Buying without planning menus. By this carelessness foods are often purchased which do not combine well, and therefore do not appeal to the appetite, and so are wasted. Unplanned meals also lead to an unconscious extravagance in buying and an unnecessary accumulation of left-overs.
Buying foreign brands when domestic brands are cheaper and often better.
Leaving the trimmings from meats and poultry at the butcher's. Bring these home and fry out the fatty portions for dripping; use all other parts for the stock pot.
Having purchased for nutriment and in sufficiently large quantities to secure bulk rates, careful storage is the next step in the prevention of waste. Flour, cereals and meals become wormy if they are not kept in clean, covered utensils and in a cool place. Milk becomes sour, especially in summer. This can be prevented by scalding it as soon as received, cooling quickly, and storing in a cold place in covered, well-scalded receptacles. Sour milk should not be thrown out. It is good in biscuits, gingerbread, salad dressings, cottage cheese, pancakes or waffles, and bread making.
Meats should not be left in their wrappings. Much juice soaks into the paper, which causes a loss of flavor and nutriment. Store all meat in a cool place and do not let flies come in contact with it.
Bread often molds, especially in warm, moist weather. Trim off moldy spots and heat through. Keep the bread box sweet by scalding and sunning once a week.
Cheese molds. Keep in a cool, dry place. If it becomes too dry for table use, grate for sauces or use in scalloped dishes.
Winter vegetables wilt and dry out. Store in a cool place. If cellar space permits, place in box of sand, sawdust or garden earth.
Potatoes and onions sprout. Cut off the sprouts as soon as they appear and use for soup. Soak, before using, vegetables which have sprouted.
Fruits must be stored carefully so as to keep the skins unbroken. Broken spots in the skin cause rapid decay. Do not permit good fruit to remain in contact with specked or rotted fruit. Stored fruit should be looked over frequently and all specked or rotted fruit removed. Sweet potatoes are an exception. Picking over, aggravates the trouble. See that these vegetables are carefully handled at all times; if rot develops, remove only those that can be reached without danger of bruising the sound roots. Sweet potatoes may also be stored like fruit by spreading over a large surface and separating the tubers so that they do not touch each other.