The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-01-26
HOME ECONOMICS
Chapter One

Chapter One
With this issue we begin a series
of articles under the above heading
that we believe will be of interest
and profit to the home makers oil
our county, especially those whose
duty 1t is to care for growing child.
rem. While the subject matter used
in this series Is received from the
d partment of Agriculture at Wash.
ington, 1t will be edited and arrang-
ed for our local needs by Mrs. Trego
Any suggestions our subscribers may
wish to present will be gladly re-
you will kindly mail them direct to
Mrs. Byrd Trego Sagehurst, Black
foot, Idaho.
The School Lunch
What should school children be
given to eat at noon? What foods
are best for the school lunch basket :?
The frequent asking of these ques-
lions shows that mothers and others
interested in children's welfare have
unusual difficulty in planning this
meal. There are no special scientific
principles which apply to it more
than to the other meals, for, of
course, choosing healthful foods and
preparing them carefully are no
more necessary at this than at either
Of the other meals of the child's day.
Nor is it wise always to study one
meal apart from the other two. The
three taken together must, if they
are to satisfy the needs of the grow
ing body, supply several different
kinds of food materials. 1t is seldom
convenient to provide all of these at
one meal, and those which are left
out of one meal must be supplied
at another. Breakfast, dinner or
lunch, and supper should, therefore,
usually be thought of together as
necessary to the making of a COM
plete days ration.
On the other hand 1T is particu-
larly difficult TO live up to ones
ideals in meal which is almost al
ways hurried and which must often
be prepared in one place and served
in another. The midday meal of
school children on days when school
is in session has, therefore, problems
of it's own and may well be occasion
ally discussed apart from all other
meals.
Foods for Children
The essentials of the diet Of all
normal children are, of course, the
same-namely, an abundance Of
simple foods carefully prepared and
of sufficitnt variety to provide for
activity, which in healthy children
is almost ceaseless during waking
hours and for development into
healthy manhood and womanhood.
For this reason the general subject
of food for children will be discussed
before the special problems of the
school lunch.
The Place of Bread in the Diet
One of the chief practical food |
problems, whether children or grown
people are concerned, Is how to get
good, wholesome, clean bread. 1t
has been shown that cereals provide
nearly one-third by weight of all the
food eaten by the American people
and that they supply nearly half of
the protein commonly referred to as
tissue-building materially and nearly
two-thirds of the fuel or energy. The
greater part of these cereals is, of
course, served in the form OF bread
of one kind or another. The quality
of the bread which is eaten is, there
fore, an extremely important consid-
Grafton.
1t is not possible within the limits
of this bulletin to give directions for
making bread, nor Is it necessary,
for recipes can be obtained from any
good general cookbook All that can
be done here is to speak of the
qualities of good bread These are
perhaps most clearly and concisely
stated in the score cards commonly
used in bread-judging contests at [
state fairs, farmers institutes, and
elsewhere. Such cards are designed
for judging loaves OF
wheat bread. but with little modif- II
cation they can be used also for h
breads made wholly or partly OF S
other cereals (corn, rye, oatmeal, Z
etc., and for bread in other forms, 9
such as biscuits and rolls. In all
cases the characteristics of the crust 9
and the crumb (the inside of the q
Ioaf), the lightness, and the flavor /
are taken into consideration. T
The crust should be crisp and deep
Indicating thoro baking), but not a
lard or burned. The crumb should 9
be elastic; that is, it should be cap
,ble of being compressed by slight q
pressure, but should spring back to {
is original form when such pressure &
8 removed If the dough is made n
90 stiff, the crumb can not easily I
20 compressed, and If too thin or II E
lnsufficiently baked, the crumb Is V
ioggy and inelastic. A crumb which t
s neither too hard nor too soft can a
easily be broken up in the mouth G
Turing the process of chewing and j
will neither form a sticky mass nor t
,e too dry to taste good. 1t
Lightness is an important feature v
# quality. 1t depends on the size {
of the loaf as compared with its Il
weight, a point which experienced u
Freak makers can usually judge by
fitting loaf and by noting II the h
hape is symmetrical and the crust 4
lnbroken. When the loaf is cut the f
n = a..