EXTENSION COURSE IN VEGETABLE FOODS. 49 
mushroom grows older, but even when it is fully expanded and quite 
dark the flavor is good. It may be purchased canned, but is much 
better fresh, and may be grown for home use. Dried mushrooms of 
various kinds may be bought in some large markets and in the small 
stores in the foreign quarters of large cities, or may be dried at home. 
Many recipes for cooking mushrooms call for the removal of the 
stems, but they may be used if not too woody. It is a good plan to 
slice them crosswise and cook for a few minutes previous to adding 
the caps, or the stems may be reserved for flavoring soups or sauces. 
The food value of the mushroom, which is really much the same as 
that of common green vegetables, has often been rated higher than it 
deserves, partly because the analyses of fresh and dry have been 
confused. 
MILDEW, MOLDS, AND FERMENTS. 
These are also classed under fungi. Some of them are looked upon 
as enemies, yet many of the characteristic and delicious flavors in 
butter, cheese, fruit cakes, and pickles are due to the development of 
such fungi. (Ref. No. 59, pp. 51-57.) 
H. W. Conn (ref. No. 13) says: “A few of our food products are, 
however, benefited by the development of molds. “ * * The pe- 
culiar flavor of certain cheeses is due to the growth of molds, Roque- 
fort, Stilton, etc.” 
YEAST. 
Yeast is a microscopic plant of the fungus type. It will grow with- 
out light, but like any plant it must be kept moist and warm. 
Tt will grow in a wide range of temperatures from just above the 
freezing point to over 120° F. Though formerly commonly prepared 
at home, yeast for bread making and similar purposes is now very 
commonly purchased ready prepared. 
EXERCISES, LESSON IX. 
Materials needed.—The materials needed include mushrooms, fresh, dried, or 
canned, pieces of rotten or moldy apple or other fruit, and either yeast cake or 
liquid yeast. 
MUSHROOMS. 
Prepare fresh, dried, or canned mushrooms with white sauce or use in soups. 
MOLD AND DECAY. 
(1) Cut through the skin of some vegetable or fruit with a knife dipped into 
mold or decay from another fruit. Watch day by day for changes. 
(2) Put a whole fruit or vegetable and a piece of bread in a sterile jar, cover, 
and set away. 
(8) Seatter spores of mold in a jar and then put in the jar a bruised fruit or 
vegetable and a piece of bread like that used in the previous experiment. Cover 
and leave for several days beside the other jar. 
16889°—Bull. 128—16——4 
