almost all box luncheons. Since sandwiches furnish the most convenient way
of carrying foods that are to be eaten with bread, they invariably form a
part of every luncheon. Because they are used so frequently they should be
varied. Different kinds of bread, such as graham, Boston brown, and nut
bread, may be used. Variety may be had by serving bread sometimes in the
form of muffins or rolls. The slices of bread may be cut thin or thick to
suit the appetite of the eater. It is often desirable to leave the crusts
on the bread. Butter should be creamed before spreading it on the bread.
If the sandwiches are to be cut extremely thin, spread the bread before
cutting it into slices. If sandwiches are prepared some time before they
are served, they can be kept moist by wrapping in a dry towel, covered
with a towel wrung out of hot water.
The fillings for sandwiches offer many variations. They may be divided
into two classes, seasoned and sweet. _Seasoned fillings_ may include
meat, eggs, cheese, vegetables. If meat is used, it may be cut in slices,
or chopped and mixed with a sauce. If sliced meat is used, it is well to
tear it into pieces. (This applies also to lettuce.) If it is desired to
lessen the quantity of meat in a diet, the meat should be chopped, for it
has been found that only half as much meat is required when it is chopped
and mixed with a dressing. Either Salad Dressing or White Sauce may be
combined with meat. A French Dressing made of vegetable oil, lemon juice,
and seasonings is better, so far as ease of digestion is concerned, than
Cream or "Boiled" Salad Dressing. If oil is not palatable, learn to like
it. Any of the seasoned fillings may be mixed with Salad Dressing. Sliced
tomatoes spread with Mayonnaise or Cream Salad Dressing, chopped peanuts
mixed with salad dressing, sardines or cold chicken with lemon juice and
paprika make tasty sandwich fillings.
_Sweet fillings_ for sandwiches include: preserved or dried fruits,
bananas, nuts. Sandwiches made with a sweet filling are most popular among
children. Some of them make good substitutes for cake, and are much more
easily digested. The dried fruits such as dates, figs, and prunes, cooked
and combined with bread and butter, make excellent foods. The growing
child is apt to become anemic. Since prunes contain iron, they should be
frequently used in children's diet. Cooked prunes--seeded and flavored
with lemon juice--make palatable sandwiches, especially when brown bread
is used or a few chopped nuts are added. Breads containing sugar or
molasses are most pleasing when used with a sweet filling. Banana
sandwiches are much improved by the addition of lemon juice or Salad
Dressing. Nuts are often combined with both sweet and seasoned materials;
their use gives opportunity for variety. Chopped raisins and nuts may be
moistened with grape juice and used as sandwich filling. Chopped dates,
apples, and nuts mixed with salad dressing make a pleasing filling.
Crushed maple or brown sugar mixed with cream or butter and used with
whole wheat bread is a favorite sandwich among children.
(2) _Relishes_.--Celery, olives, and radishes serve as relishes for
the luncheon box. Celery and olives (especially those stuffed with
pimentos or nuts) are pleasing as a sandwich filling. Most relishes,
however, are more suitable for the luncheon box of a mature person than
for that of a child.
(3) _Desserts_.--Cake is a common constituent of the luncheon box.
Not all cakes, however, are suitable for luncheons. For children, only the
plainer cakes, _i.e._ those containing little fat, should be used.
Plain cake and cookies, sponge cake, lady fingers, and gingerbread (if not
too highly spiced) are also desirable for the school luncheon. Cookies or
cakes baked in muffin pans are more suitable for packing than cut pieces
of cake.
Most fresh fruits can be easily packed in the luncheon box. As has been
mentioned, grapes, the small fruits such as strawberries and raspberries,
sliced pineapple, or fruit sauces may be carried in jelly glasses.
Cup custards and simple puddings may be used as desserts. If a child is
permitted to have sweets, a little candy may be placed in the luncheon
box; it is better for a child to have candy at the end of a luncheon than
after school (see _Use of Candy in Diet_).
PACKING THE LUNCHEON.--Neatness is an essential in an inviting luncheon
box. All foods should be wrapped separately in paraffin paper, and placed
neatly in the box. Since some foods crush readily, it is not always
possible to place the foods to be eaten first on top, but it is desirable
to arrange the foods so that not all of them will have to be removed
before beginning to eat the luncheon. The paper napkin should always be
placed on top. It is perhaps unnecessary to say that foods should not come
in direct contact with newspapers or any printed matter.
QUESTION
Plan menus for five school luncheons, making them as varied as possible.
If you carry your luncheon to school, follow these menus in preparing your
luncheon box.
