The manner in which a housekeeper buys her groceries must depend upon
where she lives and how large her family is. In a country place, where
the stores are few and not well supplied, it is best to buy in large
quantities all articles that will not deteriorate by keeping. If one
has a large family a great saving is made by purchasing the greater
portion of one's groceries at wholesale.
Flour.
There is now in use flour made by two different processes, by the old,
or St. Louis, and the new, or Haxall. The Haxall flour is used mostly
for bread and the old-process for pastry, cake, etc. By the new
process more starch and less of the outer coats, which contain much of
the phosphates, is retained; so that the flour makes a whiter and
moister bread. This flour packs closer than that made in the old way,
so that a pound of it will not measure as much as a pound of the old
kind. In using an old rule, one-eighth of this flour should be left
out. For instance, if in a recipe for bread you have four quarts (old-
process) of flour given, of the new-process you would take only three
and a half quarts. This flour does not make as good cake and pastry as
the old-process. It is, therefore, well, to have a barrel of each, if
you have space, for the pastry flour is the cheaper, and the longer
all kinds of flour are kept in a _dry_ place, the better they
are. Buying in small quantities is extremely extravagant. When you
have become accustomed to one brand, and it works to your
satisfaction, do not change for a new one. The _best_ flour is
the cheapest. There are a great many brands that are equally good.
Graham.
The best Graham is made by grinding good wheat and not sifting it.
Much that is sold is a poor quality of flour mixed with bran. This
will not, of course, make good, sweet bread. The "Arlington Whole
Wheat Meal" is manufactured from pure wheat, and makes delicious
bread. Graham, like flour, will keep in a cool, dry place for years.
Indian Meal.
In most families there is a large amount of this used, but the
quantity purchased at a time depends upon the kind of meal selected.
The common kind, which is made by grinding between two mill-stones,
retains a great deal of moisture, and, in hot weather, will soon grow
musty; but the granulated meal will keep for any length of time. The
corn for this meal is first dried; and it takes about two years for
this. Then the outer husks are removed, and the corn is ground by a
process that produces grains like granulated sugar. After once using
this meal one will not willingly go back to the old kind. Indian meal
is made from two kinds of corn, Northern and Southern. The former
gives the yellow meal, and is much richer than the Southern, of which
white meal is made.
Rye Meal.
This meal, like the old-process Indian, will grow musty in a short
time in hot weather, so that but a small quantity of it should be
bought at a time. The meal is much better than the flour for all kinds
of bread and muffins.
Oat Meal.
There are several kinds of oat meal--Scotch, Irish, Canadian and
American. The first two are sold in small packages, the Canadian and
American in any quantity. It seems as if the Canadian and American
should be the best because the freshest; but the fact is the others
are considered the choicest. Many people could not eat oat meal in
former years, owing to the husks irritating the lining of the stomach.
There is now what is called pearled meal. All the husks are removed,
and the oats are then cut. The coarse kind will keep longer than the
fine ground, but it is best to purchase often, and have the meal as
fresh as possible.
Cracked Wheat.
This is the whole wheat just crushed or cut like the coarse oat meal,
but unlike the meal. It will keep a long time. It is cooked the same
as oat meal. That which is cut makes a handsomer dish than the
crushed, but the latter cooks more quickly.
Hominy.
This is made from corn, and it comes in a number of sizes, beginning
with samp and ending with a grade nearly as fine as coarse-granulated
sugar. The finest grade is really the best, so many nice dishes can be
made with it which you cannot make with the coarse. Hominy will keep a
long time, and it can be bought in five-pound package or by the
barrel.
Sugar.
The fine-granulated sugar is the best and cheapest for general family
use. It is pure and dry; therefore, there is more in one pound of it
than in a damp, brown sugar, besides its sweetening power being
considerably greater. The price of sugar at wholesale is not much less
than at retail, but time and trouble are saved by purchasing by the
barrel.
Spice.
It is well to keep on hand all kinds of spice, both whole and ground.
They should not be in large quantities, as a good cook will use them
very sparingly, and a good house-keeper will have too much regard for
the health of her family and the delicacy of her food to have them
used lavishly. For soups and sauces the whole spice is best, as it
gives a delicate flavor, and does not color. A small wooden or tin box
should be partly filled with whole mace, cloves, allspice and
cinnamon, and a smaller paste-board box, full of pepper-corns, should
be placed in it. By this plan you will have all your spices together
when you season a soup or sauce.
English Currants.
These keep well, and if cleaned, washed and _well_ dried, will
improve in flavor by being kept.
Raisins.
In large families, if this fruit is much used, it is well to buy by
the box. Time does not improve raisins.
Soda, Cream of Tartar, Baking Powder.
There should not be so much of these articles used as to require that
they be purchased in large quantities. Cream of tartar is expensive,
soda cheap. If one prefers to use baking powders there will be no need
of cream of tartar, but the soda will still be required for
gingerbread and brown bread, and to use with sour milk, etc. The
advantage of baking powder is that it is prepared by chemists who know
just the proportion of soda to use with the acid (which should be
cream of tartar), and the result will be invariable if the cook is
exact in measuring the other ingredients. When an inexperienced cook
uses the soda and cream of tartar there is apt to be a little too much
of one or the other. Just now, with the failure of the grape crops in
France, from which a greater part of the crystals in use come, cream
of tarter is extremely high, and substitutes, such as phosphates, are
being used.
To be Always Kept on Hand.
Besides the things already mentioned, housekeepers should always have
a supply of rice, pearl barley, dried beans, split peas, tapioca,
macaroni, vermicilli, tea, coffee, chocolate, corn-starch, molasses,
vinegar, mustard, pepper, salt, capers, canned tomato, and any other
canned vegetables of which a quantity is used. Of the many kind of
molasses, Porto Rico is the best for cooking purposes. It is well to
have a few such condiments as curry powder (a small bottle will last
for years), Halford sauce, essence of anchovies and mushroom ketchup.
These give variety to the flavoring, and, if used carefully, will not
be an expensive addition, so little is needed for a dish.