HYGIENE, ECONOMY AND SANITATION.
The pantry shelf with its contents is responsible for many acute diseases and ptomaine poisoning by unhygienic and careless handling and preservation of foodstuffs.
A closet for the preservation of food should be located on the north or east side of the house if possible. It should have several long and narrow windows from top to bottom, so as to allow plenty of air and light. The shelves should be constructed of wire, zinc or wooden slats, and be removable.
Raw fruits and vegetables should never be kept in the same closet with cooked food. Potatoes, carrots and underground vegetables should be kept out of doors or in a dry basement. They may be preserved in a box with dry sand.
Onions should not be left in a paper bag; hang them up in the sun or keep them in a flat box in a dry place. Onions which have been cut should never be used again for food, unless the cut side has been preserved in vinegar or oil.
All raw foods which have a thick skin have better keeping qualities than those with a thin skin; therefore, fancy summer fruits should be eaten while fresh on the same day they were picked. No more should be bought than can be eaten the same day, or else they should be preserved by sterilization.
Green vegetables should be used fresh if possible, and not kept longer than three or four days. Never keep them in the house or pantry.
Apples or other winter fruits should be kept in a dry store room out of doors, in the attic or in a dry basement.
Whites of eggs should not be kept longer than 18 or 24 hours. They must be preserved in a very cold place and be utilized at the earliest opportunity. They are like all proteins, more dangerous than starches if left to ferment, whether the fermentation begins on the pantry shelf or in the stomach. White of egg can be used in many different ways. It may be beaten to a froth and served on fruit soups or fruit pies, or it can be taken in place of broth at the beginning of a meal. Add a tablespoon of water and a few drops of lemon or orange or apple or cranberry juice to one white of an egg and beat up with a fork, or drink without beating. White of egg can also be utilized for bran cakes.
The white film that often gathers around grapes is a breeding place for diphtheria germs. Wash thoroughly before eating all fruits which have been stored in houses or atthe market. Do not prepare more raw food than can be eaten at one meal. Never allow it to stand after it is cut.
Many housekeepers think it important to scald their dishes, but do not know that it is far more important to sterilize or reboil cooked foods which have stood on the shelf for 18 to 24 hours and sometimes longer. Such foodstuff is dangerous long before the process of fermentation can be detected by the sense of smell or taste.
Some foods begin to undergo changes immediately after cooling; therefore, cooked foods left over, with the exception of a few, should be reboiled before serving again. Rice or other cereals should be stirred over the fire for a while and then baked in the oven until they are thoroughly sterile. The care of milk has been discussed in the chapter on food. Soups which are preserved with fat will keep wholesome for several days without reboiling. Fruits and fruit juices should not stand longer than 24 hours. Eggs are best preserved in bran or lime water or on ice if kept for a week or longer.
Put one layer of common salt or bran one inch deep on the bottom of a wooden pail or washtub. Then grease the eggs with paraffin or oil and place them with the small end down, so that they will not touch the bottom of the tub. Fill with enough salt to cover the eggs one inch.
Preserve the eggs with salicylic acid, which can be bought in the drug store. Follow directions on package.
Dishwashing is a work which takes up so much time in every household, that it is a subject which should receive some attention.
The housekeeper who serves a considerable amount ofraw food saves much time and strength by relieving herself of greasy dishes and saucepans.
Scrape off the fragments from plates and utensils and prepare one basin with hot soapsuds and another with rinsing water of clear hot or cold water. People whose time is valuable can save much work by placing the dishes from the draining board upside down on a shelf prepared from wooden slats, or set them in a wire basket and let them dry without wiping.
If the dishes are not washed immediately after each meal, place the silverware and knives in a high bowl or quart measure and let them soak in hot or cold water. Remove all foods from metallic utensils immediately after the meal is over. Never allow metallic spoons to stand in fruit sauce, salt or in any kind of prepared food. Acids dissolve metal and in this way may produce poisoning.
In contagious diseases all dishes should be sterilized. Burn up all particles of left-over food, put the dishes into a narrow pail and boil with plenty of water and soda for an hour or longer.
Use solutions of carbolic acid or chloride of lime. Mix with equal quantities of the excreta and allow it to stand for several hours before it is disposed of.
Soak one-fourth of a pound of glue in cold water over night. Dissolve some lime with cold water, add a few handfuls of salt. Heat the glue until it is dissolved and add to one bucket of whitewash. This makes a smooth and healthy paint. Use for rough or smooth woodwork, twice per year in laundry, basement or cellar or pantry.