LESSON CL
PLANNING AND PREPARING BOX LUNCHEONS
Plan [Footnote 115: See Footnote 72.] box luncheons. Make sandwiches and
other foods for the luncheon box. Fill one or more luncheon boxes
according to plans.
LESSON CLI
REVIEW--MEAL COOKING
MENU
Cake (for Cottage Pudding)
Vanilla Sauce
Cocoa
See Lesson XIV for suggestions regarding the preparation of the lesson.
LESSON CLII
HOME PROJECTS [Footnote 116: See Lesson IX]
SUGGESTIONS FOR HOME WORK.--Bake cake or cookies at least once a week. If
eggs are high in price, bake cake without eggs or bake One-egg Cake.
SUGGESTED AIMS: (1) To improve the quality of cake. As suggested in a
previous Home Project, score your product, determine the cause of any
undesirable quality, and then avoid your error at the next baking.
(2) To compare homemade and baker's cake. Determine the weight and cost of
homemade and baker's cake. Compare like kinds of cake, _i.e._ plain,
chocolate, etc. Compute the cost per pound of each. If possible compare
the flavor, grain, and texture of each. What are the advantages of
homemade over baker's cake?
DIVISION FIFTEEN
PASTRY
LESSON CLIII
PIE WITH UNDER CRUST
PASTRY.--Good pastry is: (_a_) light, (_b_) flaky or friable,
and (_c_) tender. The _lightness_ of pastry is largely dependent
upon the temperature of the ingredients. All the materials should be cold,
so that the expansion in baking may be as great as possible. In order to
keep the ingredients cold and the fats solid, a knife (instead of the
fingers) should be used in mixing. It is well to chill pastry by placing
it on the ice before rolling out. The lightness of pastry is dependent
somewhat upon quick and deft manipulations. A little baking powder also
increases the lightness of pastry.
_Flaky_ pastry results when the ingredients are mixed so as to form
layers. To accomplish this, solid fat is used and it is not cut fine into
the dry ingredients, but is left in pieces. Thus, when rolled, there are
layers of flour and fat. Pastry is sometimes made by cutting part of the
fat into the flour mixture, then moistening and rolling it out; adding the
remainder of the fat in small bits, folding and rolling out again.
_Friable_ pastry usually results when oil is used instead of solid
fat. The following fats may be used alone or in combination: butter,
oleomargarine, lard, vegetable oil or fat, lard substitutes.
To make pastry _tender_ and not tough, the least possible moisture
should be used. The quantity of fat used also determines its tenderness.
The more fat used, the less the amount of water required. Less moisture is
required when oil rather than solid fat is used. For this reason, many
persons can produce more tender pastry by using a cooking oil. The fact
that the moisture is decreased when oil is used may also account for the
decreased quantity of oil given in the recipe for pastry. Less oil than
solid fat will produce the same degree of tenderness, provided less water
is used.
PIE WITH THE UNDER CRUST.--Pastry is somewhat difficult of digestion; but
a crust that is brittle and easily crumbled is more readily digested than
one that is moist and pasty. Pie crust should crumble as finely as a
cracker. To prevent moist and pasty pie crust, it is advisable to bake
"one crust" pie. If an under crust only is used, it should be baked before
adding the filling. The filling should be cooked and sweetened before
adding it to the crust.
PLAIN PASTRY (2 crusts)
1 1/2 cupfuls flour
1 teaspoonful baking powder
1/2 teaspoonful salt
1/4 to 1/2 cupful fat _or_ 1/6 to 1/3 cupful oil
Ice water
Mix the dry ingredients, cut in the fat slightly; then add just enough
water to hold the ingredients together. Chill; then roll out (one crust at
a time).
Pastry should be baked in a hot oven. A pastry shell containing no filling
should be baked at 400 degrees F., for 15 to 20 minutes.
Bake a one crust pie on the outside of a pie pan; it should be pricked
with a fork before baking.
The pastry trimmings should be utilized. They may be made into tarts or
cheese straws.
LEMON PIE
3 tablespoonfuls flour
3 tablespoonfuls corn-starch
1 cupful sugar
2 cupfuls boiling water
2 egg yolks
Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon
1 tablespoonful butter
1/4 teaspoonful salt
MERINGUE
2 egg whites
2 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar
Mix the sugar, flour, and corn-starch, add the boiling water. Stir and
cook on the back of the range, or over an asbestos mat, for 15 minutes.
Add the egg yolks and cook at simmering temperature, until the eggs
thicken. Add the remaining ingredients. Cool and place in a baked crust.
