600 MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



undone. No housewife who has on hand during the winter a sup- 

 ply of home-canned vegetables ready to serve on ten minutes' no- 

 tice will ever regret the trouble or difficulties experienced in learn- 

 ing. (Dept. Agr. F. B. 359; Minn. Exp. Sta. B. 63.) 



CANNING AND PRESERVING FRUIT. 



Fruit has great dietetic value and should be used generously 

 and wisely, both fresh and cooked. Fruits supply a variety of fla- 

 vors, sugar, acids, and a necessary waste or bulky material for aid- 

 ing in intestinal movement. They are generally rich in potash 

 and soda salts and other minerals. Most fresh fruits are cooling 

 and refreshing. The vegetable acids have a solvent power on the 

 nutrients and are an aid to digestion when not taken in excess. 

 Fruit and fruit juices keep the blood in a healthy condition when 

 the supply of fresh meat, fish, and vegetables is limited. Fresh 

 fruit is generally more appetizing and refreshing than cooked and 

 eaten ripe and in moderate quantities rarely hurts anyone. 



Cooking changes the character and flavor of fruit, and while 

 the product is not so cooling and refreshing, it can, as a rule, be 

 eaten with less danger of causing stomach or intestinal trouble. 

 If sugar be added to the cooked fruit, the nutritive value will be 

 increased. A large quantity of sugar spoils the flavor of the fruit 

 and is likely to make it less easily digested. 



Nowhere is there greater need of a generous supply of fruit 

 than on the farm, where the diet is apt to be restricted in variety 

 because of the distance from markets. Every farmer should raise 

 a generous supply of the kinds of fruit that can be grown in his 

 locality. Wives and daughters on the farms should find pleasure 

 in serving these fruits in the most healthful and tempting form. 

 There are a large number of simple, dainty desserts that can be 

 prepared with fruit and without much labor. Such desserts should 

 leave the pie as an occasional luxury instead of allowing it to be 

 considered a daily necessity. 



In the season when each kind of fruit is plentiful and at its 

 best a generous supply should be canned for the season when both 

 fruit and fresh vegetables are scarce. A great deal should be canned 

 with little or no sugar, that it may be so nearly as possible in the con- 

 dition of fresh fruit. This is the best condition for cooking 

 purposes. If there be an abundance of grapes and small, juicy 

 fruits, plenty of juice should be canned or bottled for refreshing 

 drinks throughout the year. Fruit and juice are not luxuries, but 

 an addition to the dietary that will mean better health for the 

 members of the family and greater economy in the cost of the table. 



Malic acid is the chief sour principle of apples, currants, goose- 

 berries, plums, cherries, strawberries and most common fruits. It 

 is abundant in rhubarb. 



Most fruits are unfavorable to the growth of bacteria, but may 

 be attacked by yeasts and molds. Yeasts may be destroyed by boil- 

 ing fruits and their juices ten to fifteen minutes. Every housekeeper 

 is familiar with molds. They develop from spores. The precau- 

 tions given under canning vegetables should be followed with fruit. 



