School and Home Cooking

by Carlotta C. Greer

FRESH FRUITS

FRUIT, A NECESSITY.—An authority [Footnote 19: See "Feeding the Family" (p 240), by Mary Swartz Rose, Ph.D.] on diet says that at least as much money should be spent for fruits as for meat, eggs, and fish. Fruit should no longer be considered a luxury but a necessity in diet.

Fruits as well as vegetables are effective in preventing constipation,— the common disorder which may lead to serious disturbances. Most fruits, especially those containing considerable acid, such as lemons, oranges, and apples, are laxative. Prunes and figs are also valuable in constipation. Blackberries are unlike other fruits in this respect,—they are constipating.

A disease called scurvy is often due to a lack of fresh vegetables and fruits in diet. Orange juice is especially valuable in preventing scurvy. Fruits are valuable not only because they aid in preventing constipation and scurvy, but because they contain ash. Fruits are rich in mineral matter.

KINDS OF FRUITS.—In a broad sense fruits are seed vessels. This classification includes many foods that are ordinarily considered vegetables. So in this text seed vessels that are used as desserts are termed fruits. Rhubarb is not properly a fruit; it is a vegetable, but because it is used in the diet the same way as fruit, it is classed as such.

Fruits are sometimes classified as food fruits and flavor fruits. This distinction depends upon the quantity of sugar and water that fruits contain,—those containing much sugar, such as ripe bananas and dried fruits, being called food fruits and those containing much water and less sugar, such as oranges and strawberries, being termed flavor fruits. This classification may be somewhat misleading, however, for all fruits may be considered food fruits. Fruits containing much water are generally rich in ash and other valuable substances and hence have decided food value.

WHEN TO ADD THE SUGAR to cooked fruits—before or after cooking—is a practical problem for every housewife. Fruits contain acids, and most cooked fruits require the addition of sugar to make them palatable.

The flavor of fresh fruit is generally popular. In cooking fruit it is desirable to retain the fresh fruit flavor. Housekeepers have found that a less desirable flavor results—the fruit "loses" more of its "fresh flavor"—if the sugar is cooked with the fruit. Moreover, when sugar is cooked with fruit, a sirup is formed, which is more apt to scorch than a mixture of fruit and water. For these reasons, it is well to add sugar to fruit after cooking, unless it is desired to preserve the shape of the fruit or unless fruit is made into jelly. Fruit is cooked in a sirup if it is desired to preserve its shape.

SUGGESTIONS FOR COOKING FRUITS.—Fruits should be washed, cut into pieces, and then pared or peeled, unless they are to be strained after cooking. For some fruits it is not necessary to remove the skins before straining.

We have all seen the dark stain on a steel knife that has been used for paring fruit or certain vegetables. This black substance is formed by the action of the acid of the fruit or vegetable on the metal. It is disagreeable in taste and may produce harmful results. For this reason all fruits should be cooked in granite, earthenware, or glass utensils.