Cover with a meringue. Bake until the meringue is a light brown,
_i.e._ at 300 degrees F., 10 to 15 minutes.
Note that the lemon is added to the mixture after cooking. Cooking a
starchy material with a small amount of acid, dextrinizes the starch.
Since dextrin has less thickening power than starch, the starch mixture
would become thinner if cooked for some time with lemon.
SCORE CARD FOR PIE,--DETERMINING ITS QUALITY
Flavor 30
Tenderness 20
Lightness 10
Flakiness 10
Appearance (color and thickness) 10
Filling (flavor and consistency) 20
---
Total 100
QUESTIONS
Why should not the fingers be used to mix the fat with the dry ingredients
in pastry making?
Why is it easier to roll out pastry, if it has been chilled after mixing?
Why should a lower crust, when used alone, be baked before adding the
filling?
What is the purpose of pricking the lower crust with a fork before baking?
Compare the filling for Lemon Pie with that for Cream Puffs. How do they
differ in moisture, method of preparation, and length of time in cooking?
Give the reason for these differences.
From _U. S. Department of Agriculture_, Bulletin No. 28, tabulate the
percentage composition of butter (see Figure 63), oleomargarine, lard,
lard substitute, and vegetable oil. What is the price per pound of each?
Which furnishes more fat,--a pound of butter or a pound of lard? If lard,
lard substitute, or vegetable oil were substituted for butter in a cake or
other quick bread, should the same quantity be used? Explain.
LESSON CLIV
PIES WITH UPPER CRUST
DIGESTION OF PASTRY.--As previously mentioned (see _Frying and
Digestion_), when fats are heated to a high temperature, they
decompose. The products of this decomposition are less readily digested
than is fat before it is decomposed. Hence in fried foods, the fat is made
somewhat indigestible. Thus it is much better to spread uncooked fat over
hot potatoes than to combine the two foods by frying the potatoes.
Fat is the most slowly digested of all foodstuffs. Hence a combination of
fat and carbohydrates is more slowly digested than carbohydrate. For this
reason, foods consisting of fat and flour such as pastry may remain in the
digestive tract for a long time and cause disturbances. Distressing
effects are less likely to result, however, when a person's work is out of
doors. Since fatty foods remain in the stomach longer than others, they
may serve to allay the feeling of hunger which is caused by the
contracting of an empty stomach.
PIE WITH THE UPPER CRUST.--In the previous lesson (see _Pie with Under
Crust_), it was mentioned that "pasty" pie crust was not readily
digested. For this reason, fresh fruit pie may be made with an upper crust
only. Such pie should be baked in a pan of granite, glass, or similar
material. The fruit is placed in the pie pan, then a half-inch strip of
pastry is placed over the rim of the pie pan; the strip is moistened and
the crust placed over the top. The strip of pastry and the upper crust are
pressed together, then the edges of the latter are trimmed. The upper
crust should be cut in several places for the escape of steam.
RHUBARB PIE
2 cupfuls rhubarb, cut in small pieces
1 egg
4 tablespoonfuls flour
1 cupful sugar
Salt
Lemon rind
Mix the sugar, salt, lemon rind, and flour; beat the egg. Add the rhubarb
and flour mixture to the egg. Turn into an earthenware dish or a granite
pan, and cover with pastry as directed above. Bake until the rhubarb is
tender and the crust is brown, i.e. at 425 degrees F., 35 to 45 minutes.
Rhubarb contains such a large percentage of moisture that it is well to
use but one crust.
QUESTIONS
Explain why it is that baked potatoes and butter are more readily digested
than fried potatoes.
What is the advantage of using only a top crust for fresh fruit pie?
What is the purpose of egg and flour in Rhubarb Pie? Why is it desirable
to use these ingredients with rhubarb?
Why should the flour in Rhubarb Pie be mixed with sugar?
How much water is there in apples and rhubarb (see _U. S. Department of
Agriculture_, Bulletin No. 28 and Figure 70)?
LESSON CLV
TWO-CRUST PIES
TWO CRUSTS.--If both upper and lower crusts are used in making a pie, the
lower crust should be placed inside the pan. The filling should be added,
the edge of the crust moistened, and the upper crust placed over the pie
and pressed around the edges. Then the edges should be trimmed. As was
mentioned before, upper crusts should always be cut in several places for
the escape of steam.
Sometimes a half-inch strip of pastry is placed around the edge of the
under crust before placing the upper crust. This is thought to aid in
preventing the escape of the moisture of the filling.
