Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume V Part 1

Woman's Inst.i.tute Library of Cookery.

Vol. 5.

by Woman's Inst.i.tute of Domestic Arts and Sciences.

PREFACE

This volume, the fifth of the Woman's Inst.i.tute Library of Cookery, deals with the varieties of fruits and the desserts that can be made from them, the canning and preserving of foods, the making of confections of every description, beverages and their place in the diet, and every phase of the planning of meals.

With fruits becoming less seasonal and more a daily food, an understanding of them is of great value to the housewife. In _Fruit and Fruit Desserts_, she first learns their place in the diet, their nature, composition, and food value. Then she proceeds with the preparation and serving of every variety of fruit. Included in this section also are fruit c.o.c.ktails, those refreshing appetizers often used to introduce a special meal.

To understand how to preserve perishable foods in the seasons of plenty for the times when they are not obtainable is a valuable part of a housewife's knowledge. _Canning and Drying_ deals with two ways of preserving foodstuffs, treating carefully the equipment needed and all the methods that can be employed and showing by means of excellent ill.u.s.trations, one of them in natural colors, every part of the procedure followed. The fruits and vegetables that permit of canning, as well as certain meats and fish, are taken up in a systematic manner.

_Jelly Making, Preserving, and Pickling_ continues a discussion of the home preservation of foods, showing how they can be kept for long periods of time not by sterilization, but with the aid of preservatives.

Each one of these methods is treated as to its principles, equipment, and the procedure to be followed. After trying the numerous recipes given, the housewife will be able to show with pride the results of her efforts, for nothing adds more to the attractiveness and palatability of a meal than a choice jelly, conserve, marmalade, or jam.

_Confections_ deals with that very delightful and fascinating part of cookery--confection making. Not only are home-made confections cheaper than commercially made ones, but they usually contain more wholesome materials, so it is to the housewife's advantage to familiarize herself with the making of this food. Recipes are given for all varieties of confections, including taffies, caramels, cream candies, and the confections related to them. Fondant making is treated in detail with ill.u.s.trations showing every step and directions for making many unusual kinds.

Though beverages often receive only slight consideration, they are so necessary that the body cannot exist very long without them. In _Beverages_ is discussed the relation of beverages to meals, the cla.s.ses of beverages, and the preparation of those required by the human system, as well as the proper way to serve them. In addition to coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, and cereal beverages, fruit, soft, and nourishing drinks receive their share of attention.

To be a successful home maker, it is not enough for a housewife to know how to prepare food; she must also understand how to buy it, how to look after the household accounts, what const.i.tutes correct diet for each member of her family, how to plan menus for her regular meals and for special occasions, and the essentials of good table service. All these things, and many more, she learns in _The Planning of Meals_, which completes this volume.

FRUIT AND FRUIT DESSERTS

FRUIT IN THE DIET

1. FRUIT, as is generally understood, is the fleshy, juicy product of some plant or tree which, when ripe, is suitable for use as food.

Although some fruits are seedless, they generally contain the seeds of the plants or trees that produce them. Many fruits require cooking to make them palatable, others are never cooked, and still others may be cooked or eaten raw, as desired.

Fruits, because they are wholesome, appetizing, and attractive, occupy a valuable place in the diet. In fact, it is these qualities rather than their food value that accounts for the popularity of fruits among all people. In addition to causing fruits to appeal to the esthetic sense, their attractiveness serves another important purpose. It is said that Nature made them attractive in color, odor, and flavor in order that birds might be allured to attack them for food and, by spreading the seeds, a.s.sist in their propagation.

2. Fruits are gradually growing to be less seasonal and more a daily food, and are thus constantly becoming more prevalent in the diet. This condition may be attributed to the present rapid means of transportation and the excellent methods of cold storage that exist. Through these agencies it is possible to ship more or less perishable fruits long distances from their native localities and at times of the year other than the particular season in which they are at their best in the places where they are grown. Thus, fruits that were formerly considered a luxury may now be served regularly, even on the tables of persons having only moderate means.

The fact that fruits are being more extensively used every day is as it should be, for this food is ent.i.tled to an important place in the diet of all persons. So important is fruit in the diet that it must be looked on not as one of the things that may be taken or omitted as a person wishes without making any difference either way, but as a food to include in one form or another in nearly every meal. The child who is so young that it cannot take any solid food may have fruit juices included in its diet to decided advantage; but children who are slightly older and adults may take the fruits cooked or raw instead of in the form of juices.

