The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-20

Washington, D. C., Dec. 19.-l
 Flavor and color have an important
 bearing on the prices which must be
 paid for the various edible fats used
 in the home, since all are regarded as
 wholesome when of good quality and
 practically the same amount of ener-
 gy is derived by the body from each.
 The housekeeper therefore must de-
 eide usually what she is willing tc
 pay for relatively superficial proper ties in the foods. These facts are
 pointed out in recent professional
 paper of the U. s Department of Agriculture, Bulletin 469, Flats and
 Their Economical Use in the Home," prepared by the Office of Home Eco
 monies of the Department. In dis cuss:ng the selection of fats for spe-
 cial uses the bulletin says:
 In general it pays always to buy fats of such good quality that none will have to. be thrown away through spoilage. In some instances a higher
 priced article may be more economi
 cal ir. the end, as, for example, clean, | sanitary butter, as compared to- cheaper, but less sanitary product.
 In some instances where taste or flavor only is involved, a less eXpen- sive table fat may answer quite satis- factorily the purpose of a more ex- pensive one. For example, the chief
 use of table oils is as an ingredient l of salad dressings, and when a char acteristic flavor is not especially de-
 sired, good grades of cottonseed and
 peanut oils, having a bland flavor
 may be used, when these are less eN- pensive than the corresponding | grades of olive oil.
 Fats used for. shortening, that is, 1 in mixture with doughs, etc, in
 f1uence the appearance flavor, tax
 and cost of the foods in which they
 are incorporated. In selecting short
 ening fats flavor and odor are to be
 considered but attractive appearance
 and color are of less importance,
 since in cooking these are usually
 masked Other qualities being equal,
 those culinary fats are more econo-
 mical and desirable which possess the
 best keeping quality; that is, the least tendency to become rancid. Also, for
 general use shortening fats give the
 best results if they are neither too hard nor too soft to be easily mixed
 with the other ingredients z. of the dough at ordinary temperatures.
 Fats used as a medium for cook, ling in such operations as frying
 should be carefully selecte, since they influence the flavor, appearance,
 and texture of the foods cooked in lthem, as is evident when one recalls the bad flavor imparted to fried foods | by burned or rancid rat Pre1erence l should be given to a fat which does not scorch too readily at the temper
 ature most commonly used for frying. Experiments in the laboratory of the Office of Home Economies indicate that butter and lard scorch at a low er-temperature than beef or mutton
 fats and cottonseed, peanut, or CO., conut oils. For this reason, there
 fore, the latter fats are preferable for deep frying, which require high tenn perature. 4. Economical Use of Fats.
 It is waste, the bulletin points out, to use more fat than a good recipe calls for. It is we'll known that too much butter makes a cake soggy, while a salad dressing with too much oil tastes fiat" The following arel additional examples of ways in whichi economy may be secured. It is more economical to stir butter into cooked vegetables just before they are served rather than while cooking, and the flavor thus imparted is more pro- nounced. Furthermore, if added be- fore cooking much of the butter is lost unless the water in which the vegetables are boiled is served with them. Instead of adding butter to vegetables many people cook fat ham. bacon, or salt pork with them and relish the characteristic flavor thus imparted.
 Savings Fats that Would Be Thrown Away. Much fat may be saved by home rendering of the trimmings from ia. meat The following method Of rem dering fats, found to be very satis- factorily in the laboratory of the Or flee of Home Economies, may be ap- piled in the home. The fat is cut fine ly with an ordinary household meat
 chopper or sausage grinder and IS then heated in double boiler until com pletely melted. The melted fat is then strained through a rather thick
 cloth (medium fine huckaback, for instance) to remove the finely divided
 bits of tissue. The advantage Of thls
 method is that since the material to
 be rendered is finely divided the rat
 separates readily from the 1ncloslng tissue at a temperature very little above it's melting point, and there IS no danger of scorching it as in the
 older open-kettle method.
 After the fat is rendered 1t must usually be clarified. A fairly succesSr ful household method for clarifying fats is as follows: Melt the fat with at least an equal volume of water and heat for a short time at a moderate temperature, with occasional stirring. Let the mixture cool, remove the lay CT of fat, and scrape off any bits of meat and other material which may adhere to the under side. Render ing or clarifying fat with milk gives quite satisfactory results in modify ing odors and flavors. The procedure is as follows: To two pounds of fat
 (finely chopped if unrendered) add one-half pint of milk (preferably sour). Heat the mixture in a double boiler until rendered or thoroughly melted, stir well, and strain through fairly thick cloth. When cold the fat forms a hard clean layer, and any dark material adhering to the under side of the fat may be scraped off. Sour milk, being coagulated, is pre- ferable to sweet milk, since the curd