True food values and their low costs

Baking-powders occasionally contain very large quantities of alum, as much as forty per cent, being sometimes revealed by analysis, but it is very easily detected. Stir a couple of teaspoonfuls in a glass of cold water, and if it is pure it will bubble up owing to the formation of carbonic acid gas; but the presence of alum prevents this and it is lifeless. Green peas in bottles and tins are frequently colored with copper, which, in sufficient quantities, is highly dangerous; in fact, there have been cases in the courts where a tin of peas contained enough poison to kill a inan. It is very easy to detect the presence of copper. If the peas are poured into a glass and a small piece of clean steel, such as a large darning-needle, is steeped in the mixture and left all night, a plating of copper will be deposited on the steel if any is present in the peas. Happily a process has been discovered for coloring green preserved vegetables by "chlorophyl, or the beautiful natural coloring of leaves, etc., and this is quite harmless, besides giving a better color than the dangerous copper. A very common swindle is the sale of beet sugar in imitation of cane sugar, to which it altogether inferior; but it can be distinguished from the former by color, smell, and taste. If beet sugar is put into tea without milk it will turn the liquid very dark, but not so with cane sugar. This is the best way of telling one from the other. Colored beet crystals, however, sold in imitation of Demera sugar, can generally be known from the genuine article by stirring a spoonful rapidly in cold water and examining the undissolved residue. If the color is washed out are it is probably colored beet sugar and not the genuine cane. Olive oil is perhaps adulterated more than any similar food product. The most common adulterant is cotton-seed oil, but sesame oil and mineral oil are sometimes found. The latter is highly dangerous, as it is entirely indigestible and most objectionable. Rough-and-ready tests for purity are by shaking up the bottle — adulterated oil holds the air bubbles much more freely than the pure olive oil; or, where the oil congeals at too high a temperature — if there is ten per cent., or more, adulteration present the congealed mass will float on top for several days. It is a common practice of grocers selling adulterated oil to prescribe it as "salad oil" or "household oil'' instead of "olive oil," as, if it is so described, they cannot be prosecuted. Moral: Ask for olive oil, and see that you get it. Tinned sardines are often anything but sardines, and the same thing may be said of anchovies. It is very difficult to know a sardine from the many imitations that are put up, but if the small fish are chosen the purchaser is on the safe side. There is a very simple way, however, of telling anchovies from their many (far inferior) ferior) imitations. The belly fin is much nearer the head than the one on the back; the head is pointed, the upper jaw projects over the lower one, the body is thin, and the tail wide-forked and slender. By noticing these points, one can very easily distinguish it from the sardines, sprats, pilchards, etc., often sold as genuine anchovies. INDEX ^^^1 Apple Betty, 201 Bread, raisin. 81 ' Apple cake, 196 Bread, rye. 83 Applff pie with cheese, 20 Bread, water. 78 Apple roll, 300 Breaded lamb, 151 Apple sauce, why serve w th Breads, something about. 81 pork? 147 Breakfast foods, predigested and Bacon and eggi, new style malted, 29 Baked fish, stuffing for. 95 Breakfast, hints for, 161 Baked ham with potatoes. Breakfast muffins. 85 Baked pork chops, 150 Breast of mutton boiled, 13S Baked potatoes, 107 Broiled meat cakes. 150