The Preservation of Food in the Home. — Part I 1277 



(c) Conserves. — A conserve is a kind of preserve made from a mixture 

 of fruits with or without the addition of some other material, such as nuts. 

 Various combinations of fruits may be made into toothsome relishes under 

 the name " conserve." For example, strawberries may be combined with 

 orange pulp, pineapple, or rhubarb, in various proportions, to make con- 

 serves of delicious taste and beautiful color. 



Salt and vinegar. — These are preservatives that materially aid in keeping 

 foods, not because they destroy or prevent the growth of all kinds of 

 micro-organisms, but because they protect food more or less effectively 

 against the action of those micro-organisms that cause putrefaction and 

 decomposition. Their moderate use as condiments in the dietary is 

 normal; hence, their use as preservatives is regarded as harmless. 



The action of acid in preventing putrefaction is interestingly illustrated 

 in two natural food-products. Under conditions favoring putrefaction, 

 sweet milk may spoil in two or three days. If milk sours, however, the 

 acid may aid in protecting it against putrefaction for many weeks. Sauer- 

 kraut is the acid product of cabbage and, like milk, it is protected against 

 decay by its acid content. 



Spices. — Some spices have a decidedly preservative action. Recent 

 investigations in the bacteriological laboratory at the Wisconsin Agri- 

 cultural College indicate that all spices are not equally effective: pepper 

 and ginger exerting slight, if any, power to prevent decomposition of food; 

 cinnamon and cloves, on the other hand, being very effective preservatives. 

 The materials are condiments, that is, digestive stimulants; used in any 

 large quantity in the dietary, they affect the powers of digestion unfavor- 

 ably. Foods preserved by the action of spices should therefore have a 

 limited use in the dietary and should be used rather as condiments than 

 to supply the body of the meal. 



Typical foods preserved by the action of spices, or of spices with some 

 other preservative such as cider or salt, are mincemeat, fruit cake, spiced 

 fruit, meats, and pickles. 



Doubtful preservatives: saltpeter, smoke, and liquid smoke. — Saltpeter 

 has an astringent action on food. It is used generally where meat is 

 being pickled in brine, as salt removes the color of meat and the presence 

 of saltpeter prevents that removal. It is still a question whether the effects 

 of saltpeter are harmful; if it is used only for aesthetic purposes, it might 

 well be eliminated. 



The antiseptic properties of smoke are owing to the formation of creosote 

 and pyroligneous acid. It is a question whether those substances are 

 harmful in the amount found in smoked meats. Liquid smoke, a liquid 

 compound of creosote and pyroligneous acid, yielding as it does a larger 

 amount of those substances to the food, is open to more serious objection 

 than is smoke. 



