gastric juices and enter the blood, which it will coagulate, with perhaps very serious results,
A rough-and-ready test for alum in bread is to plunge the heated blade of a table-knife into the loaf when it arrives warm from the baker's. If it contains alum the peculiar sour smell of this undesirable substance may be detected on the blade.
Another way is as follows : Crumble a slice of the suspected bread into a glass of cold water, add a slip of leaf gelatin, cover, and leave all night. In the morning take a small quantity of solution of logwood to which enough carbonate of ammonia has been added to render it alkaline, and stain the swollen gelatin with it. If the bread is pure the gelatin will be of a dark red color, but if alum is present it will be of varying shades of blue, according to the amount of alum present.