Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-01-04
ADULTERATED FOOD.
EXCEPTIONS ResoRTeo TO ~ TIE
GREEDY AND UNscRuPuloUs.


~n 60 Tell the Genuine From tho Doc.
sorcd Article-A Little Johe at the
Datcher's Expense Eogus Spices.
Tho adulteration Of articles IF 1 ,ss:
Is by no means an invention If modern
times. hut was practiccd by our classic
nj ancestors. During the middle ages
the cr'ming baker mixed his four with
lime. sand and gypsum, and on discovery
was thrown into prison cell and COM
PEELED to cat the product of his entire
bakery, which cured him of tho fraudu-
lent habit.
The most important article os food in
every household is the meat. The meat
which comes from healthy animals is
distinguished by a pleasant oder and
fresh color, from delicate pink TO a
deep carmine, according to the animal
from which it comes. 1t must he elias
tic to the touch. The dent which is
causcd by pressing a finger on it must
disappear when the pressure isrcmovcd.
The fatty substance of the meat is
good indicator Of its quality. In healthy
animals the fat is yellow ard elastic
and has pleasant oior. The fat in the
meat from sick animals is pale, gray
and smeary and has an unpleasant
Odor.
Sausage offers wide field for adul-
tcration Of the most dangerous kind,
and in the pamphlets which vegctI-
rians send broadcas: over the land from
time to time they give prominence to
an gnccdote which is as terse as it is IL
Illustrative of the esteem in which they
hold the sausage. "A man saved the
life If butcher Nv endangcriBg his
own. The poor butcher. overcome with
gratitude. cried out in Il moment Of self
forgctfulness. Never in your life again.
my friend. eat sausage.
The authorizations in this line are
manifold. To produce the fresh rcd
color. So alluring in sausage. fuchsine is
mixed with the ingredients instead oi
blood. Ii is very common practice
to put -four IN sausage. and while lit
tic of it is harmless. it nevertheless
leads to early fermentation of the ar
ticle in question. The buyer. however,
is very much imposed upon VIXEN flour
is added in large quantities. for it en-
ahlcs the sausage makers to add from
6' tn 20 per cent of water. which is
raid for at the rate of meat. France
has lately put Il stop tn this fraud by
limiting the addition of -four to B per
cent.
Fish are adulterated in the same way
by rubbing their gills with aniline.
| which gives them the appearance of
! freshness. The anilirc is easily washed
of and the fraud detected. In fresh
fis,, the eyes are full and protrudirg.
| while in old fish they are Opaque. dull
and sunken. The best way to recog-
nizc an old fish is to watch the gills.
which emit an cdor Of decay if The fish
is too old for use.
Crawfish or crabs should always Ire
bought alive. Crabs that are sold al
ready cooked have usually been boiled
after they were dead. and soon decay.
generating a very dangerous poison. 4
| crawfish that has been boiled alive will
show curled and twisted tail. while,
on the other hand. one that was cooked
after death has the tail perfectly
straight.
Tire hest way to tell butter from ole
nmargarinc is TO put piece of il on hot
potato which has been boiled in the
jacket and freshly peeled. The taste OF
butter is more pronounced when eaten
in this way than any other, and the
fraud is detected. II is also the safest
way 10 discover the age of dairy OF
; creamery butter.
Lard is frequently adulterated with
water to increase its weight, and mixed
with cornstarch, salt. chalk. ETC.. t.
bind the water TO the fat. This may
bc discovered by carefully melting tn,
lard and setting il aside in lukcwarn
. place The fat not only separates from
the water. but collects at the bottom
} of the dish with all the other foreign
ingredients.
To tell good eggs from bad ones it i
only necessary to put them IN disl
filled with water containing from t.
10 per cen. of salt. Fresh eggs drop t
the bottom. old ones swim on the sur
face. and those of medium quality sinl
hall way down.
All spices suffer more or less adulter
alton. Int most cf all those which ar
sold in rulvcriZcd state. Ground pep
per is mixed with paprica. millct
bread. powdered olives. almond meal
dust. SIND, gypsum. sawdust. spar. an
almost The same ingredients are usc
for the adultcration cf cinnamon. Pull
verified ginger fares no better and
mixed with potato -four. wheat an
cayenne pepper. while the sweet scent
ed anisc seed GENES IN fora share G
earth. sand and little brown and blac
= stones. Housckccpers will always L
more or less cheated in buying powGe,
cd spices, which, should be bought j
their natural state and ground at home
The vanilla bean before the inventio
? of the artificial vanillinc was deprive
) of Its natural aroma and bastcd wit
balm Of PERI.
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