3. As far as the composition of fruits is concerned, it is such that most fresh fruits are not particularly high in food value. However, they are characterized by other qualities that make up for what they lack in this respect; then, too, what they contain in the way of heat-producing or tissue-building material is easily digestible. Most fruits contain considerable acid, and this food substance makes them stimulating to the appet.i.te. Advantage of this fact is taken when fruits are served at the beginning of a breakfast or when several of them are combined in a fruit c.o.c.ktail and served before luncheon or dinner. This acid produces real stimulation in the stomach, resulting in a flow of gastric juice from the glands of the stomach walls. In addition, the delightful color, the fragrant odor, or the pleasant taste of fruit, although a mental effect, is just as real and just as valuable as the actual stimulation of the acids.

4. Many fruits are eaten raw, while others are cooked either because they require cooking to make them appetizing or because it is desired not to use them in their raw state. The cooking of fruits has a variety of effects on them, being sometimes advantageous and other times detrimental. The flavor is always changed by the application of heat, and in some cases the acid that fruit contains becomes stronger. On the other hand, the fibrous material, or cellulose, of fruits is softened by cooking and thus becomes more digestible. Then, too, the sugar that is usually added to fruits in their cooking increases their food value.

Because of these facts, cooked fruits have considerable value and, like raw fruits, should have an important place in the diet. Those fruits which are dried and usually eaten raw, such as figs and dates, supply much nourishment in an easily digestible form.

5. The medicinal value of fruit has long been considered to be of importance, but this may be almost entirely disregarded, for, with the exception of the fact that most fruits are valuable as a laxative, there is nothing to consider. However, several fruits, such as blackberries and bananas, have an anti-laxative effect, and large quant.i.ties of these should for the most part be avoided, especially in the feeding of children.

6. In general, fruits are divided into two cla.s.ses, namely, food fruits and flavor fruits. As their names imply, _food fruits_ are valuable as food, whereas _flavor fruits_ are those distinguished by a characteristic flavor. It should be remembered that the flavors, as well as the odors, of fruits, are due chiefly to what is known as their volatile, or ethereal, oils. Fruits in which these oils are very strong are often irritating to certain persons and cause distress of some sort after eating.

7. In this Section, it is the purpose to acquaint the housewife with the relative value and uses of the various kinds of fruit, to teach her the best methods of preparation, and to supply her with recipes that will encourage her to make greater use of this valuable food in her family's diet. In this discussion, however, the general cla.s.sification of fruits is not followed. Instead, the various fruits are arranged alphabetically under the headings Berries, Non-Tropical Fruits, Citrus Fruits, Tropical Fruits, Melons, and Dried Fruits, in order to simplify matters. While it is hardly possible to use fruits too extensively, they must not be allowed to take the place of other more nourishing foods that are required by the body. Therefore, in order to make proper use of them, their value in the diet should not be overlooked.

NATURE OF FRUITS

ADVANCE IN FRUIT CULTIVATION

8. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between vegetables and fruits. For instance, the tomato is in reality a fruit, but it is commonly used as a vegetable, and rhubarb is more of a vegetable than a fruit, but it is always used as a fruit. It can therefore be seen that the line between vegetables and fruits is not clearly drawn. It is well to remember that fruit is usually the edible pulpy ma.s.s covering the seeds of various plants and trees, and that it is generally cooked or eaten raw with sugar, whereas vegetables are seldom sweetened in cooking.

9. Great strides have been made in the cultivation of fruit. Many varieties that formerly grew wild are now commonly cultivated. Most of the cultivated fruits are superior to the same kind in the wild state, at least in size and appearance, but often there seems to be a loss of flavor. Through cultivation, some fruits that were almost inedible in their wild state on account of containing so many seeds have been made seedless. Also, through cross-cultivation, varieties of fruit different from what formerly existed have been obtained. An example of such fruit is the loganberry which is a cross between a red raspberry and a blackberry and retains many of the qualities of each. However, some small fruits, such as blueberries, or huckleberries, are still grown wild and marketed only from their wild source.

10. While fruit is usually improved by cultivation, there has been a tendency through this means to produce fruits that will stand up for long periods of time, so that they may be marketed at great distances from the place where they are grown. For instance, apples, especially those found in the market in the spring, and other fruits, which look very fine, will many times be found to have a tough skin and to be almost tasteless.

