560 MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



The liquor in the shell surrounding the oysters contains more 

 bacteria than does an equal volume of meat from the same oyster. 

 This liquor, together with any sand in the gills of the oyster, can be 

 removed and the meat chilled at the same time by the use of pure 

 ice and water. This washing process can be done efficiently within 

 3 to 10 minutes, depending upon the method employed. Oysters 

 should not be allowed to soak in fresh water, as they increase in 

 volume, change in appearance and flavor, and decompose more 

 rapidly than those not soaked. (Bur. Chem. B. 136; Dept. ACT. 

 FB. 293, 375.) 



Milk is another food used without cooking. As it is a very 

 nutritious and valuable food and one easily secured on the farm, 

 cooks should become familiar with all the various methods of using 

 it. In milk the principal protein compound is casein. It contains 

 both phosphorus and sulphur. There is also present in milk some 

 albumen about one-seventh of the entire protein. The fat of milk 

 is found throughout it in small globules. The amount varies from 

 3 to 5 per cent. The chief carbohydrate is lactose (milk sugar.) It 

 varies from 4 to 6 per cent. It remains in the whey when the curd 

 or casein is removed. The ash in milk consists mainly of chlorids 

 of soda, potash, and lime and makes up about 0.7 per cent of the 

 milk. Milk should be kept in a very clean, cool place free from dirt 

 and flies. 



As we have seen from a consideration of the constituents of 

 milk, it is a very valuable food, although by itself not the best for 

 adults. It must be combined with other foods. A lunch of half a 

 pound of bread. and a pint of skim milk will furnish .09 pounds of 

 protein and 859 calories, that is, nearly one-third of a day's nutri- 

 ment. If whole milk is used the fuel value will be 1,080 calories. 



On the farm skim milk is often considered fit only for the pigs ; 

 but it really may be used in cookery, etc., as a useful and economical 

 food, though it is only fair to say that on a farm milk is often so 

 abundant that the fresh whole milk will naturally be selected for 

 culinary and table purposes. The fresh whole milk seems to most 

 persons more tempting as a beverage, perhaps, than older skim 

 milk, though this is a matter largely of cultivation and habit.^ 



Sour milk or clabber is a common article of diet in many parts 

 of the United States and is wholesome, and to those who care for it 

 very refreshing and palatable. It is certainly nutritious, since when 

 made from whole milk it contains all the nutritive ingredients orig- 

 inally present, and when only skim milk is used it contains the casein 

 and other constituents except the fat. Usually no special methods 

 are followed to prepare sour milk or clabber for table use, though 

 most housewives recognize the fact that if the souring takes place too 

 slowly the clabber may have a bitter or unpleasant flavor. This is, 

 of course, due to the development of undesirable bacteria along with 

 those which cause the souring of the milk. 



Cottage cheese as commonly made at home from sour milk 

 with or without the cream is a nutritious and palatable food, 19.6 



