Care of Vegetables, Fresh Fruit, etc.
Fresh vegetables should be cooked as soon as possible after being taken from the garden. Where it is necessary to keep them, all wilted leaves and unsightly portions should be removed and vegetables spread out in a cool, well ventilated place. If placed in the refrigerator, first prepare them for cooking, then fold them in cheese cloth, wrung from fresh cold water, and place them on the top shelf of the refrigerator. The leaves of such vegetables as lettuce, endive, cress, dandelions, etc. may be kept fresh and crisp. After picking them over wash and drain, put them in a covered lard pail, and place in the refrigerator. Wilted vegetables may be restored by soaking in fresh cold water. Cucumbers may be pared and thinly sliced, placed in a fruit jar, closely covered, and kept crisp and fresh in the refrigerator for several days.
Fresh Fruit
All fruits may be kept in fine condition where the luxury of a large cold storage room is installed. Where a refrigerator is used, great care should be exercised in placing fruits and vegetables in their respective places. (See frontispiece, page 2).
There are some fruits, owing to their strong odor, that should never be placed in the refrigerator; these include, bananas, musk-melons, canteloupe, etc. Other food will soon become flavored from contact with such fruits when confined in the refrigerator or even in a store-room. Milk, cream, butter and other fats most readily absorb flavors when exposed to odorous fruits, flowers, etc. The greatest care should be given the left-over food. It should be put in small vessels (jelly glasses) with closely fitting covers, then placed in the refrigerator; there will then be little danger of contamination.
Over ripe vegetables (especially tomatoes) and fruits should not be kept in the refrigerator. Berries should be carefully picked over, and washed, when necessary, before putting them in the refrigerator. Strawberries may be picked over, placed in a colander or a croquette basket and cold water poured over them before removing the hulls.
Potatoes
Potatoes keep better and are lower in price before they have been stored. It is therefore economy for the large consumer to buy them, early in the season, when they are most plentiful. They may be kept in barrels or bins, raised three inches from the floor, in a cool dry room or cellar. For the small family, where space is a consideration, it is more economical to buy not less than a peck at a time. They may be kept in a box lined with heavy paper in a cool dry place.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are in season from August to May, and should be bought in small quantities. The kiln-dried sweet potatoes are the best. These fleshy roots of plants belong to a different family from the white potato, they contain a large percentage of sugar and have not the keeping qualities of the white potato. They, too, should be kept in a cool dry place.
Beef and Mutton
A loin of beef or a side of mutton is a profitable investment for the large consumer. With proper cold storage facilities the meat can be kept well and is much improved by “hanging.”
Fish
Fresh fish should be dressed at the market and removed from the paper as soon as delivered. Salt should never be sprinkled over fish “to keep it.” The salt extracts the rich juices and leaves the fish tasteless. Simply cover it closely and put it in a cold place. If securely covered it may be placed, with safety, in the refrigerator.
Butter
Butter should be placed in the refrigerator as directed above, namely: under the ice chamber which is the coldest part of the refrigerator; this space should be reserved for the butter, cream, milk, eggs and meat.
Butter should always be closely covered. An earthen jar, with a close fitting cover, may be purchased at any house furnishing shop for ten cents; this size will hold five pounds and will prove very satisfactory.
Milk and Cream
Too much care and attention cannot be given to this food; even though it does not sour as quickly in winter as it does in hot weather, it should have just the same care. Never allow either cream or milk to stand uncovered. There is nothing gained by paying a fancy price for milk which has been pasteurized and kept clean, under the most sanitary conditions in the dairy, before delivery to the consumer, if the latter does not know how to take care of it and leaves it uncovered, in a hot kitchen or in a refrigerator, with other uncovered food. There need be no surprise if it sours quickly and develops an unpleasant flavor; for both milk and butter will absorb odors and flavors when thus exposed, which will render them unfit for use. Make it an invariable rule, never to allow these foods to remain uncovered.
Eggs
Wash the eggs, when they come from the market, in cold water. The shells are then clean and ready for use. They are used for clearing soup stock, coffee, etc. Eggs, too, should be kept in the coldest part of the refrigerator along with milk, cream and butter.