Canned goods bought in tin cans do not need very careful storage. It is sufficient to keep them in a place dry enough to prevent the cans from rusting. Foods canned in glass, however, should be kept where they are not exposed to the light, as they will become more or less discolored unless they are stored in dark places.
Flour, meals, and cereals stored in quantities develop mold unless they are kept very dry. For the storing of these foods, therefore, wooden bins or metal-lined boxes kept in a dry place are the most satisfactory.
STORING OF SEMIPERISHABLE FOODS
57. Practically all vegetables and fruits with skins may be regarded as semiperishable foods, and while they do not spoil so easily as some foods, they require a certain amount of care. Potatoes are easily kept from spoiling if they are placed in a cool, dry, dark place, such as a cellar, a bin like that shown in Fig. 16 furnishing a very good means for such storage. It is, of course, economical to buy potatoes in large quantities, but if they must be kept under conditions that will permit them to sprout, shrivel, rot, or freeze, it is better to buy only a small quantity at a time. Sweet potatoes may be bought in considerable quantity and kept for some time if they are wrapped separately in pieces of paper and packed so that they do not touch one another.
Carrots, turnips, beets, and parsnips can be kept through the winter in very much the same manner as potatoes. They deteriorate less, however, if they are covered with earth or sand. Sometimes, especially in country districts, such winter vegetables are buried in the ground out of doors, being placed at a depth that renders them safe from the attacks of frost. Cabbage will keep very well if placed in barrels or boxes, but for long keeping, the roots should not be removed. Pumpkin and squash thoroughly matured do not spoil readily if they are stored in a dry place.
Apples and pears may be stored in boxes or barrels, but very fine varieties of these fruits should be wrapped separately in paper. All fruit should be looked over occasionally, and those which show signs of spoiling should be removed.
MENUS AND RECIPES
58. As practically every woman knows, a MENU, or bill of fare, consists of a certain number of dishes given in the order in which they are to be served; likewise, she knows that the dishes called for in a menu must be prepared according to a RECIPE, or receipt, which is the list of ingredients of a mixture giving the exact proportions to be used, together with proper directions for compounding. In all good recipes the items are tabulated in the order in which they are needed, so as to save time and produce good results. Items tabulated in this manner also serve to minimize the danger of omitting some of the ingredients of a recipe, for they can be easily checked up when they are given in the proper order.
59. In preparing recipes, the beginner in cookery usually has difficulty in judging the size of a recipe. The experienced housewife will not follow a recipe exactly when she thinks it will produce more food than she needs to meet the requirements of her family; instead, she will reduce the quantities to suit her wants. Likewise, if a recipe will not provide enough, she will increase the quantities accordingly. Just how to judge whether or not a recipe will make what is wanted comes only with experience, but the beginner may be guided by the fact that it is never wise to prepare more than enough of one kind of dish, unless, of course, it can be used to good advantage as a left-over. On the other hand, if a recipe is for food that can be kept and used for another meal later, it often pays to make up more, so as to save time, fuel, and labor. In any event, it is always advisable to follow explicitly the directions that are given, for if the recipe is of the right kind they will be given so that success will result from carrying them out in detail.