In general, fruits of delicate flavor and texture cannot be kept very long after they have ripened. To stand shipping, they must be picked in their green stage; then if they are kept in the right temperature they will ripen after picking. Bananas that are to be shipped a long distance are picked when perfectly green, but by the time the consumer buys them they are usually well ripened. In addition to bananas, a few other tropical fruits are shipped out of their native climates in small numbers and are sold at very high prices. However, many tropical fruits cannot be shipped to the Northern States because of their perishable nature.

COMPOSITION AND FOOD VALUE OF FRUITS

COMPOSITION OF FRUITS

11. The composition of fruits is a matter of considerable importance, for on it the food value of the fruits depends. To a certain extent, the composition of all fruits is the same, but the varieties of this food differ in their food values almost as greatly as do vegetables. Many of them are extremely low in this respect, while a few of them are rather high. In order to determine the place that fruit should have in a meal, it is necessary to obtain a definite idea of the composition as well as the food value of the different varieties.

12. PROTEIN AND FAT IN FRUITS.--Such small quant.i.ties of protein and fat are contained in fruits that very little attention need be given to these substances. Exceptions are found in avocados, or alligator pears, and in ripe olives, both of which are high in fat. Then, too, there is a small amount of protein in grapes and some other fruits, but it is not sufficient to merit consideration.

13. CARBOHYDRATE IN FRUIT.--Whatever food value fruits may have, whether it be high or low, is due to the carbohydrate they contain. Some green fruits and bananas contain a very small amount of starch, but on the whole the carbohydrate of fruits is in the form of sugar and is in solution in the fruit juices. The chief form of this carbohydrate is known as _levulose_, or _fruit sugar_. However, _glucose_, another form of sugar, is also found in nearly all fruits, grapes and dried fruits, such as figs, raisins, etc., containing an unusually large amount. In addition, _cane sugar_ is contained in the majority of fruits. _Pectin_ is also a carbohydrate that is found in large quant.i.ties in some fruits, while in other fruits it is lacking. This substance is related to the gums and to cellulose. Although it is one of the carbohydrates from which no food value is derived, it is of considerable importance, because it is responsible for the jelly-making properties of fruits.

14. In fruits that are not fully matured, or, in other words, green fruits, the sugar has not developed to so great an extent as it has in perfectly ripe fruits. Consequently, such fruits are not so high in food value as they are when they become ripe. As is well known, it is the sugar of fruits that accounts for their sweet taste, for the sweeter the fruits, the more sugar and the less acid they contain. The quant.i.ty of this substance varies from 1 per cent. in lemons to 20 per cent. in some other fresh fruits, such as plums. In dried fruits, the amount of sugar is much higher, reaching as high as 60 per cent. or even more in such fruits as figs, dates, and raisins.

15. CELLULOSE IN FRUIT.--In fruits, as in vegetables, cellulose is found in varying quant.i.ties. The larger the quant.i.ty, the lower will be the food value of the fruit, except where the water has been evaporated, as in the case of dried fruits. The digestibility of this cellulose, however, is not worth considering, for, while it is possible that small amounts of very young and tender cellulose from fruits may be digested, on the whole this characteristic may be disregarded. The skins and seeds of fruits, as well as the coa.r.s.e material that helps to make up the pulp, are known as refuse and are treated as such by the human digestive tract; but it is to this waste material, or cellulose, that the laxative quality of fruit is largely due.

In cases where there are digestive or intestinal troubles, it is often necessary to remove the cellulose before the fruit is eaten. The coa.r.s.e material may be removed and that which is more tender may be broken up by pressing the fruit through a sieve or a strainer of some kind. The cooking of fruits is another means of making the cellulose in them more easily digested, for it softens, or disintegrates, the various particles of the indigestible material. When fruit is taken for its laxative effect and the irritation of the cellulose needs no consideration, the skins of the fruits may be eaten instead of being rejected. However, to avoid any trouble, they should be well chewed.

16. Minerals in Fruit.--All fruits contain a certain percentage of mineral salts. The quant.i.ty varies in the different kinds of fruits, but it averages about 1 per cent. These salts have the opposite effect on the blood from those found in meats and cereals, but they act in much the same way as the minerals of vegetables. In other words, they have a tendency to render the blood more alkaline and less acid. They are therefore one of the food const.i.tuents that help to make fruit valuable in the diet and should be retained as far as possible in its preparation. In fact, any method that results in a loss of minerals is not a good one to adopt in the preparation of fruits.

The minerals commonly found in fruits are iron, lime, sodium, magnesium, potash, and phosphorus. These are in solution in the fruit juices to a very great extent, and when the juices are extracted the minerals remain in them.

