Meat which is without fat is probably tough. Fat of beef should be pale yellow and dry, the lean, bright red and firm. Mutton, veal and pork should have pure white fat, the lean of mutton should be bright red, of veal, pink, of pork, a somewhat more delicate pink.
Chickens should have soft, moist, yellow feet, smooth, thick legs, and tender skin. The end of the breastbone should be pliable. Plump, very bright yellow chickens are fat and are better for stews or pot-pie than for roasting.
Turkeys should have smooth, black legs and white, plump breasts. If the flesh of their legs is purplish they are probably old.
Geese and ducks should have soft feet, hard breasts and pinkish beaks.
Fish in good condition have bright eyes and scales, stiff fins and flesh so hard and firm that it will not retain the mark if pressed with a finger.
It is not a difficult matter to tell whether fruit and vegetables are fresh and good. When such things are wilted, withered, bruised or lacking in firmness, they are not good for food unless they are merely wilted as lettuce and asparagus sometimes are on a hot day, or when they have been carried through the sun.
I know of no way of judging butter except by tasting it. There is little also by which to judge eggs; their shells should not be shiny or very smooth and they should feel both light and heavy—if you can tell what I mean by that.
The last two questions on the marketing list are also usually considered together. Both are really questions concerning quantity.
Food so often comes in quantities too large for one meal that it is usually better to make menus for two days at one time and then revise the second day's menu when the second day comes.
Under these questions of quantity comes a class of articles a little different from those which we have just been mentioning: articles like sugar, flour, salt, coffee, tea and the like, which are bought in bulk. In what quantity it is wise to buy such things depends upon the size of the household, the place where these articles may be kept, the distance from the place where the supply can be renewed, the income of the family and whether the housewife or a reliable servant dispenses them for use. I think it is pretty generally admitted that households which are living on small means do better to buy food supplies in small quantities. The advantages of doing this are, that if the commodity is injured in any way, the loss is small; that no large outlay of money is required at any one time; that the smallness of the quantity possessed is a continual guard against its lavish use. These advantages usually amply offset the fact that it is a little cheaper and a little more comfortable to buy in large quantities.