Sbo. 35.] EXCERPT.V OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR U0USEWm:3. 399 



ill its place wo have a bitter, acrid, tannic acid taste, which produces py- 

 rosis in the stomachs of those who use it largely. 



Never allow pepper and coffee to come in contact. The two should not ho 

 kept in the same pantry. 



The best water for a decoction of coffee is that with a slight alkaline tine 

 ture, and it has been recommended to add 40 grs. of dry soda to a jiound 

 of coffee. It is certainly true tliat some of the springs of the Rocky Mount- 

 ains, which are so alkaline as not to lio drinkable, make good coffee. So do 

 wells that will not make good tea. 



Xever buy ground coffee. Besides the fact that it loses strength, it is 

 almost universally adulterated. Peas are largely used fur this purpose, and 

 beans, corn, dried carrots, turnips, chiccory, and several other substances are 

 also employed. 



433. Tea — its Value as Food. — That tea has a value as food, we can not 

 doubt. Long before its use among European nations, the Chinese had set- 

 tled this question to their satisfaction. If it is not of itself food, it seems to 

 help us to assimilate other things. It certainly is a favorite beverage with 

 all who are accustomed to its use, and so far as health is concerned, wo be- 

 lieve it is certainly harmless, if pure, as the best black teas generally are. 

 The green teas, either from 'the nature of the article, or from something 

 added in curing, have a much greater etl'ect upon the nervous system tiian 

 the black teas. Pekoe and Oolong arc the names of two of the best varieties 

 of black tea. Gunpowder and Imperial are the two best green teas. 



434. How to Make Black Tea^— Ulack tea must be boiled some minutes 

 — thirty is better than less — in a close vessel, to get the fragrant aroma and 

 all the vegetable extract that adds value to the delicious beverage we get 

 from a well-made cup of good bhick tea. 



Never use hard water for tea. Filtered rain-water makes good tea. 

 Never steep it in lukewarm wafer, and never let it come to the table at that 

 temperature. The true aroma of tea is never obtained except when it is 

 boilin"- hot. Tea should never bo exposed to the air. ■ Keep all ground 

 spices, and also ground coffee, carefully excluded from the air. 



435. Susar and Molasses.— For most j.urposes retined sugars arc tlio 

 most economical. In buying raw sugar, select none but the cleanest (.orU, 

 such as the best New Orleans, or Santa Cruz, of a light straw color, coarsely 

 crysf.'.llized. "White Havana sugar is not as dean as white Brazil sugar. 

 Select bright, ligiit-colored molasses. Never buy the thick, dark-colored. 

 Brgar-housc syrup. Its thickness does not indicate sweetness. For the 

 taiile, the real " golden syrup" of the sugar-rcfiqcra is not only the best, but 

 must economical. AVc inake an c.xccUeut table syrup every year of n>aple- 

 EUgar diijt^olved in boiling water. 



43fi. Knowlrdpp for the kitrlieii.— Hero arc a few simple rules for the kitdion 

 that may bo usefully rcmcmbcn-d : 



Oranges and lenions keep best wrapped close iu soft paper, and laid in a 

 drawer with linen. 



