158 BACTERIA, YEASTS, AND MOLDS 



was confronted with many problems in the home preserva- 

 tion of meats, vegetables, and fruits, because she was likely 

 to have large quantities brought to her hands at once for 

 immediate disposal. But though the questions are not so 

 pressing in the modern home, they are still constantly 

 arising in the well-regulated house. A somewhat extended 

 notice of the subject is therefore necessary. 



The Use of Foods while Fresh. The first thing that 

 must always be borne in mind is that nearly all kinds of 

 food are better when used as fresh as possible. The 

 sooner food is consumed after it reaches the household, 

 the surer it is to be free from the troublesome action of 

 bacteria, and the more certain it is not to develop decom- 

 position tastes and flavors. The necessity of using food 

 while fresh is much more imperative with some foods than 

 with others. Meats and milk are especially liable to spoil, 

 — the meat of immature animals more quickly than that of 

 adult animals, — and must be used promptly. Many fruits, 

 like cherries, berries, peaches, and pears, keep only a short 

 time, and beans and peas spoil very quickly if kept moist. 

 The endeavor should always be to use such materials 

 at once. 



The housewife in our modern community should remem- 

 ber that only a small proportion of the food she buys is 

 really fresh. The crowding of people together into cities 

 demands a food supply coming from long distances, and the 

 constantly open markets twelve months in the year require 

 some food to be preserved for weeks and months before 

 use. Hence our city markets are filled and our tables 

 loaded with various forms of preserved foods ; and whether 

 she buys canned or salted goods, or meats or poultry, the 



