4 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
September, 1917 
How to Hull Corn. 
In Grandmother’s and mother’s 
house freshly hulled corn was a 
most popular breakfast and supper 
dish, and it is now being prepared 
in many homes and meeting with a 
very generous welcome. Freshly 
hulled corn is far more delicious 
than any commercially canned, for 
freshness is as essential to hulled 
corn as it is to June peas. 
It is usually eaten in milk and is 
a most wholesome, economical and 
nutritious food, suitable for chil- 
dren and adults. The food value 
of hulled corn is 
Water 74.1% 
Fat 09% 
Mineral matter 5% 
Protein 2.3% 
Carbohydrates 22.2% 
Calories, per pound 490 
There is an undeniable tendency 
to revert to the delicious and whole- 
some foods of the last century and 
in this hulled corn is rapidly be- 
coming most popular. The hulled 
corn vendor is reappearing on the 
streets and in the markets of south- 
ern cities. Many women are find- 
ing in its preparation a gainful oc- 
cupation, for they can easily sell it 
to their neighbors at a good profit. 
IIow to Prepare Hulled Corn. 
Dissolve half a ten cent can of 
lye in a quart of water and dilute 
to three gallons with more water 
in a large iron kettle. Put in four 
.quarts of shelled corn and keep 
slightly below the boiling tempera- 
ture, until the hulls have started 
to break. Then put into a large 
pan of cold water and rub with the 
hands thoroughly to loosen the 
hulls. Take off the hulls and scum 
from the water and add fresh water 
several times during the simmer- 
ing. Stir well with wooden spoon. 
Change the water five or six times 
and wash and rub until the corn is 
white and clean. Keep it in cold 
water over night, then wash four 
or five times with hot water. 
How to Peel Peaches, Pears and 
Plums With Lye. 
Paring peaches, pears and plums 
with a knife cuts off and wastes 
considerable amount of fruit even 
with the most careful and skilled 
paring and careful paring takes a 
lot of time. Experts say the fruit 
next to the skin has the finest flavor 
and this part is cut off and thrown 
away with the skin when a paring 
knife however sharp is used. The 
use of the paring knife adds unnec- 
essary labor and is far less cleanly 
than when lye is used. So peel 
these fruits with lye. 
The process of peeling peaches, 
pears and plums by dipping in hot 
lye solution is approved by the U. 
S. Government Board of Food and 
Drug Inspection which reports that 
lye peeling has no bad effects on the 
quality or flavor of the fruit and 
is not contrary to the requirements 
of the Food and Drugs Act known 
as the Pure Food Law. Lye peel- 
ing saves time, fruit and trouble, 
is wholesome, rapid, cleanly and 
economical. 
All you need is a good iron kettle 
big enough to hold plenty of water. 
A wire basket with side handle 
preferably, to hold the fruit — a ten 
cent can of lye and a little alum. 
To nine gallons of cold water add 
half a ten cent can of lye and a half 
ounce of alum — bring to a boil. 
Have kettle large enough so that it 
is not over two-thirds filled with 
the water — this for safety to pre- 
vent splashing of the hot solution 
when the fruit is plunged into the 
kettle. 
When the mixture is boiling, 
lower the fruit into the boiling so- 
* 
Showing how some of Madison’s school children “do their bit.” Madison 
is not exceptional, in fact is far behind many cities. West Allis with a popu- 
lation of 9,000 boasts twelve hundred and fifty “Liberty” gardens. 
