PRESERVATION OF FOODS
All food for preservation should be kept in a clean, cool, dry, dark place. Reduction in temperature to near freezing, and removal of moisture and air stop bacterial development.
Drying, cooking, and sealing from the air will preserve some meats and fruits, while others require such preservatives as sugar, vinegar and salt. The preservative in vinegar is acetic acid.
All preservatives which are actual foods, such as sugar, salt and vinegar, are to be recommended, but the use of antiseptic preservatives, such as salicylic acid, formaldehyd, boracic acid, alum, sulphur and benzonate of soda, all of which have been used by many canning merchants, is frought with danger. The United States Department of Agriculture holds, that by the use of such preservatives, unscrupulous dealers may use fruits and vegetables not in good condition.
There can be no doubt that, wherever possible, the best method for the housewife to preserve food is to do her own drying, canning, preserving and pickling of fruits and vegetables, which she knows are fresh, putting up her own preserves, jams, jellies, pickles, syrups, grape juice, etc.
Since economy in food lies in the least amount of money for the greatest amount of nutriment, the preparation of simple foods in the home, with a care that no more is furnished for consumption than the system requires, is the truest economy in health and in doctor’s bills.
It is not more brands of prepared food which are needed, but purity of elements in their natural state. A dish of wholesome, clean oat meal has more nourishment and more fuel value than the average prepared food.
In the effort to emphasize the importance of pure food in amount and quality, pure air and pure water must not be overlooked. Much infection is carried by these two elements. Pure air, containing a normal amount of oxygen, is absolutely necessary that the system may digest and assimilate the foods consumed.