APPLE PIE
Cut 4 or 5 apples into slices, and for each apple use 2 tablespoonfuls (or
more) of sugar. If the apples are not juicy, add from 1/2 to 1
tablespoonful of water for each apple. Flavor with 1 teaspoonful each of
lemon juice and rind, 1/4 teaspoonful cinnamon or nutmeg, and 1/8
teaspoonful salt. Line the inside of a pie pan with pastry, pour in the
apple mixture. Add bits of butter, and cover with pastry as directed
above. Bake until the apples are soft and the crust is brown, i.e. at 425
degrees F., 35 to 45 minutes.
Apple sauce may be used as a filling for a baked crust. Such a pie is
sometimes covered with meringue or strips of pastry.
FRUIT PIE WITH TWO CRUSTS
2 cupfuls fruit
1/2 to 1 cupful sugar
3 tablespoonfuls flour
If the fruit is fresh, wash and drain it well. Mix the sugar and flour.
Line the inside of a pie pan with pastry, add half of the sugar and flour
mixture. Add the fruit, and then the remainder of the sugar and flour.
Cover with a top crust according to the directions above.
QUESTIONS
Explain why pie with only one crust, if properly made, is more desirable
than that with two crusts (see _Pie with Under Crust_).
Why should fresh fruit, for fruit pie with two crusts, be well drained
after washing?
Give three ways of preventing the juice from boiling over, in a pie with
two crusts.
Compare pastry that is made with lard, lard substitutes, vegetable oils
and butter, as to taste, appearance, flakiness or friability, and
tenderness.
RELATED WORK
LESSON CLVI
INFANT FEEDING
PERFECT FOOD FOR INFANTS.--Nature in her wisdom provides ideal food for
the infant,--mother's milk. No perfect substitute has been found for it.
It is most unfortunate when a child is denied this food.
It has been found [Footnote 117: See "Feeding the Family," by Mary Swartz
Rose, Ph.D., p. 98.] that babies fed with mother's milk are much less
likely to contract disease and much more apt to grow to maturity. A
mother's milk is adapted to the needs of her child. It agrees with the
infant and nourishes it well. A practical advantage of a healthy mother's
milk is that it is sterile and of the proper temperature.
MODIFIED MILK.--In case it is necessary to give the infant artificial
diet, the greatest care should be taken to provide clean, easily digested
food. Cow's milk is the basis of the food generally chosen. The way babies
digest cow's milk shows the necessity of changing or _modifying_ it
to meet the needs of an infant. Cow's milk is modified sometimes by
diluting it to make it digest easier and adding other ingredients to it.
In order to increase the fuel value of diluted milk, carbohydrate food of
some soluble, easily digested kind is added. Sometimes gruel or cereal
water is used as one of the constituents of modified milk.
Formulas for modified milk vary with the individual infant. A physician
should be consulted regarding the formula for food for a baby.
(_a_) _Utensils_ for measuring and preparing the ingredients of
modified milk should be kept very clean. Before using, all glass and metal
utensils used for measuring and holding the milk should be covered with
cold water, then the water should be heated and allowed to boil for twenty
minutes. Just before using rubber nipples, place them in boiling water for
a few minutes. After using, they should be rinsed in cold water and then
carefully washed inside and out with soap and water. When not in use,
nipples should be kept in a clean covered jar or jelly glass. (The jar and
cover should be sterilized daily.) After using the milk bottles (have as
many bottles as there are feedings a day), rinse them in cold water, and
then fill them with water and add a pinch of baking soda. Before filling
the bottle with milk, wash with soap and water--using a bottle brush--and
then sterilize in boiling water for twenty minutes (as directed above).
Bacteria cannot pass through cotton, hence it is used for stoppering the
filled milk bottles. It should be clean, however. Paper caps are also
used.
(_b_)_ Ingredients_.--(1) _Milk_.--The selection of milk
for an infant is an important consideration. _Clean milk_ is most
essential. Milk is considered clean when it comes from dairy farms where
clean milkers work under sanitary conditions, approved by a medical milk
commission (see _Care of Milk_). Such milk contains few bacteria and
is called _certified milk_. This is by far the safest milk for infant
diet, but it is expensive. It usually costs almost twice as much as
ordinary milk. Milk is _pasteurized_ commercially by heating it to
150 degrees F., keeping it at that temperature for about thirty minutes,
and then quickly cooling it. While pasteurizing kills most of the
disease-producing germs, it does not destroy all the spores (see
_Microorganisms in theSpore Form_). The taste of milk is not affected
by pasteurizing. Milk is _sterilized_--all germ life destroyed--by
heating at 212 degrees F. from one to one and one half hours.
