HOW TO PROTECT FOOD III 



a long time, but meat kept in a refrigerator decays after a 

 few days. 



Bacteria grow rapidly at summer temperatures and at the 

 temperature of a heated room in winter. In summer, exposed 

 milk sours in a few hours, but remains wholesome all day when 

 kept in a good refrigerator. In summer a dealer keeps the 

 bulk of his meats and fowls in cold storage and brings to his 

 store just enough material to supply the immediate demand. 

 In winter, when the temperature is lower and it is easier to keep 

 the ice chest cold, he pays fewer visits to the cold storage vaults 

 and keeps a larger supply in the store. The more ice there is in 

 a refrigerator, the colder will be the air around the food, and the 

 longer will the food remain in good condition. In warm weather, 

 when ice melts rapidly, and the refrigerator warms up with 

 every opening of the doors, it is better to buy just enough food 

 to last for a short time, and to pay frequent visits to the market 

 for fresh fowl, fish, meat, and vegetables. Fish is particularly 

 sensitive to decay, and a refrigerator must be very cold to pre- 

 vent the rapid increase of bacteria in fish. Many dealers bury 

 their fish in chopped ice in warm weather. 



The average housewife does not buy ice in winter but de- 

 pends upon the lower temperature of the air to preserve food 

 for a reasonable time. If the weather is cold, turkeys can be 

 purchased weeks before their use and hung in shed or pantry ; if 

 the weather is mild, it is not safe to buy them much in advance, 

 because bacteria develop rapidly in them and make them unfit 

 for use. 



People who cannot afford ice use several simple devices to 

 keep food from spoiling immediately. Butter, for example, 

 is kept sweet for days in an earthenware jar surrounded by wet 

 cloths. The evaporation of the water from the cloth cools the 

 inside of the vessel and the butter. 



Bacteria and moisture. Bacteria need moisture for growth. 