17. Acids in Fruit.--Some fruits contain only a small amount of acid, while others contain larger quant.i.ties. It is these acids, together with the sugar and the volatile oils of fruits, that const.i.tute the entire flavor of this food. Most ripe fruits contain less acid than unripe ones, and cooked fruits are often higher in acid than the same fruits when raw.

Numerous kinds of acid are found in the different varieties of fruits.

For example, lemons, oranges, grapefruit, and a few other fruits belonging to the cla.s.s known as citrus fruits contain _citric acid_; peaches, plums, apricots, and apples, _malic acid_; and grapes and many other fruits, _tartaric acid_.

TABLE I

COMPOSITION AND FOOD VALUE OF FRUITS

| | | | | |Food Value Fruit |Water|Protein| Fat |Carbo- |Mineral|per Pound, | | | |hydrate|Matter |in Calories ------------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-------+----------- | | | | | | Apples, fresh |84.6 | .4 | .5 | 14.2 | .3 | 290 Apples, dried |28.1 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 66.1 | 2.0 | 1,350 Apricots, fresh |85.0 | 1.1 | -- | 13.4 | .5 | 270 Apricots, dried |29.4 | 4.7 | 1.0 | 62.5 | 2.4 | 1,290 Bananas |75.3 | 1.3 | .6 | 22.0 | .8 | 460 Blackberries |86.3 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 10.9 | .5 | 270 Cherries |80.9 | 1.0 | .8 | 16.7 | .6 | 365 Cranberries |88.9 | .4 | .6 | 9.9 | .2 | 215 Currants |85.0 | 1.5 | -- | 12.8 | .7 | 265 Dates |15.4 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 78.4 | 1.3 | 1,615 Figs, fresh |79.1 | 1.5 | -- | 18.8 | .6 | 380 Figs, dried |18.8 | 4.3 | .3 | 74.2 | 2.4 | 1,475 Grapefruit |86.9 | .8 | .2 | 11.6 | .5 | 240 Grapes |77.4 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 19.2 | .5 | 450 Huckleberries |81.9 | .6 | .6 | 16.6 | .3 | 345 Lemons |89.3 | 1.0 | .7 | 8.5 | .5 | 205 Muskmelons |89.5 | .6 | -- | 9.3 | .6 | 185 Nectarines |82.9 | .6 | -- | 15.9 | .6 | 305 Oranges |86.9 | .8 | .2 | 11.6 | .5 | 240 Peaches |89.4 | .7 | .1 | 9.4 | .4 | 190 Pears |84.4 | .6 | .5 | 14.1 | .4 | 295 Persimmons |66.1 | .8 | .7 | 31.5 | .9 | 630 Pineapple |89.3 | .4 | .3 | 9.7 | .3 | 200 Plums |78.4 | 1.0 | -- | 20.1 | .5 | 395 Pomegranates |76.8 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 19.5 | .6 | 460 Prunes, fresh |79.6 | .9 | -- | 18.9 | .6 | 370 Prunes, dried |22.3 | 2.1 | -- | 73.3 | 2.3 | 1,400 Raisins |14.6 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 76.1 | 3.4 | 1,605 Raspberries, red |85.8 | 1.0 | -- | 12.6 | .6 | 255 Raspberries, black|84.1 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 12.6 | .6 | 310 Rhubarb |94.4 | .6 | .7 | 3.6 | .7 | 105 Strawberries |90.4 | 1.0 | .6 | 7.4 | .6 | 180 Watermelon |92.4 | .4 | .2 | 6.7 | .3 | 140 ------------------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-------+-----------

18. The juice of fruits that contain very little sugar and a large quant.i.ty of acid, such as the lemon, may be used for the seasoning of food in much the same way that vinegar is used. It may also be diluted with other liquids and used for a beverage. Then, again, various kinds of fruit juices are subjected to a process of fermentation and, through the production of another acid, are made into vinegar and wines. When apples are treated in this way, the fermentation produces _acetic acid_ and, in addition, a certain amount of alcohol. It is on this principle that the making of wines depends.

19. WATER IN FRUIT.--The water content of fresh fruits is very high, reaching 94 per cent. in some varieties. Dried fruits, on the other hand, contain much less water, their content being in some cases as low as 15 to 20 per cent. It naturally follows that the fruits low in water are high in food value, while those containing considerable water have in their composition less of the material that adds food value. The high percentage of water in fresh fruits, together with the acids they contain, accounts for the fact that these fruits are so refreshing.