Since the value of milk as an infant food depends upon its cleanliness, it
is difficult to state just how old milk may be before it is unsafe for
infant feeding. It is safest to use only _fresh_ milk. Bacteria in
milk may develop so rapidly that it is unfit to use a few hours after it
has been drawn from the cow. Unless milk is certified, it should not be
used in summer after it is twenty-four hours old, and in winter, after it
is forty-eight hours old. _Bottled_ milk should be used for infants.
According to most plans for modifying milk, _whole milk_ is used.
(2) _Sugar._--Several kinds of sugar are used in modified milk. These
are:
Milk sugar or lactose.
Malt sugar combined with dextrin or dextrimaltose.
Granulated sugar or cane sugar.
The advice of a physician should be consulted regarding the kind of sugar
best suited to the needs of the particular infant. The first two kinds of
sugar can be obtained at a drug store. Granulated sugar is too sweet for
general use.
(3) _Water or Cereal Water._--If plain water is to be used with milk,
it should be boiled before adding to the other ingredients.
In some cases, gruel or cereal water is added. Usually rolled oats or
barley flour is the grain used. To prepare either of these use:
4 tablespoonfuls rolled oats _or_
3 tablespoonfuls barley flour
1 quart cold water
Mix and boil gently until the mixture is reduced to a pint. Then strain
through a fine wire strainer or muslin.
[Illustration: Figure 87.--Graduated Measure and Dipper for Measuring the
Ingredients of Modified Milk.]
(_c_) _Method of Mixing_.--Measure the sugar. This ingredient is
usually measured in ounces, tablespoonfuls, or teaspoonfuls. (1 1/2
dipperfuls (Figure 87) of milk sugar weigh 1 ounce.) In the graduated
measure (Figure 87), measure the water or cereal water for diluting the
milk and dissolve the sugar in it. Stir the mixture until the sugar is
completely dissolved. Then pour it into the mixing pitcher. Measure the
milk (and other ingredients if required) and pour into pitcher. Mix
thoroughly. While stirring, turn the proper quantity of food into as many
sterilized bottles as are required for a day's feeding. Stopper with
cotton or cap. If the milk used is certified, place in a clean
refrigerator until used for feeding. If the milk is not certified, it may
be pasteurized.
PASTEURIZING MILK AT HOME.--Place the bottles of milk in a wire basket.
Then place the basket in a kettle. Pour water in the kettle so that the
water is a little higher outside of the bottles than the surface of the
milk inside. Heat the water and let it boil for 5 minutes. (Do not begin
to count the time until the water reaches the boiling point.) At once cool
the milk by allowing a stream of cold water to displace the hot water. Do
not allow the cold water to run directly on the hot bottles. When the milk
is cooled, place the bottles immediately in a clean refrigerator.
PREPARATION OF MILK BEFORE FEEDING.--At feeding time, milk should be
heated to about 98 degrees F. Place the bottle in a pan of warm water.
Test the milk for proper temperature. Use the method described in
Junket "Custard", for testing the temperature of the milk. Shake the
bottle before feeding.
OTHER FOODS GIVEN TO INFANTS.--In addition to modified milk, boiled water
should be given to infants. A few other foods--egg yolk or vegetable
juices and orange juice--may often be given during the first year. The egg
yolk should be soft-cooked. This food supplies iron and increases the
Calorific value of the diet. Orange juice (strained through muslin) may be
usually given at five or six months of age. It is especially necessary to
give orange juice to infants whose milk is pasteurized or sterilized. Its
use prevents constipation and scurvy.
ENERGY REQUIREMENT OF AN INFANT.--The energy requirement of an infant is
greater than one would suppose. Growth and development are going on at a
rapid rate. Like the adult, a baby asleep needs energy to carry on the
involuntary activities of its body. When awake such muscular activities as
crying, kicking, and throwing of arms require energy. An infant's energy
requirement is usually based upon its body weight. According to generally
accepted standards [Footnote 118: See "Feeding the Family," by Mary Swartz
Rose, Ph.D., p. 103.] an infant's average energy requirement is:
1st to 3d months 50 Calories per pound per day
4th to 6th months 45 Calories per pound per day
7th to 9th months 40 Calories per pound per day
10th to 12th months 35 Calories per pound per day
QUANTITY OF FOOD.--When a baby must be given artificial food entirely or
as a supplement to natural food, it is safest and most satisfactory to
follow the advice of a physician. It is said, however, that an infant
requires an average of 1 1/2 ounces of milk per day for every pound of
body weight. After the eighth month, this quantity of milk is usually
decreased first to 1 1/3 and then to 1 1/4 ounces for every pound of body
weight per day.