Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1899-09-29
Washin9tou STANDARD
HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Mol fruit i nicer ii cooked in the
sylup. Hand fruits, such rs ounces
and hard pears. should first bc cooked
in clear water and when about done
put INTO the syrup and simply scalded
through.
Why Eat Toast
lnValid> the world over are given
their bread in the form OF toast. The
lay world is generally quite ignorant
Of why this is done. 1t is because, ex-
plains q medical authority, that toast
ing bread until it becomes brown
largely converts the starch into dex-
trine; and hence, so far as the brown
portion is concerned, one of the pro-
ce,ses OF digestion is gone through be-
fore the bread is taken into the stom-
ach. 1t will be found that the thin
ner the slices of bread and the more
thoroughly they are toasted, the easier
the digestion will be, and when all
portions OF the slice OF bread are thor
oughly toasted-not burned, but still
changed to deep brown color-it
will be found to be still more easily di-
gestcd than ordinary toast.
Sweet Pickles.
Fruit should not be over-ripe. Pre-
pare them for picking. Put them
into preserving kettle and cover
them with cold water; set them on to
the stove where they will heat slowly,
but not boil, until they are penetrated
with the heat. Take the fruit out
ON to several layers of cloth to drip,
and dry for an hour. Put them into
the kettle and cover with good vine
gar; heat slowly but must not boil,
but keep hot good vinegar, two pounds
of sugar, boiled together to form
syrup. Put into the syrup while hot,
allspice whole-mace cloves, CHINA.
mon bark, cloves and ginger root.
Put the fruit in jars and pour the
spiced vinegar over the fruit until the
jar is full. Seal up and put away for
use This quantity of syrup will
pickle six pounds of fruit.
The Refrigerator.
1t may seem unnecessary to speak
of cleaning the refrigerator after we
are through with it for the season, but
with the hurry incident to Thanks
giving preparations, one is apt to over
look this article, perhaps leave it to
clean at some less busy time, and the
result is it is entirely forgotten, the
last piece of ice melts, the slime in the
pipe hardens, the zinc and woodwork
absorb the bad air, and the whole is
contaminated. If you cannot find
time to clean it, then be sure to leave
the cover up few inches to allow the
circulation OF air and thus prevent
mustiness.
Give it thorough securing with
some variety of soap powder and hot
water, shaking some of the powder
down the pipe and cleaning it by a
piece of wire or rattan about which a
strip of cloth is wound. Use scalding
water wherever you can to rinse it
sweet; the shelves and other remova.
bic portions may be set out of doors,
and if the refrigerator can be moved
to an open window or wheeled upon
the porch, the sweetening process will
be more thorough. Let it air all day,
then, if it still smells musty, leave a
match or skewer under the cover; this
allows fresh air without danger OF
must.
Do not allow it to become a clutter
closet or child's playhouse, for the
spring will come before you are aware,
and in that busy season when the first
hot day calls for ice, you will not care
to spend valuable time in clearing the
ice-box of rubbish. 1 allowed my boy
to use mine one winter; he got some
small toys wedged in the pipe, and in
the spring the pipe had to he cut be-
fore it could be used. This necessi-
tated quite bill, for new piece Of
pipe had to be used and soldered in.
If the refrigerator occupies valuable
room, move it away for the winter to
storeroom or attick, but, by all means,
keep it for its legitimate use.